Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Via JMG: Washington Post Publishes Editorial From Mother Of Dead Bullied Gay Child
In response to widespread criticism for publishing an anti-gay editorial from Family Research Council head Tony Perkins, the Washington Post has posted a response from the mother of 11 year-old Carl Walker-Hoover, who took his life last year after relentless homophobic bullying. An excerpt:
I am a single mother and a devout Christian who had never been involved in advocacy work or politics. After my son died, and GLSEN reached out to me, some of my friends and family members expressed concern about the organization's work to address anti-gay bullying in school. They voiced religious opposition to GLSEN. Thanks to Tony Perkins' On Faith piece published yesterday, I don't have to repeat the arguments. Perkins' lays them all out practically word for word. And they're all wrong. [snip]Read the entire essay.
If schools perceive addressing anti-gay bullying as a controversial issue, then they'll continue the status quo of putting their heads in the sand and hoping the issue takes care of itself. It won't. And we need to be clear on one thing - addressing anti-gay bullying is not a controversial issue. If you move through the smoke screen organizations like Family Research Council try to create, you realize addressing anti-gay bullying is simply the right thing to do if we care about all of our young people.
Via JMG: Another Bizarre Lie From Sarah Palin
Speaking to an quivering teabagger audience in Montgomery, Alabama, Sarah Palin said this:"I tell Bristol, I am texting her and say 'Bristol'...and I wasn't kidding, I thought that this was a practical thing to do...'How about if Todd and I we load up all the kids in our motorhome and drive down, park on Rodeo Drive and we come to see you.' And I honestly didn't think that it was an unusual thing to suggest, that's what you do, a road trip. (...) But anyway, that's what we did, though, we parked a little bit further away from Rodeo Drive, and we got to watch Bristol."Palingates did some fact-checking, noting that the 3375-mile drive from Wasilla to Los Angeles would take forever. And unless the Palin motorhome has a jet engine, there's no way she could have been in Los Angeles a mere two days after being photographed at her home in Alaska. Aaaand there's the pesky little fact of being seen on an Alaska Airlines flight to from Portland to Los Angeles on the day before the show. Oops!
Palingates makes the obvious conclusion: "The 'road trip' only existed in Sarah Palin's crazy mind - she shamelessly used this made-up story to impress her audience in Montgomery."
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Via JMG: BREAKING: Federal Judge Orders Military To Suspend Enforcement Of DADT
This just in via Daily Kos: "U.S. district judge Virginia A. Phillips orders the Defense Department to 'immediately to suspend and discontinue any investigation, or discharge, separation, or other proceeding.'" Phillips' ruling regards the case brought by the Log Cabin Republicans.
Here's the text of the order:
1) DECLARES that the act known as "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" infringes the fundamental rights of United States servicemembers and prospective servicemembers and violates (a) the substantive due process rights guaranteed under the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, and (b) the rights to freedom of speech and to petition the Government for redress of grievances guaranteed by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.The Advocate notes:
(2) PERMANENTLY ENJOINS Defendants United States of America and the Secretary of Defense, their agents, servants, officers, employees, and attorneys, and all persons acting in participation or concert with them or under their direction or command, from enforcing or applying the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" Act and implementing regulations, against any person under their jurisdiction or command;
(3) ORDERS Defendants United States of America and the Secretary of Defense immediately to suspend and discontinue any investigation, or discharge, separation, or other proceeding, that may have been commenced under the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" Act, or pursuant to 10 U.S.C. § 654 or its implementing regulations, on or prior to the date of this Judgment.
(4) GRANTS Plaintiff Log Cabin Republicans' request to apply for attorneys' fees pursuant to the Equal Access to Justice Act, 28 U.S.C. § 2412; and
(5) GRANTS Plaintiff Log Cabin Republicans' request to file a motion for costs of suit, to the extent allowed by law.
In her order Phillips did not specify when the injunction would become effective. Justice Department attorneys have objected in court to the immediate halt of DADT enforcement and may appeal the injunction to the U.S. court of appeals for the ninth circuit.Servicemembers United reacts via press release:
"This order from Judge Phillips is another historic and courageous step in the right direction, a step that Congress has been noticeably slow in taking," said Alexander Nicholson, Executive Director of Servicemembers United and the sole named veteran plaintiff in the case along with the Log Cabin Republicans. "While this is certainly news to be celebrated, we would also advise caution in advance of a potential stay from the Ninth Circuit. If the appellate court wishes to put itself on the right side of history, however, it will allow this sound and long-over due decision to remain in effect."
The case that won the injunction, Log Cabin Republicans vs. United States of America, was originally filed in 2004. Just last month, and after a two-week trial in July, Judge Phillips issued her final ruling in the case, finding that the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" law was unconstitutional on first and fifth amendment grounds. She also indicated her intent to issue an injunction barring further discharges in light of that finding. A copy of the injunction can be found at www.ServicemembersUnited.org/injunction.
Via Truthout: Federal Judge Bars Enforcement of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell
Igor Volsky, Think Progress: "Earlier today, Judge Virginia Phillip - the California federal judge who ruled that Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell violated the due process clause of the Fifth Amendment and freedom of speech under the First Amendment - granted the Log Cabin Republican’s request for a broad injunction against further discharges."
Read the Article
Read the Article
Via Dusty: Homophobia Literally Kills: Yankees Game
Homophobia Literally Kills: Yankees Game http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gpq4RKYd4wQ
www.youtube.com
Yankees fans routinely sing a version of "Y.M.C.A." to fans of opposing teams during their ballgames that demonizes gay people. As NAACP Chairman Julian Bond has said, "homophobia literally kills", and it is this kind of homophobia that leads to anti-gay bullying and harassment at our schools and L...
Via HimalayaCrafts:
Do not overrate what you have received, nor envy others. He who envies others does not obtain peace of mind.
Via HimalayaCrafts:
In a controversy the instant we feel anger we have already ceased striving for the truth, and have begun striving for ourselves.
Monday, October 11, 2010
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Via JMG: SERBIA: Riot Police Clash With Violent Anti-Gay Protesters At Belgrade Pride
Serbian riot battled hundreds of neo-Nazi anti-gay rioters at Belgrade Pride today, fighting back against hurled Molotov cocktails with stun grenades. Over 100 injuries were reported and almost 200 rioters were arrested. The president of Serbia denounced the attacks, saying, "Serbia will guarantee human rights for all its citizens, regardless of the differences among them, and no attempts to revoke these freedoms with violence will be allowed." Serbia's Minister of Justice said that those arrested face up to eight years in prison. Early reports don't indicate whether any of Belgrade Pride's attendees were injured. Last year's pride parade was canceled over the threat of violence.Thousands of police officers sealed off the streets in the capital where the march took place, repeatedly clashing at several locations with rioters who were trying to burst through security cordons. Several parked cars were set on fire or damaged, shop windows were broken, garbage containers were overturned and streets signs destroyed. Several shops were looted before police restored peace late afternoon. The anti-gay rioters also fired shots and threw Molotov cocktails at the headquarters of the ruling pro-Western Democratic Party, setting the garage of the building on fire. The state TV building and other political parties headquarters were also attacked, with many of the house windows shattered by stones. The protesters, chanting "death to homosexuals!" hurled bricks, stones, glass bottles and stun grenades at riot police. Police responded by firing tear gas and deploying armored vehicles to disperse the charging protesters in the heart of the capital even after the brief pride march ended.
Saturday, October 9, 2010
Quote of the day Via the Coffee Party Movement:
"Um sonho que você sonha sozinho é apenas um sonho. Um sonho que você sonha junto é realidade".
"A dream you dream alone is only a dream. A dream you dream together is reality."
-- John Winston Ono Lennon (October 9, 1940 – December 8, 1980)
Lennon would have been 70 today
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