Tuesday, May 19, 2015

Tracy Chapman: "Stand By Me" - David Letterman


Via JMG: US Rep. Ted Lieu To Introduce Bill To Ban "Ex-Gay" Torture As Fraudulent Practice


Chris Geidner reports at Buzzfeed:
On Tuesday morning, Democratic Rep. Ted Lieu of California will introduce a federal bill to ban commercial efforts to change people’s sexual orientation or gender identity — often called conversion therapy. “The public views conversion therapy as quackery, as something that harms people,” Lieu told BuzzFeed News on Monday afternoon, just after landing back in D.C. from California. “Eventually, I believe Congress will catch up to that, but you do need to start somewhere, so that’s why we’re introducing this legislation.” He faces an uphill battle: The legislation, which would label conversion therapy an “unfair or deceptive act or practice” that would be illegal under the Federal Trade Commission Act, is being introduced with less than three dozen co-sponsors — all of whom are Democrats. Lieu does, however, have a powerful ally in his effort. Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi has signed on as an original co-sponsor of the bill.
While a state Senator in California, Lieu was behind his state's successful ban on the "ex-gay" torture of those under age 18. His federal bill, however, would not limit the ban to minors. Lieu tells Buzzfeed, "Fraud is fraud, whether you practice it on a 16-year-old or a 45-year-old." The SPLC is currently suing an "ex-gay" group in New Jersey on the same grounds.
 
Reposted from Joe Jervis   46 Comments

Be My Yes #2


Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do Dia- Flor del Día- Flower of the day 19/05/2015

“Ninguém quer estar no inferno sozinho. A pessoa que está perdida sempre quer levar com ela alguém que já se encontrou e que está bem. Se você está em busca de um caminho, tudo bem, esse é o seu momento. O problema é você convidar o outro pra ir com você. Assim você gera um karma para si e para o outro. Então, antes de fazer o convite, veja se você sabe mesmo para onde está indo. E se você é quem recebe o convite e dá ouvidos a ele, talvez você ainda esteja precisando sofrer mais um pouco. Sofrimento se alimenta de sofrimento. Essa é uma estratégia da natureza inferior para continuar existindo.”
Para ler o satsango completo, acesse: http://bit.ly/1QYPXF2


“Nadie quiere estar en el infierno solo. La persona que está perdida siempre quiere llevarse con ella a alguien que ya se encontró y que está bien. Si estás en búsqueda de un camino, todo bien, este es tu momento. El problema es que invites al otro a ir contigo. Así generas un karma para ti y para el otro. Entonces, antes de hacer la invitación, fíjate si realmente sabes a dónde estás yendo. Y si eres tú quien recibe la invitación y le das oídos a ella, tal vez todavía estés necesitando sufrir un poco más. El Sufrimiento se alimenta del sufrimiento. Esta es una estrategia de la naturaleza inferior para continuar existiendo.”

“No-one wants to be in hell alone. A person who is lost always wants to take someone down with them who has already found him or herself and is doing well. If one is searching for a path, that’s fine. This is one’s time to do so. The problem arises when we invite someone else to come along with us, because then we generate karma for ourselves and for the other. So, before we issue an invitation, we must think about whether we actually know where we are going. If we are the ones receiving an invitation and we give it our attention, perhaps we still need to suffer a little more. Suffering feeds off of suffering. This is one strategy the lower self uses to continue existing.”

Today's Daily Dharma: "Get-What-You-Want" Buddhism



Tuesday, May 19, 2015
Daily inspiration and practical advice
 
"Get-What-You-Want" Buddhism
Some of us already have the material basics; some of us do not. All of us want a respite from suffering. And the thirst for nirvana is no less a desire than is the hope for a better job or the wish that one's grandchildren will carry on the family's Buddhist traditions. We all practice get-what-you-want Buddhism; we just want different things.

- Jan Nattier, "Visible & Invisible"

Monday, May 18, 2015

Texas vs. Supreme Court: May 18 MNW


Via JMG: RBG Emphasizes The Word "Constitution" As She Officiates Third Gay Wedding



 
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg coyly poked the haters this weekend as she officiated her third same-sex wedding. Via the New York Times:
Wearing her black robe with her signature white lace collar, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg presided over the marriage on Sunday afternoon of Michael Kahn, the longtime artistic director of the Shakespeare Theater Company in Washington, and Charles Mitchem, who works at an architecture firm in New York.

The gilded setting was elegant: Anderson House in the Embassy Row neighborhood, the headquarters in Washington of the Society of the Cincinnati, a club for the descendants of the French and American soldiers who fought in the Revolutionary War. During the ceremony, the couple slipped black and gold Harry Winston rings onto each other’s fingers.

But the most glittering moment for the crowd came during the ceremony. With a sly look and special emphasis on the word “Constitution,” Justice Ginsburg said that she was pronouncing the two men married by the powers vested in her by the Constitution of the United States. No one was sure if she was emphasizing her own beliefs or giving a hint to the outcome of the case the Supreme Court is considering whether to decide if same-sex marriage is constitutional. But the guests began applauding loudly, delighted either way.
I guess it's too late for the wingnuts to demand that she double-extra recuse. (Tipped by JMG reader Ed)


Reposted from Joe Jervis

Our 'Yes Equality' Video - Ireland 2015


Mom Hilariously Reenacts How Her Child Came Out Of The Closet


Via FB:


Henry Rollins on Gay Marriage


Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do Dia- Flor del Día- Flower of the day 18/05/2015

“O vitimismo é extremamente pernicioso. A pessoa que atua nessa máscara acredita ser muito pura. Ela não entende porque Deus é tão maldoso com ela. A vítima tenta dominar o outro através da ideia de que ela não dá conta da vida, de que é impotente e frágil. Mas, o que ela quer é manipular o outro: “Ou você faz do meu jeito ou eu me mato, tomo veneno, pulo a janela”. E às vezes ela até faz isso mesmo. Mas, entenda que essa é uma estratégia, uma forma de manipulação. A vítima se arrasta no chão, arranca os cabelos, mas esse teatro é com a intenção de dominar o outro.”
Para ler o Satsang completo, acesse: bit.ly/1Ec4xQh


“El victimismo es extremadamente pernicioso. La persona que actúa en esta máscara cree que es muy pura. No entiende por qué Dios es tan malo con ella. La víctima intenta dominar al otro a través de la idea de que ella no da abasto con la vida, de que es impotente y frágil. Pero lo que ella quiere es manipular al otro: "O lo haces a mi manera o me mato, tomo veneno, salto por la ventana." Y a veces incluso hasta lo hace. Pero entienda que ésta es una estrategia, una forma de manipulación. La víctima se arrastra en el piso, se arranca los pelos, pero este teatro es con la intención de dominar al otro”.

“Victimhood is extremely harmful. A person who wears this mask believes that they are pure, and they do not understand why ‘God’ is treating them so badly. The victim attempts to dominate others with the idea that they cannot cope with life, that they are powerless and weak. What they really want is to manipulate the other person. Basically they’re saying, ‘Do things my way, or I’ll kill myself! I’ll drink poison or jump out the window, and then you’ll see.’ Some people actually do it! Others just thrash about on the floor and tear out their hair, putting on the most manipulative dramas so as to finally have power over the other person.”

Via Daily Dharma


Positive Habit | May 18, 2015


Since all habit belongs to either the deluded panic of samsara or the noble path of enlightenment, it is best to develop the positive habit of the path of enlightenment that always creates the positive energy of love and faith, until we attain the selfless appearance of the buddhas.

- Thinley Norbu Rinpoche, "Continuous Mind"

Sunday, May 17, 2015

Via Jean Wyllys / FB:


Via JMG: CHILE: 50K March For Marriage Equality


An estimated crowd of more than 50,000 turned out yesterday in Santiago for a march in support of marriage equality in Chile. 
The march, organised by by the Movement of Integration and Sexual Liberation (MOVILH) and the Movement for Sexual Diversity (Mums), ended at the presidential palace of La Moneda, with speeches from various activists and political leaders. ​The demonstrators urged the government to implement the Gender Identity Bill, currently being debated in the Senate. They also recalled the murders of five people in 2014 because of their sexual orientation with a short ceremony during the march. Chilean President Michelle Bachelet signed a bill into law recognising civil unions between same-sex couples on 13 April, while another piece of legislation on gay marriage. The LGBT movement in Chile has made great advances in recent years, they now are protected by anti-discrimination laws covering employment, gay people also can serve openly in the Army, gay men are allowed to donate blood and lesbian couples can have access to in-vitro fertilisation treatments.
RELATED: Last month MOVILH was sued by Opus Dei over their ownership of the URL OpusGay.cl.


Reposted from Joe Jervis

Via JMG and WGB: President Obama Issues Message On International Day Against Homophobia & Transphobia


"Michelle and I join our fellow Americans and others around the world in commemorating the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia. We take this opportunity to reaffirm that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights are human rights, to celebrate the dignity of every person, and to underscore that all people deserve to live free from fear, violence, and discrimination, regardless of who they are or whom they love.

"We work toward this goal every day. Here at home, we are working to end bias-motivated violence, combat discrimination in the workplace, and address the specific needs of transgender persons. Overseas, I am proud of the steps that the United States has taken to prioritize the protection and promotion of LGBT rights in our diplomacy and global outreach.

"There is much more to do, and this fight for equality will not be won in a day. But we will keep working, at home and abroad, and we will keep fighting, for however long it takes until we are all able to live free and equal in dignity and rights." - President Barack Obama (via Joe My God)

Via Healing Light / FB:


Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do Dia- Flor del Día- Flower of the day 17/05/2015

“Não é tão simples ser honesto. Para isso é preciso superar a vergonha e o medo. Vergonha de ser você mesmo, de ser espontâneo, de mostrar suas misérias e também sua luz para o outro. Você tem medo de ser rejeitado, medo de não ser aceito e amado, e com isso está sempre escondendo alguma coisa. Você se torna um prisioneiro da mentira e até passa a acreditar nela. Muitas vezes você sente raiva do outro por estar preso, mas é você que está se colocando nesse lugar, justamente pela carência e pelo medo de ser rejeitado.”
Acesse o Satsang completo: http://bit.ly/1Ec4xQh

“No es tan simple ser honesto. Para eso es necesario superar la vergüenza y el miedo. Vergüenza de ser ti mismo, de ser espontáneo, de mostrar tus miserias y también tu luz al otro. Tienes miedo de ser rechazado, miedo a no ser aceptado y amado, y con eso siempre estás escondiendo algo. Te conviertes en un prisionero de la mentira e incluso llegas a creer en ella. Muchas veces sientes rabia del otro por estar preso, pero eres tú quien se está colocando en ese lugar, justamente por la carencia y por el miedo de ser rechazado.”

“Being honest is not that simple: it means overcoming our shame and fear. We are ashamed to be ourselves, to be spontaneous, and to reveal to others our miseries as well as our light. We are afraid of being rejected and of not being accepted and loved, so we are always hiding something from others. We become a prisoner of this deceit, and we even start to believe in it ourselves. We often feel angry at others because of our imprisonment, but we are the ones who put ourselves in this place, precisely due to our neediness and fear of rejection.”

Via Daily Dharma


The Way | May 17, 2015


When the way ahead is open and clear and one has the goodwill, light-heartedness, and courage to tread it, the past and the future melt into nothingness, life is lived from the center of one’s being, and the self becomes as meaningful as the blue sky, the green fields, the flowing rivers, the littered streets, the hustling crowds, the filth and the beauty.

- Diana St. Roth, "The Way"