Sunday, September 30, 2012

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma September 29, 2012

The Source Within Us

When we use our attention to touch and open the deeper truth in a person, we not only catalyze the experience of love, we become love. The source of love is revealed to be within us; we no longer have to go looking for it somewhere outside.
- Nicole Daedone, "Love Becomes Her"
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Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma September 30, 2012

The Fabric of the Self

When we turn our attention to our bodies, feelings, perceptions, impulses, and consciousness, we find that we are woven of the quixotic threads of ongoing stories. For only such a self can create and be created. A fixed, intractable one is as good as dead.
- Stephen Batchelor, "A Democracy of the Imagination"
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Friday, September 28, 2012

Via JMG: SF Plans "End Of Prop 8" Party


Facebook page.


Reposted from Joe

Via JMG: Central Park Gay Marriage Proposal


 
She rowed her girlfriend out from under the bridge as friends secretly gathered overhead for "Operation Rainbow Umbrella." The girlfriend said "Yes" as Central Park visitors applauded and took photos from from the shore. Many more photos here. (Tipped by JMG reader Acacius.)


Reposted from Joe

Tribute to Matthew Shepard, from SF Gay Men's Chorus


Via JMG: Homeland Security Issues Written Guidelines On Delaying LGBT Deportations


Immigration Equality is thrilled:
Immigration Equality today praised the Obama Administration, and specifically the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), for new, written guidance that will extend discretionary relief to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) immigrants with U.S. citizen spouses and partners. The new written directive, which was announced in response to a Congressional letter spearheaded by Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), marks one of the very first times LGBT families have been recognized within federal immigration policies. The guidelines, which are expected to be distributed soon to field offices across the country, will instruct officers and field agents to recognize LGBT families for purposes of relief as defined by a June 2011 memo from Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director John Morton.
Rep. Jerry Nadler reacts via press release:
“I am thrilled that the Obama Administration has taken to heart my concern about the need to explicitly protect LGBT immigrant families from being torn apart by needless and unwarranted immigration enforcement actions. I thank Secretary Napolitano for listening and supporting a policy that protects all American families, both straight and LGBT. With the written guidelines that I requested and which will be issued by ICE, federal immigration officials will finally have the clear direction they need to make responsible and compassionate decisions on family ties in immigration cases.”
UPDATE: The Washington Blade has posted Secretary Napolitano's letter to Nadler.


Reposted from Joe

Via Buddhism on Beliefnet:


Daily Buddhist Wisdom






The happiness we seek, a genuine lasting peace and happiness, can be attained only through the purification of our minds. This is possible if we cut the root cause of all suffering and miseryour fundamental ignorance.
- His Holiness the Dalai Lama, The World of Tibetan Buddhism

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma September 28, 2012

We’re in This Together

People need to see that if you hurt another person, you hurt yourself, and if you hurt yourself, you're hurting another person. And then to begin to see that we are not in this alone. We are in this together. For me, that's where the true morality comes from.
- Pema Chödrön, "No Right, No Wrong"
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Thursday, September 27, 2012

Via Buddhism on Beliefnet:

Daily Buddhist Wisdom






He who seeks happiness should withdraw the arrow; his own lamentations, longings and grief. With the arrow withdrawn, unattached, he would attain to peace of mind; and when all sorrow has been transcended he is sorrow-free and has realized Nibbana.
- Sutta Nipata

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Via Dharma Beginner shared Nalanda LGBT Buddhist Cultural and Resource Center / FB:


 
"The Buddha called suffering a holy truth, because our suffering has the capacity of showing us the path to liberation. Embrace your suffering and let it reveal to you the way to peace."- Thich Nhat Hanh

Via JMG: French President Calls On UN To Support Decriminalizing Homosexuality


 
"France will continue to engage in all these struggles: for the abolition of the death penalty, for women's rights to equality and dignity, for the universal decriminalization of homosexuality, which should not be recognised as a crime but, on the contrary, recognized as a [sexual] orientation. All members countries have the obligation to guarantee the security of their citizens, and if one nation adheres to this obligation, it is then imperative that we, the United Nations, facilitate the necessary means to make that guarantee. These are the issues that France will lead and defend in the United Nations. I say this with seriousness. When there is paralysis... and inaction, then injustice and intolerance can find their place." - French President Francois Hollande, speaking yesterday at the United Nations General Assembly.  (Text via Towleroad)
 
Reposted from Joe

Via Buddhism on Beliefnet:


Daily Buddhist Wisdom






Attentiveness is the path to true life; Indifference is the path to death. The attentive do not die; The indifferent are as if they are dead already.
- Dhammapada

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma September 26, 2012

The World as Self

The way we define and delimit the self is arbitrary. We can place it between our ears and have it looking out from our eyes, or we can widen it to include the air we breathe, or at other moments we can cast its boundaries farther to include the oxygen-giving trees and plankton, our external lungs, and beyond them the web of life in which they are sustained. 
- Joanna Macy, "Positive Disintegration"
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Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Via JMG: Pet Shop Boys To Perform Symphony Piece Inspired By Gay Genius Alan Turing


(Tipped by JMG reader Paul.)


Reposted from Joe

Via FB:


Via Buddhism on Beliefnet:

Daily Buddhist Wisdom






Do not underestimate your ability.
- Geshe Chekawa, "In Advice From a Spiritual Friend"



Today in buddhism




Quotes to Overcome Lifes Struggles
Powerful words to help people overcome hard times.
Click to view >>

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma September 25, 2012

Genuine Discernment

The fundamental aim of Buddhist practice is not belief; it’s enlightenment, the awakening that takes place when illusion has been overcome. It may sound simple, but it’s probably the most difficult thing of all to achieve. It isn’t some kind of magical reward that someone can give you or that a strong belief will enable you to acquire. The true path to awakening is genuine discernment; it’s the very opposite of belief. 
- Trinlay Tulku Rinpoche, “The Seeds of Life”
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Monday, September 24, 2012

JMG Quote Of The Day - A.A. Gill


"Viewed from the pews, weddings are theater produced by straight amateurs using their own money. The resulting spectacle is what a dog show would be like if it were organized by the dogs. When gays remake weddings, the lighting will be the first thing to improve. Secondly, no one’s going to think that a fatless steak fryer is a suitable pres­ent, and the flowers won’t look ordered for a clown’s funeral. The music will also be classier; you won’t have to walk down the aisle to Meatloaf singing, 'I would do anything for love / But I won’t do that.'

"The history of queer culture shows us that gay men are the trailblazers. Where they go, heterosexual women follow, dragging reluctant straight men behind them, who in turn bring Texans. That’s how civilization and musical theater evolve. Not to mention catering. The cake has got to go. The original wedding cake was a biscuit broken over the bride’s head to represent what was about to happen to her hymen. But that’s vulgar. Today the happy couple jointly hold a very phallic knife and together force it through the virginal white icing into the soft, moist sweetness, and in America, for those who are slow at symbolism, they then push cake into each other’s face as a sort of cakealingus." - A.A. Gill, in a Vanity Fair piece titled Can Weddings Be Saved?  (Tipped by JMG reader Amanda)
 
Reposted from Joe

JMG HomoQuotable - Andrew Sullivan


"If Obama wins, to put it bluntly, he will become the Democrats’ Reagan. The narrative writes itself. He will emerge as an iconic figure who struggled through a recession and a terrorized world, reshaping the economy within it, passing universal health care, strafing the ranks of al -Qaeda, presiding over a civil-rights revolution, and then enjoying the fruits of the recovery. To be sure, the Obama recovery isn’t likely to have the same oomph as the one associated with Reagan—who benefited from a once-in-a-century cut of top income tax rates (from 70 percent to, at first, 50 percent, and then to 28 percent) as well as a huge jump in defense spending at a time when the national debt was much, much less of a burden.

"But Obama’s potential for Reagan status (maybe minus the airport-naming) is real. Yes, Bill Clinton won two terms and is a brilliant pol bar none, as he showed in Charlotte in the best speech of both conventions. But the crisis Obama faced on his first day—like the one Reagan faced—was far deeper than anything Clinton confronted, and the future upside therefore is much greater. And unlike Clinton’s constant triangulating improvisation, Obama has been playing a long, strategic game from the very start—a long game that will only truly pay off if he gets eight full years to see it through. That game is not only changing America. It may also bring his opposition, the GOP, back to the center, just as Reagan indelibly moved the Democrats away from the far left." - Andrew Sullivan, in the cover story of the latest issue of Newsweek.


Reposted from Joe

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma September 24, 2012

Fruitful Failure

My failure to accomplish or attain any of what I had hoped I would when I set out on the Buddhist path is, I think, the thing that has most enriched my practice.
- Andrew Cooper, "My Bad"
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Saturday, September 22, 2012

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma September 22, 2012

Life is Dharma

Now we have the attitude of, 'Well, how does the dharma fit in with my life?' The dharma can't fit in with our life. The dharma is our life, and it's not about convenience.
- Natalie Goldberg, "Face-to-Face with Natalie Goldberg"
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Friday, September 21, 2012

Via JMG: Schlafly: Feminism Hurts The Olympics


"Feminist-imposed gender quotas hurt us at the Olympics in events which our Nation once dominated. The systematic elimination of certain men’s sports from colleges has weakened our competitiveness. We won only four medals in all of men’s wrestling, less than half the total won by Iran, and only a fraction of the medals won by Russia in this masculine sport. Wrestling is an immensely popular and valuable sport; it’s inexpensive and safer than other sports. Wrestling develops discipline in boys. Many high-achievers, such as Donald Rumsfeld and pro-life attorney Phill Kline, developed their toughness as wrestlers.  [snip]

"Other men’s sports have also been hurt by this feminist quota, such as swimming and track. Private swimming clubs and a few aging stars like Michael Phelps filled that gap this time, but we nearly struck out in men’s track in the marquee events of 100, 200, 400 and 800 meters, events the Americans historically dominated. While our Nation won the most medals for the fifth consecutive Summer Olympics, many of our medals were in contests of dubious value like beach volleyball. Title IX quotas have hurt our competitiveness in sports that are most helpful to the development of our young men." - Phyllis Schlafly, quoted on Right Wing Watch.


Reposted from Joe

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma September 21, 2012

The True Nature of Suffering

Shakyamuni Buddha taught that all suffering can be overcome by understanding its true nature. This is a profound and subtle process. It can take a while.
- Patricia Anderson, "Good Death"
Read the entire article in the Tricycle Wisdom Collection through September 23rd, 2012
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Via Buddhism on Beliefnet:

Daily Buddhist Wisdom






A blessing: the arising of Awakened Ones. A blessing: the teaching of true Dhamma. A blessing: the concord of the Sangha. The austerity of those in concord is a blessing.
- Dhammapada, 14, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Via Moveon.org:


Via AmericaBlog Gay:

A ghetto kid, doing what Romney did, would have been booked with assault

An excellent point, by Roger Simon, about Romney's hazing/assault of a gay kid in his youth.And there is another thing that troubles me even though some dismiss it as trivial. I am still bothered by Romney attacking that gay kid and cutting off his hair with a pair of scissors when they were in...
 

Via Gay Marriage Oregon via QMO Magazine's FB photo.


Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma September 20, 2012

Overcoming Harmful Habits

When you admit to yourself, 'I must make this change to be more happy'—not because the Buddha said so, but because your heart recognized a deep truth—you must devote all your energy to making the change. You need strong determination to overcome harmful habits.
- Bhante Henepola Gunaratana, "Getting Started"
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Via JMG: Ginsburg: SCOTUS Will Hear DOMA


Yesterday Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg told a group of Colorado students that DOMA will likely be considered by the Court in the next term.
Ginsburg spoke at the University of Colorado in Boulder. She was asked a student-submitted question about the equal-protection clause and whether the nation’s high court would consider it applying to sexual orientation. Ginsburg said with a smile that she couldn’t answer the question. She said she could not talk about matters that would come to the court, and that the Defense of Marriage Act would probably be up soon. “I think it’s most likely that we will have that issue before the court toward the end of the current term,” she said.
So there it is. And no mention of Prop 8.


Reposted from Joe

Via JMG: Anniversary



Reposted from Joe

Via JMG: Obama On DADT Anniversary


Via press release from the White House:
A year ago today, we upheld the fundamental American values of fairness and equality by finally and formally repealing "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." Gay and lesbian Americans now no longer need to hide who they love in order to serve the country they love. It is a testament to the professionalism of our men and women in uniform that this change was implemented in an orderly manner, preserving unit cohesion, recruitment, retention and military effectiveness. As Commander in Chief, I've seen that our national security has been strengthened because we are no longer denied the skills and talents of those patriotic Americans who happen to be gay or lesbian. The ability of service members to be open and honest about their families and the people they love honors the integrity of the individuals who serve, strengthens the institutions they serve, and is one of the many reasons why our military remains the finest in the world.

Reposted from Joe

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma September 19, 2012

Sharing Happiness

Whatever realization may come by way of silence, our happiness is never won that way. Happiness is not happiness unless it is shared. For happiness is the one thing in all the world that comes to us only at the moment we give it, and is likewise increased by being given away.
- Clark Strand, "The Wisdom of Frogs"
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Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Via The Christian Left / FB:


Via JMG: TORONTO: Blue Jays Order Three Day Suspension For "Maricon" Player


GLAAD reports:
Today, the Toronto Blue Jays announced that shortstop Yunel Escobar will work with GLAAD and the You Can Play project, after he was seen with an anti-gay slur written in Spanish on his eye-black over the weekend. The team also announced that Escobar will serve a three-day suspension. GLAAD has been in conversations throughout the day with the team and with Major League Baseball (MLB) about the incident. In announcing Escobar's suspension and intent to work with GLAAD and You Can Play, the team today stated "The Blue Jays want to reaffirm that discrimination of any kind will not be tolerated. The club looks forward to supporting the efforts of You Can Play and GLAAD to help promote education for players and fans alike and to help keep language like this out of the game and society."
RELATED: The Toronto Blue Jays are owned by Rogers Communication, the same company that last year fired Sportsnet host Damian Goddard, who then told the world that he was let go because of "a single tweet supporting one-man one-woman marriage." Rogers dismissed that claim as ridiculous, but has refused to discuss the real reason for the firing because "we do not discuss personnel issues with the press." Goddard, who is Catholic, has since become a martyr to and spokesman for Vatican front group NOM and has a case pending before the Canadian Human Rights Commission. He just posted the below tweet. UPDATE: Escobar may have been forcing into working with GLAAD, but he's clearly not quite apologizing. My pal Andres Duque just translated a press conference response. 

Reposted from Joe

Sandra Bernhard and John Waters On TheFour.Com & Marriage Equality


Clint Eastwood on Criticism, Gay Marriage and his Daughter's Boyfriend


Via JMG: Tony Perkins: Compulsive Liar


"A gay-rights activist entered the building of our organization, Family Research Council, where he told our operations manager that he objected to our politics and opened fire with a handgun. Our political beliefs reflect our Christian faith.This comes in the context of the Southern Poverty Law Center designating FRC a 'certified hate group' because of our biblically-based beliefs regarding marriage and human sexuality. We encourage love and respect for all people including those seeking to redefine marriage, and we have made clear we abhor and reject all violence directed against anyone for their sexual behavior. This war of words launched by the SPLC as cover for its allied organizations on the left has led to an open assault upon those with whom they disagree. This type of demonizing must stop." - Tony Perkins, writing for Fox News.

NOTE: As the SPLC has pointed out countless times, "biblically-based beliefs" are NOT among the criteria for being named a hate group. If that were true, there would be thousands of so-named groups, not the mere three dozen that currently hold that distinct dishonor. But don't expect Fox News or the mainstream media to call Tony Perkins a liar to his face.


Reposted from Joe

Via Buddhism on Beliefnet:


Daily Buddhist Wisdom






Whatever happiness is in the world has arisen from a wish for the welfare of others; whatever misery there is has arisen from indulging selfishness.
- Buddhist proverb

Via Occupy Borders (Bi National couples unite / FB::


Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma September 18, 2012

When Pain Happens to Us

We suffer because we marry our instinctive aversion to pain to the deep-seated belief that life should be free from pain. In resisting our pain by holding this belief, we strengthen just what we're trying to avoid. When we make pain the enemy, we solidify it. This resistance is where our suffering begins.
- Ezra Bayda, "When It Happens to Us"
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Monday, September 17, 2012

Via JMG: Toronto Blue Jay: Tu Ere Maricón


Toronto Blue Jays shortstop Yunel Escobar took the field on Saturday with "You are a faggot" written in Spanish in his eye black.
Several messages seeking comment from Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos were not immediately returned. The Jays are expected to hold a news conference Tuesday afternoon in New York, before their game against the Yankees. Escobar, 29, was originally in Sunday’s starting lineup, but was scratched before game-time. A club spokesman said he had the flu. The photo generated a flurry of responses on Twitter, mostly critical of Escobar, some urging that he be suspended for the rest of the season, some urging fans to reserve judgment until “context” became available. Others speculated that he had been pulled from Sunday’s lineup as a disciplinary measure.
Escobar was drafted into the Major League by Atlanta in 2005 and was traded to Toronto in 2010. Last year he signed a two-year contract extension worth $10M. Last year a Change.org petition was launched asking the Blue Jays to join the eight other MLB teams to make an It Gets Better video, but that has not yet happened.

Reposted from Joe

Via Paulo Coelho / FB:

Feche algumas portas. Não por orgulho, incapacidade ou arrogância - mas simplesmente porque já não levam a lugar nenhum

Via JMG: Romney Campaign Turns Right


Romney campaign advisers are telling Buzzfeed that their new strategy is to focus less on the economy and more on social issues.
This shifting campaign calculus has produced a split in Romney's message. His talk show interviews and big ad buys continue to offer a straightforward economic focus aimed at traditional undecided voters. But out stumping day to day is a candidate who wants to talk about patriotism and God, and who is increasingly looking to connect with the right's intense, personal dislike for President Barack Obama. Three Romney advisers told BuzzFeed the campaign's top priority now is to rally conservative Republicans, in hopes that they'll show up on Election Day, and drag their less politically-engaged friends with them.

The earliest, ambiguous signal of this turn toward the party's right was the selection of Rep. Paul Ryan as Romney's running mate, a top Romney aide said. "This is going to be a base election, and we need them to come out to vote," the aide said, explaining the pick. Another adviser, who also discussed strategy on the condition of anonymity, described the campaign's key targets as Republican activists: "The people who are going to talk to their neighbors, drive them to the polls on Election Day, and hold their hands on the way in to vote." 


posted by Joe

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma September 17, 2012

Living Beyond Words

Zen practice is always about returning to that place where there are no words. Early on, I realized that to use words, you have to live life beyond words, before words, without words. Only then do you have the right to speak.
- Seido Ray Ronci, "No Words"
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Sunday, September 16, 2012

Via Nalanda LGBT Buddhist Cultural and Resource Center / FB:

 

"Famine occurs as a result of greed, pestilence as a result of foolishness, and warfare as a result of anger." -The Buddha

Via JMG: FRC's Prayer Of The Day


As the FRC's hate fest continues in Washington DC, they've posted the below prayer request for God to stop LGBT rights in America.
The dedicated Christian staff at FRC does not hate homosexuals. Indeed, by publishing Biblical and scientific truth, our aim is redemptive. We pray for those caught in this destructive lifestyle for their liberty. We labor to advance public policy that strengthens faith, family and freedom, and physical, moral and spiritual safety for our children.

Please pray that God will give FRC and our friends courage ceaselessly to proclaim truth as it pertains to marriage and human sexuality. May God grant us favor in fashioning public policy that fosters marriage and human sexuality that reflects God's wisdom and righteousness! (Dt 17:18; Ps 5:11; Is 10:1; Mt 19:3 ff; Eph 5:22-33; Titus 1:8 ff; Heb 13:4; Jude 7)
(Via Good As You)


Reposted from Joe

Maddow On Gay Obama Claims

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

JMG Photo Of The Day:


Matt Stopera has the caption: "Ricky Watson of Littleton, Colorado wipes tears from his eyes after he thanked U.S. President Barack Obama for repealing 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' at a campaign rally in Golden, Colorado. Watson was kicked out of the Air Force 25 years ago for being gay."


Reposted from Joe

Via JMG: SF's Gold's Gyms Keep Their Word


From an October 2010 JMG post:
San Francisco's four Gold's Gyms announced on Facebook today that they will be ending their franchise agreement with the company in response to the news that CEO Robert Rowling had donated millions to Karl Rove's anti-gay American Crossroads PAC. The locally-owned Gold's still have almost two years on their contract, but have vowed to "match every dollar" in their remaining franchise fees with "equal or greater" donations to LGBT causes.
As you can see by the above photo, those four gyms have kept their word. As I wrote two years ago: "THAT, my buff kittens, is how you run a business." (Tipped by JMG reader Aaron)
 
Reposted from Joe