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.
Westboro Baptist Church has announced on their website (NFSW) that they will be picketing the graduation ceremony of Constance McMillen's high school in Mississippi.
WBC will picket the graduation of Itawamba Agricultural High School to remind the parents, teachers and students of this nation that God said "Thou shall not lie with mankind, as with womankind, it is abomination." Leviticus 18:22. This generation has been raised to believe that they can live for the devil and still go to heaven, that God has no standards and the biggest lie of all - that God loves everyone. The parents of Fulton, MS feign outrage that a filthy dyke wants to parade her "girlfriend" around at their night of fornication called a prom. They had a duty to teach their children what the Lord requires of them. They shirked this duty. The Lord repays them to their face by sending dykes, burning in their lusts, to tyrannize them. "For this cause God gave them up to vile affections: for even their women did change their natural use which is is against nature." Romans 1:26
While we've seen many moving examples of young people protesting the presence of Westboro, it will be very interesting to see how the people of Constance's hometown react to this. Encouragingly, a Facebook group against the picket has already appeared.
Rosie O'Donnell hosted Mike Huckabee on her SiriusXM show yesterday to grill him about his recent outrageous "children are not puppies" statement of opposition to gay adoption. Wonk Roomhas the transcript. Good stuff, listen to this.
Steve Marshall › Daniel Orey: A FaceBook friend of mine, Daniel Orey, got married a few years ago. He ran into some problems because a state-sanctioned, committed, same-sex marriage is not an acceptable lifestyle for Baha’is, according to his NSA...
Today's Caption This photo is extra special. Taken during the National Equality March, it shows Operation Rescue founder Randall Terry very excited to be arguing with an elderly gay guy.
Three high school girls in Kentucky have been charged with kidnapping and attempting to murder an openly lesbian classmate by pushing her off of a cliff. The attack took place on the Day Of Silence, which some students at the school observed as the anti-gay Day Of Truth, as instructed by Christian hate groups.
Cheyenne Williams, 18, of McKee, signed a sworn criminal complaint Monday, saying she was abducted on Friday by Corinne M. Schwab, 18, of Sandgap; Ashley N. Sams, 18, of Annville; and a 17-year-old girl who was not identified because she is a juvenile. Williams told police she was attacked as a result of her sexual orientation, state police Detective Joie Peters said. The criminal complaint says the girls unlawfully restrained and tried to cause Williams' death. The intent was to "accomplish or advance the commission of a felony and to inflict bodily injury or to terrorize" Williams. The complaint, which was signed by George Hays, the Jackson County attorney, does not provide any other details. Hays declined to comment. State police issued a news release Tuesday that says Williams was "taken against her will to the Flat Lick Falls area" where she was assaulted and that the other three girls "attempted to push her over a cliff, which could have resulted in serious physical injury or death." Williams was able to escape and get to safety, the report says.
Police say they don't yet have proof that that attack was motivated by the victim's sexual orientation.
State police Detective Joie Peters, who is investigating, said it appears the incident began as a practical joke but got out of hand, escalating to the point that Williams sustained minor injuries. Peters said he was not minimizing the incident but has not uncovered evidence it constituted a hate crime. Peters said he would present evidence to a grand jury for a decision on what charge correctly fits the facts of the case. The grand jury could indict the girls on the same charges, a lesser charge such as assault or decline to indict them.
The victim's mother says that the attack was spurred by student dissent to the national Day Of Silence. Christian groups across the country had encouraged students to actively oppose the Day Of Silence in their schools.
Johnson said she has no clue why the other girls would try to hurt her daughter. As for the timing, however, she noted that the alleged attack happened Friday, the day of a national observance for people who have faced bullying or harassment because of their sexual orientation. The attack stemmed from that, Johnson said. Crawford said he understood some students were wearing tags or stickers in support of the observance, while others were wearing stickers in opposition that said something like "Gay is not the way." Superintendent Ralph Hoskins directed that students in both groups not to display the stickers because he didn't want the situation to escalate, Crawford said.
50 years ago the Democratic Party was saddled with a bigoted Southern Governor, George Wallace of Alabama. Wallace was famous for his fervent opposition to desegregation. He even ran for president four times on a racist platform.
George Wallace repeatedly lashed out at black Americans, and at his first inauguration said, "Segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever. He believed that blacks were not equal.
Now the Republican Party has its own 21st Century George Wallace, another Southern Governor who has also run for president, Mike Huckabee of Arkansas.
During a recent interview with the College of New Jersey's the Perspective, Governor Huckabee, you compared the relationships of gay Americans to that of drug use, incest and polygamy.
As if that comment was not enough, you went on to ridicule gay parents and gay foster parents with a snide and nasty comment, "Children are not puppies. This is not a time to see if we can experiment and find out, how does this work?"
You have caused tremendous pain by your widely covered comments, even to people whom you know well, like former Vice President Dick Cheney. His younger daughter, Mary and her partner Heather Poe have a three year old son and another baby on the way. Are you referring to Dick Cheney's grandchildren as "puppies?
Governor Huckabee, you represent the absolute wrong direction for the Republican Party.
Take a look at what real Republican leaders have had to say about gay and lesbian civil rights.
President Ronald Reagan At the end of a meeting with gay and lesbian leaders in his Los Angeles office, Reagan smiled and said, "Don't think we can allow something like that to happen here in California." He was denouncing the Briggs Initiative, Proposition 6, which he opposed and would have permitted the firing of gay teachers in California.
President Gerald Ford told Detroit News columnist Deb Price in a telephone interview "I think they (same-sex couples) should be treated equally. Period," he said. "...I have a longstanding record in favor of legislation to do away with discrimination."
Senator Barry Goldwater said, "To see the party that fought communism and big government now fighting the gays, well, that's just plain dumb."
Governor Huckabee, you set a prisoner free, who later murdered 4 police officers in cold blood
When you were Governor of Arkansas, you commuted the sentence of Maurice Clemmons after only 11 years of his 108 year prison sentence.
After Clemmons was paroled in 2000, he was in and out of jail for the next nine years. During that period he beat up two police officers, molested two very young girls, and raped another. On November 29, 2009 he brutally gunned down four police officers, execution style, in Lakewood, Washington while they were having breakfast.
I have known far too many victims of violent crime, whose loved ones were murdered -- their lives destroyed forever.
Remember Willie Horton?
Former Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis allowed convicted murderer Willie Horton a weekend furlough from prison. Horton was supposed to serve life in prison without the possibility of parole for the murder of 17-year-old Joey Fournier.
Instead, Horton escaped during his furlough and remained a fugitive for almost a year. On April 3, 1987, Horton terrorized a Maryland couple in their home. He twice raped Angie Miller, after pistol-whipping, knifing, binding, and gagging her fiancé, Cliff Barnes. This went on for hours, until Barnes managed to escape and call police.
I know this tragedy too well. I ran the Committee for the Presidency 22 years ago that let the world know how a Governor's actions forever destroyed another family. I worked with Cliff and Angie (Miller) Barnes (they later married) and Donna Fournier Cuomo (Joey's sister), the crime victims of Willie Horton. I helped them tell their stories.
Governor Huckabee, I would hope that you would treat all Americans as equal. Follow the lead of President's Ronald Reagan, Gerald Ford and Senator Barry Goldwater, and not emulate Governor's Wallace and Dukakis.
You owe the millions of gay and lesbian families in this country an apology.
Insiders are reporting that People Magazine is about to feature the coming out of a "Hollywood celebrity."
People Magazine allegedly has the exclusive and the celeb is booked on several major talk shows that week including "The View." PR powerhouse Howard Bragman, who has successfully -- some might add brilliantly -- orchestrated several celeb outings in the past decade talked about his next coming out project at the GLAAD Media Awards red carpet Sunday (Apr. 17). Bragman -- the coming out king of Hollywood -- doesn't want to speculate on who it will be (that would kind of ruin his well-planned surprise, wouldn't it) but In the past he's helped NFL defensive lineman Esera Tuaolo, LPGA star Rosie Jones, WNBA star Sheryl Swoops and retired NBA center John Amaechi come out. He also orchestrated the plans for former "Party of Five" Mitchell Anderson, "Married with Children" co-star Amanda Bearse and aided Dick Sargent of "Bewitched" fame to come out on Entertainment Tonight.
My vote is on Queen Latifah. Of course, Johnny Weir (who isn't "Hollywood" but has a TV show) is repped by Bragman and he does have a book coming.
While Democrats have freaked out about Jerry Brown’s chances against Meg Whitman, there hasn’t been such concern about Senator Barbara Boxer’s re-election. And while she should prevail in November, who wins the GOP primary in June could make a difference. Perception in politics can become reality – and if Tom Campbell wins the nomination, there will be “news analysis” in papers across the state that Republicans “learned their lesson” by picking a “moderate.” Some will remind readers that what “saved” Boxer in 1992 was Campbell losing the GOP primary, so she faced a right-wing conservative in November. Campbell’s “maverick” stance on gay marriage, Israel and marijuana (the latter will be on the November ballot) may confuse voters into thinking he is to the left of Boxer. But on the vast majority of issues, Campbell is as conservative as the Party of No in Washington – progressives cannot let the media define the race in terms favorable to him. [more]->
Connie Schultz, Truthout: "Only four days after Peter Taylor moved in with the man he loved, he was racing him to the closest emergency room. The following morning, his partner lay in a hospital bed and delivered the jarring news."
The Supreme Court has overturned a 13-year ban on "crush videos" saying the ban violated freedom of speech. Never heard of crush videos? Me neither. It turns out some heterosexual men are thrilled by the sight of women crushing small animals to death with their stiletto heels or bare feet. And they'll pay to see it.
Chief Justice John J. Roberts Jr., writing for an eight-member majority, said the law was overly broad and not allowed by the First Amendment. He rejected the government's argument that whether certain categories of speech deserve constitutional protection depends on balancing the value of the speech against its societal costs. "The First Amendment's guarantee of free speech does not extend only to categories of speech that survive an ad hoc balancing of relative social costs and benefits," Roberts wrote. "The First Amendment itself reflects a judgment by the American people that the benefits of its restrictions on the Government outweigh the costs. Our Constitution forecloses any attempt to revise that judgment simply on the basis that some speech is not worth it." [snip] Animal rights groups and 26 states had joined the Obama administration in support of the 1999 law. They argued that videos showing animal cruelty should be treated like child pornography rather than granted constitutional protection. But Roberts said the federal law was so broadly written that it could include all depictions of killing animals, even hunting videos. He said the court was not passing judgment about whether "a statute limited to crush videos or other depictions of extreme animal cruelty would be constitutional."
I've seen a few things in porn that I totally wish I could scrub from my brain. But this? I'd have to self-lobotomize.
Dan Savage excerpts the complaint against the repulsive Sonoma County hospital administrators who committed that horrible injustice to gay seniors Harold Scull and Clay Greene. Catch the last line. Above is a screencap I've done of the litany of charges.
On or about June 28 and continuing through August 2008, Defendants ACV, DILLINGHAM, COUNTY, LIEDHOLM, STAGG-HOURIGAN, BREWSTER, and others and each of them, did not allow Plaintiff GREENE access to [Harold Scull], his partner of 25 years, who was terminally ill. On or about June 28 and continuing through August 2008, Defendants ACV, DILLINGHAM, COUNTY, LIEDHOLM, STAGG-HOURIGAN, BREWSTER, and others and each of them, falsely imprisoned Plaintiff GREENE, keeping him behind a locked gate at Defendant ACV's premises and restricting and limiting his movements and communications with his friends, family, and the general public.... Plaintiff was put in fear of physical harm, was and felt intimidated and attacked, and remains fearful that he will be chased down and locked up again. On or about August, 2008, Defendants MICHAEL BREWSTER and KAREN STAGG-HOURIGAN, as employees of the COUNTY acting in their official capacities... did disparage and demean Plaintiff GREENE in his presence and in the presence of others, making and/or ratifying derogatory references to Plaintiff GREENE's sexual orientation and age, stating "you know how those 'gay boys' are"... After [Harold Scull's] death, Defendants BREWSTER and STAGG-HOURIGAN further expressed displeasure at dealing with expressions of grief by a gay man who had lost his long-time partner.
The full complaint is here. (PDF) Meanwhile JMG reader Rick, suspecting that this abuse was the work of evangelicals, uncovered this little biography of the wife of defendant Michael Brewster.
Leilani Brewster grew up in San Jose, CA and graduated from San Jose State University with a degree in Business Administration. She is happily married to Michael Brewster, a Deputy Conservator for Sonoma County. Leilani has held a variety of jobs, one of which was volunteering at San Jose Juvenile Hall as Assistant Chaplain. Her aim was to enhance the lives of the young people she counseled. She did this for 10 years. Leilani’s motto for her life: “As a Christian, I take seriously the commandment to love God and to love my neighbor as myself.” This belief motivates her to help and encourage people. When she lived in San Jose, she distributed the neighborhood newsletter. This allowed her to get to know her neighbors and as the years went by, watched all of the neighborhood children grow up. Her interests now include membership in an ecumenical Bible Study group numbering 300 women. She enjoys meeting women of different faiths and viewpoints.
An article by Stewart J. Lawrence of the UK’s the Guardian, reveals nothing new nor any surprises about the future of the Uniting American families Act and its relationship to US Immigration reform. Yet it takes a foreign outlet to show us that UAFA and Immigration Reform do not go well together.
“Just when you thought immigration reform’s prospects couldn’t get any worse, a new “hitch” in the policy debate has emerged. It’s threatening to widen into a public chasm, pitting elements of the pro-reform coalition against one another while giving anti-reform forces a potent new weapon.” Says Stewart J. Lawrence in an Article for the UK Guardian today. Not many mainstream or Blogs or articles have been written that pronounces upon the path to UAFA in this fashion. However, for me and tens of thousands of same-sex couples, l the hitch has been here for quite a while. Except we look at it the other way around.
The author illustrates the hindrance to our bi-national dream of equality, from the perspective of the negative impact of Uniting American families Act (UAFA) on the broader immigration reform, from that vantage point. I, however, have been writing about UAFA strategy since June 2009, in the belief, that immigration reform is the hitch to us – well to be clear -not on its own – but if we were to rely on it for our LGBT rights. Why would we want to attach our right to equality treatment under the existing Immigration Laws of this Country ( that is the right of the American Spouse to equal treatment under the current law) to Immigration reform? This has been my question and for many articles past I have emphasized the danger of such a strategy. Even if we need overall immigration reform on the myriad of other issues pertaining to immigration and the family, that is a separate issue and one where we would have advantage as well. However I am speaking about UAFA and Binational spouses and permanent partners.
Niles and Thiago da Silva met on a Sunday morning in 2002 at the Quincy Center T stop just outside of Boston.
They struck up a conversation, had a lot to talk about, and agreed to get coffee together in Boston. Coffee turned into lunch, lunch turned into a hike, a hike turned into more coffee, which turned into dinner. They were engaged six months later and legally married in Massachusetts in 2004.
“We knew from the beginning that we were soulmates,” says Thiago. “We both found something in the other person that was special and different from any other person we had dated in the past.”
Now, struggling to find a way to stay together before Thiago’s visa expires next year, it is one of the only things in their lives that is still certain.
Small steps count. Yes, the Obama White House is tortoise like when it comes to gay concerns. Sure the Justice Department presents odious arguments when defending stuff in court. Yet the president’s directive concerning gay couples and publicly funded hospitals is a step in the right direction. Only true knot-heads are going to maintain gay couples should be locked out of medical decisions. A toast to the White House for doing the right thing, albeit a small step that comes with little political cost. Let’s keep the pressure on President Obama so he’ll do more. He would expect nothing less.
Elderly gay couple treated like their plans do not matter. This case is one of the reasons we need to keep hectoring Obama and other elected officials about rights for same-sex couples. An elderly gay couple in Sonoma County, California thought they had all the legal papers—powers of attorney and medical directives— dotted and signed. County officials disagreed and deemed the pair, they had been together for 20 years, just roommates. So when one got sick and couldn’t continue living at their home, the county denied them visitation rights. Their lease was terminated and all their possessions sold. Read about the case. It will make your blood boil.
Westboro Baptist Church has announced on their website (NFSW) that they will be picketing the graduation ceremony of Constance McMillen's high school in Mississippi.
