Via JMG: This Week In Holy Crimes

Over the last seven days...

Israel: Rabbi Yitzhak Shapira arrested for incitement to kill non-Jews.
Arkansas: Pastor Joshua Wilson arrested in prostitution sting.
New York: Convicted child molester Rabbi Baruch Leibovits demands and gets special kosher meals in prison.
New York: Father Thomas Kresier resigns in embezzlement scandal.
Virginia: Pastor James Bolton arrested for statutory rape.
Ontario: Father Kenneth O'Keefe arrested for child molestation.
British Columbia: Father Philip Jacobs arrested on numerous counts of child molestation.
Ireland: Father Patrick McCabe arrested on numerous counts of child molestation. McCabe was transferred to the U.S. twenty years ago when the accusations first began.
Ontario: Father William Marshall charged with numerous counts of child molestation. Marshall was principal at a Catholic high school.
Pennsylvania: Diocese of Pittsburgh sued after molestation victim commits suicide.
North Carolina: Father William Casey pleads guilty to child molestation.
Illinois: Father Daniel McCormick sued by child molestation victim.
Ohio: Pastor James Blaine pleads guilty to embezzling over $100K from his parishioners.

This Week's Winner
Texas: Pastor Randy Scott has been arrested for meeting young men online and forcing them into sex. Posing as a young man, Scott would exchange emails with his victims, then appear at their homes pretending to be the step-father of the person they thought they'd been corresponding with. Scott would then threaten to call the police unless the young men gave him oral sex. At least one of the victims is underage. Scott, who is married with children, has resigned from his church.

Labels: Catholic Church, child abuse, prostitution, religion, This Week In Holy Crimes

reposted from Joe

Via JMG: PhoboQuotable - Pat Buchanan

"When did the Creator indicate that among these rights was for homosexuals to have their unions recognized as marriages? The author of that declaration, Thomas Jefferson, equated homosexual acts with rape and wrote that male homosexuals (they used the term sodomites in that time) should be castrated and lesbians should have a hole cut into their noses.

"Undeniably, homosexuals have the same constitutional rights of free speech, peaceable assembly and trial by jury. But what the judge has done is declare the life choices and lifestyles of gays and lesbians to be equal to the life choice of married men and women. This is nothing but Walker's personal opinion.

"But he is declaring it to be the only rational conclusion that can be reached. And having reached it, he has seized upon a phrase in the 14th amendment, 'equal protection,' distorted its meaning and dictated that this means his view and his values henceforth are the law in California, the voters be damned.

"And what the judge dismisses and rejects as irrational is a conviction rooted in the history of the human race, biblical truth, natural law and basic common sense. For, in recent decades, male homosexuality has been linked to enteric diseases, hepatitis, AIDS and early death. Historically, from the late Roman Empire to Weimar, flagrant homosexuality has been associated with sick societies, decadent cultures and dying civilizations. Today would appear to be no exception." - Pat Buchanan, writing for the Christofascist site World Net Daily.

Labels: bigotry, douchenozzles, fascists, Pat Buchanan, PhoboQuotable, Proposition 8, religion

 

reposted by Joe

I left the following at Sacbee:

I am so grateful to live in a country that has a system of checks and balances... I appreciate the constitution more now than ever... People who are so worried about gays and lesbians ruining their marriage should focus on making their own marriages exemplary. I hope and pray that religious people take a look at themselves, themselves, many churches have welcomed glbt people with open arms, other religious groups Catholics, Mormons, and Baha'i's seek to exclude glbt from their membership and are behaving disgracefully. All sides have been tested, and to my mind the communities that are inclusive have taught us so much, and I am very grateful to them. If a religious community doesn't want glbt members so be it, you are free to exclude us. To those communities who are open, loving and inclusive... I say thank you!

Read more: http://www.sacbee.com/2010/08/13/2956069/gay-couples-ready-to-wed-if-higher.html?mi_pluck_action=comment_submitted&qwxq=271137#Comments_Container#ixzz0whO9IDKN

Via Belirico: The karate lessons ads, improved

Waymon posted some ads for karate lessons yesterday, and a few people pointed out in the comments that you can't really tell the message without more text, so I added some. The other ad is after the jump.

Continue reading "The karate lessons ads, improved" »

Vua Huffington: Why Jews Should Rejoice at the Overturning of Prop 8

Rabbi Michael Lerner: Why Jews Should Rejoice at the Overturning of Prop 8

The rights of homosexuals are supported by an overwhelming majority of the American Jewish community. That support is not only based on a memory of shared victimhood, but also on the core values of our own Jewish tradition.

Via Huffington: Prop 8 Ruling Exposes Democrats' Weak Support For LGBT Community

Prop 8 Ruling Exposes Democrats' Weak Support For LGBT Community Right now, LGBT citizens are trapped in a choice between a party that opposes their very existence and a party that, you know, kind of wishes them well. And so the typical policy among Democrats is to do as little as possible for as long as they can, figuring that if the Republican party never changes its position, they can string along the LGBT community for a long while before they have to lay their marker down and risk the vote of any single voter who opposes gay rights.

via huffington post

Fight OUT Loud Co-Founder Waymon Hudson's My New Essay on the Huffington Post~ The Everyday "Don't Ask, Don't Tell". Rate it, "like" it on Facebook, and share it!

The Everyday "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"

www.huffingtonpost.com

So what is this "everyday" policy, you may ask? It's how so many of us live our lives. We don't let our friends or families know about the discrimination or legal barriers we face just for being who we are.

Prop 8 Fed Decision - Love Sweet Love

RELÓGIO / CLOCK

ESTE VEIO DA HOLANDA  E É UM NOVO TIPO DE RELÓGIO .... BASTANTE DIFERENTE E INTERESSANTE.

ESTUDA-O POR UM INSTANTE E COMPREENDERÁS RÁPIDO. FIXA-TE SÓMENTE NA LINHA "VERDE" QUE É A QUE INDICA TODA A INFORMAÇÃO.

               NA 1ª FILA OS SEGUNDOS
                NA 2ª OS MINUTOS
               NA 3ª. AS HORAS
                NA 4ª E 5ª OS DIAS
                NA 6ª. OS MESES E NA 7ª. OS ANOS

NÃO FAÇAS NADA POIS QUE ELE AJUSTA-SE AUTOMÁTICAMENTE À TUA ZONA DE TEMPO ..... UM PRODÍGIO, ...... MAS DO HOMEM ACTUAL.

http://home.tiscali.nl/annejan/swf/timeline.swf

via jmg: Here's AG Brown's Opposition To The Stay Request From Protect Marriage

Are you dizzy yet from all these legal docs? Protect Marriage has until 9am Monday to deliver their final response.
CA9Doc 8

Labels: California, Jerry Brown, marriage equality, Proposition 8, Protect Marriage

reposted from Joe

via JMG: Ninth Circuit Responds To Stay Motion

Things are moving VERY quickly. Brian Devine reports at Courage Campaign:

The Ninth Circuit just issued an Order stating that the Plaintiffs’ response to the Motion to Stay is due by 11:00 p.m. tonight. The Prop 8 supporters’ reply, not to exceed 15 pages, is due by 9:00 a.m. on Monday, August 16, 2010. This suggests that the Ninth Circuit is preparing to rule on the Motion to Stay before Judge Walker’s temporary stay expires on August 18th at 5:00 p.m. It’s surprising that the Court only gave the Plaintiffs about 9 hours to file their brief, and gave the Appellants until Monday to Reply. But I wouldn’t read too much into this. They know that everyone anticipated the Motion and that everyone’s briefs are essentially written already.

Sounds like everybody wants to get to Hawaii.

Labels: California, Proposition 8, Vaughn Walker

reposted from Joe

Via HRC:

Dear Daniel,  Yesterday, we learned that marriage equality could return to California next week. U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker, who ruled Proposition 8 unconstitutional in the Perry v. Schwarzenegger case, lifted the stay on his decision as of August 18. If the federal appeals court does not intervene, marriages will resume at that time. Equality is returning to California, and the shameful specter of Proposition 8 is shrinking. That law must never return -- our Constitution says so.  Increasingly, so do our neighbors. On August 11, CNN released a national poll showing for the first time that a majority of Americans believe in a constitutional right to marriage equality for same-sex couples. As in previous polls, people under age 50 were far more likely to support equality than those over 50. What a change since 2004, when waves of anti-LGBT marriage amendments swept our nation in the election-year frenzy to enrage a right-wing base. Today, although some insist on fomenting hysteria around the Perry case (more on that in a moment), the issue of marriage equality is not at the top of the right wing’s list. Just look at what Glenn Beck had to say on The O'Reilly Factor:  O'REILLY: OK. Is [same-sex marriage] going to harm the country in any way? BECK: I believe -- I believe what Thomas Jefferson said. If it neither breaks my leg nor picks my pocket, what difference is it to me? Our community and those who support us have done so much to change hearts and minds in recent years. Most powerfully of all, we have been living our lives and raising our families in almost every community across this nation. I doubt that Glenn Beck will ever have particularly charitable thoughts about our families, but he and many others have finally learned that our nation has no business interfering with them.    Unfortunately, the ruling has generated some of the familiar anti-LGBT hate from certain quarters. The National Organization for Marriage’s summer bus tour -- a sham designed to help NOM challenge the requirements of neutral state campaign finance laws -- has been drawing miniscule crowds, but their supporters are showing the very worst of the anti-LGBT movement. At an Indianapolis event, one supporter carried a sign that read “the solution to gay marriage” with a picture of two nooses. At another event, Alveda King, niece of the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., said "I don’t know about you, but I'm not ready to be extinct. None of us wants to be, so we don't want genocide." Fortunately, only a few dozen people attended the rally. A note to NOM and their followers: when Glenn Beck is calm about something… well, you figure it out.   Beck's muse Thomas Jefferson also famously said "Nothing is unchangeable but the inherent and unalienable rights of man." Our basic right to marry predates any litigation or ballot initiative; we have always had it. In the past few years, California families were all too briefly granted their basic human rights. Next week, if the appeals court does not intervene, California will once again recognize same-sex couples as equal citizens. Congratulations to California families and the Perry plaintiffs. Our nation took a step forward thanks to them. Joe Solmonese President, Human Rights Campaign

Via JMG: Karate Lessons Will Butch Up Your Nellie Son, Says Florida Martial Arts Academy

Above is one of the images from an ad campaign for the Academy Of Martial Arts in Key Biscayne, Florida. Via Copyranter:

Yeah, Pops. Nip that gaiety in the ass, and get junior kicking some ass and karate-chopping some wood, all while listening to Eye of the motherfucking Tiger. That'll knock those show tunes out of his head and some sense into him. Other tips: Make him change the oil in your pickup, naked. And take him deer hunting, naked. Better yet, queer hunting. You and your drinking buds can go to a local Miami gay bar and show him how to pound the dust out of some fairies, who hopefully haven't taken martial arts classes at Key Biscayne's RDCA.

And if karate doesn't work, you can always beat him to death for acting like a girl.

Labels: advertising, assholery, Copyranter, Florida

r

eposted from Joe

Via JMG: Might Mean Something, Might Not

If Protect Marriage's emergency motion to stay the overturn of Prop 8 is denied by the Ninth Circuit Court, they are expected to immediately appeal to the Supreme Court. The justice assigned to hear cases from the Ninth is swing voter Anthony Kennedy.

Interestingly, as the clock ticks down on Judge Walker's stay extension, Justice Kennedy will be in Hawaii to appear at the annual Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference, which runs Monday through Thursday next week. Kennedy is the scheduled speaker at 10:45am the day after Walker's stay expires. The three judge panel that will hear Protect Marriage's motion has not yet been assigned (I don't think), but at least some of the Ninth Circuit judges will also be at the conference.

I don't what, if anything, this could mean for the case.

Labels: California, Proposition 8, Supreme Court, Vaughn Walker

reposted from Joe

Via Huffington: William K. Black: Algebra for Dummies: Mathematical 'Proof' of the Inferiority of Homosexuals

Most forms of open revulsion for despised minorities have been banished from academic literature. But the academic campaign against rights for gays is proud about its descent into ever more virulent attacks on gay people and homosexuality.

One stream of the attacks seeks to prove that gays and homosexual are inferior. The effort has been lead primarily by ultra-traditional Catholic scholars that have attempted to create a "new natural law" that would support the traditional Catholic positions on sex -- that masturbation, all gay sex, contraception, all sex between unmarried adult straights, and oral and digital sex by straight married couples are all grievous sins. However, George W. Dent, Jr., a law professor at Case Western Reserve University who believes that gay marriage is a threat to heterosexual marriage, points out what he views as disabling difficulties in these efforts by Catholic scholars.

The premise of natural law is that it is "natural." That implies that thoughtful people, regardless of cultural or ethnic background, will form a consensus in support of the natural law principles. The concept of natural law is that it arises from humans' intrinsic moral principles. But humans overwhelmingly reject many of the principles of the purported natural law. Dent explains:

Although this doctrine is not overtly religious, all its leading proponents are Roman Catholics, and it contains elements that most Protestants and Jews reject, such as treating sex with contraception or any sexual act other than vaginal intercourse within marriage as immoral.

Catholics' actual sexual practices overwhelmingly reject many of the principles of the purported new natural law. Most Catholics masturbate, use contraceptives before and during marriage, engage in heterosexual sex prior to marriage, and engage in oral and digital sex before and during marriage. Virtually all Catholics engage in forbidden heterosexual sexual practices during their lives. They do not, as a group, display disabling guilt despite violating Church doctrine. Gay Catholics virtually all engage in homosexual sex. Dent concludes that the "new natural law" is "arbitrary" (its convoluted structure arises from the imperative of accommodating a Catholic doctrine that Dent finds incoherent). Dent finds that the new natural law is not new, natural, or a sound basis for law.

jump here to read the rest of the article 

Get EQUAL Get NOM

Via JMG: And The Next Seven Too

Labels: hypocrisy, Newt Gingrich, Proposition 8, Rush Limbaugh

reposted from Joe

Via JMG: George Takei On Proposition 8 Being Overturned

Via JMG: an Ellen Surprize