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.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Via JMG: HomoQuotable - Elton John
"I could not believe when I was asked to play. I thought it was a joke. I had dialogue with him before and he said, 'I'm not anti-gay, I want you to come, bring David'. My goal is for Rush to say, 'I support civil partnerships'. If I rang him right now, I think he might agree. He was one of the first people to congratulate us on the baby." -Elton John, saying he wants Rush Limbaugh to endorse gay marriage.
Via JMG: Utah GOP Rep Proposes Bills To Exclude Gay Families From All Public Programs
Using language that echoes words found in Mormon documents, Utah state Rep. LaVar Christensen has filed two bills may exclude gay families from all publicly funded programs and laws.
Rep. LaVar Christensen, R-Draper, filed a bill Wednesday, HB270, that would reiterate the state’s policy that marriage is between a man and a woman and require that publicly funded programs, laws and regulations that are designed to support families be “carefully scrutinized to ensure that they promote the family.” Brandie Balken, executive director of Equality Utah, said the group is "deeply concerned" about the proposed law. "It could be used to create a filter for public agencies and a way to target laws, services and funding that currently help single Utahns or Utahns with families that differ from Representative Christensen's," she said.Christensen's second bill in a one-sentence item that declares, "An arrangement, agreement or transaction that is unlawful or violates public policy is void and unenforceable." LGBT activists say that could be interpreted to make void any wills or medical directives between gay couples. Christensen is a lay bishop with the LDS Church.
Via JMG: SPLC Alert: Anti-Gay Christian Group Lies In Fund-Raising Letter About Hate Crimes
According to the Southern Poverty Law Center's HateWatch column, the Traditional Values Coalition is raising money by claiming that the 2009 passage of the Matthew Shepard Act outlawed the Bible as "hate literature."
The Christian Seniors Association (CSA), a front group of the TVC, recently sent out a fundraising letter claiming that the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act (HCPA) of 2009, which added sexual orientation to the classes protected by federal hate crime legislation, “makes the Bible illegal ‘Hate Literature.’” The letter further claims that “under this law, criticism of homosexuality is deemed discrimination – just like racism,” and ultimately, the intent of the law is to “outlaw Christianity.” Scary stuff. Except that none of it is true.The SPLC points out that the good Christians at the TVC have a long track record of shady fundraising, including one mailed campaign that pretended to be from the federal government.
The CSA – which bills itself as “America’s Christian alternative to the far-Left AARP” – has a history of fundraising letters that prey on unfounded fears and, in some cases, even mimic government documents. In 2006, the CSA mailed out bogus “U.S. Taxpayer Census” forms. The packet included a survey about Social Security and dark warnings about politicians raiding the program for personal gain. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the mailing did not explicitly point out that money donated to the CSA would go directly to the TVC.The head of the CSA is married to Andrea Lafferty, the daughter of Lou Sheldon, who is the founder of the certified hate group, the Traditional Values Coalition. Just keeping that ill-gotten money in the family.
Labels: Andrea Lafferty, bigotry, hate groups, liars, Lou Sheldon, religion, Traditional Values Coalition
Via JMG: Just So We're Clear....
Gay boycott = radical homosexual intimidation.
Christian boycott = taking their business elsewhere.
Everybody got that?
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Via JMG: Ugandan Police: David Kato Forced The Killer To Commit Sodomy
Aaaand here we have it. As predicted, the Ugandan police, who have a track record of beating and killing gay people, are now claiming that David Kato's killer was forced to murder him. Because Kato was a dirty homosexual who wanted sex. Or so an "anonymous police source" is claiming to the press. From the Uganda Monitor:
A man whom police arrested yesterday on allegations of killing David Kato, a human rights activist, has reportedly told police that the deceased coerced him into sodomy. David Kato, 46, an advocacy officer for the gay rights group, Sexual Minorities Uganda, was found with head wounds at his home in Bukusa, Mukono District but died on his way to hospital last Wednesday.Surely you can understand the predicament the Ugandan government finds themselves in. They couldn't ignore or even sanction the murder of a gay man, as they normally would, due to the international publicly surrounding the case. But they also couldn't allow the murder to be construed as politically motivated, lest the resultant outrage dry up those annual millions in foreign aid.
Police spokesperson Judith Nabakooba said the suspect had been hiding in Nakabago village, Mukono District. “It is true the suspect has been arrested but we need to record his statement first before giving a formal statement,” Ms Nabakooba said yesterday. But a police source, who preferred anonymity because he is not authorised to talk to the press, said the suspect confessed to killing Kato because he was reportedly tired of engaging in homosexual practices.
“We have taken him to Mukono Magistrate’s Court to record an extrajudicial statement,” the source said. “He told us that he killed Kato after he failed to give him a car, a house and money he promised as rewards for having sex with him,” the source said.
And don't overlook that this so-called "motive" precisely fits the long-running Christianist claim that evil local gays are using using Western-supplied money to recruit Uganda's helpless youth into homosexuality, a charge repeated in the very issue of the newspaper that called for Kato's murder.
We will never get the truth, you can bet on that.
RELATED: Peter LaBarbera and Matt Barber are triumphantly tweeting messages like "Uganda 'anti-gay' fairy tale implodes. Killer did it because Kato wouldn't pay him for sodomy as promised."
Via JMG: Thursday In Manhattan: Memorial Vigil For Slain Ugandan LGBT Activist David Kato
The International Gay & Lesbian Human Rights Commission is organizing a memorial vigil for murdered Ugandan activist David Kato. The starting point of the procession is not yet determined, but attendees will finish at the Ugandan embassy. I'll post more details as they are known.
Via JMG: MINNESOTA: Lesbian Couple Enters School Party To Cheers From Fellow Students
A lesbian couple who successfully fought to attend their Minnesota high school's Snow Days party as members of the royalty court were greeted with cheers from their classmates as they entered the room last night.
Sarah Lindstrom and Desiree Shelton wore matching black suits with pink ties and held hands as they entered the Snow Days Pep Fest at Champlin Park High School in Minneapolis' northwest suburbs. The reaction came as a relief to the couple and school administrators. The district has been stung by criticism of its policies toward homosexuality and the alleged bullying of a gay student who killed himself. "It felt amazing," said Shelton, adding that she was too nervous to notice dozens rise to give her a standing ovation as she walked in with Lindstrom. "I think we were too focused on getting to the stage."After the pair was elected to the court, school officials changed the rules that previously had couples enter the party in boy-girl pairs. The new rules required each student to enter accompanied by a parent or teacher. The school relented after lawsuits from the SPLC and the National Center for Lesbian Rights. Christiantist activists have worked to prevent anti-bullying legislation in the district.
Via JMG: CALIFORNIA: Vandals Rip Out "Equality" From Gay-Friendly Church Banner
Vandals have literally ripped out equality from the banner of a gay-friendly church in California.
Rev. Kathy Cooper-Ledesma, a senior pastor at the church, said church leaders are asking the congregation to pray for those who defaced their banner. "Our belief that hate is not a Christian value remains firm," she said. "And while they can take the 'equality' out of the banner, they can't take it out of our understanding of the Gospel." The iconic church, located on the corner of Franklin and Highland avenues, is over 100 years old, and has been fighting for marriage equality for years, said Chad Darnell, a marketing coordinator for the church. He said this was the second time that a banner was vandalized this month. The first banner was stabbed multiple times and this was the replacement banner.The church has hosted video shoots for the NOH8 campaign. Police are investigating.
(Via - Towleroad)
Via JMG ; Scandal Rumors Fly Around John Boehner
Rumors are flying that the ill-reputed National Enquirer, who actually did get it right about John Edwards, is about to publish a similar adultery scandal about GOP House Speaker John Boehner. Via Stark Reports:
Wonder how well Boehner’s zero-tolerance pledge regarding corruption will hold up when it comes out that several hundred paper-making jobs were lost in his district and he refused to do anything about it at the same time he was sleeping with a lobbyist for the printing industry that was very happy to get their cheap paper from China.Boehner and his wife Debbie have been married for 37 years. If lightning strikes a second time for the National Enquirer, this could be the shortest speakership in history. On the other hand, that rag completely makes shit up all the time. Stand by.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Via JMG: Dubya's Daughter For New York Marriage
The younger Barbara Bush has joined her mother in endorsing same-sex marriage. The New York Times comments on the kids of prominent Republicans:
Ms. Bush is the latest child of a prominent Republican leader to embrace same-sex marriage, long considered anathema to the conservative movement. Gay rights advocates have been quick to seize on the generational split as evidence that the acceptance of same-sex marriage is blind to party affiliation and family values. Meghan McCain, the daughter of John McCain, the 2008 Republican presidential nominee, has become an outspoken supporter of same-sex marriage, despite her father’s opposition to it. And Mary Cheney, the lesbian daughter of Vice President Dick Cheney, has forcefully backed it as well — and is widely credited with helping to persuade her father to do the same. In the case of Mr. McCain, Mr. Cheney and Mr. Bush, it is not just their children who have supported it. So, to varying degrees, have their wives. Laura Bush, in a television interview in May, said, “When couples are committed to each other and love each other” they should have “the same sort of rights that everyone has.”
reposted from Joe
Monday, January 31, 2011
Via JMG: Carol Channing Turns 90
Broadway legend Carol Channing turns 90 today and the three-time Tony winner has granted a rare video interview in which she reminisces about her career and her status as a gay icon. Hit the link for the clip.
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