Wednesday, February 1, 2012
via JMG: It Gets Better Lands MTV Special
MTV will air a star-studded hour-long special about It Gets Better. Among those slated to appear are Zachary Quinto and Adam Levine.It just keeps getting better over at MTV and Logo — and for gay teens on TV. EW has exclusively learned that the sister cable networks are jointly prepping a special titled It Gets Better, which will chronicle the stories of three young people struggling with LGBT issues. The 60-minute special will premiere on both MTV and Logo on Feb. 21 at 11 p.m. Syndicated columnist Dan Savage — who in fall 2010 launched the buzzy It Gets Better Project, which led to an avalanche of more than 30,000 videos of encouragement for LGBT youth — will anchor the hour. The show will include appearances by actor Zachary Quinto, Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine, comedian Margaret Cho, Dancing with the Stars contestant Chaz Bono, and Jersey Shore star Vinny Guadagnino. Singers Sia and Jake Shears will also contribute video messages of hope and support.
via JMG: ARIZONA: Openly Gay State Rep Declares Candidacy For Giffords' U.S. House Seat
"Moving forward I believe the best thing that we can do is to honor her strength, and conviction, and her leadership, by getting somebody, quickly, because we don’t have much time, into that seat who is going to carry forward in the tradition of moderate, bipartisan, common sense governance that she did so well for Southern Arizona." - Openly gay Arizona state Rep. Matt Heinz, declaring his intent to run in the special election to replace Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.If elected, Heinz would become the fifth openly gay member of the U.S. House. That number will change this fall with the retirement of Barney Frank and with Tammy Baldwin's run for the Senate. Heinz says if Giffords' district director wants to assume the remaining months of the current term, he'll suspend his own campaign until November.
Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:
Tricycle Daily Dharma February 1, 2012
Watering the Seeds of Good Intentions
Metta practice is the cultivation of our capacity for lovingkindness. It does not involve either positive thinking or the imposition of an artificial positive attitude. There is no need to feel loving or kind during metta practice. Rather, we meditate on our good intentions, however weak or strong they may be, and water the seeds of these intentions. When we water wholesome intentions instead of expressing unwholesome ones, we develop those wholesome tendencies within us. |
- Gil Fronsdal, "May We All Be Happy"
Read the entire article in the Tricycle Wisdom Collection
Read the entire article in the Tricycle Wisdom Collection
Via AmericaBlogGay: TN GOP state senator says AIDS came about from "one guy screwing a monkey"
No, senator Stacey Campfield, that's how you came about. From Mike Signorile:
"Most people realize that AIDS came from the homosexual community -- it was one guy screwing a monkey, if I recall correctly, and then having sex with men. It was an airline pilot, if I recall."
"My understanding is that it is virtually -- not completely, but virtually -- impossible to contract AIDS through heterosexual sex...very rarely [transmitted]."
"What's the average lifespan of a homosexual? it's very short. Google it yourself.”
That last absurd tidbit comes from a discredited hate group run by a man called Paul Cameron. He's been so discredited that the religious right refuses to even mention the guy any more, even though much of their anti-gay "science" is based on Cameron's fake "Nazi" science (that's what the Southern Poverty Law Center called it). (As an aside, John Boehner's favorite lawyer - well, he's also well-loved by Attorney General Eric Holder and Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan - Paul Clement used research based in part on Cameron's work to defend DOMA.)
As for it being nearly impossible to get HIV from heterosexual sex, the majority of new AIDS cases in Sub-Saharan Africa are from heterosexual sex. And over a quarter of HIV cases in Washington, DC occurred from heterosexual sex.
Sadly, this kind of rhetoric shouldn't surprise. The Tennessee Republican party is still racist, in 2012, so we shouldn't be surprised that the state government, run by Republicans, is also virulently anti-gay. Just last year the Tennessee legislature, with the support of its Republican governor and businesses like Comcast, AT&T, FedEx and Blue Cross, repealed every gay and trans rights ordinance in the state, and banned cities across the state from ever passing another civil rights law ever again.
Tennessee is also the proud state where the Tennessee Tea Party, which is little more than a grouping of conservative Republicans, had this to say about Barney Frank's retirement:
"Good riddance you perverted sodomite piece of sh-t!"
Here's a little more about Tennesee's GOP:
GOP Tennessee Lt. Gov calls Islam a 'cult,' says religious freedom may not count for Muslims
TN GOP sends around press release referring to Obama as "Hussein" and showing him in traditional Muslim garb.
TN GOP staffer sends out photo of Obama as a "spook" ("spook" is a racist term to refer to black people).
Then there was the communications director of the TN GOP who distributed the Christmas carol "Barack the Magic Negro."
Or the time racist Tennessee Republicans passed a law that denied a 96 year old black women the right to vote.
Or the time an "unabashed racist" who believes in eugenics, according to AP, won the House primary in Tennessee.
And now Tennessee is trying to ban teachers, and counselors, from ever mentioning the g-word. Which should do wonders to stop schools from helping gay and trans kids who are being bullied. Oh yeah, the TN GOP senator also had something to say about bullying:
"That bullying thing is the biggest lark out there."
"There are sexually confused children who could be pushed into a lifestyle that I don’t think is appropriate with them and it's not for the norm for society, and they don't know how they can get back from that. I think a lot of times these young teens and young children, they find it very hard on themselves and unfortunately some of them commit suicide."
Yes, the evil gays are forcing teens to kill themselves.
Welcome to Tennessee: America at its worst.
"Most people realize that AIDS came from the homosexual community -- it was one guy screwing a monkey, if I recall correctly, and then having sex with men. It was an airline pilot, if I recall."
"My understanding is that it is virtually -- not completely, but virtually -- impossible to contract AIDS through heterosexual sex...very rarely [transmitted]."
"What's the average lifespan of a homosexual? it's very short. Google it yourself.”
That last absurd tidbit comes from a discredited hate group run by a man called Paul Cameron. He's been so discredited that the religious right refuses to even mention the guy any more, even though much of their anti-gay "science" is based on Cameron's fake "Nazi" science (that's what the Southern Poverty Law Center called it). (As an aside, John Boehner's favorite lawyer - well, he's also well-loved by Attorney General Eric Holder and Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan - Paul Clement used research based in part on Cameron's work to defend DOMA.)
As for it being nearly impossible to get HIV from heterosexual sex, the majority of new AIDS cases in Sub-Saharan Africa are from heterosexual sex. And over a quarter of HIV cases in Washington, DC occurred from heterosexual sex.
Sadly, this kind of rhetoric shouldn't surprise. The Tennessee Republican party is still racist, in 2012, so we shouldn't be surprised that the state government, run by Republicans, is also virulently anti-gay. Just last year the Tennessee legislature, with the support of its Republican governor and businesses like Comcast, AT&T, FedEx and Blue Cross, repealed every gay and trans rights ordinance in the state, and banned cities across the state from ever passing another civil rights law ever again.
Tennessee is also the proud state where the Tennessee Tea Party, which is little more than a grouping of conservative Republicans, had this to say about Barney Frank's retirement:
"Good riddance you perverted sodomite piece of sh-t!"
Here's a little more about Tennesee's GOP:
GOP Tennessee Lt. Gov calls Islam a 'cult,' says religious freedom may not count for Muslims
TN GOP sends around press release referring to Obama as "Hussein" and showing him in traditional Muslim garb.
TN GOP staffer sends out photo of Obama as a "spook" ("spook" is a racist term to refer to black people).
Then there was the communications director of the TN GOP who distributed the Christmas carol "Barack the Magic Negro."
Or the time racist Tennessee Republicans passed a law that denied a 96 year old black women the right to vote.
Or the time an "unabashed racist" who believes in eugenics, according to AP, won the House primary in Tennessee.
And now Tennessee is trying to ban teachers, and counselors, from ever mentioning the g-word. Which should do wonders to stop schools from helping gay and trans kids who are being bullied. Oh yeah, the TN GOP senator also had something to say about bullying:
"That bullying thing is the biggest lark out there."
"There are sexually confused children who could be pushed into a lifestyle that I don’t think is appropriate with them and it's not for the norm for society, and they don't know how they can get back from that. I think a lot of times these young teens and young children, they find it very hard on themselves and unfortunately some of them commit suicide."
Yes, the evil gays are forcing teens to kill themselves.
Welcome to Tennessee: America at its worst.
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Via Thich Nhat Hanh Quotes:
Via JMG: Washington Marriage Bill Advances
Washington state's marriage equality bill advanced again today after surviving a close 8-7 vote in the House Judiciary Committee. The Senate version of the bill advanced last week. Washington United reacts via press release:
“We thank Chair Pedersen and the members of the Judiciary Committee who supported marriage equality today,” said Lacey All, Chair of Washington United for Marriage. “As the bill continues to progress in both chambers in Olympia, it is clear that momentum is on our side. The stories of love, honor, commitment and family that our legislators are hearing from their constituents continue to be the single most important factor that sets us apart from those who oppose this bill.”The full Senate will debate and vote on the bill this Wednesday. House action should follow shortly after. Gov. Christine Gregoire has promised to sign the bill, but its implementation may be suspended pending the expected November challenge at the ballot.
Via JMG: Simpler Circumcision
As part of a campaign to reduce HIV infections in Africa, groups such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation are advocating the use of the above "simpler" circumcision method. The new procedure is intended to speed the rate of circumcisions in regions that have few doctors.Circumcision is believe to protect heterosexual men because the foreskin has many Langerhans cells, which pick up viruses and “present” them to the immune system — which H.I.V. attacks. From the initial safety studies done so far, PrePex is clearly faster, less painful and more bloodless than any of its current rivals. And it relies on the simplest and least-threatening technology — a rubber band. The band compresses the foreskin against a plastic ring slipped inside it; the foreskin dies within hours for lack of blood and, after a week, falls off or can be clipped off “like a fingernail,” said Tzameret Fuerst, the company’s chief executive officer, who compared the process to the stump of an umbilical cord’s shriveling up and dropping off a few days after it is clamped. It is done with topical anesthetic cream, and there is usually no bleeding. And PrePex can be put in place and removed by nurses with about three days’ training.Three separate studies have shown that circumcision can reduce HIV infection from vaginal sex by up to 60%. Another study was cut short when it became clear that circumcising men that are already infected provided no protection to women. In 2009 the CDC announced that it was considering recommending that American boys be circumcised at birth, but that policy was never formalized. No study has yet confirmed that circumcision provides any protection for gay men.
Via JMG: In Memory Of Slain Activist David Kato
No More Down Low reports on the anniversary of slain Ugandan activist David Kato, whose memorial vigil I attended and reported upon last year.
reposted from Joe
Via Gay Politics Report:
- N.H. unlikely to repeal marriage law, Republicans say
Republican New Hampshire lawmakers say a bill that would end marriage for same-sex couples in the state is unlikely to become law this year. Gov. John Lynch, a Democrat, has vowed to veto the bill if it reaches his desk, and it appears that enough legislators, including multiple Republicans, oppose the measure to prevent it from passing with a veto-proof margin. Recent polls indicate that New Hampshire voters are clearly against overturning the current law that allows gays and lesbians to marry. Concord Monitor (N.H.) (1/29)
Via All Out: VITORIA!
No ano passado, organizações e ativistas em defesa dos direitos das mulheres e dos direitos humanos do Equador alertaram o mundo sobre uma situação horrível – centenas de clínicas ilegais que mantinham jovens mulheres em cativeiro para serem estupradas, torturadas, espancadas e deixadas sem comida pelos chamados “profissionais de saúde”. Para quê? Para curá-las da “doença” de serem lésbicas.
Mais de 250 mil pessoas do mundo inteiro se juntaram às campanhas de All Out, Change.org e CredoAction para angariar apoio às demandas de ativistas locais que pediam a investigação e o fechamento dessas “clínicas”, de uma vez por todas.
Agora a boa notícia: na semana passada, o governo do Equador anunciou o compromisso de investigar e fechar essas clínicas de práticas abusivas! E não é só isso: o presidente nomeou a ativista feminista e pelos direitos LGBT , também defensora da saúde pública, Carina Vance Mafla, como a nova Ministra da Saúde do Equador. É ela quem vai liderar a investigações sobre essas clínicas.
Você levaria alguns instantes para assinar esta carta de agradecimento ao presidente do Equador por seu comprometimento com a igualdade LGBT?
http://www.allout.org/pt/actions/ecuadorclinics/taf
Via Sonja van Kerkhoff: Links to what is in the news
Sean manages this page and adds what he finds in the news. These links will stay here and when I have time I’ll make cross links from the “About” page and other pages on this blog so this can be more useful as a resource and forum for discussion.
January 2012: Genetic or Not, Gay Won’t Go Away | Next new item title pasted in here
Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:
Tricycle Daily Dharma January 31, 2012
Attaining Freedom
Sometimes people get very rigid and tense trying to be good, disciplined, and ethical. Tension can also arise when we become more aware of the immense amount of destruction—seen and unseen, intentional and unintentional—that our mere physical existence causes. From a Buddhist point of view, however, this is what it means to be born in samsara, and this is why we need to attain freedom from samsara. |
- Khandro Rinpoche, "Complete Abandon"
Read the entire article in the Tricycle Wisdom Collection
Read the entire article in the Tricycle Wisdom Collection
Via AmericaBlogGay: Romney campaign showcases endorsement of pastor who claims gay marriage helped cause 9/11
The Romney campaign released a letter of support from Florida "social conservatives" (that's the new nice word for the religious right), including a pastor, Dr. Roberto Miranda of the COPAHNI Fellowship of Hispanic Pastors of New England, who has suggested that 9/11 happened because of gay marriage being legalized in Massachusetts. Here's the letter on Romney's campaign site.
And here's the pastor:
Is it exaggerated to see prophetic significance in the fact that on September 11, 2001 Boston served as the point of departure for the deadly forces that spread so much destruction and havoc in this nation and all over the world? What took place at the material level is now being carried out at the moral and spiritual level, as the virus of homosexuality and gay marriage begins to spread dramatically all over this nation and perhaps the world.
Really, Mitt? Now, the Romney campaign problem welcomes the controversy because it's their anti-gay beard to deflect attention from the fact that Romney once claimed he was better on gay issues than Ted Kennedy.
And here's the pastor:
Is it exaggerated to see prophetic significance in the fact that on September 11, 2001 Boston served as the point of departure for the deadly forces that spread so much destruction and havoc in this nation and all over the world? What took place at the material level is now being carried out at the moral and spiritual level, as the virus of homosexuality and gay marriage begins to spread dramatically all over this nation and perhaps the world.
Really, Mitt? Now, the Romney campaign problem welcomes the controversy because it's their anti-gay beard to deflect attention from the fact that Romney once claimed he was better on gay issues than Ted Kennedy.
Monday, January 30, 2012
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