Via JMG: FLORIDA: Public School Teacher Fired Over Gay Porn Career Gets Reinstated

The state of Florida has ruled that public school teacher Shawn Loftis was wrongly fired last year after his second career as a porn actor was exposed.

Loftis — who starred in gay porn films under the name Collin O'Neil — was teaching at Nautilus Middle School when the principal learned of his past, according to WPLG 10 News. The district suspended the substitute in January 2011, then his teacher’s certification was revoked in April, despite the fact that he’d left his porn career behind. The commission said his past pursuits were not illegal and the school did not have the authority to dismiss him on that basis. Loftis also argued that he hoped to use his role as a teacher to help guide students away from making the choices he had made.

Loftis is also one of CNN's most popular citizen journalists via their iReports feature. (Tipped by JMG reader Al.)

Labels: education, Florida, gay porn

Reposted from Joe

Via JMG: MARYLAND: Catholic Priest Suspended After Refusing Communion To Lesbian

The Catholic priest who refused communion to a lesbian at her mother's funeral has been suspended by the his diocese. But according to a spokesperson, the suspension is not directly related to the communion controversy.

Specific details about why the Rev. Marcel Guarnizo was barred from ministry – a severe penalty – were not immediately available. The Post learned of the action from a letter dated March 9 that is written to other archdiocesan priests. The letter from Bishop Barry Knestout, a top administrator in the archdiocese, which covers Washington and the Maryland suburbs, says the punishment was for “engaging in intimidating behavior toward parish staff and others that is incompatible with proper priestly ministry.” The archdiocese on Sunday confirmed Guarnizo's removal, and noted that Knestout's letter was read at all Masses this weekend at St. John Neumann.

Barbara Johnson claims that when she approached the altar, Rev. Guarnizo covered the bread and said, "Because you live with a woman, and in the eyes of the church, that is a sin." The Archdiocese has issued Johnson an apology.

Labels: Catholic Church, Maryland, religion

reposted from Joe

Via JMG: PA House Committee To Vote On Banning Civil Unions And Same-Sex Marriage

Equality Pennsylvania sends us this alert.

A vote on House Bill (HB) 1434 is scheduled for TUESDAY, MARCH 13 in the House State Government Committee. Now is the time to let your voice be heard. HB 1434, proposed by Rep. Daryl Metcalfe, would not only amend the Pennsylvania Constitution to define marriage as a legal union between one man and one woman, it would invalidate any other type of legal union or one substantially equivalent. That means any discussion of civil unions or domestic partnerships would forever be off the table for consideration. Passage of this legislation will also forcefully terminate benefits currently provided to thousands of employees in municipalities or state owned schools or facilities that offer domestic partnership benefits.

Pennsylvania residents: Contact your representatives. If you are free tomorrow morning:

Tuesday, March 13 9:00 am. Room G-50, Irvis Office Building (NEXT TO THE CAPITOL BUILDING) (Meet in the Capitol Rotunda at 8:30am.) Please be respectful. However, please come prepared to pack the room. Signs are welcome.

Labels: activism, GOP, LGBT rights, pennsylvania

reposted from Joe

Via Facebook:

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma March 12, 2012

Where Will You Find Buddha?

Trying to find a Buddha or enlightenment is like trying to grab space. Space has a name but no form. It's not something you can pick up or put down. And you certainly can't grab it. Beyond this mind you'll never see a Buddha. The Buddha is a product of your mind. Why look for a Buddha beyond this mind?

- Bodhidharma, "The Snaggletoothed Barbarian"
Read the entire article in the Tricycle Wisdom Collection

Via JMG: CALIFORNIA: Bid To Repeal Gay-Friendly Education Bill Launches Petition Drive

Gary Thomasson, of the newly certified hate group Save California, says children are already being brainwashed and SB48 hasn't even been implemented yet.

"In an apparent attempt to keep children enrolled for the purpose of sexual indoctrination and average daily attendance funding, the California Department of Education is deceiving parents about the mandate of SB 48, which requires, through supplement instructional materials right now, and new textbooks in three years, that children admire ‘lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Americans.'"

The petition deadline is July 11th.

Labels: California, education, hate groups, LGBT History

reposted from Joe

Via JMG: Cracked Vs The AFA

An excerpt:

The American Family Association aren't just a recognized hate group, they're cartoon villains that escaped into the real world. They're driven by hate, choose actual comics characters as their enemies and still fail humiliatingly and publicly. They think of themselves as righteous crusaders, because they're exactly the sort of assholes who still use the word "crusade," but they're really Gargamel from the Smurfs: fighting ridiculously soft fictional targets just because they're the same gender and happy together, and still managing to lose.

Go read the entire thing.

Labels: AFA, comic books, hate groups

Reposted from Joe

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma March 11, 2012

Continuous Mind, Continuous Love

If we believe that mind is continuous, our love for others becomes continuous. If we recognize this continuity, we do not trust temporary, tangible circumstances or take them too seriously.

- Thinley Norbu Rinpoche, "Continuous Mind"
Read the entire article in the Tricycle Wisdom Collection

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma March 10, 2012

There's No Going Back

One of the main things that happens when you meditate is that regret starts to surface and you start to think about your life. Meditation neutralizes denial after a while and opens up the circuits and things start to flow in, and then you begin to realize that regret is a distortion of what’s real. What’s real is that this is your life, and it happened, and there’s no going back. There’s only altering your attitude and perception about it so that you can go forward.

- Lewis Richmond, "Aging as a Spiritual Practice"
Read the entire article in the Tricycle Wisdom Collection

Via Facebook:

Quantos homofóbicos são necessários para trocar uma lâmpada? Nenhum. Eles temem a mudança, mesmo que possa tornar o mundo um lugar mais brilhante.

Classic JMG:

Elderly Pedophile Enabler Commands
U.S. Clergy To Oppress LGBT People

Emperor Palpatine hates the eeeevillle of gay marriage.

Pope Benedict XVI on Friday condemned gay marriage in a speech to bishops from the United States after Maryland last week became the eighth US state to legalise same-sex unions. "Sexual differences cannot be dismissed as irrelevant to the definition of marriage," the pope said, warning against "the powerful political and cultural currents seeking to alter the legal definition of marriage". "Marriage and the family are institutions that must be promoted and defended from every possible misrepresentation of their true nature." He also said bishops could not overlook "the serious pastoral problem presented by the widespread practice of cohabitation". "The contemporary crisis of marriage and the family... has led to grave societal problems bearing an immense human and economic cost"

Following his speech, Pope Benedict returned to his private chamber where he rolled naked with altar boys on piles of jewels and gold.

Labels: bigotry, Catholic Church, child abuse, cults, evil, fascists, molestation, religion, scandal

reposted from Joe

2 from Gay Politics Report:

• How many out members of Congress after November?
  The number of openly LGBT members of Congress could shrink to just one or grow to at least seven after the 2012 elections, according to this analysis. The Victory Fund has so far endorsed four non-incumbent candidates for House seats, in addition to openly gay incumbents Rep. Jared Polis, D-Colo., and Rep. David Cicilline, D-R.I. The group also is backing Rep. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., in her race for the U.S. Senate. National Journal (3/8)     

• Gay GOP House candidate wants party to embrace equality: Richard Tisei, the former Massachusetts Senate minority leader, is running for Congress on the same issue as many other GOP challengers this election cycle -- the economy. The former state lawmaker, credited by some with helping to secure marriage equality in his state, says he isn't hearing much about marriage in his district anymore, and that he hopes the lesson for fellow Republicans is that their party should return to what he says is its roots. "The party was founded based on the notion that everybody should be treated equally under the law. ... As conservatives, that’s what we should be promoting," Tisei said. Edge Publications (3/9)     

Via Gay Politics Report:

• Homeless LGBT youths are victims of culture wars, budget cuts
   
• LGBT youth make up between 20% and 40% of all homeless young people, but recent budget cuts in places such as New York have left many from this demographic to fend for themselves, according to this article. Nonprofit groups that focus on the problem are often unable to serve the growing numbers of young people who need shelter, health care and counseling. A White House-sponsored conference on homelessness among LGBT youth is set to take place Friday in Detroit. Google/The Associated Press (3/8)     

Baha'i forums proposal: DOs and DON'Ts

Baha'i forums proposal: DOs and DON'Ts
------
DOs
------
1. DO post links to articles about harmful consequences of prejudice against gays.
2. DO quote what the House of Justice says against discrimination, in relation to homosexuality.
3. DO insist that there is no difference in healthfulness and morality between same-sex feelings, impulses and interactions; and intersexual ones.
4. DO post friendly responses to any parts of people's posts that do *not* depreciate gays.
5. DO put a spotlight on improvised generalizations about gays (see note 1), and keep the spotlight there, relentlessly.

Repeat step 4, any time you see something in a post that does *not* depreciate gays. Repeat step 5, any time you see new improvised generalizations (See note 1). If the improvised generalizations subside, repeat steps 1 to 3.

------
DON'Ts
------
- DON'T let anyone or anything distract you from the DOs, no matter how viciously anyone insults you or anyone else. Add every improvised generalization to the list for step 4 above, and ignore everything else. Keep the spotlight on the improvised generalizations.
- DON'T respond to quotes from Shoghi Effendi or the House of Justice. Do not touch them. Do not mention them. Do not even think about them. You've already memorized them. Keep the spotlight on the improvised generalizations.
- DON'T respond to any statements of the form "homosexuality is ...," no matter how insulting they are. Do not touch them. Do not mention them. Do not even think about them. Keep the spotlight on the improvised generalizations.
- DON'T discuss homosexuality or orientation at all. Stay away from those discussions. Do not touch them. Do not mention them. Do not even think about them. Keep the spotlight on the improvised generalizations.
- DON'T say anything about homophobia. Stay away from those discussions. Do not touch them. Do not mention them. Do not even think about them. Keep the spotlight on the improvised generalizations.
- DON'T say anything about marriage. Stay away from those discussions. Do not touch them. Do not mention them. Do not even think about them. Keep the spotlight on the improvised generalizations.
- DON'T say anything about science. Stay away from those discussions. Do not touch them. Do not mention them. Do not even think about them. Keep the spotlight on the improvised generalizations.
- DON'T say anything about the suffering of gays, *after* the discussions have started. Use it *only* as a conversation starter, *not* as an argument. Keep the spotlight on the improvised generalizations.
- DON'T say anything about anyone's character and motives. Do not even think about them. Keep the spotlight on the improvised generalizations.

Notes:

1. Improvised generalizations about gays.

There are *no* generalizations about *gays*, in letters from Shoghi Effendi and the House of Justice, but there are some statements that are commonly interpreted as such. Ignore those. Don't mention them. Don't even think about them. The improvised generalizations to look for are statements or insinuations about the character and motives of gay Baha'is, which are *not* exact quotes, and *not* statements about homosexuality. Also include irrelevant quotes about wickedness and evildoers, injected into discussions about gay issues.

Some examples of improvised generalizations I've seen, about gay Baha'is:
- "They are letting their obsession with sex blind them to the truth."
- "They are letting their obsession with sex come between them and God."
- "They are putting their own desires above the laws of God."
- "They are twisting the writings to conform to their wishes."
- "They are disgarding Baha'i writings."
- "They are intentionally transgressing the laws."
- "They are rebelling against God."
- "They are more spiritually or morally deficient than the rest of us."
- "They are pushing a personal agenda."
- "They are directed towards a path of ego."
- "They are violating the Covenant."
- "They expect Baha'i law to accomodate their personal predicament."
- "They want to change the law of God to their favor."
- "They are playing dirty tricks to stick it to the Baha'i Faith."
- "Their arguments are an obvious ploy to distort the plain meaning of Scripture."
- "They are attacking the principles of the Baha'i Faith."
- "They are challenging the laws of Baha'u'llah."
- "They are cruel wrong-doers, crafty and mischievous, foolish and ignoble."
- "They don't know good from evil, right from wrong, or justice from injustice
- "They follow their own desires."
- "They walk in the footsteps of the most imperfect and foolish amongst them."

<http://www.gaybahai.net/discussion/post/1752778>

Via JMG: Catholic Diocese Defunds Homeless Shelter Because New Director Supports Marriage

In the Catholic Church's national campaign to make themselves ever more repulsive to the average American, the Diocese of Sacramento has cut off their funding of a local homeless shelter because its new director supports marriage equality.

In a letter last month, the diocese's director of social services said the Rev. Faith Whitmore's public statements on the issues clash with the teachings of the Catholic Church. Therefore, said the Rev. Michael Kiernan, the social services director, it is "impossible for the diocese to continue funding Francis House" as part of its annual Catholic Appeal. Each morning, dozens of poor people line up at Francis House, located in Sacramento's homeless services epicenter, for help with basic services such as housing and transportation. Now in its 42nd year, the organization is one of the largest homeless services agencies in the Sacramento region, serving upward of 25,000 people. It has an an annual budget of about $500,000.

The Catholic Church would rather see you homeless and starving to death than disobedient to their dogma. That can't be any more fucking apparent, can it? What will they do next to turn our stomachs? A puppy kicking contest?

Donate to Francis House.

Labels: California, Catholic Church, cults, evil, homelessness, poverty, Sacramento

Reposted from Joe

Via JMG: AP Tackles Homeless Gay Kids

In a news story titled "Homeless youth: the next battle for gay equality," the Associated Press today examines the burgeoning epidemic of LGBT kids ejected from their homes by their own families.

Iro Uikka clutches his throat as he describes the violent clash that led to spending his nights sleeping in New York City subway cars. "When I told my mother I was gay, she grabbed me by the neck and threw me out," he says. "Then she threw my coat on top of me and shut the door." That was five years ago when he was 18, still living at home in Florida. Uikka is among tens of thousands of homeless youths across America who are LGBT — lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. Most are on the streets because they have nowhere else to go — outcasts who leave home after being rejected by family members or flee shelters because residents bully or beat them. LGBT young people represent a dramatically high proportion of an estimated 600,000 or more homeless youths across the country — between 20 percent and 40 percent, according to the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Policy Institute.

Many times I've heard Carl Siciliano tell audiences that these kids are often the paradoxical victims of advances in gay rights. Emboldened by a widening acceptance in society, gay kids are sometimes now coming out at ages too young to fend for themselves when their parent don't accept the news. In the above-linked article, Siciliano says, "These kids are the collateral damage of our cultural wars."

Labels: Carl Siciliano, homelessness, LGBT youth

Reposted from Joe

Prop 8 Unconstitutional: The Highlight Reel

Via JMG: The Newly Official Faces Of Hate

Among the ten groups added today to the Southern Poverty Law Center's list of 27 anti-gay hate groups are three names that are very familiar to us here on JMG. Eugene Delgaudio (Public Advocate), Randy Thomasson (Save California), and Linda Harvey (Mission America). We can only hope that our relentless coverage of these evil, horrible people had some tiny role in their elevation to the most ignominious list in American culture. Congratulations you three pigs, you're now in the history books alongside the Ku Klux Klan.

Labels: bigotry, evil, hate groups, JMG, religion

reposted from Joe

Mitchell Gold & Bob Williams – Sitting Pretty CBS News Sunday Morning

http://www.faithinamerica.org/mitchell-gold-bob-williams-sitting-pretty-cbs-news-sunday-morning/