Via JMG: Eliza Doolittle Would Approve

Ben & Jerry's has issued this Cockney flavor in the UK to support the marriage equality movement.

The ice cream maker is also teaming up with Stonewall to launch a new Facebook app today that asks users to ‘marry’ each other online. ‘Proposing’ through Ben and Jerry’s, users can voice their support for marriage equality and add their name to a letter to prime minister David Cameron backing the move. Laura Doughty, Stonewall’s Deputy CEO says “We’re truly moved by Ben and Jerry’s support for same-sex marriage in Britain. “All people want is to call their long-term relationship by the same name as everyone else. Our strong advice to those who disapprove of same-sex marriage is just not to get married to someone of the same sex.”

Labels: Ben And Jerry's, marriage equality, UK

reposted from Joe

Via JMG: Tony Blair Backs Gay Marriage

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair has endorsed David Cameron's plan to legalize same-sex marriage.

Mr Blair's position is likely to anger the Vatican, which is alarmed at moves in both the UK and the US for same-sex unions. Senior church figures are also opposed to church blessings of same-sex civil partnerships. Mr Blair was responsible for pushing through laws on civil partnerships and lowering the age of consent for homosexuals to 16, but he has remained silent on the issue of gay marriage until now. When Mr Blair joined the Catholic Church, six months after leaving Downing Street, the Vatican's chief spokesman, Federico Lombardi, said his conversion "can only arouse joy and respect". He joined because his wife, Cherie, is a Catholic and their four children were brought up in the church. But Ann Widdecombe, the former Tory minister and also a Catholic convert, complained that his record as prime minister clashed with the church's teachings.

Both the Catholic Church and the Church of England have launched vigorous campaigns against same-sex marriage.

Labels: Britain, marriage equality, Tony Blair, UK

reposted from Joe

Via JMG: Feds Consider End To Gay Blood Ban

The Department of Health and Human Services is seeking public comment on a proposed plan to ease the ban on blood donations from gay men.

“[T]he increased effectiveness of donor testing for [Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)], [Hepatitis B Virus (HBV)], syphilis and other infectious agents has greatly enhanced blood safety,” the department states in the notice, which will be published in the Federal Register Tuesday. “As a result, questions have been raised about the need to continue an indefinite deferral of all MSM and whether there could be blood donation by MSM who may not be at increased risk.” HHS specifically is calling on the public to evaluate how the department could design an “innovative and cost effective” pilot program to evaluate “alternative blood donor acceptance criteria for MSM.”

Anti-gay hate groups will surely urge their members to deluge the HHS with protests.

Labels: blood donation, feds, HIV/AIDS, science

reposted from Joe

Via JMG: DENMARK: Gay Marriage By June

News seems to be breaking in Denmark that the Prime Minister today promised the legalization of same-sex marriage by June. A Twitter tipster points us to this early blog report:

The Danish Government is ready with the Law Proposal, which will take effect in June 2012. It is important step for our society, which recognizes the individual's differences and the individual's equality within the society, regardless of who you are, and regardless of who do you love, says PM Thorning. She calls the Law Proposal a completely natural and the right step in the moden Denmark. It will be up to individual priest though to decide, whether they would want to bless the homosexual couples in the church, the PM informs.

More on this when the Danish press weighs in. In 1989 Denmark was the world's first nation to offer federal domestic partnership recognition.

UPDATE: Here's a more formal announcement from the Danish press.

Gay couples can look forward to a church wedding this summer. At her weekly press conference, Tuesday, Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt said the government is putting the finishing touches to a bill that will come into force on June 15th, allowing homosexuals and lesbians to walk down the aisle in the church of their choice – if they can find a priest who’s willing to conduct the ceremony. “It will always be up to the individual priest as to whether he or she is prepared to bless gay couples but this legislation provides homosexuals with the same rights as heterosexuals,” said the PM.

Labels: Denmark, LGBT rights, marriage equality

reposted from Joe

Dunkerton, IA School Assembly Message (portion on homosexuality)

Via JMG: Seen In Delta's In-Flight Magazine

On my flight back from South Florida last week, I noticed the above ad in Delta's in-flight magazine. Today GLAAD issued a press release:

Millions of travelers from all across the globe will learn about the need for vital LGBT-inclusive workplace protections with the release of a new full-page ad appearing in this month’s issue of ‘Delta Sky Magazine.’ Delta Sky is the world’s most-read onboard magazine with a circulation of over 5 million and introduces readers to the people, places and subjects that define our ever-evolving world. The ad, which was created by GLAAD, also commends Delta for its ongoing commitment to equality. Delta Air Lines was designated as one of HRC’s ‘Best Places to Work’ for LGBT employees in 2011, and continues to earn near-perfect scores on HRC’s Corporate Equality Index.

Labels: air travel, employment, GLAAD, LGBT rights

Reposted from Joe

Via JMG: Kentucky Rejects Anti-Bullying Bill

Republicans in the Kentucky House Education Committee today squashed an anti-bullying bill because it would help prevent gay children from killing themselves.

The vote came after parents and friends of teenagers who killed themselves to end incessant school bullying told lawmakers about the need for stronger protections for all students. Several lawmakers on the panel contended that existing anti-bullying laws are sufficient. Rep. Ben Waide, R-Madisonville, said House Bill 336 was an attempt "to achieve equality by making some people more equal than others." He said the measure was not about bullying, but "about gay rights in our schools."

Not even sobbing pleas from the parents of dead children can move these monsters.

Labels: bullying, education, GOP, Kentucky

reposted from Joe
 

Via JMG: FRC: Slutty Women Caused Gay Marriage

Forty years ago the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that it should be legal for unmarried women to have access to birth control. And that, says the Family Research Council, is what started America down the slut-strewn road to gay marriage.

On March 22nd, 1972, the Supreme Court undermined the boundaries and benefits of marriage. In the decision Eisenstadt v. Baird, the Court struck down a Massachusetts law prohibiting the distribution of contraceptives to unmarried people, and implicitly sanctioned unmarried non-procreative sexual intimacy. While the decision may seem archaic and insignificant by modern sexual standards, Eisenstadt v. Baird dealt a decisive blow to the legal and cultural norm that marriage was the institution for the full expression of the sexual relationship between man and woman. The decision and its legal consequences affect us today. Forty years ago, the Court ruled that unmarried couples could not be denied their birth control. Today, the Federal government is forcing us to share the cost, for said contraception and some states are giving marital status to homosexual relationships.

(Via Right Wing Watch)

Labels: asshattery, batshittery, birth control, dominionists, fascists, hate groups, liars, theocracy, Tony Perkins

Reposted from Joe

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma March 13, 2012

Don't Go to War

We come upon our greediness, jealousy, or impatience, and the next impulse is to go to war with it. We don’t realize that all the while we’re strengthening the thing we’re fighting against. It’s like trying to push a beach ball into the water. Holding it down requires a huge amount of energy, and inevitably it pops back up with equal force, taking an unpredictable direction. But if you give the beach ball space and let it be, it will float effortlessly along the surface.

- Aura Glaser, "Into the Demon's Mouth"
Read the entire article in the Tricycle Wisdom Collection

Via JMG: SPLC Issues Report On NARTH

The Southern Poverty Law Center has issued an in-depth examination of the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH), which the SPLC calls "the main source for anti-gay junk science." An excerpt:

The LGBT community is overwhelmingly the group most targeted in violent hate crimes, according to an Intelligence Report analysis of 14 years of federal hate crime data. Gay men, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people are more than twice as likely to be attacked in a violent hate crime as Jews or blacks; more than four times as likely as Muslims; and 14 times as likely as Latinos. Despite this hate-inspired violence, anti-gay groups continue to employ virulent rhetoric that demonizes gay men and lesbians, some of it based on NARTH’s research.

This strategy of using science, however flawed, to fortify their religious condemnation of homosexuality was articulated five years ago by the Family Research Institute’s Paul Cameron, a psychologist whose research has been thoroughly discredited by mainstream scientists. “We can no longer rely — as almost all pro-family organizations do today — on gleaning scientific ‘bits’ from those in liberal academia. ... [W]e must subvert the academy by doing original, honest research ourselves,” Cameron wrote. Original, maybe. But honest? NARTH’s many critics argue otherwise.

Please take the time to read the full report.

RELATED: NARTH was cofounded by Charles Socarides, the father of gay activist Richard Socarides, the former White House adviser for Bill Clinton.

ALSO RELATED: You might enjoy my slideshow of our protest at the 2010 convention: Douchebags Of NARTH.

Labels: "ex-gay", bigotry, evil, hate groups, junk science, liars, NARTH, religion

reposted from Joe

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