Wednesday, March 28, 2012
JMG HomoQuotable - Larry Kramer
"Why can't we, once and for all, bond together to fight for our mutual needs? Where are the leaders who can lead us on this journey to our equality? Where's our army? I don't see either. We face this coming election naked and unprepared and as always exceptionally vulnerable."What does that say about how much the gay population wants to fight for these rights that I speak of? I think we help to kill each other by not fighting together to get these rights, by fighting each other instead, and not fighting against all the hate that's always out there coming non-stop from our enemies.
"And just like all the Jews in the world couldn't form Hannah Arendt's army to save all their brothers and sisters, the gays of today once again do the same. You'd think one day we'd learn. You don't get anything unless you fight for it, united and with visible numbers. If ACT UP taught us anything, it taught us that. We had greatness in our hands, but we couldn't quite carry the ball over the goal line.
"I'm not certain I see where that necessary anger and firepower is going to come from as we approach another election, where our rights are going to be on the table for fighting over by one and all, the haters and the non-haters and the ones being hated. At this moment in time, I am not very sanguine. In fact on certain days I get downright depressed.
"All the more reason then to celebrate ACT UP's 25th birthday, at least as a touchstone on our never-ending journey to find our equality and with the hope that one day we can get -- and keep -- our act together. So happy birthday, ACT UP, to all my dead brothers and sisters we couldn't save in time. I'm sorry we're no longer doing much that is productive to celebrate that you lived, that you were here, and that some lucky ones -- all the rest of us -- still are." - Larry Kramer, writing for the Huffington Post.
Read the full essay.
Via Think Progress: Ari Fleischer Thinks President Obama Will Endorse Marriage Equality After Election
USA: Ari Fleischer Thinks President Obama Will Endorse Marriage Equality After Election
Written by scott on March 28th, 2012 Former Bush Press Secretary Ari Fleischer predicted that President Obama will evolve towards full support for same-sex marriage after the election. During an interview with CNN’s Anderson Cooper Tuesday night, Fleischer sought to explain Obama’s “flexibility” remark to Russian President Dmitri Medvedev by suggesting that he could change his mind on controversial issues.Full Story from Think Progress
Click here for gay wedding resources.
Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:
Tricycle Daily Dharma March 28, 2012
The Perfection of Purity
Sustaining and furthering insight into selflessness is the act of purification, and yet the purpose of it all is not the process of purification but the nature of life when the goal has been reached. When the realization of this nature is complete, the heart has arrived at perfect nirvana, free from any clinging whatsoever. It is the realization that there is no one here to be pure or impure—only a quality of brightness and ease, a rich and fearless peace. This is the perfection of purity. |
- Amaro Bhikkhu, “The Perfection of Purity”
Read the entire article in the Tricycle Wisdom Collection
Read the entire article in the Tricycle Wisdom Collection
Via AmericaBlogGay:
AP covers NOM's secret plan to start a race war in America
NOM is now bragging about its outreach to the black community.
The organization put in writing its plans to destroy the first African-American President in part by creating a race war. I wonder how the black community feels about that kind of "outreach."
The organization put in writing its plans to destroy the first African-American President in part by creating a race war. I wonder how the black community feels about that kind of "outreach."
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
JMG Quote Of The Day - Adam Savage
"I have concluded through careful, empirical analysis and much thought that somebody is looking out for me. Keeping track of what I think about things, forgiving me when I do less then I ought, giving me strength to shoot for more than I think I am capable of. I believe they know everything that I do and think and they still love me and I’ve concluded after careful consideration that this person keeping score is me." - Mythbusters host Adam Savage, speaking at the Reason Rally.RELATED: Head over to The Friendly Atheist for a massive recap of the Reason Rally. Videos, photos, quotes.
Via JMG: New York Times Picks Up NOM Scandal
Just posted at the NYT's Caucus Blog:“The strategic goal of the project is to drive a wedge between gays and blacks — two key Democratic constituencies,” reads a portion of the memo, describing an initiative called the “Not a Civil Right Project.” The project’s goal, according to the memo, is to recruit blacks who oppose gay marriage to serve as spokespeople for the group, then “provoke the gay marriage base into responding by denouncing these spokesmen and women as bigots.” Another initiative, described under the heading “Internationalizing the Marriage issue: A Pan-American Strategy,” is to convince Hispanic voters that efforts to legalize gay marriage would force them to assimilate to “the dominant Anglo culture.” The memo suggests that the strategy was inspired by successful efforts to outlaw same-sex marriage by initiative in California in 2008, when the measure passed with strong support from black voters, who turned out heavily to support Barack Obama for president. Brian S. Brown, executive director of the National Organization for Marriage, did not immediately return a call for comment on Tuesday.
Via JMG: Julian Bond On NOM's Race-Baiting
"NOM's underhanded attempts to divide will not succeed if Black Americans remember their own history of discrimination. Pitting bigotry's victims against other victims is reprehensible; the defenders of justice must stand together." - Julian Bond, Chairman Emeritus, NAACP.Via JMG: Quote Of The Day - SPLC's Mark Potok
"Black folks, this is a message for you: The National Organization for Marriage (NOM), the country’s preeminent group fighting against same-sex marriage, really, really likes you. They even want to make some of you famous! Have NOM’s principal leaders, former president Maggie Gallagher and current leader Brian S. Brown, stood up for African Americans before? Well, not so much. But it turns out that they’ve decided that you’re actually very important. [snip]"NOM isn’t the first organization to use such cynical marketing ploys, schemes that seem to have little do with the interests of the people they claim to represent, and it certainly won’t be the last. But the revelation of its bald attempt to exploit black people and Latinos should help end the idea that NOM is an honorable group that would never engage in race-baiting. Because that is precisely what it has done." - Southern Poverty Law Center spokesman Mark Potok, writing on the SPLC's site. (Tipped by JMG reader Fritz)
Tricycle Daily Dharma March 27, 2012
Having Good Purpose
In America and Europe, everyone is very active. But if you become too active, you lose the essence of Buddhism. You only have the Buddhist labels. One must cultivate peace to be compassionate. Without this, what you do, even as an 'engaged Buddhist' is just a lot of activity with no good purpose. |
- Sulak Sivaraksa, “In Exile from Siam”
Read the entire article in the Tricycle Wisdom Collection
Read the entire article in the Tricycle Wisdom Collection
Via AmericaBlogGay:
It's not like we didn't think this was happening, but, wow, it's really ugly to see it in writing. As John notes on the main AMERICAblog home page, the religious right wanted to fan a race war, and they admitted it in writing. Ben Smith at Buzzfeed calls the documents "explosive".
Earlier tonight, Alvin McEwen tipped me off about some court documents that revealed NOM's strategy. It's ugly. From Alvin:
The National Organization for Marriage's unsuccessful fight to skirt Maine's financial disclosure laws just backfired majorly on the group by revealing a distasteful part of its game plan to stop marriage equality.
According to a court document that was uploaded online, NOM specifically worked to drive a wedge between the black and gay community on the subject of marriage equality
Here's the key passage about gays and blacks (and there's also a strategy for Latinos):
The strategic goal of this project is to drive a wedge between gays and blacks - two key democratic constituencies. We aim to find, equip, energize and connect African American spokespeople for marriage; to develop a media campaign around their objections to gay marriage as a civil right; and to provoke the gay marriage base into responding by denouncing these spokesmen and women as bigots. No politician wants to take up and push an issue that splits the base of the party. Fanning the hostility raised in the wake of Prop 8 is key...
They mean hostility between African-Americans and white gays.
The full document is below. (John links to a second confidential NOM document that is similar to this one, but also includes the "fanning the hostility" phrase. There seem to be at least three different documents.)
Jeremy Hooper and HRC's NOM Exposed are on top of this, too.
And, as for NOM and Latinos, read the post from Dr. Gary Segura, who runs Latino Decisions polling firm -- and was an expert witness in the Prop. 8 case and several DOMA cases. He noted:
For starters, Latinos are far more liberal on marriage equality than stereotypes might suggest.
This has the potential to be a very big story. Ben Smith at BuzzFeed has already picked up the story.
Nom Depo Exhibit 28
Monday, March 26, 2012
Via JMG: Turkish Army Demands Proof Of Gayness
The Turkish Army grants a waiver of the mandatory service requirement if you are gay. But you have to prove it to them.
Ahmet, a young man in his 20s, told officials he was gay at the first opportunity after he was called up, as he and other conscripts underwent a health check. "They asked me if I liked football, whether I wore woman's clothes or used woman's perfume," he says. "I had a few days' beard and I am a masculine guy - they told me I didn't look like a normal gay man." He was then asked to provide a picture of himself dressed as a woman "I refused this request," he says. "But I made them another offer, which they accepted." Instead he gave them a photograph of himself kissing another man. Ahmet hopes this will give him what he needs - a "pink certificate", which will declare him homosexual and therefore exempt from military service.Photo requirement: "The face must be visible, and the photos must show you as the passive partner." The above-linked BBC News report notes that civilian Turkish employers are allowed to ask the army about such waivers.
Via JMG: Herman Cain, WTF? (Part Two)
Via JMG: U.S. Customs To Recognize Gay Families
Homeland Security today announced a proposed rule change that will allow gay families to go through U.S. Customs together. Zack Ford notes at Think Progress: "Before, married same-sex couples had to go through customs separately because the policy referred to married couples, and thus fell under the purview of the Defense of Marriage Act." Yet another advance from the Obama administration.Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:
Tricycle Daily Dharma March 26, 2012
Facing Challenges and Obstacles
When challenges or obstacles arise for us, we don’t have to get so intimidated; we can say, 'Yes, it’s an obstacle, but it is not intrinsically bad; it’s not going to destroy me.' To create a relationship with the obstacle, learn about it, and finally overcome it is going to be a helpful thing to do. It gives us a chance to cultivate wisdom and skillful means. It gives us confidence. We cannot eliminate all of the challenges or obstacles in life—our own or anyone else’s. We can only learn to rise to the occasion and face them. |
- Dzigar Kongtrul, “Old Relationships, New Possibilities”
Read the entire article in the Tricycle Wisdom Collection
Read the entire article in the Tricycle Wisdom Collection
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:
Tricycle Daily Dharma March 25, 2012
An Innocent Mind
What can be described is the known, and the freedom from the known can come into being only when there is a dying every day to the known, to the hurts, the flatteries, to all the images you have made, to all your experiences— dying every day so that the brain cells themselves become fresh, young, innocent. |
- Jiddu Krishnamurti, “A Still Mind”
Read the entire article in the Tricycle Wisdom Collection
Read the entire article in the Tricycle Wisdom Collection
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