- Democrats’ evolution on marriage to be finalized this week
- When the Democratic Party approves a new platform document this week embracing full marriage rights for same-sex couples, the vote will cap a complete transition on the issue since former President Bill Clinton signed the Defense of Marriage Act in 1996. Advocates say the platform language is a "societal cue" to those struggling with their own views about marriage equality. Some at last week’s Republican National Convention tried to get their party to ease its official opposition to partnership rights for same-sex couples, but they were not successful. San Francisco Chronicle (9/2), The Boston Globe/The Associated Press (tiered subscription model) (9/4)
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.
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Via Gay Politics Report:
Via JMG: Scott Lively: We Need To Run Gay-Friendly Politicians Out With Tar And Feathers
"Now we know that when the leftists attempt to push a 'gay fascism bill' in politically conservative areas, our response must be to create controversy to draw public attention to the bill so that the people wake up and realize there’s a problem. Throw out the old playbook of acting nice and trying to persuade the public officials through reason. They think they are smarter than you all anyhow and have already made up their minds. They need to see angry crowds with tar and feathers in hand coming to run them out of office! Indeed, the Mayor of Springfield complained to the media that he was extremely bothered by threats of recall by the citizens.
"If you find out there’s a 'gay fascism bill'” coming to your conservative town and need help exposing it to the public, just give me a call and I’ll come to help. Invite me to give a speech on my book The Pink Swastika: Homosexuality in the Nazi Party or address the global threat of homosexuality – or to give a give a sermon or lecture on ANY aspect of the homosexual issue. When they hear I’m coming to town every left-wing fanatic for miles around will start wailing and gnashing their teeth, and normal people will start popping their heads up to see what’s going on. Once that snowball of public controversy starts down the hill it takes very little effort to keep it rolling till it smashes right through the doors of city hall like an avalanche." - Hate group leader Scott Lively, writing for World Net Daily.
Labels: bigotry, douchenozzles, evil, hate groups, LGBT rights, religion, Scott Lively, World Net Daily
Via JMG: John Aravosis Vs Jennifer Rubin
Via JMG: DNC Button: Sluts Vote
Dana Loesch is outraged:
"Because nothing says 'respect women; like wearing a giant slut button. Respect women, even when they reduce themselves to nothing more than vaginas in a craft project gone horribly wrong and advocate for female genocide. Who's declaring a war on whom?"You just have to laugh.
Via JMG: Dublin Endorses Marriage Equality
Great news via press release from Ireland Marriage Equality:
Today Marriage Equality welcomes the news that Dublin City Council has passed a motion in support of civil marriage for same sex couples. Two motions in support of marriage equality were put forward - by councillors from Labour and Sinn Féin - and passed at last night's council meeting, having been considered jointly. Dublin City Council joins Cork City Council and Belfast City Council, who passed similar motions in June, as well as Omagh, Down, Moyle and Magherafelt District Councils who passed motions during the summer months.The vote was 38-4!
"This is a wonderful step by Dublin City Council to raise awareness of this important issue at a local level. We'd like to thank the councillors from both Labour and Sinn Féin for their initiative, and our supporters in Dublin who spoke to their councillors over the last few months about raising the issue," said Marriage Equality Director Moninne Griffith. "Marriage equality is not just a national issue, it's a local one. It's about respecting and protecting loving couples and families who are part of our communities and treating them as equal. That is why putting the issue on the agenda at local level is so important."
Via Buddhist Boot Camp / FB:
Even if you sit for twenty minutes and spend twenty minutes trying to bring your mind back to the breath, you have not failed at meditation! Catching the mind as it drifts off and bringing it back IS mediation. Don't be discouraged.. keep going!
Via Buddhism on Beliefnet:
Daily Buddhist Wisdom | |||
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Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:
Tricycle Daily Dharma September 4, 2012
Be Who You Are
Don’t
try to do anything at all except what you’re doing, which will seem
like nothing to most observers. Little do they know! Even if what you’re
doing is being distracted and hating sitting on your cushion
accomplishing nothing—just do that. Don’t try to be anything other than
who and what you are.
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- Brad Warner, "How to Not Waste Time"
Monday, September 3, 2012
Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:
Tricycle Daily Dharma September 3, 2012
No-working is True Working
The
idea of naturalness is that no-working is true working. It’s the
understanding that things don’t happen due to your own calculation and
effort. You don’t sit there thinking, 'All right now, if I’m able to
follow the eightfold path and do everything the right way, then I will
attain awakening.' That’s your own deluded, ego-based effort. I did this, I am able to do that—the
moment you start thinking that way, your ego mind comes into play. Yet
when the karmic conditions are right, when your causes and conditions
come together, you can progress along the path.
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- Reverend Patricia Kanaya Usuki, "The Great Compassion"
Sunday, September 2, 2012
Tricycle Daily Dharma September 2, 2012
Fundamental Well-Being
We
need to see the primordial potential in all of our experiences in the
same way a doctor sees the health and well-being in his patients. If a
patient didn’t possess a fundamental well-being, what would be the point
of prescribing such antidotes as medicines, exercise, or new diets?
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- Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche, "Free Expression"
Via JMG: BRAZIL: Gay Man Wins Paternity Leave
For the first time ever, a Brazilian court has granted paternity leave to a gay man who just adopted a child with his partner.
Normally Brazilian fathers are only given five days off work after becoming parents, while mothers receive four months off, but a Brazilian court found that it was discriminatory for a gay couple to receive less combined parental leave than a heterosexual couple. As a result Lucimar da Silva will become the first Brazilian man to receive the same parental leave as a woman. Brazil’s social security agency has agreed to honor the decision. ‘However unusual it may seem to grant maternity leave to a male person … this hypothesis is possible when the father takes care of the newborn,’ the agency told Brazilian TV network O Globo.Unfortunately this decision does not set precedent and future applicants will also have to go to court to earn paternity leave.
JMG Quote Of The Day - Micky Ward
"I can’t support Scott Brown. I just can’t do it. I found out Scott is anti-union and I’m a Teamster guy. I found out he’s also against gay marriage and I say if you love someone you should have the same rights no matter who you are." - Boxing legend Micky Ward, retracting his endorsement of Sen. Scott Brown, who was about to appear at Ward's gym for a photo op. Mark Wahlberg played Ward in the Oscar-winning movie The Fighter.
Saturday, September 1, 2012
Via 2012 Healing the Planet 2012 / FB:
Hold on to what is good,
Even if it’s a handful of earth.
Hold on to what you believe,
Even if it’s a tree that stands by itself.
Hold on to what you must do,
Even if it’s a long way from here.
Hold on to your life,
Even if it’s easier to let go.
Hold on to my hand,
Even if someday I’ll be gone away from you.
- A Pueblo Indian Prayer
· · Share · 10 · 4 minutes ago ·
Hold on to what is good,
Even if it’s a handful of earth.
Hold on to what you believe,
Even if it’s a tree that stands by itself.
Hold on to what you must do,
- A Pueblo Indian Prayer
Even if it’s a handful of earth.
Hold on to what you believe,
Even if it’s a tree that stands by itself.
Hold on to what you must do,
Even if it’s a long way from here.
Hold on to your life,
Even if it’s easier to let go.
Hold on to my hand,
Even if someday I’ll be gone away from you.
Hold on to your life,
Even if it’s easier to let go.
Hold on to my hand,
Even if someday I’ll be gone away from you.
- A Pueblo Indian Prayer
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