Via JMG: "Give Me" Vs "Let Me"

"Among voters who saw the desire by gays and lesbians to be legally wedded as a bid primarily for the rights and protections that heterosexual couples have, same-sex marriage was a loser. Only 26 percent of them voted for its legalization, while 74 percent voted against. But among voters who believed that gays and lesbians were chiefly interested in being able to pledge the fullest and most public commitment possible to their partners, same-sex marriage was a huge, huge winner. Eighty-five percent of those voters supported it, while only 15 percent opposed it.

"That’s a fascinating microcosm of, and window into, broader political dynamics. When an initiative in this country is framed or understood largely as an attempt by a given constituency to get more, the opposition to it is frequently bolstered, the resistance strengthened. Even if the constituency is trying to right a wrong or rectify a disadvantage, 'Give me' can be a risky approach. 'Let me' is often a better one, and when voters hear gays and lesbians asking to participate in a hallowed institution for the most personal and heartfelt of reasons, voters may have a more positive reaction." - Frank Bruni, writing about an analysis of Washington state's voters.

Labels: Frank Bruni, marriage equality, Washington state

Reposted from Joe

JMG Editorial Of The Day:

From the Washington Post:

In striking down both laws, the Supreme Court could adopt the logic of the various appeals courts, or it could find other legally acceptable ways to avoid a sweeping ruling just yet. Same-sex couples could then marry in California, and married same-sex couples across the country could obtain federal benefits — but other states would have more time to consider their own policies on the issue. Such an outcome might disappoint those who see no justification for continued discrimination. But it would nevertheless be an important step in the right direction.
Of course, the justices have a third option: upholding DOMA, Proposition 8 or both. Choosing that way would be a historic mistake. The court’s job is to determine judges’ proper role in moving the country away from discrimination, not to enshrine that discrimination in constitutional doctrine. However the court rules, its decision will be a guidepost on a road that eventually ends in legal and social acceptance of equal rights. It should not point backward.

Has your own paper opined on this topic?

Labels: DOMA, Proposition 8, SCOTUS, WaPo

Reposted from Joe

Via JMG: World Net Daily Endorses Uganda's Plan To Imprison Homosexuals For Life

World Net Daily has republished Scott Lively's endorsement of Uganda's allegedly revised Anti-Homosexuality Act, which he claims now only plans to imprison LGBT people and their allies for the rest of their lives.  Christian Love™ in action.

Labels: Africa, Christian Love, gay death penalty, Joseph Farah, religion, Scott Lively, Uganda, World Net Daily

Reposted from Joe

Via JMG: VATICAN CITY: Pope Blesses Uganda's Rebecca "Kill The Gays" Kadaga

Ugandan Parliament Speaker Rebecca Kadaga, who last month promised the passage of the Anti-Homosexuality Act as a "Christmas gift to Christians," yesterday appeared in Vatican City to receive a blessing from the Pope. From the website of the Uganda Parliament:

Kadaga who led a delegation of Ugandan legislators to the Vatican expressed delight at meeting the Pope and visiting St Peter’s Basilica. “I think this is a moment that cannot be repeated. We have been reading about him, hearing stories about St.Peter’s Basilica but now we are here physically. I think it is something that I will remember all my life. Its a very great moment and I thank God for this opportunity,” she said minutes after meeting the Pope. The Speaker dedicated to all Ugandans readings from the book of St. Mark which the Pope quoted in several languages during the Vatican mass.

And there you have it. A blessing from the Pope upon the woman who wants you executed. It can't get any plainer than that, can it?

Labels: Catholic Church, Christian Love, cults, gay death penalty, organized crime, pope, Rebecca Kadaga, religion, Uganda, Vatican

Reposted from Joe

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma December 14, 2012

Giving Without Regret

Buddhism praises the value of generosity but warns that you shouldn’t give something away if you’re likely to be upset later and regret giving it away. Similarly, although it’s good to help others, we shouldn’t agree to do something for another person if it will likely lead us to feel exhausted, resentful, and angry at the other person. Each of us has to judge our own capacities and set our boundaries accordingly.

- Lorne Ladner, "Taking a Stand"

Read the entire article in the Wisdom Collection through December 16th, 2012
For full access at any time, become a Tricycle Community Supporting or Sustaining Member

Via JMG: House GOP Raises DOMA Defense Budget

The Republican House secretly raised their budget to defend DOMA by $500,000 according to September documents just revealed.

House Administration Chairman Dan Lungren, R-Calif., signed off in September on a $500,000 increase in the maximum value of the contract with the firm, Washington-based Bancroft. Republicans have raised the cap of the contract twice: first on Sept. 29, 2011, from its original maximum of $500,000 to $1.5 million, and again on Sept. 28 to its new maximum of $2 million. Although the latest lifting of the contract cap occurred almost three months ago, House Democrats — and the public — were in the dark about the move until this week.

Rep. Nancy Pelosi reacts on her official website:

Here they go again. It’s bad enough that Speaker Boehner and House Republicans are wasting taxpayer dollars to defend the indefensible Defense of Marriage Act – and losing in every case. Now, they have reached a new low – signing a secret contract to spend more public money on their legal boondoggle without informing Democrats. Their actions are simply unconscionable; their decisions are utterly irresponsible. “Hiding this contract from voters in the midst of an election season was a cynical move at best, and a betrayal of the public trust at worst. With Americans focused on the creation of jobs and the growth of our economy, Republicans should not be spending $2 million to defend discrimination in our country.

Labels: DOMA, GOP, John Boehner, LGBT rights

Reposted from Joe

Via Buddhism on Beliefnet:

Daily Buddhist Wisdom
	Hostilities aren't stilled through hostility, regardless. Hostilities are stilled through non-hostility: this, an unending truth. - Dhammapada, 1, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu. More Buddhism Quotes >>

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma December 13, 2012

Necessary Closeness

It is not sufficient merely to see that sentient beings are suffering. You must also develop a sense of closeness with them, a sense that they are dear. With that combination—seeing that people suffer and thinking of them as dear—you can develop compassion.

- Jeffrey Hopkins, "Everyone as a Friend"

Read the entire article in the Wisdom Collection through December 15th, 2012
For full access at any time, become a Tricycle Community Supporting or Sustaining Member

Via United Nations For a Free Tibet (India)'s FB:

Via Buddhism on Beliefnet:

	Daily Buddhist Wisdom
	There are, bhikkhus, two successive Dhamma-teachings of the Tathagata, the Arahant, the Fully Enlightened One. What are the two? 'See evil as evil'--this is the first Dhamma-teaching. 'Having seen evil as evil, be rid of it, be detached from it, be freed from it'--this is the second Dhamma-teaching. - Itivuttaka More Buddhism Quotes >>

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma December 12, 2012

Accepting the Pain of Relationships

Mindfulness can transform all our personal relationships—but only if we are willing to feel the inevitable pain that relationships entail. When we turn away from our distress, we inevitably abandon our loved ones as well as ourselves. But when we mindfully and compassionately incline toward whatever is arising within us, we can be truly present and alive for ourselves and others.

- Christopher K. Germer, "Getting Along"

Read the entire article in the Wisdom Collection through December 14th, 2012
For full access at any time, become a Tricycle Community Supporting or Sustaining Member

Via JMG: Your Mother Made You Gay

Researchers at the University of California believe they've found another clue to the origins of homosexuality.

A group of scientists suggested Tuesday that homosexuals get that trait from their opposite-sex parents: A lesbian will almost always get the trait from her father, while a gay man will get the trait from his mother. The hereditary link of homosexuality has long been established, but scientists knew it was not a strictly genetic link, because there are many pairs of identical twins who have differing sexualities. Scientists from the National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis say homosexuality seems to have an epigenetic, not a genetic link.
Long thought to have some sort of hereditary link, a group of scientists suggested Tuesday that homosexuality is linked to epi-marks — extra layers of information that control how certain genes are expressed. These epi-marks are usually, but not always, "erased" between generations. In homosexuals, these epi-marks aren't erased — they're passed from father-to-daughter or mother-to-son, explains William Rice, an evolutionary biologist at the University of California Santa Barbara and lead author of the study.

Hit the link for much more and enjoy the uproar from God's Gentle People who are pouring into the comments.
UPDATE: Wasn't Fischer just saying it's a choice? 

Labels: homosexuality, science, sexuality

Reposted from Joe

Via JMG: Scott Lively Endorses Uganda's "Revised" Plan To Imprison Homosexuals For Life

Hate group leader Scott Lively, whom many believe to be the person most responsible for Uganda's "Kill The Gays" bill, announced today that he is endorsing the allegedly revised version of the bill which only calls for gay people and their allies to be imprisoned for life.
Lively writes on his blog:

Just because Secular Humanist America began to decriminalize sexual sins in civilian law starting in the early 1960s doesn’t mean criminal sanctions against homosexuality are “un-Christian.” Indeed, given the enormous damage to our culture from the so-called sexual revolution, it was obviously a big mistake for us to have done this. Knowing what we know now it is arguably more “un-Christian” to support the status quo than to support a return to the legal framework of the 1940s and 50s regarding sexual misbehavior.[snip]  There is one easy, guaranteed method of protecting oneself from ever being subject to the Anti-Homosexuality law in Uganda: Don’t Commit Sodomy! We all seem to forget, in the dense propaganda haze of American popular opinion, that homosexuality is defined by voluntary sexual acts. Homosexuals are no more compelled to commit sodomy with each other than a married man is compelled to cheat on his wife.

He concludes: "Since the alternative to passing this bill is to allow the continuing, rapid, foreigner-driven homosexualization of Ugandan culture, I am giving the revised Anti Homosexuality Bill my support."
It's important to note that Scott Lively enjoys the full-throated endorsement of other anti-gay hate groups, including the Family Research Council, Mission America, and Americans For Truth About Homosexuality.  Will any of these groups object to Lively's support for life imprisonment for LGBT people? Don't hold your fucking breath.

Labels: Africa, bigotry, Christian Love, fascists, gay death penalty, God's Gentle People, hate groups, religion, Scott Lively, Uganda

Reposted from Joe

Via JMG: Uruguay House Overwhelmingly Approves Same-Sex Marriage By 81-6 Vote

Rex Wockner and Andres Duque have the good news:

Eighty-one of the 99 members of Uruguay's House of Representatives voted to legalize same-sex marriage this evening. Twelve members of the chamber were not present for the vote. The bill now advances to the Senate, where support is equally strong, according to LGBT activists. President José Mujica plans to sign the measure into law in early 2013. "Very happy here!" said Álvaro Queiruga of the LGBT lobby group Colectivo Ovejas Negras (Black Sheep Collective). Uruguay will be the 12th nation to offer same-sex marriage nationwide. Same-sex marriage is legal in Argentina, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Iceland, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Sweden and Mexico (where same-sex marriage is legal in the Federal District, i.e. Mexico City, and in the state of Oaxaca, and those marriages are recognized nationwide).

Yet another victory in our best year ever. So far!

Labels: marriage equality, South America, Uruguay

Reposted from Joe

Via Buddhism on Beliefnet:

	Daily Buddhist Wisdom
	The king said: 'Venerable Nagasena, where does wisdom dwell?' 'Nowhere, O king.' 'Then, Sir, there is no such thing as wisdom.' 'Where does the wind dwell, O king?' 'Not anywhere, Sir.' 'So there is no such thing as wind.' 'Well answered, Nagasena!' - Milindapanha 77 More Buddhism Quotes >>

Seattle Men's Chorus & Seattle Women's Chorus Celebrate Marriage Equality

Impeach Supreme Court Justic!e Antonin Scalia!

Justice Antonin Scalia Compares Gay Sex To Bestiality And Murder (AGAIN)

Yesterday Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia repeated one of his most famously foul comparisons.

Speaking at Princeton University, Scalia was asked by a gay student why he equates laws banning sodomy with those barring bestiality and murder. "I don't think it's necessary, but I think it's effective," Scalia said, adding that legislative bodies can ban what they believe to be immoral. Scalia has been giving speeches around the country to promote his new book, "Reading Law," and his lecture at Princeton comes just days after the court agreed to take on two cases that challenge the federal Defense of Marriage Act, which defines marriage as between a man and a woman.
Some in the audience who had come to hear Scalia speak about his book applauded but more of those who attended the lecture clapped at freshman Duncan Hosie's question. "It's a form of argument that I thought you would have known, which is called the 'reduction to the absurd,'" Scalia told Hosie of San Francisco during the question-and-answer period. "If we cannot have moral feelings against homosexuality, can we have it against murder? Can we have it against other things?"

Scalia also again rejected arguments that the U.S. Constitution should be considered a "living document" that can be updated to reflect the times. He said, "It's dead, dead, dead, dead,"

Labels: Antonin Scalia, disgusting, DOMA, homosexuality, LGBT rights, Proposition 8, SCOTUS

Reposted from Joe

Via O Bosque de Berkana / FB:

Não tente adivinhar o que as pessoas pensam a seu respeito.
''Faça a sua parte, se doe sem medo.
O que importa mesmo é o que você é.
Mesmo que outras pessoas não se importem.
Atitudes simples podem melhorar sua vida.

Não julgue para não ser julgado...
Um covarde é incapaz de demonstrar amor
- isso é privilégio dos corajosos.''

Mahatma Gandhi

Follower of the Buddha / FB: Dilgo Khyentse Fellowship - Shechen's photo.

‎"You, the practitioner, should first of all be like a bee going from flower to flower collecting nectar. At the stage when you are listening to and studying the teachings, learn all of them carefully, in both words and meaning. Then, you should be like a wild animal. Not satisfied with a mere theoretical understanding, go to live in mountain solitudes where you can be free from all the busy involvement of ordinary life. Be self-sufficient and firm in one-pointed practice, as you discover directly for yourself the profound meaning of the teachings. Finally, as you put the teachings into practice and integrate them with your being, you should be like a peg driven into hard ground. Unshaken by thoughts during meditation, remain unwavering. Cut away all limiting concepts of existence and non-existence from within, and directly encounter the face of the ultimate nature of everything. " 

Kyabje Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche