Via JMG: President Obama's Inauguration Speech

Joe wrote: Never before has a president mentioned us in an inauguration speech.

Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law – for if we are truly created equal, then surely the love we commit to one another must be equal as well. We, the people, declare today that the most evident of truths – that all of us are created equal – is the star that guides us still; just as it guided our forebears through Seneca Falls, and Selma, and Stonewall; just as it guided all those men and women, sung and unsung, who left footprints along this great Mall, to hear a preacher say that we cannot walk alone; to hear a King proclaim that our individual freedom is inextricably bound to the freedom of every soul on Earth.

Labels: American history, Barack Obama, Inauguration Day, LGBT History, LGBT rights, Stonewall

Reposted from Joe

Via JMG: LGBT Groups Praise President Obama's Inaugural Call For Full Equality

Freedom To Marry

In his second Inaugural today, President Obama traced the moral arc from Seneca Falls to Selma to Stonewall, and rightly exalted the struggle for the freedom to marry as part of America's moral commitment to equality, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Freedom to Marry applauds our president and the moral leadership he has shown, the moral leadership we will continue to need until all Americans, all loving couples, all families, can share fully in the American promise we celebrate on Inauguration Day.

National Gay & LesbianTask Force

We couldn’t agree more. It’s now time for the president — and for all of us — to finish the job of ensuring that every American gets a fair shake. President Obama has repeatedly shown he is willing to fight for us. We have another four years to keep the momentum going, and will be vigilant in pursuing policies to ensure our community is not left behind. This includes pushing for federal LGBT employment protections, ending the so-called Defense of Marriage Act, combating HIV/ADS, preserving a social safety net, and much more. America deserves nothing less than a president who will treat all families fairly. We congratulate President Obama and his administration and look forward to working with them in this second term to build a stronger future for LGBT people and opportunity for all.

Outserve-SLDN

Today, President Obama made history with a clear and passionate declaration of the fundamental rights of LGBT Americans, and all Americans. We honor the work of his first term - especially his leadership in the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" - and expect great progress over the next four years on the very real inequalities that exist for our LGBT service members, veterans, and their families as we work together to bend the moral arc of the universe toward justice.

More reactions will be posted as they arrive. 

Labels: American history, Freedom To Marry, Inauguration Day, LGBT History, LGBT rights, NGLTF

Reposted from Joe

Via Political Loudmouth / FB:

Via Gay Marriage Oregon & George Takei / FB:

Via PQMonthly: President Barack Obama’s Second Inauguration Speech the First to Mention Gays

Add to the list of thing I'm grateful for, a President who recognizes the equal rights of LGBTQ people -- as well as Stonewall's place in history. - ER

President Barack Obama’s Second Inauguration Speech the First to Mention Gays

www.pqmonthly.com

 

 

LGBTQ Americans got their first ever recognition in a presidential inauguration speech today with President Barack Obama’s second. In remarks that touched heavily upon the themes of freedom and equality, President Obama called out the Stonewall Riots in the same breath as other major moments in civil rights history

Via Buddhism on Beliefnet:

	Daily Buddhist Wisdom
	They go to many a refuge, To mountains, forests, Parks, trees, & shrines: People threatened with danger. That's not the secure refuge, Not the supreme refuge, That's not the refuge, Having gone to which You gain release From all suffering & stress. - Dhammapada, 14, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu. More Buddhism Quotes >>

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma January 21, 2013

Remembering Martin Luther King, Jr.

If the teachings of Shakyamuni Buddha are about anything, they are about a profound understanding of identity and the broadest possible meaning of liberty—teachings that sooner or later had to appeal to a people for whom suffering and loss were their daily bread.

- Charles Johnson, "A Sangha by Another Name"

Read the entire article in the Wisdom Collection through January 22nd, 2013
For full access at any time, become a Tricycle Community Supporting or Sustaining Member

Via Global Awakening / FB: Fear

Via The Chronicle Review: The Evolutionary Mystery of Homosexuality

November 19, 2012

The Evolutionary Mystery of Homosexuality

By David P. Barash

Matt Manley for The Chronicle Review

Critics claim that evolutionary biology is, at best, guesswork. The reality is otherwise. Evolutionists have nailed down how an enormous number of previously unexplained phenomena—in anatomy, physiology, embryology, behavior—have evolved. There are still mysteries, however, and one of the most prominent is the origins of homosexuality.

The mystery is simple enough. Its solution, however, has thus far eluded our best scientific minds.

Make the jump here to read the full article 

Via JMG: BRITAIN: What If A Future King Is Gay?

British Labor MP Paul Flynn is preparing an interesting bill. Via Pink News:

Parliament is due to pass legislation shortly to allow for the first child of Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge and Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge to rule as monarch regardless of whether they are a boy or a girl. Now Labour MP Paul Flynn is gathering support for an amendment that will extend the protection to include the eventuality that the child is gay or lesbian.  If accepted, the change to the law could lead to the reign of an openly gay or lesbian king or queen and for their same-sex partner to be recognised as consort. Any children born to the couple through artificial insemination or surrogacy would succeed to the throne so long as the couple are in a same-sex marriage or civil partnership. Current inheritance laws mean that if the couple had a child through adoption, they would not join the line of succession for the throne and it is not clear MPs would seek to change this.

Labels: Britain, marriage equality, royals, UK

Reposted from Joe

Via Path To Peace & Happiness / FB:

Meditation is participatory observation.
What you are looking at responds to the process of looking.
What you are looking at is you, and what you see depends on how you look.  

~Bhante Henepola Gunaratana

 

 

Via Buddhism - Path To Peace

 

Forward: An Anthem for Obama's Second Term (Official Video)

Via WinTrade / FB:

Hoje foi bomba de todo lado!!! O pregão passou o dia oscilando em leves altas e baixas, mas terminou no vermelho. Sem tendências para seguir, o Ibovespa encerrou em queda de 0,38%. A China apresentou o pior PIB em 13 anos, os EUA voltaram a ser pressionados pelo abismo fiscal e os indicadores da Europa foram desanimadores. Saiba mais em #papodepregao http://bit.ly/XJSQNW

Via FB:

Via Buddhist Boot Camp / FB:

If you’ve ever taken a puppy for a walk, you know that it runs after everything that sparks its curiosity. After we train it to obey some simple commands, however, it grows to be our obedient and intuitive best friend.

The mind can be just as active and difficult to control as a puppy, yet we’ve never trained it to listen to us. Why haven’t we done this? Our mind chases random thoughts, jumps to conclusions, and has a hard time staying focused. We have so little control of it, in fact, that sometimes we can’t even turn it off at the end of the day. If it were a puppy, we would be very upset!

We know that Buddhism is about training the mind, and that there are many methods of doing so. The second principle of Buddhist Boot Camp is that our thoughts become words, and our words become actions. To train the mind, however, Buddhist Boot Camp suggests working backward. Start by changing your actions, then be mindful of your speech, and your thoughts will eventually follow.

First, recognize and eliminate your bad habits (whatever they may be). If you habitually act out of anger, for example, then there’s no fertile soil in your mind for the seed of gratitude to grow. To think positively, your actions must be in line with your intentions.

Be part of the solution by not being part of the pollution, for it isn’t enough to simply study Buddhism; we must practice what we learn!

Training the mind requires a lot of self-control, determination, and freedom from anger (whether you follow this particular method, transcendental meditation, yoga, or any other approach).

Buddhist Boot Camp is not here to necessarily teach you anything new, but to encourage you to put into practice what you already know; to point you in the direction of gratitude and unconditional love. We can’t just THINK ABOUT compassion and kindness; we must BE compassionate and kind. Now let’s get to work!

thanks and many _/|\_'s to Buddhist Boot Camp for this

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma January 20, 2013

Abandoning Futile Endeavors

To look for total satisfaction in oneself is a futile endeavor. Since everything changes from moment to moment, where can self and where can satisfaction be found? Yet these are two things that the whole world is looking for and it sounds quite reasonable, doesn’t it? But since these are impossible to find, everybody is unhappy. Not necessarily because of tragedies, poverty, sickness, or death: simply because of unfilled desire. Everybody is looking for something that isn’t available.

- Ayya Khema, “No Satisfaction”

Read the entire article in the Wisdom Collection through January 21st, 2013
For full access at any time, become a Tricycle Community Supporting or Sustaining Member

Via Unreal Americans / FBP:

Via Gay Marriage Oregon / FB:

Via JMG: NEW MEXICO: Democratic State Rep Proposes Ballot Measure On Marriage

New Mexico state Rep. Brian Egolf yesterday introduced a bill that would place a constitutional amendment to legalize same-sex marriage on an upcoming public ballot.

“It’s time to recognize all the families in New Mexico who are headed by same-sex couples,” Egolf said Thursday. The proposal probably won’t have an easy time in the Legislature. Lawmakers in recent years haven’t even been able to pass legislation calling for state-recognized domestic partnership agreements. Egolf’s House Joint Resolution 3 says, “The issuance of a marriage license shall not be denied on the basis that the sex of both applicants is the same. No church or religious institution shall be required to perform a marriage ceremony or recognize a marriage for religious purposes that conflicts with the church’s or religious institution’s beliefs.” The measure, whose co-sponsors include Rep. Stephen Easley, D-Santa Fe, will first be heard in the House Consumer and Public Affairs Committee.

Labels: LGBT rights, marriage equality, New Mexico

Reposted from Joe

Me: "VIVA NEW MEXICO!"