Via JMG: NBA Commissioner Slams Sports World For Staying Silent On Russia And Gays

"I’m gonna behave myself, for the record here, which is unlike me. But you know, the first phone call to the new head of the Olympics was from President Putin, and everyone wants to talk about the Russian law on homosexuality. Think about the opportunities that sports have to make a continuing statement, and the only thing that we’re saying in that context is ‘Shhhh! No one say anything!’" - NBA Commissioner David Stern, speaking yesterday at the Beyond Sports Summit.

Labels: David Stern, LGBT rights, NBA, Russia, Sochi Olympics, sports, Vladimir Putin

Reposted from Joe

Via JMG: Cher Turns Down Sochi Oympics Gig

 

Cher, seen above performing in June to 10,000 screaming gay men at the NYC Pride Pier Dance, has rejected an offer to appear at the Sochi Olympics. She tells Maclean's: "I can’t name names but my friend called who is a big oligarch over there, and asked me if I’d like to be an ambassador for the Olympics and open the show. I immediately said no. I want to know why all of this gay hate just exploded over there. He said the Russian people don’t feel the way the government does."

Labels: Cher, gay icons, Russia, Sochi Olympics

Reposted from Joe

Via GayPolitics Report:

Russian leader criticized by Pelosi

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said Thursday that she hoped LGBT people were seen by Vladimir Putin as "God's children," a reference to a line in a New York Times op-ed by Putin this week in which the Russian president stated "God created us equal." Separately, the new president of the International Olympic Committee, who received a call from Putin after his election, said the two did not discuss Russia's new anti-gay laws, adding that the IOC would develop a response to those who seek to protest the laws while participating in the upcoming winter games in Sochi. BuzzFeed (9/12), Chicago Tribune (tiered subscription model) (9/10), The New Civil Rights Movement (9/12)
 

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Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma September 13, 2013

Life and Death

Life and death, as my teacher used to point out, are just different names for different states. These are not permanent states. If we have to give it a name, Life with a capital "L" is the basic reality. Ours is not an inert universe, it's an alive universe; so what we call birth and death are just temporary states, temporary transformations, names for our true self at one time, and in one situation.

- Philip Kapleau Roshi, "Life with a Capital ‘L’”

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Tricycle Daily Dharma September 12, 2013

Our Own Salvation

We don’t just seek our own salvation—we are only fully happy when we can be born together with all others. No one is left behind by Amida, no one is left out. This does not sound like the sort of society that we live in today, but it does give us something to aspire to.

- Jeff Wilson, "Come Together"

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Tricycle Daily Dharma September 11, 2013

Power to Shape the Present

Do what you can to help the living, and dedicate the merit of your practice to the dead. We may be powerless to change the past, but we do have the power to shape the present and the future by what we do, moment to moment, right now. And in maintaining our intention to be as skillful as possible in thought, word, and deed, we’ll find the only true refuge there is.

- Thanissaro Bhikkhu "What We've Been Practicing For"

Read the entire article in the 9/11 Special Section through September 12, 2013
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Via GayPolitics Report: New Mexico Supreme Court to hear marriage equality case

New Mexico Supreme Court to hear marriage equality case
The New Mexico Supreme Court agreed Friday to hold a hearing next month to consider whether same-sex couples should be allowed to marry in the state. Clerks from all 33 of the state's counties requested the court address the matter, which has gained attention since eight counties in the state, including the three most populous, began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. The hearing is scheduled for Oct. 23, and a decision is expected shortly thereafter. NBC News/Reuters (9/6), Albuquerque Journal (N.M.) (subscription required) (9/7), Talking Points Memo/TPMLivewire blog (9/9)

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma September 10, 2013

On the Cushion

We all have cherished hopes about what our meditation practice should look like. However, the point is not to achieve some model or ideal but to be aware of all the different states that we experience. That’s a difficult message to believe, and somehow we need to hear it again and again.

- Sharon Salzberg, “Sticking with It”

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Via JMG: Sochi Olympics Head Asks IOC To Stop Bad Press About Russia's Anti-Gay Laws

The head of the Sochi Olympics yesterday asked the IOC for help in squashing the international headlines about Russia's anti-gay laws.

Sochi organizing chief Dmitry Chernyshenko was asked at the IOC general assembly about the possible impact of the legislation that bans gay "propaganda." He said the Russian government had made clear the law would not affect the games, and he urged the IOC to convey the message to "those who are still trying to speculate on this very transparent and very clear topic." "It's very important to have your support to stop this campaign and this speculation regarding this issue," Chernyshenko said. Chernyshenko reiterated that the law doesn't ban homosexuality in any way and "doesn't contradict any element of the Olympic Charter." He noted that President Vladimir Putin has assured that the Russian constitution "guarantees the equality of rights and freedom for everybody" in the country, including guests, visitors, athletes, fans and the Olympic family.

(Tipped by JMG reader Deanna)

Labels: IOC, LGBT rights, Russia, Sochi Olympics

Reposted from Joe

Via JMG: Ruth Bader Ginsburg: Same-Sex Marriage Shows The Genius Of The US Constitution

Speaking on Friday in Philadelphia, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said that growing acceptance of same-sex marriage demonstrates the genius of the US Constitution.

"So I see the genius of our Constitution, and of our society, is how much more embracive we have become than we were at the beginning," Ginsburg said in a far-ranging discussion of her work at the National Constitution Center, steps from the nation's founding at Independence Hall. Ginsburg, 80, gave no hint she would wind down her judicial career anytime soon, noting that the fall docket includes such important issues as campaign finance limits and affirmative action. And, despite her sharp ideological differences with some colleagues, including close friend Antonin Scalia, she said their work environment remains cordial.

Last week Ginsburg became the first Justice to officiate at a gay wedding.

Labels: Ruth Bader Ginsburg, SCOTUS, U.S. Constitution

Reposted from Joe

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma September 9, 2013

Fearless

Fearlessness is not the absence of fear, but the willingness to walk into it. When I walk into my fear, practice there, sit upright in the middle of it, completely open to the experience, with no expectation of the outcome, anything is possible. When our circumstances look impossible or terrifying, there is a way.

- Judith Randall, "The Hidden Lamp"

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Jóhann Jóhannsson - Free the Mind

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Tricycle Daily Dharma September 8, 2013

Get Up Where You Fell Down

In Genjokoan, Dogen writes, 'Those who have great realization of delusion are buddhas.' The place where you get to be Buddha, so to speak, is in delusion, and there’s plenty of that to go around. You get up where you fall down. You don’t get up somewhere else. It’s where you fall down that you establish your practice.

- Ryokan Steve Weintraub, "Umbrella Man"

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Tricycle Daily Dharma September 7, 2013

Every Time a Good Time

A hundred flowers blossom in spring, the moon shines in autumn, there is a fresh breeze in summer, and there is snow in winter. If your mind isn’t occupied with trivial matters, every time is a good time.

- Wumen Huikai, "Zen Basics"

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Via JMG: RUSSIA: President Obama Meets With LGBT Activists In St. Petersburg

The Washington Times reports:

President Obama told Russian gay rights leaders and other activists Friday that fighting for social justice helped him to get elected president. “I got my start as a community organizer,” Mr. Obama said during a meeting with activists in St. Petersburg, Russia. “I got elected president by engaging people at a grassroots level.” Mr. Obama, who has criticized Russia’s new anti-gay laws that outlaw “homosexual propaganda,” met with the director of a Russian LGBT network and others at the conclusion of the G-20 summit. He said the work of such activists is “critically important” to an open society.“I’m very proud of their work,” Mr. Obama said. “Part of good government is making sure we’re creating a space for civil society."

A spokesman for Russia's Human Rights First called today's meeting a "terrific first step."

Labels: activism, Barack Obama, LGBT rights, Russia

Reposted from Joe

Via JMG: NEW MEXICO: Dona Ana County Clerk Requests Donations To Defend Marriage Suit Brought By GOP Lawmakers

 

New Mexico's Dona Ana County Clerk Lynn Ellins is asking for donations to help defend the lawsuit brought against him by state GOP lawmakers.  Ellins was the state's first county clerk to begin issuing same-sex marriage licenses and since he tipped that first domino, seven other county clerks have joined in, bringing marriage equality to a slight majority of New Mexico's citizens. The "Sharer" mentioned in the above graphic is GOP state Sen. William Sharer, who last week said that gay men should "stop whoring around and marry a woman."  From the above-linked donation site:

For months leading up to his decision, Mr. Ellins and a close circle of confidants conferred with a legal team to make sure that if the decision to issue licenses were challenged, a quick and effective defense could be mounted. Before the first license was issued on Aug. 21, more than $10,000 in legal fees already had been incurred.
Mr. Ellins is mindful that not all of his constituents agree with the principal or the ideology behind his decision, and he has stated his intention not to spend taxpayer funds defending his decision to issue licenses. Legal action has now been filed and legal costs will begin to climb rapidly.
We're asking you to support Mr. Ellins and his daring leadership by making a donation to help cover legal costs already incurred, as well as legal costs that may be lurking in the near future. In the event that we receive more contributions than we need to cover the actual costs, we'll donate the excess to an organization that will continue the fight for equal rights for all New Mexicans in every sense of the word.

I'm kicking in $20 with an added quote from Ellins himself: "Let me put it this way, some people have balls, some people don’t, alright?"

Labels: Lynn Ellins, marriage equality, New Mexico, straight allies

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Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma September 6, 2013

Everything is Dukkha

A lot of what meditation is teaching, a lot of what Buddhism is teaching, is basically how to acknowledge all of the traumas that are around us. That's what the Buddha was talking about with the word dukkha, that everything is dukkha.

- Mark Epstein, "Tricycle Talks: Buddhism & Psychotherapy"

Read the entire article in the Wisdom Collection through September 7, 2013
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Via JMG: BRITAIN: Gay Group Nominates Lively & Robertson For 2013 Bigot Of The Year

 

The British LGBT rights group Stonewall has short-listed Scott Lively and Pat Robertson for their 2013 Bigot Of The Year award.  Gay Star News recaps the three other nominees:

British vicar George Gebauer stunned parents Aimi and Victoria Leggett when he refused to baptize their baby because they both wanted to be named as the child’s mothers. Not only that, he claimed the two moms probably ‘pinched’ the baby and gay people were ‘imbalanced’. UKIP candidate Winston McKenzie is also nominated, for when he said same-sex couples adopting was like throwing ‘children to the dogs’. And historian Niall Ferguson made headlines for saying following the ideas of gay dead economist John Maynard Keynes was to blame for the current recession.

It seems obvious that Lively should be this year's selection.
RELATED: Stonewall's 2012 "winner" was Scotland's disgraced former Cardinal Keith O'Brien, who vehemently opposed same-sex marriage while secretly conducting homosexual affairs with fellow priests. Local Catholic officials demanded that Stonewall's public funding be yanked after they selected O'Brien. That didn't happen. Two major banks also threatened to cease their sponsorship of Stonewall, but that didn't happen either.

Labels: bigotry, Britain, gay death penalty, Pat Robertson, religion, Russia, Scott Lively, Stonewall UK, Uganda

Reposted from Joe

JMG Quote Of The Day - Lynn Ellins

"Let me put it this way, some people have balls, some people don’t, alright? Some of them truly believe that they need direction from on high and they’re not willing to do a constitutional analysis. Some of them are philosophically opposed so they wouldn’t do it unless they were brought to the shed and whacked." - Dona Ana County Clerk Lynn Ellins, who started the ball rolling in New Mexico.

UPDATE: I've just been sent the lawsuit filed against Ellins by New Mexico GOP lawmakers.  Note that the first name is state Sen. William Sharer, who last week said that gay men need to "stop whoring around and marry a woman." Read the full lawsuit here.

Labels: LGBT rights, marriage equality, New Mexico, straight allies

Reposted from Joe