Via JMG: Fred Phelps Reportedly Near Death

Fred Phelps, the 84 year-old patriarch of Westboro Baptist Church, is reportedly near death. His estranged son, Nathan Phelps, writes on his Facebook page:

I’ve learned that my father, Fred Phelps, Sr., pastor of the “God Hates Fags” Westboro Baptist Church, was ex-communicated from the “church” back in August of 2013. He is now on the edge of death at Midland Hospice house in Topeka, Kansas. I’m not sure how I feel about this. Terribly ironic that his devotion to his god ends this way. Destroyed by the monster he made. I feel sad for all the hurt he’s caused so many. I feel sad for those who will lose the grandfather and father they loved. And I’m bitterly angry that my family is blocking the family members who left from seeing him, and saying their good-byes.

Hemant Mehta has more at the Friendly Atheist:

I just got off the phone with Nate and he confirmed what he had written. The rumors had been flying for several weeks, he said, but after a conversation with some of his fellow “excommunicated” family members, he found out that the rumors were true. He elaborated on that final line, too, saying that the Phelps family is now blocking anyone who is no longer with the church from seeing him, including Fred’s sons, daughters, nieces, and nephews. Why was he kicked out of his own church? Did he have a change of heart near the end of his life? There’s no definitive answer to that and Nate has heard different things (so any explanation is pure speculation right now).

Over on Twitter, some are calling for a picket of Phelps' funeral, but Mehta and others suggest that the better response might be to ignore it completely. Rod Dreher writes at American Conservative:

Can you imagine having come to the end of your life, very nearly to the moment in which you will meet your God and be reckoned with, and all you have to show for it is … that? I’ve always thought the Westboro Baptist Church people were despicable, but there is something about the thought of that old man lying on his death bed, forsaken, the victim of his own sins, that makes me pity him. One tear of repentance from the vicious old preacher will open the floodgates of the divine mercy he spent his life trying to deny to others. I pray for that tear. And I hope no one pickets his funeral, giving to his family the mercy they do not deserve.

Labels: Fred Phelps, hate groups, religion, Westboro

Reposted from Joe Jervis

Via Daily Dharma:

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What's So Great About Now? | March 16, 2014

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Mindfulness, accompanied by clear comprehension, differs from ordinary awareness. Rather than seeing the conventional features of objects more clearly, mindfulness goes beyond them to perceive something quite specific—the ultimate characteristics common to all formations, good or bad. There are only three of these: impermanence, unsatisfactoriness, and non-selfness. (Note that beauty isn't among them.) These traits are unwelcome—unsatisfactory. So the more mindfulness one has, the clearer dukkha becomes. 

 

—Cynthia Thatcher, “What’s So Great About Now?”

Via Edge on the Net: New Health Insurance Rights for Same-Sex Couples

Acting to expand health insurance access for same-sex couples, the Obama administration said Friday that plans offering benefits for heterosexual couples must also provide coverage for married couples who are of the same gender.

The policy, posted online by the Department of Health and Human Services, takes effect next year and applies to plans offered in the new health insurance exchanges, as well to many - but not all - individual and employer plans offered outside that marketplace.

The administration acted after gays and lesbians complained that they’re not sure how the rules of the new insurance exchanges apply to them - particularly in states that do not recognize same-sex marriage.

The department said it was moving to clarify those rules and make coverage "more accessible and equitable for married same-sex couples." It’s part of a government-wide effort to codify the rights of same-sex spouses in the wake of last year’s Supreme Court decision striking down the federal Defense of Marriage Act, and opening the way for same-sex spouses to receive government benefits.
The new HHS policy says that if an insurance company offers spousal coverage to heterosexual couples, it must also provide that benefit to same-sex couples who were legally married in a jurisdiction that recognizes marriage between people of the same sex.

http://www.edgeonthenet.com/news/national/News//156626/new_health_insurance_rights_for_same-sex_couples

Wasla Band - El salam (peace) | فريق وصله - السلام

Courage – Quotes on Living Exceptional Lives, from Lao Tzu, Pema Chodron, T.S. Eliot and Others

Bravery is not about becoming superheroes – it is about living wisely in the present moment, and learning to let go of the things and feelings that hold us back from living full lives.

Here are some great quotes from past and present philosophers, writers, and spiritual leaders on the qualities of courage we all carry inside.

When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be. (Lao Tzu)
– Only we can hold ourselves back. Only we can set ourselves free.
 

Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore.(Andre Gide)
– Adventure may be dangerous, but so can staying in one place forever.
 

Fear is a natural reaction to moving closer to the truth. (Pema Chodron)
– It is said that the only mistakes on the road to wisdom are not starting, and not going all the way – keep walking.
 

Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go. (T. S. Eliot)
– Teachers can show us the path, travelers can tell us how to walk it, but only the individual person can journey on it.
 

It’s not because things are difficult that we dare not venture. It’s because we dare not venture that they are difficult. (Seneca)
– How often do we make obstacles larger in our minds than they really are?
 

You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. (Eleanor Roosevelt)
– Fear can be a great, liberating, powerful experience when we use it to grow.
 

Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point. (C. S. Lewis)
– All good deeds in our lives come down to courage – the bravery required to make the right choice even when the right choice is unpopular.
 

Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear. (Mark Twain)
– Bravery is never a sudden enlightenment or magic power – rather it is the humble effort to keep moving forward in the face of uncertainty.
 

To have striven, to have made the effort, to have been true to certain ideals – this alone is worth the struggle. (William Penn)
– What else is life, but an effort to do something worthwhile? Do what challenges you and makes you feel afraid.

Please take the jump here to read the original posting

Vi Daily Dharma:

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Boundless Compassion | March 15, 2014

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Traditional Buddhism describes boundless love and compassion as liberations of the heart that free us from ill will, cruelty, and indifference. They are called divine dwellings because those who practice them radiate holy wishes for the welfare, happiness, and security of all beings. Given, however, the gravity of the crisis that confronts us today, it is questionable whether the merely inward cultivation of such virtues is sufficient. If love and compassion don’t find expression in concrete action, they could remain purely subjective states, lofty and sublime but inert, unable to exert any beneficial influence on others.

 

—Bhikkhu Bodhi, “The Need Of The Hour”

 

Dra Yang Project " Namo Buddhaya, namo Dharmaya, namo Sanghaya "

Via Daily Dharma

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Great Questioning, Great Awakening | March 14, 2014

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The most important part of the practice is for the question to remain alive and for your whole body and mind to become a question. In Zen they say that you have to ask with the pores of your skin and the marrow of your bones. A Zen saying points out: Great questioning, great awakening; little questioning, little awakening; no questioning, no awakening. 

 

—Martine Bachelor, “What is This?”

Via JMG: SCOTLAND: Queen Elizabeth Gives Royal Assent For Gay Marriage Law

Gay Star News reports:

Queen Elizabeth II has signed same-sex marriage into law in Scotland today (13 March). By the end of the year, Scottish gay couples will be able to unite in matrimony. It is the last step in the long battle to get the Marriage and Civil Partnership (Scotland) Bill through Parliament, making it an Act. Alex Neil, cabinet Secretary for Health and Well-being, said: "I am delighted that the Same Sex Marriage Bill has now received Royal Assent. We continue to work in close co-operation with Westminster on implementation of the Act so that the first same sex marriage can take place in Scotland as soon as is possible."

The bill was approved by the Scottish Parliament last month in a lopsided vote of 105-18.

Labels: marriage equality, Queen Elizabeth, Scotland, UK

Reposted from Joe Jervis

Via JMG: TEXAS: Joel Osteen's Prosperity Gospel Church Robbed Of One Week's Prosperity

 

But don't worry, they are insured. From the church:

We were heartbroken to learn today that funds were stolen from the church over the weekend. This includes cash, checks and envelopes containing written credit card information, and it is limited only to those funds contributed in the church services on Saturday, March 8 and Sunday, March 9, 2014. If you made a contribution during these weekend services, we would encourage you to pay close attention to your accounts over the next several days and weeks and report any suspicious activity to your financial institution or credit card company immediately. It is important to note this was not an electronic data breach, but was instead limited to donations made in the services on March 8 and 9, 2014. You were not affected if you put your offering in a drop box, you gave online or through other electronic means, or you made a bookstore purchase. We are working with the police to fully investigate the incident. The funds were fully insured, and we are working with our insurance company to restore the stolen funds to the church.

Below: Joel Osteen's 17,000sf mansion.

Labels: grifters, Joel Osteen, religion, Texas

Reposted from Joe Jervis

Via Daily Dharma

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The Path to Restoration | March 13, 2014

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My advice for people is to love the world they are in, in whatever way makes sense to them. It may be a devotional practice, it may be song or poetry, it may be by gardening, it may be as an activist, scientist, or community leader. The path to restoration extends from our heart to the heart of sentient beings, and that path will be different for every person.

—Paul Hawken, “The Movement With No Name”

 

Via Emerson Collins

← The Real Victory in Arizona

An Open Letter to Michele Bachmann

Posted on March 11, 2014 by emersoncollins

 

Michele Bachmann suggested that the gay community is bullying Americans and politicians.  You can read the full article and hear the clip for yourself here. This is my response.

Dear Michele Bachmann,

I would like to provide you with a definition of a word that, for all your legal experience, you seem not to comprehend. The word “bully” has become a buzzword, a convenient way for adults who are losing an argument to shut down the conversation. When your back is against the wall, you call someone a “bully” and if they don’t allow you to gracefully exit the argument you get to say, “SEE! They ARE a bully.”

Except, that’s incorrect. “Bully” is defined variously as “a person who uses superior strength or power to harm, intimidate or influence those who are weaker.”

Now let’s reconsider your words. “…the gay community, they have so bullied the American people, and they’ve so intimidated politicians. The politicians fear them, so that they think they get to dictate the agenda everywhere.”

Let’s consider the fallacy here, shall we?

Make the jump here to read the full article

Via The Other 98% / FB:

Via Daily Dharma

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Rising to the Occasion | March 12, 2014

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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"

 

Via JMG: Jason Collins Staying With The Nets

The Brooklyn Nets will sign Jason Collins for the remainder of the season.

Sources told ESPN.com on Tuesday that the Nets, who feel they're getting everything they expected from Collins when they signed him for frontcourt depth Feb. 23, are already operating under the premise that the 34-year-old will finish the season with them even though his second 10-day deal doesn't expire until after Friday. Sources say that the internal expectation all along was that Collins would be a Net for the rest of the season, from the moment he signed his first 10-day deal, as long he proved that he could still be an effective defender, which he did immediately. Collins is averaging 9.8 minutes per game off the bench in eight appearances since his historic debut against the Los Angeles Lakers last month, which made him the first openly gay athlete in North America's four recognized major team sports. He most recently provided the Nets with some meaningful minutes defending against DeMarcus Cousins, logging 20 minutes in a 104-89 win over Sacramento last Sunday.

Labels: Brooklyn Nets, gay athletes, Jason Collins, NBA

Via HimalayaCrafts / FB:

Every morning we are born again. What we do today is what matters most. ― Buddha

Via JMG: United Methodist Bishop: No More Trials For Pro-Gay Marriage Pastors

Via press release:

At a joint press conference today, United Methodist Bishop Martin McLee and Rev. Dr. Thomas W. Ogletree announced that the church was dropping the case against Dr. Ogletree for officiating at his son’s wedding. In a huge victory for the Methodist movement that is organizing ministry to all couples on an equal basis in open defiance of church law, the bishop dropped the case without any conditions. Furthermore, Bishop McLee said in his statement “I call for and commit to cessation of trials,” the first time ever a sitting United Methodist bishop has categorically declared he will not prosecute pastors for ministering to LGBTQ people. “I am grateful that Bishop McLee has withdrawn this case and the church is no longer prosecuting me for an act of pastoral faithfulness and fatherly love,” said Dr. Ogletree. “But I am even more grateful that he is vowing not to prosecute others who have been likewise faithful in ministry to LGBTQ people. May our bishop’s commitment to cease such prosecutions be the beginning of the end of the United Methodist Church’s misguided era of discriminating against LGBTQ people.” 

There's gonna be a big ole pile of sadz about this.

Labels: marriage equality, religion, United Methodist Church

Reposted from Joe Jervis

Via JMG: Forbes: 7 Billionaires Are Openly LGBT

Forbes reports that seven of the world's billionaires are openly LGBT.

With a combined net worth of nearly $16 billion, the select group of LGBT ten-figure fortunes includes media mogul David Geffen, PayPal cofounder Peter Thiel and Hyatt hotel beneficiary Jennifer Pritzker, one of the Pritzker family’s 11 billionaires. In August 2013, Jennifer became the first and only transgender billionaire in the world when she announced she would be identifying herself as a woman for all business and personal undertakings. A retired army lieutenant colonel, she is CEO of private wealth management firm Tawani Enterprises in Chicago and has a personal net worth of $1.8 billion. “This change will reflect the beliefs of her true identity that she has held privately and will now share publicly,” a statement in Crain’s Chicago Business explained. Among the openly-gay hyper-wealthy are Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana, the duo behind fashion power house Dolce & Gabbana. The retail-rich pair are joined by Michael Kors, who became a billionaire this year. Some of these businessmen and women have used their fortunes to advocate for gay rights. Jon Stryker, heir to the Stryker Corp. medical equipment family fortune, is one of the world’s most prolific donors to LGBT charities.

The seven listed above represent 0.4% of Forbes' list of 1645 billionaires worldwide.

Labels: David Geffen, Dolce and Gabbana, Forbes, Jennifer Pritzker, Jon Stryker, Michael Kors, Peter Thiel

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Via JMG: Bill Donohue Is Very Upset About Cosmos

Last night Fox debuted its 13-episode series, Cosmos; A Spacetime Odyssey, which is hosted by noted astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson and is produced by Family Guy creator Seth McFarlane.  Catholic League blowhard Bill Donohue is very upset about the first episode, which shamefully depicted the Spanish Inquisition as a bad thing. 

The propagandists involved in this show, represented most conspicuously by Seth MacFarlane, told viewers last night that “the Roman Catholic Church maintained a system of courts known as the Inquisition and its sole purpose was to investigate and torment anyone who dared voice views that differed from theirs. And it wasn’t long before [Giordano] Bruno fell into the clutches of the thought police.” The ignorance is appalling. “The Catholic Church as an institution had almost nothing to do with [the Inquisition],” writes Dayton historian Thomas Madden. “One of the most enduring myths of the Inquisition,” he says, “is that it was a tool of oppression imposed on unwilling Europeans by a power-hungry Church. Nothing could be more wrong.” Because the Inquisition brought order and justice where there was none, it actually “saved uncounted thousands of innocent (and even not-so-innocent) people who would otherwise have been roasted by secular lords or mob rule.” (His emphasis.)

All that torture and disemboweling? Good thing! Cardinal Fang, fetch the comfy chair for Bill.

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Labels: Bill Donohue, Catholic Church, Catholic League, Cosmos, crackpots, Fox TV, Neil deGrasse Tyson, religion, Seth McFarlane

Reposted from Joe Jervis