Via JMG: LOUISIANA: House Votes 66-27 To Keep Unconstitutional Anti-Sodomy Law

Thanks to pressure from a local anti-gay Christian group, the Louisiana House yesterday refused to repeal an unenforceable and unconstitutional anti-sodomy law. The vote was 66-27.

A House Committee passed the legislation onto the body's floor by a vote of 9-6 last week. But one of the state's most powerful lobbying groups, the conservative Christian Louisiana Family Forum, opposes striking the sodomy ban. The group sent out a letter to every legislator urging them to vote against the proposal, claiming that teenagers would be less protected from sexual predators if they went through with the repeal. They also said the bill would put the public health at risk. "Louisiana's anti-sodomy statute is consistent with the values of Louisiana residents who consider this behavior to be dangerous, unhealthy and immoral," stated the letter to lawmakers from the Louisiana Family Forum. During a floor discussion of the bill, the legislation's sponsor, Rep. Patricia Haynes Smith, pushed back on the Family Forum's assertions. The bill only seeks to repeal a statute that is already unconstitutional, she said.

Fucking a human corpse? Legal in Louisiana. A blowjob from a consenting adult? Technically a felony and punishable by five years in prison. Praise! Glory!

Labels: Christianists, Louisiana, religion, sodomy

Reposted from Joe Jervis

Via JMG: Salon Writer: Porno Pete "Humiliated" By Student Walkout At My College

 

Salon writer Kate Geiselman recounts the walkout that took place last week when Peter LaBarbera delivered a speech about the evils of homosexuality at her Ohio college.

Mr. LaBarbera approached the podium and apologized affably for keeping us waiting. He talked about the importance of dialogue and respect. And then he said there was no scientific evidence that homosexuality is not a choice. He reminded us that the hypocritical left, in silencing voices like his, is really the party guilty of intolerance. And that was our cue to leave. We stood, without a word, and walked out. I heard a woman shouting, “Shame! Shame on you!” There were gasps and a few loud grumbles of disapproval, LaBarbera’s aforementioned “Are you effing kidding me” among them. We walked out of the venue and into the Student Activities Center, where we hugged and laughed and ate Honey Maid graham crackers. Photographs of the venue after we walked out show that about 12 people remained behind, at least two of whom I recognize as allies who likely stayed to see what he would say. It was a beautiful, beautiful thing.

Hit the first link and read the full story. (Tipped by JMG reader AJ)

Labels: Christianists, crackpots, education, hate groups, Ohio, Peter LaBarbera, religion

Reposted from Joe Jervis

Via Dialy Dharma

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The Truth Is Never Far Away | April 16, 2014

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We tell stories about who we are and what life is, but seldom see that they’re only stories. The good news is that the truth is never far away. It’s right here, in fact, posing as backdrop. 

 

—Erik Hansen, “The Island”

Via FB:

Matt Gold "Appreciated "- Official Music Video

Via JMG: NYT Calls On Obama To Issue Executive Order On Employment Discrimination

From the New York Times editorial board:

Mr. Obama said in November that workplace discrimination “needs to stop, because, in the United States of America, who you are and who you love should never be a fireable offense.” An executive order barring discrimination by federal contractors would extend badly needed job protections to more than 11 million employees who work in states that lack such protections and whose companies fail to provide them voluntarily, according to the Williams Institute at the U.C.L.A. School of Law. What Mr. Obama needs to do is act on his principles and issue such an order, without the religious exemption that was put into the Senate bill to lure Republican votes. Challenged last week to explain the mystifying delay on this issue, Mr. Obama’s spokesman said that the president supported broader legislation and that its enactment by Congress would make an executive order “redundant.”

The Times concludes that the president should "lead by example" in order to prod the House to do the right thing on ENDA. The Senate passed ENDA in November.

Labels: Barack Obama, employment, ENDA, executive orders

Reposted from Joe Jervis

Via JMG: Out Issues Power 50 Ranking

 

Out Magazine today published its eighth annual ranking of the 50 most powerful LGBT people in the United States.  Here's a bit of the list.
1. Ellen DeGeneres 2. Tim Cook 3. Rachel Maddow 4. Sen. Tammy Baldwin 5. Glenn Greenwald 6. Ryan Murphy 7. Neil Patrick Harris 8. Andy Cohen 9. Michael Sam 10. Robin Roberts
Homocon billionaire Peter Thiel is #13. Former RNC chairman Ken Mehlman is #18. Andrew Sullivan is #26. New to the list is DOMA attorney Roberta Kaplan at #47. Curiously missing from this year's ranking is closeted homocon blogger Matt Drudge, who ranked at #21 last year and at #16 in 2012. Since there's no obvious reason for Drudge to completely fall off the list in one year, I wouldn't be surprised if somebody got a cease-and-desist letter.

Labels: Ellen Degeneres, Glenn Greenwald, Ken Mehlman, Matt Drudge, Michael Sam, Out Magazine, Peter Thiel, Rachel Maddow, Roberta Kaplan, Tammy Baldwin, Tim Cook

Reposted from Joe Jervis

Via Daily Dharma

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Giving Up Addictions | April 15, 2014

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Starting to wake up is a lot like giving up an addiction. You’re going to go through withdrawal symptoms, weaning yourself from this addiction to habitual, small-minded patterns of perception. You could say enlightenment is no more addiction. You’re just fully awake, fully on the spot, without having to hide out. 

 

—Pema Chödrön, "No Right, No Wrong"

 

Joseph Arthur - In The Sun

Via Daily Dharma

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The Healing We Seek | April 14, 2014

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Perhaps we all carry an immemorial wound, an infinite loss, a self-exile we perpetrate on ourselves. It turns us into isolated entities stalking the earth in search of what we think we need—the temporary stays against ennui, despair, loss, and terror. But sooner or later, the wound can carry us toward its own remedy, if we only let it. 

 

—Henry Shukman, “Beautiful Storm”

 

Via Daily Dharma

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Idleness | April 13, 2014

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Doing nothing is essential for thinking to occur. Many of the most important thoughts are unintentional—they can be neither solicited nor cajoled but have a rhythm of their own, creeping up, arriving, and leaving when we least expect them. It is important to cultivate the lassitude of mind that clears a place for the arrival of what cannot be anticipated. Idleness allows time for the mind to wander to places never before imagined and to return transformed. 

 

—Mark C. Taylor, "Idleness Waiting Grace"

 

Via Daily Dharma

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Where You Fall | April 12, 2014

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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" 

 

Via JMG: Harvey Milk Stamp To Be Dedicated At White House Ceremony On May 22nd

Via press release from the White House Office of Communications:

The official first-day-of-issue dedication ceremony for the Harvey Milk Forever Stamp will take place at the White House May 22. Harvey Milk was a visionary leader who became one of the first openly gay elected officials in the U.S. when he won a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1977. Milk’s achievements gave hope and confidence to the LGBT community in the United States and elsewhere at a time when the community was encountering widespread hostility and discrimination. Milk believed that government should represent all citizens, ensuring equality and providing needed services. His remarkable career was tragically cut short nearly a year after he took office, when he and San Francisco Mayor George Moscone were assassinated. In 2009, he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama. May 22 is Harvey Milk Day in California. The stamp image will be previewed at a later date and a public dedication ceremony will take place in San Francisco May 28.

I predicts some super-sadz over this!

Labels: Harvey Milk, LGBT History, USPS, White House

Reposted from Joe Jervis

Via Utne: Collapse of Human Civilization 'Difficult to Avoid'

Collapse of Human Civilization 'Difficult to Avoid'

According to a NASA-funded study led by mathematician Safa Motesharrei, the collapse of human civilization is likely unless mankind accepts one of two major policy changes.

Read More...

Via Daily Dharma

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Study and Practice | April 11, 2014

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Deepening study can inform and empower practice and deepening practice can bring meaning to what you are studying. That unity of practice and learning can be informed by understandings of our contemporary world.

—John Makransky, "Bridging the Gap"

 

Via The Pragmatic Progressive FB:

NSFW: Justin Sayre explains "The New Hanky Code" at The Meeting*

Publicado em 09/04/2014

The Chairman of the International Order of Sodomites discusses the latest in the gay color spectrum. Taped live in March at Joe's Pub.

Every month hosts The Meeting* to educate the membership on the latest in political news and social trends.

Video by Martian Entertainment

www.InternationalOrderofSodomites.com

 

 

Via Daily Dharma

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Even the Smallest Glimpse | April 10, 2014

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Even the smallest glimpse of freedom heightens our awareness of the pain we have created by our ego-fixation. Seeing the contrast is what inspires us to go forward on the path. In particular, each time we sit on the cushion and meditate, we relax and let go a little bit more. The notion we’ve held onto—that if we don’t keep up our ego-momentum something bad is going to happen—dissolves bit by bit. 

 

—Judy Lief, “Letting Go”

 

Via JMG: Saudi Police Arrest 35 Men At "Gay Party"

Gay Star News reports:

Saudi Arabia police have arrested 35 people and accused them of being gay. The men, allegedly dressed in women’s clothes, were arrested at a beach resort in the western city of Jeddah. According to local reports, neighbors contacted the religious police complaining of the loud music being played at the party. The police took the arrested men to the station and kept the dresses and music equipment until an investigation is complete. LGBTI rights in Saudi Arabia are non-existent. Homosexuality is taboo and punished with jail, flogging, chemical castration or even death.

Saudi Arabia is one of ten nations where homosexuals acts are punishable by the death penalty.

Labels: LGBT rights, Middle East, Saudi Arabia

Reposted from Joe Jervis