The map might change today if the Arkansas ruling is stayed.
Reposted from Joe Jervis
Monday, May 12, 2014
Via Daily Dharma
Learning to Control Our Emotions | May 12, 2014
If we want to succeed in life and bring
about a more peaceful world, we must learn to control our emotions and
not to be affected by a moment of anger.
—Master Hsing Yun, "Don't Get Mad, Don't Get Even"
Sunday, May 11, 2014
JMG Tweet Of The Day: Dan Savage
Labels: Conchita Wurst, Dan Savage, Eurovision, football, gay athletes, LGBT History, Michael Sam, NFL, pop music, sports
Via JMG: Obama Congratulates Michael Sam
USA Today reports:
Reposted from Joe Jervis
President Obama is honoring Michael Sam, who on Saturday became the first openly gay player to be drafted by a pro football team after the St. Louis Rams picked him in the seventh round. "The President congratulates Michael Sam, the Rams and the NFL for taking an important step forward in our Nation's journey," said a White House statement. "From the playing field to the corporate boardroom, LGBT Americans prove everyday that you should be judged by what you do and not who you are," said the White House of Sam, an award-winning defense end who played at the University of Missouri.The Teabagistanis are not happy about this.
Via Daily Dharma
Keep a Carefree Heart | May 11, 2014
Just practice according to the methods taught by the Buddha and do not worry about being a success. The Heart Sutra
says, ‘there is no wisdom and no attainment.’ Although practice may be
trying, even physically painful, if your heart is carefree, nothing will
bother you.
—Master Sheng-Yen, “Being Natural”
Saturday, May 10, 2014
JMG HISTORY: First Same-Sex Couple Legally Marries In Southern State, Witnessed By Lawyer Who Brought Down Arkansas Ban
An Arkansas clerk issued the state's first gay marriage license on Saturday, breaking a barrier that voters put in place with a constitutional amendment 10 years ago. Carroll County Deputy Clerk Jane Osborn issued a license Saturday morning to Kristin Seaton, 27, and Jennifer Rambo, 26, of Fort Smith. They had slept in a Ford Focus after arriving in Eureka Springs at 2 a.m. Saturday and were the first of about 10 couples to line up outside of the courthouse before it opened. When the license was issued, Rambo said, "Thank God." Seaton and Rambo, who have been together four years, then held a marriage ceremony on the courthouse steps. A woman in a rainbow dress officiated.
Via Daily Dharma
The Rope of Mindfulness | May 10, 2014
It is mindfulness that places the mind
on the chosen object of meditation and returns the mind to that object
when it wanders. As a well-known meditation instruction says, ‘Tie the
wild elephant of the mind to the post of the meditation object with the
rope of mindfulness.’ Mindfulness prevents distraction.
—Robert E. Buswell Jr. and Donald S. Lopez Jr., “Which Mindfulness?”
Via AmericaBlog: Anti-gay (former) HGTV stars: “We love homosexuals, Muslims,” hate their “agenda”
The adorably-pastel-shirted Benham brothers, sons of anti-abortion
extremist Flip Benham, went on CNN to clarify that they truly love the
homosexual and the Muslim. What they hate, however, is the homosexual
and Muslim “agenda.”
The Benham boys, David and Jason, are smarting from the cancellation of their new home-flipping show on HGTV, after word leaked out of the Benham’s anti-gay, anti-abortion, and anti-Muslim activism, as first reported by RightWingWatch.
David Benham even compared the fight against gay marriage to the fight against Nazi Germany. (Don’t recall that one in the Bible.) And then invoked the Leviticus passage that calls for gays to be put to death.
As is always the case with these folks of late, they’re now claiming
that they’re the real victims. Because their victims stepped up and got
to them first.
The Benham’s line, which is typically self-deluded, is that 85% of America is Christian, so how come all these gays and Muslims and pro-choicers keep getting their way?
Um, because 85% of America isn’t YOUR kind of Christian. This is a common fallacy on the far-right. They think they speak for God, and all Christianity, without realizing that they’re relative newcomers to the whole Christian game, and that lots of faiths, Christian and otherwise, don’t share their hatred of gays and Muslims, and don’t get terribly involved in the whole abortion debate.
The Benhams also pulled the victim card out, because it’s a terrible thing for freedom when a minority gets in the way of you denying them their freedom. If this keeps up, everyone is going to want to be free.
Make the jump here to read the full article
The Benham boys, David and Jason, are smarting from the cancellation of their new home-flipping show on HGTV, after word leaked out of the Benham’s anti-gay, anti-abortion, and anti-Muslim activism, as first reported by RightWingWatch.
David Benham even compared the fight against gay marriage to the fight against Nazi Germany. (Don’t recall that one in the Bible.) And then invoked the Leviticus passage that calls for gays to be put to death.
The Benham boys, doing heterosexuality proud in their pastel shirts and perfectly-coiffed matching hairdos.
The Benham’s line, which is typically self-deluded, is that 85% of America is Christian, so how come all these gays and Muslims and pro-choicers keep getting their way?
Um, because 85% of America isn’t YOUR kind of Christian. This is a common fallacy on the far-right. They think they speak for God, and all Christianity, without realizing that they’re relative newcomers to the whole Christian game, and that lots of faiths, Christian and otherwise, don’t share their hatred of gays and Muslims, and don’t get terribly involved in the whole abortion debate.
The Benhams also pulled the victim card out, because it’s a terrible thing for freedom when a minority gets in the way of you denying them their freedom. If this keeps up, everyone is going to want to be free.
Make the jump here to read the full article
Friday, May 9, 2014
Via JMG: Two Years Ago Today
Two years ago today the playing field for marriage equality suddenly got a LOT better.
"At a certain point, I've just concluded that-- for me personally, it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that-- I think same-sex couples should be able to get married. Now-- I have to tell you that part of my hesitation on this has also been I didn't want to nationalize the issue. There's a tendency when I weigh in to think suddenly it becomes political and it becomes polarized. And what you're seeing is, I think, states working through this issue-- in fits and starts, all across the country. Different communities are arriving at different conclusions, at different times. And I think that's a healthy process and a healthy debate. And I continue to believe that this is an issue that is gonna be worked out at the local level, because historically, this has not been a federal issue, what's recognized as a marriage." - President Barack Obama, two years ago today.
Via Daily Dharma
Intolerance Towards Suffering | May 9, 2014
The subtle suffering in our lives may
seem unimportant. But if we attend to the small ways that we suffer, we
create a context of greater ease, peace, and responsibility, which can
make it easier to deal with the bigger difficulties when they arise.
Being intolerant of suffering, in the Buddhist sense, does not mean that
we reject it or fight against it. It means that we stop and look at it,
not morbidly, but with faith in the possibility of living a joyful and
peaceful life.
—Gil Fronsdal, “Living Two Traditions”
Thursday, May 8, 2014
Via Daily Dharma:
The Seed of Aspiration | May 8, 2014
Experience is the seed of aspiration,
the deeply rooted commitment to know. That aspiration then drives one
into the difficult and transformative realm of spiritual pursuit, into
the realm of practice.
—Adam Frank, “In the Light of Truth”
Via The Dalai Lama Foundation / FB:
“Now
there are many, many people in the world, but relatively few with whom
we interact, and even fewer who cause us problems. So when you come
across such a chance for practicing patience and tolerance, you should
treat it with gratitude. It is rare. Just as having unexpectedly found a
treasure in your own house, you should be happy and grateful toward
your enemy for providing you that precious opportunity. Because if you
are ever to be successful in your practice of patience and tolerance,
which are critical factors in counteracting negative emotions, it is due
to your own efforts and also the opportunity provided by your enemy.”
Wednesday, May 7, 2014
Via JMG: Dan Savage On HGTV's Move
Via Daily Dharma
Transcend Ordinary Perceptions | May 7, 2014
In painting, as in any art, we can
escape the prison of our minds and connect with what transcends ordinary
perceptions. And just as a body of water stays still while a wave-form
moves through it, consciousness remains stable despite the constant
motion and flow of our thoughts.
—Fredericka Foster, “Spotlight On: Fredericka Foster”
Tuesday, May 6, 2014
Via JMG: Cuba To Host LGBT Rights Convention
The sixth International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association for Latin America and the Caribbean (ILGALAC) Regional Conference will take place in the beach resort of Varadero. A number of parties and other events are scheduled to take place in nearby Havana, the Cuban capital, during the gathering. “As the host country for the sixth ILGALAC Regional Conference, Cuba is not exempt from the problems of the region’s LGBTI communities,” states the organization. “The humanistic nature of the Cuban Revolution has focused on the human being in his teleological purposes since its beginning. Although the Cuban LGBTI movement does not have the organization of other international movements, the fight against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in the country is now evident with more impact and achievements.”Among the critics of the conference is US Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL): "Hosting a conference on LGBT rights is just another farcical attempt by the Cuban regime to pretend they care about anyone’s rights. The sad reality is that the Cuban people are harassed, beaten and bullied for having a point of view that differs from the regime’s. This desperate move to seem tolerant does not even come close to obscuring the repressive reality on the island.” Last year Ros-Lehtinen, who has a transgender son, endorsed marriage equality in Florida.
RELATED: Homosexuality is legal in Cuba and while no LGBT rights legislation exists, gay pride events have been allowed in recent years. In 2010 Fidel Castro publicly apologized for the treatment of LGBT people during his regime, calling it a "great injustice." Thousands of gay people were rounded up and placed in internment camps while he was in power. At the height of the AIDS crisis, HIV+ Cubans were quarantined. Today Cuba produces generic HIV drugs and provides them free of charge.
Via JMG: OREGON: AG Ellen Rosenblum Files Objection To NOM's Demand To Intervene
Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum has filed an objection to NOM's demand to intervene in that state's marriage equality case, calling it an "unreasonable" delaying tactic.
Read Rosenblum's full objection.
Rosenblum, who has joined plaintiffs in urging the judge to overturn Oregon's ban on same-sex marriage, charged that the anti-gay marriage group had no reasonable basis for waiting so long before attempting to intervene in the case. She also said in a legal brief filed Friday that NOM hasn't raised any new issues in the case and that only the attorney general can represent the state's interests. NOM filed a motion to intervene in the case less than 48 hours before McShane held oral arguments on April 23 on why the parties in the case believe that Oregon's prohibition on same-sex marriage violates federal constitutional protections.Rosenblum says that NOM "fails to identify any argument that has not already been presented to this Court by the defendants. Instead, what it would appear to offer this Court is the same arguments identified and presented by the state defendants without the context of how those arguments fail when considered in the full context of Oregon law." NOM has until Friday to file their reply brief. Openly gay US District Court Judge Michael McShane has scheduled oral arguments for May 14th.
Read Rosenblum's full objection.
Labels: Ellen Rosenblum, hate groups, lawsuits, LGBT rights, marriage equality, NOM, Oregon, religion
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