A personal blog by a graying (mostly Anglo with light African-American roots) gay left leaning liberal progressive married college-educated Buddhist Baha'i BBC/NPR-listening Professor Emeritus now following the Dharma in Minas Gerais, Brasil.
Wednesday, June 4, 2014
Via JMG: Marriage Progress GIF
I believe the map maker used Census Bureau data on where same-sex couples live, not total population numbers. Source.
Reposted from Joe Jervis
JMG: BREAKING: Supreme Court DENIES NOM's Motion To Stop Oregon Marriages
Via Buzzfeed:
The Supreme Court denied the National Organization for Marriage’s attempt to stop same-sex couples from marrying in Oregon. NOM has appealed the trial judge’s decision not to let the group, which is opposed to same-sex couples’ marriage rights, to intervene in the lawsuit challenging Oregon’s ban on such marriages. The 9th Circuit, which is hearing that appeal, denied NOM’s request to stop the trial court decision striking down the ban from going into effect during the appeal. NOM then went to Justice Anthony Kennedy to ask him to stop the marriages while that appeal is pending before the 9th Circuit.The ACLU reacts via press release:
The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to halt new marriages between same-sex couples in Oregon. The National Organization for Marriage (NOM), sought a stay of a lower court’s decision allowing marriages to take place, and after the 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals denied a similar request two weeks ago. Both the American Civil Liberties Union and the state of Oregon filed briefs opposing NOM’s request.
“With marriages continuing in Oregon, we have 44 percent of the country living in a freedom-to-marry state: same-sex couples are now part of marriage in America today,” said James Esseks, director of the ACLU Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender Project. “Across the country, more and more Americans are embracing the truth that their friends, family, and neighbors in same-sex couples deserve the protection and dignity that only come with marriage.”
Via Dialy Dharma
The Intention Behind Honesty | June 3, 2014
Just as being truly compassionate
doesn’t mean always being sweet and nice (sometimes it means being cold,
harsh), being truly honest doesn’t mean speaking your thoughts and
feelings as they arise. Other awarenesses and intention must be at
work—and a recognition that the truth is not solid.
—Susan Piver Browne, "Right Speech"
Via Daily Dharma
Shelter from the Storm | June 4, 2014
When we take the vows of refuge, we are
also pledging to find the refuge that exists within our own lives. This
taking of refuge is not some kind of evasion or escape, but is the
planting of our 'selves' deeply in the nature of what surrounds us.
—Gary Thorp, "Shelter from the Storm"
Sunday, June 1, 2014
Via Daily Dharma
The Art of Begging | June 1, 2014
Although we hold the bowl open for an offering, the practice of takuhatsu
[begging] does not teach us to be dependent upon society, asking for
something that is not earned, or pressuring a community for an
entitlement to food or goods. Rather, it teaches us the fundamental
lessons of the Buddha: to be dependent on everyone, to live our original
homelessness, to include the homeless in thought and deed, to share
everything, to accept what comes to us, to be generous, to be humble in
society.
—Eido Frances Carney, “Zen and the Art of Begging”
Via Daily Dharma
The Remedy Is Generosity | May 31, 2014
Generosity trusts the emptiness that
runs through things, even ungenerous or ungainly things—it links to the
clarity that underlies all our madness. Whenever my thoughts turn toward
greed, acquisitiveness, or stinginess, my shoulders tense up, and it
feels as if I’m holding my breath. To find a remedy, I don’t have to
improve my thoughts, though—just be generous with them.
—John Tarrant, “The Erotic Life of Emptiness”
Friday, May 30, 2014
Via JMG: Alcohol Consumption By State
Via Policy Mic:
According to a new report by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), the hardest-drinking state turns out to be New Hampshire. The study calculated per capita consumption of ethanol from alcoholic beverages and found that the average New Hampshire resident consumed 4.65 gallons in 2012 — nearly twice the national average of 2.33 gallons. Among the New England states, Connecticut was the only one that didn't make the top 20 list for per capita alcohol consumption. Alaska, Louisiana, Florida, Delaware and Washington, D.C. are all big drinking regions, as are the Northern states, with the average resident consuming over 2.5 gallons of ethanol in alcohol per year. The NIAAA report also found that overall, per capita ethanol consumption increased by 2.2% — only seven states experienced a decrease.(Tipped by JMG reader Win)
Via Daily Dharma
Philosophy and Religion | May 30, 2014
Separating philosophy from religion
does not work well in the case of Buddhism. Trying to tease apart these
two strands of the dispensation would have seemed a futile endeavor to
most Buddhists over the long history of the tradition. We in the West
need to get over this false dichotomy, which has no significance in
speaking about Buddhism or other Asian religions.
—Robert E. Buswell Jr. and Donald S. Lopez Jr., “Buddhism: Philosophy or Religion”
Thursday, May 29, 2014
Via DailyKos: NOM And Oregon's Catholic Bishops: Same-Sex Parent Families Are Not "Genuine Families"
In response to the marriage equality ruling in Oregon, the Oregon Catholic Conference has issued this statement. It has been posted in full
on NOM's blog, who say that the group "expressed their strong
disapproval" over the decision. While NOM might interpret this to mean
resolve and determination on the part of the Bishops, to me it means
"it's time to point and laugh again".
But there's one part of the statement that I don't laugh at. The statement is a smear of not just marriage equality, and not just same-sex parents, but their children as well. In part, it reads:
To both NOM and the Catholic Church: If you're trying to protect children and their rights, you're doing it wrong.
But there's one part of the statement that I don't laugh at. The statement is a smear of not just marriage equality, and not just same-sex parents, but their children as well. In part, it reads:
The Oregon Catholic Conference will continue to uphold the true meaning of marriage and advocate for genuine marriages and families in Oregon[.]None of us would be surprised at their statement that same-sex marriages are not genuine. But saying that families with gay parents are not genuine families shows how little shame they have. Their message to gay parents is that your efforts to raise children in a loving home with parents who love them is not genuine. The message to their children is that your parents aren't genuine parents, and that you don't live in a genuine family. Their message to both is that your families are lesser than other families, not deserving of our advocacy or legal protections to strengthen them.
To both NOM and the Catholic Church: If you're trying to protect children and their rights, you're doing it wrong.
Originally posted to Kossacks for Marriage Equality on Thu May 29, 2014 at 04:16 AM PDT.
Also republished by Koscadia and Street Prophets .
Via Daily Dharma
Wednesday, May 28, 2014
Via JMG: Colombian President Endorses Marriage
"Marriage between homosexuals to me is perfectly acceptable and what’s more I am defending unions that exist between two people of the same sex with the rights and all of the same privileges that this union should receive. If these unions are called marriage or not is secondary to me. For me it is important that they have their rights. - Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos, speaking with El Tiempo. Santos faces a runoff election to hold office next month. Elsewhere in South America, same-sex marriage is presently legal in Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay.
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