Via JMG: RE-ELECTED: All LGBT House Members

 

The 2014 midterms were not a total disaster, at least for the six openly LGBT members of the US House. Rep. Mark Takano (D-CA), Rep. Jared Polis* (D-CO), Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-NY), Rep Mark Pocan (D-WI), Rep David Cicilline (D-RI), and Rep. Kysten Sinema (D-AZ) all retained their seats today. 

Openly gay US House candidates who lost their bids today include Oklahoma state Sen. Al McCaffrey, Texas military veteran Louie Minor, North Carolina American Idol finalist Clay Aiken, former Massachusetts GOP legislator Richard Tisei, and New York investment banker Sean Eldridge, the husband of Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes.

The House bid of scandal-plagued homocon Carl DeMaio is too close to call at this writing.

*Not pictured.

Labels: 2014 elections, Clay Aiken, David Cicilline, gay politicians, Jared Polis, Krysten Sinema, Mark Pocan, Mark Takano, Richard Tisei, Sean Maloney, U.S. House

Reposted from  Joe Jervis

Via JMG: Headline Of The Day

 

From the Huffington Post.

Labels: 2014 elections, Huffington Post, Senate

Reposted from  Joe Jervis

Via Boing Boing / FB:

Flower of the Day: 11/05/14

“What makes us repeat a negative pattern is our enchantment with our own story. This enchantment is sustained by negatively oriented pleasure, which is the connection between pleasure and destructiveness. This connection takes place when our spontaneity was first repressed, causing pain that had to be numbed up. At this moment, pleasure got connected with the mask, as well as all the games that today sustain the status quo.”

Sri Prem Baba

Via Daily Dharma

Surrender and Engagement | November 5, 2014 We must walk a fine line between surrender and engagement. As we individuate, we learn to remain open to the nature of uncertainty in the journey, allowing ourselves to fearlessly unfold. At the same time, our active participation in the process functions as a kind of dialogue between the ego and our Buddha-nature. We still pay the bills, do the washing up, and take the kids to school. - Rob Preece, "The Solace of Surrender"

Via JMG: Kansas Goes Cerulean

 

But poor Florida is still cerulean. Map legend.

Labels: Kansas, LGBT rights, marriage equality

Reposted from Joe Jervis

Gay Cowboys I The Feed

Flower of the Day: 11/04/14

“Selfless service is an action that purifies selfishness. Usually all of our actions are full of self-interest: we want to be important, we want to be recognized and receive attention, but this is not service. What we can call service is selfless action performed without any expectation of the fruits of our labor. It is a pure act, a sincere giving that is done in silence and with discretion. It is an act made out of kindness and sweetness. It’s a tool used in the process of personal transformation and at the same time is a way to help awaken love.”

Sri Prem Baba

Via Daily Dharma

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Dharma on No Dollars a Day | November 4, 2014

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Take that which comes without a price tag and cherish it as a holy text.

- Walker Douglas, "Dharma on No Dollars a Day"

Via JMG: RUSSIA: Steve Jobs Memorial Torn Down Because Apple CEO Tim Cook Came Out

 

Via Business Insider:

Residents of Saint Petersburg have reportedly torn down a giant interactive iPhone memorial that commemorated the death of Apple founder Steve Jobs after the company's current CEO, Tim Cook, came out as gay on Thursday. Business FM Radio reports that the company that originally funded the memorial, ZEFS, decided to tear it down after Cook said he was proud to be gay. The six-foot tall memorial was erected in 2013 to celebrate Steve Jobs' life. It featured a large screen that showcased moments from Jobs' life, as well as scrolling quotations from his speeches and a QR code on the back that would take people who scanned it to a website.

The chairman of the company that installed the memorial said that it might return with a message that instructs Russians not to buy Apple products. (Tipped by JMG reader Alan)

Labels: Apple, bigotry, business, coming out, religion, Russia, St. Petersburg, Steve Jobs, Tim Cook

Reposted from Joe Jervis

Via JMG: INDIA: Bollywood Star Might Face Charges For Promoting Homosexuality

Last month Bollywood actor and LGBT ally Aamir Khan hosted a nationally televised forum which examined the plights of gays and transgender people in a nation which recently saw homosexuality recriminalized. The show went viral on YouTube, where it was posted both in Hindi and with English subtitles. And here come the haters:

A court in Chandigarh issued a legal notice to Bollywood actor Aamir Khan, seeking his response by 19 December on a petition alleging that he promoted homosexuality on his popular TV show 'Satyamev Jayate'. Admitting the petition by advocate Mandeep Kaur, the court of civil judge Jaswinder Singh had on Friday issued a notice to Aamir Khan to file his reply by 19 December. In her petition, Kaur alleged that Aamir Khan's conduct on his show 'Satyamev Jayate' was a violation of the Supreme Court order on homosexuality, upholding Section 377 which criminalises homosexual acts. Through the petition, she sought the court's intervention to declare Khan's act a contempt of court.

Kaur has demanded a public apology from Khan but says she has gotten no response.

Labels: Aamir Khan, India, LGBT rights, Section 377

Reposted from Joe Jervis

Via JMG: AUSTRIA: Conchita Wurst Meets UN Head Ban Ki-Moon During Talks On LGBT Rights

 

Via the Associated Press:

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has joined Austrian cross-dressing pop star Conchita Wurst in calling for an end to bias based on a person's sexual orientation. Wurst teamed up with Ban on Monday on the sidelines of a U.N. conference to deliver their message of tolerance. Ban told reporters that he will continue his fight "against transphobia and homophobia." "I stand strong for equality," Ban said. "We are unstoppable," he added, quoting Wurst's words on the night of her victory at this year's Eurovision song contest.

More from Yahoo News:

The entertainer, sporting a demure dress and black high heels along with the trademark beard, shook hands and joked with Ban and sang for hundreds of cheering officials and diplomats at the United Nations complex in Vienna. "This year I extended benefits to same-sex partners of U.N. staff members... Discrimination has no place in the United Nations," Ban said to applause from officials, dozens of whom crowded round to get a picture with or autograph from Wurst. "When I heard that she won this Eurovision song contest I immediately knew that she was a star of the world," Ban said.

Labels: Austria, Ban Ki-Moon, Conchita Wurst, drag, Eurovision, gay artists, LGBT rights, pop music, United Nations, Vienna

Reposted from Joe Jervis

Via Daily Dharma

How to Regard All People | November 3, 2014 The myriad dharmas, absolutely everything, are within the nature of all people. If you can regard all people, the bad as well as the good, without grasping or rejecting, free of any clinging, your mind will be like empty space. Thus, it can be called 'great,' maha.    - Huineng, “Prajna”

Flower of the Day: 11/03/14

“What sustains the ego is the idea of ‘me’ and ‘mine.’ This is the root of the dream state. Being identified with the ego, we begin to slip into dreaming. Regardless of whether the nature of the dream is good or bad, dreaming itself ultimately leads to suffering. But if dreaming brings suffering, why don’t we wake up? Why don’t we open our eyes and break with this identification? When we are having a nightmare, even if a part of us wants to wake up, oftentimes we’re unable to do so because a part of us is enchanted with this dream. On some level, we are energetically involved with this story, with our vital energy entangled with the dream.”

Sri Prem Baba

Want to see what progress looks like? Take a look:

Post by Democratic Party.

Flower of the Day: 11/02/14

“Each of us walks the path designated for our soul. This program cannot be changed by the mind. This is why I say that life is a mystery to be unveiled by the heart. Only the heart knows this program. Follow your heart – it knows the way.”

Sri Prem Baba

Via Daily Dharma

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The Rest is Clear | November 2, 2014

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This is just your life. So you do your part, and the rest is clear. It is clear because there has never been anything lacking, despite any beliefs you might have, despite any ideas you might have. There has never been anything lacking. 

 

- Elihu Genmyo Smith, "Do Your Best" 

 

UN rights office calls on Singapore's legislature to respond to court's decision, repeal anti-gay sex law

 

Using a 150 year old criminal law to prosecute individuals for engaging in consensual same sex conduct violates a host of human rights guaranteed by international law,' says the UN human rights office..He noted that as some political leaders in Singapore have publicly advocated for tolerance and inclusion, the UN hopes Singapore’s legislature will now respond to the Court's decision by repealing section 377A of the Penal Code and enacting comprehensive anti-discrimination legislation that includes discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity. 

http://www.gaystarnews.com/article/un-rights-office-calls-singapores-legislature-respond-courts-decision-repeal-anti-gay-sex-la

Via JMG: HRC Reacts To Sen. Ted Cruz

"It's curious that virtually everything that comes out of Senator Cruz's mouth is either an insult or a put-down. Today, it was Tim Cook, LGBT Americans and three of the GOP's most revered leaders. Positivity training should be on his to-do list. Lighten up, Ted. Coming out is the most courageous and important thing that an LGBT person will do in their lifetime. Tim Cook showed great courage and leadership in doing so. He no doubt will save lives by inspiring those struggling with their sexual orientation or gender identity. All we get from Senator Cruz is either backhanded compliments or his backhand." - Fred Sainz, vice present of the Human Rights Campaign, via press release.

Labels: activism, Apple, business, coming out, GOP, HRC, LGBT rights, Tea Party, teabaggers, Ted Cruz, Tim Cook

Reposted from Joe Jervis