Via JMG: President Obama Speaks At Selma, Gives Nod To Battle For LGBT Rights

Via the New York Times:

In an address at the scene of what became known as “Bloody Sunday,” Mr. Obama rejected the notion that race relations have not improved since then, despite the string of police shootings that have provoked demonstrations. “What happened in Ferguson may not be unique,” he said, “but it’s no longer endemic. It’s no longer sanctioned by law or custom, and before the civil rights movement, it most surely was.” But the president also rejected the notion that racism has been defeated. “We don’t need the Ferguson report to know that’s not true,” he said. “We just need to open our eyes and our ears and our hearts to know that this nation’s racial history still casts its long shadow upon us. We know the march is not yet over; we know the race is not yet won. We know reaching that blessed destination where we are judged by the content of our character requires admitting as much.”

And of course he mentioned LGBT rights.

On the 50th anniversary of the march, Obama honored the protesters by saying, “Because of what they did, the doors of opportunity swung open not just for African-Americans, but for every American. Women marched through those doors. Latinos marched through those doors. Asian-Americans, gay Americans, and Americans with disabilities came through those doors. Their endeavors gave the entire South the chance to rise again, not by reasserting the past, but by transcending the past.”

He further noted, “We do a disservice to the cause of justice by intimating that bias and discrimination are immutable, or that racial division is inherent to America. If you think nothing’s changed in the past 50 years, ask somebody who lived through the Selma or Chicago or L.A. of the ’50s. Ask the female CEO who once might have been assigned to the secretarial pool if nothing’s changed. Ask your gay friend if it’s easier to be out and proud in America now than it was 30 years ago. To deny this progress — our progress — would be to rob us of our own agency; our responsibility to do what we can to make America better.”

President Obama Delivers Remarks on the 50th Anniversary of the Selma Marches

Labels: Alabama, American history, Barack Obama, civil rights, civil unrest, racism, Roy Moore, Selma

Reposted from Joe Jervis

Via JMG: SCOTUSblog On The DOJ's Brief

Lyle Denniston writes at SCOTUSblog:

The brief was limited to defending same-sex marriage under an “equal protection” standard, leaving unmentioned the other constitutional argument that some challengers to state bans have made: that marriage is a fundamental right that cannot be closed to such couples, a “due process” argument.

The government’s new filing, signed by U.S. Solicitor General Donald B. Verrilli, Jr., and other Justice Department officials and staff lawyers, sought to persuade the Court to embrace a constitutional test that this administration has been pressing for some time in gay rights cases.

It called for what is known as “heightened scrutiny” — the middle level of three ascending tests for judging claims that laws discriminate on the basis of a forbidden personal trait. The easiest standard to meet is “rational basis,” and the toughest is “strict scrutiny.”

Under the middle level, a law that is challenged as discriminatory can be upheld only if it serves an “important government objective” and its terms are “substantially related” to such a policy goal.

In a series of decisions in recent years that have added to gay rights, the Supreme Court has never specified an explicit standard for use in the field of sexual orientation. At times, it has seemed to adopt something like “rational basis-plus,” but it has never given a specific definition of the test or tests it has used.

Hit the link for more analysis.

Labels: DOJ, marriage equality, SCOTUS, SCOTUSblog

Reposted from Joe Jervis

Via JMG: Popular Street Names By State

 

From the Washington Post:

For decades we have believed that the most popular name for a road was “2nd.” But by my analysis, that crown actually goes to “Park.” (Again, look to the methodology section for a discussion of this.) Out of over a million roads in the United States, 9,640 are named “Park.” Only 8,232 are named “2nd,” or “Second.” Still, both the Census and I agree that “2nd” is a more popular road name than “1st.” The most convincing explanation anyone has come up with so far is that in many towns the primary thoroughfare is “Main” street instead of “1st” street. Because those two names split the honor, so to speak, they tumble in the rankings. Trees, numbers, and presidents are the most popular names for streets, which is understandable.

Labels: maps, U.S. Census Bureau, United States

Reposted from Joe Jervis

Sri Prem Baba: Flor do Dia- Flor del Día- Flower of the day 08/03/2015

“Deus e Amor - essas são palavras que têm sido muito distorcidas ao longo do tempo. Poucos são os que realmente conhecem seu significado. Estou citando essas duas palavras porque entre elas existe uma sinergia - elas são sinônimas. Mas, como falar de algo tão profundo? Posso tentar fazer uso adequado das palavras para descrever o que é Deus, e o que é o Amor, mas no máximo poderei criar um campo para você viver uma experiência. Podemos tentar descrever o sabor de uma fruta e, dependendo da nossa habilidade com as palavras, você poderá imaginar esse sabor, mas para realmente conhecer o sabor da fruta você terá que saboreá-la.”

“Dios y Amor – esas son palabras que han sido muy distorsionadas a lo largo del tiempo. Pocos son los que realmente conocen su significado. Estoy citando estas dos palabras porque entre ellas existe una sinergia – ellas son sinónimos. Pero ¿cómo hablar de algo tan profundo? Puedo intentar hacer un uso adecuado de las palabras para describir lo que es Dios, y lo que es el Amor, pero como máximo podré crear un campo para que vivas una experiencia. Podemos intentar describir el sabor de una fruta y dependiendo de nuestra habilidad con las palabras, podrás imaginar ese sabor, pero para realmente conocer el sabor de la fruta tendrás que saborearla.”

“God is love. These words have been distorted over time, and few people really know what they mean. I am mentioning these two words because a synergy exists between them; they are synonyms. But how can I speak about something that is so profound? I can try to make an appropriate use of words to describe what God and love are, but the best I can do is create a field for you to experience them in. We can try to describe what a fruit tastes like and, depending on how good we are with words, you could even imagine what it tastes like. But if you really want to know what the fruit tastes like, you have to try it for yourself.”

Via Daily Dharma

Stick with It | March 8, 2015 Once we have made the outward choice among the many paths available and have begun a systematic practice, we often find ourselves assailed from within by doubts and fears, by all the feelings that we have never dared experience. Eventually, all of the dammed-up pain of a lifetime will arise. Once we have chosen a practice, we must have the courage and the determination to stick with it and use it in the face of all our difficulties. - Jack Kornfield, "Take the One Seat" Read More →

President Obama Selma Speech 2015 on 50th 'Bloody Sunday' at Edmond Pettus Bridge, Alabama |FULL

Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do Dia - Flor del Día - Flower of the Day - 07/03/2015

“A preguiça é uma matriz psicológica que se relaciona a sentimentos negados e congelados no corpo emocional. Esses sentimentos agem como uma barreira que impede a circulação da energia. Com o tempo, esse bloqueio do sistema energético começa a provocar somatizações, ou seja, começa a provocar desequilíbrio até mesmo no corpo físico. A preguiça provoca uma paralisia - ela impede a ação, que é nossa resposta aos estímulos da vida. E é a ação que possibilita o movimento e o desenvolvimento da consciência.” 

“La pereza es una matriz psicológica que está relacionada a sentimientos negados y congelados en el cuerpo emocional. Estos sentimientos actúan como una barrera que impiden la circulación de la energía. Con el tiempo, ese bloqueo del sistema energético comienza a provocar somatizaciones, es decir, comienza a provocar desequilibrio hasta mismo en el cuerpo físico. La pereza provoca una parálisis - ella impide la acción, que es nuestra respuesta a los estímulos de la vida. Y es la acción lo que posibilita el movimiento y el desarrollo de la conciencia.”

“Laziness is a psychological matrix related to denied feelings that are frozen in the emotional body. These feelings act as a barrier that prevents our energy from circulating. Over time, these blockages in our energy systems begin to create somatizations. In other words, they eventually cause imbalances in the physical body. Laziness leads to paralysis, which prevents us from acting. Action is our response to the stimulus of life; it is what allows for movement and the development of consciousness.”

Via Daily Dharma

Rules That Serve You | March 7, 2015 I suggest you become aware of the rules in your meditation practice, and not just try to stop them, for that would just be creating a rule not to have rules. You will have rules in your meditation practice, but they need to be ones that serve you rather than oppress you. The rules need to be open to questioning, to reassessment, and to further refinement. - Jason Siff, "The Problem with Meditation Instructions" Read More →

Via Upworthy / FB:

Blessing of Mortality Preview

JMG HomoQuotable - Dan Savage

"Dear Dr. Carson, If being gay is a choice, prove it. Choose it. Choose to be gay yourself. Show America how that's done, Ben, show us how a man can choose to be gay. Suck my dick. Name the time and the place and I'll bring my dick and a camera crew and you can suck me off and win the argument." - Dan Savage, in a posting made Wednesday before Carson offered his flaccid apology. Savage's message has given wingnuts the vapors, with Porno Pete today demanding that the SPLC label him a "hateful extremist."

Labels: Ben Carson, Dan Savage, HomoQuotable, Tea Party

Reposted from Joe Jervis

Via JMG: DOJ To SCOTUS: Yes On Marriage

 

Eric Holder's promised brief has arrived. Chris Geidner reports at Buzzfeed:

The United States government on Friday urged the Supreme Court to strike down bans on same-sex couples marriages across the country, concluding, “There is no adequate justification for such a discriminatory and injurious exercise of state power.” Specifically, the Justice Department urges: “The marriage bans challenged in these cases impermissibly exclude lesbian and gay couples from the rights, responsibilities, and status of civil marriage. These facially discriminatory laws impose concrete harms on same-sex couples and send the inescapable message that same-sex couples and their children are second-class families, unworthy of the recognition and benefits that opposite-sex couples take for granted. The bans cannot be reconciled with the fundamental constitutional guarantee of ‘equal protection of the laws.’”

Dig into the brief and pull out your favorite parts.

Labels: DOJ, Eric Holder, feds, LGBT History, LGBT rights, marriage equality, Obama administration, SCOTUS

Reposted from Joe Jervis

Via @FreedomToMarry

Obama administration Brief assessing #Marriage Bans as #Unconstitutional
Via @FreedomToMarry
 
This article links to many briefs.. See comment below for direct link to US DOJ Brief or find listed in article at bottom. http://tinyurl.com/mcu3xqp

Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do Dia - Flor del Día - Flower of the Day - 06/03/2015

“O mantra é um instrumento de grande poder, especialmente se você conhece seu significado, e o vocaliza com presença e intencionalidade. Dessa forma o mantra age como uma frequência de luz que dissipa a escuridão; ele se transforma em uma poderosa oração.”

“El mantra es un instrumento de gran poder, especialmente si conoces su significado, y lo vocalizas con presencia e intencionalidad. Así el mantra actúa como una frecuencia de luz que disipa la oscuridad; él se convierte en una poderosa oración.”

“Mantras are an instrument of great power, especially when you know their meaning and vocalize them with presence and intention. When you do so, the mantras act like a frequency of light that dissipates darkness, and they become a powerful prayer.”

Via Daily Dharma

Unconditional Service | March 6, 2015 Selfless service brings balance to your practice. Since it engages the body, it balances the tendency we have to think and theorize rather than act. By channeling your energy into acts of service, you transform the ideal into the real. - Shinso Ito, "Unconditional Service" Read More →

Via JMG: George Takei: Give Alabama The Finger

Labels: activism, Alabama, gay artists, George Takei, LGBT rights, marriage equality, Roy Moore, SCOTUS, social media

Reposted from Joe Jervis

Via JMG: Wall Street To SCOTUS: Yes On Marriage

Via CNN:

Wall Street's leading banks have signed a "friend of the court" brief pressing the Supreme Court to back same-sex marriage. Major financial firms including AIG, Bank of America, BlackRock, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs JPMorgan, UBS and Wells Fargo signed the brief that will be filed on Thursday. Spokespeople at each of the companies confirmed to CNN that they are named in the brief. Other signatories include a range of small and large companies in a variety of sectors including technology, healthcare and retail. "The brief argues that the existing confused legal landscape places significant burdens on employers and their employees—making it increasingly hard to conduct business," said Elliott Frieder, a spokesman for Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, the law firm that will file the brief on behalf of the firms.

A similar banking coalition filed a DOMA brief in 2013.

Labels: banking, marriage equality, SCOTUS, Wall Street

Reposted from Joe Jervis

Via JMG: David Koch To Sign SCOTUS Brief

Politico reports:

David Koch, the big money political donor and liberal boogeyman, has agreed to sign onto to an amicus brief supporting same-sex marriage at the Supreme Court, the Washington Free Beacon reported. The brief he will reportedly sign in DeBoer v. Snyder, a case that could afford same-sex couples a constitutional right to marry, will host a number of other prominent conservative signatories, including retired Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal, former Reagan White House chief of staff Ken Duberstein and former Republican National Committee chairman Ken Mehlman. An attorney for Koch Industries told the Free Beacon that Koch will join the brief in a personal capacity, indicating his support for gay marriage does not necessarily indicate a larger message from the Koch network of donors.

In 2012 Koch backed Romney, who signed onto NOM's anti-marriage pledge.

Labels: David Koch, marriage equality, SCOTUS, Tea Party

Reposted from Joe Jervis

Via JMG: SCOTUS Sets The Date: April 28th

 

Equality Case Files has the announcement.

Labels: LGBT History, marriage equality, SCOTUS

Reposted from Joe Jervis