Via JMG: Ted Cruz Files Two Anti-Gay Marriage Bills

Via Bloomberg:

Days before the U.S. Supreme Court hears arguments on same-sex marriage, Senator Ted Cruz has filed two bills to protect states that bar gay couples from marrying. Cruz's legislation would establish a constitutional amendment shielding states that define marriage as between one woman and one man from legal action, according to bill language obtained by Bloomberg News. A second bill would bar federal courts from further weighing in on the marriage issue until such an amendment is adopted. While Cruz's legislation would face solid opposition in the Senate, it is an attempt to force his competitors to keep the issue alive even if the court rules in favor of same-sex marriage. Last year, Cruz and Utah Senator Mike Lee filed similar legislation to protect more than 30 states that currently define marriage as a union between one man and one woman, but those bills died when the session in a Democratic-controlled congress ended.

The bills are here and here.

Labels: 2016 elections, Christianists, crackpots, marriage equality, religion, Senate, Tea Party, teabaggers, Ted Cruz

Reposted from Joe Jervis

Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do Dia- Flor del Día- Flower of the day 24/04/2015

“É importante que possamos ensinar para as nossas crianças sobre a impermanência. Elas precisam saber que o envelhecimento e a morte são fenômenos inerentes a este plano. Desde cedo elas podem compreender que o corpo tem prazo de validade e que somente aquele que habita o corpo é permanente.”
Para ler o Satsang completo, acesse: bit.ly/1uTivU9

“Es importante que podamos enseñar a nuestros niños sobre la impermanencia. Ellos necesitan saber que el envejecimiento y la muerte son fenómenos inherentes a este plano. Desde temprano ellos pueden comprender que el cuerpo tiene plazo de validez y que solamente aquél que habita el cuerpo es permanente.”

"It’s important that we teach our children about impermanence. They need to know that aging and death are inherent phenomena of this world. From early on, they can understand that the body has an expiration date, and that only the Being that inhabits the body is permanent."

Via Daily Dharma

Finding the Natural Balance | April 24, 2015 I dissolve in activity, in relationship with my surroundings, so that the inner world can flow out, and the outer world can arrive within. I have to both put in effort and know when to let go. There’s a natural balance, a dance, between embracing and releasing: turning your surroundings into yourself, like the tree that absorbs carbon dioxide, and turning yourself into your surroundings, like the same tree releasing oxygen. - Shozan Jack Haubner, "Consider the Seed" Read More →

MAKE HISTORY - END MARRIAGE INEQUALITY

Gaytriotism Across America | Openly Jake

Via JMG: ABC Poll: New High For Marriage Support

Via the Washington Post:

A record-high 6 in 10 Americans support same-sex marriage and a similar share say individual states should not be allowed to define marriage as only between a man and a woman, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll. The national debate on same-sex marriage moves to center stage next week, when the Supreme Court hears oral arguments on whether state restrictions on same-sex marriage are unconstitutional. The Post-ABC poll finds 61 percent of Americans support allowing gays to marry and 35 percent are opposed. Support is up only slightly from last year but is a reversal from public sentiment a decade ago, when opponents outnumbered supporters 58 percent to 39 percent. In the short and long run, support for same-sex marriage has grown significantly across demographic and political groups. Among those under age 30, support has grown since 2005 from 57 percent to 78 percent. Among those 65 and over, it has increased from 18 percent to 46 percent. Support has also risen by double digits across partisan groups, though Democrats and independents have shifted the most.

Labels: marriage equality, polls, SCOTUS

Reposted from Joe Jervis

Openly Secular Day 2015

Via JMG: NEJM To SCOTUS: Say Yes To Marriage

The New England Journal of Medicine is the nation's oldest continuously published peer-reviewed medical journal. Posted today:

Eleven years ago, Massachusetts became the first state in the country to give same-sex marriages full legal recognition. Today, same-sex marriage is legal, through legislative or judicial action or by popular vote, in more than 35 states and the District of Columbia. It is recognized by the federal government. And polls consistently show that it is supported by a clear majority of Americans. However, in Ohio, Kentucky, Michigan, and Tennessee, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled in favor of laws and constitutional amendments that define marriage as a union between a man and a woman only, denying recognition of same-sex marriage. Given the conflicting lower-court rulings, the Supreme Court has taken the issue under consideration. The Court will hear oral arguments on April 28 and is expected to hand down its ruling by the end of the current session, in June. We believe that the Court should resolve this conflict in favor of the full recognition of same-sex marriage throughout the United States.

Read the rest. (Tipped by JMG reader TJ)

Labels: marriage equality, Massachusetts, medicine, SCOTUS

Reposted From Joe Jervis

Via FB:

Via ThinkProgress: The Surprising Religious Breakdown Of Same-Sex Marriage Support

 

Make the jump here to read the full article here

Via Huffington: Brokenhearted Bahá'is: LGBTs Rejected by Their Faith

Never before has an openly gay member of the Bahá'í faith granted such a high profile interview, an interview already getting great traction among worldwide members of the faith itself. Above, Sean Rayshel, who has granted Nicholas Snow this exclusive interview.

Nicholas Snow welcomes Sean Rayshel, an openly-gay, third generation American Bahá'í who for the past fifteen years has been an advocate for LGBT inclusiveness in the Bahá'í Faith. Read also in this post, for the first time published in a major media outlet, an official letter from the Bahá'ís Universal House of Justice, Department of the Secretariat.

Make the Jump here to read the full article

Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do Dia- Flor del Día- Flower of the day 23/04/2015

“Se você sente que ainda não está pronto para estar em um relacionamento, não adianta forçar. Amor forçado não é amor. Talvez você ainda precise continuar voando até que o amor te arrebate. Mas, chega um momento em que você amadurece o suficiente para compreender a necessidade de aprofundar numa relação. Porque é através do relacionamento que os portais de acesso aos reinos internos se abrem. Mas, normalmente o que ocorre é que ao acessar esses mundos internos, você se assusta e tem vontade de sair correndo. Então você quer trocar de parceiro. E isso pode se tornar uma compulsão. Fique atento para isso, pois se trata de uma estratégia do eu inferior para te manter refém do medo.”

Para ver o Satsang completo, acesse o link: bit.ly/1d3xmZQ

“Si sientes que todavía no estás listo para estar en una relación de pareja, no sirve forzar. Amor forzado no es amor. Tal vez aún necesites continuar volando hasta que el amor te arrebate. Pero llega un momento en que maduras lo suficiente como para comprender la necesidad de profundizar en una relación. Porque es a través de ella que los portales de acceso a los reinos internos se abren. Pero normalmente lo que ocurre es que al acceder a esos mundos internos te asustas y tienes ganas de salir corriendo. Entonces quieres cambiar de compañero. Y esto se puede volver una compulsión. Estate atento a esto, porque se trata de una estrategia del yo inferior para mantenerte rehén del miedo.”

"If one does not feel ready to be in a relationship, there is no point in forcing it. Forced love is no love. We might need to continue flying around until love catches a hold of us. But there comes a time when we are mature enough to understand the need to deepen within a relationship. Through relationships, we gain access to the portals of the inner realms. Oftentimes when we do access these inner worlds, we get frightened and want to run away. Then we want to change partners, and this can become a compulsive action. We must be aware of this, because this is a strategy of the lower self to keep us hostage to fear."

Via Daily Dharma

What Are You Meditating For? | April 23, 2015 Each time one sits to meditate, one enters the unknown, the uncertain, the purposeless. Continuing, one repeatedly experiences uncertainty on the spot. One enters a great expanse that is unknowable, ordinary, alive, and secret. One enters into the timeless and unbiased continuum of all being. - Douglas Penick, "What Are You Meditating For?" Read More →

Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do Dia- Flor del Día- Flower of the day 22/04/2015

“O karma está a serviço de nos auxiliar no alinhamento com o dharma, que é o caminho da verdade, o com o caminho do coração. Quando nos alinhamos com o dharma, nos sentimos pertencendo, nos sentimos plenos. Nós ocupamos nosso lugar no mundo e temos a convicção de estar no lugar certo. Esse sentimento traz satisfação e enche nosso coração de confiança.”
Acesse ao Satsang completo: http://migre.me/pzC1e

”El karma está al servicio de auxiliarnos en la alineación con el dharma, que es el camino de la verdad, o con el camino del corazón. Cuando nos alineamos con el dharma, nos sentimos perteneciendo, nos sentimos plenos. Nosotros ocupamos nuestro lugar en el mundo y tenemos la convicción de estar en el lugar correcto. Este sentimiento trae satisfacción y llena nuestro corazón de confianza.”

"Karma is at the service of aligning us with our dharma, which is the path of truth; the path of the heart. When we align ourselves with dharma, we feel like we belong. We feel fulfilled, and we occupy our place in the world with the conviction that this is indeed where we should be. This feeling brings us satisfaction and fills our heart with trust."

Via Daily Dharma

Cultivating a Planetary Perspective | April 22, 2015 You can instill a view, but then there actually have to be processes like meditation that shift the way the mind relates to others. You can't just say a lot about how we're all connected; you have to actually offer tools for how you would become more aware. . . . It's not just, you know, "love thy neighbor." That's a great sentiment, but how? - Ethan Nichtern, "How Meditation Offers a Planetary Perspective" Read More →

VIa JMG: CHILE: Opus Dei Sues LGBT Group For Ownership Of "Opus Gay" Web Domain

 

The secretive Catholic group Opus Dei has filed a lawsuit against a Chilean LGBT group whose name translates as the Movement For Homosexual Integration & Liberation (MOVILH). The suit seeks control of the OpusGay.cl web domain and claims that the words "Opus Gay" create confusion in the public's mind and suggest that MOVILH's mission is supported by the Catholic Church. The domain was registered in 2002 and the URL redirects to the group's digital magazine. The suit further claims that the word "Opus" is "inextricably linked to the prelature." The lawyer for MOVILH notes that other sites begin with the word "Opus" and accuses Opus Dei of "irrational homophobia." At the time of the domain's registration Opus Dei filed an objection against the use of  "Opus Gay" as the title of a Chilean print magazine. That demand was granted in 2007.

Labels: Catholic Church, Chile, internet, lawsuits

Reposted from Joe Jervis

Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do Dia- Flor del Día- Flower of the day 21/04/2015

“Existem diferentes interpretações para o conceito de karma. Essa é uma palavra sânscrita que significa “ação”. Porém o conceito é mais profundo: trata-se da lei universal de ação e reação, uma lei mecânica inerente a este plano, ou seja, estando aqui você está submetido a ela. Muitos compreendem Karma como uma dívida de sofrimento, mas essa é uma compreensão equivocada. Karma é uma dívida de aprendizado. Quando você aprende, o karma se dissolve.”

Acesse ao Satsang completo: http://migre.me/pyRpH

“Existen diferentes interpretaciones del concepto de karma. Esta es una palabra sánscrita que significa “acción”. Sin embargo el concepto es más profundo: se trata de una ley universal de acción y reacción, una ley mecánica inherente a este plano, es decir, estando aquí estás sometido a ella. Muchos comprenden Karma como una deuda de sufrimiento, pero es una comprensión equivocada. Karma es una deuda de aprendizaje. Cuando aprendes, el karma se disuelve.”

"There are different interpretations of the concept of karma. This is a Sanskrit word meaning ‘action’. But this concept is even more profound: it is the universal law of action and reaction. Karma is a mechanical law inherent to this realm. Just by being here on Earth, we are under its influence. Many people understand karma as a debt of suffering, but this is a misunderstanding. Karma is a debt of learning. When we truly learn, our karma dissolves."

Via Daily Dharma

Why Attain Freedom? | April 21, 2015 Sometimes people get very rigid and tense trying to be good, disciplined, and ethical. Tension can also arise when we become more aware of the immense amount of destruction—seen and unseen, intentional and unintentional—that our mere physical existence causes. From a Buddhist point of view, however, this is what it means to be born in samsara [suffering], and this is why we need to attain freedom from samsara. - Khandro Rinpoche, "Complete Abandon" Read More →

Via David J. Fischer / FB:

"I am speaking of the lie of silent assertion; we can tell it without saying a word, and we all do it- — we that know ... There Is No Art To The Silent Lie- It Is Timid And Shabby" ~ Mark Twain

"There is a special place reserved in hell for those who do nothing in a time of moral crisis " ~ Dante

 "Those who do not move, do not notice their chains." ~ Rosa Luxemburg

Make the jump here to the original on FB