Via JMG: Scott Lively's Crimes Against Humanity Trial Begins, Liberty Counsel Demands More Information From Ugandan Plaintiffs

 

The crimes against humanity lawsuit against Scott Lively began today with his Liberty Counsel lawyers demanding more information from the plaintiffs, Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG). Via MassLive:

Lively is being represented by the Liberty Counsel, based in Orlando, Florida, which bills itself on its website as "an international nonprofit litigation, education, and policy organization dedicated to advancing religious freedom, the sanctity of life, and the family." It has provided pro bono legal assistance on these and related topics since 1989. Attorney Roger Gannam on Tuesday argued that lawyers for the plaintiffs were being so surreptitious in turning over documents - already subject to an "attorney's eyes only" restriction - that it was hindering Lively's ability to wage an effective defense.
"Scott Lively has no desire for the information except for this lawsuit," Gannam argued to U.S. Magistrate Judge Katherine Robertson. "SMUG has not proved that it's reliable in deciding what Scott Lively should see and shouldn't see." In particular, the lawyer cited an email relating to a SMUG fund-raiser geared toward paying fees in the Lively case, which he said was so heavily redacted even the subject line was blacked out. Gannam also referred to images the plaintiffs have withheld of participants at the 2009 workshop in Uganda, which he argued Lively couldn't confirm were there if he can't see their faces. Gannam also suggested the plaintiffs' representation of the significance of the 2009 workshop in Uganda was overstated.

Lively did not attend today's hearing. According to the above-linked report, he is planning to move his ministry from Springfield to Riverside, California in order to "expand the brand."

RELATED:  On May 11th SMUG issued a subpoena which demands that notoriously anti-gay Ugandan Pastor Martin "Eat Da Poo Poo" Ssempa appear to testify at the trial. The subpoena included a $1900 check to cover Ssempa's travel costs from Uganda. Normally a prolific many-times-per-day Twitter user, Ssempa has not tweeted since the subpoena was issued.

Labels: Africa, crackpots, crimes against humanity, hate groups, lawsuits, Martin SSempa, religion, Scott Lively, Uganda

Reposted from Joe Jervis

Via JMG: MEXICO: Catholic Church Exorcises Satan Out Of Entire Nation Because Gays

 

Because gays and abortion, actually. Via Breitbart:

In an extraordinary act of spiritual warfare, several bishops and exorcist priests have performed what is being called a “Magno Exorcismo” (great exorcism) of the entire country of Mexico following a series of events that the bishops see as linked to the presence and influence of Satan. On May 20, the former Archbishop of Guadalajara, Cardinal Juan Sandoval Iñiguez [PHOTO], the Archbishop of San Luis Potosi, Carlos Cabrero, as well as several exorcist priests from various Mexican dioceses held a closed-door exorcism ritual at the Metropolitan Cathedral of San Luis Potosí. Bishop Cabrero explained the hush-hush nature of the ceremony, saying that otherwise “it arouses morbid curiosity and misinterpretations” when what we are after is simply “doing good for everyone.” In a telephone interview, Father Fortea declined to give details about the ceremony, but said that “undoubtedly the abortion, Satanism, corruption, the cult of ‘holy’ death and the legalization of sexual aberrations have caused great satanic infestation throughout Mexico.” All of this, he said, has unleashed widespread violence precisely because of the action of the devil. The purpose of the exorcism was to “drive the demons out of Mexico,” he said.

RELATED: On June 3rd the Mexican Supreme Court ruled that states may no longer ban same-sex marriage, although couples in the majority of Mexican states must still, for now, hire a lawyer, pay around $1000, and wait a month to obtain a judge's order to marry. Same-sex marriages have been recognized nationwide since Mexico City repealed its ban in 2010 and three states had already done away with their bans, but the latest ruling will surely expedite the removal of the remaining roadblocks.  

 

Labels: Catholic Church, exorcisms, religion, Satan

Reposted from Joe Jervis

Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do Dia- Flor del Día- Flower of the day 16/06/2015

“Por que evitamos tanto o movimento em direção à nossa interioridade? Porque talvez seja mais desafiador do que você se mover em direção a outro planeta. Porque mover-se em direção àquilo que nunca morre, em direção ao Eterno dentro de nós, é onde reside a grande aventura.”
Ouça o Satsang completo: bit.ly/1CaQvPm

“¿Por qué evitamos tanto el movimiento en dirección a nuestra interioridad? Porque tal vez esto sea más desafiante que moverte en dirección a otro planeta. Porque moverse en dirección a aquello que nunca muere, en dirección al Eterno dentro nuestro, es donde reside la gran aventura.”

“Why are we so resistant to moving our attention inwards? Perhaps because it is more challenging to do this than it is to move towards outer space. The movement towards that which never dies, towards the Eternal within us, is where the great adventure lies.”

Today's Daily Dharma: The Dawning of Truth.

 

The Dawning of Truth

If we use the practice tools that develop intelligence and clarity with a confused, selfish motivation, reality is bound to collide with our fiction. This is where practice is supposed to bring us. This is the proof that the dharma works. It?s the end of our confused, fictive world, and the dawning of truth. - Lama Tsony, "Facing Fear"

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Via Equality House / FB:

Via JMG: AUSTRALIA: Anti-Gay Couple May Not Be Able To Stay Together & Legally Divorce

Earlier this week an anti-gay Australian couple earned international headlines when they declared that that they will divorce in a symbolic stand against same-sex marriage. But as it turns out, their plan to remain living together may thwart any divorce under Australian law.

The Family Law Act states that an application for divorce will only be considered if the parties had separated and lived separately for a continuous period of at least 12 months. Family lawyer Denis Farrar said the court also needs to be satisfied that there is no reasonable likelihood of cohabitation being resumed. "It surprises me that any sensible person would make such a threat, because you can't get a divorce unless you've been separated for 12 months," he said. "It doesn't sound like Mr Jensen could truthfully swear that those facts are correct. And in that case he may apply for a divorce, but he won't get it unless he lies."
Mr Jensen conceded the Family Law Act may throw a spanner in the works. "There will be issues around the fact that we would have to prove that our marriage was irreconcilably broken, which it isn't," he said. But Mr Jensen said he and his wife could look at a legal challenge, which would leave them effectively fighting for their right to get divorced. "It would be quite ironic if the state wouldn't actually allow us to get divorced," he said. "If a group of people got together and said 'actually, we want to take this to the courts', then maybe that would be something we'd be involved with. It's something we take very seriously, and we feel in our conscience that we can't actually partake in any redefined marriage."

Jensen, not incidentally, is the former director of the Australian Christian Lobby.

 

Labels: Australia, crackpots, marriage equality, religion

Reposted from Joe Jervis

US Embassy Celebrates Tel Aviv Pride 2015

Via JMG: Wingnuts Cry "Staged!" After Gay Couple Kisses When Clinton Mentions Marriage

 

The Tea Things over at Twitchy are very upset that two men could be seen kissing as Hillary Clinton mentioned marriage equality during her speech at Roosevelt Island today. It took me about an hour of sorting through the various live feeds to find the right camera angle and take a screenshot, but as you can see the couple was standing in just the right spot.

Labels: 2016 elections, Hillary Clinton, marriage equality

Reposted from Joe Jervis

Today's Daily Dharma: Not Worth Clinging

 Image: Alfredo de Stéfano

Not Worth Clinging

Whenever you see yourself identifying with anything stressful and inconstant, you remind yourself that it?s not-self: not worth clinging to, not worth calling your self. This helps you let go of it. When you do this thoroughly enough, it can lead to awakening. - Thanissaro Bhikkhu, "What the Buddha Never Said: ?There is no Self.?"

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Today's Daily Dharma: Under One Umbrella

Doris Mitsch, courtesy of Clampart, New York City

Under One Umbrella

We should all be willing to suspend skepticism about unfamiliar forms of Buddhism and explore their texts and practices deeply and without presuppositions. If we do this hard work, we will find that these unfamiliar Buddhisms make sense in their own terms and deserve our respect. Whether they turn out to be more similar to or more different from our own Buddhism is irrelevant. If we investigate these myriad versions of Buddhism, we will understand how all of them are derived from the teachings of the one teacher we all revere. - Rita Gross, "Under One Umbrella"

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Via Spirit Science / FB:

Today's Daily Dharma: It Starts with Humility

Image: Elegy 2011 by Cara Barer

It Starts with Humility

Humility is . . . the ground zero of spirituality, from which other helpful conditions may arise, such as gratitude and compassion.  - Henry Shukman, "The Art of Being Wrong"

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Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do Dia- Flor del Día- Flower of the day 15/06/2015

“A verdadeira felicidade é aquela que vem de dentro, pois ela possibilita a experiência da liberdade. Uma coisa é você estar com o outro por amor, porque é bom estar próximo, porque existe uma sinergia, uma afinidade, e a energia cresce nesse encontro; e outra coisa bem diferente é acreditar que depende do outro para ser feliz.”

“La verdadera felicidad es aquella que viene de adentro, porque ésta posibilita la experiencia de la libertad. Una cosa es que estés con otro por amor, porque es bueno estar cerca, porque existe una sinergia, una afinidad, y la energía crece en ese encuentro; y otra cosa bien diferente es creer que dependes del otro para ser feliz.”

“True happiness comes from within, and allows you to experience freedom. You may be with someone out of love because it’s good to be close to them, and there is a synergy. The energy of this affinity grows with every encounter. That is the complete opposite of believing that your happiness is dependent on this person.”

Today's Daily Dharma: Free of Fear

Image: Stephen Webster/Photonica

Free of Fear

Being free of fear is not a matter of never feeling it, but of not being flattened when we do. We can feel it and know it is a natural phenomenon, also an impermanent one, which will have its say and be gone. - David Guy, "Trying to Speak: A Personal History of Stage Fright"

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Via Power of Positivity / FB:

Destroyed Buddha Statues Rise Again...In 3D

Via JMG: WaPo 2016 Net Favorability Poll

 

Of all the declared and potential 2016 candidates in the Washington Post's net favorability poll, only Sen. Bernie Sanders is (barely) in positive territory.

The real-world surveys show that the overwhelming majority of presidential candidates are running negative favorability scores. Quinnipiac has Bernie Sanders at +1 overall, although that's partly because 62 percent of Americans say they haven't heard enough about him to form an opinion. The closest Republican is Marco Rubio — the same number of Americans say they view him positively as those who view him negatively, meaning his score nets out to exactly zero. Clinton and Obama are tied at -4. And it's all downhill from there, all the way down to Donald Trump. Only 15 percent of Americans view him favorably, compared to 71 percent who have a negative opinion. That gives him a net favorability of -56, more than twice as bad as the next-lowest candidate, Chris Christie, with his -26 score.

(Tipped by JMG reader Daddy Ray)

 

Labels: 2016 elections, Bernie Sanders, polls, WaPo

Reposted from Joe Jervis  

Via JMG: American Airlines Joins Pride Parade

Paging Franklin Graham!

Labels: American Airlines, business, gay Pride

Reposted from Joe Jervis

Via JMG: Hate Groups Publish Full-Page Message To SCOTUS In The Washington Post: We Won't Honor Your Ruling On Marriage

 

A coalition of hate groups and Christian pastors calling themselves Defend Marriage has published a full-page message to SCOTUS in the Washington Post. Among the signers at the bottom of the ad are Mat Staver, Elaine Donnelly, the Benham brothers, Alveda King, Jim Garlow, John Hagee, E.W. Jackson, Don Wildmon, Dave Welch, Robert Jeffress, and Penny Nance. From the text:

We affirm that any judicial opinion which purports to redefine marriage will constitute an unjust law, as Martin Luther King Jr. described such laws in his letter from the Birmingham Jail. We are Christians who love America and who respect the legitimate rule of law. However, we will not honor any decision by the Supreme Court which will force us to violate a clear biblical understanding of marriage as solely the union of one man and one woman. We affirm that Marriage, as existing solely between one man and one woman, precedes civil government. Though affirmed, fulfilled, and elevated by faith, the truth that marriage can exist only between one man and one woman is not based solely on religion but on the Natural Law, written on the human heart.

Bolding is theirs. (Tipped by JMG reader Jim)

Labels: AFA, Alveda King, Christianists, crackpots, David Benham, Donald WIldmon, E.W. Jackson, FRC, hate groups, John Hagee, Josh Duggar, Liberty Counsel, marriage equality, Mat Staver, Penny Nance, religion, SCOTUS, WaPo

Reposted from Joe Jervis