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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.
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The Iranian Government publicly executed two teenage boys on July 19th 2005, in the city of Mashad. Their names were MAHMOUD ASGARI and AYAZ MARHONI, one eighteen and the other seventeen or possibly sixteen-years-old.
They were accused of raping a thirteen-year-old boy, but it has been established that the authorities invented the charge of rape to prevent public sympathy for the true reason for their execution, that they were Gay. After their arrest the two boys endured a year of imprisonment and torture before the high court of Iran upheld their sentence and their execution by hanging was carried out in a public square in the city of Mashad.
International outrage was met with arrogance and impunity by the religious and conservative Iranian government, and a systematic persecution soon began against Gays, which has led to an unverified report of a second execution, and untold numbers of arrests and torture. These events indicate that the worldwide struggle for Gay Freedom has not decreased but has become more violent and inhumane.
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Gay Wisdom for Daily Living from White Crane Institute
"With the increasing commodification of gay news, views, and culture by powerful corporate interests, having a strong independent voice in our community is all the more important. White Crane is one of the last brave standouts in this bland new world... a triumph over the looming mediocrity of the mainstream Gay world." - Mark Thompson
Exploring Gay Wisdom & Culture since 1989!
www.whitecraneinstitute.org
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HORATIO ALGER JR., American writer, died (b. 1832); 19th century American author who wrote approximately 135 dime novels. Many of his works have been described as “rags to riches” stories, illustrating how down-and-out boys might be able to achieve the American Dream of wealth and success through hard work, courage, determination, and concern for others.
This widely held view involves a significant simplification, as Alger's characters do not typically achieve extreme wealth; rather they attain middle-class security, stability, and a solid reputation — that is, their efforts are rewarded with a place in society, not domination of it. He is noted as a significant figure in the history of American cultural and social ideals, even though his novels are rarely read these days. As bestsellers in their own time, Alger's books rivaled those of Mark Twain in popularity.
What no one understood at the time, however, was the reason for Alger’s arrival in New York, not to mention an interesting correlative to his atavistic concern for boys. Back in Brewster, a special parish investigating committee of the Unitarian church had charged their minister with “gross immorality and a most heinous crime, a crime of no less magnitude than the abominable and revolting crime of unnatural familiarity with boys.” This is verified by The Washognton Post and The New York Times in their reporting. As recently as 2006, the sexual assault allegations against him prompted the renaming of a Marlborough, Mass., fair that had carried his name, according to reporting for the Worcester Telegram & Gazette.
Considering what Alger had been accused of doing to two lads named John Clark and Thomas S. Corcker before he hightailed it out of Brewster is it any wonder that his first book was titled Ragged Dick?
And, in the spirit of you-can't-make-this-stuff-up: Of late, it has come to light that one Supreme Court Justice, Clarence Thomas is a celebrated member of the "Horation Alger Jr. Association", an Alexandria, Va.-based nonprofit organization, that has counted the justice as a member for three decades. The New York Times reported that he has called it “a home to Virginia and me,” referring to his wife, and said it “has allowed me to see my dreams come true.”
Do tell.
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Gay Wisdom for Daily Living from White Crane Institute
"With the increasing commodification of gay news, views, and culture by powerful corporate interests, having a strong independent voice in our community is all the more important. White Crane is one of the last brave standouts in this bland new world... a triumph over the looming mediocrity of the mainstream Gay world." - Mark Thompson
Exploring Gay Wisdom & Culture since 1989!
www.whitecraneinstitute.org
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