JMG Quote Of The Day - Adam Savage

"I have concluded through careful, empirical analysis and much thought that somebody is looking out for me. Keeping track of what I think about things, forgiving me when I do less then I ought, giving me strength to shoot for more than I think I am capable of. I believe they know everything that I do and think and they still love me and I’ve concluded after careful consideration that this person keeping score is me." - Mythbusters host Adam Savage, speaking at the Reason Rally.

RELATED: Head over to The Friendly Atheist for a massive recap of the Reason Rally. Videos, photos, quotes.

Labels: atheism, Quote Of The Day, religion

Reposted from Joe

The Gay Debate: The Bible and Homosexuality

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/matthew-vines/bible-homosexuality_b_1378368.html

Via JMG: New York Times Picks Up NOM Scandal

Just posted at the NYT's Caucus Blog:

“The strategic goal of the project is to drive a wedge between gays and blacks — two key Democratic constituencies,” reads a portion of the memo, describing an initiative called the “Not a Civil Right Project.” The project’s goal, according to the memo, is to recruit blacks who oppose gay marriage to serve as spokespeople for the group, then “provoke the gay marriage base into responding by denouncing these spokesmen and women as bigots.” Another initiative, described under the heading “Internationalizing the Marriage issue: A Pan-American Strategy,” is to convince Hispanic voters that efforts to legalize gay marriage would force them to assimilate to “the dominant Anglo culture.” The memo suggests that the strategy was inspired by successful efforts to outlaw same-sex marriage by initiative in California in 2008, when the measure passed with strong support from black voters, who turned out heavily to support Barack Obama for president. Brian S. Brown, executive director of the National Organization for Marriage, did not immediately return a call for comment on Tuesday.

Labels: hate groups, New York Times, NOM, scandal

Reposted from Joe

MSNBC Covers NOM Scandal

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Via JMG: Julian Bond On NOM's Race-Baiting

"NOM's underhanded attempts to divide will not succeed if Black Americans remember their own history of discrimination. Pitting bigotry's victims against other victims is reprehensible; the defenders of justice must stand together." - Julian Bond, Chairman Emeritus, NAACP.

Labels: Julian Bond, NAACP, NOM, racism

Reposted from Joe

Via JMG: Quote Of The Day - SPLC's Mark Potok

"Black folks, this is a message for you: The National Organization for Marriage (NOM), the country’s preeminent group fighting against same-sex marriage, really, really likes you. They even want to make some of you famous! Have NOM’s principal leaders, former president Maggie Gallagher and current leader Brian S. Brown, stood up for African Americans before? Well, not so much. But it turns out that they’ve decided that you’re actually very important. [snip]

"NOM isn’t the first organization to use such cynical marketing ploys, schemes that seem to have little do with the interests of the people they claim to represent, and it certainly won’t be the last. But the revelation of its bald attempt to exploit black people and Latinos should help end the idea that NOM is an honorable group that would never engage in race-baiting. Because that is precisely what it has done." - Southern Poverty Law Center spokesman Mark Potok, writing on the SPLC's site. (Tipped by JMG reader Fritz)

Labels: hate groups, NOM, Quote Of The Day, racism

Reposted from Joe

Tricycle Daily Dharma March 27, 2012

Having Good Purpose

In America and Europe, everyone is very active. But if you become too active, you lose the essence of Buddhism. You only have the Buddhist labels. One must cultivate peace to be compassionate. Without this, what you do, even as an 'engaged Buddhist' is just a lot of activity with no good purpose.

- Sulak Sivaraksa, “In Exile from Siam”
Read the entire article in the Tricycle Wisdom Collection

Via AmericaBlogGay:

Secret documents reveal NOM strategic goal "to drive wedge between gays and blacks"

It's not like we didn't think this was happening, but, wow, it's really ugly to see it in writing. As John notes on the main AMERICAblog home page, the religious right wanted to fan a race war, and they admitted it in writing.  Ben Smith at Buzzfeed calls the documents "explosive".

Earlier tonight, Alvin McEwen tipped me off about some court documents that revealed NOM's strategy. It's ugly. From Alvin:

The National Organization for Marriage's unsuccessful fight to skirt Maine's financial disclosure laws just backfired majorly on the group by revealing a distasteful part of its game plan to stop marriage equality.

According to a court document that was uploaded online, NOM specifically worked to drive a wedge between the black and gay community on the subject of marriage equality

Here's the key passage about gays and blacks (and there's also a strategy for Latinos):

The strategic goal of this project is to drive a wedge between gays and blacks - two key democratic constituencies. We aim to find, equip, energize and connect African American spokespeople for marriage; to develop a media campaign around their objections to gay marriage as a civil right; and to provoke the gay marriage base into responding by denouncing these spokesmen and women as bigots. No politician wants to take up and push an issue that splits the base of the party. Fanning the hostility raised in the wake of Prop 8 is key...

They mean hostility between African-Americans and white gays.

The full document is below. (John links to a second confidential NOM document that is similar to this one, but also includes the "fanning the hostility" phrase. There seem to be at least three different documents.)

Jeremy Hooper and HRC's NOM Exposed are on top of this, too.

And, as for NOM and Latinos, read the post from Dr. Gary Segura, who runs Latino Decisions polling firm -- and was an expert witness in the Prop. 8 case and several DOMA cases. He noted:

For starters, Latinos are far more liberal on marriage equality than stereotypes might suggest.

This has the potential to be a very big story. Ben Smith at BuzzFeed has already picked up the story.

Nom Depo Exhibit 28

Via JMG: Turkish Army Demands Proof Of Gayness

The Turkish Army grants a waiver of the mandatory service requirement if you are gay. But you have to prove it to them.

Ahmet, a young man in his 20s, told officials he was gay at the first opportunity after he was called up, as he and other conscripts underwent a health check. "They asked me if I liked football, whether I wore woman's clothes or used woman's perfume," he says. "I had a few days' beard and I am a masculine guy - they told me I didn't look like a normal gay man." He was then asked to provide a picture of himself dressed as a woman "I refused this request," he says. "But I made them another offer, which they accepted." Instead he gave them a photograph of himself kissing another man. Ahmet hopes this will give him what he needs - a "pink certificate", which will declare him homosexual and therefore exempt from military service.

Photo requirement: "The face must be visible, and the photos must show you as the passive partner." The above-linked BBC News report notes that civilian Turkish employers are allowed to ask the army about such waivers.

Labels: LGBT rights, military, Turkey

Reposted from Joe

"Join the Party!"

Via JMG: Herman Cain, WTF? (Part Two)

I hesitate to post this, but its so crazy, I think it needs to be shared...

Labels: crackpots, crazy people, GOP, WTF

Reposted from Joe

Via JMG: U.S. Customs To Recognize Gay Families

Homeland Security today announced a proposed rule change that will allow gay families to go through U.S. Customs together. Zack Ford notes at Think Progress: "Before, married same-sex couples had to go through customs separately because the policy referred to married couples, and thus fell under the purview of the Defense of Marriage Act." Yet another advance from the Obama administration.

Labels: gay families, Homeland Security, Obama administration

Reposted from Joe

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma March 26, 2012

Facing Challenges and Obstacles

When challenges or obstacles arise for us, we don’t have to get so intimidated; we can say, 'Yes, it’s an obstacle, but it is not intrinsically bad; it’s not going to destroy me.' To create a relationship with the obstacle, learn about it, and finally overcome it is going to be a helpful thing to do. It gives us a chance to cultivate wisdom and skillful means. It gives us confidence. We cannot eliminate all of the challenges or obstacles in life—our own or anyone else’s. We can only learn to rise to the occasion and face them.

- Dzigar Kongtrul, “Old Relationships, New Possibilities”
Read the entire article in the Tricycle Wisdom Collection

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma March 25, 2012

An Innocent Mind

What can be described is the known, and the freedom from the known can come into being only when there is a dying every day to the known, to the hurts, the flatteries, to all the images you have made, to all your experiences— dying every day so that the brain cells themselves become fresh, young, innocent.

- Jiddu Krishnamurti, “A Still Mind”
Read the entire article in the Tricycle Wisdom Collection

Music For Deep Meditation. "Spirit of the Sound"

936Hz Pineal Gland Activator

Beautiful Arabic Chant of Naw Ruz Tablet

JMG Photo Of The Day - Afghanistan Pride Flag

Just posted to the Wipeout Homophobia page of Facebook with the caption: "hubbie in afghanistan raising a gay pride flag." I'm still in meetings at the journalists conference in Houston, so I'm hoping my flying monkeys can track down the back story behind this photo. (Tipped by JMG reader David)

Labels: Afghanistan, DADT, military, photo of the day

reposted from Joe

Via George Takei / Facebook: