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.
Friday, December 28, 2012
Via JMG: Uruguay Postpones Marriage Vote
Uruguay's Senate was widely expected to pass its marriage equality bill today. No such luck. Via On Top Magazine:
The “Marriage Equality Law” seeks to modify some 20 articles of the Civil Code, including whose surname goes first when children are named. Opponents asked for the bill's vote to be postponed until the Senate's first meeting in April to allow more time to study the proposal. The request received unanimous approval. The bill has already received an initial nod in the Senate and it cleared the nation's lower house earlier this month. President Jose Mujica has said he'll sign the bill into law. Uruguay currently recognizes gay couples with civil unions. After a couple has lived in a “stable relationship” for 5 years, they may petition the government for the recognition.Another report notes that senators opposed to the bill claimed that the ruling party was trying to rush the bill through without "the normal procedures."
Labels: marriage equality, South America, Uruguay
Via JMG: Lambda Legal Rated Top LGBT Org
Guidestar, the watchdog site for non-profits, has ranked Lambda Legal as having the best practices among the LGBT rights and progressive organizations it monitors. Lambda Legal reacts via press release:
"I am very proud of the amazing talent and leadership of the Lambda Legal staff, board and volunteers that has resulted in this top ranking from our colleagues and peers," said Kevin Cathcart, Executive Director of Lambda Legal. "We have been fighting for equality for LGBT people and people with HIV for forty years, and we have many victories and achievements about which we are proud because they have changed people's lives - and our society - for the better. This is a transformational time in our movement for LGBT equality. Lambda Legal will continue to lead the way with all our energy and all our hearts. We are grateful to all our supporters and colleagues around the country, and thank those who have honored us with this top ranking for 2012."Rounding out Guidestar's top five:
2. ACLU
3. GLSEN
4. NCLR
5. NGLTF
See the rest of the list.
Labels: ACLU, GLSEN, Lambda Legal, LGBT rights, NCLR
Via JMG: BRITAIN: Marriage Support Surges
Public support for same-sex marriage has surged across Britain in just the last few months. The Guardian reports:
The ICM poll conducted just before Christmas found 62% of voters now support the proposals, with half this number – 31% – opposed. Most previous polls have found opinion leaning the same way, although the two-to-one margin revealed on Wednesday is particularly emphatic. An ICM online survey for the Sunday Telegraph in March asked the identical question – which expressly reminds people that the option of civil partnerships already exists for gay couples – and established a 45%-36% lead for the reformers. That significant hardening of opinion during the year will encourage Cameron, whose embrace of gay marriage has proved controversial, not only with religious leaders but also with the Tory backbench. And the new poll reveals a particularly significant swing towards the reform among the Tory base.
Labels: Britain, David Cameron, marriage equality, polls
Via JMG: Dutch Catholics "Debaptize" Themselves Over Pope's Anti-Gay Comments
Years ago I posted about the "debaptism" movement in which Catholics request that their names formally be stricken from the memberships rolls of their local diocese. This month that (mostly) symbolic move has gained steam in the Netherlands due to Pope Ratzinger's incessant attacks on same-sex marriage.
Tom Roes, whose website allows people to download the documents needed to leave the church, said traffic on ontdopen.nl – "de-baptise.nl" – had soared from about 10 visits a day to more than 10,000 after Pope Benedict's latest denunciation of gay marriage this month. "Of course it's not possible to be 'de-baptized' because a baptism is an event, but this way people can unsubscribe or de-register themselves as Catholics," Roes told Reuters. He said he did not know how many visitors to the site actually go ahead and leave the church. About 28 percent of the population in the Netherlands is Catholic and 18 percent is Protestant, while a much larger proportion – roughly 44 percent – is not religious, according to official statistics. The country is famous for its liberal attitudes, for example to drugs and prostitution, and in April 2001 it was the first nation in the world to legalize same-sex marriages.RELATED: Early this year a French man successfully sued to have his name removed from the baptismal records of his diocese. He was the first in his nation to be officially debaptized. In Germany, about 200,000 Catholics have filed the paperwork declaring that they will no longer pay the religion tax which is allocated to the Catholic Church.
NOTE: The above certificate is from Britain's Secular Society.
Labels: Catholic Church, debaptism, LGBT rights, marriage equality, Netherlands, organized crime, pope, religion
Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:
Tricycle Daily Dharma December 28, 2012
The Equality of Praise and Blame
If
we really stop to think about praise and criticism, we will see they do
not have the least importance. Whether we receive praise or criticism
is of no account. The only important thing is that we have a pure
motivation, and let the law of cause and effect be our witness.
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- H.H. the Dalai Lama, “Bad Reputation”
Via Buddhism on Beliefnet:
Daily Buddhist Wisdom | |||
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Thursday, December 27, 2012
Via Buddhism on Beliefnet:
Daily Buddhist Wisdom | |||
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Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:
Tricycle Daily Dharma December 27, 2012
Confidence in Truth
From
the habit of speaking truthfully confidence is acquired, since there is
no need then to dissemble or conceal the truth. Moreover, the speaker
of truth inspires confidence in others who come to know that they may
rely implicitly on his words.
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- Hammalawa Saddatissa, “Right Speech”
Wednesday, December 26, 2012
Via Buddhism on Beliefnet:
Daily Buddhist Wisdom | |||||
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Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:
Tricycle Daily Dharma December 26, 2012
Alive and Happy
We
cannot enjoy life if we spend our time and energy worrying about what
happened yesterday and what will happen tomorrow. If we’re afraid all
the time, we miss out on the wonderful fact that we’re alive and can be
happy right now.
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- Thich Nhat Hanh, “Free From Fear”
Tuesday, December 25, 2012
Via Buddhism on Beliefnet:
Daily Buddhist Wisdom | |||
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Tricycle Daily Dharma December 25, 2012
Merry Christmas
Many
people are extending love, the simple wish for us to be happy—and have
been since the day we were born. What is remarkable to me is what
happens when we are willing to notice it. And even more remarkable is
what happens when we are willing to receive it.
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- John Makransky, “Love Is All Around”
Monday, December 24, 2012
Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:
Tricycle Daily Dharma December 24, 2012
Joy in Giving
Because
generosity is characterized by the inner quality of letting go or
relinquishing, it reverses the forces that create suffering. It is a
profound antidote to the strong habits of clinging, grasping, guarding,
and attachment that lead to so much pain and suffering. Generosity
brings happiness at every stage of its expression: we experience joy in
forming the intention to give, we experience joy in the action of
giving, and we experience joy in remembering that we have given.
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- Beth Roth, “Family Dharma: The Joy of Generosity”
Via Buddhism on Beliefnet:
Daily Buddhist Wisdom | |||
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Sunday, December 23, 2012
Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:
Tricycle Daily Dharma December 23, 2012
The Purpose of Precepts
The
Buddhist precepts are not intended to force us into a particular way of
behaving but to encourage us to reflect on our motivations and actions.
Since the aim of a Buddhist life is to diminish suffering, Buddhist
ethics are rooted in compassion and wisdom. We attend to our own
suffering and the suffering of others, and we understand that our
intentions and actions have consequences.
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- Martine Batchelor, “The Buddhist Precepts: An Introduction”
Saturday, December 22, 2012
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