Via Gay Politics Report: Civil Unions aren't Marriages

Civil unions aren't marriages, federal government says
 
Federal workers in domestic partnerships or civil unions won't get the same spousal and family benefits as those who are legally married in states that allow same-sex couples to wed, according to new guidance from the Office of Personnel Management. Memos detailing newly available benefits were released after the Supreme Court's recent ruling overturning a key section of the Defense of Marriage Act. The Washington Post (tiered subscription model)/Federal Eye blog (7/8)

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma July 9, 2013

Giving Up Getting

We need to give up something. We can’t have it all. We can’t try to layer wisdom on top of confusion. The spiritual path is about what we give up, not what we get.

- Tim Olmsted, “The Great Experiment”

Read the entire article in the Wisdom Collection through July 10, 2013
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Via JMG: NOM Board Member Heats Up

 

The Wrap takes note of the campaign to boycott Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game:

The sci-fi action movie “Ender’s Game” isn’t out until Nov. 1, but it’s already the target of an organized boycott. The group Geeks Out has launched an online protest and is asking people to “Skip Ender’s Game” because of anti-gay marriage comments made by Orson Scott Card, author of the 1985 book upon which the Lionsgate film is based.  "Do not buy a ticket at the theater, do not purchase the DVD, do not watch it on-demand. Ignore all merchandise and toys," the site implores. “By pledging to Skip Ender’s Game, we can send a clear and serious message to Card and those that do business with his brand of anti-gay activism -- whatever he’s selling, we’re not buying."

The boycott and petition site is here. (Tipped by JMG reader Neil)
PREVIOUSLY ON JMG: Orson Scott Card calls for Christians to overthrow the government over same-sex marriage.  Petition launched for DC Comics to fire Card, who had been hired to write an issue of Superman. Brian Brown gets outraged over threats to boycott DC Comics.  Illustrator pulls out of Superman issue over Card's hiring.

Labels: comic books, DC Comics, hate groups, Hollywood, movies, NOM, Orson Scott Card, religion

Via JMG: Archie Comics Joins It Gets Better Project

 

It Gets Better notes that tomorrow is Kevin Keller Day.

Labels: Archie Comics, bullying, It Gets Better Project

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma July 8, 2013

Using Technology Wisely

Technology’s value is the value we give it as a society and as individuals, in millions of large and small decisions that are made every day. It reshapes our world into something that can seem unfamiliar and even strange. But we are still in human territory—territory we can navigate with human wisdom and insight, should we choose to do so.

- Richard Eskow, "My Technology, My Self"

Read the entire article in the Wisdom Collection through July 9, 2013
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Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma July 7, 2013

Distinguishing Genuine Dharma

We reassure ourselves that the changes we’ve made in Buddhism are all for the best—that Buddhism has always adapted itself to every culture it enters, and we can trust it to adapt wisely to the West. But this treats Buddhism as if it were a conscious agent—a wise amoebic force that knows how to adapt to its environment in order to survive. Actually, Buddhism isn’t an agent, and it doesn’t adapt. It gets adapted—sometimes by people who know what they’re doing, sometimes by people who don’t. Just because a particular adaptation survives and prevails doesn’t mean that it’s genuine dharma. It may simply appeal to the desires and fears of its target audience.

- Thanissaro Bhikkhu, “Lost in Quotation”

Read the entire article in the Wisdom Collection through July 8, 2013
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JMG STUDY: Sex Keeps You Younger Looking

According to a British study:

“My message is that lovemaking is good,” Dr. David Weeks told the British Psychological Society. Former head of old age psychology at the Royal Edinburgh Hospital, Weeks said he spent a decade prying into the private lives of thousands of men and women of all ages. Weeks found that sexual pleasure is a “crucial factor” in preserving youth.
How? Lovemaking releases the human growth hormone, which helps keep the skin elastic and thus less likely to wrinkle, he said. Sex also released endorphins, which are the body’s feel-good chemicals and natural painkillers that ease anxiety and make it easier to sleep, Weeks added. Nookie boosts blood circulation, which is good for that heart and gives skin that healthy glow, the good doctor said. Finally, sex burns fat and releases other chemicals that bolster the immune system, he said.

Labels: aging, Britain, science, sex

Reposted from Joe

Via JMG: Henry Rollins On DOMA

"Bad News for the Haters Dept.: You realize that all those obnoxious 16-year-olds you see everywhere, texting their friends who are standing next to them, will be able to vote in the 2016 elections. Do you think you will be able to sell them on your anti-gay/anti-woman/anti-brown/black platform? Do you think they want to end up like you? I bet they don't. Gov. Bobby Jindal said that you all have to stop being the stupid party. I don't think you can do it. How did equality become political? Because you can't handle science, change or the truth. America is on the move, you are not." - Henry Rollins, writing for LA Weekly.

Labels: DOMA, Henry Rollins, straight allies

Reposted from Joe

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma July 6, 2013

The Power of Presence

Presence has no measurable product except positive feelings, feelings of support, intimacy, and happiness. When we stop being busy and productive and switch to just being still and aware, we ourselves will also feel support, intimacy, and happiness, even if no one else is around.

- Jan Chozen Bays, “The Gift of Waiting”

Read the entire article in the Wisdom Collection through July 7, 2013
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Via Gay Politics Report:

Marriage efforts launch across the U.S.

Hundreds of Florida couples this week signed up to challenge the state's constitutional ban on marriage equality, and in New Mexico several legal groups joined to ask the state Supreme Court to decide if same-sex couples are entitled to marriage licenses. Advocates are planning ballot campaigns to reverse marriage bans in Ohio, Arizona, Oregon and Nevada. In Arkansas, 11 couples filed lawsuits this week to strike down the state's ban on same-sex marriages.  

BuzzFeed (7/3), WTVJ-TV (Miami) (7/2), Metro Weekly (Washington, D.C.)/Poliglot blog (7/3), LGBTQ Nation/The Associated Press (7/2)

Apenas um Pedido

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma July 5, 2013

A Healthy Dissatisfaction

A sense of dissatisfaction is regarded as an essential prerequisite for progress on the Buddhist path. Far from seeking to become somehow 'nonjudgmental,' the meditator is instructed to judge all the objects of ordinary experience as scarred by three marks: impermanence, suffering, and no self.

- Donald S. Lopez, “The Scientific Buddha”

Read the entire article in the Wisdom Collection through July 6, 2013
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Via ॐ Blue Buddha Quote Collective / FB:

Via JMG: Tricycle Daily Dharma

Tricycle Daily Dharma July 4, 2013

Happy Interdependence Day

As we open and empty ourselves, we come to experience an interconnectedness, the realization that all things are joined and conditioned in an interdependent arising. Each experience and event contains all others.

- Jack Kornfield, "No Self or True Self?"

Read the entire article in the Wisdom Collection through July 5, 2013
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Via JMG: Edie's Refund: $638,000+

CNN Money reports:

The Supreme Court decision this week striking down the Defense of Marriage Act means a lot of things to a lot of people. But to Edith Windsor, the plaintiff who brought the case, the landmark ruling also means she will finally get back the $638,000 in estate tax payments she had to make to the IRS and to New York State after her spouse -- Thea Spyer -- died in 2009. Windsor will also be paid interest on her refunds. Paul, Weiss, the law firm that represents her, estimates she will receive about $45,000 in interest on her federal refund and $25,000 on her New York State refund. The other good news for the 83-year-old Windsor? Her lawyers won't be getting a cut because Paul, Weiss took the case pro bono.

Labels: DOMA, Edith Windsor, feds, LGBT History

Reposted from Joe

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma

Tricycle Daily Dharma July 3, 2013

Warrior Mind

Fear diminishes me, makes me no bigger than that part of me which fears. Fearful, I am too small to contain thought, too small to hold real compassion. Protecting myself, I will hurt others.

- Sallie Tisdale, "Warrior Mind"

Read the entire article in the Wisdom Collection through July 4, 2013
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JMG Church Sign Of The Day

Labels: Oklahoma, religion, SCOTUS

Reposted from Joe

Via JMG: WASHINGTON: Marriage Equality Flag Flies Atop Seattle's Space Needle

 

On a day that also saw the Seattle Mariners become the first major pro sports team to fly the rainbow flag, a marriage equality flag was hoisted to the top of the city's Space Needle.

(Tipped by JMG reader Daniel)

Labels: marriage equality, Seattle, Washington state

Reposted from Joe

JMG Headline Of The Day

Via McClatchy:

"From an LGBT perspective, at this point, immigration is going to be an even playing field," said Cara Jobson, a partner in Wiley and Jobson, a San Francisco immigration law firm. The U.S. government is working to ensure that couples who qualify will be able to get the process started right away, Janet Napolitano, the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, said after the ruling. Same-sex couples have been flooding Jobson's office since Wednesday with requests for help applying for a green card for a foreign spouse, she said. Kirkbride and Kurzatkowska filed their papers Friday.  The process includes filling out forms, getting a medical exam for the spouse applying for the green card, and showing that the foreign spouse won't be a financial burden to the U.S., Jobson said. The foreign spouse also has to prove that he or she entered the country legally.

The entire process takes about three months before the green card arrives in the mail.

Labels: DOMA, immigration, Immigration Equality

Reposted from Joe