Via CNN: California governor signs bill requiring schools to teach gay history

"History should be honest," Democratic California Gov. Jerry Brown said about the gay history legislation.

 

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• The bill is believed to be the first of its kind in the nation
• It will also require teachers to instruct on the role of people with disabilities
• "History should be honest," Gov. Brown said in a statement

RELATED TOPICS

• Jerry Brown
• LGBT Issues
• Education

Los Angeles (CNN) -- Democratic California Gov. Jerry Brown said Thursday he had signed a bill that will require public schools in the state to teach students about the contributions of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans.

The bill, believed to be the first of its kind in the nation, will also require teachers to provide instruction on the role of people with disabilities.

Make the jump here to read the full article

Just Add Coco Peru

Via JMG: Obama On World AIDS Day

"Guided by our National HIV/AIDS Strategy, we are working to build a society where every person has access to life-extending care, regardless of who they are or whom they love. The Affordable Care Act prohibits insurance companies from denying coverage due to a pre-existing condition, such as HIV/AIDS, and requires that most health plans cover HIV screenings without copays for everyone ages 15 to 65 and others at increased risk. We have expanded opportunities for groundbreaking research, and we continue to invest in innovation to develop a vaccine and find a cure. And this summer, my Administration held a series of listening sessions across the country to better understand the successes and challenges of those fighting HIV at the local and State level.

"In the face of a disease that extends far beyond our borders, the United States remains committed to leading the world in the fight against HIV/AIDS and ensuring no one is left behind. Hundreds of thousands of adolescent girls and young women are infected with HIV every year, and we are working to reach and assist them and every community in need. As part of the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, over 7 million people with HIV around the globe are receiving antiretroviral treatment, a four-fold increase since the start of my Administration. In countries throughout the world, our initiatives are improving the lives of women and girls, accelerating life-saving treatment for children, and supporting healthy, robust communities.

"As a Nation, we have made an unwavering commitment to bend the curve of the HIV epidemic, and the progress we have seen is the result of countless people who have shared their stories, lent their strength, and led the fight to spare others the anguish of this disease. Today, we remember all those who lost their battle with HIV/AIDS, and we recognize those who agitated and organized in their memory. On this day, let us rededicate ourselves to continuing our work until we reach the day we know is possible -- when no child has to know the pain of HIV/AIDS and no life is limited by this virus. Now, therefore, I, Barack Obama, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States do hereby proclaim December 1, 2014, as World AIDS Day." - Via White House press release.

Labels: Barack Obama, HIV/AIDS, World AIDS Day

Reposted from Joe Jervis

Via JMG: Apple Goes Red For World AIDS Day

 Via Mashable:

In a striking show of support for World AIDS Day, Apple in Australia has changed the colour of its logo to red at the flagship Sydney store. The tinted iconic logo illuminated a rainy George Street late on Sunday evening, as onlookers watched on, curious as to what was happening. It is the first store in the world to light up in a show of commitment to the (RED) AIDS initiative, that is fighting for an AIDS-free future. Apple will then change the colour of its logo across key stores in Japan, Hong Kong, China, Europe and the United States, as the various timezones tick into Monday. Apple announced on Nov. 26 that the campaign also includes the ability to purchase 24 apps with exclusive (RED) content until Dec. 7; all proceeds go directly to The Global Fund to fight AIDS. In addition, Apple has committed to donating a percentage of sales at its retail and online stores worldwide on one of the company's biggest shopping days of the year — Cyber Monday on Dec. 1 — which coincides with World AIDS Day.

Labels: Apple, retail, Tim Cook, World AIDS Day

Reposted from  Joe Jervis

Via JMG: INDIA: Hundreds Attend First Pride Event Since Homosexuality Was Recriminalized

 

Via Reuters:

Hundreds of people danced, sang and cheered in a gay pride parade in India's capital on Sunday, the first since the country's top court reinstated a ban on gay sex in the world's largest democracy. Multi-coloured balloons, masquerade masks and wigs, a huge rainbow flag and a St Bernard dog ushered in the seventh Delhi Queer Pride parade, with many shaking their hips to drum beats. Participants chanting "Azaadi" (freedom) and shouting slogans such as "I'm gay, that's OK" carried banners and placards demanding their right to love. In December, India's Supreme Court threw out a 2009 ruling by a lower court that had decriminalised gay sex, saying only parliament could repeal Section 377 of India's penal code which bans sex against the order of nature. The British colonial-era law is widely interpreted to mean homosexual sex, and can be punished with up to 10 years in jail. Many choose to hide their sexuality for fear of discrimination.

Labels: gay Pride, India, LGBT rights, New Delhi

Reposted from Joe Jervis

Via Mother Jones: The Reagan White House Thought AIDS Was Pretty Hilarious In 1982

Via Jon Cohen's Shots in the Dark: The Wayward Search for an AIDS Vaccine, here is the transcript from the White House press briefing on October 15, 1982, the first time Reagan press secretary Larry Speakes fielded a question about AIDS.

October 15, 1982:

Q: Larry, does the President have any reaction to the announcement—the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, that AIDS is now an epidemic and have over 600 cases?
MR. SPEAKES: What’s AIDS?
Q: Over a third of them have died. It’s known as “gay plague.” (Laughter.) No, it is. I mean it’s a pretty serious thing that one in every three people that get this have died. And I wondered if the President is aware of it?
MR. SPEAKES: I don’t have it. Do you? (Laughter.)
Q: No, I don’t.
MR. SPEAKES: You didn’t answer my question.
Q: Well, I just wondered, does the President—
MR. SPEAKES: How do you know? (Laughter.)
Q: In other words, the White House looks on this as a great joke?
MR. SPEAKES: No, I don’t know anything about it, Lester.
Q: Does the President, does anybody in the White House know about this epidemic, Larry?
MR. SPEAKES: I don’t think so. I don’t think there’s been any—
Q: Nobody knows?
MR. SPEAKES: There has been no personal experience here, Lester.
Q: No, I mean, I thought you were keeping—
MR. SPEAKES: I checked thoroughly with Dr. Ruge this morning and he’s had no—(laughter)—no patients suffering from AIDS or whatever it is.
Q: The President doesn’t have gay plague, is that what you’re saying or what?
MR. SPEAKES: No, I didn’t say that.
Q: Didn’t say that?
MR. SPEAKES: I thought I heard you on the State Department over there. Why didn’t you stay there? (Laughter.)
Q: Because I love you, Larry, that’s why. (Laughter.)
MR. SPEAKES: Oh, I see. Just don’t put it in those terms, Lester. (Laughter.)
Q: Oh, I retract that.
MR. SPEAKES: I hope so.
Q: It’s too late.

They still thought it was pretty funny a year later: June 13, 1983:

Q: Larry, does the President think that it might help if he suggested that the gays cut down on their "cruising"? (Laughter.) What? I didn't hear your answer, Larry.
MR. SPEAKES: I just was acknowledging your interest—
Q: You were acknowledging but—
MR. SPEAKES: —interest in this subject.
Q: —you don't think that it would help if the gays cut down on their cruising—it would help AIDS?
MR. SPEAKES: We are researching it. If we come up with any research that sheds some light on whether gays should cruise or not cruise, we'll make it available to you. (Laughter.)
Q: Back to fairy tales.

The laughs just kept on coming: December 11, 1984:

MR. SPEAKES: Lester's beginning to circle now. He's moving in front. (Laughter.) Go ahead.
Q: Since the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta—(laughter)—reports—
MR. SPEAKES: This is going to be an AIDS question.
Q: —that an estimated—
MR. SPEAKES: You were close.
Q: Well, look, could I ask the question, Larry?
MR. SPEAKES: You were close.
Q: An estimated 300,000 people have been exposed to AIDS, which can be transmitted through saliva. Will the President, as Commander-in-Chief, take steps to protect Armed Forces food and medical services from AIDS patients or those who run the risk of spreading AIDS in the same manner that they forbid typhoid fever people from being involved in the health or food services?
MR. SPEAKES: I don't know.
Q: Could you—Is the President concerned about this subject, Larry—
MR. SPEAKES: I haven't heard him express—
Q: —that seems to have evoked so much jocular—
MR. SPEAKES:—concern.
Q: —reaction here? I—you know—
Q: It isn't only the jocks, Lester.
Q: Has he sworn off water faucets—
Q: No, but, I mean, is he going to do anything, Larry?
MR. SPEAKES: Lester, I have not heard him express anything on it. Sorry.
Q: You mean he has no—expressed no opinion about this epidemic?
MR. SPEAKES: No, but I must confess I haven't asked him about it. (Laughter.)
Q: Would you ask him Larry?
MR. SPEAKES: Have you been checked? (Laughter.)

Now go read Gabrielle's story about what it was they all found so funny.

 http://www.motherjones.com/mixed-media/2014/12/flashback-reagan-white-house-thought-aids-was-pretty-hilarious-1982

John Grant - Glacier

Via The Humor Page / FB:

Via Purple Clover / FB:

Via Buddhist Network / FB:

Flower of the Day: 12/01/14

"The first step towards integration is identifying the denied parts within us. What in you separates yourself from others? What are you ashamed of? If it’s difficult for you to identify the parts you’re ashamed of, just take a look at your life. These parts within you create a negative inner state that is constantly being projected onto your relationships. The conflicts and difficulties that repeat themselves are indicators of the parts in you that are denied. When these parts come to your awareness, you have the opportunity to understand them, and through this understanding you can integrate them."

Sri Prem Baba

Via Daily Dharma

---

Bedside Bodhisattva | December 1, 2014

---

May I be scripture for those inspired by words:
A koan, a rhapsody, a proverb, a psalm.
For those who question, an unbiased ear;
For those who believe, a holder of the faith.

- Pamela Gayle White, "Bedside Bodhisattva"

Via George Takei / FB: Conan: 1 Pat: 0

Flower of the Day: 11/30/14

“Whenever you are being squeezed by life and you feel like you are suffering, stop for a moment and get in touch with that suffering. Try asking what this suffering is trying to tell you: ‘Why am I suffering so much?’ If you are truly willing to see the truth, you will immediately receive an answer.”

Sri Prem Baba

Strain Out Whatever's Inessential | November 30, 2014 Zazen [meditation] and poetry are both studies of the mind. I find the internal pressure exerted by emotion and by a koan to be similar in surprising and unpredictable ways. Zen is a wonderful sieve through which to pour a poem. It strains out whatever’s inessential. - Chase Twichell, "The Ghost of Eden"

Flower of the Day: 11/29/14

“All events that occur in life happen due to the law of karma; they act under the law of cause and effect. Still, not everything that happens to you is related to an image from your past. You can tell whether or not a particular event is actually related to a past frozen image by looking at the nature of the repetition and noticing whether it causes any internal division. If your conscious will is heading towards a particular direction, but life's experiences bring you to the exact opposite direction, then there is still an image from the past that needs to be dissolved. In order to dissolve an image that attracts negative situations, one needs to illuminate the value of acceptance.”

Sri Prem Baba

Via Daily Dharma

---

Being No One | November 29, 2014

---

Allow yourself to be no one; allow your mind to be empty of thought, unfurnished, until the identities gradually filter back in. Notice the space between your identities and the awareness of them. Notice if a similar gap appears at other times during the day, an empty space that you may have ignored before but can now lean into and prolong. Continue to open to the openness.

- Stephan Bodian, "Being No One"

Flower of the Day: 11/28/14

“The experience of jumping into the abyss of denied feelings can only happen once you have understood the importance of this experience. If you have not yet understood this, you won't be able to jump because you will be terrified. At this moment, you become aware of your false faith. Without true faith, you could remain paralyzed on the edge of the abyss unable to jump for a long time, perhaps for many life times. Such skepticism is actually an elevated state of consciousness since it acts as a bridge that leads from false faith to true faith. In order to go beyond skepticism, it’s necessary to understand the importance of re-experiencing one’s denied feelings.”

Sri Prem Baba

Via Dialy Dharma

Grief Bringing Us Home | November 28, 2014 It is our grief / heavy, relentless, / trudging / us, however resistant, / to the decaying and / rotten / bottom of things: / our grief bringing / us home. - Alice Walker, "Turning Madness into Flowers"