Pride Magazine 2012 is online in its entirety.
Click on the link and hit full-screen to click through the title page
by page. And keep an eye out for a piece (page 77) from our own Father
Tony!Friday, June 15, 2012
Via JMG: Pride Magazine 2012 Is Online
Pride Magazine 2012 is online in its entirety.
Click on the link and hit full-screen to click through the title page
by page. And keep an eye out for a piece (page 77) from our own Father
Tony!
Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:
Tricycle Daily Dharma June 15, 2012
The Mind of No-Clinging
There’s
no school that says, 'Cling.' Liberation is about cutting, or
dissolving, or letting go of, or seeing through the attachment to
anything. The description of the mind of no-clinging may be different in
the different schools, but the experience of the mind of no-clinging is
the same. How could it be different?
|
Via AmericaBlog Gay:
Damning report on new religious right gay parenting "study"
The
family-values researcher who did the "study" - paid for by the anti-gay
far right, of course - claims he enjoys controversy. Hopefully he
enjoys controversy more than his reputation, which is quickly heading
south now that his "studies" are finally get the attention they deserve.
Though it's not the attention he was expecting.
It really appears quite duplicitous.
Thursday, June 14, 2012
Via America BLog Gay
On Mormons and the hypocrisy of "religious freedom"
You didn't get the memo John.
Liberals and the non-religious don't get religious freedom. Such freedoms are only for conservative Christians and occasionally certain kinds of conservatives practitioners of Judaism.
Christian conservatives, for example, object to gays getting married, so gays can't get married. That's their religious freedom.
Christian conservatives demand they don't have to follow the rules others have to follow and to be allowed to deny their employees birth control, question them about their private sexual practices as employees, and fire them. They're conservative, so that's their religious freedom.
Many liberals both desire and demand that states and the Federal government recognize same sex marriage and sign same sex marriage licenses out of their religious convictions concerning equality.
They're liberals, though - so they have no religious freedom and no say in the matter.
The problem with Romney is that Mormonism, no matter how out of the mainstream, is conservative.
That means he gets every freedom about his religion, including how to impose it on other people, and as a non-conservative, or non-religious person, you just, uh, DON'T.
It's not that mormons get to do things against other people and they get to hide if you have a problem with what they do, the problem is that you aren't a right wing religious conservative so you just get to shut up about it. Another right wing religionist would have, and has had, every power to question Romney's religion.
That is the true double standard here. Not about Romney's religion versus Obama's ethnic heritage. It's about only right wing religionists in this country having any kind of religious privileges whatsoever.
Until we recognize and have a national outcry against only conservatives having religious freedom while no one else does and actually having liberals loudly demanding their own religious freedom, nothing about this will change. Because it's only with lopsided religious freedom - with some having it all, others having none of it - that these lopsided power structures exist.
Right wing religionists have special rights, including rights in the media to tell you what you must do to observe their religion, even if you aren't part of it at all.
The true question that needs to be asked is why do only conservative religionists get any religious freedom or political or media consideration in this country?
Via Tricycle Daily Dharma
Tricycle Daily Dharma June 14, 2012
Thriving with No-Self
People think 'no-self' means there's no one home. That's wrong. Free of fixed self, a living being thrives.
|
- Robert Thurman, "The Politics of Enlightenment"
Read the article in the Tricycle Wisdom Collection through June 16, 2012
For full access at any time, become a Tricycle Community Supporting or Sustaining Member
Read the article in the Tricycle Wisdom Collection through June 16, 2012
For full access at any time, become a Tricycle Community Supporting or Sustaining Member
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Via Tricycle Daily Dharma
Tricycle Daily Dharma June 13, 2012
Balanced Compassion
Compassion
doesn’t always mean being nice to people. Sometimes the best thing you
can do in a situation is to be rough with someone. We have to be
balanced in accord with each situation.
|
- Gerry Shishin Wick Sensei, "Zen in the Workplace: Approaches to Mindful Management"
Read the article in the Tricycle Wisdom Collection through June 15, 2012
For full access at any time, become a Tricycle Community Supporting or Sustaining Member
Read the article in the Tricycle Wisdom Collection through June 15, 2012
For full access at any time, become a Tricycle Community Supporting or Sustaining Member
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
ViaTricycle Daily Dharma
Tricycle Daily Dharma June 11, 2012
Maintaining Authentic Presence
In
lovingkindness, our minds are open and expansive—spacious enough to
contain all the pleasures and pains of a life fully lived. Pain, in this
context, doesn’t feel like betrayal or an overwhelming force. It is
part of the reality of human experience, and an opportunity for us to
practice maintaining our authentic presence.
|
- Sharon Salzberg, "Working with Metta"
For full access at any time, become a Tricycle Community Supporting or Sustaining Member
Sunday, June 10, 2012
Via Tricycle Daily Dharma
Tricycle Daily Dharma June 10, 2012
Mysterious Experience
People
who are attached to sutras and a scriptural teaching of words can lack
faith in the living, mysterious experience of meditation that leads to a
sudden insight.
|
Read the article in the Tricycle Wisdom Collection through 6/12
To read this article at any time, become a Tricycle Community Supporting or Sustaini
Saturday, June 9, 2012
Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:
Tricycle Daily Dharma June 9, 2012
Beyond the Self
Buddhism asks us to go beyond the self, not to perfect the self.
|
- Dharmavidya David Brazier, "Living Buddhism"
Read the article in the Tricycle Wisdom Collection through 6/11
To read this article at any time, become a Tricycle Community Supporting or Sustaining Member
Read the article in the Tricycle Wisdom Collection through 6/11
To read this article at any time, become a Tricycle Community Supporting or Sustaining Member
Friday, June 8, 2012
Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:
Tricycle Daily Dharma June 8, 2012
Understanding Emptiness
Every
moment of experience is contingent on a vast complex of myriad
conditions. Nothing exists in and of itself as 'this' or 'that,' 'self'
or 'other.' Everything is what it is only in relation to what it is not.
|
- Stephen Batchelor, "Nagarjuna's Verses from the Center"
Thursday, June 7, 2012
Via Tricycle Daily Dharma
Tricycle Daily Dharma June 7, 2012
Open Understanding
When
we make the effort to understand what may seem strange in the religious
practices of others, we may find that it opens the door to something
beyond the particular case, something quite general: the capacity of
humans to participate in divinity.
|
- Robert Bellah, "The R Word"
Read the entire article in the Tricycle Wisdom Collection
Read the entire article in the Tricycle Wisdom Collection
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:
Tricycle Daily Dharma June 6, 2012
Moral Health
The
more we can get the self out of the way, the more clearly we can see
the effect of our thoughts, words, and action upon ourselves and others.
|
- Andrew Olendzki, "Moral Health"
Read the entire article in the Tricycle Wisdom Collection
Read the entire article in the Tricycle Wisdom Collection
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Via JMG: Reactions To Prop 8 Ruling
American Foundation for Equal Rights
Today’s order is yet another federal court victory for loving, committed gay and lesbian couples in California and around the nation,” said AFER co-founder Chad Griffin. “The final chapter of the Proposition 8 case has now begun. Should the United States Supreme Court decide to review the Ninth Circuit’s decision in our case, I am confident that the Justices will stand on the side of fairness and equality.” On February 7, 2012, a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit concluded that Proposition 8 violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The Ninth Circuit panel majority held: "Proposition 8 serves no purpose, and has no effect, other than to lessen the status and human dignity of gays and lesbians in California, and to officially reclassify their relationships and families as inferior to those of opposite-sex couples. The Constitution simply does not allow for laws of this sort.”Human Rights Campaign
Once again, a federal court has affirmed that the cherished guarantees of our Constitution are there to protect all Americans – including lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. For over three years, the plaintiffs, the American Foundation for Equal Rights, and attorneys Ted Olson and David Boies have shown tremendous fortitude and perseverance in their fight for marriage equality. With today’s announcement, we are one step closer to ensuring that gay and lesbian Californians – and, one day, our entire community nationwide – are able to join the institution of marriage and have their love and commitment respected equally.Marriage Equality USA
The momentum for the freedom to marry seems unstoppable. Three weeks ago, the President of the United States announced his support for marriage equality. Last week, the 1st Circuit Federal Court of Appeals held that the so-called Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional. And today, the 9th Circuit Federal Court of Appeals upheld its earlier decision striking down Proposition 8. Nationwide polls have shown majority support for the freedom to marry for the last two years, and Californians now favor marriage equality by a 59 – 34 percent margin, according to the latest polling.National Center for Lesbian Rights
Today’s refusal by the Ninth Circuit to grant further review is a testament to the meticulous and well-reasoned opinion originally issued by the Court. While the supporters of Proposition 8 will now seek review by the U.S. Supreme Court, there is no doubt that they are on the wrong side of history. Excluding same-sex couples from the right to marry runs counter to our highest ideals of equality and fairness.More reactions to follow as they arrive...
BREAKING: Ninth Circuit Court Of Appeals DENIES Rehearing Of Proposition 8
Here's the ruling: The full court was advised of the petition for rehearing en banc. A judge requested a vote on whether to rehear the matter en banc. The matter failed to receive a majority of the votes of the non-recused active judges in favor of en banc consideration. Fed. R. App. P. 35. The petition for rehearing en banc is DENIED. The mandate is stayed for ninety days pending the filing of a petition for writ of certiorari in the Supreme Court. If such a petition is filed, the stay shall continue until final disposition by the Supreme Court.Reactions and analysis to follow shortly....
Via Gay Politics Report:
Corporate support swings behind marriage equality
Starbucks, Microsoft, Boeing and Google are among a growing number of companies taking stands in favor of allowing same-sex couples to marry, a development some say is emblematic of a major shift in corporate America’s approach to LGBT issues. “Earlier on there was more risk than reward. Now there’s far more talk about the reward and less about the risk,” said Bob Witeck, a consultant who advises corporations on LGBT issues. Another sign of the sea change in corporate thinking on the issue: Target is selling T-shirts with LGBT-positive messages to help raise money for the Family Equality Council, a group which is part of coalition fighting a marriage amendment in Minnesota. Politico (Washington, D.C.) (6/3), The Washington Post/The Associated Press
Starbucks, Microsoft, Boeing and Google are among a growing number of companies taking stands in favor of allowing same-sex couples to marry, a development some say is emblematic of a major shift in corporate America’s approach to LGBT issues. “Earlier on there was more risk than reward. Now there’s far more talk about the reward and less about the risk,” said Bob Witeck, a consultant who advises corporations on LGBT issues. Another sign of the sea change in corporate thinking on the issue: Target is selling T-shirts with LGBT-positive messages to help raise money for the Family Equality Council, a group which is part of coalition fighting a marriage amendment in Minnesota. Politico (Washington, D.C.) (6/3), The Washington Post/The Associated Press
Via AmericaBlog Gay:
AFA hate group: "It is all together right to discriminate against homosexuals"
This
is the same hate group that is threatening Target with a boycott over
some Pride t-shirts the chain is selling.
I'll say this for AFA, at least they're consistent in their hate.
They've said a lot of hateful things about Jews in the past. And now
they continue to pull no punches in their intolerance and bigotry
towards gays.
The thing is, AFA always ends up losing...
Via Tricycle Daily Dharma
Tricycle Daily Dharma June 5, 2012
Building Faith, Building Commitment
For
Buddhism, faith doesn't mean the blind acceptance of teachings as
unquestionable dogmas. Rather, faith suggests a combination of trust in
the Buddha as a fully enlightened teacher, confidence in the Buddha and
in his guidance, and feelings of devotion and reverence towards the
Buddha. This quality of faith is to be strengthened because it's what
builds our own commitment to the entire practice.
|
- Bhikkhu Bodhi, "Recollection of the Buddha" (Tricycle Online Retreat, June 2012)
Watch Retreat Video
Watch Retreat Video
Monday, June 4, 2012
Via JMG: Full Movie: The Laramie Project
Posted to YouTube today in its entirety. Moisés Kaufman and members of New York's Tectonic Theater Project went to Laramie, Wyoming after the murder of Matthew Shepard. This is a film version of the play they wrote based on more than 200 interviews they conducted in Laramie. It follows and in some cases re-enacts the chronology of Shepard's visit to a local bar, his kidnap and beating, the discovery of him tied to a fence, the vigil at the hospital, his death and funeral, and the trial of his killers. It mixes real news reports with actors portraying friends, family, cops, killers, and other Laramie residents in their own words. It concludes with a Laramie staging of "Angels in America" a year after Shephard's death.
Reposted from Joe
Via JMG: Ninth Circuit Likely To Rule Tomorrow On Rehearing Prop 8 With More Judges
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has issued an alert that a ruling will come tomorrow on whether to rehear Prop 8 with a larger panel of judges. Insiders speculate:
KQED's Scott Shafer said this is almost surely the decision on whether to rehear the case en banc. An en banc panel is made up of 11 judges, chosen at random from the circuit. If the 9th Circuit denies the request, Prop 8 supporters will almost certainly ask the United States Supreme Court to hear the case. Proponents of Prop 8, California's same-sex marriage ban, asked the 9th Circuit for the en banc review in February, after a ruling by a three-judge panel upheld Judge Vaughn Walker's 2010 decision striking down the law as unconstitutional.Prop 8 Trial Tracker has more on what could happen.
If that happens, Judge Reinhardt’s narrow opinion stands, and the proponents of Proposition 8 can then petition for certiorari at the Supreme Court. If the Supreme Court were to deny review, the Ninth Circuit’s decision would stand, and Proposition 8 would be struck down. Gay and lesbian couples would be allowed to marry in California. If the Supreme Court grants review, there will be briefing and oral argument and a decision next year.
Via JMG: NC GOP Platform Endorses Discrimination
Think Progress points us to this just-adopted plank in North Carolina's official Republican Party platform.
Government should treat all citizens impartially, without regard to wealth, race, ethnicity, disability, religion, sex, political affiliation or national origin. We oppose all forms of invidious discrimination. Sexual orientation is not an appropriate category.The GOP's platform also opposes adoption by same-sex couples.
Via JMG: Mormon Allies March In Salt Lake Pride
Hundreds of straight Mormon allies marched yesterday in Salt Lake City's gay pride parade. Before
the drag queens in heels danced across Main Street, more than 300
members of the LDS Church left Utah Gay Pride Parade spectators in tears
Sunday morning. One Mormon father turned to the crowd and thanked
people for forgiving him. The group, Mormons Building Bridges, said they
wanted to send a message of love to the state’s LGBT community, a
message they believe is compatible with their faith. Emily Vandyke, 50,
carried a sign with the words from an LDS children’s song: "I’ll walk
with you, I’ll talk with you. That’s how I’ll show my love for you."
Several blocks along the parade route, she embraced a tall woman weeping
at the edge of the crowd who said, "Thank you." "I haven’t recognized
them as equals," Vandyke said a few minutes later. "They have been
invisible to me." Later, parade Grand Marshal Dustin Lance Black,
tweeted: "In tears. Over 300 straight, active Mormons showed up to march
with me at the Utah Pride parade in support of LGBT people."Reposted by Joe
Via JMG:
Expressing Support For Trans Contestants
Moments after expressing support for transgender beauty pageant contestants, Miss Rhode Island was crowned Miss USA last night. GLAAD reports:When asked "Would it be fair if a transgender woman won the Miss USA title," Culpo responded, "I do think it would be fair..." because "there are so many people who have a need to change for a happier life. I do accept that because I believe it's a free country." The crowd erupted with cheers.
Via Tricycle Daily Dharma
Tricycle Daily Dharma June 4, 2012
Where Meditation Begins
What
it all comes down to is that even if you practice meditation to become a
paragon of love and wisdom, all it can do is put you face-to-face with
who you are and with what is, which is where all meditation begins.
|
- Stephen Schettini, "What to Expect When You’re Reflecting"
Read the entire article in the Tricycle Wisdom Collection
Read the entire article in the Tricycle Wisdom Collection
Sunday, June 3, 2012
Via Out Gay FB:
“Follow your bliss. If you do follow your bliss, you put yourself on a kind of track that has been there all the while waiting for you, and the life you ought to be living is the one you are living. When you can see that, you begin to meet people who are in the field of your bliss, and they open the doors to you. I say, follow your bliss and don't be afraid, and doors will open where you didn't know they were going to be. If you follow your bliss, doors will open for you that wouldn't have opened for anyone else.” ~ Joseph Campbell
Via JMG: On Macy's Website
Free Republic is ever so pissed: While conservative activists have focused on the promotion of gay marriage by store chains J.C. Penny and Target, Macy's has gone under the culture radar in its partnership with the Obama-allied homosexual group, the Human Rights Campaign. The incoming president of HRC, Chad Griffin is an Obama bundler. You won't see it in Macy's weekly sales circular, and you'd be hard pressed to find it on the front page of the Macy's website, but the Human Rights Campaign is loud and proud in declaring its partnership with Macy's urging customers to purchase "election year" Vote Equality t-shirts with the proceeds going to the Human Rights Campaign.
Via JMG: Target Blocks AFA's Hate Mail
Last
month we snickered when the One Million Moms bitched that JC Penney was
blocking their emails. And now Target is doing the same. Snork! Via the
Christian Post: When Target began selling the pro-gay shirts late May, the American Family Association sent out an alert to supporters, asking them to let Target CEO Gregg Steinhafel "know that a majority of Americans oppose same-sex marriage and are able to use their pocketbooks to voice their opposition to companies that support it." In a recent update, AFA stated, "Target is blocking emails from the AFA Action Alert system." The family group is asking supporters to contact the retailer through other means. Steinhafel says that diversity is a "core value" at the retailer and that Target fosters "an inclusive culture." Family Equality Council is now among a dozen groups that Target partners with.Target, Macy's, JC Penney, Home Depot.... There sure are a lot of shopping options for loyal gays these days.
Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:
Tricycle Daily Dharma June 3, 2012
Right Lying
If
I’m torn between truth and falsehood, I have to ask myself if the
choice I’m leaning toward would be self-serving or selfless, harsh or
kind, harmful or harmless. Only then can I know what’s best to do.
|
- Lin Jensen, "Right Lying"
Read the entire article in the Tricycle Wisdom Collection
Read the entire article in the Tricycle Wisdom Collection
Saturday, June 2, 2012
Via Gaycitynews.com:
BY KELLY JEAN COGSWELL |
IIn March, 24-year-old store clerk and gay activist Daniel Zamudio was
attacked in a public park in Santiago, Chile, beaten intermittently for
hours, carved with swastikas, and left for dead. He finally got to a
hospital, struggled for three weeks, and then died.
Observers are calling him the Chilean Matthew Shepard, because the
brutal murder has launched a national discussion about LGBT rights. An
antidiscrimination law that has been languishing for seven years is even
speeding through the National Congress despite conservative lawmakers
warning it will lead to same-sex marriage, among other horrors.
On Easter Sunday, the Nobel prize-winning writer, Mario Vargas Llosa, spoke out in an op-ed called “Hunting Gays.” He did more than the usual handwringing denunciation of violence; he published an indictment of all Latin America, whose countries, “without a single exception,” he wrote, repress, persecute, and marginalize queers “with the open and massively enthusiastic support of the general public.”
On Easter Sunday, the Nobel prize-winning writer, Mario Vargas Llosa, spoke out in an op-ed called “Hunting Gays.” He did more than the usual handwringing denunciation of violence; he published an indictment of all Latin America, whose countries, “without a single exception,” he wrote, repress, persecute, and marginalize queers “with the open and massively enthusiastic support of the general public.”
http://gaycitynews.com/vargas-llosa-against-hunting-gays-in-latin-america/
Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:
Tricycle Daily Dharma June 2, 2012
As If There is Nothing to Lose
Gratitude,
the simple and profound feeling of being thankful, is the foundation of
all generosity. I am generous when I believe that right now, right
here, in this form and this place, I am myself being given what I need.
Generosity requires that we relinquish something, and this is impossible
if we are not glad for what we have. Otherwise the giving hand closes
into a fist and won’t let go.
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- Sallie Jiko Tisdale, “As If There is Nothing to Lose"
Read the entire article in the Tricycle Wisdom Collection
Read the entire article in the Tricycle Wisdom Collection
Via Alternet:
Hedges: The Christian Right's Crusade Against Gays Is Far Scarier Than You Think
Read the entire article here:
http://www.alternet.org/teaparty/155633/hedges:_the_christian_right%27s_crusade_against_gays_is_far_scarier_than_you_think/?page=1
Friday, June 1, 2012
JC Penney you Rock!
JC Penney Responds To JMG Reader
JMG reader Mike shares his email exchange with JC Penney:
Dear JCP, I love you guys. I have never been into a JC Penney store, but after seeing your ad with Cooper Smith and Todd Koch and their kids ... well, you guys rock. I will find something to buy, just to say thank you!! sincerely, mikeAnd that, kids, is how you win business.
Dear Mike, Thank you for sharing with me your very valuable feedback. As a company founded on “The Golden Rule,” we consider it our top priority to treat each customer as we would like to be treated. Fair and Square. We are in the process of dreaming up new ways to make you love shopping with us and your comments help us move one step closer to becoming your favorite store! Hope you have a great weekend! Sincerely, Chris, Customer Care Representative.
Via JMG:
HomoQuotable - Peter Tatchell
"While
I doubt that Elizabeth II is a raging homophobe, she certainly doesn't
appear to gay-friendly. Not once in her 60-year reign has she publicly
acknowledged the existence of the LGBT community – or gay members of her
own royal family. The Queen has turned her back on queens. While she
has spoken approvingly of the UK's many races and faiths, for six
decades she has ignored LGBT Britons."Judging from her silence, it seems that we are the unspeakable ones – the people she cannot bare to acknowledge or mention in public. Why the double standards? Regardless of whether these omissions are a reflection of the Queen's personal views or the result of advice from her courtiers, as monarch she bears ultimate responsibility. Her silence sends a signal of exclusion and disrespect." - Famed British activist Peter Tatchell, writing for the Guardian UK. The Queen's diamond jubilee celebration takes place this weekend.
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