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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.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
RE: Health Care Reform
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Perry v. Schwarzenegger: The Federal Challenge to Prop 8
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It is vital that the LGBT community—especially families—be represented as the Court weighs the harms inflicted by Proposition 8. That is why NCLR, the ACLU, and Lambda Legal filed a motion to intervene in this historic case on behalf of Our Family Coalition, Lavender Seniors, and Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG). We believe the involvement of the LGBT community will significantly help the Court decide the case. |
CA's gay marriage ban could open the door to legal discrimination against unpopular groups
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20081124/ts_nm/us_gaymarriage_minorities
The right thing to do... let things calm down for awhile, and build a better base...
Gay rights group will wait until 2012 to Challenge Prop. 8
jchang@sacbee.com
Last Modified: Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2009 - 2:45 pm
Bowing to the advice of political consultants and pollsters, officials from a major gay rights advocacy group announced Wednesday that they will wait until 2012 to return to California voters with an initiative legalizing gay marriage.
The leaders of Equality California, which calls itself the largest gay rights advocacy group in the state, said they won't try to qualify a measure on the subject for the 2010 ballot despite demands from many gay and lesbian activists seeking quicker movement on the issue.
That decision, however, hasn't stopped a liberal advocacy group, Courage Campaign, from collecting signatures for a 2010 ballot initiative on the subject. According to that group's Web site, it has already raised about $136,000 to "invest in research, polling and focus groups to repeal Proposition 8," the ballot initiative passed last year banning same-sex marriage.
Other gay rights groups are also working to put a same-sex marriage initiative on the 2010 ballot.
Geoff Kors, Equality California's executive director, said in a conference call Wednesday that his group has "knocked on 500,000 doors" to survey voters statewide about the issue and determined that such an initiative would stand a better chance with more time. The group plans to spend the next three years launching outreach and education campaigns about the issue to convince voters.
Additionally, running the initiative during a presidential election year would bring out more young voters, who polls show are more likely to vote for legalizing same-sex marriage, said Equality California Marriage Director Marc Solomon in the conference call.
"Waiting until we're confident we can win is understandable but not acceptable," Solomon said. "We need to start doing the work now until we win marriage back."
Solomon said his and other groups would need to raise tens of millions of dollars to push through such a ballot measure, and donors haven't so far shown much appetite for a 2010 campaign.
"Pretty monolithically, they're not supportive of a return to the ballot with a $40 million to $60 million campaign," Solomon said.
Pro-Proposition 8 advocacy group ProtectMarriage.com responded in a news release Wednesday that any measure legalizing same-sex marriage would fail regardless of which year it was put on the ballot:
"Whether in 2010, 2012, or beyond, ProtectMarriage.com will be ready to defend marriage and emerge victorious again."
Due process ignored as trial date is set for Iranian Baha'i prisoners
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GENEVA, 12 August (BWNS) - In yet another example of the denial to Baha'is in Iran of their rights to justice, including due process, judicial officials have reportedly set next Tuesday as the trial date for seven imprisoned Baha'i leaders - despite the fact that the lead lawyers registered with the court to represent them are either in prison or outside the country. Further, efforts to have the accused released on bail have not succeeded. The investigation against them was concluded months ago but they remain incarcerated, without access to their legal counsel and with only the barest minimum contact with their families - contact that did not begin until some five months' after their arrest, when they were finally taken out of solitary confinement. Authorities recently sent to Abdolfattah Soltani, a key member of the legal team representing the seven Baha'is who is himself currently imprisoned in Evin prison, a notice saying that 18 August has been set as the trial date for the seven Baha'is. Dated 15 July, the writ of notification for the seven gives 9 a.m., 18 August, as the date for the trial, in Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court in Tehran. That is the same court that tried Iranian-American journalist Roxana Saberi. The writ of notification giving 18 August as the trial date was specifically addressed to Mr. Soltani, a well-known human rights lawyer and a principal of the Tehran-based Defenders of Human Rights Center, which was founded by Nobel laureate Shirin Ebadi and has since last year undertaken to defend the seven Baha'is. Meanwhile, Mrs. Ebadi, the senior member of the legal team, remains outside the country. "The judiciary's decision to schedule the trial under these circumstances is an effrontery and yet another tactic aimed at depriving the seven Baha'i leaders of competent legal counsel," said Diane Ala'i, the Baha'i International Community's representative to the United Nations in Geneva. "The Iranian authorities know full well who is serving as legal counsel for the Baha'is. Indeed, authorities have several times tried to pressure the seven to change lawyers. "It is the height of absurdity to issue a trial notice to a lawyer who has himself been unjustly imprisoned," she said. "The willingness of Iran's judiciary to flout the most fundamental internationally accepted norms of jurisprudence were brought to light in the widespread publicity attending the trial of Roxana Saberi. "More recently, the attention of the world has been focused on the show trial of scores of individuals arrested in post-election turmoil in Iran, also without due process and which has included 'confessions' that were clearly coerced through torture," said Ms. Ala'i. The Baha'i International Community has called for the human rights of all the people of Iran to be respected and upheld. "Today, then, we raise the call on behalf of our innocent co-religionists, whose only 'crime' is their religious belief, and who face the most severe punishments if they are found guilty of the trumped-up charges against them. "Instead of going on trial, they should be immediately released on bail, and, at the very least, be given adequate time for their attorneys to prepare a defense," said Ms. Ala'i. Ms. Ala'i also said that the 18 August trial date could not be taken as firm, noting that the families of the seven had been told in June they were to be tried on 11 July, only to have that date come and go. "Given the past history of this case, the utter lack of concern for procedure on the part of authorities, and the current situation in Iran, it is simply not possible to know when the proceedings will actually begin," she said. The seven Baha'i prisoners are Mrs. Fariba Kamalabadi, Mr. Jamaloddin Khanjani, Mr. Afif Naeimi, Mr. Saeid Rezaie, Mrs. Mahvash Sabet, Mr. Behrouz Tavakkoli, and Mr. Vahid Tizfahm. All but one of the group were arrested on 14 May 2008 at their homes in Tehran. Mrs. Sabet was arrested on 5 March 2008 while in Mashhad. They have since been held without formal charges or access to their lawyers at Evin prison in Tehran. Official Iranian news accounts have said the seven are to be accused of "espionage for Israel, insulting religious sanctities and propaganda against the Islamic republic," charges that are rejected completely and categorically. The ongoing imprisonment of the seven and pending trial is particularly alarming because of their leadership position as the former members of a national-level coordinating group known as the "Friends in Iran." Some 25 years ago, other Baha'i leaders were executed after being rounded up in a manner similar to the way in which these seven were arrested last year. To read the article online, with a photograph, go to: http://news.bahai.org/story/725 For the Baha'i World News Service home page, go to: http://news.bahai.org |
Speak Up for the Baha'i Leaders in Iran
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Subject: Trial Set Again for August 18th
Straight from the Baha'i World News Service - http://www.facebook.com/l/;BWNS.org -
GENEVA — In yet another example of the denial to Baha’is in Iran of their rights to justice, including due process, judicial officials have reportedly set next Tuesday as the trial date for seven imprisoned Baha’i leaders – despite the fact that the lead lawyers registered with the court to represent them are either in prison or outside the country.
Further, efforts to have the accused released on bail have not succeeded. The investigation against them was concluded months ago but they remain incarcerated, without access to their legal counsel and with only the barest minimum contact with their families – contact that did not begin until some five months’ after their arrest, when they were finally taken out of solitary confinement.
Authorities recently sent to Abdolfattah Soltani, a key member of the legal team representing the seven Baha’is who is himself currently imprisoned in Evin prison, a notice saying that 18 August has been set as the trial date for the seven Baha’is. Dated 15 July, the writ of notification for the seven gives 9 a.m., 18 August, as the date for the trial, in Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court in Tehran. That is the same court that tried Iranian-American journalist Roxana Saberi.
Read the whole story at: http://www.facebook.com/l/;news.bahai.org/story/725
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Monday, August 10, 2009
Virtually the entire political conflict in America today is over who will control our government: entrenched wealth and corporations or the people?
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"Corporate Dominance of Every Aspects of Our Lives Is Suffocating us." Rescue Our Society: "Life Inc.: How the World Became a Corporation and How to Take It Back" (Hardcover) By Douglas Rushkoff
BuzzFlash.com's Review (excerpt)
Remember, virtually the entire political conflict in America today is over who will control our government: entrenched wealth and corporations or the people.
The Dittoheads and Hannity Head Bangers are just tools used by corporate wealth to create a distraction and sense of victimhood that helps entrenched wealth achieve their legislative goals.
This is an important book to get your thinking to rise above the maelstrom of day-to-day politics and media.
Booklist:
Since the Renaissance, the corporation—the operating system of the market—has formed and controlled people, and Rushkoff describes how it has infiltrated all aspects of American life. In the twenty-first century, we continue to consider corporations as role models and saviors but engage other people as competitors to be beaten or resources to be exploited. The author bemoans extreme networking (called buzz marketing), which makes our personal, social interactions become promotional opportunities and the lines between fiction and reality and friends and market become blurred. Our lives are overextended, and there is no time, energy, or commitment to do anything but work and perhaps consider family. Rushkoff recommends that we fight back by “de-corporatizing” ourselves. His suggestions include thinking locally by participating directly with our neighbors in community activities and using various Internet sites that provide opportunities to contribute directly to a particular school or to extend a “micro loan” to a specific entrepreneur in the Third World. This is an excellent, thought-provoking book.
In an interview posted on Alternet, the author notes:
Doug Rushkoff: What happens is corporations like automobile industry have a need for roads or the energy industry has a need for regulation that doesn't let people use solar. So they go to government and get laws written that change -- they get laws written to get the things they want. So they basically steer the rail road through the real estate that they want to own or the automobile industry wants more people to use cars, so they get their guy in to be Secretary of Defense and he builds roads for cars and develop suburbs that require people to use cars to get to work. The next generation that grows up with things being that way, thinks that things just are that way. So the way we internalize corporate values is by assuming that the rules that are in place are pre-existing conditions of the universe rather than rules made by certain people at certain times....
Convincing people to stop outsourcing all of their economic activity, consumption and production to extremely inefficient long distance corporations that extract the human value without creating any values. You lose all your leverage. That's not to say that everyone has to do everything in some protest against every corporation out there but what if you reclaim the 90% of stuff that you can do locally or with friends and just give corporations 10% of what they need? It's the most activist thing you can do. Just the idea that people are now going to save maybe eight percent instead of three percent of their money has people shuddering in finance...
It persisted because kings rewrote laws to preserve corporations whenever I mean corporation. Corporations were invented by kings as a way they could make money by having money and creating no value themselves. So they granted monopoly charters to their friends in return for shares in those companies. And it persisted because the kings were able to write laws that gave corporations unfair advantage at every term. So whenever corporations have been threatened by some form of competition or another, the king or in our era government ends up rewriting the laws to favor corporate activity over competitive local, small business activity. It's just corruption.
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Read The Full Review >>>
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Saturday, August 8, 2009
To the members of The Bilerico Project
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Subject: Bilerico Weekly Reader 8/2-8/7
Without a doubt, Projectors - instead of contributors - gave us the best content of the week. If you haven't had a chance to read the moving and beautiful comment thread on my post, "Do you know someone who died of AIDS?", you're missing heartbreaking and yet uplifting threads in Bilerico history. (Link in the Bonus section.)
Bilerico Nation
If You Work for a Private Employer in DC, You Want to Know This
Filed by: Nancy Polikoff (Bilerico-DC)
http://www.facebook.com/l/;dc.bilerico.com/2009/08/if_you_work_for_a_private_employer_in_dc.php
Transgender Comics: Interview with Erin Lindsey
Filed by: Austen Crowder (Bilerico-Indiana)
http://www.facebook.com/l/;indiana.bilerico.com/2009/08/transgender_comics_interview_with_erin_l.php
Jesse's Journal: Do We Need "Role Models"?
Filed by: Jesse Monteagudo (Bilerico-Florida)
http://www.facebook.com/l/;florida.bilerico.com/2009/08/jesses_journal_do_we_need_role_models.php
Sunday
A Road Trip, Told as a Series of Pit Stops
Filed by: Paige Schilt
http://www.facebook.com/l/;www.bilerico.com/2009/08/a_road_trip_told_as_a_series_of_pit_stops.php
Michelle's Garden: The Big Oops
Filed by: Patricia Nell Warren
http://www.facebook.com/l/;www.bilerico.com/2009/08/michelles_garden_a_big_oops.php
Monday
What Were You Doing 25 Years Ago?
Filed by: Nadine Smith
http://www.facebook.com/l/;www.bilerico.com/2009/08/what_were_you_doing_25_years_ago.php
Gay Self Hate
Filed by: Michael Buckley
http://www.facebook.com/l/;www.bilerico.com/2009/08/gay_self_hate.php
Tuesday
LGBT Challenges: True Leadership
Filed by: Phil Reese
http://www.facebook.com/l/;www.bilerico.com/2009/08/lgbt_challenges_true_leadership.php
A Supremely Ridiculous Argument
Filed by: Dana Rudolph
http://www.facebook.com/l/;www.bilerico.com/2009/08/a_supremely_ridiculous_argument.php
Wednesday
Barbed Walls
Filed by: Sara Whitman
http://www.facebook.com/l/;www.bilerico.com/2009/08/barbed_walls.php
Why "Sex Change" Surgery is Medically Necessary
Filed by: Mercedes Allen
http://www.facebook.com/l/;www.bilerico.com/2009/08/why_sex_change_surgery_is_medically_necessary.php
Thursday
How A Feminist Found Her Sexism
Filed by: Guest Blogger Helen Boyd
http://www.facebook.com/l/;www.bilerico.com/2009/08/how_a_feminist_found_her_sexism.php
He's in love with a GRAMP! (Gay, Rich, Alone, Middle-aged, Positive)
Filed by: Father Tony
http://www.facebook.com/l/;www.bilerico.com/2009/08/hes_in_love_with_a_gramp_gay_rich_alone_middle-age.php
Friday
La orientación sexual no se puede cambiar
Filed by: Pedro Julio Serrano
http://www.facebook.com/l/;www.bilerico.com/2009/08/la_orientacion_sexual_no_se_puede_cambiar.php
Queer music Friday - Matt Alber
Filed by: Alex Blaze
http://www.facebook.com/l/;www.bilerico.com/2009/08/queer_music_friday_-_matt_alber.php
BONUS!
Do you know someone who died of AIDS?
Filed by: Bil Browning
http://www.facebook.com/l/;www.bilerico.com/2009/08/do_you_know_someone_who_died_of_aids.php
Don't forget:
Subscribe to the Bilerico Project Report to get all of the previous day's posts sent to you every night at midnight.
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Follow Bilerico Project on Twitter for links to new posts, breaking news and contest opportunities.
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Elizabeth Bishop - One Art
The art of losing isn't hard to master; |
Thanks folks!
From 1 Jun 2009 to 7 Aug 2009
United States (US) | 555 |
Brazil (BR) | 44 |
Canada (CA) | 32 |
Australia (AU) | 19 |
New Zealand (NZ) | 18 |
United Kingdom (GB) | 18 |
Netherlands (NL) | 17 |
France (FR) | 10 |
Germany (DE) | 7 |
Israel (IL) | 6 |
Belgium (BE) | 3 |
Taiwan (TW) | 3 |
Portugal (PT) | 3 |
Austria (AT) | 3 |
Morocco (MA) | 3 |
Singapore (SG) | 3 |
India (IN) | 2 |
Indonesia (ID) | 2 |
Russian Federation (RU) | 2 |
Japan (JP) | 2 |
Italy (IT) | 2 |
Hong Kong (HK) | 2 |
Afghanistan (AF) | 2 |
Puerto Rico (PR) | 1 |
Argentina (AR) | 1 |
Denmark (DK) | 1 |
Sweden (SE) | 1 |
Ukraine (UA) | 1 |
Malaysia (MY) | 1 |
Spain (ES) | 1 |
Jamaica (JM) | 1 |
Barbados (BB) | 1 |
Saudi Arabia (SA) | 1 |
Venezuela (VE) | 1 |
Cyprus (CY) | 1 |
Korea, Republic of (KR) | 1 |
Friday, August 7, 2009
New Bedfellows
Old Politics, New Bedfellows: The Olson/Boies Challenge to Prop 8 When two attorneys from opposing sides of the political spectrum argue that some issues transcend the differences between liberals and conservatives we must remember that, as nice as it sounds, none of us can afford the luxury of imagining ourselves above the political fray. Full article |
Marriage Equality USA Wants You to Weigh In Today...
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Subject: Marriage Equality USA Wants You to Weigh In Today...
The Courage Campaign has issued a call for organizations to partner in an effort to finalize the wording for a 2010 ballot initiative to restore marriage equality using the most effective messaging for moving conflicted voters in support of marriage equality. Marriage Equality USA would like to be a part of any collaboration moving ahead and today, we want to see what our collective organizational interest is in participating in this venture.
In May, Marriage Equality USA polled our members and 64% expressed a desire to go back to the ballot box in 2010, 23% said 2012 and the remainder were undecided. Marriage Equality USA has also just finished organizing over 40 Get Engaged Tour events across California and feedback indicated passion on both sides of the timing debate, but no clear consensus on when to move ahead. What did come across loud and clear is that our community wants our movement to come together and collectively plan how we can WIN a marr! iage equality campaign in the future.
As demonstrated advocates for the grassroots community, Marriage Equality USA would like to ensure your voices are heard as we move ahead in the next campaign. Whatever you donate today through August 13th will be targeted and offered in support of this collaborative effort.
No matter when we collectively decide to go back to the ballot box, Marriage Equality USA is committed to empowering our local communities to be active partners in the next campaign. We invite you to continue to engage and reach out to fair-minded Californians by getting involved with your local chapter's ongoing efforts to change hearts and minds by organizing canvassing, tabling, public speaking, and other public education efforts. Together we CAN. Weigh in today in support of the 2010 effort by making a targeted donation today.
For more information, contact getengaged@marriageequality.org.
To make a donation http://www.facebook.com/l/;visithttps://npo.networkforgood.org/Donate/Donate.aspx?npoSubscriptionId=1001435&code=MEUSA%20Default
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Thursday, August 6, 2009
Wise Latina Confirmed
Sonia Sotomayor was confirmed as the next Supreme Court Justice today in a partisan vote of 68-31. All Democrats approved, as well as nine Republicans. Sen. Ted Kennedy was too ill to be in the chamber. The GOP's ugly smear campaign against Sotomayor may have repercussions in the next election.
From the moment Mr. Obama chose her in May, many political strategists warned Republicans that opposing the first Latina nominated to the Supreme Court would jeopardize the party in future elections. In the waning days of the debate, some Democrats sought to portray Republican opposition as a grave insult to Latinos. “Republicans will pay a price for saying ‘no’ to this judge,” Senator Robert Menendez, Democrat of New Jersey, said in Spanish at a news conference Wednesday.
Party in the Bronx tonight!
Lifted from JMG
Census plans to count same-sex marriages
August 3, 2009
from the Sacramento Bee
today's pretty good quote
"Suspect each moment, for it is a thief, tiptoeing away with more than it brings."
John Updike
thanks WollieBear
Friendly Voices - Brad Pitt
"I have love in my life, a soul mate--absolutely. When someone asked me why Angie and I don't get married, I replied, 'Maybe we'll get married when it's legal for everyone else.' I stand by that, although I took a lot of flak for saying it--hate mail from religious groups. I believe everyone should have the same rights. They say gay marriage ruins families and hurts kids. Well, I've had the privilege of seeing my gay friends being parents and watching their kids grow up in a loving environment." - Brad Pitt, speaking to Parade Magazine.
Labels: Brad Pitt, Friendly Voices, marriage equality, movies
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Psychologists repudiate gay-to-straight therapy
Psychologists repudiate gay-to-straight therapy
NEW YORK – The American Psychological Association declared Wednesday
that mental health professionals should not tell gay clients they can
become straight through therapy or other treatments. Instead, the APA
urged therapists to consider multiple options — that could range from
celibacy to switching churches — for helping clients whose sexual
orientation and religious faith conflict.
In a resolution adopted on a 125-to-4 vote by the APA's governing
council, and in a comprehensive report based on two years of research,
the 150,000-member association put itself firmly on record in
opposition of so-called "reparative therapy" which seeks to change
sexual orientation.
No solid evidence exists that such change is likely, says the report,
and some research suggests that efforts to produce change could be
harmful, inducing depression and suicidal tendencies.
The APA had criticized reparative therapy in the past, but a six-member
task force added weight to this position by examining 83 studies on
sexual orientation change conducted since 1960. Its comprehensive
report was endorsed by the APA's governing council in Toronto, where
the association's annual meeting is being held this weekend.
The report breaks new ground in its detailed and nuanced assessment of
how therapists should deal with gay clients struggling to remain loyal
to a religious faith that disapproves of homosexuality.
Judith Glassgold, a Highland Park, N.J., psychologist who chaired the
task force, said she hoped the document could help calm the polarized
debate between religious conservatives who believe in the possibility
of changing sexual orientation and the many mental health professionals
who reject that option.
"Both sides have to educate themselves better," Glassgold said in an
interview. "The religious psychotherapists have to open up their eyes
to the potential positive aspects of being gay or lesbian. Secular
therapists have to recognize that some people will choose their faith
over their sexuality."
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Jeff Campagna sent a message to the members of The Power.
Subject: Major Endorsements Announced
Greetings!
It's been a while since we last reported to you. In the meantime, so much has happened! On June 29th, the 40th Anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, The Power was joined at the Stonewall Inn by prominent activists and elected officials for the the launch of our nationwide petition drive to expand the 1964 Civil Rights Act to include LGBT Americans.
Since then The Power petition has been endorsed by a growing list of activists, businesses, organizations, media, elected officials, and individuals.
To read more you can visit a web archive of our latest newsletter at http://www.facebook.com/l/;snurl.com/oob3s.
Headlines from our newsletter:
-- Chairman of House Judiciary Subcommittee on Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties responds to Power Petition by announcing intention to draft legislation including LGBT people in all federal Civil Rights legislation
-- Action: Be a Power Tweeter
-- Action: Post A Power Banners On Your Site
-- SoulForce Founder's Endorsement
-- National Black Justice Coalition Endorses Power
-- Major Don't Ask Don't Tell Opponents Endorse Power
-- Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand Endorses Power
-- Abzug and Power Join Forces
-- Special Offer for Power Petition Supporters from Steele Luxury Travel
-- Transgender Leaders Voice Support
-- Mandy Carter Says Time is Right
-- Maloney: Equality Extends Beyond Workplace
-- The Power is Blade's Last Cover Story
Again, you can read details of all these stories at http://www.facebook.com/l/;snurl.com/oob3s.
We can make full LGBT equality a reality!
1. Sign the petition at http://www.facebook.com/l/;www.ThePowerOnline.org
2. Invite everyone you know to sign the petition
3. Invite your friends to join us on Facebook
4. Follow The Power on Twitter
5. Sign your business up to become a Power Affiliate. For more information see http://www.facebook.com/l/;thepoweronline.org/affiliates.
Our goal is in our grasp. If we all take some of these steps to involve our friends, family, and colleagues, we can change the world. Now is our time.
Best,
Jeff
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Soulforce Founder Rev. Dr. Mel White Endorses Petition to Include LGBT People in Civil Rights Act
Soulforce Founder Rev. Dr. Mel White Endorses Petition to Include LGBT People in Civil Rights Act
The Rev. Dr. Mel White, the best-selling author of Stranger at the Gate: To be Gay and Christian in America, and founder of Soulforce, joined The Power, Congressman Jerrold Nadler, and other activists at the Stonewall Inn on June 29th, the 40th Anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, to launch the Power Petition. This is is statement.
Here at Stonewall, we stand in the shadow of giants who refused to accept their second class citizenship. They would be outcasts no more! Now with their voices echoing in our hearts, we have come to take our stand as well. In a 1965 interview, Dr. King made it clear that it is far past time to liberate African Americans from their second class citizenship. These are his words. I’ve edited them simply to call for the liberation of LGBT Americans as well.
“Why do straight people find it so difficult to understand that LGBT Americans are sick and tired of having reluctantly parceled out to them those rights and privileges which all others receive upon birth or entry in America? We never cease to wonder at the amazing presumption of much of straight society, assuming that they have the right to bargain with LGBT Americans for their freedom. This continued arrogant ladling out of pieces of the rights of citizenship has begun to generate a growing discontent in the LGBT community. What LGBT Americans want is absolute and unqualified freedom and equality here in this land of our birth. LGBT Americans no longer will be tolerant of anything less than our due right and heritage. We are pursuing only that which we know is honorably ours.
“Most straight Americans support the struggle to eradicate injustice; nevertheless they feel that LGBT Americans should be more patient, that only the passage of time – perhaps generations – will bring about the sweeping changes we demand…
“We say, with Dr. King, that the time is always right to do what is right…Increasingly we realize that time has been used destructively by people of ill will much more than it has been used constructively by those of good will…We wonder at straight Americans who dare to feel that they have some paternalistic right to set the timetable for the liberation of LGBT Americans. We are often inclined to think that our moderate “friends” are more of a stumbling block to the progress of LGBT Americans than Pat Robertson, James Dobson and other leaders of the Christian right.”
We have a growing concern that our new President is listening to those same “moderates” who counsel that it is too early to take on ENDA or DOMA or Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. These are difficult times, they whisper. LGBT Americans have waited this long. They are amazingly patient. They will understand if we ask them to wait a little longer.
We are here to say to our President and to members of the House and Senate that we do not understand. That we cannot “wait a little longer.” Our sisters and brothers have suffered injustice, intolerance and discrimination far too long: harassed, hunted down and hounded out of the military; denied employment and housing, refused the rights of marriage and ordination; left out of hate crime legislation all the while being primary victims of hate in all its vicious forms. We are second class citizens at best. Worse, we are outcasts in the nation we love and serve. (Page 353, Testament of Hope).
It is time to do what is right and including LGBT Americans in the Civil Rights Legislation of 1964 is right. We hope and pray that this time truth will prevail and justice will flow down like a mighty stream.
Monday, August 3, 2009
U.S. Vigils Planned For Tel Aviv Victims
Memorial vigils for the victims of the shooting at an LGBT center in Tel Aviv will take place around the U.S. this week.
San Francisco: Tonight. Monday, from 530-6 @ Congregation Sha'ar Zahav (16th/Dolores -- the largely LGBT Synagogue) and marching to the LGBT Center by 6:30 p.m. for a vigil (Market/Octavia). (Via SF Supervisor Bevan Dufty)
Washington DC: Tonight. Dupont Circle, 8:15pm - 9:15pm. Facebook page.
Los Angeles: Thursday. Location TBD. 7:00pm - 8:30pm. Facebook page.
I'll update this post with more details and locations as they come in.
Labels: gay youth, Los Angeles, memorial, murder, San Francisco, Tel Aviv, Washington DC
Want Marriage Equality? Follow the Money
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Support Iraqi LGBT
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Subject: Iraqi officer 'behind bank heist'
http://www.facebook.com/l/;news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/8180046.stm
An Iraqi army captain, possibly helped by presidential bodyguards, is believed to have been behind a major bank robbery in Baghdad, officials say.
Tuesday's robbery, in which eight people were killed and millions of dollars stolen, was among the biggest in Baghdad's history.
The money has since been recovered from inside a government compound in the city centre.
Two people have been arrested but another is still at large, police say.
A tip-off on Friday led police to the compound, close to the bank where the robbery took place in the district of Karrada.
Police believe that presidential bodyguards may have been involved in the robbery, which netted about $7m (£4m) worth of Iraqi dinars.
The BBC's Natalia Antelava in Baghdad says this theory matches a widespread suspicion that the robbers had some inside help.
The gunmen stormed the bank at dawn just after it had received a large transfer of cash.
They got through five heavily armed checkpoints and no doors or windows were broken.
They then fired at security guards before using dynamite to open the vault where the money was kept.
Security officials say there are links between the armed insurgency and organised crime in Iraq, but our correspondent says that the alleged involvement of the presidential bodyguards shows that law enforcement agencies could also be part of the problem.
A few months ago, Iraq's own anti-corruption agency said the police and army were among the country's most corrupt institutions.
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Amsterdam's Mayor Weds NY Couples To Send Message To U.S.
Yesterday the mayor of Amsterdam married five bi-national couples on a gay Pride party boat to send a message to the United States about marriage equality and immigration reform.
The mayor of Amsterdam married five American-Dutch gay couples on Saturday in an implicit criticism of the lack of same-sex marriage in many U.S. states. Tens of thousands of spectators cheered as Mayor Job Cohen performed the ceremony on a cruise around the city's canals to celebrate the high point of the city's gay pride festival. Eight years ago Cohen presided over the first legal Dutch gay marriage. All five couples had at least one partner from New York, where a battle over the legalization of gay marriage rages on.Very nice.
"For me it's a message to New York, the most liberal state, the most hip state, to get with it," said Ira Siff, an opera professional from New York who was about to marry his partner, opera singer Hans Heijnis. The New York-Amsterdam connection is much in the news this year, with the cities celebrating a 400-year relationship in 2009. Cohen called the couples a "figurehead" for that bond. "Your transatlantic love is proof of the lasting connection between old and new Amsterdam," Cohen said in the service.
posted by JMG
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Let Scientists Speak Out
I have just read and signed the petition: "Let Scientists Speak Out".
Please take a moment to read about this important issue, and join me in signing the petition. It takes just 30 seconds, but can truly make a difference. We are trying to reach 15000 signatures - please sign here: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/829157125
Once you have signed, you can help even more by asking your friends and family to sign as well.
Thank you! DanielSaturday, August 1, 2009
Bilerico Weekly Reader 7/26-7/31
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Subject: Bilerico Weekly Reader 7/26-7/31
You know, these Weekly Reader posts are one of my favorite posts to do each week; I get a chance to go back over the previous week's posts and see how the discussions continued once the post has fallen off the front page. This week we had three clear winners for the best posts of the week: Karen Ocamb's three part series on "What Really Happened at the Repeal Prop 8 Leadership Summit" (links in the Bonus section)
Bilerico Nation
What Does an Inclusive ENDA Really Mean?
Filed by: Keri Renault (Bilerico-DC)
http://www.facebook.com/l/;dc.bilerico.com/2009/07/what_does_an_inclusive_enda_really_mean.php
Under White House Pressure, Hastings Withdraws DADT Amendment
Filed by: Father Tony (Bilerico-Florida)
http://www.facebook.com/l/;florida.bilerico.com/2009/07/under_white_house_pressure_hastings_with.php
Out of the Minneapolis airport and into the Mainstream Media
Filed by: Don Sherfick (Bilerico-Indiana)
http://www.facebook.com/l/;indiana.bilerico.com/2009/07/out_of_the_minneapolis_airport_and_into.php
Sunday
Let's Call it a "Queer Quilt Across America"
Filed by: John Shields
http://www.facebook.com/l/;www.bilerico.com/2009/07/queer_quilt_across_america.php
Nurse Jackie
Filed by: Dana Rudolph
http://www.facebook.com/l/;www.bilerico.com/2009/07/nurse_jackie.php
Monday
Gay Generation Gap: Two Sides of the Same Coin
Filed by: Jason Tseng
http://www.facebook.com/l/;www.bilerico.com/2009/07/gay_generation_gap_two_sides_of_the_same_coin.php
Mental: Prime time goes trans-friendly
Filed by: Bil Browning
http://www.facebook.com/l/;www.bilerico.com/2009/07/prime_time_goes_trans-friendly.php
Tuesday
Federal civil unions?
Filed by: Alex Blaze
http://www.facebook.com/l/;www.bilerico.com/2009/07/federal_civil_unions_is_anyone_talking_about_that.php
Caption This: Gays Gone Wild
Filed by: Waymon Hudson
http://www.facebook.com/l/;www.bilerico.com/2009/07/caption_this_gays_gone_wild.php
Wednesday
Anti-Gay Bombing at World Outgames
Filed by: Patricia Nell Warren
http://www.facebook.com/l/;www.bilerico.com/2009/07/anti-gay_violence_at_world_outgames_in_copenhagen.php
Lifting the Veil off Mental Health: The Art of Negotiation
Filed by: David Castillo
http://www.facebook.com/l/;www.bilerico.com/2009/07/lifting_the_veil_off_mental_health_the_art_of_nego.php
Thursday
David: A Story of Hope, Faith and Love
Filed by: Betty Greene Salwak
http://www.facebook.com/l/;www.bilerico.com/2009/07/david_a_story_of_hope_faith_and_love.php
DADT and the Democratic finger trap
Filed by: Sean Bugg
http://www.facebook.com/l/;www.bilerico.com/2009/07/dadt_and_the_democratic_finger_trap.php
Friday
Teach What You Learn: The Straight Guy's Primer on Gender Identity
Filed by: Don Davis
http://www.facebook.com/l/;www.bilerico.com/2009/07/the_straight_guys_primer_on_gender_identity.php
Here Come the Eye-Rollers: Milk, King Honored by Obama
Filed by: Dustin Kight
http://www.facebook.com/l/;www.bilerico.com/2009/07/here_come_the_eye-rollers_milk_king_honored_by_oba.php
BONUS!
What Really Happened at the Repeal Prop 8 Leadership Summit
Filed by: Karen Ocamb
http://www.facebook.com/l/;www.bilerico.com/2009/07/what_really_happened_at_the_repeal_prop_8_leadersh.php
Repeal Prop 8 Leadership Summit: The Expert Point of View
Filed by: Karen Ocamb
http://www.facebook.com/l/;www.bilerico.com/2009/07/repeal_prop_8_leadership_summit_the_expert_point_o.php
The Unnoticed Power Player at the Repeal Prop 8 Leadership Summit
Filed by: Karen Ocamb
http://www.facebook.com/l/;www.bilerico.com/2009/07/the_unnoticed_power_player.php
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Thursday, July 30, 2009
This from JMG!
The Victory Fund reports that Harvey Milk will be posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal Of Freedom, the highest civilian honor of the United States. Stuart Milk, Harvey's nephew, will accept the award at a White House ceremony to take place on August 12th.
“We are thrilled President Obama is honoring Harvey Milk with the Medal of Freedom. He’s an American hero and trailblazer whose election more than 30 years ago triggered a political awakening that inspires us still today. This recognition sends an important message about how critical political leadership will be in making all Americans equal in the eyes of the law,” said Chuck Wolfe, president and CEO of the Victory Fund.Also receiving the Medal Of Freedom that day will be famed lesbian tennis player Billie Jean King and Sen. Ted Kennedy, both longtime advocates for LGBT rights.
Stuart Milk echoed Wolfe’s praise, saying, “The President’s action today touches the core of our very human hearts and my uncle would be so proud of this high honor. His election was, for him, a beginning–a chance to make real change. That change is happening, but we still have so far to go. I hope this recognition inspires LGBT Americans everywhere to heed Harvey’s call to run for office, to serve openly, to live proudly with authenticity and to demand the equality that we all deserve.”
UPDATE: The National Gay & Lesbian Task Force responds:
"Today's White House announcement of Medal of Freedom awards to the late Harvey Milk and to Billie Jean King honors two openly gay and lesbian people for their outstanding contributions to the nation. We applaud and cheer that Harvey Milk and Billie Jean King's dedication to freedom and equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people and for women and girls is at last being recognized with our country's highest civilian honor. Harvey Milk and Billie Jean King are trailblazers whose courage, commitment and perseverance have brought our country to a better place. How utterly appropriate that they will receive an award named the 'Medal of Freedom.'
"We also applaud the inclusion of Sen. Edward Kennedy, who has been a longtime advocate and leader in the U.S. Senate on a host of legislative initiatives pertaining to HIV/AIDS and LGBT equality; and of Archbishop Desmond Tutu and the Rev. Joseph Lowery, two faith leaders who have been outspoken on and supportive of LGBT issues. Each of these recipients has indeed made important contributions toward equality and justice."
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
An vital news item from JMG
The Magic Of Blue
Urban legend says the green M&Ms make you horny, but there's something in the blue ones that really might prove useful.
The food dye that gives blue M&M's their colour can help mend spinal injuries, researchers say. The compound Brilliant Blue G blocks a chemical that kills healthy spinal cord cells around the damaged area - an event that often causes more irreversible damage than the original injury. BBG not only reduced the size of the lesion but also improved the recovery of motor skills, tests on rats showed. Those treated with BBG were later able to walk, although with a limp. Rats that did not receive the BBG solution never regained the ability to walk. On the downside, the treatment causes the skin to temporarily turn bright blue and BBG needs to be injected soon after the trauma. The test injections were given within 15 minutes.Human trials will not begin until more animal testing has been done, but researchers say they are optimistic that acute spinal cord injuries could be treated with the compound within a few years.