Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Via AmericaBlog Gay: New Spanish leader opposes gay marriage law

The 56-year-old Rajoy has previously said he believes the law is unconstitutional and that he would “change” it even if the nation's highest court ruled it constitutional.

“I will listen to the court, but I don't like the fact that there is gay marriage and I don't think it is constitutional,” he told daily El Pais. “What I don't like is the word 'marriage.'”

July 15, 2010 (English-language subtitles)

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

 November 22, 2011


 

You Lack Nothing // VocĂȘ Falta Nada


You lack nothing. You lack nothing, therefore you practice. Therefore you must realize and manifest this no-lack, this realized life, this awakened life that you are. Manifest the wisdom compassion functioning that you are. To paraphrase Dogen Zenji, if you want to be such a person, as you are such you must do such. You must do this person that you are, then you will be this person that you are.
– Elihu Genmyo Smith, "No Need to Do Zazen, Therefore Must Do Zazen"
Read the entire article in the Tricycle Wisdom Collection

Monday, November 21, 2011

Via JMG: 21 Years In Prison For Brandon McInerney


Teenage murderer Brandon McInerny has been sentenced to 21 years in prison in a plea agreement for the shooting of openly gay classmate Larry King.
Brandon McInerney, who was 14 when he pulled a gun out of his backpack and shot Larry King twice in the head in 2008, has already served nearly four years in jail and would be released by the time he is 38, under terms of the deal. "Larry had a complicated life, but he did not deserve to be murdered," the youth's father,Greg King, said after a court hearing Monday afternoon. McInerney’s first trial ended with jurors split between convicting him of voluntary manslaughter and first-degree murder. Several of the jurors have since spoken in favor of a plea bargain, in order to avoid a second trial. Prosecutors, in initially deciding to try McInerney a second time, had already dropped a key allegation that the shooting was motivated by a hatred of homosexuals, an accusation that several jurors in the original trial said they did not believe.

reposted from Joe

Via JMG: SPAIN: Anti-Gay Party Wins Control Of Parliament, Gay Marriage Imperiled


Led by anti-gay asshat Mariano Rajoy, Spain's deeply conservative Popular Party scored a landslide victory in yesterday's national elections. Rajoy has vowed to repeal same-sex marriage rights once he's in power.
The Socialist Party, which has governed Spain since 2004, has admitted defeat. Mr Rajoy, who is expected to tackle the country's debts amid slow growth and high unemployment, said he was aware of the "magnitude of the task ahead". He told supporters there would be "no miracle" to restore Spain to financial health, and that the country must unite to win back respect in Europe. "Forty-six million Spaniards are going to wage a battle against the crisis," said the 56-year-old PP leader. The PP won about 44% of the votes and the Socialists 29% in Sunday's election, according to near-complete official results. The PP is expected to take about 186 of the 350 seats in the lower house. As the results were announced, jubilant, flag-waving supporters danced outside party headquarters in central Madrid.
Analysts say the Socialists primarily lost power due to discontent over the continuing debt crisis and not because of "morality issues" promoted by the Popular Party.

MAP KEY: Blue is Popular Party, red is Socialist, yellow/green are regional parties.


reposted from Joe

Sunday, November 20, 2011

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

 November 20, 2011

The Truth of the Breath

Everything that is true about anything is true about breath: it's impermanent; it arises and it passes away. Yet if you didn't breathe, you would become uncomfortable; so then you would take in a big inhalation and feel comfortable again. But if you hold onto the breath, it's no longer comfortable, so you have to breathe out again. All the time shifting, shifting. Uncomfortableness is continually arising. We see that everything keeps changing.
– Sylvia Boorstein, "Body as Body"
Read the entire article in the Tricycle Wisdom Collection

Saturday, November 19, 2011

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

 November 19, 2011

Sound Meditation

One specific method for practicing mindfulness of body sensations is to focus your attention on sounds. Sounds, like everything else, arise and pass away. Just by listening, you can experience the insight of impermanence, an understanding the Buddha taught as crucial for the development of wisdom.
– Sylvia Boorstein, "Sound Meditation"
Read the entire article in the Tricycle Wisdom Collection

Friday, November 18, 2011

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

 November 18, 2011

Make Friends with Fear

Genuine spiritual practice offers a way to face both our inner and outer worlds and to bring these two related realms into living, loving dialogue. Making friends with our fear—tasting it, chewing it, becoming intimately familiar with it—opens a doorway. We can develop an inner strength and confidence not based on the ups and downs of our contemporary world with its 24/7 rhythm of getting and spending. In the midst of outer and inner famine, violence, intolerance, and cowardice, the Natural Bravery approach invites you to walk the path of courage along with our spiritual ancestors, the brave women and men throughout history who have manifested fearlessness in everyday life.
– Gaylon Ferguson, "Natural Bravery"
Read the entire article in the Tricycle Wisdom Collection

Thursday, November 17, 2011

Via American Foundation for Equal Rights: Our federal lawsuit for marriage equality is back on the fast track!


Now that the California Supreme Court has finally issued its advisory opinion that the Prop. 8 Proponents have standing to appeal, we can expect a speedy ruling from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
We are on the cusp of achieving what we have been fighting for. For countless couples like our plaintiffs, Kris Perry & Sandy Steir and Paul Katami & Jeff Zarrillo, marriage equality cannot come quickly enough.

Help us win the freedom to marry for couples like Kris & Sandy and Paul & Jeff. Make a donation today so we can continue our fight for full federal marriage equality.

The Ninth Circuit’s impending ruling is important for a host of reasons:

First, we are confident that the Court will affirm our historic District Court victory. The anti-marriage Proponents of Prop. 8 failed to present a shred of credible evidence to justify discrimination against gay and lesbian Americans. Marriage is a fundamental right guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution, plain and simple.

Second, a Ninth Circuit victory can set an enormous precedent. The District Court decision that affirmed the right to marry for gay and lesbian Americans has had tremendous impact on public opinion. Since we filed the Perry case, seven national polls now show that a majority of Americans support marriage equality. That support will only grow as our case progresses and Americans are able to see the truth: when you look at the facts no American should ever be denied the fundamental freedom to marry.

Third, the potential reach of our case is greatly amplified. The Ninth Circuit is the largest appeals court in the nation, stretching the entire west coast and as far east as Montana and Arizona. This is an essential and critical step to bring our case before the U.S. Supreme Court and achieve our ultimate goal: full federal marriage equality.

The stakes have never been higher. Your support has never been more important. Please make a tax-deductible donation right now so that we can continue our work to win the freedom to marry for every American.

Every step of the way, AFER's stellar bi-partisan legal team—led by Ted Olson and David Boies, along with experts in sociology, psychology and history, as well as thought and political leaders—is defending the right to marry both inside and outside the courtroom.

The anti-marriage activists that passed Prop. 8 have used up every trick in their book to delay, conceal, and distract from the truth. Now they need to confront the fact that they have no case.

With your support, we will not stop until we win full federal marriage equality—nothing less.


Sincerely,
Chad Griffin Portrait Chad Griffin SignatureChad H. GriffinBoard President
American Foundation for Equal Rights

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

 November 17, 2011


Full Awareness of the Moment

As you sit or walk in meditation, you ask constantly, “What is this?” Repeating this question develops concentration because it returns you to the full awareness of the moment. As soon as you become aware of being distracted by past events, anxieties about the present, or future dreams, you ask “What is this?” This way, the power of questioning dissolves distraction.
– Martine Batchelor, "A Refuge into Being"
Read the entire article in the Tricycle Wisdom Collection

Saturday, November 12, 2011

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

 November 12, 2011

Beyond Duality

I say recognize that the absolute is the relative, that nirvana is relativity. There is no way of not making a decision, and within every decision there's always a better or a worse. They are not equal. This attempt to go beyond good and evil posits some dualistic idea about nirvana. But let's not be dualistic. Nirvana is not someplace else. To go beyond good and evil means that good and evil are relative aspects that require choices.
— Robert Thurman, "The Politics of Enlightenment"
Read the entire article in the Tricycle Wisdom Collection

Via AmericaBlog Gay:



It's the first Veterans Day since DADT was lifted. It's weird to think of all these holidays and things that we were always left out of. Now we're not. CNN:

"One day we'll have a gay veterans monument here, memorializing our sacrifice for America, our fight for equality, and our battle for love," tweeted Dan Choi, an Iraq war veteran who was discharged from the Army for acknowledging that he is gay. His discharge occurred while the policy was still in effect.

Friday, November 11, 2011

SF's Pride Parades: 1970 - 1980

Via JMG: NORTH CAROLINA: 4300 Baptist Churches Endorse Anti-Gay Marriage Amendment


Raise your hand if you're shocked. Via Charlotte Observer:
N.C. Baptists meeting today in Greensboro elected Charlotte pastor Mark Harris to be their new president and endorsed a proposed state constitutional amendment that would reinforce North Carolina's ban on same-sex marriage. Most of the 4,300 churches associated with the state convention are Southern Baptist - the largest Protestant denomination in North Carolina, with about 1.3 million members.
Harris has pledged to campaign for the amendment.


reposted from Joe

Via Gay Politics Report: Solmonese: Re-electing Obama crucial to continuing LGBT progress


  • Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese said he's worried that the progress LGBT Americans have seen in recent years could end or even be reversed if President Barack Obama is not re-elected next year. "If we lose, if the outcome is negative, if we go from the march toward marriage equality and the repeal of DOMA and the positive direction that we’ve been in, to a president and a Congress who decide they’re so troubled by all the success we’re having with marriage they want to take up the fight again to pass the federal marriage amendment -- well, boy, we’ve come full circle from where we were back in 2005, the last time that happened," Solmonese said. Dallas Voice (11/11) LinkedInFacebookTwitterEmail this Story

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

November 11, 2011

What Form of Practice is Best?

What form [of practice] is best really depends on the person and the time—for some the carrot, for some the stick. The Buddha talked about this. He gave an image of training a horse. For some horses, just the shadow of the whip is enough; for others a slight touch spurs them on; and others really need to be whacked, metaphorically speaking.
– Joseph Goldstein, "How Amazing!"
Read the entire article in the Tricycle Wisdom Collection

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Via JMG: Gay Candidates Elected Across Nation


A small tidal wave of openly gay candidates have been swept into office today. In addition to those mentioned in earlier posts, here's a recap of various contests.

New Jersey: First openly gay black GOP mayor in U.S. history.

North Carolina: First openly gay city council member for Charlotte.

Ohio: First openly gay city council member for Cincinnati.

Indiana: First openly gay city council member for Indianapolis.

Montana: Out lesbian city council member for Missoula.

Arizona
: Daniel Hernandez, hero in Giffords shooting, elected to Tucson school board.

More to follow!


reposted from Joe

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

JMG Quote Of The Day - Mark Morford


"Are you not furious, righteous Republican homophobe? I bet you are. I bet you're dialing your angriest, most confused buds right this moment to write letters, post barely punctuated rants to the hate forums on Free Republic, call in to Rush to demand a Tea Party-wide boycott of every single one of these sicko companies. I mean, you can't really call yourself a true American, a real Christian and still openly wear Nikes or Levi's, use Microsoft or Google, or watch Warner Brothers movies, can you? If you really walk your anti-gay talk, well, every one of these companies should be banned from your life, right?" - San Francisco Chronicle columnist Mark Morford, in a hilarious essay about the avalanche of major companies backing the repeal of DOMA.

Read the entire article.


reposted from Joe

Michigan's Children Speak Out Against Republican Pro-Bullying Legislation