Saturday, August 11, 2012

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma August 11, 2012

The Undoing of Desire

Buddhism teaches us that desire, for all the agony and ecstasy, is no match for the truth.
- Joan Duncan Oliver, "Drink And A Man"
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2 fro JMG: Ryan

ACLU Denounces Paul Ryan


The morning the ACLU sent out a blistering denouncement of Rep. Paul Ryan's track record on LGBT rights and civil liberties. Via press release:
In response to Mitt Romney’s announcement of his vice presidential pick of Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), the American Civil Liberties Union Liberty Watch 2012 campaign this morning released a brief report that reveals an appalling civil liberties record for Ryan.

The report finds that Ryan, the congressman representing Wisconsin’s 1st District, holds almost uniformly harmful views on five key civil liberties issues including a humane immigration policy, LGBT equality, reproductive rights, torture and indefinite detention and fair voting access.

The report is based on the white paper released by ACLU Liberty Watch 2012. “Paul Ryan may end up a heartbeat away from the presidency but he’ll be light years from civil liberties,” said Anthony D. Romero, ACLU executive director. “Paired with Romney’s already-abysmal record on civil liberties, Ryan’s positions only take this ticket further from the vision of our founding fathers.”
Read the ACLU's brief on Ryan.

 

Tweet Of The Day - Mitt Romney



Reposted from Joe

Via AmericaBlog Gay:

Pope no longer opposed to condoms, kind of

Good, but at the same time, whatever. Telegraph:After decades of fierce opposition to the use of all contraception, the Pontiff has ended the Church’s absolute ban on the use of condoms.He said it was acceptable to use a prophylactic when the sole intention was to “reduce the risk of...

Via AmericaBlog Gay:

What is Paul Ryan's position on gay rights?

Absolutely awful. He voted once for ENDA, then turned around and voted against it (likely when the religious right got a hold of him). That's it. Otherwise he's been terrible on everything.Ryan is expected to be Romney's VP choice at an announcement today in Virginia.From Paul Schindler at...
 

Friday, August 10, 2012

Via BeliefNet:

Daily Buddhist Wisdom






Without love we could not survive. Human beings are social creatures, and a concern for each other is the very basis of our life together.
- His Holiness the Dalai Lama

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma August 10, 2012

In Dialogue with Our Desires

Although desires can be remarkably stubborn, they share a goal—happiness—and this can form the common ground for an effective dialogue: If a desire doesn’t really produce happiness, it contradicts its reason for being.
- Thanissaro Bhikkhu, "Pushing the Limits"
Read the entire article in the Tricycle Wisdom Collection through August 12th, 2012
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Via America Blog Gay:

German court gives tax benefit to gay couples

CNN:Germany's constitutional court has strengthened the rights of gay and lesbian couples, giving them a same tax benefit as heterosexual married couples.The ruling, which came Wednesday, comes as the country is mired in an escalating debate on the status of homosexual partnerships.The...
 

Via America Blog Gay:

French Catholic church says gays are pedophiles, tries to veto marriage in France

The Catholic church. That bastion of pedophilia, and pedophile-enablers - to this day - now claims to be worried about the welfare of children. That's why the Catholic church has yet to fully fess up to its role in enabling the rape of children across the world for decades, if not millennia. ...
 
 
My comment: "how dare they!"


Thursday, August 9, 2012

Via JMG: Democrats Release Proposed Language For Convention Marriage Equality Plank


As always, Chris Geidner has the scoop:
We support the right of all families to have equal respect, responsibilities, and protections under the law. We support marriage equality and support the movement to secure equal treatment under law for same-sex couples. We also support the freedom of churches and religious entities to decide how to administer marriage as a religious sacrament without government interference.

We oppose discriminatory federal and state constitutional amendments and other attempts to deny equal protection of the laws to committed same-sex couples who seek the same respect and responsibilities as other married couples. We support the full repeal of the so-called Defense of Marriage Act and the passage of the Respect for Marriage Act.
Geidner notes that the group that created the above language is different from the one that will be voting on it at the convention. Should the plank pass out of the convention committee, it must then be voted upon by the delegates.


Reposted from Joe

Via Beliefnet:


Daily Buddhist Wisdom






To my mind, democracy is more compassionate, more harmonious, more friendly than any other system. It respects others' rights and considers others equally as human brothers and sisters. Although you might disagree with them, you have to respect their wishes.
- His Holiness the Dalai Lama



Via Tricycle Daily Dharma

Tricycle Daily Dharma August 9, 2012

Meditation Needs Morality

If you are not leading a morally upright life, you cannot expect to sit down on a little pillow and find yourself secluded from sense desires, secluded from unwholesome states of mind. If there is not sufficient morality, there is too much to desire, too much hate or fear, too much to worry about.
- Leigh Brasington, "A Mind Pure, Concentrated, and Bright"
Read the entire article in the Tricycle Wisdom Collection through August 11th, 2012
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Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Via JMG: HomoQuotable - Rob Halford


"Everybody in this country has the right to say what they think and feel and what best represents them. The people at Chick-fil-A have the absolute right to say and do what they want. It doesn’t matter that all of these people disagree with their opinion. The question was how would the people that agree with what that man said do to support the company and how would the ones against his anti-gay remarks protest. What you’re seeing here are the elements of the American Constitution in all of their glory. It’s a wonderful thing to see happening and talk about and the fact that everyone is discussing the gay rights issue is great. I don’t think that man thought too much about the business consequences of what he said, but I think he was standing for what he believes in. I don’t agree with him at all, but God bless the man. It’s as simple as that." - Openly gay heavy metal star Rob Halford, speaking to Ultimate Classic Rock. (Tipped by JMG reader Greg)
Reposted from Joe

Via jMG: HGTV's House Hunters To Feature Gay Couple Forced Abroad By DOMA



On next Monday's episode of House Hunters International, HGTV's flagship series will feature a gay couple forced to leave the country due to DOMA. From the show's episode guide:
Ivan and Devin, built a life together in DC: they worked jobs they loved, shared their home with their beloved dog and exchanged wedding vows. But when Ivan's work visa expired, he had no other choice but to head back to his native Bogota, Colombia with his American husband, Devin, and their dog, Danger. Ivan's mother is delighted her son is back home and has extended her indefinite hospitality, but the couple agrees it's time to find their own digs. With few dog-friendly buildings, and an extensive wish-list, real estate agent, Sam Miller has his work cut out for him. But will he deliver the goods? Find out, when House Hunters International sets its sights on Bogota, Colombia.
The show was filmed prior to last week's announcement that Homeland Security will now deprioritize the deportations of LGBT partners.


Reposted from Joe  

Via JMG: Bryan Fischer: Christians Should Kidnap The Children Of Gay And Lesbian Parents


For years here on JMG we've been following the case of Lisa Miller, the "ex-gay" woman who kidnapped her daughter to Central America after losing several court cases that awarded custody to her former partner. The preacher accused of facilitating that crime is about to go on trial, prompting American Family Association radio host Bryan Fischer to issue calls for an anti-gay "Underground Railroad" to help shield the kidnappers of the children of gay parents.

As you may recall, that "Underground Railroad" already exists in the form of the virulently anti-gay Liberty Counsel, as the kidnapped child was found living in the Nicaraguan home of the father of a Liberty Counsel employee. Over at Dead Jerry Falwell's Liberty University, students were taught that it's sometimes best to obey "God's laws" rather than "man's laws" and that "righteous kidnapping" in cases such as Lisa Miller's were justified. Those classes were taught by Liberty Counsel president Mat Staver and Lina Lindevaldsen, both of whom represented Miller in her failed custody attempts. The students were then tested on whether they'd break the law for God.
That semester’s midterm exam, obtained by Religion Dispatches, included a question based on Miller’s case asking students to describe what advice they would give her “as a friend who is a Christian lawyer.” After laying out a slanted history of the protracted legal battle, the exam asked, “Lisa needs your counsel on how to think through her legal situation and how to respond as a Christian to this difficult problem. Relying only on what we have learned thus far in class, how would you counsel Lisa?”

Students who wrote that Miller should comply with court orders received bad grades while those who wrote she should engage in civil disobedience received an A, the three students said. “People were appalled,” said one of the students, adding, “especially as lawyers-to-be, who are trained and licensed to practice the law—to disobey that law, that seemed completely counterintuitive to all of us.” Still, some knew what they needed to “regurgitate,” in order to get a good grade. “It was obvious by the substance of the class during the semester the answer that they wanted,” said one of the students. “The majority of people that I am acquainted with who did get As wrote that because it was expected of them.”
As word broke late last year that the federal government was about to find Lisa Miller, Fischer and other anti-gay sites declared that the FBI had been infiltrated by the "gaystapo."
Lisa and Isabella are not free. The FBI is after them. At any time, they may be captured. At any time, Isabella may be kidnapped by the FBI and her mother arrested. America is resurrecting Sodom with a vengeance, supported by the formidable power of the State. While Christian social services in the US are losing their traditional right to help children because they refuse state orders to adopt children to homosexual couples.
Fischer's tweets from yesterday (at the top of this post) have generated widespread condemnation, which is an everyday occurrence when he bloviates on any topic. But this time even some anti-gay and Christian sites are backing away from him, resulting in today's flurry of "clarifications."I recommend reading last week's exhaustive New York Times cover story on the kidnapping. We can only hope that after the preacher's trial will come multiple conspiracy counts for Mat Staver and his Liberty Counsel accomplices.


Reposted from Joe

Via GayFamilyValues / FB:


Via Beliefnet:

Daily Buddhist Wisdom






At the time for initiative he takes no initiative. Young, strong, but lethargic, the resolves of his heart exhausted, the lazy, lethargic one loses the path to discernment.
- Dhammapada 280, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma August 8, 2012

Welcoming Everything that Arises

Thoughts come and go. Feelings come and go. Allow yourself to experience the transient nature of thoughts and feelings, welcoming everything that arises as Just this, not me, not mine.
- Sandra Weinberg, "Eating and the Wheel of Life"
Read the entire article in the Tricycle Wisdom Collection through August 10th, 2012
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Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Via The Pragmatic Progressive Page


Via JMG: Illinois Hate Group Tells Parents To Pull Kids Out Of Classes With Gay Teachers


The Illinois Family Institute, the former home of Peter LaBarbera, has issued a call for parents to pull their kids out of the classes of liberal or gay teachers.
1-Parents can go to their middle school and/or high school websites and find out which teachers sponsor gay and straight alliances and liberal political activist groups (e.g. AWARE).

2- Parents can also ask what texts will be taught or used (e.g. The Chocolate War, Fat Kid Rules the World, Angels in America, The Laramie Project, or The People’s History of the United States) by a particular teacher. Parents should ask for the reading list for the entire year. Teachers who have a reasonable degree of respect for the values and beliefs of all parents will not have highly controversial texts on either required or recommended reading lists.

3- If parents have children who have already gone through the school or have already completed a year or more, they should ask those children and/or their friends or friends’ parents which teachers are known for bringing their politics into the classroom or who displays a “Safe Space” sticker, the inverted pink triangle, the rainbow flag, or the lower case Greek letter “lambda” on their desk, classroom door, or wall. Students usually know who the liberal, activist teachers are. Liberal teachers develop reputations, often as the “cool” teachers.
Friendly Atheist blogger Hemant Mehta, who IS a teacher, has posted a great response.
They want to rail against liberal teachers — even ones like me, who keep our religious beliefs out of the classroom — but they’re silent when it comes to Christian teachers who proselytize instead of teaching. And you can bet that happens far more often. They’re hypocrites who refuse to acknowledge it and school districts know better than to take them seriously. That’s why IFI has to make up fake enemies. That’s why they go after atheist teachers and English departments and pink triangles and lambda symbols.

Because the teachers who preach atheism or Islam or Hinduism in the classroom don’t exist. Preaching instead of teaching is something certain Christians do, not the rest of us. And if you’re a Christian and you agree with me, then say something about it to them. Stop being silent. It’s not like they care what atheists have to say. On the brighter note, IFI staffers won’t be teaching in any public schools this fall. But I will be. Me and my evil, liberal, hippie, godless, proof-loving, triangle-drawing, “cool” ways.

Reposted from Joe