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.
A Kiev art museum contains a curious icon from St. Catherine's Monastery on Mt. Sinai in Israel. It shows two robed Christian saints. Between them is a traditional Roman ‘pronubus’ (a best man), overseeing a wedding. The pronubus is Christ. The married couple are both men.
Is the icon suggesting that a gay "wedding" is being sanctified by Christ himself? The idea seems shocking. But the full answer comes from other early Christian sources about the two men featured in the icon, St. Sergius and St. Bacchus, two Roman soldiers who were Christian martyrs. These two officers in the Roman army incurred the anger of Emperor Maximian when they were exposed as ‘secret Christians’ by refusing to enter a pagan temple. Both were sent to Syria circa 303 CE where Bacchus is thought to have died while being flogged. Sergius survived torture but was later beheaded. Legend says that Bacchus appeared to the dying Sergius as an angel, telling him to be brave because they would soon be reunited in heaven.
How blatantly bizarre and predatory does "ex-gay reparative therapy" have to be for even the mental cases at Exodus International to disavow you? Here's some of what their "therapist" at their Lansing, Michigan affiliate did to young Patrick McAlvey.
“He asked how large my penis was. He asked if I shave my pubic hair. He asked what type of underwear that I wore. He wanted me to describe my sexual fantasies to him and the type of men I’m attracted to. On one occasion, he asked me to take my shirt off and show him how many push-ups I could do, which I did not do.”
Truth Wins Out (TWO) revealed today that the nation’s largest “ex-gay” organization, Exodus International, officially cut ties with its Lansing affiliate Corduroy Stone after charges were made by an ex-gay survivor that the sessions included harmful and bizarre therapy. In August, Patrick McAlvey made the charges against Corduroy Stone’s Mike Jones in a Truth Wins Out video, yet it took Exodus until December to take action. Exodus’ dithering in the face of scandal cost precious time and may have placed additional youth in harm’s way, according to Truth Wins Out.
VIDEO: Patrick McAlvey talks about his Exodus International predator.
UNBELIEVABLE: BBC Asks Readers "Should Homosexuals Face Execution?"
This is unfuckingbelievable. In reference to the Uganda "kill gays" bill, the BBC asked their readers if they agreed that gays should be put to death. From the Guardian:
The talkboard post asked users to send in their views to the programme, which goes out on the World Service and is also available online. "Has Uganda gone too far? Should there be any level of legislation against homosexuality? Should homosexuals be protected by legislation as they are in South Africa? What would be the consequences of this bill to you? How will homosexual 'offences' be monitored?," the post added.
Premoderated posts included one from Chris, Guildford, posted at 8.59am, which attracted 51 recommendations of support. He wrote: "Totally agree. Ought to be imposed in the UK too, asap. Bring back some respectable family values. Why do we have to suffer 'gay pride' festivals? Would I be allowed to organise a 'straight pride' festival? No, thought as much!! If homosexuality is natural, as we are forced to believe, how can they sustain the species? I suggest all gays are put on a remote island somewhere and left for a generation - after which, theoretically there should be none left!" Another, from Aaron in Freetown, said: "Bravo to the Ugandans for this wise decision, a bright step in eliminating this menace from your society. We hope other African nations will also follow your bold step."
The Africa Have Your Say programme aired at 4pm today. By 5.30pm, the headline of the discussion had been changed to "Should Uganda debate gay execution?". Liliane Landor, the BBC World Service acting head of Africa region, defended the radio programme and talkboard post, saying it allowed gays and lesbians from Uganda, whose voices have never been heard in the UK, to talk with dignity about the impact the legislation would have on their lives. The show also included the opinion of those who supported the anti-homosexual legislation, including religious leaders, she said. "The programme was a dignified exchange between people who have differing beliefs," Landor added.
Unreal. The BBC will be living this down for a LONG time.
Great news today: marriage equality has just passed in Washington, D.C.!
It's a huge victory, and you should be proud – your support allowed us to invest tremendous staff time and resources into this fight. We did it, and I can't thank you enough.
But before we celebrate, I need your help. You may have heard that in a blatantly political move to prevent this vote the Catholic Archdiocese of Washington last month threatened to cut their social service programs if the bill passed.
I'm not making this up. They'd cut homeless shelters, food programs for needy families, and health services rather than provide equal benefits for employees in same-sex marriages. And now that the bill has passed, we need to make sure they don't follow through on their threat.
The Archbishop issued a very public threat last month designed to scare city officials into backing off their commitment to marriage equality.
Thankfully, heroic D.C. Council members in Washington didn't cave under pressure. They spoke numerous times with church officials in an effort to reach common ground, while moving forward with the legislation. But unfortunately, Archbishop Wuerl has refused to alter his official position.
The D.C. Council has stood up for fairness and equality. Now they need our help to make sure the neediest citizens of the city aren't forced to pay an unfair and cruel price.
Today's victory means a great deal, coming after marriage equality losses in New York and Maine. The bill now goes to the Mayor Adrian Fenty, who has promised to sign it. The U.S. Congress then has 30 days to review the legislation. After that window passes, the bill becomes law!
We will keep you updated as the bill progresses – and we will have to be vigilant even after the bill becomes law because the U.S. Congress can choose to intervene and overturn the law at any time – a loophole the radical right is bound to try to exploit.
For now, I thank you for standing strong – not only for marriage equality, but for all the citizens of Washington, D.C. during the holiday season.
This is a note just sent to me from Dennis Hambridge, with Gay Activists Alliance International (GAAI) - a gay human rights organization with various sites on Facebook.
Madison Reed
Dear friends and activists,
It is with great sadness to have received the following mailing of the assissination of Walter Trochez a leading LGBT activists in Honduras
Our thoughts go out to his loved ones and solidarity with the good people of Honduras, and support the call for an investigation and action against those who perpetrated this cowardly crime
The mailing comes via Doug Ireland
Thank you Dennis H
Colleagues, friends, and comrades,
Walter Trochez, a well-known LGBT activist in Honduras who was an active member of the National Resistance Front against the coup d'etat there, was assassinated on December 13th. Trochez, who had already been arrested and beaten for his sexual orientation after participating in a march against the coup, had been very active recently in documenting homophobic crimes committed by the forces behind the coup. A PHOTO OF TROCHEZ IS ATTACHED.
American University Assistant Professor of Anthropology Adrienne Pine has translated into English on her blog a statement about the Trochez murder by the Centro de Investigación y Promoción de los Derechos Humanos (CIPRODEH -- the Center for the Investigation and Promotion of Human Rights in Honduras), which you can find here: http://quotha.net/node/629 She has also translated a moving statement about the Trochez murder from the influential youth organization Los Necios, which is here: http://quotha.net/node/631
Adrienne e-mailed me that "Walter has been one of the most important figures in the LGBT community in Honduras for years. Unfortunately, most of what's written about him is in Spanish. A volunteer is translating one of his last open letters to the resistance condemning the large number of targeted political assassinations of members of the LGBT community since the coup, which I am pasting below (in case you read Spanish). That letter will be available in English on my website by tomorrow." For more info, contact Adrienne Pine at pine@american.edu
http://www.kaosenla red.net/noticia/110695/honduras-tantas-veces-mataron-tantas-veces-mori- walter-trochez-present and there are several news articles in Spanish available on Google News.
Trochez's November 19 e-mail on LGBT assassinations in Honduras since the coup, in Spanish, is below.
-- Doug Ireland
El 16 de noviembre de 2009 13:44, Walter Trochez escribió:
Incremento de los crímenes de odio y homofobia hacia la Comunidad LGTTB a raíz del golpe de Estado cívico- religioso-militar en Honduras
El golpe de Estado cívico-militar sucedido en Honduras el 28 de junio pasado ha dado un vuelco brutal a la nueva perspectiva que se había abierto en el siglo XXI en América Latina. En efecto, la región estuvo sellada en los últimos diez años por la instauración de gobiernos de diferentes características cuyo denominador común es que significaron un cambio de rumbo respecto de las políticas neoliberales que alcanzaron su apogeo en la región en la última década del siglo XX. En muchos casos la forma parlamentaria asumida por los gobiernos de la región enmascaró hasta cierto punto la continuidad e identidad de las políticas sociales y económicas del neoliberalismo con las instauradas en la época de las dictaduras militares. La situación en Honduras vuelve a hacer manifiesta esa indisociabilidad entre las políticas sociales y económicas neoliberales y los intereses a cuyo servicio se perpetraron los crímenes de lesa humanidad por gobiernos de facto.
También vuelve a hacer manifiesto un dato más o menos disimulado por la retórica del “consenso” y la “tolerancia” a que se pretendió reducir la noción de democracia en el período subsiguiente a las dictaduras militares y guerras civiles que devastaron la región: no sólo la persistencia sino el rearme de los sectores civiles que recurrieron en otra etapa a las fuerzas armadas y de seguridad para imponer sus intereses, y que ahora combinan hábilmente su adaptación a los procedimientos democráticos con la conocida prepotencia e ilegalidad con que se imponen a poblaciones seminermes, semi cómplices. Sin ir más lejos, no es difícil ver en las fuerzas que sacaron ventaja en las elecciones legislativas en Argentina el mismo 28 de junio el apoyo, en algunos casos explícito, al golpe de Estado en Honduras, y una comunidad de intereses con el empresariado, las corporaciones mediáticas y la Iglesia Catolica y Evangélica que lo promovieron. A nuestros efectos es de destacar el explícito apoyo de la cúpula religiosa de Honduras al golpe cívico militar que el 28 de junio de 2009 impidió la realización de un plebiscito organizado por el gobierno legitomo constitucional y colocó en el Poder Ejecutivo a el Dictador Roberto y Micheletti.
Un comunicado de la Conferencia Episcopal de Honduras, firmado por los once obispos de la Iglesia Católica, justifica con supuestos fundamentos constitucionales el secuestro, la transitoria desaparición y expulsión del país del presidente constitucional: “las instituciones del Estado democrático hondureño están en vigencia y sus ejecutorias en materia jurídico-legal han sido apegadas a derecho…”. Además define la situación actual como “nuevo punto de partida para el diálogo, el consenso y la reconciliació n…” Por otra parte, en consonancia con la reacción y declaraciones de los movimientos sociales, especialmente LGTTB, campesinos, indígenas, del país, no se hicieron esperar las reacciones de las distintas organizaciones, Lésbicas, Gay, Bisexuales, Transexuales, Travestis (LGTTB), organizaciones, redes y movimientos juveniles, organizaciones Afrodecendientes, organizaciones de mujeres, activistas y defensores de derechos humanos, organizaciones y redes de derechos humanos condenando el golpe de Estado y llamando a la solidaridad regional e internacional con el Estado de derecho y con las víctimas de la represión del gobierno de facto.
Las organizaciones, redes y movimientos LGTTB en resistencia por ejemplo; condenan “el golpe político militar contra el estado de Honduras con el apoyo financiero de los empresarios de la ultraderecha latinoamericana y norteamericana, la promoción de las corporaciones mediáticas nacionales, la protección del Ombudsman mercantilista Ramón Custodio del Comisionado Nacional de los Derechos Humano de Honduras (CONADEH) y la bendición de las Iglesias católica y evangélica” atraves de sus máximos representantes como es el mismo Cardemal Oscar Andres Rodríguez,monseñ or Darwin Andino, Pasquel Rodríguez, Monseñor Garachana de la diócesis de San Pedro Sula, el pastor Oswaldo Canales actualmente presidente del Consejo Nacional Anticorrupció n CNA, el pastor Evelio Pistero de la Iglesia Vida y pisto Abundante, el Pastor René Peñalba y el pastor Alberto Solórzano y los ancianos cofundadores de la Iglesia Evangélica CCI . Expresan su “apoyo irrestricto al regreso del orden constitucional en Honduras que pasa por la restauración de la democracia”, y exige “el cese de la represión que vivimos las y los activistas y defensores de derechos humanos, las organizaciones que nos manifestamos contra el golpe por parte de los cuerpos militares y policiales retirados responsables de los desaparecidos y desaparecidas de la década del 80 en Honduras comandados por el asesino Billy Joya.
“Por su parte la Asociación LGTTB Arcoiris y el Colectivo TTT de la Ciudad de San Pedro Sula, activistas y defensores de derechos humanos, denuncian que desde el pasado 29 de junio del año en curso horas anteriores que se había generado el Golpe de Estado se incrementaron los crimes de odio y Homofobia promovidos por la Cupula Religiosa Hondureña en complicidad con los Grupos Opresores como son la Fuerzas Armadas, la Secretaria Nacional de Seguridad, la Empresa Privada, los Grupos Próvida, el Opus Dei, Estos delitos ponen una vez más en evidencia los altos niveles de odio, estigma y discriminació n contra personas de la diversidad sexual, lo que llamamos, homofobia, lesbofobia, bifobia, y sobre todo transfobia, de los que somos objetos las personas que tenemos una orientación sexual o identidad de género diferente a la del patrón de la norma heterosexual. En la ocasión de la pérdida de dos amigas más esta última semana, reiteramos que NO es ACEPTABLE que en estos últimos 4 meses, durante un tan corto periodo, hayan muerto de forma violenta cruel e inhumana 9 compañeras trans y compañeros gay, 6 de ellas/os en el sector de San Pedro Sula y 3 en la ciudad de Tegucigalpa”.
Las y los mártires de la Comunidad LGTTB.
1. Viki Hernández 29 de junio, San Pedro Sula 2. Martina Jackson 30 de junio, Choloma 3. Fabio Zamora 05 de julio, Tegucigalpa 4. Héctor Maradiaga 11 de agosto, Tegucigalpa 5. Michelle Torres 30 de agosto, San Pedro Sula 6. Salomé Miranda 20 de septiembre, Choloma 7. Saira Salmerón 20 de septiembre, Choloma 8. Marión Lanza 09 de octubre, Tegucigalpa 9. Montserrat Maradiaga 11 de octubre, San Pedro Sula.
“Sépanlo bien: ni los corrompidos (corruptos) ni los impuros, ni los explotadores y explotadoras, que sirven al dios Dinero, tendrán parte en el reino de Cristo y de Dios”.
“Como revolucionario, estaré hoy, mañana y siempre en las primeras filas de mi pueblo, aún estando consiente que se nos podrá ir la vida”.
Walter Orlando Trochez Activista y Defensor de los Derechos Humanos de Honduras Y Latinoamérica sector (VIH y Sida, LGTTB, Juventud y Adolescencia, Niñez) Móvil: + 504 – 95038128 88542680
Walter, your love has been diffused all over all of the regions of the world, and your blood has invigorated the Tree of Humanity!
Photo: Walter Trochez, leading gay human rights activist
Research is our best hope to find a cure for AIDS. This holiday season, you can give the gift of science and help fund vital HIV/AIDS research by supporting amfAR's dedicated scientists.
Visit Adopt-A-Scientist.com to find out what some of our researchers are working on, what inspires them, and how their work is helping to conquer this deadly disease. Then “adopt” your favorite with a donation of as little as 10 dollars.
Or better still, adopt a scientist as a holiday gift in honor of a friend or family member. Adopting a scientist is the perfect way to put heart, soul--and brainpower!--into the season of giving. You can read updates, track progress, and take pride in knowing that your gift is helping amfAR and its researchers work toward a world without AIDS.
According to a report in tomorrow's issue of the UK's Guardian, Ugandan member of parliament David Behati has presented his "kill gays" bill and vows that it will not be watered down. In addition to the death penalty or a life sentence for some cases, the bill provides for the imprisonment of people who don't turn in someone they know to be gay.
The Ugandan bill extends existing laws to make it illegal to promote homosexuality by talking or writing about it, and forcing people to tell the authorities about anyone they know who is gay. The bill, said Bahati, 35, an MP from the ruling party, aims to "protect the cherished culture of the people of Uganda against the attempts of sexual rights activists seeking to impose their values of sex promiscuity on the people of Uganda". He denied reports that international pressure might result in parts of the bill being toned down. "We are not going to yield to any international pressure – we cannot allow people to play with the future of our children and put aid into the game. We are not in the trade of values. We need mutual respect."
The Guardian goes on to point out that despite Bahati's claim that Uganda is immune to outside pressure, it was in fact outsiders from America's evangelical world that spawned the bill in the first place.
In March, Bahati met several prominent anti-gay US Christian activists who attended a conference in Uganda where they pledged to "wipe out" homosexuality. The conference featured Scott Lively, president of California's anti-gay Abiding Truth Ministries and co-author of The Pink Swastika, a book claiming that leading Nazis were gay. Also there was Don Schmierer, on the board of Exodus International, which promotes the "ex-gay" movement, believing people can change their sexuality and be redeemed. The third extremist evangelical to attend was Caleb Lee Brundidge, who is linked to Richard Cohen who believes that psychotherapy can "cure" homosexuality. Bahati's bill was drawn up within weeks of the conference.
Another American evangelical deeply involved in Uganda is Rick Warren, who yesterday released a videotaped message denouncing the submitted bill, something he only did after weeks of criticism over his silence. Bahati is disappointed with Warren, saying, "It's unfortunate that a man of God who has inspired many people across the world can give in to pressure and disappoint them."
In response to a request from the Advocate, the White House has issued a statement (finally) condemning Uganda's proposed "kill gays" bill. Via Kerry Eleveld:
"The President strongly opposes efforts, such as the draft law pending in Uganda, that would criminalize homosexuality and move against the tide of history," read the statement that came late Friday in response to an inquiry from The Advocate. The bill in question would extend the punishment for engaging in gay sex to life imprisonment and introduce the death penalty for those who do so repeatedly or while HIV-positive — acts termed "aggravated homosexuality” within the bill.
Earlier this week a Uganda MP proposed striking the death penalty and life imprisonment portions from the bill.
Scientists have discovered a genetic "on-off" switch that tells the body what gender it is.
An international team found that the action of a single gene is all that stops females from developing male physical traits, including testes and facial hair. When this gene was artificially “switched off” in adult female mice their ovaries began to turn into testes and they started to produce a level of testosterone found in healthy male mice. The discovery could eventually revolutionise gender reassignment therapy and improve treatments for babies who are born with a mixed gender. The research, published today in the journal Cell, challenges a common perception that gender is determined purely by the X-chromosomes and Y-chromosomes. The gene that was switched off, known as FOXL2, lies on a non-sex chromosome that is shared by males and females.
Researchers had merely expected the female mice to stop producing eggs. Other than the change in gender characteristics, the test animals appeared to experience no other physical changes and lived a normal lifespan.
Mike Elk, Truthout: "I was shocked when I heard that my conservative Grandma had stormed out of church after her pastor denounced 'being gay as the worst sin' ... It was an absolute scandal throughout the small town where she lives. However, what was was even more shocking was that when, at Thanksgiving dinner, I asked my grandmother which book she was reading, she responded 'Glenn Beck's 'Common Sense.'"
Ten young Iranian men, including eight teenagers, are currently awaiting execution for sodomy, and two more are being re-tried on the same capital charge. And, in an exclusive interview with Gay City News, an Iranian student gay rights activist confirmed for the first time the existence of queer organizing on multiple university campuses throughout Iran.
The information about the ten youths currently under sentence of death for sodomy (lavaat in Persian) was released on November 25 in a joint appeal by the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC), the Iranian Queer Organization (IRQO), and COC of the Netherlands, the world’s oldest LGBT rights group, founded in 1946. The three organizations called on Western countries “with significant diplomatic and economic ties to Iran, including Germany, France, Canada, as well as the European Union, to pursue diplomatic efforts to cease these executions.”
"If the FCC is going to investigate anything it should be that Lambert may be compromising the reputation of gay men everywhere. Gay men have proudly worked hard for centuries to cultivate the appearance of having good taste. Tom Ford, fashion designer and the living embodiment of homo-sexy refinement, is even bringing his mission to movie theaters this month with "A Single Man.’’ And then comes Lambert with his Mystic Tan, makeup, and eyeliner to steamroll it all back dozens of years.
"Even more offensive than the bump, grind, and kiss is that Lambert is now taking it upon himself to explain why folks had a difficult time digesting his American Music Awards performance. 'People aren’t used to seeing gay men portrayed that way on TV,' he told Ellen DeGeneres last week. 'The gay male image in the media tends to be very cliché.’ So, let me get this straight. Lambert, who dresses like the immaculately conceived love child of Siegfried and Roy, is not a cliché? Cut to me giving the TV the side eye and scratching my head. He’s a bundle of clichés, and represents a very outdated image of the flamboyant gay performer. Freddie Mercury and his stretch unitards were more groundbreaking, and definitely sexier."- Boston Globe style columnist Christopher Muther.
The Austrian parliament approved a civil unions bill today, bringing the number of EU member nations with such a law to ten.
The bill, slated to become law Jan. 1., will give same-sex couples a series of rights enjoyed by their heterosexual counterparts, including access to a pension if one partner dies and alimony in the event of a split. It bans the adoption of children or artificial insemination. "We are living in the 21st century and I'm very glad this step is being taken today," Justice Minister Claudia Bandion-Ortner said during parliamentary debate leading up to the vote. Christian Hoegl, co-president of the Homosexual Initiative Vienna, Austria's oldest group of gays and lesbians, agreed. "It's a relief, a big success and a reward for two decades of lobbying," Hoegl said. Earlier in the day, Hoegl and co-president Jona Solomon passed out pink rum-filled cupcakes to parliamentarians, along with a letter that urged them to vote yes.
As we saw with Ireland yesterday, some LGBT advocates opposed the bill, arguing that it was too limiting.
SAN FRANCISCO -- Two couples who challenged California's ban on same-sex marriage have told a federal judge in San Francisco that they plan to prove at a January trial that the measure is "irrational, indefensible and unconstitutional." Jump here to read the rest of the article
Via the Economist: In 2008 Maine had the second highest concentration of gay households, with over eight in every 1,000 households said to be headed by partners of the same sex, according to research based on census data by the Williams Institute, a gay rights think-tank at UCLA. Those states where gay marriage is legal or where same-sex partnerships are recognised have a higher proportion of same-sex couples than the national average of 4.7. The District of Columbia is home to most gay households with over 14 for every 1,000
I'm an unmarried heterosexual woman, and since I probably won't be using my right to get married, I would like to give it away. I would like to sell it to the highest bidder and donate the proceeds to an organization that supports LGBT rights since the government designed to protect all of us is picking and choosing based on what they think is icky, weird, or unkown to them.
Bid now, and you can have my super wonderful privilege and legal ability to get married as many times as you want in a classy place like the one pictured. You don't have to know the person, you don't have to like them, you don't have to think through your decision to get married or anything - you can just do it! Because you can! Come on, it's cool to get married, and think of the pictures you'll have to show people of this person that they will definitely think is so wrong for you and probably is! But heavens to BETSY, do NOT marry someone of the same gender because that would be a mockery of the institution of marriage. And if it doesn't work out, just get divorced. Half the cool people who get married do that anyway.
If eBay somehow allows the auction to remain, Jamie is donating the proceeds to the Point Foundation, a scholarship fund for LGBT students. Jamie Frevele, our straight ally hero for the day!
"I have long advocated using the term 'bigot' sparingly when referring to gay-rights opponents. It’s not that I don’t think bigotry is a serious problem. On the contrary, it’s vital to identify bigotry for what it is and to expose its tragic effects. It’s also important to learn the lessons of history, including the ways in which bigotry can hide behind religion, concern for children’s welfare, and other seemingly benign motives.
"But there’s a difference between identifying bigotry, on the one hand, and labeling any and all people who disagree with us as bigots, on the other. Such labeling tends to function as a conversation-stopper, cutting us off from the 'moveable middle' and ultimately harming our progress. It’s also unfair to the many decent people who genuinely strive to understand us even where, for sincere and complex reasons, they cannot accept our position. [snip]
"Many of our opponents are fundamentally decent people. For both principled and pragmatic reasons, we don’t want to saddle them with an identity that suggests their being beyond redemption. In other words, we don’t want to label them 'bigots' prematurely. At the same time, we don’t want to shrink from identifying the evil of anti-gay bigotry, wherever and whenever it occurs. And so, we can distinguish. We can point out the sin of bigotry forcefully while using the epithet of 'bigot' sparingly (though that epithet, too, has its uses). Because, in the end, we do know it when we see it." - John Corvino, writing for Independent Gay Forum.
WASHINGTON, DC – Right on the heels of last week’s vote on gay marriage in the New York State Senate, Maggie Gallagher’s National Organization for Marriage could well be facing its 3rd investigation into its 2 year old operation.
In an IRS letter recently received by Ben Katzenberg on behalf of Californians Against Hate (letter below or CLICK HERE), Sunita Lough, Director, EO Examinations said, “Thank you for the information you submitted regarding the National Organization for Marriage PAC New York. The Internal Revenue Service has an ongoing examination program to ensure that exempt organizations comply with the applicable provisions of the Internal Revenue Code…. Internal Revenue Code section 6103 protects the privacy of tax returns and tax return information of all taxpayers. Therefore, we cannot disclose the status of any investigation.”
NOM is already the subject of investigations in California and Maine. Both complaints were filed by Fred Karger, founder of Californians Against Hate. The California investigation (Case #08/735) is in its 2nd year. That investigation covers the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon Church) and NOM for not reporting in-kind expenditures on behalf of the Yes on Prop 8 campaign.
The Maine investigation began when that state’s Ethics Commission voted on October 1, 2009 to investigate NOM for not filing as a PAC in the recent election there to ban same-sex marriage. NOM should have filed as a PAC when it raised $5,000. It raised well over $1.8 million, and still refused to file as required under Maine elevation law.
“In Maine they refused to release the names of their donors, even after Federal Judge D. Brock Hornby and Maine State Attorney General Janet Mills ordered them to,” said Karger. This type of blatant disregard for the law is inconceivable. NOM is not above the law.”
“Soon Maggie Gallagher and her sidekick, Brian Brown (NOM executive director) are going to get caught.”
“NOM has spent nearly $20 million around the country in the past 2 years in at least 11 states, but apparently does not believe in following either state or federal laws.”
“Additionally, no one has yet to see any federal reporting by NOM of its National Organization for Marriage Educational Fund. This is their 501(c)3 charitable organization. There is no telling how many more millions of dollars they have raised and spent through this entity. It was formed in 2008, and their filings should have been available to the public well before now. We have requested this information from the IRS and have not received it as of today.”
“NOM’s 501(c)4 finally released its required 990 tax filings for 2007 and 2008 over one year late, and only after repeated requests were filed with the IRS by our organization and several other media outlets.”
“The Congress of the Untied States should launch an official investigation of the National Organization for Marriage at once,” concluded Karger.
NOM is believed to be a front group for the Mormon Church. See our web site www.Mormongate.com for details.
"Two adults who are consenting and who are like-minded and within their mental capacities should be allowed to be with each other. I think it's an outrage."
- Anti-marriage equality NY Sen. Hiram Monserrate, clearly oblivious to the meaning of irony, complaining that a court order prevents him from seeing the woman whose face he slashed with a broken glass.
In response to the anti-gay Manhattan Declaration, a document calling for the disobedience of LGBT rights laws and co-signed by hundreds of religious leaders, comes The Affirmation Declaration, which calls for pro-LGBT people of faith to sign on as supporters of civil equality. An excerpt from the just-posted document:
We assert that the pain brought upon our GLBTI brethren in the name of God is not an expression of love. It is not love to bring shame and self-loathing upon people. It is not love to tell parents not to accept their gay children because their affirmation will supposedly make their children not want to change. It certainly is not love to teach the damnable heresy that GLBTI people cannot be saved or go to Heaven until they have been delivered from their natural orientation.
We also call attention to the horrible spiritual effect that antigay theology has had on the secular world. We are deeply troubled by the number of people who have been made to despise Christianity because of the oppressive and tyrannical acts of our Christian brethren. However well intentioned they may believe themselves to be, they continue to short-circuit the gospel of Jesus Christ by imposing their religious beliefs upon the general population. Whether homosexuality is sinful or not, opposing same-sex marriage is not only counterproductive to evangelistic ministry, but it is diametrically opposed to the concept of religious freedom—something that the proponents of the Manhattan Declaration claim to cherish. It appears that what they, instead, champion is their freedom to impose their religious beliefs on others. We reject this hypocritical opposition to same-sex marriage, and stand for true religious liberty in the United States of America and the world.
These ever present sins against the GLBTI community are not faithful expressions of God’s love, as is so often claimed. The attestation to the contrary expressed in the Manhattan Declaration only demonstrates the blind religious fervor that so many of our brethren are lost in. Like the Pharisees of old, they continue to believe that such cruelties actually serve the God who is love. But, this is not the type of love that Scripture defines for us.
Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, my best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low-stress, non-addictive, gender-neutral celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasion and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all. I also wish you a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2010, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make America great. Not to imply that America is necessarily greater than any other country nor the only America in the Western Hemisphere . Also, this wish is made without regard to the race, creed, color, age, physical ability, religious faith or sexual preference of the wish.
To My Republican and Independent Friends: Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year in the year of our Lord Jesus Christ 2010.
“We all know what bigotry is,” a friend said to me recently. But do we?
I mean, most of us have experienced it, and we can point to clear historical examples. But can we define it, articulating what those examples all have in common? Or is it more like Justice Potter Stewart’s grasp of pornography: “I know it when I see it”?
The Black Gay Men's Network today published a full-page ad in the NYC daily newspaper Metro in reaction to attacks on the LGBT community by black clergy and in response to "ex-gay" preacher Donnie McClurkin's recent outrageous and hateful rantings, which were posted to YouTube. It reads in part:
Pastor Donnie McClurkin -We love you brother and in ways the traditional church cannot because we understand your pain. You are not a man who loves men because of being molested as a child. That grave and despicable tragedy broke your spirit and damaged your mind; however it did not have the capacity to change your DNA. There is so much love in our community for you. We want to see you healed and whole. Whenever you are ready, come home and we'll love you until it doesn't hurt anymore. That's how we do!
A silly story in theWall Street Journalannounces that baring one's chest hair with a plunging neckline, a phenomenon mostly associated with the gold-chain laden disco era, is apparently back. The paper calls the fad "heavage." SRSLY.
Vik Mohindra, a 27-year-old graduate student from Toronto, confesses that his guy friends sometimes tease him about his heavage. "I would not recommend it to someone who isn't confident with their body and overall sense of style," says Mr. Mohindra, who says he works out three to four days a week and has a "defined" chest. Male cleavage, particularly on the silver screen, has long played a prominent role in popular culture. Douglas Fairbanks Sr. had his chest on display throughout the 1920s in films like 1924's "The Thief of Bagdad" and "The Iron Mask" in 1929. A dashing Errol Flynn showed man cleavage in the 1930s, most memorably in 1938's "The Adventures of Robin Hood." These actors made skin-flashing practically de rigueur for certain swashbuckling roles. The aesthetic continued well into the 1950s and the 1960s, says menswear historian Robert Bryan, author of the new book "American Fashion Menswear." Among those celebrated for their heavage were Marlon Brando (in the 1951 film version of "A Streetcar Named Desire") and Sean Connery as James Bond in the 1960s. The last time man cleavage was so prevalent in the U.S. was in the 1970s -- "the golden age of male chest hair," says Mr. Bryan. Epitomized by John Travolta in 1977's "Saturday Night Fever," the convention back then was to skip enough shirt buttons to show off a thick forest of hair, perhaps topped with a gold medallion as a sign of virility.
You may recall Ted Cox, the straight, formerly Mormon, reporter who went undercover at an "ex-gay" conversion therapy retreats in two states. Cox was unable to tell his story because his publisher feared legal reprisals if Cox were to break the confidentiality agreement the "ex-gays" made him sign. This week Cox has broken the agreement in an interview with Alternet.
