Monday, December 17, 2012

Via Buddhism on Beliefnet:


Daily Buddhist Wisdom






Hostilities aren't stilled through hostility, regardless. Hostilities are stilled through non-hostility: this, an unending truth.
- Dhammapada, 1, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.

Via Being Liberal / FB:


Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma December 17, 2012

Pure Freedom

The practice of generosity is the practice of freedom, and it carries with it all the joy and pleasure that are associated with liberation. Indeed, there may be no greater sense of fulfillment in life than the simultaneous feelings of human interconnection and pure freedom that arise from an authentic act of selfless generosity.
- Dale S. Wright, “The Bodhisattva’s Gift”
Read the entire article in the Wisdom Collection through December 19th, 2012
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Sunday, December 16, 2012

Via Real Truth Now / FB:


Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma December 16, 2012

Surviving Destruction

The source of forgiveness lies in the realization that we are not solely products of what was done to us, the realization that there is something essential within us that is not necessarily tarnished by calamitous experience.
- Mark Epstein, “Beyond Blame”
Read the entire article in the Wisdom Collection through December 18th, 2012
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Saturday, December 15, 2012

Via Path To Peace & Happiness / FB:

“May the blind see the forms, May the deaf hear sounds. May the naked find clothing, The hungry find food; May the thirsty find water And delicious drinks. May the poor find wealth, Those weak with sorrow find joy; May the forlorn find new hope, Constant happiness and prosperity. May the frightened cease to be afraid And those bound be freed; May the powerless find power, And may the people think of benefiting one another”

― Śāntideva
“May the blind see the forms, May the deaf hear sounds. May the naked find clothing, The hungry find food; May the thirsty find water And delicious drinks. May the poor find wealth, Those weak with sorrow find joy; May the forlorn find new hope, Constant happiness and prosperity. May the frightened cease to be afraid And those bound be freed; May the powerless find power, And may the people think of benefiting one another”

 ― Śāntideva

Via JMG: Gay Marriage Comes To The Caribbean


The tiny Caribbean island of Saba has legalized same-sex marriage.
Two men were recently married in Saba, marking the first ceremony of its kind in the region and setting off a frenzy of calls from gay couples in other Dutch Caribbean islands seeking to marry, said Julietta Woods with Saba’s Civil Registry office.”People keep calling me every second,” she said by telephone this week. As part of the Netherlands Kingdom, the islands of Saba, Bonaire and St. Eustatius have to recognize same-sex marriages. While Bonaire and St. Eustatius have balked at the idea of legalizing such unions, the idea has been embraced in Saba, long considered a gay-friendly destination. “We’ve seen it as a human rights issue,” said Saba council member Carl Buncamper, who is openly gay. “It is important to give the partners equal rights when it comes to inheritance and other benefits.”
The Netherlands became the first nation in the world to legalize same-sex marriage in 2001.


Reposted from Joe

Via JMG: Petition Of The Day


The text reads:
The goal of this petition is to force the Obama Administration to produce legislation that limits access to guns. While a national dialogue is critical, laws are the only means in which we can reduce the number of people murdered in gun related deaths. Powerful lobbying groups allow the ownership of guns to reach beyond the Constitution's intended purpose of the right to bear arms. Therefore, Congress must act on what is stated law, and face the reality that access to firearms reaches beyond what the Second Amendment intends to achieve. The signatures on this petition represent a collective demand for a bipartisan discussion resulting in a set of laws that regulates how a citizen obtains a gun.
Sign the petition.


Reposted from Joe

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma December 15, 2012

Removing Hindrances

With proper motivation, prayer becomes an important component of our practice because it helps to remove obstacles—counterproductive circumstances, imbalances of the subtle energies in the body, confusion and ignorance in the mind. Even in listening to the teachings, we may mentally edit what we hear, adding more to them than is being said or ignoring certain aspects. Prayer offsets these hindrances.
- Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche, “Prayer”
Read the entire article in the Wisdom Collection through December 17th, 2012
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JMG Quote Of The Day - Ezra Klein

"If roads were collapsing all across the United States, killing dozens of drivers, we would surely see that as a moment to talk about what we could do to keep roads from collapsing. If terrorists were detonating bombs in port after port, you can be sure Congress would be working to upgrade the nation’s security measures. If a plague was ripping through communities, public-health officials would be working feverishly to contain it.

"Only with gun violence do we respond to repeated tragedies by saying that mourning is acceptable but discussing how to prevent more tragedies is not. But that’s unacceptable. As others have observed, talking about how to stop mass shootings in the aftermath of a string of mass shootings isn’t 'too soon.' It’s much too late." - Ezra Klein, writing for the Washington Post.

Reposted from Joe

Friday, December 14, 2012

Via Karmic Blessings / FB:

 Being happy is a mindset. It's a choice that we have. Every obstacle is opportunity in disguise. It stops being an obstacle when you stop seeing it as a problem and see the opportunity.


Via Buddhism on Beliefnet:

Daily Buddhist Wisdom






Subhuti asked: "Is perfect wisdom beyond thinking? Is it unimaginable and totally unique but nevertheless reaching the unreachable and attaining the unattainable?" The Buddha replied: "Yes, Subhuti, it is exactly so. And why is perfect wisdom beyond thinking? It is because all its points of reference cannot be thought about but can be apprehended. One is the disappearance of the self-conscious person into pure presence. Another is the knowing of the essenceless essence of all things in the world. And another is luminous knowledge that knows without a knower. None of these points can sustain ordinary thought because they are not objects or subjects. They can't be imagined or touched or approached in any way by any ordinary mode of consciousness, therefore they are beyond thinking."
- Prajnaparamita

JMG Tweet Of The Day - Nancy Pelosi


 
Here link goes here. Stand by for trolls. #TotallyBraggable

Labels: , ,

Reposted from Joe

JMG Headline Of The Day:


 
No sex until marriage! One man, one woman, FOR LIFE! Details. (Tipped by JMG reader David)


Reposted from Joe

Via JMG: "Give Me" Vs "Let Me"


"Among voters who saw the desire by gays and lesbians to be legally wedded as a bid primarily for the rights and protections that heterosexual couples have, same-sex marriage was a loser. Only 26 percent of them voted for its legalization, while 74 percent voted against. But among voters who believed that gays and lesbians were chiefly interested in being able to pledge the fullest and most public commitment possible to their partners, same-sex marriage was a huge, huge winner. Eighty-five percent of those voters supported it, while only 15 percent opposed it.

"That’s a fascinating microcosm of, and window into, broader political dynamics. When an initiative in this country is framed or understood largely as an attempt by a given constituency to get more, the opposition to it is frequently bolstered, the resistance strengthened. Even if the constituency is trying to right a wrong or rectify a disadvantage, 'Give me' can be a risky approach. 'Let me' is often a better one, and when voters hear gays and lesbians asking to participate in a hallowed institution for the most personal and heartfelt of reasons, voters may have a more positive reaction." - Frank Bruni, writing about an analysis of Washington state's voters.


Reposted from Joe

JMG Editorial Of The Day:


From the Washington Post:
In striking down both laws, the Supreme Court could adopt the logic of the various appeals courts, or it could find other legally acceptable ways to avoid a sweeping ruling just yet. Same-sex couples could then marry in California, and married same-sex couples across the country could obtain federal benefits — but other states would have more time to consider their own policies on the issue. Such an outcome might disappoint those who see no justification for continued discrimination. But it would nevertheless be an important step in the right direction.
Of course, the justices have a third option: upholding DOMA, Proposition 8 or both. Choosing that way would be a historic mistake. The court’s job is to determine judges’ proper role in moving the country away from discrimination, not to enshrine that discrimination in constitutional doctrine. However the court rules, its decision will be a guidepost on a road that eventually ends in legal and social acceptance of equal rights. It should not point backward.
Has your own paper opined on this topic?


Reposted from Joe

Via JMG: World Net Daily Endorses Uganda's Plan To Imprison Homosexuals For Life


World Net Daily has republished Scott Lively's endorsement of Uganda's allegedly revised Anti-Homosexuality Act, which he claims now only plans to imprison LGBT people and their allies for the rest of their lives.  Christian Love™ in action.


Reposted from Joe

Via JMG: VATICAN CITY: Pope Blesses Uganda's Rebecca "Kill The Gays" Kadaga



Ugandan Parliament Speaker Rebecca Kadaga, who last month promised the passage of the Anti-Homosexuality Act as a "Christmas gift to Christians," yesterday appeared in Vatican City to receive a blessing from the Pope. From the website of the Uganda Parliament:
Kadaga who led a delegation of Ugandan legislators to the Vatican expressed delight at meeting the Pope and visiting St Peter’s Basilica. “I think this is a moment that cannot be repeated. We have been reading about him, hearing stories about St.Peter’s Basilica but now we are here physically. I think it is something that I will remember all my life. Its a very great moment and I thank God for this opportunity,” she said minutes after meeting the Pope. The Speaker dedicated to all Ugandans readings from the book of St. Mark which the Pope quoted in several languages during the Vatican mass.
And there you have it. A blessing from the Pope upon the woman who wants you executed. It can't get any plainer than that, can it?


Reposted from Joe

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma December 14, 2012

Giving Without Regret

Buddhism praises the value of generosity but warns that you shouldn’t give something away if you’re likely to be upset later and regret giving it away. Similarly, although it’s good to help others, we shouldn’t agree to do something for another person if it will likely lead us to feel exhausted, resentful, and angry at the other person. Each of us has to judge our own capacities and set our boundaries accordingly.
- Lorne Ladner, "Taking a Stand"
Read the entire article in the Wisdom Collection through December 16th, 2012
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Via JMG: House GOP Raises DOMA Defense Budget


The Republican House secretly raised their budget to defend DOMA by $500,000 according to September documents just revealed.
House Administration Chairman Dan Lungren, R-Calif., signed off in September on a $500,000 increase in the maximum value of the contract with the firm, Washington-based Bancroft. Republicans have raised the cap of the contract twice: first on Sept. 29, 2011, from its original maximum of $500,000 to $1.5 million, and again on Sept. 28 to its new maximum of $2 million. Although the latest lifting of the contract cap occurred almost three months ago, House Democrats — and the public — were in the dark about the move until this week.
Rep. Nancy Pelosi reacts on her official website:
Here they go again. It’s bad enough that Speaker Boehner and House Republicans are wasting taxpayer dollars to defend the indefensible Defense of Marriage Act – and losing in every case. Now, they have reached a new low – signing a secret contract to spend more public money on their legal boondoggle without informing Democrats. Their actions are simply unconscionable; their decisions are utterly irresponsible. “Hiding this contract from voters in the midst of an election season was a cynical move at best, and a betrayal of the public trust at worst. With Americans focused on the creation of jobs and the growth of our economy, Republicans should not be spending $2 million to defend discrimination in our country.

Reposted from Joe

Thursday, December 13, 2012

Via Buddhism on Beliefnet:

Daily Buddhist Wisdom






Hostilities aren't stilled through hostility, regardless. Hostilities are stilled through non-hostility: this, an unending truth.
- Dhammapada, 1, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma December 13, 2012

Necessary Closeness

It is not sufficient merely to see that sentient beings are suffering. You must also develop a sense of closeness with them, a sense that they are dear. With that combination—seeing that people suffer and thinking of them as dear—you can develop compassion.
- Jeffrey Hopkins, "Everyone as a Friend"
Read the entire article in the Wisdom Collection through December 15th, 2012
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Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Via United Nations For a Free Tibet (India)'s FB:


Via Buddhism on Beliefnet:


Daily Buddhist Wisdom






There are, bhikkhus, two successive Dhamma-teachings of the Tathagata, the Arahant, the Fully Enlightened One. What are the two? 'See evil as evil'--this is the first Dhamma-teaching. 'Having seen evil as evil, be rid of it, be detached from it, be freed from it'--this is the second Dhamma-teaching.
- Itivuttaka

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma December 12, 2012

Accepting the Pain of Relationships

Mindfulness can transform all our personal relationships—but only if we are willing to feel the inevitable pain that relationships entail. When we turn away from our distress, we inevitably abandon our loved ones as well as ourselves. But when we mindfully and compassionately incline toward whatever is arising within us, we can be truly present and alive for ourselves and others.
- Christopher K. Germer, "Getting Along"
Read the entire article in the Wisdom Collection through December 14th, 2012
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Via JMG: Your Mother Made You Gay


Researchers at the University of California believe they've found another clue to the origins of homosexuality.
A group of scientists suggested Tuesday that homosexuals get that trait from their opposite-sex parents: A lesbian will almost always get the trait from her father, while a gay man will get the trait from his mother. The hereditary link of homosexuality has long been established, but scientists knew it was not a strictly genetic link, because there are many pairs of identical twins who have differing sexualities. Scientists from the National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis say homosexuality seems to have an epigenetic, not a genetic link.
Long thought to have some sort of hereditary link, a group of scientists suggested Tuesday that homosexuality is linked to epi-marks — extra layers of information that control how certain genes are expressed. These epi-marks are usually, but not always, "erased" between generations. In homosexuals, these epi-marks aren't erased — they're passed from father-to-daughter or mother-to-son, explains William Rice, an evolutionary biologist at the University of California Santa Barbara and lead author of the study.
Hit the link for much more and enjoy the uproar from God's Gentle People who are pouring into the comments.
UPDATE: Wasn't Fischer just saying it's a choice? 


Reposted from Joe

Via JMG: Scott Lively Endorses Uganda's "Revised" Plan To Imprison Homosexuals For Life


Hate group leader Scott Lively, whom many believe to be the person most responsible for Uganda's "Kill The Gays" bill, announced today that he is endorsing the allegedly revised version of the bill which only calls for gay people and their allies to be imprisoned for life.
Lively writes on his blog:
Just because Secular Humanist America began to decriminalize sexual sins in civilian law starting in the early 1960s doesn’t mean criminal sanctions against homosexuality are “un-Christian.” Indeed, given the enormous damage to our culture from the so-called sexual revolution, it was obviously a big mistake for us to have done this. Knowing what we know now it is arguably more “un-Christian” to support the status quo than to support a return to the legal framework of the 1940s and 50s regarding sexual misbehavior.[snip]  There is one easy, guaranteed method of protecting oneself from ever being subject to the Anti-Homosexuality law in Uganda: Don’t Commit Sodomy! We all seem to forget, in the dense propaganda haze of American popular opinion, that homosexuality is defined by voluntary sexual acts. Homosexuals are no more compelled to commit sodomy with each other than a married man is compelled to cheat on his wife.
He concludes: "Since the alternative to passing this bill is to allow the continuing, rapid, foreigner-driven homosexualization of Ugandan culture, I am giving the revised Anti Homosexuality Bill my support."
It's important to note that Scott Lively enjoys the full-throated endorsement of other anti-gay hate groups, including the Family Research Council, Mission America, and Americans For Truth About Homosexuality.  Will any of these groups object to Lively's support for life imprisonment for LGBT people? Don't hold your fucking breath.


Reposted from Joe

Via JMG: Uruguay House Overwhelmingly Approves Same-Sex Marriage By 81-6 Vote


Rex Wockner and Andres Duque have the good news:
Eighty-one of the 99 members of Uruguay's House of Representatives voted to legalize same-sex marriage this evening. Twelve members of the chamber were not present for the vote. The bill now advances to the Senate, where support is equally strong, according to LGBT activists. President José Mujica plans to sign the measure into law in early 2013. "Very happy here!" said Álvaro Queiruga of the LGBT lobby group Colectivo Ovejas Negras (Black Sheep Collective). Uruguay will be the 12th nation to offer same-sex marriage nationwide. Same-sex marriage is legal in Argentina, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Iceland, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Sweden and Mexico (where same-sex marriage is legal in the Federal District, i.e. Mexico City, and in the state of Oaxaca, and those marriages are recognized nationwide).
Yet another victory in our best year ever. So far!


Reposted from Joe

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Via Buddhism on Beliefnet:




Daily Buddhist Wisdom






The king said: 'Venerable Nagasena, where does wisdom dwell?' 'Nowhere, O king.' 'Then, Sir, there is no such thing as wisdom.' 'Where does the wind dwell, O king?' 'Not anywhere, Sir.' 'So there is no such thing as wind.' 'Well answered, Nagasena!'
- Milindapanha 77

Seattle Men's Chorus & Seattle Women's Chorus Celebrate Marriage Equality


Impeach Supreme Court Justic!e Antonin Scalia!

Justice Antonin Scalia Compares Gay Sex To Bestiality And Murder (AGAIN)



Yesterday Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia repeated one of his most famously foul comparisons.
Speaking at Princeton University, Scalia was asked by a gay student why he equates laws banning sodomy with those barring bestiality and murder. "I don't think it's necessary, but I think it's effective," Scalia said, adding that legislative bodies can ban what they believe to be immoral. Scalia has been giving speeches around the country to promote his new book, "Reading Law," and his lecture at Princeton comes just days after the court agreed to take on two cases that challenge the federal Defense of Marriage Act, which defines marriage as between a man and a woman.
Some in the audience who had come to hear Scalia speak about his book applauded but more of those who attended the lecture clapped at freshman Duncan Hosie's question. "It's a form of argument that I thought you would have known, which is called the 'reduction to the absurd,'" Scalia told Hosie of San Francisco during the question-and-answer period. "If we cannot have moral feelings against homosexuality, can we have it against murder? Can we have it against other things?"
Scalia also again rejected arguments that the U.S. Constitution should be considered a "living document" that can be updated to reflect the times. He said, "It's dead, dead, dead, dead,"


Reposted from Joe

Via O Bosque de Berkana / FB:


Não tente adivinhar o que as pessoas pensam a seu respeito.
''Faça a sua parte, se doe sem medo.
O que importa mesmo é o que você é.
Mesmo que outras pessoas não se importem.
Atitudes simples podem melhorar sua vida.
Não julgue para não ser julgado...
Um covarde é incapaz de demonstrar amor
- isso é privilégio dos corajosos.''

Mahatma Gandhi
Não tente adivinhar o que as pessoas pensam a seu respeito.
''Faça a sua parte, se doe sem medo.
O que importa mesmo é o que você é.
Mesmo que outras pessoas não se importem.
Atitudes simples podem melhorar sua vida.
Não julgue para não ser julgado...
Um covarde é incapaz de demonstrar amor
- isso é privilégio dos corajosos.''

@[166071803419940:128:Mahatma Gandhi]

Follower of the Buddha / FB: Dilgo Khyentse Fellowship - Shechen's photo.


‎"You, the practitioner, should first of all be like a bee going from flower to flower collecting nectar. At the stage when you are listening to and studying the teachings, learn all of them carefully, in both words and meaning. Then, you should be like a wild animal. Not satisfied with a mere theoretical understanding, go to live in mountain solitudes where you can be free from all the busy involvement of ordinary life. Be self-sufficient and firm in one-pointed practice, as you discover directly for yourself the profound meaning of the teachings. Finally, as you put the teachings into practice and integrate them with your being, you should be like a peg driven into hard ground. Unshaken by thoughts during meditation, remain unwavering. Cut away all limiting concepts of existence and non-existence from within, and directly encounter the face of the ultimate nature of everything. " 
Kyabje Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche
"You, the practitioner, should first of all be like a bee going from flower to flower collecting nectar. At the stage when you are listening to and studying the teachings, learn all of them carefully, in both words and meaning. Then, you should be like a wild animal. Not satisfied with a mere theoretical understanding, go to live in mountain solitudes where you can be free from all the busy involvement of ordinary life. Be self-sufficient and firm in one-pointed practice, as you discover directly for yourself the profound meaning of the teachings. Finally, as you put the teachings into practice and integrate them with your being, you should be like a peg driven into hard ground. Unshaken by thoughts during meditation, remain unwavering. Cut away all limiting concepts of existence and non-existence from within, and directly encounter the face of the ultimate nature of everything. "  Kyabje Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche

Photo: Matthieu Ricard

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:


Tricycle Daily Dharma December 11, 2012

Freed from Fixations

Our lack of self frees us from the compulsion to secure ourselves within the world. We do not need to become more real by becoming wealthy, or famous, or powerful, or beautiful. We are able to realize our nonduality with the world because we are freed from such fixations.
- David Loy, "Healing Ecology"
Read the entire article in the Wisdom Collection through December 13th, 2012
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Monday, December 10, 2012

The Supreme Fabulettes - You Ruined My Xmas


JMG Quote Of The Day - Maureen Dowd


"The Mayans were right, as it turns out, when they predicted the world would end in 2012. It was just a select world: the G.O.P. universe of arrogant, uptight, entitled, bossy, retrogressive white guys. Just another vanishing tribe that fought the cultural and demographic tides of history. Someday, it will be the subject of a National Geographic special, or a Mel Gibson movie, where archaeologists piece together who the lost tribe was, where it came from, and what happened to it.

The experts will sift through the ruins of the Reagan Presidential Library, Dick Cheney’s shotgun casings, Orca poll monitoring hieroglyphics, remnants of triumphal rants by Dick Morris on Fox News, faded photos of Clint Eastwood and an empty chair, and scraps of ancient tape in which a tall, stiff man, his name long forgotten, gnashes his teeth about the 47 percent of moochers and the 'gifts' they got. Instead of smallpox, plagues, drought and Conquistadors, the Republican decline will be traced to a stubborn refusal to adapt to a world where poor people and sick people and black people and brown people and female people and gay people count." - Maureen Dowd, writing for the New York Times.


Reposted from Joe

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma December 10, 2012

The Gift of Compassion

True dana is about giving with no expectation of return. One who receives a gift of compassion is promised nothing more than the emotional boost of knowing good has been done. But as we groan under the weight of our possessions, that in itself can be a priceless gift. Altruism is a proven tonic.
- Joan Duncan Oliver, "Gifts that Keep Giving"
Read the entire article in the Wisdom Collection through December 12th, 2012
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Sunday, December 9, 2012

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar - Uma voz pela Paz e Valores Humanos


Via JMG: Pet Shop Boys - He Dreamed Of Machines


Pet Shop Boys have created a tribute piece to gay British computer genius Alan Turing. Yesterday they wrote on their blog:

Last night's concert with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra was a wonderful experience for us. The orchestra played with such luxurious power and conviction, conducted by Dominic Wheeler, and the Manchester Chamber Choir brought ethereal beauty to, for instance, "Miracles" and "He dreamed of machines" (from our new piece about Alan Turing). To hear Johnny Marr playing the guitar riff from "This must be the place I waited years to leave" was a real thrill so many years after he played on the original record; his acoustic guitar playing on "Breathing space" was gorgeous. Other highlights for me were performing live for the first time "It couldn't happen here", "The survivors" and "For all of us". Sven Helbig's orchestral arrangements were both magnificent and subtle: "New York City boy" was returned to Broadway; "He dreamed of machines" had a pale beauty.
The first clip below is a fan-created video for He Dreamed Of Machines.  Below that is the full audio of Wednesday's collaboration with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, which has been reviewed here.








(Tipped by JMG reader Paul)


Reposted from Joe

JMG Quote Of The Day - Edith Windsor


"When Thea and I met nearly 50 years ago, we never could have dreamed that the story of our life together would be before the Supreme Court as an example of why gay married couples should be treated equally, and not like second-class citizens. While Thea is no longer alive, I know how proud she would have been to see this day. The truth is, I never expected any less from my country." - DOMA litigant Edith Windsor, 83, responding to yesterday's decision by the Supreme Court.


Reposted from Joe

Via JMG: NEW POLLS: Majorities Support Marriage In Oregon, Illinois, New Jersey


Public Policy Polling reports that majorities in Oregon, New Jersey, and Illinois support the passage of same-sex marriage.
Oregon voters are ready to legalize same sex marriage. 77% think they should be able to have a say on the issue, and 54% say they would vote to legalize it with 40% opposed. Independents support it by a 64/33 margin and there are more Republicans (17%) ready to make it legal than there are Democrats (15%) who aren't. Voters under 45 support it by a 68/30 spread.
New Jersey voters think same sex marriage should be allowed in their state by a 53/36 margin, and Illinois voters believe it should be permitted by a 47/42 spread. A few things stand out on the New Jersey numbers. There are more Republicans (21%) who support same sex marriage than Democrats (19%) who oppose it. There's also 54/36 favor for it among independents. 72% of voters in the state think they should be allowed to vote on the issue.
In Illinois even though there's only narrow overall support for same sex marriage the numbers are 58% for and 37% against among voters under 45, another sign that it's just a matter of time given the big generational divide on the issue. Black voters, perhaps following the lead of President Obama, think it should be legal by a 60/16 spread. That's a much wider margin than we see with them nationally.
(Tipped by JMG reader Matthew)


Reposted from Joe

Via United Nations For a Free Tibet (India) / FB:

It is better to travel well than to arrive - Buddha
It is better to travel well than to arrive

 - Buddha

Via Go Left / FB:

Chips Tips...

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma

Tricycle Daily Dharma December 9, 2012

To Recognize Emptiness

Every moment of experience is contingent on a vast complex of myriad conditions. Nothing exists in and of itself as 'this' or 'that,' 'self' or 'other.' Everything is what it is only in relation to what it is not. To recognize this emptiness is not to negate things but to glimpse what enables anything to happen at all.
- Stephen Batchelor, "Nagarjuna’s Verses from the Center"
Read the entire article in the Wisdom Collection through December 11th, 2012
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Saturday, December 8, 2012

Via FB:


Via Path To Peace & Happiness / FB:

“If you can cultivate the right attitude, your enemies are your best spiritual teachers because their presence provides you with the opportunity to enhance and develop tolerance, patience and understanding.” ― Dalai Lama
“If you can cultivate the right attitude, your enemies are your best spiritual teachers because their presence provides you with the opportunity to  enhance and develop tolerance, patience and understanding.”

― Dalai Lama

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma December 8, 2012

Participating in Divinity

When we make the effort to understand what may seem strange in the religious practices of others, we may find that it opens the door to something beyond the particular case, something quite general: the capacity of humans to participate in divinity.
- Robert Bellah, "The R Word"
Read the entire article in the Wisdom Collection through December 10th, 2012
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