The Church, Hate, and Tax Exemtion

I woke up this morning to more lies and made up crap from the Liberty Counsel who receives tax exempt status.  There is an article about the HATE group, National Org. for Marriage (NOM), who not only is tax exempt but VERY late filing their taxes year after year.

To top it off the Pope in  The Belfast Telegraph  stated that “In the 1970s, pedophilia was theorized as something fully in conformity with man and even with children," the Pope said.”

Well the Pope just gave an out for all the priests who have been abusing kids.  It explains why they hide and move those who are being accused.  Every day there are more accusations against the church including the current Pope himself.  Are these GOOD CATHOLIC VALUES?!  ( Good Catholic values are a whole other rant)

I am going to be sick……..

Do we allow the KKK and Nazi groups tax exempt status?! Do we let them spread lies and hate openly on TV or their own TV shows or networks?!  NO WE DO NOT. Americans would not stand for it.  Why is it OK for anti-gay groups to spread their filth and lies on TV, billboards, and news?

It is OK because the whole thing is wrapped up in a blanket of GOOD CHRISTIAN VALUES? It is bad enough that they pick and choose what they want from the bible but they are ignoring some of the top 10 including bearing false witness.

Wait….I need to be sick again……..

Some say this country was founded on religious freedom and in some part it was. Most of our founding fathers were not Christians but did believe everyone had the right to worship as they pleased and I believe that as well. What I don’t believe is that any religious organization has the right to impose their beliefs on anyone else nor should they try to force the government to govern a hugely diverse population based on any one religion. Furthermore, when any religious group tries to shape the law, get caught spreading falsehoods,  do anything that is proven to damage any group, or knowingly and deliberately twist or ignore their own doctrines to create an atmosphere of hate SHOULD NOT BE given tax exemptions.

I am angry at our government for supporting this behavior.  It is giving them more money to spread the hate and discrimination we are trying to pass laws to prevent.

I am angry at the poor sheep who refuse to think for themselves and follow the teachings of hate and discrimination.

I am VERY angry at those who stay with a group even when they do not believe the hate but continue to give their money anyway.

I am tired of being mocked for wanting the world to be a kinder place for all.  Greed and hate have no place in my world. It has abused, neglected, starved, and killed too many innocent people.

When I say I want equality and justice for all, there are no exceptions. When they say it, including our government, there is the sanctioned exception of being queer.

What Would Jesus Do?     He would be pissed!

Kennedy Center Awards

The 33rd annual Kennedy Center Awards were aired Tuesday night with awards going to Merle Haggard, Paul McCartney, Oprah Winfrey, Bill T. Jones, and Jerry Herman. All are talented performers and have given the world so much.
During the tribute to Jerry Herman, who gave us Mame, Hello Dolly, and La Cage Aux Folles, was a grand finale which included the DC Gay Mens Choir.
Only 100 of the 250 plus fabulous men in this group were chosen to perform and they included our friend Morgan Slusher. Dr. Slusher is a professor at the Community College of Baltimore County where my wife, Tami, attends and is the faculty advisor for the Rainbow Club which Tami is the president.
(Morgan is the handsome guy on the far left)

Body Painting

This is very cool.

UPDATE: Galleries Across Country Show Video Removed from Smithsonian

After the Smithsonian backed down and removed the late artist David Wojnarowicz’s four-minute video "Fire in the Belly" from the National Portrait Gallery’s "Hide/Seek: Difference and Desire in American Portraiture," the work is finding its way into other art institutions throughout the country, including Boston’s Institute of Contemporary Art where the video is presently being shown.

The ICA is joining dozens of art institutions throughout the country in displaying the controversial work.

"We chose to show it as a way of not letting it become just a news story, a scandal,’’ said ICA chief curator Helen Molesworth told the Boston Globe yesterday. "We want to reclaim it as art, and to allow for the possibility of having an experience with it in a public museum.’’

Censorship of Art Again

Crosspost from Edge On The Net

Gay Artist = Gay Art?Another flap over free speech erupted from the opposite end of the political spectrum, when the public library in Tillsonburg, Ontario installed four works by a gay sculptor, only for the exhibition case to then be draped with a cloth following charges from a local resident that at least one of the pieces represented homosexual eroticism.

The sculptor, R. Bruce Flowers, said that there is "nothing offensive or pornographic about" his work, and argued that his sculptures were being "eroticized" and censored simply because they are the work of "a gay man who sculpts positive images of his community," a Dec. 15 article at local newspaper the Tillsonburg News reported.

"What’s going in Tillsonburg is kind of upsetting," Flowers told the newspaper, adding, "This censorship is deeply distressing because of the negative message it sends out to the homosexual community. With this kind of hostility in their own community, what chance do young people have of making their transition into a homosexual lifestyle valid?"


The most controversial of the Flowers pieces, titled "Joy," depicts one man throwing his arms around another as both smile broadly. The playful piece was unfairly "eroticized," according to Flowers. But the artist added that the fact that the piece has been censored feds into the conversation that art enables in the culture at large. "We’re not moving this exhibit," the artist told the media. "I think it would be a far more powerful statement to leave the cloth there if that’s what they think."

Perhaps to that end, a sign attached to the cloth invited library patrons to "Feel free to view the display of sculpture (by artist R. Bruce Flowers) behind the curtain."

The article speculated that public opposition was largely based on--if not confined to--a Dec. 9 letter to the editor that the Tillsonburg News had previously published, in which a man named Greg Friesen complained about the library showcasing depictions of "homosexual intimacy."

The letter drew responses in the editorial pages such as that from Fr. Matthew George of St. Mary’s Parish, who rebutted Friesen’s claims by writing, "I’m guessing that the piece that elicits this strange response is the one called Joy. How doubly sad that something which to me seems to capture a moment of simple joy and shared humanity has been condemned as somehow advancing the homosexual agenda and not worthy of display in our library."

The library’s board convened a meeting on the controversy, at which gay resident Dennis Cutts spoke out against the sculpture’s veiling. "Personally I feel this decision by the library tells me I shouldn’t feel as though I’m part of this community as a gay person," Cutts told the board. "I feel this is bullying. It makes me feel afraid and uncomfortable."

Flowers attributed opposition to his sculptures, which he deemed "extremely family-friendly," to a local newspaper article that mentioned his sexuality, a Dec. 22 Xtra! article said. "The local Baptist church took great offense to the work as soon as they found out I was a gay sculptor," Flowers told the media. "It seemed to have contaminated the work. Suddenly it was all negatively eroticized."

Added Flowers, "What was really frightening about this whole thing is, it’s not like they came and studied the work, analyzed it, and then were offended by it.... It’s just because I’m a gay sculptor."

At that point, the local GLBT community rallied to Flowers’ defense. "But so many in the queer community in this area couldn’t speak up because they’re closeted," Flowers noted. "It’s created this enormous dialogue in the community. It’s really all just homophobic censorship coming out of this New Hope Baptist Church."

The church’s pastor, John Friesen-father of Greg-told Xtra!, "People in the community I talk to, they are not pleased either." Added the pastor, "It’s not portraying family values. Do you see a man and a woman and children?"

Xtra! reported that at a Dec. 14 meeting attended by the mayor, the library board voted unanimously to keep the four Flowers pieces on display until the end of February, 2011--sans veil

Equality Maryland Happy New Years

The new year is coming and there are lists of accomplishments covering many topics. I will be posting the ones I find interesting, funny, or directly effect my community.
I want to thank Equality Maryland and Morgan for all the hard work they have done. Many of our friends work with and for Equality Maryland and I want to thank them for putting out so much to help the cause.
At the top of this list should be that Mrs. and Mrs. Meneses-Sheets became new Moms.
Congratulations!

Morgan Meneses-Sheets
Executive Director
Equality Maryland

Dear Friend,
I wanted to wish you a happy New Year!
The past 12 months have given us a lot to celebrate in Maryland. We’ve stood strong through tough electoral battles, grown our statewide movement, and had heartfelt conversations with our family, friends, and neighbors about why equality matters to us. Together, we’ve taken enormous steps towards ending discrimination against LGBT Marylanders. Here are some major accomplishments we can all celebrate from 2010:

• Our field team and volunteers identified over 10,000 new supporters of gender identity anti-discrimination protections and marriage for same-sex couples in all regions of the state.
• We increased LGBT representation in our state legislature by electing seven openly LGBT Delegates and Senators
• We bolstered our grassroots power by launching action teams in six counties. Our teams hold actions weekly and were crucial in securing key electoral victories.
• We elected 73 of our 81 endorsed candidates, paving the way for a fair-minded majority in Annapolis in 2011.

Not This Year's Nobel Peace Prize Winner

Crosspost from joemygod.com

In the midst of a campaign to see him nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize, Belgium's revered Father Francois Houtart has confessed to child molestation.

The confession was published in a Belgian newspaper Wednesday and confirmed by the organization the priest founded, deepening a sex-abuse scandal that has rocked the Catholic Church in the country. After a spate of accusations this year, the church in September published the harrowing accounts of more than 100 victims of clerical sex abuse, some as young as 2 when they were assaulted. In October, after supporters of 85-year-old Francois Houtart began working to nominate him for the Nobel, a woman contacted the nonprofit organization he founded and said the priest had abused her brother 40 years ago, according to its director, Bernard Duterme.

The committee to nominate Houtart for his anti-globalization work has disbanded.

DADT Signing. Thank You Mr. President

Follow Up to This Week in Holy Crimes

Check out what the Dallas pastor says after getting caught stealing furs.

What Does Your State Do Best

BY FC Expert Blogger JD RuckerTue Dec 28, 2010

Remembering Those We Have Lost in 2010

This is Great.

WBC is at it again.

The Westboro Baptist Church has posted a list of new places and publications to hate. I read the Good As You blog everyday and they made the list.

For those of you who do not know about the WBC or its founder Fred Phelps, here is a quick summery.
They Hate Everyone. We are all going to hell. Natural disasters are a good thing. A dead solider is a good thing. They think Jerry Falwell is in hell and deserves it.
All because they hate homos so much.
Start at the link and discover for yourself how sick this family is.

Six ways the religious right groups lie about the gay community

If a person hears something often enough it can become the truth in their mind even if it is not true. These hate groups have been spreading lies over and over for a long time so it is our job to spread the truth and expose the liers over and over.

This is a crosspost from Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters 

This a repost which has been updated. We know that religious right groups peddle distortions designed to demonize the lgbt community.

However we really should do more than simply declare them bigots. The lgbt community needs to follow the advice of high school math teachers and "show our work" in proving what needs to be known about these so-called pro-family groups, i.e. that they lie intentionally to create a phony picture of the lgbt community. So I have compiled a pattern of religious right deception which can be broken down to six techniques:

1. Using nonrepresentative or out-of-date studies to make generalizations, or distorting legitimate studies to give misleading conclusions

Example 1 - Religious right talking point: According to the book Homosexualities: A Study of Diversity Among Men and Women, 43 percent of white male homosexuals had sex with 500 or more partners, with 28 percent having 1,000 or more sexual partners. Therefore gays have no concept of mongamy and certainly can't be trusted to raise children.

Truth - Homosexualities was a book written in 1978 that only looked a certain portion of the lgbt population (gay men in the city of San Francisco). It also did not look at same-sex households. In addition, the authors of Homosexualities (Alan Bell and Martin Weinberg) said that their book should not be used to generalize about all gays in general:

“. . . given the variety of circumstances which discourage homosexuals from participating in research studies, it is unlikely that any investigator will ever be in a position to say that this or that is true of a given percentage of all homosexuals.”

Example 2 - Religious right talking point: Same sex marriage and gay adoption are bad ideas because research shows that the best places to raise children are in homes with a mother and a father.

The truth - The research only looked at heterosexual two-parent households as opposed to single parent heterosexual households. Same-sex households were never included.

Point of fact - The following researchers, physicians, and Ph.D.s have complained about how the anti-gay industry has misused their work:

A. Nicholas Groth,

the six researchers of a Canadian study (Robert S. Hogg, Stefan A. Strathdee, Kevin J.P. Craib, Michael V. Shaughnessy, Julio Montaner, and Martin T. Schehter),

Dr. Robert Garofalo (see Gays as Diseased),\

Lisa Waldner,

Dr. Kyle Pruett,

Dr. Elizabeth Saewyc,

Carol Gilligan,

Dr. Robert Spitzer,

Dr. Francis Collins,

Gary Remafedi,

Professor Michael King,

Professor Lisa Diamond,

Judith Stacey,

Angela Phillips,

the authors of the book Unequal Opportunity: Health Disparities Affecting Gay and Bisexual Men in the United States (Professors Richard J. Wolitski, Ron Stall, and Ronald O. Valdiserri),

Theo Sandfort, and

John Horgan.

2. Repetition - Despite the fact that several physicians and researchers complain about the distortion of their work, corrections are usually not made. In fact, you can still find the work of the six Canadian researchers, Judith Stacey, A. Nicholas Groth, and Robert Garofalo, as well as many others being distorted on various religious right webpages.

3. Conspiracy Theory - Claiming that gays and lesbians are consistently plotting to "erode traditional values"

Example - “The agenda of homosexual activists is basically to change America from what they perceive as looking down on homosexual behavior, to the affirmation of and societal acceptance of homosexual behavior. It is an agenda that they basically set in the late 1980s, in a book called After the Ball, where they laid out a six-point plan for how they could transform the beliefs of ordinary Americans with regard to homosexual behavior—in a decade-long time frame." - Craig Osten, Q&A: The Homosexual Agenda, Focus on the Family, July 25, 2003

4. Dire Consequences - Claiming that a pro-gay law or ordinance will lead to negative consequences without proof that the consequences will take place.

Example 1 - “Imagine, if you will, a 280 lb linebacker who likes to wear a dress and high heels and lipstick, you know comes to church wanting a job at the front desk as a receptionist and they turn him away because they don’t feel that that represents their values or the image that they’re trying to hold at that church, under ENDA they could be held accountable for discrimination against that individual.” - Matt Barber, Concerned Women for America, 2007

Example 2 - “H.R. 254 elevates one group of Americans above others, creating a special class of victims. All things being equal, it means that if a 5-foot-2-inch grandmother is violently attacked on the street, she is less worthy of justice than the 6-foot-4-inch homosexual man who is attacked by the same assailant.” - Matt Barber, Concerned Women for America, 2007

5. Phony Experts - Creating their own "experts" on the lgbt community. One such "expert" is Linda Harvey of Mission America. According to her bio, she is a former ad executive who became a born again Christian. Another phony expert is Glenn T. Stanton of Focus on the Family. He is considered an "expert" on the subject of homosexuality but has a master’s degree in interdisciplinary humanities with an emphasis in philosophy, history and religion. And this also includes organizations. In a recent appearance on the news program Hardball, Family Research Council head Tony Perkins cited the  "work" of the American College of Pediatricians as proof that "homosexuality poses a danger to children." However Perkins neglected to mention that the American College of Pediatricians is not a legitimate group but a sham organization laundering religious right distortions as scientific fact.

6. Dehumanizing Semantics - Consistently using language (i.e. demonstrative verbs and adjectives) in their talking points, sound bites, and press releases to deliberately make gays and lesbians seem like impersonal, threatening outsiders. These verbs and adjectives include such phrases as:

• promoting homosexuality
• marketing homosexuality
• endorsing homosexuality
• teaching homosexuality
• homosexual activists
• radical gay agenda
• forcing their agenda on us
• pro-homosexual
• sodomy advocates
• sodomy lobby
• sexual anarchists
• special rights
• homosexual behavior
• legitimizing their lifestyle
• lifestyle
• deadly lifestyle
• redefining marriage
• counterfeit marriage
• aggressive minority of sexual deviants
• homosexual indoctrination
• ramming their agenda down our throats
• gay militants
• they are after our children
• homosexuals can’t reproduce so they have to recruit
• normalizing homosexuality
• marketing their lifestyle to children
• indoctrinating children

If the lgbt community is going to get any headway with combating religious right groups, the labeling of these groups as bigots without any discussion or knowledge of their techniques of deception  must stop. The lgbt community must roll up its collective sleeves and do the hard work not just to educate those in the mainstream, but also itself.

Elton John & Partner Become Parents

 

Elton John and his partner David Furnish have announced the birth of a son.

The baby boy, who was born Dec. 25 in California via a surrogate, weighed 7 pounds, 15 ounces. "We are overwhelmed with happiness and joy at this very special moment," John and Furnish tell Us in a joint statement. "Zachary is healthy and doing really well, and we are very proud and happy parents." This is the first child for John, 62, and Furnish, 48. The couple married in 2005 after 12 years together.

Actually, Us Magazine, the couple is civilly partnered in the UK, not married. The baby's full name: Zachary Jackson Levon Furnish-John.

NJ Blizzard

December 2010 Blizzard Timelapse from Michael Black on Vimeo.

NYC Snowplow Vs. Parked Cars

Toys

Thank goodness the holidays are over!  Everyone spent the 26^th sleeping, eating leftovers, and playing with their new toys.

It is the toys I want to address. When I was a kid there were no video games, PCs, or even VCRs. (Yes I am that old). Most of what we got was bikes, board games, skates, music, and my favorite….a portable cassette player. It was stuff to get outside and play. Then came technology.

We parked it in front of the TV with cable and VCRs. Home video games were simple at first but once you got hooked, it was hours on your butt running Mario around. PCs came along to make life richer with knowledge and wider in the ass. Obesity is a problem in America with childhood obesity on the rise.

Now the games have turned a corner. No longer does one sit to play a game. Wii changed that. We have a Wii and it can be a workout playing any game as well as the exercise programs. It has brought the family together like board games and it gets you out of the chair. I personally, am the world’s greatest Rock Band drummer. Great cardio.

The Xbox Connect has brought interacting with the game to a new level. While I have not had the pleasure, my son has and he filled me in on how it works and how sore he was after playing all day. It “sees” you and anything else that comes into its field of vision. Very interesting.

My wife has a new toy on her phone. It is a talk to text feature for text messaging. She likes it for the most part except when she uses slang or mispronounces a word. She is from the south and has a bit of an accent when it comes to some words. Needless to say she has had to learn the correct pronunciation of a few words. I am from Ohio where most pronunciations are used for Webster’s dictionary so I find it funny. There is also text to talk and talk to text on most computers or you can get one on line.

There is a new app. for the phone called Word Lens that can “look” at a sign in one language and translate it to another instantly. Very cool.

After discussing all the cool interactivity, my son brings up Orwell’s 1984 and Big Brother. (Conspiracy theory genes run in my family). He is not sure if he likes being “seen and heard” by all these toys. They are fun to play with but don’t leave them on when you are finished, someone may be watching. I can see how it all could lean that way. If I had something to hide or suffered from any form of paranoia the idea of being watched is conceivable.

My take is different. Maybe very different. Here goes….

I like that games have gotten us off our collective obese asses and maybe inspire us to become a more physically fit nation. The Xbox Connect is a step closer to fully interactive 3D holodecks where one can be fully immersed in any fantasy of your choice.

I think the text to talk and back will not only teach the proper use of whatever language you speak but enable you to quickly learn other languages and if there is no time to learn you can use your Universal Translator to read and tell you what the sign or menu says.

All of these toys can and will lead us to a more interactive world. With better and faster sharing of information, we will have a clearer understanding and appreciation of other people and cultures. With knowledge, education, and exposure to differences we will be less discriminating. Would it be nice if the world could work together as one? With the barriers of language and discrimination gone, we could be.

We are just one large rock rotating in space among billions of other rocks. Some like ours. I am less concerned with Big Brother as I am hoping someone else is watching and waiting to meet us.

I have to go now…….my Wii is “calling”.

This Week in Holy Crimes

 

Crosspost from joemygod.com

This Week In Holy Crimes

Over the last seven days...

Texas: Pastor Earl Post arrested for stalking a teenage girl.
New York: Rabbi Victor Koltun pleads not guilty to ordering the murders of two men. Koltun was previously sentenced to five years for mail fraud.
Connecticut: Pastor David Pomales and his children arrested in church brawl.
Bangladesh: Imam Afsar Ali arrested in connection with the death of a woman who was publicly caned for adultery.
Kansas: Pastor Mark Holick arrested for attempting to force gospel tracts upon Muslims exiting a mosque.
Italy: Court upholds the seizure of $30M in Vatican assets used to launder money for the mafia. The Vatican claims it's all a "misunderstanding."
Texas: Pastor Sandra McGriff arrested for burglary after cops apprehended her stealing two fur coats from the home of a church member. Police also found three purses and a laptop in McGriff's Jaguar.
California: Father Joseph McCabe denied bail pending extradition to Ireland on numerous counts of child molestation.
Texas: Pastor Ivory McDaniels charged with multiple counts of sexual assaults on female minors.
Ireland: Report shows Dublin Archdiocese transferred Father Tony Walsh to cover up numerous sexual assaults on boys and girls. The church never reported Walsh to the police.
Iowa: Pastor Timothy Parker sentenced to 20 years in prison for sexual assault on a child.
Bolivia: Father Jose Ochua sentenced to 22 years in prison for sexually abusing at least 19 children in an orphanage.

This Week's Winners
Ireland: A newly released report shows that five Catholic priests formed an informal molesters network in which they enabled one another's crimes by providing rooms in which to commit the attacks and by organizing group excursions with their victims. The report is the first to show that the five accused priests all knew each other and worked together.

How to Wrap a Cat

My Mom sends me the funnest things sometimes.

Holiday music for friends and family.

I spent the morning looking for and finding a strange variety of holiday videos.
Each one is different and all should make you laugh. Liberace was a true showman and no one can play like he did. Adam Sandler..... What more do I need to say.
There is a song I have not heard for far to long and some nice choirs.
Enjoy and have a Happy Holiday Season.
BJ

12 ghetto days of Christmas

I like that this family spent time to come up with this. They have a good message at the end.

I'll be broke for Christmas

Adam Sandler - Original Hanukkah Song

Stop giving me crap for Christmas

Liberace playing his Christmas Medley 1980's

No one could play like Liberace. Happy Holidays.

Chico State Choir - Acapella - The Twelve Days After Christmas

I sang this in middle school many, many, many moons ago and had not heard it since. Thank goodness for you tube. Enjoy!

Straight No Chaser - Who Spiked The Eggnog?

Straight No Chaser - 12 Days (original from 1998)

Silent Monks Singing Halleluia

Coming Out at Christmas - London Gay Men's Chorus

On Feeling A Little More Human

by: Keori

Wed Dec 22, 2010 at 20:28:59 PM EST

It's not over.

Don't Ask, Don't Tell is not quite dead. Not yet. But today was the critical blow to it. All that remains is for it to thrash its way into that dark night where the past injustices and disgrace of this country go to die. And that will happen soon.

Today was an amazing day. I was privileged to be in the audience at the DADT repeal Presidential signing ceremony. I am eternally grateful to Alex Nicholson and Jarrod Chlapowski of Servicemembers United for making that happen.

By far, the most personally important moment for me came after the ceremony was over. I actually managed to stop ADM Mullen on his way out. I shook his hand, identified myself by name and rank, and told him who I represented today. I told him about Beloved, about the Servicemembers United Military Partners group, and how much today means to the LGB military families. He thanked me for my service, and for the service and sacrifice of everyone in the Partners group. Then he looked me in the eye and said, "This will happen quickly."

I'm not quite ready to believe President Obama when he said that implementation would be done "swiftly and efficiently." But I absolutely trust my Admiral when he tells me how it's going to be. No questions.

It means a lot to me, this bill, and not just because this is a major marker on the road to equality for LGBT people. For so many years our government has told us, "You are expendable. You are nothing." It is still legal at the Federal level to deny us housing. It is still legal at the Federal level to deny us jobs. It is still legal at the Federal level to deny us marriage and families. It is still legal at the Federal level to deny us equal immigration rights.

But soon, it will be illegal to deny us LGBs the honor of serving our country.

When the House and Senate voted for DADT repeal, they didn't just vote for civil rights, or for equality. They spoke out in a voice that cannot but be understood, and they said, "Your lives matter. You are just as American, just as human, as we are, and you are welcomed among us."

It is a liberating feeling to be freed of the burden of mandatory secrecy and shame. It is an affirming feeling to be welcomed. I cannot help but think of the people I know and love who have suffered under this law, myself included, and I wonder how this will change all of us. I can only imagine the growth and blossoming that will happen. As my friend Dave said today, "We've all internalized this so much. It's not just everyone else's attitudes that will change, but our own attitudes about ourselves." He's right.

For myself, I am feeling a bit more human than I did a week ago.

There is much work still to be done, particularly for our trans brothers and sisters. This law does nothing to help them, yet they were there alongside us LGBs, working and pushing and sacrificing. We must not fail. We dare not fail. It's not just our rights we are fighting for. It's our lives, and the lives of our families.

And today, we celebrate as our lives matter a little more.

Warhol Foundation to withhold Smithsonian money

David J. Hoffman | Dec 16, 2010 | Comments 1

The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, a major funder of the “Hide/Seek” exhibit about the presence of same-sex desire in American art, has decided to withhold all future funding for all Smithsonian Institution museums in the wake of the decision by Smithsonian Secretary G. Wayne Clough to pull down a video about AIDS from the exhibit.
The decision was announced on Monday in a letter from Joel Wachs, the foundation’s president, in a letter to Clough demanding that “you restore the censored work immediately,” an action that Wachs said was decided unanimously by the foundation board of directors last week.
In the letter, made public by Wachs, he told Clough that the action to remove a video artwork from the exhibit, a four-minute video titled “A Fire in the Belly,” by painter, filmmaker and performance artist David Wojnarowicz, was “blatant censorship” and “unconscionable” and “inimical to everything the Smithsonian Institution should stand for.”
After noting that the foundation has previously donated more than $375.000 over the past three years  to fund several exhibits at various Smithsonian museums, including $100,000 to help stage “Hide/Seek,” Wachs told Clough:  “we cannot stand by and watch the Smithsonian bow to the demands of bigots who have attacked the exhibition out of ignorance, hatred and fear.”
In early December, the Catholic League complained over several seconds in the short silent video which ants are shown crawling on a crucifix — a familiar use of the insects in the artist’s work, in this case to represent the agony of HIV/AIDS. Wojnarowicz, prominent in the New York City art world in the 1980s, died of AIDS-related complications in 1992 at the age of 37.  But the Catholic League claimed the work to be offensive to Roman Catholics and was anti-Catholic “hate speech,” a theme quickly taken up by two Republican House leaders including incoming Speaker John Boehner.
After these complaints, Clough consulted with National Portrait Gallery director Martin Sullivan and Smithsonian art historian David Ward, co-curator of the exhibit, but not with the other curator, Jonathan D. Katz, who was then in London lecturing at the Tate Modern. The decision to remove the video was made by Clough over the objections of Ward and late also from Katz.
Ward told the Washington Post that the video “is not anti-religion or sacriligious.  It is a powerful use of imagery.”  He said the action was reminiscent of the Corcoran gallery of Art decision in 1989 to cancel an exhibit of Robert Maplethorpe’s photography — ironically, Maplethorpe is featured in the current NPG exhibit.  “Once again,” said Ward, that same weapon” — to halt federal funding of the arts — “is being brandished, and once again we cower.”
Katz also denounced the decision, adding that it’s unfortunate that “the exhibition itself is being lost in the mudslinging” and that “homophobia and raw politics” were at the root of the action.” However, said Katz, the show itself, “by remaining up, continues to resist the politics.”
On Dec. 9, NPG commissioner James T. Bartlett resigned in protest.  Earlier, on Dec. 2, activists marched from the Transformer Gallery, which showed the video briefly following its removal from the exhibit, to the Portrait Gallery, and on Dec. 5 two protesters were detained by police and barred from the gallery for holding leaflets while one of men, Mike Blasenstein, was wearing an iPad running the Wojnarowicz video, an action forbidden by Smithsonian policy.
Wachs told Clough that the Warhol Foundation action was necessary because “the decision to censor this important work” put the donors in this position.

Barny Frank on DADT and showers.

This is too funny. Barny Frank (D-MA) made this reporter look stupid.  The reporter is from the right-wing Media Research Center-owned website CNSNews.com who is opposed to the repeal of DADT.

'Porno' Pete LaBarbera and his hate group gets called out by Chicago news station report

Anti-Gay Chicago Groups Make 'Hate List': MyFoxCHICAGO.com

The national media doesn't seem to get it when it comes talking about anti-gay hate groups and the Southern Poverty Law Center. But the local media seems to be getting it.

The local media in Chicago, Fox Chicago News, recently presented an excellent report about our friend, (and Paul Cameron enabler) Peter LaBarbera and his hate group, Americans for Truth About Homosexuality. Words can't do this report justice but I will try. The report is clear, concise, and gets to the heart of  the matter. Just watch it and spread it around online.

Anti-Gay Chicago Groups Make 'Hate List': MyFoxCHICAGO.com

Lunar Eclipse

Extra Happy Solstice !

Check out the news clip from MSNBC.

So Long 2010

From our friends at jibjab.

Anderson Cooper's "Ridiculist"

The people at NOM want to take back the rainbow.  I wish these people would channel their time, energy, and huge amounts of money into something constructive.

WE WON !!!!

WE WON !!!

THE FINAL VOTE WAS 65 TO 31
Now the bill has to go to the president to be signed.
It a press letter from the President;

Today, the Senate has taken an historic step toward ending a policy that undermines our national security while violating the very ideals that our brave men and women in uniform risk their lives to defend. By ending Don't Ask, Don't Tell, no longer will our nation be denied the service of thousands of patriotic Americans forced to leave the military, despite years of exemplary performance, because they happen to be gay. And no longer will many thousands more be asked to live a lie in order to serve the country they love.

As Commander-in-Chief, I am also absolutely convinced that making this change will only underscore the professionalism of our troops as the best led and best trained fighting force the world has ever known. And I join the Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, as well as the overwhelming majority of service members asked by the Pentagon, in knowing that we can responsibly transition to a new policy while ensuring our military strength and readiness.

I want to thank Majority Leader Reid, Senators Lieberman and Collins and the countless others who have worked so hard to get this done. It is time to close this chapter in our history. It is time to recognize that sacrifice, valor and integrity are no more defined by sexual orientation than they are by race or gender, religion or creed. It is time to allow gay and lesbian Americans to serve their country openly. I urge the Senate to send this bill to my desk so that I can sign it into law.

Up Date on DADT

Now that the debate is over there is one more vote to make it final. Today at 3:00 eastern will be the final vote to repeal ths awful law. We only need 51 votes to repeal.

DADT is REPEALED !!!!!

Don't Ask Don't Tell closure has passed with a vote of 63 to 33.

Thank you all who vote on the right side of history. For those of you who voted against, you will go down as those who fought FOR continued discrimination and you lost.

Mr. McCain, go home and watch the joy of your wife and daughter then retire!

 Now it has to pass the final vote which only needs 51 votes to pass.

Saturdays DADT Vote

Saturday will be historic in that Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell will be voted on by the senate.  The house has passed it twice, most Americans want it, most of our service members don’t care, and most of the Dems want it but they have been blocked by a shrinking group of people who listen to the falsehoods and myths. Let us hope that truth and fairness wins the day and our brave gay service members get the equal respect they deserve.

Twisted Words

Every day I read 6 or 7 gay blogs that often lead me to news stations and newspapers from both sides of the gay rights movement. Wanting to have a clear understanding of all involved, I read and watch everything.

Being an out and proud lesbian, legally married, and have friends in the service I am very interested in who is for and against gay rights. I need to know what the reasons are for this “culture war” and what each side is doing about it. Sometimes it gets hard to keep up with who did or did not do something and all the he said, she said clips and blurbs.

The hardest thing to learn is the duel meaning of the words used by the anti-gay people and groups.  When the pro-gay people use words like diversity and equality they mean we are a nation of many different people and beliefs and though we are each unique we should be treated the same with all the same rights and responsibilities of being a citizen of the USA. Kind of like the 14^th amendment.

When the anti-gay people use these same words it sounds like a bad thing.  Sounds like diversity of humans is as bad as the weeds in my yard and weeds are not equal to the grass. There are some who have said gays should be jailed and/or killed and in some other places, that is the case.  There are some who believe the 14^th amendment does not and should not cover everyone.

Some of the groups that say they are on the pro side do not really work towards equality but the Human Rights Campaign can sure throw a party and some groups are confusing.  Gay Republicans?  No joke!

As an out lesbian for many moons and being active in my community, I have gotten to know lots of LGBT people.  Reading the comments on almost every article gives me a good insight to what the average LGBT person thinks about, from latest episode of GLEE to the latest episode of the senate to what the anti-gay side is saying.

When we say “same” they say “special”. When we say “marriage” they say “There is no such thing as a monogamous homosexual relationship” ( I am in one.) When we speak of family, we are  talking about spouse, kids, people who live and share a home, and extended family members. They say a family is only a man, woman, and their kids. That leaves a lot of people out in the cold.

When a gay person wants to serve this country, they promise to be all they can be ,do the job they are trained for, and obey all the rules. They seem to think that will change if the law lets them talk about their families and loved ones or wants the same benefits for their families.

I have also read and heard some ugly things that are just not true. In fact, the anti-gay groups have said so many untrue things over and over that they have been listed as hate groups. They are real angry about that but it has not stopped them from continuing to repeat themselves.  You would think if your group got listed as a hate group and the list of reasons are sound that you might stop and try to fix it.  

What I don’t get is why they think it is all about sex.  I think I am speaking for the majority of the LGBT population when I say the they think about gay sex more than gays do. In fact they come up with some real strange and disgusting  sex acts that are not normal for anyone. What about lesbian sex. There is very little talk about what we do, (Thank goodness), but it does seem the anti-gay guys think a lot about what gay guys do. If they find it so disgusting, why do they think about it so much? Sex  is only a part of a relationship, str8 or gay and I would thank you for getting out of my bedroom.  We do not sit around thinking about your sex life. Eeeuuuu. We all have an “ick” factor but that is not a reason to deny anyone basic rights.

It all comes down to the truth, suffering, and need to be treated like the rest of the country VS outright lies, fake information, and a real dislike of the change toward a mutual respect and fairness for every American. 

Universial Translator...Thank you Gene Roddenberry and iphone

I am trekker and proud of it. Thanks to the great mind of Gene Roddenberry, all the writers who have contributed to 40 years of Star Trek, and all the scientist inspired by those words, we have everything except Scotty beaming us up and a Universal Translator. Well......we are on our way on both accounts and here is the latest step toward a UT. Very Cool!

Fox News Viewers "Most Misinformed"

Crosspost from joemygod.com

 

There is no doubt that Fox News not news. It is a twisted commentary on the news. They have been scaring the hell out of people for years. If you watch Fox News...Stop. Get your news from a reliable source like MSNBC, CBS, NBC, ABC, or even your local station. Get the real facts not junk science scare tactic BS.

 

A University of Maryland study of the viewers of network and cable news outlets has found that Fox News watchers are by far the "most misinformed." That's as surprising as finding out that Republicans are the biggest liars! Here's some of what Fox News has convinced their audience:

• Most economists estimate the stimulus caused job losses (12 points more likely)
• Most economists have estimated the health care law will worsen the deficit (31 points)
• The economy is getting worse (26 points)
• Most scientists do not agree that climate change is occurring (30 points)
• The stimulus legislation did not include any tax cuts (14 points)
• Their own income taxes have gone up (14 points)
• The auto bailout only occurred under Obama (13 points)
• When TARP came up for a vote most Republicans opposed it (12 points)
• And that it is not clear that Obama was born in the United States (31 points)

Pink...Raise Your Glass

I just love this video. Enjoy.

Politifacts Lies Of The Year

Crosspost from joemygod.com
Fact-checking site Politfacts has released their Biggest Political Lies Of 2010 list. Here's their readers' picks. Unsurprisingly, almost all of the liars are Republicans.

1. ObamaCare is a "government takeover" of health care. -- Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio; Rep. C.W. Bill Young, R-Fla.; the Republican Party of Florida; Lt. Gov.-elect Rebecca Kleefisch, R-Wis.; and others: 43.9 percent

2. "The president of the United States will be taking a trip over to India that is expected to cost the taxpayers $200 million a day." -- Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., 19.2 percent

3. "The stimulus has not created one private sector job." -- Gov.-elect Rick Scott, R-Fla., and others: 13.9 percent

4. "Ninety-four percent of small businesses will face higher taxes under the Democrats' plan." -- Rep. Randy Neugebauer, R-Texas, and others: 8.8 percent

5. The ethics report "exonerates me." -- Rep. Charlie Rangel, D-N.Y., 6.7 percent

John McCain's claim that Phoenix, Arizona is "the #2 kidnapping capital of the world" came in at #9.

FLORIDA: Neo-Nazi Gets Life Without Parole For Murder Of Gay Teenager

Yesterday it took a Florida jury less than 30 minutes to decide that John Ditullio, a 24 year-old neo-Nazi, deserved life in prison without parole for stabbing a 17 year-old boy to death because he was gay.

Earlier on Thursday, Ditullio spoke directly to the jury during his sentencing at the West Pasco County Courthouse. "I'm not going to beg you for my life. Do what you do... but the people that just sat up here and testified that they love me, that's what I ask you to render your verdict on. Not me," Ditullio said. Each day during the trial, a makeup artist was paid up to $150 to cover Ditullio's tattoos, which include a Nazi swastika, barbed wire and an expletive. On Thursday, the makeup artist was there, but attorneys told the judge that Ditullio didn't want to wear any makeup. Late Wednesday night, Ditullio was found guilty of first-degree murder and attempted murder. Prosecutors say he broke into a mobile home in New Port Richey of 2006 and fatally stabbed Kristofer King, 17, because he was gay, and injured Patricia Wells because she was friends with a black man.

There are so many questions......


First, who paid for the make up? I am covered in tattoos and am a tattoo artist and people do not just pick out any old thing to make permanent. This guy chose to put a SWASTIKA  in a visible place. He has made it part of him to make a statement. Why cover it up at all?


Second, why do the good tax payers have to pay for this ass for the rest of his life? This was not an accident. He carried out a plan to kill. He should he hung on the spot.


Third and most important is, what contributed to this guys ultimate act?


Parents that are either truly embarrass or just like him and his childhood was a mess.
The lack of a good education partly because our education system sucks.
Living in a small town with like minded people who reinforce these attitudes.
A bad experience with someone
Church


Tony Perkins from the Family Research Council, does the same thing only he takes is frustration out by attacking US with lies. He spends time and money to plan how he can hurt as many people as possible by changing laws and passing laws to keep US from having the same things he has.


Bryan Fischer, Brian Brown, and all the rest of the anti-gay crowd help feed the idea that WE are bad and deserve to shipped off, jailed, or die. They spread out right lies and can't figure out why they are considered a hate group.


They give people like this ass the excuse to be violent. Their words are weapons that cut to the bone and urge those who have no control to go out and commit murder. Their words are dangerous and  delivered in such a way that they can even manipulate the way others think causing great pain to those of US who want and need the same security.


I hope they are all having fun toasting to one more dead queer.
I would be careful though......There are more of US, we are everywhere, and we WILL be on the right side of history.

USMC Head James Amos: DADT Repeal Could Cause Marines To Lose Their Legs

This General is the only military leader to opposes repeal of DADT.  
What makes him think that a gay USMC is going to be any less a USMC after repeal? Is he afraid his "openly" heterosexual men can face death but can't sit next to a gay guy who is there to do his job? Just who is being distracted?

Be sure to read the article below featuring Former USMC Staff Sgt. Eric Alva's response to the Generals comment.

General James Amos, Commandant of the USMC, says the "distraction" of openly gay soldiers will cause more casualties on the battlefield.

"When your life hangs on a line, on the intuitive behavior of the young man ... who sits to your right and your left, you don't want anything distracting you," Amos told reporters at the Pentagon. "I don't want to lose any Marines to distraction. I don't want to have any Marines that I'm visiting at Bethesda (hospital) with no legs," he said. He added that "mistakes and inattention or distractions cost Marines' lives. That's the currency of this fight." His comments were the toughest yet on the issue, after he testified at a congressional hearing that he opposed lifting the ban in a time of war. Amos said Marines in combat in Afghanistan sent a "very strong message" in the Pentagon's study released earlier this month, expressing opposition to repealing the ban in a survey."I have to listen to that," he said.

USMC Staff Sgt. Eric Alva

"He pretty much spit on me, my Purple Heart, and my 13 years of service. I would definitely ask Amos for a meeting to explain his comments, and I’d bring my Purple Heart with me. I wish Obama would invite [Amos] to the White House and fire his ass on the spot." - Former USMC Staff Sgt. Eric Alva, responding to USMC Commandant General Amos' comment that repealing DADT would cost Marines their limbs due to the "distraction" of all those homo soldiers. In 2003 Alva became the first Marine to be injured in Iraq when he lost his leg due to a landmine.

Adele Starr, founding president of PFLAG has died.

This is the letter from the current president of PFLAG.




"It is with great sadness that I write this note.  The news of Adele Starr’s death touches the hearts of all who are active in PFLAG and all who have been touched by her vision of a future where equality is truly for all.

PFLAG as we know it – a national organization that unites parents, families, friends, allies, and LGBT people themselves together for the common goal of equality – would not exist were it not for Larry and Adele’s vision and labor.  While Jeanne Manford took the first steps and did what would be PFLAG’s first grassroots organizing to provide support, Adele Starr was at the heart of uniting people nationwide to make this effort a visible and powerful force in communities everywhere. She was right when she said that the people who come together to call themselves PFLAG, “will not settle for less than [their] full rights in the pursuit of happiness.”

It was in their home here in Los Angeles that the first West Coast gathering of PFLAG members took place in 1976.  And, it was because of her care and tenacity that PFLAG came together as a federation of chapters and was incorporated as an organization in 1982.

Adele Starr was PFLAG’s founding president.  She was a person who sensed what had to be done and did it.  Without her foresight, the hundreds of thousands of people over the years who have been touched, educated, and healed through PFLAG might not have become a reality.  She was a PFLAG mom in the best sense of the word.  Indeed, she was the PFLAG mom doing support, education, and advocacy that would be the model for the future. 

Without Adele Starr, PFLAG as the national organization we have today might never had become a reality.  As we look around at what we have accomplished, we remember her pioneering role at a time when that role was less than popular. But she, like Jeanne Manford and like the millions who would come after her, knew that what was right would always matter more than what was popular.

As an organization, we at PFLAG mourn her loss, but we celebrate her wisdom, perseverance, and her loving care for all of our children.

I would like to personally convey to Adele's family my hopes that they will be comforted at this time of loss by the history she created and with the knowledge that the struggle for LGBT equality on a national scale began with her. May her memory be for a blessing."

Rabbi David M. Horowitz

PFLAG National President

December 10, 2010

“There’s A Place For Us – Ask. Tell. Share.”

Civil Rights Now. Erwin Gonzalez (perspirationjournal.com) recently posted a video montage tracing the fight for civil rights for all Americans from slavery to the suffrage movement through the fight for LGBT equality. Entitled “There’s A Place For Us – Ask. Tell. Share.” this video will definitely have those in the right wing up at arms. While some people disagree with the comparison between gay civil rights and the African civil rights movement, it is hard not to watch this video and understand the concept of equality for all.
All (wo)men ARE created equal!


There's A Place for Us - Ask. Tell. Share. from Erwin Gonzalez on Vimeo.

The 12 Gays of Christmas

This is great ! Enjoy and Happy Holidays !

This Week In Holy Crimes

From JoeMyGod.com comes one of my favorite features.

This Week In Holy Crimes

Over the last seven days....

Indiana: Father Byron Canada sentenced to 11 years in prison in $2.7M real estate scam.
Arkansas: Pastor Robert Burnham resigns after bust in prostitution sting.
Indiana: Pastor Vaughn Reeves sentenced to 54 years in prison for embezzling over $13M from church construction investors.
New York: Rabbi Victor Koltun charged two counts of murder in the killings of a police officer and the officer's nephew.
Wisconsin: Father Thomas Marr pleads guilty to embezzling over $600K from parishioners.
Indiana: Pastor Jerry Hillenburg sued for sexual harassment by church preschool teacher.
Illinois: Father Donald McQuire loses appeal over conviction for molesting four boys.
Netherlands: New report reveals almost 2000 accusations of sexual molestation covered up by Dutch Catholic Church.
Illinois: Pastor James French charged with sexual abuse of underage girl.
Missouri: Pastor Glenn Baldridge sentenced to five years probation for $100K check forgery scheme.
New York: Sister Marie Thornton arrested for embezzling $850K from Iona College, where she was CFO. Thornton reportedly blew the money in Atlantic City.
California: Will Lynch pleads not guilty to beating the Jesuit priest he claims molested him and and his brother when they were seven and five years old. Lynch wants a public trial since the priest cannot be charged under the statute of limitations.
Illinois: Archdiocese of Chicago sued for covering up the sexual abuse of a high school freshman. In 2007 Father Daniel McCormack pleaded guilty to molesting multiple boys and is serving five years in prison.

This Week's Winner
Pennsylvania: Herbert and Catherine Schaible have been convicted of involuntary manslaughter and child endangerment for relying on the power of prayer rather than seek medical treatment for their two year-old son, who died of a common bacterial infection that would have been easily cured by antibiotics. The Schaibles, who say they and none of their six children have never been treated by doctors, face up to ten years in prison.