Thursday, June 30, 2011

TVC says we're shaming the Founding Fathers; This is Good

Crossposted from Good As You...
( I like the way this guy writes )  Enjoy...

Okay first off: We actually had a vote to spare in the New York Senate. We needed 32, we got 33. So no, it did not come down to only one legislator.
Now that this practical point is out of the way, you're free to go read the reliably offensive way the Traditional Values Coalition (a longtime SPLC-designated hate group) is positioning the New York vote as one that "encourages a culture" of "enslaving oneself to sexual depravity":
TVC...
In New York, the fate of millions hung on the tongue of one man as well.

We have no idea what promises were made, what was offered and what was taken. What we do know is that, when voices are silent, there are no boundaries to those who would use the power of government to enforce standards entirely alien to our own.

This one legislator doubled the size and scope of the homosexual movement, a movement committed not to enslaving one's person, but enslaving oneself to sexual depravity that only encourages a culture of the same for future generations of Americans.

Marriage is not for government to define. Marriage is a covenant with God.

Unless we as Americans protect this covenant from the reach and avarice of activists desperate to turn our world upside down, we may very well pass on a government our Founding Fathers would be ashamed to have inspired.

New York’s Gay Turn [TVC]
Credit where it's due: "Avarice" is a good word. Clearly TVC shares our love for the thesaurus, if not our love (syn: deep affection, fondness, tenderness, warmth, intimacy, attachment, endearment; devotion, adoration, doting, idolization, worship; passion, ardor, desire, lust, yearning, infatuation, besottedness) for homosexual relations.
But TVC, you really need to quit telling anyone who will listen that we gay folk are seeking to turn the world upside down. Such enslavement to silliness might be good for filling the fear machine. Though when it comes to actually strengthening our "traditional values," these hyperbolic exercises are about as productive as enslaving oneself to civil discrimination.

Maine Starts Going After Marriage Equality - Nice ouch to the Hate Groups


Olbermann Interviews Savage - Enjoy

This is a great interview. Grab a cup of your favorite beverage and enjoy the next 15 minutes.

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Christians Lock and Load


This is a  little scary. Let's just give some nut job an excuse to go out and kills gays for getting married in NY.
Screen Shot 2011-06-27 At 4.40.13 Pm
[SOURCE]
(h/t: Chris in LA)

Monday, June 27, 2011

My Home State Pride

Most of you know I am from Ohio and how I feel about some of the people and actions against the LGBT population there.
This month is Pride and I have had the pleasure of attending many wonderful Pride events across the state in the last 30 or so years.
The state capitol is Columbus were I attended my very first Pride parade. WOW! What a rush to be surrounded by so many gay people! There was only about 5,000 people at my first event but it sure felt like a million.
AIDS had just hit the fan and we were being blamed for it. During the speeches was an airplane with a banner that read, "AIDS was Gods curse on Homos" and protesters lined the streets with horns, whistles, and signs that said some nasty things. Half way thru an address by some politician came a bomb threat. We did not move. We stood firm and continued.

I remember walking on the outside edge of the parade because I was not afraid to be seen or filmed for the news. The protesters were scary and we were told "Do not engage any action with them no matter what."

When Cleveland started their own Pride parade my friends and I were eager to go. Cleveland was closer and cheaper to stay over night. Also we had more friends who could get there.
Cleveland was a more family friendly Pride. The next year we took the kids and they had a blast. That was the year I had the moving pleasure of meeting Judy Shepard. She spoke of her son and the trial. She stood strong while half of us were choking down the tears.
I don't remember seeing protesters so much but I did stay to the edge to protect those who still needed to blend in with the crowd.
Over the years the crowd of LGBT and friends have grown to amazing amounts and keeps growing.
This years Pride in Cleveland will be this weekend and I hope it goes without a hitch.
Happy Pride Ohio !

(That is the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the background)

Good-bye John Corvino



John Corvino is one on my favorite writers for and about the gay community. As the "Gay Moralist " he has never been afraid to lend his unique perspective to a topic.
John has been a writer for 365gay.com for 9 years. His weekly column has been one of thought provoking ideas and reflections.


Tami got to meet him a few years back during a week long leadership camp. She was so excited when she called to tell me.  We also own a copy of his CD which I have seen several times.


John not only calls out the ignorance and stupidity of the Hate Groups but also with the gay population. He asks hard questions and forces us, str8 and gay, to think about ourselves and what we are doing.


There are times he has been very personal and has let us know what has happened in his life and how it is affecting him. He has made me feel a wide range of emotions. He brings balance  to the table when I need it most.


From his farewell piece at 365gay.com are his suggested readings...

Column type #1: Our opponents are being stupid. But I’m a nice guy and I try to give everyone the benefit of the doubt. So here’s my best effort to make sense of the stupidity.

Column type #2: Our opponents are still being stupid. But sometimes you just can’t fix stupid, so instead, let’s just ridicule them.

Column type #3: Now we’re the ones being stupid, and it’s time for someone to hold up a mirror.

Column type #4: Personal story suggesting broader lessons or themes.

His website is at http://johncorvino.com/wp/ where he will keep us posted on his life, love, and work.
Thanks John.

Pride and Problems

By now you know that New York has gay marriage and they will begin getting hitched July 24th. The turn out for NYC Pride was awesome as they have alot to celebrate.


Baltimore Pride was last weekend and my wife and I as well as the Community College of Baltimore County Rainbow Club marched.  The parade went well with the usual festive mood and fun. There was  a group of protesters that jumped in the parade carrying signs against the corporate sponsorship of pride. Not many seemed to either notice or care. The heat did get to Tami by the end of the day. Bringing the car around to the other end of the parade to pick her up was almost as fun as the parade. I think next year we will just join the crowds on the sidelines.
Chicago Pride had a bad set back when the garage that stored over 30 floats was broken into some time in the middle of the night and 2 tires on each of 30 floats were slashed. Nothing else was damaged or stolen. Smells like a hate crime to me...

The worst thing to happen so far as June and pride are winding down is an accident in Alaska. The car carrying the Grand Marchle Ran over and killed a man marching in the parade. All was canceled immediately.

Over all I would have to say that this years Pride Month when well but remember that Pride is not just once a year. Pride is how we live our lives everyday.

"Evolve Already" T-shirts On Sale Now



In honor of our marriage equality victory in New York, and our ongoing fight for equality nationwide, Joe and I have partnered with the "Don't Panic!" t-shirt company to offer you AMERICAblog's very own marriage equality t-shirt collection - all shirts are only $19.99, and they're top quality.


Don't Panic! has agreed to donate a large portion of the proceeds of the sale of each shirt to AMERICAblog. Each shirt we sell, in a very real way, will help us finance the continuing operation of the AMERICAblog family of sites (as you may know, running the blog is my full-time job, and it's nearly a full-time job for Joe as well).

Don't Panic!, you might recall, did all those great t-shirts like "2QT2BSTR8" and "Nobody knows I'm a lesbian" and "I'm not gay but my boyfriend is." They also have a reputation for selling really good quality shirts, not some cheap imitation that becomes misshapen when you wash it. And they're socially conscious as well. In addition to them helping us spread the word about marriage, and help finance the blog, Don't Panic! has helped AFER, helped us work against the constitutional amendment on marriage back in 2004 with Don'tAmend.com, and helped us all the way back in 2000 on StopDrLaura.com, when Don't Panic!'s t-shirts were the ONLY way we were raising money to get Dr. Laura Schlessinger's TV show canceled (and we did).
We've decided to go with the "evolution" theme since, as you know, Joe Sudbay asked the President about marriage equality last October and got the now famous reply, "attitudes evolve, including mine." As Joe wrote earlier this week, it's time for the President to "evolve already." AP and the Washington Post have both now picked up on the "evolve already" meme, and it's all over Twitter. You can help us spread that message with an AMERICAblog marriage equality t-shirt.


Every image we've published in this post is a t-shirt we're now selling via Don't Panic!'s AMERICAblog shop. And as I said, they're only $19.99 each, high quality, and a large portion of the proceeds of each sale goes to AMERICAblog. So you're helping us spread the word, and support the blog, with the purchase of each shirt. And what better way to celebrate our wonderful victory in New York, and to urge the President to "evolve already" - buy an AMERICAblog marriage equality t-shirt today.


More about "Don't Panic!":
The company launched in 1990 with the “Nobody Knows I’m Gay” t-shirt sold from a booth at the annual Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Festival. In three months, Hynes had sold more than $30,000 worth of shirts. After a triumph at the 1990 Gay Games in Vancouver, BC (more than 4,000 shirts sold almost immediately) Hynes left his day job as a music studio coordinator to sell his shirts full time.

Hynes’ string of hits continued with messages like “Closets Are for Clothes”, “2QT2BSTR8”, and “I Can’t Even Think Straight”. In February 1993, the company’s fame grew with “LEAVE CHELSEA ALONE” in support of Chelsea Clinton. From Time Magazine to Good Morning America to USA Today to Britain’s The Word TV show, the shirt won acclaim (not to mention a thank you note from then President Clinton) as one of the years hottest. With innovative “firsts” like the “Bad Hair Day” hat, Freedom Lights, the worlds first queer Christmas tree lights; OUTch! the first ever gay watch collection, and the first gay tumbler set, Don’t Panic! keeps winning new fans.

To give back to the communities that support it, Don’t Panic! established “Miracles Happen”, an acclaimed merchandising program, in 1992. Through sales of a striking red ribbon enclosed in a glass ornament (happily promoted in ads by Cher), caps, and T-shirts, “Miracles Happen” raised more than $80,000 for the American Federation for AIDS Research (AmFAR). More recently, in 2000, Don’t Panic! Worked with John Aravosis of StopDrLaura.com to raise money and awareness that ultimately let to the cancellation of Dr. Laura Schlessinger's TV show. In 2004 Skyler worked with Robin Tyler and John Aravosis of the DontAmend.com to help stop the movement to amend the constitution to make marriage between same sex couples illegal. (Don't Panic! founder Skyler Hynes and his partner Martin Finkelstein were married in Montreal and have 9 years old twins.)

Matt Baume With Marriage Equality News This Week


Sunday, June 26, 2011

A 'Christian' child was beaten to death, but the 'moralists' won't say a word

I want to cry.

Crossposted from Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters by Alvin McEwen

As we all know, the National Organization for Marriage has pledged $2 million dollars to reverse the recent ruling which gives marriage equality to same-sex couple in New York and to punish the senators who voted for it.

Well as far as I'm concerned, NOM can stick its $2 million where the sun doesn't shine.

You know why? Because of this:


Records of the Indiana Department of Child Services reveal that Christian Choate, a boy who authorities claim lived locked in a cage and died from savage abuse, wrote letters describing his situation and saying that he wanted to die.

According to the Chicago Tribune, DCS visited with the Choate family in Gary, Indiana more than a dozen times starting in 1999, investigating allegations of abuse and neglect. Authorities never discovered what prosecutors claim was the true depth of the misery in which young Christian lived.

Based on accounts from his sister and stepsister, Christian, who died in 2009 at age 13, spent much of the last year of his life locked in a three-foot-high dog cage, with little food and drink and few opportunities to leave. When he did get out of the cage, he endured savage beatings from his father Riley.

Part of me didn't want to talk this story. I didn't want to mention it for fear of being accused of exploiting the situation.

But my spirit won't let me keep quiet.

Two million dollars to keep punish lawmakers for standing up for equality? And by a nasty extension, two million dollars to remind same-sex families like the Gill family in Florida (who took in two abused children and nurtured them , providing them with the love of a family) that no matter how much they love their children and each other, they will always be inferior because God says so?

No. Not God. God never said.

His so-called messengers who have volunteered to speak for him have said so - the National Organization for Marriage, Archbishop Timothy Dolan, Jason McGuire, Ruben Diaz, Brian Brown, Maggie Gallagher, and the rest of the assorted ecclesiastical odd balls.

Because people like the Gill family and same-sex couples in general dilute marriage? They take away from children "the chance" to be raised by their natural mother and father?

Meanwhile, a 13-year-old child was placed in a cage by his natural father and subjected to so much abuse that the poor thing actually wished he was dead. Pretty soon, he got his wish.

Why can't $2 million be devoted to stopping travesties like this?

As God is my witness, I am so sick of phony traditional values groups with more money than shame or self-respect, who will use meaningless hypothetical terms and scare tactics to divide and distract simply because they lose battles to legally force the rest of us to abide by their definition of "family."

It's starting to make me sick.

All of us need to send up a prayer for Chritian Choate. We should be thankful that he is finally with SOMEONE who loves him.

And finally, we all need to pray that these self-appointed moral squads (i.e. NOM, etc) get a clue or at least get the hell out of the way of reality.

NOM FAILED !!! LOL - Pass This Around


Saturday, June 25, 2011

Dear Maggie and Brian

Dear Maggie and Brian,

After last nights HUGE win in New York for equal marriage I can imagine you are both tired and upset. I am sure that you feel defeated. It is hard to work so hard for so long to have victory snatched away.

Go home. Work on your own marriages that I am sure have suffered more from your hate than anything we could ever do.
Start being the spouse and parent you claim to be. Start working out to reduce stress and lose a few pounds. Invest your time and energy into your families instead of trying to hurt others.

Please understand that this is one of many defeats you will suffer. This "war" was your own making and you are going to lose. The American public is getting wise to your lies and is tired of you.

Take your money and put it to some good use. Feed the hungry. Shelter the homeless. Help take care of the kids on the street thanks to your hateful words and lies.

You will feel better about yourself and when it comes time for you to stand in jugement, you will be able to say you were wrong and tried to fix it.

Get some counsling from a REAL doctor and stay away from the cheesecake and fast food.

Yahoo!!!!!

At 11:55 last night the governor signed the Marriage Equality Act in NY. The first weddings will starte on July 24th!!
Here are some pictures on the party!!!

Friday, June 24, 2011

Lets Get Married in New York!!!

WE WON!!!!!!!
A toast to all those who fought so hard !

A big finger to those who lost !!!

Oops, did I say that out loud?......

This has been my main focus for the last week, I am tired, and it is late. 

Real quick...
Because of the size of the state of New York, the amount of people who have equal marriage has doubled.
After a whole damn week of debate over who and where a person is allowed to discriminate, they came to an agreement that can be read on line. I read it. It is long and wordy and is fine by me but I am sure there will be 2 things happen.
Some couple is going to push the envelope and cause a problem and those on the other side of my finger, are going regroup and do or say ANYTHING to take it back. 

For now, I am going to crawl into my warm fuzzy bed with my Mrs. with a smile.
Sweet Dreams New York!!!

Olberman On New York Marriage

Keith has a way with words and says it all right here. Thank you .


Maggie at the Pearly Gates - LOVE IT !


Thursday, June 23, 2011

Anti-equality candidates, pro-equality artists: Sign of growth or slap in the face?

I thought this was odd as well. I hope the artists come forward to make it clear that anti-gay orgs. can NOT use their songs just like they did when NOM was using their tunes last summer.

Crossposted from Good As You

MTV News hits on something that's been a personal peeve of mine for a while: Anti-LGBT candidates using anthemic songs that were written/performed by staunchly pro-gay artists:
Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann is easily one of the most mainstream anti-gay politicians in America. She believes legalized gay marriage will result in the indoctrination of homosexuality in children (because that’s how it works, duh!), and lead the charge to pass a constitutional amendment in Minnesota, which she represents in the U.S. Congress, banning gay marriage. Bachmann has said teaching children that being gay is OK is akin to child abuse and that being gay is “part of Satan.” She also said, “If you're involved in the gay and lesbian lifestyle, it's bondage. It is personal bondage, personal despair and personal enslavement.”

So it’s pretty odd that she is using Katy Perry’s smash “Firework” as a campaign anthem. Over the weekend, she entered the conservative RightOnline conference (where she was “glitter bombed”) in Minneapolis to the song.

KEEP READING: Anti-Gay Political Candidate Uses Katy Perry’s ‘Firework’ As Campaign Song, Clearly Has Never Listened To It [MTV News]
I was actually in the room...
201106230852
....when Bachmann spoke, and I can tell you that it wasn't just Katy Perry. The event -- which also featured anti-equality speakers like Michelle Malkin and Congressman Tim Huelskamp -- was punctuated with multiple "Glee" tunes (including one performed by the very pro-equality Idina Menzell), some Lady Gaga songs, a Miley Cyrus hit, a touch of Britney, and several other artists who've gone on record for rights that Bachmann and company staunchly oppose. Hell, rights that the Republican platform itself opposes! Is there not incongruity there?
Sure, music belongs to all of us. The pop songbook is part of our shared culture and tunes are certainly open to personal interpretation. But Katy Perry? Gaga? "Glee"? These are artists and outlets that have made their contributions to the notion of acceptance almost as prominent as their contributions to the iTunes charts. So is it really fair for someone like Michelle Bachmann, who's so publicly and proudly anti-every-last-LGBT-right, to reap the rewards that these musicians bring to the ears while simultaneously tearing down the peaceful virtues these same artists so proudly treasure? In what some might consider a mark of diversity, is there not, in fact, hypocrisy?

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

How to Use the Bible

I want this book.


Lastest on NY GOPers Dragging Their Feet

This is the third day of equal marriage debate. This is what the AP had to say.

AP:
Protection for religious groups is the last major issue to be worked out in Wednesday's negotiations over a bill that would legalize same-sex marriages in New York state.

The vote in the New York legislature is seen as a critical moment in the national debate over same-sex marriage.

Senate Republicans and Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo plan to resume talks over legal protections sought by religious groups who fear they'll be hit with discrimination lawsuits if they refuse to allow their facilities to be used for gay weddings. If an agreement is reached, the Republican-led Senate could decide to send the bill to the floor for a public vote, or kill.

That floor vote could be as soon as late Wednesday or Thursday.

The Democrat-led Assembly is ready to adopt the additional religious protections in the bill proposed by Cuomo.

No one is being forced to have equal marriage.  No church is forced to do anything other than support it's own without public money. ( This should include tax exemptions as well.)
The Hate Groups just want to stall until there is no time to vote. This is why the real issues are not being addressed.
If the Hate Groups were not tying up the courts with every ounce of venom they have, we would have equal everything and be working on the greater good, not their "war".
Since when was equal and fair a bad thing?
The Hate Groups want to be exempt from the law that states discrimination is wrong.
Who is looking for "special rights" now.
Are they allowed to turn away other minorities? Are they exempt from preformimg marriages of interracial or interfaith couples? If so, then what is the big deal of adding us to the list. I can live with that.
I would not go where I am not wanted to begin with. There are plenty of churches of every faith that would be more than glad to celebrate the marriage of a loving couple. Those are the ones that will support and inspire couples to work and grow into families and contribute to the community. These are the churches that will welcome a family that has and is doing all that and offer the marriage that seals it.
These are not the ones screaming obcenities in the halls of justice like bad children until they get what they want and what they want is to not have to listen to or obey the law.
They have exceptions to "Love Thy Neighbor" but there should not be exceptions to "All Men Are Created Equal" or "Justice for ALL".

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Since when is direct ballot the default American position?!

I agree with everything he has to say on the topic of the people voting on my marriage. Look below for what I think of Maggie.

cross posted from Good As You

If I knew, with 100% certitude, that New Yorkers would approve marriage equality by a hefty margin, I still wouldn't want it going to a vote. And that goes for everyone's marriage, not just my own. Because certain things are not fit to be put before the whims of a majority, and especially not through costly campaigns that needlessly divide us a people and threaten our inherent American values (i.e. what every single gay marriage vote has done). This civil equality thing isn't a contest of whose ring finger is bigger -- it's about our shared right, as citizens of this fair and free nation, to enjoy equal protection and due process under law. Voting on marriage is pure and utter bullshit.
And that's what Maggie, as long as she clings on to her reliable layer of hubris and continues to front a movement that really does seem to see this as little more than a game, will never fully understand:
/div>

Even with all of the animus she has stirred up against my family -- more than perhaps any other single American, I would argue -- I would still never vote against Maggie's (interfaith) marriage.

This blob has NO business telling ANYONE about equal marriage or what marriage is.
First,  IF she had any LGBT people in her family, she would know better.
Second, IF her marriage was put up to a vote, she would lose it based on many discrimination's.  Hers is interfaith and interracial. She is a "modern" woman in that she does not go by her husbands name or wears a wedding ring. She is NEVER home because she is so busy denying my marriage.
What kind of "marriage" does she have? What kind of Mother is never home? She works for a Hate Group that is hiding where the money for the millions being spent is coming from. She tells flat out lies about LGBT people and our families.
Why on Earth is anyone even listening to this woman?
Frankly, she is not much of an example of a good wife or mother so what gives her the right to tell anyone how to live and love?!
Yet, I would not vote against her right to love or marry who ever she wants.

Anti-Gay Michele Bachmann Uses Katy Perry’s Gay Anthem Firework For

corss post from Unicorn Booty
 
Openly anti-​gay Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann used Katy Perry’s pro-​gay #1 hit song, “Firework,” as her theme song at the ultra-​conservative Right Online conference over the weekend. Perry’s “Firework” video is infused with self-​acceptance stories, includes a scene of two young men kissing. Perry’s other hit songs include, “Ur So Gay,” and, “I Kissed a Girl.”

Firework, as many of you remember, was dedicated to Dan Savage’s It Gets Better Project, the organization that exists to convince young LGBT people not to end their lives over the terrible nonsense homophobes inflict upon them. Nonsense like these greatest hits from Bachmann:

  • “If you’re involved in the gay and lesbian lifestyle, it’s bondage. It is personal bondage, personal despair and personal enslavement.” — Senator Michele Bachmann, speaking at EdWatch National Education Conference, November 6, 2004.

  • “It isn’t that some gay will get some rights. It’s that everyone else in our state will lose rights. For instance, parents will lose the right to protect and direct the upbringing of their children. Because our K-​12 public school system, of which ninety per cent of all youth are in the public school system, they will be required to learn that homosexuality is normal, equal and perhaps you should try it. And that will occur immediately, that all schools will begin teaching homosexuality.” – Senator Michele Bachmann, on what will happen if her same-​sex marriage ban amendment fails to pass in 2004, appearing as guest on radio program “Prophetic Views Behind The News,” hosted by Jan Markell, KKMS 980-​AM, March 6, 2004

  • “This is a very serious matter, because it is our children who are the prize for this community, they are specifically targeting our children.” — Senator Michele Bachmann, on the gay community and same-​sex marriage, appearing as guest on radio program “Prophetic Views Behind The News”, hosted by Jan Markell, KKMS 980-​AM, March 20, 2004.

Lovely woman, eh? Expect Katy Perry to issue a statement disavowing her connection to Bachmann’s campaign any moment now.

Monday, June 20, 2011

Response to a comment on Gay Day at Disney

An article called "Warning ! Gay Day at Disney" posted on June 5th received a comment.

Anonymous said...
To each their own but I was at Cedar Point today and there were several gay men wearing very offensive T-shirts. Don't do that at a family theme park and then demand tolerance!

This person is absolutely right. When in public at a family theme park one should dress in such a manner as not to offend others.

I do have several questions to ask the many parties involved.

1. I would love to know what the shirts said. Could Anonymous let me know?
Being active in the Gay population, I am very aware of the offensive terms printed on T-shirts and agree some should be worn only in appropriate settings yet....
what is considered offensive can be subjective. There are things printed on T-shirts that the str8 population finds funny and appropriate that I find offensive.

2. Why does Disney and Cedar Point have Gay Day on Fathers Day every year?
Fathers Day is full of families taking dad out to spend his hard earned cash and have some fun. Should they be subjected to a bunch of Gays parading around on their day unless of course they are a Gay family also celebrating Fathers Day. But then if they have kids, they will probably have on less offensive attire.

3. Why do Gays feel they have to wear clothing that is sure to be found offensive to a family theme park to begin with?
Maybe because I am deep into middle age that I need to ask this question. I find any swear word, the "finger" or any name calling offensive all the time. I find references to sex ( str8 or gay) to be worn only in appropriate settings. I own and wear many t-shirts. Some I wear out such as my Equal Rights, Action is Hot (voting), and my Rainbow Club that also has our wedding date on the back. Some I never wear in the general public like my Chick Magnet or Mustache Rides 10 cents. Those were for parties and are now work shirts covered in paint.

There are those that say we (LGBT) flaunt our sexuality in their face by holding hands, a quick kiss, or what we are wearing. I say str8 people do the SAME thing. They do all of the above everywhere I go and every channel on the TV.

I am sorry that Anonymous found a few T-shirts offensive and it may have tainted his/her fun. I wish the Theme parks would change the Gay Day dates to any other weekend in June because it is a big day for all families and some of our young people do not have good sense.

As for tolerance dear reader......I wish My only bitch was a few offensive T-shirts.

Saturday, June 18, 2011

Four Minutes of Hate: The Naked Bigotry Of The AFA's Bryan Fischer

From Right Wing Watch comes this great summery that is a must read and watch that explains why I can't stand Bryan Fischer.

Submitted by Kyle on June 16, 2011 - 5:13pm   
Our colleague Peter Montgomery is scheduled to appear on "The Last Word" with Lawrence O'Donnell tonight to discuss the upcoming "The Response" prayer event that Texas Governor Rick Perry is organizing with the American Family Association and stocking with anti-gay activists.
To coincide with this appearance, we are also releasing a comprehensive report we have written on the American Family Association's Bryan Fischer entitled "The GOP's Favorite Hate-Monger: How the Republican Party Came to Embrace Bryan Fischer" which chronicles Fischer's long record of unmitigated bigotry:
Responsible politicians wouldn’t fawn over an unhinged activist who opposes civil rights and religious freedom for minorities, wants to make being gay a crime and decries his personal rivals as enemies of God, right? But that is exactly what is taking place today in the Republican Party, as likely and declared GOP presidential candidates line up to win the approval of Bryan Fischer, a radio talk show host and spokesman for the American Family Association.
Fischer’s unabashed bigotry is on full display throughout his writings and on-air rants. His entire career is based on leveling venomous attacks against gays and lesbians, American Muslims, Native Americans, progressives and other individuals and groups he detests. He wants to redefine the Constitution to protect only Christians, persecute and deport all American Muslims, prohibit gays and non-Christians from holding public office and impose a system of biblical law.
While Fischer’s views are undeniably shocking, what is most disturbing is his growing influence within not only the Religious Right but also the Republican Party.
And to celebate it's release, we decided to put together this "best of" video featuring some of Fischer's greatest hits - enjoy:



This scares the shit out of me. That the GOPers are lining up to get on his show and are supporting a Hate Group should scare everyone.
Americas is the land of the FREE. Justice for ALL. Not some. Not just white, str8, christians.
When we discriminate against one, we hurt everyone.
Hate is NOT a family value and should NOT be our Nations values either.

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Happy Pride!

June is Gay Pride Month and my wife and I as well as most of our friends are getting all geared up for the big events here in Baltimore.
We have been making signs and dusting off the banner from last year. Phone calls and text to coordinate our group for rides, meeting places, and times.
Picking out or creating something new to wear that will be fabulous for those photo ops.
Making sure there are plenty of batteries for the cameras so we don't miss a thing.
This Saturday is the parade and Sunday is the party in the park. There will be music and food and rainbow everything.

While it is one of the biggest parties of the year and everyone is invited, it is a time to remember why we need a parade. Why we need to get together to laugh, play, dance, sing, and make ourselves more visible. Why we gather together as one family united in a cause.

We are here to review our history and culture from it's beginnings. We are here to morn the lose of those who died paving the way for our freedoms. We are here to remember the words of those worked and died trying to fight discrimination.
We are here to support our "family" no matter what letter of the alphabet in the colorful soup that is Queer.

This year has been full of great strides and advancements toward equality. It has also been one of disappointments, set backs and a hanis crime that proved a point.

One of the set backs here in Maryland was when they stripped the "gender expression and gender identity" from the bill that was suppose to protect everyone. This bill only protects some of our LGBT population leaving out our transgender and transsexual brothers and sisters as well as those of us that do not fit the norm of dress code and behavior.
One week later, a young lady was brutally beaten in a Mc Donalds for being transgender. The video was seen and commented on by the world! While no one should ever have to worry about being a victim of such a crime, we are subject to the opinions of those who pick and choose who goes on the list to be protected. I am so sorry for Chrissy Polis and what she suffered. She not only was beaten, it was seen world wide and thrust her and her family into the spotlight. Now that the 15 minuets of fame has passed, she will always be a shining example of why we need to have the same protections as every other human being. She is now a part of our LGBT history along side Harvey Milk,
Del Martin and Matthew Shepard.
This year was watched every day as one more beautiful child after another took their own lives rather than face the constant harassment and not just in school, but at home, church, job,.....everywhere.
All at the hands of Hate Groups that do not care about our children or families.
They had a hand in the reason Maryland still does not have equal marriage.

We welcomed new states offering civil union/ marriage and those who "jump the broom" this year while one state stripped protections from the LGBT population and made it so they could never vote on it again.

It is not as grim as it seems.
We will win. It's that thing about time.....
Pride for me is an everyday thing.

The parade is the greatest!!!!! It is our culture. I love Queens! ( I am one trapped in this frumpy old lady). Those leather chaps..,  motorcycles, feathers!!!!!!!, Lions and Tigers and Bears...Oh My!
The high heel race is something. New Orleans has Marti Gra and show us your tits, we have tits and ass everywhere!!!
I used to think that some of it was embarrassing. It is always the most outlandish that makes it in the news and is a bad example of our over all population. I don't think that anymore.
It is what is like to be free to be who and what you are! It is the few times a year that we can hold hands in the street or kiss when we want without discriminating eyes. Knowing you can kiss and it will not spark a possible violent reaction. Being able to use a restroom without that knot in your throat.
It is how the world should be. Everyone feels it, shares it, and respects it.
I used to get depressed going home after such a rush of freedom. Going back to my more guarded existence did make me want to do what I can to help create that feeling in my everyday life.
Then there is the food and lots of drink,look at those legs/tits/ass, music, speeches, look at those legs/tits/ass,shopping, resting, sun block, sun burn, damn look at those legs/tits/ass, drive home, "I'll unpack tomorrow", I Love You, sweet dreams.

Happy Pride !

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Old Navy Promotes Deadly Lifestyle

Gary Cass-Christian Anti-Defamation Commission  
"Old Navy is promoting a lifestyle that is in complete rebellion against God. Rather than just focusing on giving good products to their customers, they want to use their products now to advocate for a very controversial topic, much less a very immoral and very deadly topic. Unfortunately we have to do the hard work of communicating our outrage, our frustration -- and then following that up with some kind of practical expression such as taking your business elsewhere."
Being Gay is not immoral or deadly. Go ahead and boycott Old Navy....Oh NO! Thats what the gays do.

NOM trying to sidestep Minnesota disclosure laws

Here is a great break down of how and why NON is fighting in several states over disclosure of funds spent to on this "war".
Thank you Alvin McEwen of Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Criticizing My Bigotry is a Hate Crime - Bryan Fischer (AFA Hate Group)

Here is a great example of the "we are the victims" crap coming from Bryan Fischer of the American Family Ass., Hate Group.  His radio show is heard by 2 million people everyday.
This is why we all have to speak up when we hear lies.


It is not a hate crime to call out lies. It is not a hate crime to tell the truth. A hate crime is when there is a physical attack based on race, religion, disability, and so on.

There are good and bad Christians, Jews, and Muslims. In our case, the good ones have opened their doors and welcomed us as part of the human condition. The bad ones, pick and choose from their holy books to stop or take away rights and protections at any cost including twisting studies and telling out right lies to the point they are now listed as a Hate Group.
The American Family Ass. is a Hate Group. Bryan Fischer tells lies.

DON'T LISTEN TO HATE GROUPS! THEY GOT IT WRONG!

Hate Groups Victims of Gay Bullying?

Read this and after you are finished screaming obscenities, please read my comments.

Anti-Gay Bigots: Homos Are Bullying Us!

This takes the damn ass fucking cake, but it's no surprise to those of us on Twitter.

As the gay-rights movement advances, there's increasing evidence of an intriguing role reversal: Today, it's the conservative opponents of that movement who seem eager to depict themselves as victims of intolerance. To them, the gay-rights lobby has morphed into a relentless bully — pressuring companies and law firms into policy reversals, making it taboo in some circumstances to express opposition to same-sex marriage. "They're advocating for a lot of changes in the name of tolerance," said Jim Campbell, an attorney with the conservative Alliance Defense Fund. "Yet ironically the tolerance is not returned, for people of faith who don't agree with their agenda." Many gay activists, recalling their movement's past struggles and mindful of remaining bias, consider such protestations by their foes to be hollow and hypocritical.

Not agreeing over equal marriage is one thing. What these people are doing is quiet an other.
First I want to remind you that they are Hate Groups for repeatedly spreading known misinformation and out right lies against the LGBT population.
They use derogatory language at every turn. They rely on discredited "facts" and studies that are manipulated to fit their agenda. Several of the writers of these studies that they twist are coming forward to protest how the Hate Groups are using their findings.
They compare being gay with so many horrible things that I can't bear to write them. You all know what they are.
They blame us for everything under the sun that goes wrong, from the economy to natural disasters.
They say that homosexuals are worse than terrorists and should die. That homosexuals have no Family Values and want to make all their children homosexuals too. If homosexuals are allowed to marry, our kindergartners will be taught about homosexual sex. Homosexuals hate christians. Homosexuals hate God! Bullying is wrong...unless you want to tell a homosexual they are going to hell.

Got the picture?

Now you can lie all you want out here but you can not lie in court. The anti-marriage defence is lame at best and the courts keep finding in favor of fairness to all. 
They are scared. They know they will loose. They will do or say anything to win including waving the religion card. The FACT that the Catholic church is dumping money into the "war" and every board member is catholic may have something to do with that. The Fact that they are fighting about disclosure of funding in several states raises some good questions.
Homosexuals are taking away your freedom of religion. You will not be able to spread the word that God hates homosexuals. Homosexuals want to take away your rights.

Now they are the victims?

I think the fact that the Supreme Court allows for Phelps and the  WBC to continue to do their thing is proof that religious freedom is just fine. The only thing that will change is " If you receive public funds, you can not discriminate against the public." They can discriminate all they want as long as it is with their own money.

That we are "making it taboo in some circumstances to express opposition to same-sex marriage." That is not true. They can say what they want in their homes and house of worship. They can stand on the street corner and public protests.
There is no change in their freedom of speech or religion.

These Hate Groups want people to believe that exposing their lies, exposing their twisted "facts", exposing their hate toward gays, and proving that we are NOT all those nasty things is bullying.

They have turned themselves into victims....Not the LGBT population.

DON'T LISTEN TO HATE GROUPS! THEY GOT IT WRONG!!




Sunday, June 12, 2011

Watching The Defectives

From joemygod.com

Gentle readers, I'm rerunning my annual Pride rant for the seventh year. I wrote this post in 2005 a couple of days after attending Pride here in NYC. In the following years I've reposted it in advance of the day in the hope of encouraging you to attend. My apologies to those that have read it before. Have a wonderful Pride. Love each other.

Watching The Defectives

Last Sunday at 12:30pm, I was in position on Christopher Street with Terrence, his glamor boys, and touring UK bloggers Dave and Darren. The Pride parade was due to round the corner any minute, but I tore off in search of a bodega, crossing my fingers that my desperate need for a soda wouldn't cause me to miss Dykes On Bikes. Half a block away, I found a little place and ducked in, weaving through the customers clogging the aisles on rushed missions like mine. I was third in line, two bottles of Sprite under my arm, when the man in front of me spotted a friend entering the store.

"David! Sweetie! Where are you watching from? Come hang out with us on Allen's balcony!"

David, a bookish looking middle-aged man, destroyed the festive mood in the little store in an instant. "Absolutely not. Those defectives and freaks?" he spat, indicating the colorful crowd outside the store, "They have nothing to do with MY life, thank you very much. This parade has as much dignity as a carnival freak show. It's no wonder the whole country hates us."

Luckily for David, the Asshole Killer mind ray I've been working on is not yet operational. I settled for pushing him a little, just a tiny bit, just to get by him in that narrow aisle, of course. I returned to my sweaty little group and tried to put what I'd heard out of my mind for the remainder of the day, because I knew that by the next morning, the thousands of Davids of the world, the ones who have media access anyway, would all issue their now familiar day-after-Pride rant. The one where they decry the drag queens on all those newspaper front pages. The one where they beat their chests and lament, "Why don't the papers ever show the NORMAL gay people? Where are the bankers and lawyers? Why must all the coverage be drag queens and leather freaks in assless chaps?"

And every year, the logical answer is that bankers and lawyers are boring to look at and that pictures of marching Gap employees don't sell newspapers. There's no sinister media agenda intent on making gay people look ridiculous, no fag-hating cabal behind the annual front page explosion of sequins and feathers. It's just good copy. Drag queens are interesting. Even the bad ones. Especially the bad ones.

Yet right on cue, the day after Pride, the Davids of the blogosphere dished out their heavy-handed dissections of parades around the country. Only this year, there was a palpably nastier tone to an already traditionally nasty annual debate. Blame the election, blame the recent avalanche of anti-gay legislation, but this year, the usual assimilationist arguments went beyond the hypothetical speculations that maybe our Pride parades were too outlandish, that maybe we weren't doing the movement any favors by showing the country a face that happened to be wearing 6-inch long false eyelashes. This year there was some actual discussion about HOW we were going to "fix" Pride parades. Of how we might go about "discouraging" certain "elements" from taking part in the parades.

This is the part of the story where I have my annual post-Pride apoplectic attack. This is the part of the story where the swelling volume of Nazi analogies overwhelm my ability to speak and all I can do is twitch and bark out little nonsensical bits. This is where I always forget the name given to the Jews who went to work for the Nazis, helping load the trains. "Because that's what you are asking us to do, you assholes!" Then I always ask, "Who are we going to sacrifice to 'save' ourselves? Which child will it be, Sophie?" And this is the part of the story where my friends accuse me of being a hyperbole-laden drama queen, wasting spiritual energy on a non-crisis, and of co-opting the Holocaust as well. More on that later.

These people that want to "fix" Pride don't understand the role that Pride parades have come to play. Initially, the gay parade was about visibility. It was about safety in numbers, and more importantly, "normalcy" in numbers. It was about the idea that if only straight America could see us, could just SEE US, that they'd love us. And accept us. That if we'd mass and march by the righteous millions, the sheer unstoppable force of our collective image would topple bigotry. Would right wrongs. Would stop hate.

Of course, that didn't happen then and it doesn't happen now.

What DOES happen, is that Pride parades, at least in the big cities, have become nothing more significant to straight America than an annual traffic nightmare. As a tool of the gay movement, the Pride parade is now merely a walking photo op for politicians and perhaps not much more. A couple of years ago, the ultimate arbiter of America's cultural zeitgeist, The Simpsons, made note of this:

(The gay pride parade is going past the Simpson house.)

Chanting marchers: "We're here! We're queer! Get used to it!"

Lisa Simpson: "You're here every year. We ARE used to it."

What does all of this mean to the Davids of the world, the gay assimilationists that want to, wish they could, somebody do something, there's gotta be a way we can, Dignify This Parade? The ones begging: "Can't we get our people to at least DRESS respectfully for one lousy day? Is that too much to ask of our people? "

Yes, yes it is.

Because you are kidding yourself if you think Pride parades, in any form, will EVER change the minds of homophobes. The straight people who show up to see Pride parades are already largely convinced. We're parading to the choir, Jesse. Those straight people love our freaks, bless them.

Oh, you could test run a "defective" free parade. You could form urban anti-drag squads and go around to all the gayborhoods on the morning of the parade and give all the drag queens 50% off coupons for Loehmann's, offer good during the parade only. And they'd GO, of course, cuz hey, those girls love a bargain. But the resultant bland, humorless, "normal" gay parade wouldn't change the course of the gay movement one bit. The part of straight America that is repulsed by drag queens is quite possibly even more terrified by the so-called "normal" gays, because "those clever calculating creatures look JUST LIKE US, and can infiltrate and get access to our precious children. And that's been their disgusting plan all along, of course."

So where does that leave us? Are we post-Pride? Is the parade just a colossally long waste of a miserably hot summer day? Is the Pride parade just an event that does a better job of moving chicken-on-a-stick than it does of moving hearts? I'd say that, yes, as an effective tool of the gay movement, Pride's usefulness has largely waned in many U.S. cities. So do we even need to keep having these parades, since they no longer seem to have much of an impact on the state of the movement? No, we don't.

But...YES, WE DO.

Because even if Pride doesn't change many minds in the outside world, it's our PARTY, darlings. It's our Christmas, our New Year's, our Carnival. It's the one day of the year that all the crazy contingents of the gay world actually come face to face on the street and blow each other air kisses. And wish each other "Happy Pride!" Saying "Happy Pride!" is really just a shorter, easier way of saying "Congratulations on not being driven completely batshit insane! Way to go for not taking a rifle into a tower and taking out half the town! Well done, being YOURSELF!"

I'm not worried what the outside world thinks about the drag queens, the topless bulldaggers, or the nearly naked leatherfolk. It's OUR party, bitches. If you think that straight America would finally pull its homokinder to its star-spangled bosom once we put down that glitter gun, then you are seriously deluding yourself. Next year, if one of the Christian camera crews that show up to film our "debauched" celebrations happen to train their cameras on you, stop dancing. And start PRANCING.

All you suburban, lawn mowing, corpo-droid homos out there, hiding behind your picket fences, the ones wringing your hands and worrying that Pride ruins YOUR personal rep, listen up. Do you think that straight Americans worry that Mardi Gras damages international perception of American culture? America, land of the free, home of "Show Us Your Tits!"? They don't and neither should we. Our Pride celebrations are just our own unique version of Mardi Gras, only instead of throwing beads, we throw shade. No one has to ask US to show our tits. We've already got 'em out there, baby. And some of them are real.

A co-worker of mine heard me discussing my Pride plans last weekend and said, "I really don't understand what it is you are proud about. I mean, you all say that you are born that way, so it's not like you accomplished anything." She wasn't being mean, just genuinely curious, and I think that a lot of gay people probably feel the same way. On this subject, I can only speak for myself.

I'm proud because I'm a middle-aged gay man who has more dead friends than living ones and yet I'm not completely insane. I've lived through a personal Holocaust (here we go again) in which my friends and lovers have been mowed down as thoroughly and randomly as the S.S guards moved down the line of Jews. You, dead. You, to the factory. And you, you, you, and you, dead. I am inexplicably alive and I am proud that I keep the memories of my friends alive. I am proud of my people, the ACT-UPers, the Quilt makers, the Larry Kramers, the Harvey Fiersteins. I'm proud that I'm not constantly curled up into a ball on my bed, clutching photo albums and sobbing. And that happens sometimes, believe it.

And outside of my personal experiences, I am proud of my tribe as a group. Sometimes I think that gay people are more creative, more empathic, more intuitive, more generous, and more selfless than anybody else on the planet. Sometimes I think that if an alien culture were surveying our planet from light years away, they might classify gay people as an entirely separate species of humans. It's easy to spot us because of our better haircuts.

But sometimes I think we are the worst people in the entire world when it comes to standing up for each other. The gay people who'd like to soothe their personal image problems by selectively culling some of our children from Pride events? They disgust me. They appall me. They embarrass me. To them I say: The very road that YOU now have the privilege of swaggering upon was paved by those very queens and leather freaks that you complain about as you practice your "masculine" and give us butch face. If you want to live in the house that THEY BUILT, you better act like you fucking know it. United we stand, you snide bitches. America's kulturkampf ain't gonna be solved by making flamboyant people go away.

I'll end this by making one final Jewish reference. Possibly you've heard the Jewish in-joke that sums up the meaning of all Jewish holidays? "They tried to kill us. We won. Let's eat." My Pride version?

They wish we were invisible.

We're not.

Let's dance.

Saturday, June 11, 2011

New York man kills 17 month old for acting like a girl. 2011

Tina Fey on Tracy Morgan

 For those of you who have read the homophobic rant of Tracy Morgan on a stage in Nashville, you must know that everyone has called for and apology and one was offered. Many people have made statements but I think Tina Fey said it best.  "I hope for his sake that Tracy's apology will be accepted as sincere by his gay and lesbian co-workers at '30 Rock', without whom Tracy would not have lines to say, clothes to wear, sets to stand on, scene partners to act with, or a printed-out paycheck from accounting to put in his pocket."
"Snap" girl! Without US the entertainment industry wouldn't stand a chance. Check that...The ARTS wouldn't stand a chance. Thank you very much.

Kevin Rogers on CNN - Nice Guy

Kevin Rogers is the guy who attended the Tracy Morgan stand up show and was so shocked and angered by the "act" that he wrote it up on Facebook. It did not take long for the info to spread.  He got called by CNN today, to talk about what he saw.  First, he needed to come out to his mom. There's video of him being asked about this on CNN.  Keep in mind that this is in a city and state that just took back protections from LGBT people.
Thank You Kevin. You seem like a nice guy and I bet you give great hugs


Friday, June 10, 2011

GOProud chairman Chris Barron
"Herman Cain understands the real and present danger that the spread of radical Islam poses to our way of life. Herman Cain hasn’t been shy about speaking out about the need to confront and stop the spread of radical Islam – a barbaric ideology that brutalizes women, religious minorities and gays. For the gay left none of this will matter. All that matters is the group hug.

"For the gay left, it isn’t important whether the policies pursued by a candidate or a party actually improve the lives of gay people, all that matters is that they get the pat on the head – the assurance that they are ok. I don’t need the group hug, nor do I need affirmation from the government that I am ok. What I need is a President and a Congress that will pursue policies that will make life better for me and my family."

Pat Condell the Atheist of Youtube

This guy has some smart things to say and says them with a healthy humor.
Be sure to catch his other vids. He will make you think.
Please Don't Pray for Me


Sissy Boy Experiment - Part 3 from CNN


Maddow Slams Frothy Over Weinergate



From Pam's House Blend comes this great piece that askes several important questions.
Pride celebrations...haven't we assimilated? By Rev. Irene Monroe
As we all know, June is Pride Month for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) communities across the country -- and parades abound.
Unlike the revolutionary decade of the 1960s during which the air bred dissent, we LGBTQ people appear to be residing in a sanguine time -- rebels without a cause, a context, or an agenda. Many of us would argue that we have moved from our once urgent state of, "Why we can't wait?" to our present lull state of, "Where do we go from here?"
With advances such as hate crime laws, the repeal of "Don't ask, don't tell," the legalization of same-sex marriage in some states, and homophobia viewed as a national concern, we have come a long way since the first Pride marches four decades ago. Also, with the AIDS epidemic no longer ravaging our community as it once did -- an epidemic that galvanized us to organize -- and with the Religious Right becoming more of a political liability than an asset to political candidates these days, our backs appear to not be slammed as harshly up against a brick wall like they used to be.
Some in our community contest that we are in a holding pattern while other argue that we are ready to assimilate into mainstream society.
Boston Pride's new Human Rights and Education Committee (HREC) broached this topic by presenting a forum to discuss the impact of assimilation on LGBTQ communities and cultures on Tuesday, June 7 at the Radisson Hotel's Theatre Café in Boston.
In its flyer HREC wrote, "2010 was a year of progress for the LGBT Community. ...Of course there is more to accomplish before we can consider ourselves truly equal and some of the questions we want to delve into are:

  • What happens when we achieve full equality?
  • How do our cultural norms and practices stand up against assimilation over time?
  • Do we even want to assimilate into mainstream culture? How much? And can we do so without losing our LGBT identity?
  • Who are we if we blend into the mainstream fabric?
  • Do we want to be just like everyone else?
  • Does quality eventually result in a cultural demise?"
With the LGBTQ community being the fastest disenfranchised group to touch the fringes of America's mainstream since the Stonewall Riots in 1969, many who oppose the LGBTQ community driving forth an assimilationist agenda are waving a cautionary finger, saying to us "not too fast now." And the cautionary finger waving is because not everyone in the LGBTQ community is accepted
More below the fold.
Pam Spaulding :: Guest column by Rev. Irene Monroe: Pride celebrations...haven't we assimilated?
While we all rev up each June for Pride so too do the fault lines of race and class in our larger and white LGBTQ community. In addition to Gay Pride events, there will be segments of our population attending separate Black, Asian, and Latino Gay Pride events. And oddly enough, the racial divide that is always evident at Pride events across the country shows us something troubling and broken about ourselves as we strive to be a community and movement. The growing distance between our larger and white LGBTQ community these LGBTQ communities of color is shown by how, for an example, a health issue like HIV/AIDS that was once an entire LGBTQ community problem is now predominately communities of color.
The themes and focus of Black, Asian, and Latino Pride events are different from the larger Pride events. Prides of communities of color focus on issues not solely pertaining to the LGBTQ community, but rather on social, economic, and health issues impacting their entire community. For example, where the primary focus and themes in white Prides has been on marriage equality for the larger community, Prides organized by and for LGBTQ people of African descent have had to focus not only on HIV/AIDS but also on unemployment, housing, gang violence, LGBTQ youth homelessness, etc.
Cultural acceptance is just one of a few things LGBTQ communities of color still do not experience from larger Pride events, at times experiencing social exclusion and invisibility.
For example, Sunday gospel brunches, Saturday night Poetry slams, Friday evening fashion shows, bid whist tournaments, house parties, the smell of soul food and Caribbean cuisine, and the beautiful display of African art and clothing are just a few of the cultural markers that make Black Pride distinctly different from the dominant queer culture. And after decades of Pride events where many LGBTQ people of African descent tried to be included and weren't, Black Gay Pride was born.
While Pride events are still fraught with divisions, they, nonetheless, bind us to a common struggle for LGBTQ equality.
Driving forth an assimilationist agenda would eradicate that our gift and our struggle are that we are a diverse community. And our diversity as a LGBTQ community should not be diluted, but rather our diversity should teach us more about its complexity, and by extension teach society at-large.
Our diversity not only affirms our uniqueness and LGBTQ people, but it also broadens America's understanding that a democratic society is a diverse one.

Thursday, June 9, 2011

Why is this so Hard to Understand?

I do NOT understand why or how any person can not understand this simple law.
If you receive any public funds you must not discriminate against the public.
I am part of that public who FYI, pays more than my share of taxes due to discrimination.
This is not hard. This is not any infringement on your rights.
You are free to discriminate as a faith based service if do not receive public funds.

I do believe we are seeing a real division between church and state.
When it comes to creating a legal environment that has to govern an ever increasing population and diversity in belief systems, the laws have treat everyone the same.
The Catholic church is but one of many belief systems and are welcome to say and do what they want. They just can't take public funds  to do it. Further more, tax exemption is another way the public is funding the church, by allowing them to keep their taxes.
Being tax exempt also limits the support they can give in the political arena but it seems they are pushing the envelope when it comes to their association with the Hate Group and tax exempt  National Org. for Marriage (NOM). ( Please read Alvin McEwen's excellent piece on NOM's backers.)

What cracks me up is the Catholic church WANTS to discriminate! WWJD? WTF!!!

Let me see if I have this right....... we have the government support of discrimination by giving tax exemptions to a group of people who openly and not so openly WANT to discriminate.

Maybe the separation of church and state is not that far apart after all.

How about we ALL stop discriminating. That would be too simple.



"The Catholic Church has often affirmed that here is no 'right to adopt.' It is a privilege and responsibility to be granted only to those married couples who can demonstrate, through their loving, permanent commitment to each other, their ability to make a lifetime commitment to raising a child in the best environment possible. May God bless these shepherds, their flocks and their work, and continue to grant them strength as they weather the storm which will certainly follow their bold leadership. We gladly welcome this clear, public stance for truth, religious freedom, and for children." - Monsignor Ignacio Barreiro, congratulating Illinois' Catholic bishops for their lawsuit demanding exemption from anti-discrimination laws.

Liberty Counsel: Public Education Is For Making Sure Kids Can Read The Bible


Julian Bond, Ted Olsen and David Boies Remember Loving Vs. Virginia

Thank you Mr. and Mrs. Loving for loving.


Is the Catholic Church overstepping its bounds in marriage equality fight ?

This is a must read! I love the way this man thinks and researches.
The ties between NOM and the Catholic church are too close for comfort.

Crosspost from Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters
By Alvin McEwen

The more the National Organization for Marriage fight against marriage equality statewide, the more it becomes clear just how deep the Catholic Church seems to be involved in the organization's efforts.

And now with the campaigns in New York and Minnesota, possibility is becoming a bit more disturbing. Today, Archbishop John C. Nienstedt, Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, wrote a piece called Marriage amendment deserves our support. Nienstedt is speaking about the amendment which will be voted on by Minnesotans in 2012:


Theologically, the definition of marriage predates any government or religious denomination. As we read in the Bible, it reflects God’s plan for man and woman to share in his creative power of bringing new life into the world (Genesis 1:27-28). This is ratified by Jesus himself in Matthew 19:8-9. It is a truth that is also evident in light of the natural moral law, which grounds our understanding of the dignity that belongs to each human person.

In addition, the very biological, not to mention spiritual, complementarity of the two sexes defines the reproductive nature of their relationship which, in turn, enhances the well-being and joy of that union. The enfleshed oneness of a man and a woman is indeed a communion of life and love.

Ironically, Nienstedt chose to end his piece by publishing, word-for-word a piece from Archbishop of New York Timothy Dolan called Marriage: the core of every civilization. New York is also facing a fight over marriage equality.

Nienstedt really shouldn't have bothered because Dolan's piece says pretty much the same thing as his:


“We are not anti anybody; we are pro-marriage. The definition of marriage is a given: it is a lifelong union of love and fidelity leading, please God, to children, between one man and one woman.”

“History, Natural Law, the Bible (if you’re so inclined), the religions of the world, human experience, and just plain gumption tell us this is so. The definition of marriage is hardwired into our human reason.”
I can't help wondering if the two archbishops wrote these pieces themselves or did they lend their name to press releases written by someone else?

Am I being paranoid? Maybe or maybe not. NOM is already rumored to be a bit more linked to the Catholic Church than a non-profit group should be. From the webpage NOM Exposed:


NOM is comparatively unguarded about its ties to the Catholic Church, acknowledging that its early funds in California came from “well-off Catholic individuals,” and NOM openly aligned with the Catholic Archdiocese in Maine. The largest known donation to NOM is $1.4 million from the Catholic fraternal organization the Knights of Columbus in 2009; that comes on top of the Knights’ $500,000 donation in 2008.

All three of NOM’s top leaders – Brian Brown, current president, Maggie Gallagher, founding president, and Robert George, board chairman emeritus – are Catholics. Additionally, NOM founding board member Luis Tellez, is a numerary of Opus Dei, a highly secretive Catholic organization. He lives in a house on the Princeton University campus that the Daily Princetonian has described as the hub of Opus Dei activities in the area.

NOM and the Catholic Church teamed up to fund almost the entire Maine campaign against same-sex marriage in 2009. According to the Bangor Daily News, “…$1.1 million of the $1.4 million raised by Stand for Marriage Maine in October 2009 came from a single source: the National Organization for Marriage. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland has poured more than $550,000 into the campaign to repeal the law, including more than $150,000 from its general treasury since October 1, 2009. The Portland diocese also collected more than $200,000 for Stand for Marriage Maine from bishops and dioceses outside of Maine.”

According to Jeremy Hooper of GoodAsYou.org, Gallagher appeared at “a ‘private meeting for Catholic clery’…at the request of Maine’s Bishop Malone” in Maine in September 2009 at the height of the Question 1 campaign.

At least a half-dozen Roman Catholic bishops met with NOM board chairman emeritus Robert George to discuss his 4700-word manifesto called the “Manhattan Declaration” that warned of civil disobedience if same-sex marriage or stem cell research were approved by the New York legislature. According to Church & State, the Declaration “also represents perhaps the most far-reaching effort to date to juice up the Religious Right by adding the political power and media respectability of the Catholic and Orthodox hierarchies.”

I'm certainly not trying to offend anyone who is Catholic but the subject of marriage equality isn't necessarily a religious issue. It's a state issue. The Catholic Church is not forced to marry same-sex couples.

Now as for the adoption mess (i.e. the Catholic Charities in Illinois which are suing for the right to use taxpayer money to discriminate against same-sex couples), I stand by the belief that the Catholic Charities shouldn't take state money if they aren't willing to follow state rules. There is nothing with the Catholic Charities pursuing private adoptions.

But the fact of the matter is this - I feel very uncomfortable when I think of the possibility of how deep the Catholic Church is putting itself into this state issue. I think people should vote as their faith dictates. But I have a serious problem with a church official using his office or name to marshal large groups of people to vote in a particular way. And my problems become even more deep when I realize that the church where that official belongs is tax-exempt.

And the Catholic Church is rumored to be involved in efforts to hinder marriage equality via NOM in ways that may not ethical or legal. Perhaps this is why NOM has fought so hard against statewide disclosure laws.

An entity flexing its power over how large groups of people should vote while being exempt from laws which cover this sort of thing is a dangerous entity in terms of manpower and money. Moreover this entity's actions is a slap in the face to an American core belief - the right to vote as your conscience dictates and not be threatened via implied threats, be they physical (you are going to be murdered) or spiritual (you are voting against God's law and will go to hell for it.)

It's definitely a license to create havoc. You may not think it's a big deal but it is. In fact, it is a nasty precedent. Today it's marriage equality. Tomorrow it could be another issue decided, not by individual choice, but by spiritual groupthink.

The Catholic Church needs to be upfront with just deeply involved it is with the political fight of marriage equality. And if it has legally or ethically overstepped its bounds, then the Catholic Church needs to make amends.

You cannot defend morality through unethical actions.http://holybulliesandheadlessmonsters.blogspot.com/2011/06/is-catholic-church-overstepping-its.html