Friday, September 30, 2011

Is Being Gay a Gift From God?

This is the kind of mind set I escaped 3 years ago.
The first sign was reported on in April.
The second sign was in the news this morning.

All found at joemygod.com

This message is being displayed on an electronic billboard in Toledo, Ohio. The church has issued the below statement in support of their campaign.

This simple statement is intended to be a gift to those who have experienced hurt and discrimination because of their real or perceived sexual orientation. The Church seeks nothing less than the healing of the world, and Central UMC wants to offer words and acts of healing to those hurt and marginalized. Also, declaring that being gay is a gift from God is a prophetic call to the Church to get out of the business of marginalizing gay and lesbian persons from the Church, and to welcome them as full members.

FRC on Gallup Polls - Good One

This is great!

by Jeremy Hooper at Goodasyou.org

Usually when it comes to mainstream polling, the far-right uses words like "liberal" to discredit whichever firm is showing a portrait that runs afoul of a certain agenda. So I am thrilled to see that the Family Research Council considers Gallup polling, and particularly those polls conducted in May of this year, to be "venerable"
201109300929
[SOURCE: FRC]
Why am I thrilled? Well, because while the poll they mention above is about how many gays Americans think are in the population, which FRC proceeds to use to discredit same-sec couples and their desire for peaceful coexistence, another Gallup poll that came out this May provides a much more pointed picture in terms of us, FRC, and the larger fight:
May 20, 2011: PRINCETON, NJ -- For the first time in Gallup's tracking of the issue, a majority of Americans (53%) believe same-sex marriage should be recognized by the law as valid, with the same rights as traditional marriages.
For First Time, Majority of Americans Favor Legal Gay Marriage [Gallup]
If FRC viewed Gallup, circa May, to be a "venerable" outfit with trusted data, then they are also going to have to trust the venerable findings showing an America that is increasingly opposed to the Family Research Council's anti-equality agenda. They can't have it both ways.

Video: Oh look, another terrible, insensitive NOM decision

From GoodAsYou.com

Bigot mad at government for acknowledging same-sex couples

From Alvin McEwen of Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters

Matt Barber of the right-wing Liberty Counsel is angry at President Obama and the Census Bureau:


A pro-family attorney says the U.S. Census Bureau's decision to include households headed by same-sex couples is just another attempt by the Obama administration to legitimize same-sex "marriage."

The 2010 census, which shows that about 20 percent of the estimated 646,464 homosexual couples in the country checked "husband" or "wife" boxes on their census forms, marked the first time the Bureau tracked information about same-sex "spouses." Matt Barber, vice president of Liberty Counsel Action, sees the report as another tactic of the radical homosexual activist lobby in its attempt to undermine the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).

"This is another attempted chip-away at the Defense of Marriage Act and to gain full federal sanctioning and government recognition of counterfeit same-sex marriage," he contends.

That's right. Apparently the secret army for the "advancement of homosexuality" met at our secret headquarters (shaped like the famed Hall of Doom from Challenge of the Superfriends) and decided that the Census Bureau is the best place to push our supposed agenda.

I won't even comment about how stupid Barber's comments are. But I will say how they underscore how nasty and mean-spirited the man is.

Apparently in his world, we should ignore same-sex couples, which means no doubt we should ignore issues involving their families and their children.

Doesn't sound very Christian to me.

I think I like Barber better when he obsesses over "gay sex."

DOD: Military chaplains may conduct weddings for gay servicemembers

ByJohn Aravosis at AmericanBlogGay
Ok, this counts as a wow. The Advocate has more:
"A military chaplain may participate in or officiate any private ceremony, whether on or off a military installation, provided that the ceremony is not prohibited by applicable state and local law. Further, a chaplain is not required to participate in or officiate a private ceremony if doing so would be in variance with the tenets of his or her religion or personal beliefs. Finally, a military chaplain’s participation does not constitute an endorsement of the ceremony by DoD."(A PDF of the memo is available here.)

Why People Want to Occupy Wall Street

I was not realy keeping tabs on the sit in on Wall Street at first. Thanks to joemygod.com and buzzfeed I have been watching as this has grown into a real and potentually dangerous movement.
These are pictures from buzzfeed.com.

We Are The 99 Percent is an amazing website where people tell their stories of economic peril. If you ever wondered why people want to occupy Wall Street, well now you'll know.   








Rare Albino Hummingbird Photographs

Rare Albino Hummingbird Photographs
These are beautiful and taken by a 15 year old.

Green Lighting Changes Lives - Must See

From Buzzfeed.com come this GREAT way the make light!
My folks have aluminum tunnels that go from the roof to the kitchen and family room. They have a natural light that has saved money in the first year.
This is a different way that is changing lives. 
( Also got me thinking about a project...I wonder iffff.......)
 

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Priceless


From joemygod.com comes this snicker moment...

Hate group leader Lou Sheldon (Traditional Values Coalition) deluged the media with calls to attend his press conference on the attempt to repeal SB 48. Exactly ZERO reporters showed up. The two people facing Sheldon are gay activists from the Courage Campaign. SNORK!

Latest Remarks From Hate Groups - My Thoughts

Here are 2 of the latest remarks from leaders in their field - Hating Gays

"Never a big fan of family issues, Florida Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R) has joined the dark side by becoming the first Republican to co-sponsor bills that boost counterfeit marriage while effectively closing down most Christian adoption services. Last week, Ros-Lehtinen became the only Republican sponsor on a bill that seeks to overturn the bipartisan Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). This new legislation's ultimate target is to overturn the state laws and 42 state constitutional amendments in by redefining marriage at the federal level. Is the Republican Party ready to be turned into a party that sacrifices religious liberty on the altar of unrestrained sexual license?" - KKK donor and Family Research Council head Tony Perkins, via press release.

Maggie for the new "Anti- Defamation" group at NOM
"Gay marriage is founded on a lie about human nature, and it cannot stand in the long run. It takes too much energy to persuade people of the lie that is “marriage equality” that same-sex unions are not different than unions of husband and wife.

What keeps me going is that it’s just too silly to take seriously the world being created for us, where we should be afraid to say these basic truths about human beings, sex, and the family, for fear of being labeled hateful or bigoted.

Without our consent they cannot win.
"


I have several things to say about these remarks.

1. How can you tell a counterfeit marriage  from a Real one? Take your spouse to the grocery store and ask to see the black marker for checking bills. Gently mark a line on their cheek. If the line turns black.....
2. I don't remember signing any unrestrained sexual license. That might come in handy when she has one more headache.
3. Gay marriage is founded on a lie about human nature. Really?! Then everything I have ever read about human nature and 1,500 other species is wrong?
4.  If it is "just too silly to take seriously " then why have you made it your life's work?
5. Here are the basic truths about human beings, sex, and the family.
    a) LGBT people do exist and always have.
    b) LGBT people have sex but is not what defines being LGBT.
    c) LGBT people have families

It is so sad that these people have nothing better to do with their time, money, and effort than to tell lies about something they don't really have a clue about.



Not One Spoke Up

Do "Bait and Switch" laws apply?

Is it some how against the law to collect signatures this way?
 

Monday, September 26, 2011

Church Sign Of The Day


From joemygod.com

Nine of these have gone up around Toledo, Ohio in response to the one billboard that says otherwise.

New Standards of Care for the Health of Trans People

I just thought I should fill you in on why I am sharing transgender information

Our dear friend and housemate Reece, is transgender. Since moving to Baltimore, we have had the good fortune to meet and make friends with a wide range of people. Because each one has enriched our lives with culture and knowledge, we became more aware of how greatly diverse humankind is and we care about those things that affect us.

To better understand my friends, I find myself reading and researching everything from art to law.
If something never touched your life, you seldom give much thought to it. If you are straight and you have gay friends, I am sure there are things that come up that you never knew about the hassles that being gay can have.
I knew several transgender people back home but I never spent time with them outside church or school so I did not get to ask the hard questions or experience the hassles that come with being transgender . Nor did I know them before they became transgender..

When we all met 3 years ago I was introduced to Theresa and Kate. They had just started going out together and we all hit it off. My wife was the President of the Rainbow Club at her college and we got to enjoy the company of some great young people. We went to parties, trips to DC to see the Gay Men's Choir, meetings and seminars full of Maryland's brightest.
Theresa and Kate were always around and for almost a year, they came every Friday night for food and games. One night I noticed that Kate kept calling Theresa, Reece. Cool. I have changed my name a few times.  A few weeks passed when Reece and Kate told us about beginning the process of transgendering. Cool, how can we help?

I have to tell ya, it was hard at first. I am 52 and my brain got stuck on the pronouns. Both Tami and I had to work real hard to switch and it still comes out she now and then. He understands that when we slip, it is a brain fart and not meant to hurt.  But some people in his life caused problems. A boss that would not use his name even when it was legally changed let alone the gender pronoun.

His sisters are taking it OK. The nephews and nieces are great. His mom is going thru a grieving but is supportive and just a sweetheart. I got to spend some time with her while waiting for him to have back surgery. We learned a lot from each other that day. Reece is lucky and knows it.

eece has been taking Testosterone (T) for over a year and the physical changes are amazing. There is no doubt that Reece is a man. I still hold my breath when we are out and his goes to the bathroom in light of Chrisy Polis being beaten in a McDonalds not far from my home.
Since the back surgery, Reece has been staying with us. It is like having a little brother around again. He is also strong and tall so we work him. LOL He is handy. I give him his T shots once a week.
We have also had the chance to learn even more about the legal pitfalls and hassles that plague the transgender population as well.
Thank you Reece for being a good friend and teacher.


Yesterday, the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) released it's 7th version of Standards of Care for the Health of Transsexual, Transgender, and Gender Nonconforming People (SOC) in Atlanta. The previous Version 6 was published in 2001.
Overall, this newest SOC represents significant forward progress in respecting trans people and affirming the necessity of medical transition
wpath_logojuni2008.jpgcare for trans and transsexual individuals who need it. Although controversies and issues of transition care access remain in the SOC7, WPATH has announced a more frequent update process that will hopefully be more responsive to emerging evidence and clinical experience in the future.
First published in 1979, the SOC has provided clinical guidance to medical and mental health providers serving trans people, with an emphasis on transsexual individuals seeking hormonal and/or surgical transition care. In many parts of the world, particularly North America and Europe, the SOC has played a role in enabling access to medical transition care and in enabling medical and surgical practitioners to provide it. However, the SOC has been controversial among trans communities and supportive care providers.
Prior versions have been critized for unreasonable barriers to medical transition care, pathologizing language of "disordered" gender identities and "gender-disturbed children," maligning pronouns and terms for transitioned individuals, and compulsory psychotherapy requirements. Fortunately, successive revisions of the SOC have trended toward greater respect for trans and transsexual people and fewer unjustified barriers to transition care. For example, mandatory urological examinations were dropped from the 4th Version in 1990, and mandatory psychotherapy requirements for those needing access to hormonal or surgical transition care were dropped from the 5th SOC in 1998.



Gender Conversion Psychotherapies Are Unethical

Perhaps the most historic change in the SOC7 appears in the section of ethical guidelines:
Treatment aimed at trying to change a person's gender identity and lived gender expression to become more congruent with sex assigned at birth has been attempted in the past (Gelder & Marks, 1969; Greenson, 1964), yet without success, particularly in the long term (Cohen-Kettenis & Kuiper, 1984; Pauly, 1965). Such treatment is no longer considered ethical.
Though long overdue, this condemnation of gender-conversion or gender-reparative psychotherapies sets a new ethical standard for the mental health professions. Sexual orientation conversion therapies have been rejected by the American Psychiatric Organization, the American Psychological Association, the American Medical Association, the National Association of Social Workers and many other professional associations for over a decade. Yet the mental health and medical professions have maintained a double standard for trans, transsexual and gender nonconforming people victimized by analogous gender-reparative therapies that are equally harmful.
I commend the WPATH leadership and the SOC committees for taking this historic step and call upon the American Psychiatric Association and other professional associations to follow WPATH's leadership on this important issue.

De-psychopathologisation of Gender Difference

The 7th Version of the SOC goes further than prevous versions in employing respectful language and dispelling false myths that equate nonconformity to birth-assigned sex and gender roles with mental illness. A section entitled, "Being Transsexual, Transgender, or Gender Nonconforming Is a Matter of Diversity, Not Pathology," prominently notes:
WPATH released a statement in May 2010 urging the de-psychopathologization of gender nonconformity worldwide (WPATH Board of Directors, 2010). This statement noted that "the expression of gender characteristics, including identities, that are not stereotypically associated with one's assigned sex at birth is a common and culturally-diverse human phenomenon [that] should not be judged as inherently pathological or negative."
We can only hope that the American Psychiatric Association and World Health Organizations will take guidance from this principle in future revisions of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) and the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD).
The de-psychopathologization principle is underscored by statements that, "Psychotherapy is not an absolute requirement for hormone therapy and surgery," first introduced in Versions 5 and 6--
A mental health screening and/or assessment as outlined above is needed for referral to hormonal and surgical treatments for gender dysphoria. In contrast, psychotherapy - although highly recommended - is not a requirement.
The new standard clarifies gender dysphoria, from a greek root for distress, as the focus of treatment, replacing pathologizing language of "disordered" gender identity. Gender dysphoria is painful distress with one's current physical sex characteristics or assigned or ascribed social gender role. Social role transition to a congruent, affirmed gender role and hormonal and/or surgical transition treatments (for those who need them) are well proven in relieving this distress. The SOC7 notes,
...transsexual, transgender, and gender nonconforming individuals are not inherently disordered. Rather, the distress of gender dysphoria, when present, is the concern that might be diagnosable and for which various treatment options are available.
The American Psychiatric Association has already proposed to replace the defamatory diagnostic title of "gender identity disorder" with Gender Dysphoria in the pending 5th Edition of the DSM.

Other Positive Changes

The tone and language of the SOC7 are more positive than in previous versions, with more emphasis on care and less emphasis on barriers to care. Some highlights include:
  • Relaxation of the age 18 restriction for access to hormonal transition care.
  • Removal of the three month requirement for either "real life experience" (living in a congruent gender role) or psychotherapy before access to hormonal care.
  • Clarification that "the presence of co-existing mental health concerns does not necessarily preclude access to feminizing/masculinizing hormones."
  • Removal of barriers to surgical care because of family intolerance or interpersonal issues.
  • An expanded role for medical health professionals in granting access to hormonal therapies.
  • Acknowledgement of informed consent model protocols, developed at community health centers worldwide for hormonal transition care.
  • Emphasis of cultural competence and sensitivity for care providers.
  • Expanded and clarified information on puberty delaying treatment for gender dysphoric adolescents.
  • Graduated requirements for different kinds of surgical transition care.
  • Recognition of diverse non-binary gender identities and expressions.
  • Clarification on the role of the SOC as flexible clinical guidelines that may be tailored for individual needs and local cultures.

Issues for Future Revisions

Although the 7th Version of the SOC is significantly improved over previous versions, there remain issues of concern to trans communities and their allies. One issue is promotion of a widely held myth that gender dysphoria in children will persist in only a small minority by adolescence, in other words, that gender identity in children is malleable and impersistent. These statements in the SOC are based on studies that conflated mere nonconformity of gender expression in children with the distress of gender dysphoria: painful distress with born sex characteristics or assigned gender roles. Among a new generation of gender dysphoric children from supportive families, children who have actually transitioned to affirmed roles congruent with their gender identities, there is so far very little evidence of impersistence. Hopefully, future revisions of the Standards of Care will quickly incorporate research findings on these new populations of affirmed youth, as they become available.

This Week at Good As You/ NOM Exposed

From Jeremy Hooper at Good As You/ NOM Exposed comes this great piece about the changes at NOM and what Maggie might have been doing at Lance Blacks play. Very interesting.

Dear NOM Watcher,
Life is marked by transitions. Birth. Death. Switching shampoos. Oh, and perhaps biggest for our interest: Marriage.
So too, NOM. This week, we saw all kinds of NOM transitions, from the birth of a new group to the end of a former reign. All of which provide us with new ways to glean insight into the group that wants to put vice grips on marriage and its meaning.
We'll look at it all. But first let's get started with a little thea-tuh.


Maggie takes aisle seat
The most ridiculous NOM story of the week actually happened at the very beginning. On Monday night, NOM's Maggie Gallagher actually showed up at the one night only production of 8, Dustin Lance Black's dramatic structuring of the Prop 8 trial transcripts. Amid an audience that surely rejects her work more than just about any other per capita crowd ever assembled in American history, there she was, the most identifiable member of the organization that spearheaded Prop 8 and continues to push similar measures across the country and federally. She just showed up, as if it were The Lion King or something. That takes some nerve!
Oh, and it also takes some cash, which Maggie had to contribute directly to the American Foundation for Equal Rights in order to claim her seat. So that means Maggie's now an AFER donor, which is pretty darn delicious!
But why was she there, really? Well, a later-in-week NOM development might provide that answer. Stay tuned for some speculation on that.
(*Photo evidence courtesy of Freedom To Marry's Josh Meltzer)


John takes head chair
But while the Maggie-on-Broadway news was certainly the most bizarre moment, the biggest NOM development this week revolved around the announcement of a new Board Chair. We learned mid week that Maggie is moving on to other NOM projects (more on that in a sec), so in her stead, NOM has chosen prominent conservative attorney, professor, and failed California Attorney General candidate John C. Eastman.
My first reaction: Big shocker. NOM has been all kinds of into Eastman and his career for quite some time. In fact, when John was running for CA AG, NOM co-hosted a big ticket D.C. fundraiser for the candidate. This was followed by Eastman actually running, without any qualification or comment, NOM press releases, verbatim, on his campaign website. And during that 2010 cycle, NOM president Brian Brown even described Eastman's ultimately unsuccessful bid (he lost to Democrat Kamala Harris) as "one of the most important races in the country.” So the connections were there, plain as the gay-slighting day. This official role is just a formalization of a long-standing relationship.
So what do we know about Eastman? Well, from my hours of vetting, I found lots of pragmatic legalese, suggesting that we're likely going to get a more measured voice who will strive to up NOM's scholarly credentials. With Eastman, NOM can play the "he's a lawyer" card, which will surely earn points with some. In looking at his past, I see a new NOM chair who will most likely play a button-downed, "just that (false) facts, ma'am" role.
But that being said: I did find a few eye-openers amid the jargon. For instance: Back in 2003, Eastman pushed a very anti-LGBT/pro-"ex-gay" column penned by noted extremist Scott Lively (Google "Scott Lively" and "Uganda" and prepare to be mind-blown). In 2000, Eastman positioned homosexuality as, along with abortion, one of the twentieth centuries' "twin relics of barbarism." In that same year, he referred to gay-straight alliances as "incubators of moral relativism." And perhaps the most insight into the new NOM Chair's views came when he defended the Boy Scouts' gay-exclusionary practices in court, applauding the organization for standing against the "currently fashionable view that homosexual conduct is just another legitimate lifestyle choice."
Obviously, we'll have to wait and see what the Eastman era brings. But from past writings, it's pretty clear that marriage isn't his only LGBT-centric sticking point, even if his new role will demand him to stick only to the "protect marriage" script.


Timothy takes dogmatic pen and stationary
In terms of NOM's now patently obvious Catholic basis: The organization was quick to jump on a new letter that Archbishop Timothy Dolan, President of the US Bishops Conference, sent to the Obama administration. The gist of the letter, as you might expect, revolved around Dolan chastising the "attacks" that the President has supposedly waged against "traditional marriage." It's typical stuff from a church leadership that seems to think personal faith beliefs are perfectly fair planks from which to sink certain *CIVIL* rights.
All you have to do to recognize the overstep is to look at how NOM staffers headlined their take on the Dolan letter, a single line reading: "US Bishops Step Up, Demand Obama Administration Cease Its Attacks on Marriage and Family." It's not the "attack" part with which I have a big problem, since the NOM crowd has "boy who cried wolf" that term into a de-contextualized state that no longer persuades anyone. To me, the more egregious word here is "demand." It says all you need to know about how NOM and figures like Archbishop Dolan view this conversation. They seem to think that religious freedom affords them with the right to make such demands. The goal seems to be for everyone, regardless of chosen faith beliefs, to uncritically submit to their religious dictums. Chilling.
In his letter, Dolan writes of the "growing sense of urgency" he feels towards the modern marriage fight. Well I say, "Right back atcha, Timothy!" Only my urgency pertains to Dolan and NOM's marriage between civil and canonical law, not the growing sense of marriage equality that is slowly but surely bettering this nation.


'Anti-Defamation' takes dictionary, checks if term longer means anything
On Friday came word of what Maggie will be doing with her newfound spare time: She's heading a NOM-branded project called "The Marriage Anti-Defamation Alliance," in which she'll try to "to create a supportive community for those who have been threatened for standing for marriage, to nip the climate of fear being created in the bud, to expose for fair-minded Americans on both sides of the debate the threats being made, to conduct high-quality qualitative and quantitative research documenting the extent of the harm, to develop legislative and community proposal to protect Americans right to engage in the core civil rights: to organize, to vote, to speak, to donate, and to write for marriage." Naturally.
I've already mused, at length, about why NOM is directing resources toward this effort. In short: The organization wants to change not only America's laws but also the American psyche itself, so that the organic script of greater equality building a stronger nation (i.e. the tried and true script we've seen throughout history) will flip in their favor. They are trying to change the psychology so that people won't follow their instinct towards seeing civil rights deprival as a discriminatory act. For a fully fleshed out take on this, see my NOM Exposed post on the subject.
This late-in-week news of this ADA project also takes us back to week's begin: The 8 play and why Maggie might've been there. Just think about it: Maggie is launching a new project all about how marriage equality activists are the big bad meanies who are constantly in search of some other "traditional marriage" proponent to attack. So what would've been a better way for Maggie to launch her new time-waster than with a video of some playgoers acting like she so desperately wants them to act? It's likely that she wanted some sort of story, photo, or video that would give her new ADA project some launch fuel. In terms of the politics (detached from merit), it would be smart strategy.
Word on the street is that Maggie even tried to go backstage. Well of course she did: Because just imagine what kind of story she could've launched with, had she managed to coax one of the actors or, better yet, their real life counterparts into a red-faced tirade against her? Picture someone like Ted Olson scoffing at Maggie Gallagher. You would have heard Maggie "squee!"-ing from coast to coast! The Prop 8 proponents (and NOM in particular) would have had fundraising pitch letters written before Maggie had even hailed her cab home. I'd bet money that Maggie's ADA effort was a big reason why she showed up in that theatre Monday night: To all-but-taunt her opposition into saying or doing something stupid.
But by all accounts (including Maggie's telling lack of personal report), no big run-in took place. Because the truth is that while any equality activist who sees Maggie would be understandably likely to roll a reasoned eye or shake a principled head, few on the side of civil fairness want to "defame" her in any way. What we want is for this contrived fight -- one that has provided Maggie with a huge financial windfall for years now -- to come to an immediate end. We don't want or need to foster a "climate of fear," as NOM claims in the ADA press materials. Our one goal is to silence the fear campaigns that groups like NOM have perpetuated for their own duplicitous gains, so that we might finally achieve the sense of peace and fairness that will allow more people to work more closely on TRUE social issues. Because this world sure has enough of them, none of which involve love, rings, or chicken dances.
Until next week,
-Jeremy

Weekly Art 4

Modern Art Anyone Could Have Done Anyone who has studies fine art will know most of these pieces. Number 8 is hanging in the Cleveland Museum of Art where I said out loud that I toss better work than this POS.  I have to believe that every one of the pieces became famous after the artist did some real work and these were just left overs. Enjoy!

Joseph Barbaccia does some interesting work. Check out the Integration Series

Art with Matches is very cool.

Utterly amazing installations by Heike Weber. She draws with permanentmarkers on acrylic floor and walls – surfaces that have reached up to 600 m2.

Obama zings GOP for booing gay soldier during debate

The whole bunch of GOPers are digging themselves a hole.

ByJohn Aravosis at AmericaBlogGay
From yesterday's press pool report:
At his first fundraiser in San Jose, President Obama took aim at Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry, without naming the Texas governor by name, and was critical of the recent GOP debates. He said the 2012 election will be "a contest of values."

"Some of you here may be folks who actually used to be Republicans but are puzzled by what's happened to that party, are puzzled by what's happening to that party. I mean, has anybody been watching the debates lately? You've got a governor whose state is on fire denying climate change," he said, to applause. "It's true. You've got audiences cheering at the prospect of somebody dying because they don't have health care and booing a service member in Iraq because they're gay.

"That's not reflective of who we are," Mr. Obama said. "This is a choice about the fundamental direction of our country. 2008 was an important direction. 2012 is a more important election."
It's interesting that Romney, Perry, Bachmann, Gingrich and Cain all refused ABC News' request to comment on the incident, even though Santorum, Huntsman and Johnson have since condemned it. Why won't the other condemn the verbal abuse of a US service member serving in combat? Or do Romney, Perry, Bachmann, Gingrich and Cain only love some of the troops?

Bigot - gays are winning 'culture war' and taking prisoners

I would like to thank Alvin McEwen of Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters for another wonderful reminder that while the most abserd stuff pours out of mouths of some and we laugh, not everyone is laughing and thinks these lies are real.
Scott Lively
"Many Christians are only now awakening to the seriousness of the threat to our society posed by the homosexual movement. But, unfortunately for us all, it is only the sounding of the victory trumpets by "gay" activists that has stirred Christians from their slumber. The watchman's walls have been broken and breached, the village is in flames, and triumphal "gay" culture warriors are leading a long string of young prisoners by their necks into the woods. Most disturbingly, many of the captives, including some of the children of these still sleepy-eyed Christian parents, seem happy to go."
The above ramblings is paranoid homophobic bigotry of the highest order. And it would be hilarious except when one realizes who it is coming from.

Scott Lively, head of the SPLC-declared hate group Abiding Truth Ministries and author of the discredited piece of garbage, The Pink Swatiska (a book claiming that gays were responsible for Hitler's Nazi Party), wrote the piece which appeared last week in World Net Daily.

And it is pretty much the same vein of trash which Lively has made a living in declaring - i.e. claiming that gays are secretly plotting to take over America, "indoctrinate children," and cause all sorts of mayhem.

It's the same trash one would hear from folks like Matt Barber and Peter LaBarbera, except for one thing. As odious as LaBarbera and Barber are, neither person has the death of an innocent on their heads.


For edification of those with a bad memory, let me remind you that Lively was one of the American homophobes who went to the African country of Uganda and spread all of those lies about gays molesting children. The hysteria he and his ilk caused led to that awful "kill the gays" bill which some folks in that country have been trying to pass for over a year now.

And the hysteria Lively caused also led to vicious persecution of Ugandan gays and lesbians, the most stark example being the brutal murder of Ugandan gay activist David Kato.

Lively has been pushing that nonsense for a long time now. He advocated "criminalizing homosexuality"as far back as 2007. In a piece entitled Letter to the Russian People, Lively had this to say:


My philosophy is to leave homosexuals alone if they keep their lifestyle private, and not to force them into therapy if they don't want it. However, homosexuality is destructive to individuals and to society and it should never publicly promoted. The easiest way to discourage gay pride parades and other homosexual advocacy is to make such activity illegal in the interest of public health and morality.


It's something that the lgbtq community must take into account. Sometimes the most outrageous ramblings by homophobes are seen as funny until we remember that some gullible people take them seriously.

Matt Baume with this weeks Marriage News Watch

Sunday, September 25, 2011

I'm Back!

For the last week I have been house sitting for a friend while her and her husband go on vacation.
I have had a relaxing if not slightly boring time. I also have not been at my computer but using a laptop.

A laptop is good for so many things but it is NOT mine nor does it have a mouse. There is a wireless mouse that does not work well and after the first day of trying to work with it I just packed it up.

I am not a fan of the TINY touch pad. I have fat fingers that are calloused and, thanks to nerve issues, numb.  All of the above makes copying large chunks of text or most anything a drag. (Pun) and not in a good way. ( Cheers to all the Drag Queens and Kings everywhere!)

Therefore I have not been able to share what I feel is important, interesting, or funny for the last week.

I got home last night to my house full of people and animals and went into overload. I had just spent a full week alone with 1 very lazy dog named Hunter. It was a controlled environment of smoke free, cat free, and noise free space. I smoked on the deck under an umbrella for most of the week.

Some things I missed and others I did not, but over all I am glad to be home and I front of MY computer.

I am going to go play some games now......I LOVE my Track Ball!

Lawmaker Flip Flops on Gay Marriage While Stealing Public Funds to Pay for Her Own Wedding!

This is some messed up stuff. Ever since I moved to Baltimore there has been a Mayor and many others charged with pilfering funds for personal gain but this one takes the cake!

Alston was little known out side of her Prince George’s district until this spring. She co-sponsored a bill to legalize same-sex marriage but then left a hearing room with another lawmaker just before the bill came up for a vote. The two lawmakers later returned, but the disappearance delayed the committee vote and amounted to the first of many setbacks that ultimately derailed the legislation.
She is being charged with writing herself checks and cashing them to pay for at least $3,560 in expenses for her wedding day. According to the Office of the Maryland State Prosecutor, she also wrote herself checks to help pay the salary of an employee in her law firm.
Some said it was ironic that so close to the celebration of her own nuptials a lawmaker reversed course and opposed letting gays marry in Maryland.

From joemygod.com.....RELATED: Alston is one of the black legislators championed by NOM as evidence how the African-American community opposes LGBT rights.

Andrew Sullivan on the GOP booing an American soldier in combat

From Andrew:
But as I went to bed last night, the scattered boos for an American soldier in the field at any debate began to sink in. And Santorum's despicable lie in response - that repealing DADT somehow means license of gay sexual misconduct in the armed services - was intended to reduce that soldier, his life and work, to Santorum's obsession: the intrinsic evil of gay sex. Again, this is usual. Gays are used to being reduced to sexual acts rather than being seen as full human beings, like straight people, with sexuality sure, but a whole lot of other things as well.

But somehow the fact that these indignities were heaped on a man risking his life to serve this country, a man ballsy enough to make that video, a man in the uniform of the United States ... well, it tells me a couple of things. It tells me that these Republicans don't actually deep down care for the troops, if that means gay troops. Their constant posturing military patriotism has its limits.

The shocking silence on the stage - the fact that no one challenged this outrage - also tells me that this kind of slur is not regarded as a big deal. When it came to it, even Santorum couldn't sanction firing all those servicemembers who are now proudly out. But that's because he was forced to focus not on his own Thomist abstractions, but on an actual person. Throughout Republican debates, gays are discussed as if we are never in the audience, never actually part of the society, never fully part of families, never worthy of even a scintilla of respect. When you boo a servicemember solely because he's gay, you are saying he is beneath contempt, that nothing he does or has done can counterweigh the vileness of his sexual orientation.

And then I think of all those gay servicemembers who have died for this country, or been wounded in battle, or been on tours year after year ... and the fury builds.
Make sure you sign, and send around (retweet, Facebook) our open letter from former military members calling on all the GOP candidates to apologize for not saying a word in defense of the gay American soldier who was literally booed by the GOP debate audience. Nearly 6000 people have signed. Have you?

Frank Turek is a liar and Maggie steps down.

 I want to thank Alvin McEwen at Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters for this great piece and his hard work.

The National Organization for Marriage has began a new project which it calls Marriage Anti-Defamation Alliance. This project will spotlight folks who are the supposed victims of imaginary gay intolerance:



“If you have been threatened, harassed, or made to feel afraid because you believe in the great, foundational truth of Genesis –we are born male and female and called to come together in love to give children mothers and fathers—Marriage Anti-Defamation Alliance is here to help you: you are not alone.

We want to hear your story, connect you with others who share your deepest beliefs, with legal and other practical help, and with other Americans of good will, who (regardless of their views on marriage) want to put a stop to the shaming and the fearmongering of our fellow citizens. The goal of the Marriage Anti-Defamation Alliance is to create a supportive community for those who have been threatened for standing for marriage, to nip the climate of fear being created in the bud, to expose for fair-minded Americans on both sides of the debate the threats being made, to conduct high-quality qualitative and quantitative research documenting the extent of the harm, to develop legislative and community proposal to protect Americans right to engage in the core civil rights: to organize, to vote, to speak, to donate, and to write for marriage.

Isolated and alone, we can be suppressed and intimidated. Together we are too many to be treated as second-class citizens.“


In other words, this group will exploit controversies to create new religious right cause celebres who have been supposedly victimized because of their "morality" and push them hard on the American public before the truth comes out that these folks are not victims but individuals who think that their beliefs regarding homosexuality should shield them for normal consequences of acting like homophobic fools.

And first up in the MADA spotlight is a man called Frank Turek. Turek was consultant who lost several lucrative gigs because of his sidework of denigrating the gay community. Take the following video with a grain of salt.



Turek makes himself sound like a pitiful victim. I am of the belief that private companies - who employ gays - have every right to pick and choose who they have as consultants. Some may disagree.

But what we cannot disagree with is the simple fact that Turek is being highly misleading. He makes it seem that his dismissals and inability to get gigs is due to his stance on gay marriage. But he omits the time when he:

said that gays and "radical Muslims are teaming up to destroy Western Civilization because they hate "Judeo-Christian natural law"



Or the time he compared homosexuality to alcoholism and pedophilia:

[B]eing born a certain way is irrelevant to what the law should be. Laws are concerned with behaviors not desires, and we all have desires we ought not act on. In fact, all of us were born with an “orientation” to bad behavior, but those desires don’t justify the behaviors. If you are born with a genetic predisposition to alcohol, does that mean you should be an alcoholic? If you have a genetic attraction to children does that mean you should be a pedophile? What homosexual activist would say that a genetic predisposition to anger justifies gay-bashing? (Don’t blame me—I was born with the anti-gay gene!) Certainly, those that oppose alcoholism, pedophilia and gay bashing are not “bigots”—they are wise.

Or the time he compared gays to sociopaths and gay bashers:



The question is why didn't Turek - or NOM for that matter - mention his other comments on the video.

But the real fact of the matter is this - Turek has every right to speak his mind, but no company is bound to hire him, particularly if the company has lgbtq employees.

Furthermore, if Turek had said the same awful comments about African-Americans or people of the Jewish faith, we would not be having this conversation.

Is Turek a victim of "gay intolerance?" No. He is a liar who tries to make himself out to be a victim. And he is a man who seems to think that he should be shielded from the normal consequences of being a homophobic bigot - i.e. ostracization from the job market.

White Teen Wanted "Revenge" in Hit and Run Killing of Black MS Man

I had passed along this news last week and how sad it is that this mind set still exsists. Here is an update to the story and it is even more sad.
The man who was killed was also gay, in a relationship, and had a daughter. The partner can do nothing.

From Rod 2.0 Beta comes this update.....

2011_08_22_mississippi hit and run
The white Mississippi teenager charged with deliberately running down a Black man tells police that he was looking for "revenge" against Blacks after allegedly being robbed—although the victim had nothing to do with the crime.
James C. Anderson died on the morning of June 26 in a Jackson motel parking lot. The 48-year-old Anderson had a long-term male partner of almost two decades and they were raising a daughter. Nineteen-year-old Daryl Dedmon has been charged with capital murder and a hate crime, reports the AP.
Dedmon’s lawyer Lee Agnew, didn’t immediately respond to a message. He has suggested it was an accident.
2011_08_22_mississippi hit and run andersonAuthorities say seven white teenagers were partying in Rankin County the night of Anderson’s death when Dedmon suggested they go find a black man to "mess with." Detective Eric Smith testified at a hearing in July that Dedmon had been robbed in the weeks before Anderson’s death and that he was looking for “some sort of revenge,” though there was no evidence Anderson was responsible for the robbery.
Prosecutors say seven teenagers loaded up in two cars and headed for nearby Jackson where they found Anderson in a hotel parking lot on Ellis Avenue. Dedmon and another teen allegedly beat Anderson before Dedmon jumped in a green Ford F-250 and ran over the dazed man. Authorities say Dedmon also robbed Anderson, but they haven’t said what he took.
Surveillance video shows two carloads of teenagers driving into the parking lot. Several approached Anderson, who was beaten and robbed. The video shows Anderson being struck by a truck. Witnesses report one teenager yelled "white power" and the driver of the pickup shouted the n-word.
Dedmon, who was driving the pickup, faces capital murder and hate crime charges and is being held without bond. Police initially charged another teenager, John Aaron Rice, with murder. That charge has been reduced to simple assault.
Hinds County District Attorney Robert Smith says it is "unlikely" that Dedmon will face the death penalty. Anderson's family opposes the death penalty.
Earlier this month, Anderson's family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the seven white teenagers that police say were involved in the gruesome crime. Anderson's long-term partner is prevented by Mississippi law and the Defense of Marriage Act from joining the legal action. Anderson's partner is also prevented by Mississippi law from making end of life decisions.

Angry Borders Employees List Their Complaints With You

Back home in Ohio, I have many friends. 2 of them worked at Borders for many years and they seemed to like their jobs. I know I always enjoyed seeing them or catching up quickly behind a stack of books.
I will miss Borders. They had good prices and selection as well as good coffee.
Found at BuzzFeed.com comes this list.
Angry Borders Employees List Their Complaints With You
-We hate when a book becomes popular simply because it was turned into a movie.

-It confused us when we were asked where the non-fiction section is.

-Nicholas Sparks is not a good writer … if you like him, fine, but facts are facts.

-We greatly dislike the phrase “Quick question.” It’s never true. And everyone seems to have one.

-Your summer reading list was our summer reading NIGHTMARE. Also, it’s called summer reading, not three days before school starts reading.

-It’s true that we lean to the left and think Glenn Beck is an idiot.

-We always knew when you were intently reading Better Homes and Gardens, it was really a hidden Playboy.

-Most of the time when you returned books you read them already — and we were onto you.

-Limit One Coupon did not mean one for every member of your family — this angered us. Also, we did know what coupons were out.

-It never bothered us when you threatened to shop at Barnes & Noble. We’d rather you do if you’re putting up a stink.

-“I was just here last week and saw this book there” meant nothing to us. The store changed once a week.

-When you walked in and immediately said, “I’m looking for a book,” what you really meant to say is, “I would like you to find me a book.” You never looked. It’s fine, it’s our job — but let’s be correct about what’s really happening here.

-If you don’t know the author, title, or genre, but you do know the color of the cover, we don’t either. How it was our fault that we couldn’t find it we’ll never understand.

-We were never a daycare. Letting your children run free and destroy our section destroyed a piece of our souls.

-Oprah was not the “final say” on what is awesome. We really didn’t care what was on her show or what her latest book club book was. Really.

-When you returned your SAT books, we knew you used them. We thought it wasn’t fair — seeing that we are not a library.

Homofascists Will Destroy America

This little gem comes from joemygod.com
"We need to stand firmly and unapologetically on the hard truth that homosexuality is not a benign, morally neutral social phenomenon. It is an insidious and contagious form of sexual perversion condemned by God as an abomination. I cringe even writing these words because I know the wrath I am inviting on myself. Still, someone needs to say this boldly and publicly because it is the truth, and only the truth can set us free of the political correctness that has imprisoned us until now. The homosexual agenda represents an existential threat to Christian civilization and we're in the final phase of the war, losing badly. It all hinges upon you, Christian reader. Either get into the game in earnest, immediately, or wave goodbye." - Pink Swastika author Scott Lively, writing for World Net Daily, the world's most widely-read Christianist "news" site.

RELATED: Lively is widely considered one of the American evangelicals who have fueled the murderous anti-gay sentiment sweeping Africa. It was after a Lively visit with local authorities that Uganda began pressing for its still-pending bill calling for the execution of homosexuals.

ALSO RELATED: Next month Lively will be "honored" for his "battle against homofascism" at an Illinois banquet sponsored by Peter LaBarbera.

Friday, September 23, 2011

GOP Boo Soldier - My Thoughts and UpDate

 I think you should see what went on during the debate then we'll talk......


As President, you would not be able to just sign this back into law because you don't understand that being LGBT is sooooooo much more than sex.
The repeal of this hateful law does not give anyone special rights. There is a code of conduct that EVERY service member MUST follow and they ALL will.
If all you can think of is gay sex and the hopeful orgy after repeal, I suggest you see someone about that.
This man has no business becoming President for many other reasons but if this is how he feels about any part of of the people he wants to govern, it makes me wonder if and what other minority he wants to set back or strip rights from.
He is a very religious man and wants to rule the country based on the teachings of his faith.
I am not of the same faith. My friends are a mix of belief systems other than his.
The person who should lead our country should be more objective about all issues. Which means that they have to shun their personal beliefs and do what is best for the nation and all it's people.  It means you have to listen and learn about both sides to truly understand the issue, then do what is right and fair for your people.
I don't know if this man served this country but I am guessing not or he would not have disrespected a soldier. The crowd showed no respect for a man in uniform currently fighting for his country just because he was gay.
That is so sad. That a group of people would disrespect an active soldier and cheer at the possibility of reenacting an oppressive and discriminatory law to his face.
Mostly because they can't get passed their own smutty minds.

Update

Well it seems that the disrespect was frowned upon and Santorum made this half assed apology.

"I condemn the people who booed that gay soldier. That soldier is serving our country, I thank him for his service to our country. I’m sure he’s doing an excellent job. I hope he is safe, and I hope he returns safely, and does his mission well. I have to admit, I seriously did not hear those boos. Had I heard them, I certainly would have commented on them. But as you know, when you’re in that sort of environment, you’re focused on the question and formulating your answer. And I just didn’t hear those couple of boos that were out there. But certainly, had I, I would have said that that was — I would have said, don’t do that, this man is serving our country, and we are to thank him for his service." - Rick Santorum, speaking on Fox News

Watch the video again and tell me if he heard the boos. He sure heard the cheers when he made it clear that he would kick the gays out again.
I join the choir when I say this is just back peddling BS.  He stepped in his own "Frothy Mix" and now has to clean up a mess.

Please sign on to the open letter by former Army Captains Tanya L. Domi, James E. Pietrangelo, II, Brenda S. "Sue" Fulton, Jonathan Hopkins, and former West Point cadet Katherine Miller
They are half way to their goal of 500,000. Sign the letter and send a note telling those who disrespected a fighting soldier and support discrimination that their behavior is UN-AMERICAN.

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Sesame Street Does Glee

This is Sooooooooo GAY. Which is the only G word they did NOT say.
Thank you Sesame Street. Good Job!
I can't wait for comments from the Hate Groups.

Perry's Right Arm Was Tired


From joemygod.com comes this great picture and better question.

See how he doesn't even bother to put his hand on his heart during the national anthem? Remember all the screaming in 2007 when our current Commie-In-Chief did the same thing? Washington Monthly asks:
"Will the picture of the Republican candidates lead to widespread questions about Perry’s patriotism? Will be it be shown, over and over again, on cable news? Will the Texas governor be asked for an explanation? Or is there some quality about Perry and Obama that makes the former’s patriotism beyond reproach and the latter’s suspect?"

White Boys Kill Black Man - Very Sad

One would think in this day an age that this kind of mind set would be gone.  There is no excuse for killing a person. To pick out a target just because of the color of their skin is unforgivable.
Why must people hate? I hope they both get life.

The Daily Show Does DADT - Funny

GMA Covers Airmans Coming Out

This is the kind of thing we need to pass around. The world has watched this young man for some time. We all held our breath with him ..... then the best thing any parent could say ......

Anderson Cooper on the Death of Another Teen

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

VERMONT: Sailor Marries As Clock Strikes The Official End To DADT

From joemygod.com.......

Moments after the clock struck the official end to DADT, last night an active duty Navy officer married his husband in Vermont.
When Navy Lt. Gary Ross and his partner were searching for a place to get married, they settled on a site in Vermont, in part because the state is in the Eastern time zone. That way, the two men were able to recite their vows before family and friends at the first possible moment after the formal repeal of the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy. Just after midnight Tuesday, the partners of 11 years were married. "I think it was a beautiful ceremony. The emotions really hit me, but it's finally official," Ross said early Tuesday. Ross, 33, and Dan Swezy, a 49-year-old civilian, traveled from their home in Tucson, Ariz., so they could get married in Vermont, the first state to allow gays to enter into civil unions and one of six that have legalized same-sex marriage.
Thanks to DOMA, Ross' new husband is still not entitled to health care or to most of the benefits extended to the heterosexual spouses of service members.

Monday, September 19, 2011

DADT Will be History in the Morning



As of 12 midnight, Don't Ask Don't Tell will be a thing of the past.
This is a step in the right direction for the LGBT population of this country. When America sees that our soldiers can get along, maybe more minds will be changed.
Thanks to ALL our brave troops!
This means tomorrow I will be able to put Danny and Ali's pictures up on my art site and blog!

Sunday, September 18, 2011

Married After 58 Years

Found this at joemygod.com
It's about time!

Fire Island News managing editor Michael Lavers tips us to yesterday's wedding of Robert Scherffius and Victor Alfieri, who met 58 years ago.

Friday, September 16, 2011

The Many Anniversaries of a Lesbian Couple

Today is the 6th anniversary of the day we met. 
Many couples remember the day, time, or place they met and that is fine. I don't think it needs to be on the list of things requiring a gift. My wife does. I can live with that.

Tomorrow is the 5th anniversary of the day we had our commitment ceremony
Str8 couples seldom have commitment ceremonies because they can get married. Us LGBTers have been committing ourselves in some kind of service for a very long time because we can't.

Now, some of Us can get hitched and May 10th 2010 is the day we were legally wed.
This is the day that most married couples celebrate and see as the beginning of their life as one and over time the other dates are just a memory.

I remember the day we met.....Oh those blue eyes and that dimple.........

I remember the day we went to DC and had the same civil service as the rest of you and how historic it was for us as a couple and as a minority.  She was so beautiful........

The day I gave my heart to the woman I love is the one I wish to hold dearest.
It was in an art gallery owned by some good friends while surrounded by 50 more friends and family. The day was sunny and warm. The tables all set with fall flowers in hand painted pots and candles. The food was awesome thanks to my baby brother and the cake was perfect thanks to my oldest son.
We were very nervous, having only walked thru the service once but we knew it by heart and trusted the Priestess who was conducting it.
....I hope I don't forget the vows I wrote....
We held hands and were bound together body and soul..."for as long as love shall last" which is the long form for Pagans.

Tomorrow is the 5th year of our lasting love and it is stronger than the first.
We have been up and down and sometimes sideways. Life is different than it was. The love is different as well. Better, deeper, forgiving.

I love you my Mrs.
Happy Anniversary.


Wednesday, September 14, 2011

BALTIMORE: Five Year Sentence In Attack On Transgender Woman

This blows! She should have gotten 2X that!

From joemygod.com

To the dismay of LGBT activists, one of the women convicted of assaulting a transgender woman in a Baltimore McDonald's has only received a five year sentence for the hate crime.
"The whole incident is unfortunate and demonstrates the lack of knowledge and understanding, and discrimination against transgender people," said Patrick Wojahn, board president of the Equality Maryland Foundation. "If anything, five years may have been too short of an amount of time for the attack and the amount of hatred that was shown in the incident." Del. Joseline Pena-Melnyk agreed. "Five years is not enough for what she did. It was really horrible — nobody should do something like that to another human being," said Pena-Melnyk, who represents parts of Anne Arundel and Prince George's counties. She proposed legislation to prevent employers, creditors and others from discriminating against transgender people, but the measure failed in the 2011 General Assembly.
The victim is planning a civil suit against McDonald's.
I hope she wins big time!