Up Date on DADT

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

DADT is REPEALED !!!!!

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

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

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

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

Saturdays DADT Vote

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

Twisted Words

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Universial Translator...Thank you Gene Roddenberry and iphone

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

Fox News Viewers "Most Misinformed"

Crosspost from joemygod.com

 

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

 

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

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

Pink...Raise Your Glass

I just love this video. Enjoy.

Politifacts Lies Of The Year

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

There are so many questions......


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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

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

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

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

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

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

USMC Staff Sgt. Eric Alva

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

Adele Starr, founding president of PFLAG has died.

This is the letter from the current president of PFLAG.




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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Rabbi David M. Horowitz

PFLAG National President

December 10, 2010

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

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


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

The 12 Gays of Christmas

This is great ! Enjoy and Happy Holidays !

This Week In Holy Crimes

From JoeMyGod.com comes one of my favorite features.

This Week In Holy Crimes

Over the last seven days....

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

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