it's great to be an activist...

but there comes a time when you start to get tired of fighting, when you question if it makes a difference at all, when it may be time to let others, younger, keep the ball rolling...

on the other hand, i remember my friend Father Philip Berrigan & his brother Daniel; what if they had decided to give up? would Vietnam still be a nation in turmoil?

at the same time, i realize that they had a single-minded goal; no, not just to end the war, but to awaken humanity; the conversations were about inhumanity and how it prevented us from moving forward to treat each other in peace.

here we are 40 years later and we still are fighting the foes of humanity; we are battling the false witness of ultra-right, christianist wingnuts who tear down instead of build up; we struggle with proving what is just and fair when they merely come from a power struggle mentality;

i fight with myself daily trying to make a decision that i'm not sure i want to make, but each day as i read about the inequities of healthcare, the discrimination of lgbtq, the economic problems of families struggling to make a life for themselves, and the movement towards a theocratic country and i get closer and closer to that decision - one to get out...

is there a law...

or court case that mandates what a church or minister or rabbi or priest must do?

yes, i know that there are cases on record that say that an adoption agency cannot discriminate against someone because of their sexual orientation, but the caveat here is if the agency is receiving governmental funding. the provision reflects that the government cannot sanction a religion over another or support religious beliefs and the use of tax monies that discriminate against someone would be against federal and constitutional law.

the spate of laws being debated in state legislatures right now on same-sex marriage or civil unions almost all have some language in them excluding a church from being forced to marry someone that they don't want to in light of their dogma.

again, is there a law or court case that mandates that they would have to do that?

it seems to me that these provisions in and of themselves are pandering and creating a protected group - religion.

don't get me wrong, i don't give one wit if a church doesn't want to marry someone. the Catholic church refused to marry my parents because there wasn't enough time before Dad was shipped over to England during WWII. the bans of marriage requirement could not be met, so they wouldn't marry them. they married in an Anglican church here in Chicago [my father's religion], and he went off to war.

the problem came when i was to be baptized. when the Catholic church discovered they were not married in a sanctioned church ceremony, they wouldn't baptize me. my parents remarried an hour before my baptism in the church rectory.

[the best part of this for me is that the church considered me a bastard. i loved it and have gotten all the mileage i can out of it over the years!]

hypothetically, some foolettas are going to demand their church marry them somewhere down the line and take the church or minister or priest to court. the way i read the existing laws, this type of case would be tossed out before it even got to an actual trial.

if the churches are afraid of this, then put the silly provisions in the laws. i don't think it makes a difference one way or another.

except...

by now creating a special group - the religious - who do not want lgbtq being considered a special group because they don't believe in special groups.

hellloooooo!

"Thank you for your help."

this has been making the rounds over the last few days from Andrew Sullivan to Blogactive.



Grover is not confused any more. why do you think it's so difficult for so many others? especially adults?

just asking...

i feel less safe...

after seeing this...






no other comment.

litany against fear...

I must not fear.
Fear is the mind-killer.
Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.
I will face my fear.
I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.
Where the fear has gone there will be nothing.
Only I will remain.

Litany against fear
Bene Gesserit incantation
from Dune by Frank Herbert

i thought of this when i was posting a comment on Pam's House Blend to an article about the right wingers being all aflutter about the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Bill about which i have previously posted.

one of the things i have always observed is that the louder people oppose or deride something, the more it seems that they are running from something that they fear.

fear underlies so much of the ills and problems we see all around us, and rather than embracing it we run away and avoid it. what we are missing are the lessons that we could learn from facing it.

i always end my emails with a little saying i used when i was working with kids -

there is nothing wrong, only things that are missing...

i would quite often hear adults say that a kid had issues or was just bad or was slow. there were a myriad of prognostications i would hear. all of them made it seem that there was something wrong with the kid.

what i always discovered is that there was some piece of information that we didn't know; something that happened in the past of which we weren't aware; or a story that was made up and the child learned to believe it.

i would also find this to be true in almost all of the management situations i was in with adults. their reluctance was never defined, their doubt was never uttered, or their insecurity revolving aroung change never was stated. it was the same thing. there was always something that was missing; something i didn't know; or something i could not quite put my finger on.

when i found out what it was that was missing, i would always go, "ohhhhhhhh!" and everything was suddenly crystal clear. the missing piece made everything fall into place.

so i always looked for that thing that was missing. i still do.

behind all of it i always found fear. it is debilitating and i still fall into it myself. it is my/our nature.

it explains a lot and leaves a lot unanswered. but remember - there is always something missing...

do away with ALL special rights...

one of the biggest arguments that the right uses against the fight for equal protection is that it bestows special privileges on a specific group of people. they don't believe that is necessary.

well, then they should be marching and preaching and screaming to reverse ALL laws that pretend to place special protections on ALL groups.

let's see. there is a law that gives equal protection to religious people.

that's a good place to start. in their logic, if special laws are not needed, then who needs this one.

oh wait, Dobson, Falwell and all the other blather-mouths are saying that christianity is under attack. they would think this to be one more foray into that battle.

oh well. gotta start somewhere...

obfuscating obfuscations: it's still ALL about sex... Part 2

Andrew Sullivan has a post up right now on the Daily Dish that points out just what my previous post brought up:

We Are All Sodomists Now

Andrew, in turn, cites from a piece by Tyler Cowen

If you take the heterosexual couples who engage in the practice which is sometimes "associated" with male gay marriage, I predict those couples will favor legal gay marriage to an astonishingly high degree. Their marriage is already "affiliated" with that practice, and so the notion of legally married gay men (and the practices which go along with that) does not constitute an extra and unwanted affiliation for their marriage ideal.

thanks, Andrew and Tyler. make, well at least try to make, people like that organization i mentioned earlier think...

of course, they in turn will make it to their advantage. i can see it now -

They will take away our right to missionary sex and force us to...

i believe you get the picture.

thanks again, Andrew.

The Laramie Project...

this afternoon friends and i are attending a production of The Laramie Project by Moisés Kaufman. it is being performed this weekend at Dominican University Performing Arts Center in River Forest, Illinois. it is a powerful piece of work. i've seen it before and there is also a film version.

The Laramie Project is a play by Moisés Kaufman and members of the Tectonic Theater Project about the reaction to the murder of [Matthew] Shepard. The play draws on hundreds of interviews conducted by the theatre company with inhabitants of the town, company members' own journal entries and published news reports. It is divided into three acts, and eight actors portray more than sixty characters in a series of short scenes. It was later adapted into a film of the same name.

if you are familiar with the history of the play and if you have been keeping up with the news for the last couple of weeks, you will know that it has been consistently targeted by Fred Phelps and his Westboro Baptist Church with hateful and unchristian taunts and protests at a lot of performances. Phelps and his daughter were barred from entering England last week and prevented from leading a protest at Queen Mary's College in Basingstoke, Hampshire. though England has free speech laws, it also has laws that forbid inciting violence with hate speech.

from the timesonline.com article -

"Both these individuals have engaged in unacceptable behaviour by inciting hatred against a number of communities.

"The Government has made it clear it opposes extremism in all its forms.

"We will continue to stop those who want to spread extremism, hatred and violent messages in our communities from coming to our country.

in the United States we allow all groups to use their free speech right no matter how inciteful or hate-filled it is. that is a debate for another time.

a little over a month ago Dominican University discovered via the Westboro website [i will not provide a link] that the group is planning a protest the hour before today's performance. the latest communication i had from one of the manager's is that the daughter is scheduled to be part of the protest.

students at the University found out about the protest and have organized a counter-protest. they have, with great humility and conscience, decided to make it a silent counter-protest. it is the right thing to do. [IMHO]

below is a video of the song American Triangle that Elton John and Bernie Taupin wrote about the murder of Matthew Shepard. the piece is powerful in itself. this version was put together with scenes from the film version of The Laramie Project. you will see some of the scenes that include the Phelps' group. the man playing Phelps eerily looks like the original. the signs they carry are exact replicas of the ones the group always carry.

besides productions of the play, for quite some time now Phelps and his crew have been doing these protests at the funerals of servicemembers killed in the line of duty in Afghanistan and Iraq - with the exact same signs! one of the saddest things about the protesters is that they have always included their children, some as young as 5 or 6. the children use the same language as the adults.

i am going to post about what happens either when i get home this evening or tomorrow. i will also try to provide some photos, if possible. the University and the River Forest Police Department have prepared for this. they have set aside two areas - one for the students and one for them. i know all will go well. i will help, if need be. i may have to pull all of the Vietnam War protest techniques and experiences out of the back of my head. somehow i think it's going to be like riding a bicycle - once you've learned, you never forget.

and i did learn from some of the best...

please watch the video below. i have also included the lyric afterward.

and, please, send your good thoughts, feelings, prayers, vibes, novenas, or whatever your belief is to support the students of Dominican University.

American Triangle

Music by Elton John
Lyrics by Bernie Taupin


Seen him playing in his backyard
Young boy just starting out
So much history in this landscape
So much confusion, so much doubt

Been there drinking on that front porch
Angry kids, mean and dumb
Looks like a painting, that blue skyline
God hates fags where we come from

"Western skies" don't make it right
"Home of the brave" don't make no sense
I've seen a scarecrow wrapped in wire
Left to die on a high ridge fence
It's a cold, cold wind
It's a cold, cold wind
It's a cold wind blowing, Wyoming

See two coyotes run down a deer
Hate what we don't understand
You pioneers give us your children
But it's your blood that stains their hands

"Western skies" don't make it right
"Home of the brave" don't make no sense
I've seen a scarecrow wrapped in wire
Left to die on a high ridge fence
It's a cold, cold wind
It's a cold, cold wind
It's a cold wind blowing, Wyoming

Somewhere that road forks up ahead
To ignorance and innocence
Three lives drift on different winds
Two lives ruined, one life spent

"Western skies" don't make it right
"Home of the brave" don't make no sense
I've seen a scarecrow wrapped in wire
Left to die on a high ridge fence
It's a cold, cold wind
It's a cold, cold wind
It's a cold wind blowing, Wyoming

Limbaugh and his wish for Obama's failure...

i'd like to hear how

...big ole Rush would react if someone made a statement like: "We want Rush to die!"

it really is not a very nice thing to say but it's one solution to dealing with a problem; it's on the same wave length as his liking Obama to fail; and it would have the same effect on the American people.

no, wait! it wouldn't.

the American people would be much better off by not being subjected to constant belittling because they are not in the right class or have the correct beliefs. the beliefs that Rush and his minions want to foist against all of the hopes and works of the men and women who created this nation, who fought to protect this country, and who sought to increase the freedoms promised by the "Declaration of Independence" and the Constitution.

i've often found it amazing that there is always a group in this country who has had to fight for the rights and freedoms that they already have because of the two documents.

African-Americans weren't fighting for new rights as history of bigotry has portrayed their struggle; they already have it.

Women weren't fighting for new rights to vote or equality in the workplace; they already had it according to the documents.

LGBTQ are not fighting for a new right to form unions equal to other groups; they already have it according to the documents.

talk about obfuscation...

at the basis of all Limbaugh's statements [and not verbally spoken] is always one thought: if they get what we already have, we won't have as much power and wealth.

sad.


[note: i posted this as a comment over on Pam's House Blend in an article Pam wrote - Rush: The 'Hell We Don't' Want Obama To Fail!' i decided i wanted to post it here also. Limbaugh is a great obfuscation from head to toe.
thanks, Pam!]

one day after - include your voice...

Freedom to Marry Week ended yesterday - on Valentine's Day.

As an awareness campaign there might not be any way to measure it's success. The polls, surveys and other subjective instruments show that there is growing support for equality in marriage. The most promising population is the young - those under 30 mainly. It has become more of a non-issue to them because they all know someone lgbtq and they measure people under different rules than there parents and older family members, for the most part.

There are many sites on the web who repeatedly say that it is only a matter of time before full equality in all areas, not just marriage, happens; and not just to lgbtq but other minorities who may have equality on the books but not in action and/or belief.

The catch phrase is "It will happen."

One of the things that is most important is to put faces to the imaginary assaults that the right-wingnuttery christianists use as their battle cries.

The Courage Campaign is an organization that is leading the charge in California because of the fiasco of Prop 8. It is also important that the message be spread to all parts of the country. Below is one of the videos they produced to make the point that there is more to the issue than sex. Actually, sex is probably least important to the main issue. People's lives are what are most important.



"Fidelity": Don't Divorce...
from Courage Campaign
on Vimeo.


add your name to their letter being sent to the California Supreme Court and help them give Ken Starr, who is taking the proverbial reins to the pro-Prop 8 people another setback in his nefarious career.

or go HERE to sign...

Freedom to Marry Week...

February 8-14, 2009.



join the conversation on Freedom to Marry

no comment...

the HELL i won't comment...

Obama Backs Off a Reversal on Secrets (New York Times, February 9, 2009)

in response to a case before the Ninth Circuit Court

...Binyam Mohamed, an Ethiopian native, and four other detainees filed suit against a subsidiary of Boeing for arranging flights for the Bush administration’s “extraordinary rendition” program, in which terrorism suspects were secretly taken to other countries, where they say they were tortured.

The new administration, who criticized the Bush administration for its handling of terrorism cases, invoked the exact same stance concerning states-secrets

When asked by the justices,

...a government lawyer, Douglas N. Letter, made the same state-secrets argument on Monday, startling several judges on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

“Is there anything material that has happened” that might have caused the Justice Department to shift its views, asked Judge Mary M. Schroeder, an appointee of President Jimmy Carter, coyly referring to the recent election.

“No, your honor,” Mr. Letter replied.

Judge Schroeder asked, “The change in administration has no bearing?”

Once more, he said, “No, Your Honor.” The position he was taking in court on behalf of the government had been “thoroughly vetted with the appropriate officials within the new administration,” and “these are the authorized positions,” he said.

The court was surprised and inquired again. The reponse:

“No, your honor,” he said once more. The position he was taking in court on behalf of the government had been “thoroughly vetted with the appropriate officials within the new administration,” and “these are the authorized positions,” he said.

That produced an angry response from Anthony D. Romero, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union, which is representing the plaintiffs in the case.

“This is not change,” he said in a statement. “This is definitely more of the same. Candidate Obama ran on a platform that would reform the abuse of state secrets, but President Obama’s Justice Department has disappointingly reneged on that important civil liberties issue. If this is a harbinger of things to come, it will be a long and arduous road to give us back an America we can be proud of again.”

so, here is the first of what i fear will be a litany of my making this statement:

I TOLD YOU SO!

there will be no change, real change that is. Obama is first and foremost a politician. Nothing more; nothing less.

as another example, Obama has already indicated he is going to take more time to consider revoking DADT. As one blogger, and the New York Times, have already asked, "How many more studies do we have to have when all the research and surveys show this to no longer be a big issue with the brass even asking the same question.

again i say

I TOLD YOU SO!

DADT: justice and equality..

Andy Towle at Towleroad has a post up today entitled OBAMA: MORE ANALYSIS NEEDED BEFORE 'DON'T ASK, DON'T TELL' REPEAL

While Obama's press secretary Robert Gibbs said in a Change.gov video that "Yes," the President would lift the ban on gays in the military, Obama is signaling that it will be months if not years before enough canvassing of military officials and congressional leadership can be done for him to be comfortable in moving forward....

it basically discusses how much research and looking into do we have to have.

there is a discussion after the post in the comments that seems to have a slant of hopelessness. i had to add to the discussion, and below is the comment i left:

i met two guys last week who are in the service and are together. talking with them was fascinating. they were really great guys. despite the fact that they are ingrained with the military command structure as part of their lives (they had the aura of military personnel) they were open about their history and relationship because where we were was a totally accepting and open environment at the time and they had nothing to fear. everyone else was lgbtq or friends there. [i realize i'm being a little evasive here, but i don't want to take any chance of compromising their jobs in any way.]

i was very proud to meet these two men. they are doing something they truly believe in by being in the military, yet the sense of how careful they knew they had to be and hiding who they really are has to be so much hard work, and they talked about the impact it has on their lives, both together and individually.

i felt a sense of sadness, and i told them this, because no matter what we've all gone through, they have to deal with something that has to be so constraining it has to be stifling at times.

i also feel safer because of them; they are helping to protect me and the country. their sense of dedication and duty was so obvious. they wouldn't want to be doing anything else. i applaud them wholeheartedly.

i don't see an end to DADT in the near future; i see Obama doing exactly what he did when he was here in Illinois as a state senator - placating everyone. i see him working for one thing and one thing only - reelection in four years!

anyone who was hoping he would make the changes he talked about is a dreamer. take for example his repeated statements during the campaigh that he was "not in favor of" same-sex marriage. for those of you who may not have heard, Chicago's "Windy City Times" has a taped interview with him when he was running for state office when he "explicitly" stated that he supports total marriage equality.

what do you think changed his mind...?

i also feel a sense of helplessness for the two guys i mention above. i don't know what i can do. i support Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN) monetarily and spreading the word on doing away with DADT, but i don't feel it to be enough.

no one should be forced to live in fear of being who they are. if you're older, as i am, i have to tell you that we have only felt a tiny amount of the fear of being outed compared to them. if you are younger, i want to tell you how lucky you are because it has been so much easier for you. i also thank the gods, fate or whatever you believe or don't believe in that it is going to become easier - just not as fast as we want or it should.

i'm a dreamer. i live in a world inside my head that wants everyone to be treated equally.

i want the adage focused in Leviticus, by JC, and with the "Golden Rule" to be a reality.

i'm a child of the 60's, the Age of Aquarius.

i have a strong sense in the Hopi Native-American principle of When hope is gone life is over.

i refuse to give up that hope, but it gets harder every day when i see and hear the new ways man extends his inhumanity to others...

inaugaration day...

"Will no one rid me of this meddlesome priest?" - a new twist...

instead of talking through a designated representative, Benedict opens his own mouth and shows that he is not christian:

VATICAN CITY, Dec 22 (Reuters) - Pope Benedict said on Monday that saving humanity from homosexual or transsexual behaviour was just as important as saving the rainforest from destruction.

"(The Church) should also protect man from the destruction of himself. A sort of ecology of man is needed," the pontiff said in a holiday address to the Curia, the Vatican's central administration.

"The tropical forests do deserve our protection. But man, as a creature, does not deserve any less."

The Catholic Church teaches that while homosexuality is not sinful, homosexual acts are. It opposes gay marriage and, in October, a leading Vatican official called homosexuality "a deviation, an irregularity, a wound".

i would have more hope for Rick Warren than i would for this human, and i hesitate calling him a human.

the stands of this pope and his church over the last several months with its refusal to support the two U.N. resolutions, the one on disability because it says nothing about abortion and one other on decriminalizing LGBTQ in the world, speak to the inhumanity and the belief that all men are not created equal.

the panzerpope refuses to enter the 21st century and is ensuring the eventual death of his own belief system.

i've always found that the louder someone screams against something it is to hide their own fear that they will be found out.

do i think Benedict is queer? you bet. just like Saul of Tarsus...

wow! i went to TWO movies this weekend...

my friends tease me because i hardly ever go to see a movie at the theatre. i usually wait to see in on cable or DVD.

the problem i have is i always end up with the people who jabber on the cellphone during the movie or some other rude thing.

when i went to see the Bourne Ultimatum, there was a couple who had brought there 2-3 year old with them. first it was inappropriate for her to be there because of the type of movie and second they let her crawl around on the floor under the seats! obviously, they had not gone to any parenting classes. BUT giving her a flashlight was the last straw for me, as well as others. before i could get up, someone had already made it to an usher or manager who was right there telling them to either control her or leave. like i said, it was inappropriate for her to be at this film anyway.

so you can see why i don't like going to the theatre. it's just my luck.

i do, however, go to see movies with special effects that would be much better seen on the wide screen than the small. this sent me this Friday to see The Day the Earth Stood Still, that plus a curiosity to compare if with the classic original.

neither the updated story nor the special effects disappointed me. i loved it.

the special effects in the first 10-15 minutes are some of the most spectacular i've ever seen. they were so because they were both subtle and understated. they didn't stop there, but continued through the entire film. in addition, the story updating was believable for today's world, and contrary to others, i think that Keanu Reeves played Klaatu the only way possible, and the robot would scare the s*** out of me.

if you want pure escapist fare, i recommend it. if you're a sci-fi aficionado, don't miss it.



i just came home from the second movie - Milk.

what can i say?

as a piece of history, it is believable; as a reflection of what it is to fight for yourself, it is insightful; as a piece of art, it is incredible; and as a journey of a man and a movement, it is beyond important.

could i identify with all of it? absolutely, positively yes.

did i emotionally loose it at any point? yes, but i won't tell the part unless you've seen the movie. i did get a little teary-eyed at the end, but it was so well done and so dramatically understated to make a point, that it brought the entire project full-circle.

i went with straight friends. they were totally impressed. Sharon said that Sean Penn's performance was one of the most realistic and the best she's ever seen, and she can see 4-5 movies a week, if she can. my other friends said it was one of the best movies they've ever seen also.

i have to tell you that i hesitate referring to them as friends. we have known each other for 40 years and we are more family than friend. we go on vacations together; we celebrate holidays together; and we do lots and lots of things together. the one thing that we are is totally supportive and loving of each other.

since we are friends/family we have a relationship that is such that we talk just about everything. well, sex is probably the one thing we don't talk about, but it's because it's nobody's business. well, i can't really say we never talk about it, but it's not something that is, like, tabletalk during a card game.

my orientation is never discussed either. it is my choice and they understand that. my sexuality is only a part, and a very small part, of who i am. it does not define me; though it adds to my definition.

though the argument in Milk is "let everyone know you're gay because when they know one of us, they know us all" is powerful, but it also tells the story of how we are all alike, and that is the point of demanding and what underscores everyone deserving equal rights. the other thing that is unique about the movie is that it is a love story with a wonderful telling of Harvey and Scott's relationship. a relationship that was just like everyone else's - straight or gay.

if i came away from the movie with anything, it is that everything i've believed, everything for which i have stood, everything that i have done, i have done as a human being. i left the theatre with everything reinforced, everything intact, and everything having more importance.

to use a cliche with which i identify -

The glory of creation is in its infinite diversity.
And the ways our differences combine
to create meaning and beauty.

one of the sadder parts to the Blago business is...

...the Illinois state legislature was getting ready to vote on a bill giving civil union rights to same-sex partners. Blago was a supporter and said he would sign the bill if it came to his desk. his sister-in-law, Debbie Mell, was just elected to the Illinois House of Representatives as openly lesbian/gay, ironically to Blago's own old state seat in the House.

now, that's all on hold. [i'm sure Peter LaBarbera is down on his knees thanking his god for that right now.] it may not even be possible for the new legislature taking office in January to deal with it.

with the pressing matter of this folly and the dire straits of the state budget, it's going to be tabled. it was the closest to passage from years past. Chicago and most of Illinois is quite accepting of LGBTQ citizens. there are detractors, like LaBarbera, but most go with a live and let live outlook.

"Will no one rid me of this meddlesome priest?"

Henry II referring to Thomas Becket who was once his closest adviser and became his greatest enemy when he took the side of the church. [that would be the Roman Catholic church.]

We are faced again with meddlesome priests who want to destroy people's rights, control people's lives, and threaten them with eternal damnation if they don't support the things they want them to.

Today, Archbishop George Niederauer of San Fransisco has compared the people who supported Prop 8 in California to abolitionists and civil rights marchers [Queerty: SF Catholic Archbishop Compares Prop. 8 Supporters to Abolitionists & Civil Rights Marchers. So, now they are the victims. They have the sole responsibility of deciding who is worthy of equal rights. This man was the person who brought the Mormans into the fight in California though only 2% of Californians are Morman, along with $20 million. Oh, would it also surprise you that Niederauer was the R.C. bishop of Salt Lake City, Utah before going to S.F. Don't say collusion to me...

Two days ago, December 3, 2008, the Vatican and its man in red decided to enter the fray in another way: The Pope's Christmas Gift: A Tough Line on Church Doctrine Times.com.

s, Archbishop Celestino Migliore, has announced that the Vatican will oppose a proposed U.N. declaration calling for an end to discrimination against homosexuals.

Why? Because some religious are against LGBT and no one should interfere with their beliefs. Huh? That's real christian of them.

Oh, wait. On the same day Benedict, aka God's Rottweiler, the Panzercardinal, as he has been called in the past, also sent this little message to the United Nations: Holy See refused to sign a UN document on the rights of the disabled because it did not condemn abortion.

Following the Vatican's controversial opposition this week to a UN declaration calling for an end to discrimination against homosexuals, Archbishop Celestino Migliore, the Vatican envoy to the UN, has confirmed that the Holy See also refused to sign a UN document last May on the rights of the disabled because it did not condemn abortion or assert the rights of foetuses with birth defects....

...the Vatican supported the rights of the disabled, but could not accept a clause in the UN declaration affirming a right to "sexual health and reproduction" because "in some countries such rights include the right to abortion".

you read that correctly.

It's all right to discriminate against all kinds of people if they don't agree with your isms. It's all right to allow at-risk people to suffer and hurt because some people do not agree with your dogma.

real christian, don't you think?

just asking...


again, though i in no way advocate violence of any kind, "Will no one rid me of this meddlesome priest?

rather than priest, i would replace it with the word religion. i think religion has outlived its usefulness and the likes of Benedict, Dobson, Falwell, Bush and all the others know and fear just that. they will lose their power. they will lose their influence, and, most important, they will lose their money.

life should be a musical...

Andy over at Towleroad put this up on his site today - NEIL PATRICK HARRIS AND JACK BLACK IN PROP 8: THE MUSICAL

i've always thought that the world could be a better place if it was a musical. just think about it.

feeling down? - break into song! really happy? - break into song! feel discriminated against? - break into song!

See more Jack Black videos at Funny or Die

of course, they may lock you up if you break into song. they may say you're a little bit off. oh, and they'd probably say you are blasphemous also...

personally? i'd rather have a good time.

seems like nothing going on...

the last couple of weeks it seems i've been doing more humor that anything else on the site.

post-election blahs? not really. i'm glad it's over.

too much Obama? no. it is to be expected. Tsar George has basically bowed out of everything, and people are looking forward to a change from the last eight years. i'm sure even the Busheviks are included in this. they probably are happy that the lead weight is going to be gone from around their necks.

holiday blues? not really. holidays have been great for me the last several years. i look forward to them and have a good time.

cabin fever? too early. the weather has just begun to change in Chicago and the sun is coming out every couple of days. besides, fall has always been my favorite season of the year.

idleness? no way. the Thanksgiving holiday. the HEDAC holiday donation mailer. a new startup charity i'm getting involved with called H.A.N.K. - Helping All Needy Kids based in the community my school was located. opera season. [i've already seen Les Pecheur des perles, Manon, and Lulu. Porgy & Bess is next.] the gym. doctors.

oh, there's a big part of it. i've been to see the neurosurgeon again, had a new MRI and also underwent a series of tests to determine nerve damage with my back. it's been a year since the original injury; i've had multiple interventions and one major surgery. looks like it may be another, even more complicated. i'll find out more on the 18th.

the economy? definitely. my portfolio is waaayyyyyyy down, but who's isn't. it's sad to see everyone struggling. being on a fixed income with retirement, i watch the prices of things going up and realize that it effects me also. i go by the local churches and see more people in line at the food pantries, and i don't live in a poor neighborhood. it's very middle class and established. it's kind of sad. no, it's very sad.

Propositon 8 in California? yes, that's a large part of it also. i've been watching so much of what has been happening as it's result. the LGBT community is at odds not only with the wingnutters but with itself also. the latest was an op-ed in the New York Times - Gay Marriage and a Moral Minority - by Charles M. Blow. there is a lot to the article but the effect it is having has at its heart that Civil Rights and rights for LGBT are not the same thing.

you see, i've always believed that a civil right is a civil right no matter what you gender, race, ethnicity, sexuality, etc. that civil rights are the promises made by the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution, the Rights of Man, Déclaration des droits de l'Homme et du citoyen, etc. had no barrier to anyone who is a human being, in spite of the decades it took to complete it for women, African-Americans and others.

with the latter, i thought that when Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed, though it was meant to specifically address the standing of the Black Community, it would be understood that no one should be left out of basic civil rights.

i suppose i could mention other things, but probably the ones above are the biggest and, add in my back problems, it sometimes seems overwhelming. i also understand that others are worse off, but i am only a speck. there is only so much any one of us can do.

we just have to make sure we do it...