I thought they were parodies.....they aren't.
 

North Carolina governor worried how gay marriage vote makes the state look



http://www.gaystarnews.com/article/n...ate-look120512

WTF? How did he go from 'evolving on gay marraige' to the first gay president?

Top GOP Pollster to GOP: Reverse On Gay Issues


http://andrewsullivan.thedailybeast....ay-issues.html

Cuban President's Daughter Marches for Marriage Equality

http://www.advocate.com/politics/mar...riage-equality

It's not really "breaking" news, but just another example of stupidity in the world...
 

Same Sex Couple Banned From Prom

Hope Decker and Tiffany Wright, a same-sex couple at Lexington Catholic High School in Lexington, Ky., were barred from attending the school's prom because their relationship violated the Catholic church's position on homosexuality, the Herald-Leader reports.

Decker, 18, and Wright, 16, were told by school officials they could not attend the school event, despite having already purchased their dresses, because of the nature of their relationship.

"As a Catholic high school, we uphold every teaching of the Catholic Church," Lexington Catholic High School President Steve Angelucci told the Herald-Leader in an email. "The policies and procedures of our school reflect those teachings."

But Decker told LEX 18 that she believes the couple's treatment was based on more than just school rules.

"What I experienced in the Dean's Office was blatant homophobia," Decker told the station.

Wright told the station that, while they were upset at first, they soon decided to take action.

"I mean, we both cried and then I was like, this is ridiculous," Wright said. "There's gotta be something we could do about this."

So, instead of going home, the couple and their friends held their own prom in the school's parking lot with the help of some car stereos for music, WLKY reports.

Gay father wrongly accused of raping twin daughters after posting photo on Facebook (and authorities gave the girls to the nanny who made false accusations)

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...#ixzz1v4M2V0v4



http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...thorities.html

After stinging report, Pope softens tone for U.S. nuns
 

Being Catholic, I am used to the misogynistic doctrines and the idjiots who create and perpetuate them. But, stuff like this just makes me want to smack the jackasses upside the head with a very large crucifix


VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Benedict on Friday held out an olive branch to American Roman Catholic nuns, who are reeling from a stinging Vatican report that criticized them as being feminist and politicized.

"I wish to reaffirm my deep gratitude for the example of fidelity and self-sacrifice given by many consecrated women (nuns) in your country," he said in an address to visiting U.S. bishops.

In a reference to the malaise felt by many American nuns after the report issued last month, he said he hoped that "this moment of discernment will bear abundant spiritual fruit for the revitalization and strengthening of their communities in fidelity to Christ and the Church ..."

A month ago, the Vatican's doctrinal department, which the pope headed for many years before his election in 2005, issued a blistering report on the activity of the majority of American nuns.

It was issued after a Vatican investigation determined that the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, whose 1,500 members represent some 80 percent of American nuns, had "serious doctrinal problems" and promoted "radical feminist themes incompatible with the Catholic faith".

The report, which also criticized the LCWR for sometimes challenging bishops, shocked most American nuns and led to an outpouring of popular and editorial support for them and their work among the poor, and in schools and hospitals.

A Twitter drive in the support of the nuns attracted thousands.

The report said the LCWR had been "silent on the right to life" and had failed to make the "Biblical view of family life and human sexuality" a central plank in its agenda.

In his address to visiting U.S. bishops, the pope did not mention the scolding report and used much softer language in describing his view of religious life.

"The urgent need in our own time for credible and attractive witnesses to the redemptive and transformative power of the Gospel makes it essential to recapture a sense of the sublime dignity and beauty of the consecrated life ..." Benedict said.

Last month's report prompted much criticism of the Vatican attempt to rein in the nuns, who were seen by many as helping the image of the Catholic Church in the United States at a time when it was engulfed the scandal over sexual abuse of minors by priests and accusations and bishops covered it up.

A New York Times editorial called the Vatican's report "a misreading of the very fine work in schools, charities, prison and impoverished neighborhoods being done by about 60,000 nuns across the nation".

The editorial, one of many to defend the nuns, said: "It would be a tragedy, far beyond the Church, if their fine work and their courageous voices were constrained."

American nuns and U.S. bishops have been at odds over several issues social issues. They supported President Barack Obama's health care reform which the bishops opposed it.

The Vatican named Seattle Archbishop Peter Sartain and two other U.S. bishops to undertake the reforms of the conference's statutes, programs and its application of liturgical texts, a process it said could take up to five years.

This means a great deal to me, personally, because my great aunt was a Franciscan nun. Thank you, Kobi. :candle:

Shorter University's 'Personal Lifestyle Statement' Which Bans Gay Employees Leads To Faculty Exodus


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/0...n_1528588.html

Malawi to overturn homosexual ban, Joyce Banda says


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-18118350

Westboro showed up at the McDonalds at Fort Hood (Killeen, TX) today (about 30 minutes from me).

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net...69954670_n.jpg

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net...29857041_n.jpg

And this was the response:

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https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net...37680360_n.jpg

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"Once the WBC people were getting ready to leave, all the military supporters followed them. The police had to escort the WBC group out of the area."

updated 5/18/2012 3:40:10 PM ET

All boomers need hep C test for liver, CDC says
msnbc.com news services

For the first time, health officials are proposing that all baby boomers get tested for hepatitis C.

Anyone born from 1945 to 1965 should get a one-time blood test to see if they have the liver-destroying virus, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in draft recommendations issued Friday.

The often undiagnosed virus is contracted through contact with blood from an infected person. While the risk of infection has dropped dramatically since the early 1990s, many older adults are still at risk, according to the CDC, which released the draft guidelines.


Baby boomers account for 2 million of the 3.2 million Americans infected with the blood-borne virus. The virus can take decades to cause liver damage, and many people don't know they're infected. According to the CDC, one in 30 baby boomers has been infected with hepatitis C.

CDC officials believe the new measure could lead 800,000 more baby boomers to get treatment and could save more than 120,000 lives.

The virus causes serious liver diseases, including liver cancer - the fastest-rising cause of cancer-related deaths - and is the leading cause of liver transplants in the United States.

The hepatitis C virus is most commonly spread today through sharing needles to inject drugs. Before widespread screening of blood donations began in 1992, it was also spread through blood transfusions.

Risk factors for hep c per NIH.gov (because the blanket recommendation for an entire generation confused me):

Hepatitis C infection is caused by the hepatitis C virus (HCV). People who may be at risk for hepatitis C are those who:

- Have been on long-term kidney dialysis
- Have regular contact with blood at work (for instance, as a health care worker)
- Have unprotected sexual contact with a person who has hepatitis C (this risk is much less common than hepatitis B, but the risk is higher for those who have many sex partners, already have a sexually transmitted disease, or are infected with HIV)
- Inject street drugs or share a needle with someone who has hepatitis C
- Received a blood transfusion before July 1992
- Received a tattoo or acupuncture with contaminated instruments (the risk is very low with licensed, commercial tattoo facilities)
- Received blood, blood products, or solid organs from a donor who has hepatitis C
- Share personal items such as toothbrushes and razors with someone who has hepatitis C (less common)
- Were born to a hepatitis C-infected mother (this occurs in about 1 out of 20 babies born to mothers with HCV, which is much less common than with hepatitis B)

Tyler Clementi's life was worth 30 days in jail, 300 hours of com. service and a fine? Really?
 

Former Rutgers student Dharun Ravi, who in March was found guilty of invasion of privacy and hate crimes that resulted in the tragic suicide of his gay roommate Tyler Clementi, was sentenced Monday to 30 days in jail, as well as 300 hours of community service and counseling. He was also fined $10,000. He will begin his sentence on May 31.

Ravi, 20, did not speak, but inside the packed New Brunswick, N.J., courtroom, his mother, Sabitha Ravi, in tears, pleaded for mercy for her son. "The media was ripping him apart with their misleading facts ... He was absolutely devastated and broken into pieces,” she said, referring to her son as "kind-hearted and loving," reports the Newark Star-Ledger.

Ravi cried as his mother spoke.

In a case that received national attention, Ravi was also convicted of bias intimidation, witness tampering, hindering arrest and numerous other charges. All stemmed from his role in using a webcam to observe Clementi's date with a man in the dorm room on Sept. 19, 2010.

Ravi later Tweeted about what he'd witnessed and invited others to watch Clementi with the man, whose name has not been revealed. Prosecutors said Ravi was motivated by a hatred of gays, an allegation Ravi consistently denied.

"I do not believe he hated Tyler Clementi," Judge Glenn Berman told the court on Monday, according to ABC News. "He had no reason to, but I do believe he acted out of colossal insensitivity."

Clementi, 18, jumped to his death off the George Washington Bridge on Sept. 22, after leaving a note on Facebook that read, "Jumping off the gw bridge. Sorry."

Refused a Plea Bargain
In the days leading up to Monday's sentencing, several prominent gay activists made public pleas for Ravi not to be sent to prison, reports ABC News.

But the man captured on the webcam with Clementi did not agree. His attorney, Richard Pompelio, read his victim-impact statement in court Monday. It said, "While I bear no anger towards Mr. Ravi, after much thought and many sleepless nights, I must say that Mr. Ravi should serve some type of confinement so that he can reflect on the serious harm he has caused. ... I do not believe that he has taken responsibility for his conduct, and to this day he seems to blame me for the actions he took."

Speaking in court as his wife cried, Tyler's father, Joseph Clementi, also said of Ravi: "He had no call to do what he did. Tyler never did anything to Mr. Ravi to cause him harm." Ravi's actions, said Joseph Clementi, were purely as a result of his seeing Tyler "as someone not deserving basic human decency and respect, because my son was different from him [and] because he was gay."

In her own message, Jane Clementi, Tyler's mother, called Ravi's actions "mean-spirited, they are evil and, most important, they are against the law." She also said, "The court needs to show ... this was not right, and it was not acceptable behavior, and it will not be tolerated."

Before trial, Ravi had rejected a plea deal that would have placed him on probation and required community service – and spared him any time behind bars or the threat of deportation to his native India. He chose instead to face a jury.

Molly Wei, another student who was with Ravi when he was eavesdropping on Clementi (and whose laptop was used to watch the intimate encounter), received leniency for her participation in the events. She was sentenced to perform 300 hours of community service, undergo counseling or training in cyberbullying and alternative lifestyles and work full-time.

Soon after Ravi's conviction, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie also signed into law tougher anti-cyberbullying laws.

Middlesex County Prosecutor Bruce J. Kaplan said in a statement Monday afternoon that he planned to appeal the Ravi's sentence.

"The imposition of this term is insufficient under the sentencing laws of this state, the facts that were determined by a jury, and long-standing appellate precedent," reads the statement. "Consequently, this office will appeal the sentence."

http://www.people.com/people/article...ntent=My+Yahoo

Quote Kobi:

" Tyler Clementi's life was worth 30 days in jail, 300 hours of com. service and a fine? Really?"

Just in case you were really wondering what a LGBTQ life is really worth in our legal system.

Judge Judy Speaks Out In Support Of Gay Marriage On 'The View'


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/0...r=Gay%20Voices

I recently saw a documentary on this very subject...the disease being spread through blood transfusions..and how this affected vast amounts of people, who thought that the blood they were receiving was safe (similar to when HIV was passed on to patients).

KKK ALERT
 

Theft Stalls, but Does Not Stop, a Project



http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/0...-a-project/?hp

The Military and Abortions
 

According to NARAL, tomorrow the Senate Armed Services Committee will be voting on an amendment that will require the military to provide abortion services to victims of rape or incest - overturning a decades old federal ban on such health services.

Sexual assaults on women in the military have increased 64% in the last 6 years. The budget of the Defense Department’s Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office increased from $5 million in 2005 to more than $23 million in 2010.

While it would be best for women to serve without the threat of sexual assault, having the option of an abortion, if needed, seems pertinent.

Good time to let your Congressperson know your thoughts on this.

Somewhat ironic given the number of anti-choice bills the House (especially) has passed (or tried to pass) since the mid-term (2010) of so many "Teapublicans."

The idea of the presidency going to the GOP in November and possibly the Senate ending going to the GOP or nearly so scares the hell out of me just in terms of women's right/healthcare. Then there is the possibility of another Supreme Court nomination coming up. Bader-Ginsburg's cancer will catch-up to her (very unfortunately) and she is not a young woman. Sometimes I wonder if she will retire during the lame-duck session post general election so that she can be sure that Obama will make the appointment. Wouldn't surprise me at all if Romney wins. No way is going to last another 4-5 years.

Romney is gaining on Obama outside of women. It is time to mobilize and participate in this general election. So much is at stake.

Target has come out with a line of Pride shirts. Does this mean I can shop there again? :cheer:

http://www.target.com/s?searchTerm=pride+t-shirt&category=0

http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphot...26540425_n.jpg

Guess I'll cross him off my reading list.
 

Victory for women in the military!
 

From NARAL:

Just moments ago, the Senate Armed Forces Committee passed an amendment to allow our military women to receive abortion coverage in cases of rape or incest.

Today’s vote was vitally important. Right now, women in the military are patently denied coverage for abortion services—even in cases of rape or incest.

This amendment, introduced by Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), was passed with bipartisan support and is a critical positive step towards over-turning this ban.

We applaud Senator Shaheen and the committee members for taking decisive action to provide women in the military with the coverage they need when facing rape or incest. The next step is for the full Congress to follow the committee’s lead.

Women serving in the armed forces defend and protect our country every single day, but the federal government has refused to do the same for them when it comes to their basic health needs in a time of crisis.

For years, the federal government has failed servicewomen by allowing this harsh and antiquated policy to stand. Every woman deserves access to the full range of reproductive health services—not just a select few Congress deems appropriate.

NO! Although I can't even recall why it was us queer boycotted them. Was it giving money to the GOP or maybe they gave money to someone who supported the whole ex-gay thing? Can't remember, but it was something related to politics I believe.

Target donated money to a Tea Party candidate in a local election in a midwestern state. (Maybe Michigan?)

Guess there is a profit to be made post Obama's pro-same sex marriage?

I think maybe they are taking the "may the fetus you save be gay" bumper stickers seriously

So we give them 13 bucks for a shirt that probably cost a tenth of that to produce - then they take the remaining profit and donate it toward people who think death penalty for gays is A-okay? No thanks.

They like gay money JUST FINE. And gay labor. And gay designers. But the profit they make - eh.

And they do offer same-sex partner benefits, which is better than my employer has to offer.

I know plenty of LGBT folks who think Target's the awesomest and don't care about the bs that happened with them. I see gay and lesbian couples heading to and from the local Target with regularity - and that's in a town where gay and lesbian couples are a rarity to see. But just the thought of giving that company a dime still feels like ashes in my mouth. I personally cannot bring myself to do it. Target was magic for me before that bs, and now it's lost all its sparkle.

Thanks, Cheryl!

Andrea, I was just teasing, certainly I would never tell someone where they should/shouldn't shop in any serious manner. :)

Target donated $150k to a PAC for emmer's gubanatorial campaign in Minnesota (which is where Target is from). Emmer was not only anti-gay but very much in agreement with Arizona's policies against immigrants.

I remember this being pretty satisfying.


Did some more research and "up to $120k" of profits for the sale of these shirts will be donated to an equality organization.

A gay male friend from Minnesota did point out to me today that selling these shirts is pretty gutsy for Target at this time as there's an anti-marriage amendment currently being worked on in Minnesota at this time.

Sooo I think I am reversing my opinion on this - buying one of these shirts would:

1. Encourage Target to continue to be as pro-gay as they are
2. Ensure some organization working for our rights will receive almost as much as the donation made to Emmer's campaign.
3. Indicate to Target that LGBT folks spend money and they would be missing out on LGBT money when they treat our community as dismissively as they already did.

Based on the principle of approving of positive moves made by a corporation by purchasing merchandise that supports our community - since money speaks a different language when it's spent than when a place is entirely boycotted, I think I will buy one of these shirts while continuing to boycott other Target purchases. I can't find the YouTube on this type of activism but I did think it was a good idea - the opposite of a boycott - to spend money at companies for committing to doing the right thing as being an effective use of capitalism + activism.

I'm also more likely to shop at JCPenney's since they stood up against pressure to remove Ellen as a spokesperson despite anti-gay threats to boycott.

Also, the Obama campaign is now officially selling LGBT out for Obsma paraphernalia - and even though the designs aren't the best, I will likely purchase at least one of these items in support. Obama has had a lot of LGBT supporters despite his former disapproval of gay marriage and I want his campaign also to be able to count LGBT dollars among his supporters.

I am willing to bet it will never pass the House or the Senate. I'm too lazy to go find the Committee vote....how many and which Repubs voted for it. I am shocked any Republican voted to spend taxpayer dollars on abortion for any reason for anybody. Those that did vote for this will be 'taken to the woodshed' for it.

I understand what you are saying. It's a wacky world out there. Here is the vote:


MOTION: To authorize the use of Department of Defense funds for abortion in cases of rape and incest.
VOTE: Passed on a roll call vote, 16-10.
In Favor: Senators Levin, Lieberman, Reed, Akaka, Webb, McCaskill, Udall, Hagan, Begich, Manchin, Shaheen, Gillibrand, Blumenthal, McCain-R, Brown-R, and Collins-R.
Opposed: Senators Nelson, Inhofe, Sessions, Chambliss, Wicker, Portman, Ayotte, Graham, Cornyn, and Vitter.

Nat -

I like the way you are thinking about this Target issue. Buy the shirts only. When I was reading your post and saw where you said that you were changing your mind on it I thought about how I still felt icky about shopping there. When I saw you say buy the shirts only, that made sense to me!

+1 to JcPenney's. The problem is that I don't like their clothing. I haven't been in one of their stores since I was a kid though (with mom...who, of course, calls it Penney's like many other women her age!), so I will have to go and see what else they carry.

A Company’s Stand for Gay Marriage, and Its Cost


http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/26/bu...KWqbC7deWbZaXQ

No worries. I knew you were teasing me. :)

Judge: Anti-gay marriage law is unconstitutional
 

SAN FRANCISCO—A judge in California has ruled that the federal law that prohibits recognition of same-sex unions is unconstitutional because it denies long-term health insurance benefits to legal spouses of state employees and retirees.

U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken also concluded Thursday that a section of the federal tax code that made the domestic partners of state workers ineligible for long-term care insurance similarly violates the civil rights of people in gay and lesbian relationships. Both laws were based on what she called "moral condemnation" of same-sex couples.

"Congress's restriction on state-maintained long-term care plans lacks any rational relationship to a legitimate government interest, but rather appears to be motivated by antigay animus," Wilken wrote in ordering the California Public Employees' Retirement System to allow current and former state employees to enroll their same-sex spouses and partners in the extended care plan.

Congress passed both laws that the Oakland, Calif.-based judge determined to be constitutionally suspect in 1996, when the gay rights movement was just beginning to push for the state and local benefits that come with marriage. She is the second federal judge in California this year to conclude that the Defense of Marriage Act violates the due process rights of legally married same-sex couples.

A San Francisco judge also declared the federal law unconstitutional in February in a separate case involving a federal court employee, who married during the brief period when same-sex marriages were legal in California, was not allowed to add her wife to her regular employer-sponsored health care plan. That ruling is under appeal and is scheduled to be heard by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in September.

"Lesbian and gay couples are entitled to fair and equal treatment from the federal government," Elizabeth Kristen of Legal Aid Society-Employment Law Center, which sued the U.S. Treasury Department and California's pension plan two years ago on behalf of three same-sex couples. "Judge Wilken's ruling ensures that both same-sex spouses and registered domestic partners will be treated fairly with respect to the CalPERS long-term care insurance program."

Lawyers representing a House of Representatives committee that has taken on the job of defending the Defense of Marriage Act in court since the Obama administration said it no longer would did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment. Wilken said she would stay her decision in the event of an appeal.

The program to which the plaintiffs in the case Wilken decided are seeking access covers the cost of in-home care and other services for people who need help with basic daily tasks because of age, injury or chronic conditions such as Alzheimer's disease.

In seeking to end their exclusion from the program, the same-sex couples had argued that state workers and retirees are allowed to enroll not only heterosexual husbands and wives, but siblings and step-siblings, nieces and nephews, in-laws and stepparents.



http://www.boston.com/news/nation/ar...--+Latest+news