Link to another Blogger's Post

 For further opinion and information I refer you all to Bobservations at "I Should Be Laughing"

What We Need To Know

I am sharing this LINK to a downloadable PDF "The Extremism of anti-LGBT powerhouse Alliance Defending Freedom" even though I have not yet had a chance to read through it.

Thanks to Alvin McEwen at http://holybulliesandheadlessmonsters.blogspot.com

Article By A Friend And Former Teacher

In Memory of All Victims Of Gun Violence

Chuck Radda, a former Plainville, Connecticut teacher and one of my publishers in Connecticut wrote an excellent article that is a must read.

I will give the link below. Please feel free to share the link on your Facebook page or in other media.

Link to the Blog Post here.

Netflix Review - Queer Eye

The new Netflix "reboot" of Queer Eye is not necessarily always for the "straight guy" (in one episode the new Fab Five make over a gay guy whose been struggling with his own internalized homophobia) but it keeps to the original format which always went beyond fashion and grooming to compassion and understanding.

I was skeptical about the show, figuring it would be all superficial and too contemporary. But because the show does stick to the original premise, the episodes are far from shallow presentations of guys being a canvass for fashionistas and pop culture. The Fab Five are truly compassionate, feeling, non-judgmental human beings who not only zero in on their subjects psychology but, in the process, reveal their own vulnerabilities, challenges and life experience.

While each is an expert in some area - design, fashion, food, grooming, culture - I am amazed that they have such a gift for focusing on the interpersonal and psychological elements of their subjects lives - and facilitating what appear to be deeply personal transformations. And they do so with respect and sensitivity.

I do have some questions, however: Who pays for all the furniture, clothing, painting, grooming and products? (One shirt probably costs more than my yearly clothing expenditure at KMart) How much of the show is scripted? How do Leon and I get a makeover from the Fab Five?

Yes, there is plenty of frivolity and silliness in each episode (we've seen 3 so far), sometimes embarrassingly so, but if the shows don't bring a tear to your eye, you may be hopelessly hard-hearted.

Refusing To Provide Medical Care Based On Religion Is Unacceptable

This is a very strong statement by a gay pediatrician against the new Division of Conscience and Religious Freedom in the US Department of Health and Human Services.

The government under the current administration, rather than protecting the rights of all to non-judgemental health care, is cow-towing to the fringe element of the religious right who blindly support him despite his very questionable ethics.

Read the article here.

World AIDS Day: Sharing A Post From Back2Stonewall

Here is an article for World AIDS Day for Will Kohler at "Back2Stonewall" about St. Vincent's Hospital, New York City.

Please Read At Blue Truck, Red State

I am referring any and all readers to an excellent commentary by Russ Manley at Blue Truck, Red State.

As I commented to him on his blog:

Russ,
That was eloquent. And more: intelligent, thoughtful, insightful, moving. It nearly brought me to tears. I've been unable to articulate my thoughts and feelings thus far; perhaps I'm still numb or in denial; yet throughout the day and even when I wake in middle of the night I lose my breath momentarily and shudder when some new horrific imagining intrudes on my consciousness.

I've spoken often about the reality: that we should not let our guard down, that there would be a backlash. But never could I have imagined anything like a complete government takeover by such a band of fascists intent on reversing all the liberties and rights that we (not only LGBT) have fought for.

I have given up on Facebook for many reasons you can relate to - preaching to the choir, the futility of trying to "convert" the other side; the waste of time; the desire to live my life without having to defend or justify my right to do so; the desire to live in peace and tranquility.

When I read something like your post here I want to immediately go back to Facebook and share it with everyone there. I won't go back...

But I would like to have your permission to share this post, if you so agree, via email or other means beyond a link in my blog which I feel compelled to do when I finish this comment. I will, of course credit you and Blue Truck, Red State, but I cannot guarantee where it might eventually end up: I certainly think it is worthy of a major newspaper, an op-ed or feature of some kind. Perhaps you should be the one to promulgate it beyond this blog.

Meanwhile, I will go to dinner with friends to celebrate a birthday (not mine) and walk the dog and buy groceries and cook Thanksgiving dinner for me and Leon and Sam and Len and Linda and Angie and Judy. I am anticipating a rather emotional Grace before that meal and pray in my thoroughly non-traditional way that the universe is truly unfolding as it should:


Max Ehrmann
"Desiderata"

Go placidly amid the noise and haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible without surrender
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons,
they are vexations to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain and bitter;
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs;
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals;
and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Be yourself.
Especially, do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love;
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment
it is as perennial as the grass.
Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe,
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.
Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be,
and whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.
With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy.
Max Ehrmann, Desiderata, Copyright 1952.

NBC News Doing Stories About Transgender Children

Great reporting by NBC News. I guess more to come tomorrow evening.

Now Here's An Idea

Google to rank websites on basis of trustworthiness.
This may counter the anti-science and those who confuse opinions with facts.
I think all websites, articles, information should also be dated. Nothing like looking for information about something time sensitive and finding only articles that are 10 years old.

Malcolm Boyd, LGBT pioneer, died recently.

Link:
Malcolm Boyd, a pioneer for LGBT rights and an Episcopal priest, has passed away at the age of 91. If anyone is interested in LGBT history and those who have made our lives today what they are, I suggest you know about those who paved the way. Malcolm Boyd was one.

Stubbornly Hanging On To The Past

In my memoir, I spend a good number of pages telling about my difficulty in being a good Catholic boy.

At moments since writing "Did You Ever See A Horse Go By?" I've thought that my story is old, outdated and irrelevant.

But I keep reading articles that make me think that the difficulties I experienced as a young gay kid are just as relevant now; and with some of the religious backlash that's been going on, more relevant than ever.

I think the Catholic Church in the 1950s and 1960s, despite its old school traditional thinking, was a lot more subtle in its admonitions than it is today, Pope Francis notwithstanding.

Things were not always spelled out then, and when they were, it was with what may well have been, to a young child or adolescent, code words - words like self abuse, adultery, heavy petting, impure thoughts, and the like.

But somehow, some of us, if not most of us, got the message. But our transgressions, however, were only discussed in the privacy of the confessional.

The list of possible and morally suspect transgressions are now being spelled out in no uncertain terms: “public support of or publicly living together outside marriage, public support of or sexual activity out of wedlock, public support of or homosexual lifestyle,” as well as support or use of abortion, surrogacy, artificial insemination..."

Funny, no specific mention is made of supporting corporations that hoard money and make their executives wealthy off the backs of the poor, or supporting the death penalty, or violence against sexual or ethnic or racial minorities or abuse of children, women, and others, or trading in human lives or injustice in the legal system, overcrowded prisons, poverty, raping the envioronment, etc, etc.

Instead, bishops and archbishops like Cordileone in San Francisco are devising moral litmus tests for school teachers and school employees  (and HERE) that require professed adherence to these cleric's rigid and often misguided interpretations of Catholic dogma and tradition.

In addition, they are now calling their teachers and I assume the janitor and the secretaries "ministers"  - legal rather than religious language that will permit them to discriminate against/terminate any employee who does not pass or fails to maintain passing the litmus test of orthodoxy, and without cause - or recourse to legal action by the fired employee.

So, yeah, things change and things remain the same. And, yeah, perhaps my little memoir still has some relevance in 2015.

Interesting Report on Marriage Cases Before the 5th Circuit and Panti Bliss TED Talk

Link to Buzz Feed Report here.

The ever articulate and to the point Panti Bliss

One Thing That Facebook Is Good For

Anyone who's on Facebook can go to NOM's Facebook page and answer their question:

 "Is there a couple in your life who have a strong, lasting marriage that inspires you? Tag them in the comments!"

Apparently the site has been flooded with comments from gay, lesbian, bi and trans folks as well as straight allies who are naming same-sex couples who "have strong, lasting" relationships/marriages.

After all, it is the National Organization for Marriage, and well, the growing number of same-sex marriages shouldn't be left out! Many of us have been together much longer than many straight couples and much longer than the length of time since our marriages became legal. Leon and I are just going on two months after a 26 year engagement. I wonder if it will last.

17 Years Since Ellen Came Out - On "The Puppy Episode"

Seventeen years ago Ellen DeGeneras and her TV character, Ellen Morgan, made TV history by coming out publicly over an airport public address system.

The video cannot be embedded, but you can go to the link below to view it. It is still both funny and endearing after all these years.

Ellen Comes Out - "The Puppy Episode"

And gay actor Jeremy Piven as Spence Kovak on Ellen's Show is worth a mention here too. I'm sure I remember him as having a hairy chest in one episode when he emerged from a bathtub, I think. You must know him as Mr. Selfridge on the PBS/BBC series.

When Saying "I Love You" Was (Just Recently) A Crime

LINK here to an ex-Navy SEAL's story.

A Sign of Things to Come? or Do These Backward States Really Enjoy Making Themselves A Laughing Stock?

Link*:
Kansas is poised to codify discrimination against gays based on "religious freedom". 

and here

and here

Proposed Kansas legislation would allow ANYONE to discriminate against LGBT persons based on their RELIGIOUS BELIEFS by denying goods, services or public accommodation if “related to, or related to the celebration of, any marriage, domestic partnership, civil union or similar arrangement.” (emphasis mine). And it provides for complete immunity from lawsuits or recourse.

Going to the movies to celebrate your partner's birthday? Out to dinner on Valentine's Day? Buying a new outfit for your best friend's wedding? If the theater or restaurant or clothing store is run by bible bangers in Kansas, go elsewhere Dorothy. Call 911 for an emergency at the home you and your spouse share - the first responder doesn't have to help you if he doesn't believe in "your lifestyle".

While I'm certain it has no chance in hell of surviving constitutional muster, the fact that those Kansan legislators have the audacity to put forward such a bill is both scary and laughable. It defies logic, reason and common sense. The consequences would be dangerous and costly.

Do these people have no BRAINS? no COURAGE? no HEART?

The short answer is "Yes" to all of the above. I imagine that in today's Kansas, the Scarecrow, the Lion the Tin Man and Dorothy herself would all be shunned if they were going to a same-sex wedding.

The only bright spot in this is I can't wait to see how the LGBT community responds. Someone will come up with a witty retort, a highly visible demonstration, a creative response that will put the bigots to shame.

The Kansas legislature, the governor and the Republican party will again be a laughing stock.

Never Surrender, Dorothy!

*As usual, reading the comments of readers on some of these news articles is eye-opening, irritating, sad, tedious or occasionally funny.

United Nations' Committee on Rights of the Child Scathing Report on the Vatican and Catholic Church

I will not comment here; the excerpts speak for themselves, I think.

Here are some excerpts (which means they are taken out of the document and are not entirely "in context" -  follow the link to read the entire document):

United Nations

Convention on the Rights of the Child

Committee on the Rights of the Child 

Concluding observations on the second periodic report of the Holy See

While also noting as positive the progressive statement delivered in July 2013 by Pope Francis, the Committee is concerned about the Holy See’s past statements and declarations on homosexuality which contribute to the social stigmatization of and violence against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender adolescents and children raised by same sex couples.

The Committee also urges the Holy See to make full use of its moral authority to condemn all forms of harassment, discrimination or violence against children based on their sexual orientation or the sexual orientation of their parents and to support efforts at international level for the decriminalisation of homosexuality.

The Committee urges the Holy See to adopt a rights-based approach to address discrimination between girls and boys and refrain from using terminology that could challenge equality between girls and boys. The Committee also urges the Holy See to take active measures to remove from Catholic schools textbooks all gender stereotyping which may limit the development of the talents and abilities of boys and girls and undermine their educational and life opportunities.

The Committee is particularly concerned that in dealing with allegations of child sexual abuse, the Holy See has consistently placed the preservation of the reputation of the Church and the protection of the perpetrators above children’s best interests, as observed by several national commissions of inquiry.

The Committee nevertheless expresses its deepest concern about child sexual abuse committed by members of the Catholic churches who operate under the authority of the Holy See, with clerics having been involved in the sexual abuse of tens of thousands of children worldwide. The Committee is gravely concerned that the Holy See has not acknowledged the extent of the crimes committed, has not taken the necessary measures to address cases of child sexual abuse and to protect children, and has adopted policies and practices which have led to the continuation of the abuse by and the impunity of the perpetrators.

Child sexual abuse, when addressed, has been dealt with as grave delicts against the moral through confidential proceedings providing for disciplinary measures which have allowed the vast majority of abusers and almost all those who concealed child sexual abuse to escape judicial proceedings in States where abuses were committed;

Immediately remove all known and suspected child sexual abusers from assignment and refer the matter to the relevant law enforcement authorities for investigation and prosecution purposes;

Amend Canon Law in order for child sexual abuse to be considered as crimes and not as “delicts against the moral” and repeal all provisions which may impose an obligation of silence on the victims and on all those that become aware of such crimes;

The Committee welcomes the indication that the Holy See pays particular attention to promoting the dignity of women and girls. However, given the extent and the devastating impact of domestic violence on children and the fact that domestic violence often has a gender component, the Committee is seriously concerned that during the 2013 Commission on the Status of Women, the Holy See objected to a draft final text proposing that religion, custom or tradition should not serve as an excuse for States to evade their obligations to protect women and girls from violence.

The Committee recommends that the Holy See ensure that Canon Law provisions recognise the diversity of family settings and do not discriminate children based on the type of family they live in.

The Committee urges the Holy See to properly investigate all allegations of children and adolescents being separated from their families by means of psychological manipulation and ensure that those responsible for manipulating adolescents be held accountable and cease their activities.

Gayness in America

In the "no shit, Sherlock" department: An interesting article at the New York Times reports convincing evidence that at least 5% of American men are gay and many are still very closeted, especially in less tolerant states.

The thing I found most interesting was the methodology used for this "study". Thanks to Wicked Gay Blog and Queerty for the links.

Links to A Couple of Good Posts by Coleen K at Enlightened Catholicism

As an example of how the GOP and the Tea Party has gone Through the Looking Glass and apparently been eating magic mushrooms and turning reality inside out:


Up is Down for the GOP 1


Up is Down for the GOP 2

One of the Best Articles I've Read About the Gov't Shutdown

Meet the Morons in Esquire: The Reign of Morons is Here by Charles Pierce