My adopted city, Mexico City, passed in its assembly on the 21st of December Same-sex marriage legislation with adoption rights! I’m so very proud of my step-city folk. Mexico's Cardinal was said to say: “What a terrible Christmas gift México's government has given its people”. But Card., it's exactly what we had all asked for, fought for and have the right to share in, and barring your loss of priests who run off and marry their lovers, even you'll see that it's a loving gift that will reward México and other Latino countries for all eternity.
Still, the naysayers of the legislation have threatened to challenge it through the Supreme Court, where honestly, it will face a tough battle; since this right will only be afforded through the assembly of México City, and its jurisdiction ends at the city limits, it stands a good chance of defeat: simply because many of the rights afforded through marriage come from federal jurisdiction, not solely a state or, as in the case of Mexico City, a district. So, hold your breath, continue to support gay rights legislation and hope for a fantastic distraction (perhaps a good 'ole scandal ) for México´s Partio Acción Nacional (PAN), the conservative governmental sect threatening to overturn marriage equality.
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Thank you, Keith Olbermann
Few could have said it more cogently or bravely: Keith Olbermann's Special Comment
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Capital Commitment, Sour Apple and Despicable Threats
So, New York couldn’t pull together enough legislative votes to pass marriage equality for its citizens, despite a Democratic majority in its senate and a Democratic governor who not only agreed to sign the bill into law, but fought for it, persuaded legislative members and demanded a vote in 2009. But on December 14th, our country’s capital shined: in a vote of 11 to 2, Washington D.C. passed marriage equality for the GLBT community. This is another proud day for the country.
Now, for some less proud acts, we turn, again, to the Catholic Church, who through The Archdiocese of Washington D.C. and Catholic Charities of D.C., made one of the most repulsive, dark threats in the Church’s history (not to be confused with its actual damning acts of rape, murder and theft from days and years past), stating that they would end all aid and out-reach services to the Homeless, Poor Families and Orphans should the equal marriage bill of D.C. pass into legislation. True enough, thus far, this is only a threat, but this threat would, initially, negatively impact an estimated 68 thousand people who depend upon the support of this organization for their basic survival. What an idiotic display of power! These simpletons just can’t generate enough negative publicity for their own small-minded, fickle institution - what could such a threat really mean? This tax-exempt organization, which claims to have its foundation in the virtues of love, charity and good will, is threatening the defenseless, the hungry, the poor, the young and old and the psychically and mentally ill from the most basic and deserving necessities, which are food and shelter- all simply because it doesn’t like the fact that marriage equality will be provided for citizens of the District of Columbia. In response to the Church’s threat, I say: Go! And don’t let the door hit you in the ass. Pack up and walk away from the lives who have come to depend upon the services you have initiated through the veil of charity; please, leave, and let the District of Columbia and other non-biased, non-prejudice institutions who truly want to provide charitable services freely distribute aid to all, regardless of beliefs, sexual preference, race, age or any other number of human characteristics. And if I were Mayor of DC, I would take even further steps to be sure the Church truly understood the consequences of these ridiculous, prejudices threats.
Simply out of desire to continue my banter, I'll share my post at Towleroad: "Holy Prada Pope shoes! Since these self-righteous, self-serving imbeciles couldn’t muster enough prejudice sway from within their own to prevent a civil right from a group of people they ironically (ironic because half of them are big MOs themselves) hate, they threaten the legislative members of DC with the only card left: foregoing the assistance programs they helped establish for an entire group of defenseless people, the poor and the needy. Interesting, how history does, indeed, repeat itself – you conceited, mind-mending wizards. If this threat and the other 2000 years of chilling history don’t provide an accurate portrayal of the Catholic Church, I’m not sure what else America needs as evidence of the hateful, revengeful and oppressive nature of these sexually repressed and mentally disturbed individuals in collars and capes."
Now, is the time to demand liberty from this damning empire, America. Now, is the time for the other religious institutions and Christian sects, like the American Episcopalians, to stand up and show who they are. Which begs another question, where are they? Why aren’t they all standing up and defending these people?
Now, for some less proud acts, we turn, again, to the Catholic Church, who through The Archdiocese of Washington D.C. and Catholic Charities of D.C., made one of the most repulsive, dark threats in the Church’s history (not to be confused with its actual damning acts of rape, murder and theft from days and years past), stating that they would end all aid and out-reach services to the Homeless, Poor Families and Orphans should the equal marriage bill of D.C. pass into legislation. True enough, thus far, this is only a threat, but this threat would, initially, negatively impact an estimated 68 thousand people who depend upon the support of this organization for their basic survival. What an idiotic display of power! These simpletons just can’t generate enough negative publicity for their own small-minded, fickle institution - what could such a threat really mean? This tax-exempt organization, which claims to have its foundation in the virtues of love, charity and good will, is threatening the defenseless, the hungry, the poor, the young and old and the psychically and mentally ill from the most basic and deserving necessities, which are food and shelter- all simply because it doesn’t like the fact that marriage equality will be provided for citizens of the District of Columbia. In response to the Church’s threat, I say: Go! And don’t let the door hit you in the ass. Pack up and walk away from the lives who have come to depend upon the services you have initiated through the veil of charity; please, leave, and let the District of Columbia and other non-biased, non-prejudice institutions who truly want to provide charitable services freely distribute aid to all, regardless of beliefs, sexual preference, race, age or any other number of human characteristics. And if I were Mayor of DC, I would take even further steps to be sure the Church truly understood the consequences of these ridiculous, prejudices threats.
Simply out of desire to continue my banter, I'll share my post at Towleroad: "Holy Prada Pope shoes! Since these self-righteous, self-serving imbeciles couldn’t muster enough prejudice sway from within their own to prevent a civil right from a group of people they ironically (ironic because half of them are big MOs themselves) hate, they threaten the legislative members of DC with the only card left: foregoing the assistance programs they helped establish for an entire group of defenseless people, the poor and the needy. Interesting, how history does, indeed, repeat itself – you conceited, mind-mending wizards. If this threat and the other 2000 years of chilling history don’t provide an accurate portrayal of the Catholic Church, I’m not sure what else America needs as evidence of the hateful, revengeful and oppressive nature of these sexually repressed and mentally disturbed individuals in collars and capes."
Now, is the time to demand liberty from this damning empire, America. Now, is the time for the other religious institutions and Christian sects, like the American Episcopalians, to stand up and show who they are. Which begs another question, where are they? Why aren’t they all standing up and defending these people?
Friday, November 20, 2009
Thank you for all the beauty...
Jeanne-Claude, age 74
Jeanne-Claude and Cristo in front of "The Gates" in Central Park in 2005.
Photo: Wolfgang Voltz, New York Times (http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2009/11/19/arts/20091119_JEANNECLAUDE_SLIDESHOW_2.html)
A Union made in Hell
Well, not that this is a surprise, nor that in the last few years this hasn’t been predictable, but the wacked-out Evangelicals and the crazy conservative Catholics have officially documented their union, yes, now a righteous body of defunct entities is working to protect itself against the "evils" of America and their own eventual obscurity. Oh, yes, it's the same tired story of their stance against abortion, same-sex marriage, and stem-cell research, just to name a few; but now they’re holding hands and casting spells as a united front.
According to today’s NYT’s article, Christian Leaders Unite on Political Issues, these pedantic leaders have collectively put into writing their (demands) beliefs for the benefit of the Office of the President and Congress. This latest hodgepodge of conservative Christians want the world to know they (still) don’t support same-sex marriage or healthcare reform (on the pretenses that there was the Federal and medical allowance for abortions) or stem-cell research, and one can only imagine the other sensible items listed, like caring for the environment. They don't seem to have gotten the message that their religious beliefs have no jurisdiction on the State. Still, they want to put into writing and formally present how bigoted, hate-filled and scientifically inept they are. And rather than take too much issue with their latest stunt, perhaps we should thank them for scripting their soap-box rhetoric, lest there be a future dispute of he said, she said. I mean, I've always suspected their home-schooling tactics to be dangerous by generally dummying-down and socially depriving youth in our society, spewing their prejudice beliefs as a religious doctrine and maintaining absolute control over people so as to manipulate their characters and the money from their pockets.
Look, if these folks want to debate faith issues, they should debate each other in the "right ways" to worship their god, or even, bully the Catholic Church about how it oppressed and persecuted hundreds of millions for more than two thousand years and criminally allowed its entrusted priests stay in parishes after raping its youth. Perhaps they can even ponder why all these crappy lesser sects of Evangelists sprung up over night like the mold in the basements of shopping centers and other abandoned storefronts that they inhabit.
The funniest thing about all this nonsense is that the behemoth, the pinnacle power of Christianity, the Catholic Church, is bowing down along side and even supporting the splintered fragments of the Evangelists who, supposedly only exist because they couldn’t accept or agree to the teachings and hierarchy of Catholicism. My God, the Catholics are even partnering up with the Mormon Church! Formerly, all of these institutions repealed and disavowed each other’s practices for as long as their competitor existed. And as I’ve said before, now they see themselves, and more importantly, the money, drying up and going the way of the dodo. “It's time for action”, so these wacos claim! And since these folks have no intention of changing their formula of manipulation, fearmongering and money-grubbing from the believers in the name of The Almighty God - albeit, a damn good business model that has worked for lots of years - today they're pulling together, and tomorrow, possibly even considering a merger, to give them ever more clout, I suppose. But seriously, wouldn't it be great if these creepy bigots did begin to eat each other up and "buy" each others' assets? The faithful would be like Ping-Pong balls bouncing between the rubrics - speaking in tongues one day with a crazy, overweight, red-faced, oily-haired screaming preacher to kneeling in front of statues, asking for the intercedence of the Saints to Jesus for eating meat on Lenten Fridays.
What I don’t understand is why, in order to preserve any remaining dignity and what little remains of the grip they have on believers, don’t they quietly go off and continue living their lives for what’s left of the influence they have. Go, already! If they want to live by the way they claim to believe, then do it, but keep out of my life and public policy. Go and live your beliefs in the caves that you so desperately want to return to, and continue to rape the minds, bodies and pockets of your women and children because you’ve lost your hold elsewhere.
Here's a hint, though: just like any other institution and business enterprise, updating, modifying and improving products and services is crucial to survival.
Now, for the most disturbing piece from the article: '“They say they also want to speak to younger Christians who have become engaged in issues like climate change and global poverty, and who are more accepting of homosexuality than their elders. They say they want to remind them that abortion, homosexuality and religious freedom are still paramount issues”'…and '“We argue that there is a hierarchy of issues,” said Charles Colson, a prominent evangelical who founded Prison Fellowship after serving time in prison for his role in the Watergate scandal.... “We’re hoping to educate them that these are the three most important issues.”' But of course, why would someone have more concern for saving the planet that completely and entirely supports life, than fighting against the sinful nature of two people loving each other? I mean come on, get your priorities straight – be a real conservative Christian and persecute the homosexuals and the liberals who create, educate and tolerate, and don’t worry about feeding those starving people across the globe (Wait, do I say “land” here to imply that the world truly isn’t round, but flat? Christian science is so hard.), they ain’t Christians anyway; God has already smote them. Thanks Colson, you're a real talent, a real beacon of hope and truth!
According to today’s NYT’s article, Christian Leaders Unite on Political Issues, these pedantic leaders have collectively put into writing their (demands) beliefs for the benefit of the Office of the President and Congress. This latest hodgepodge of conservative Christians want the world to know they (still) don’t support same-sex marriage or healthcare reform (on the pretenses that there was the Federal and medical allowance for abortions) or stem-cell research, and one can only imagine the other sensible items listed, like caring for the environment. They don't seem to have gotten the message that their religious beliefs have no jurisdiction on the State. Still, they want to put into writing and formally present how bigoted, hate-filled and scientifically inept they are. And rather than take too much issue with their latest stunt, perhaps we should thank them for scripting their soap-box rhetoric, lest there be a future dispute of he said, she said. I mean, I've always suspected their home-schooling tactics to be dangerous by generally dummying-down and socially depriving youth in our society, spewing their prejudice beliefs as a religious doctrine and maintaining absolute control over people so as to manipulate their characters and the money from their pockets.
Look, if these folks want to debate faith issues, they should debate each other in the "right ways" to worship their god, or even, bully the Catholic Church about how it oppressed and persecuted hundreds of millions for more than two thousand years and criminally allowed its entrusted priests stay in parishes after raping its youth. Perhaps they can even ponder why all these crappy lesser sects of Evangelists sprung up over night like the mold in the basements of shopping centers and other abandoned storefronts that they inhabit.
The funniest thing about all this nonsense is that the behemoth, the pinnacle power of Christianity, the Catholic Church, is bowing down along side and even supporting the splintered fragments of the Evangelists who, supposedly only exist because they couldn’t accept or agree to the teachings and hierarchy of Catholicism. My God, the Catholics are even partnering up with the Mormon Church! Formerly, all of these institutions repealed and disavowed each other’s practices for as long as their competitor existed. And as I’ve said before, now they see themselves, and more importantly, the money, drying up and going the way of the dodo. “It's time for action”, so these wacos claim! And since these folks have no intention of changing their formula of manipulation, fearmongering and money-grubbing from the believers in the name of The Almighty God - albeit, a damn good business model that has worked for lots of years - today they're pulling together, and tomorrow, possibly even considering a merger, to give them ever more clout, I suppose. But seriously, wouldn't it be great if these creepy bigots did begin to eat each other up and "buy" each others' assets? The faithful would be like Ping-Pong balls bouncing between the rubrics - speaking in tongues one day with a crazy, overweight, red-faced, oily-haired screaming preacher to kneeling in front of statues, asking for the intercedence of the Saints to Jesus for eating meat on Lenten Fridays.
What I don’t understand is why, in order to preserve any remaining dignity and what little remains of the grip they have on believers, don’t they quietly go off and continue living their lives for what’s left of the influence they have. Go, already! If they want to live by the way they claim to believe, then do it, but keep out of my life and public policy. Go and live your beliefs in the caves that you so desperately want to return to, and continue to rape the minds, bodies and pockets of your women and children because you’ve lost your hold elsewhere.
Here's a hint, though: just like any other institution and business enterprise, updating, modifying and improving products and services is crucial to survival.
Now, for the most disturbing piece from the article: '“They say they also want to speak to younger Christians who have become engaged in issues like climate change and global poverty, and who are more accepting of homosexuality than their elders. They say they want to remind them that abortion, homosexuality and religious freedom are still paramount issues”'…and '“We argue that there is a hierarchy of issues,” said Charles Colson, a prominent evangelical who founded Prison Fellowship after serving time in prison for his role in the Watergate scandal.... “We’re hoping to educate them that these are the three most important issues.”' But of course, why would someone have more concern for saving the planet that completely and entirely supports life, than fighting against the sinful nature of two people loving each other? I mean come on, get your priorities straight – be a real conservative Christian and persecute the homosexuals and the liberals who create, educate and tolerate, and don’t worry about feeding those starving people across the globe (Wait, do I say “land” here to imply that the world truly isn’t round, but flat? Christian science is so hard.), they ain’t Christians anyway; God has already smote them. Thanks Colson, you're a real talent, a real beacon of hope and truth!
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Religious Comfort and Bobby's Conservative Embrace
While reading through Towleroad yesterday, I ran across a link that gave me hope that not all religious folks are solely small-minded bigots persecuting everyone who is different from them: http://www.clergyformarriage.com/read.html. After scanning the site, I was reminded that surely these were the values that religion claimed to have been about: Love. Forgiveness. Freely Giving. And Peaceful actions. Surely, it's these people that I would hope to meet, if I were so inclined to seek more information about my own spirituality(which I'm certainly not), inside the four walls of a church, synagogue or mosque. After all, I grew up in crappy small-town American full of white(trash) Christians and remember most of their religious teachings (on the surface) being about kindness towards one another, peace, love and (at least) a little tolerant of others (I'm not implying the people actually lived by these teachings, not by any means, but from what I vaguely recall, the instructions weren't overtly politically charged and certainly never ventured outside the pews). What's happened in the past 20 years that has made the average American Christian and their institutions so biased and hate-filled? Ah, of course, political power and the threat of the loss of control, as specifically experienced by the Catholic Church.
Oh, and somewhat of a tangent, but for your radar screen, Bobby Jindal. Apparently, besides being the newly elected Republican Governor of Louisiana, he's one of the next Christian Conservative Southern stars. Poor guy's parents were Indian immigrants who moved to Louisiana, where he was born, grew up, and obviously, endlessly ridiculed for being different. He became a stanch (convert) conservative Catholic, likely to be accepted, and definitely, to become a political hopeful.
Oh, and somewhat of a tangent, but for your radar screen, Bobby Jindal. Apparently, besides being the newly elected Republican Governor of Louisiana, he's one of the next Christian Conservative Southern stars. Poor guy's parents were Indian immigrants who moved to Louisiana, where he was born, grew up, and obviously, endlessly ridiculed for being different. He became a stanch (convert) conservative Catholic, likely to be accepted, and definitely, to become a political hopeful.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Healing the sick... if They feel we are deserving
In watching the Healthcare reform debate over the past few months and recently reading the New York Times (NYT) article, Rep. Kennedy and Bishop in Bitter Rift on Abortion, I once again feel repulsed by the religious fervor in our country.
As reported by the NYT, Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy is absolutely correct when he states ‘“in an interview with Cybercast News Service on Oct. 21, that he.… could not understand how the Catholic Church could be against the biggest social justice issue of our time.”’ Bishop Thomas J. Tobin, speaking on behalf of the U.S. Catholic Bishops and the Vatican, took great offense to Mr. Kennedy’s statement and began a manhunt on his reputation as a good Catholic, even going so far as to threaten him, with what sounds like, excommunication – stating that Mr. Kennedy is '“false advertising”' and because of his support of this legislation '“...shouldn’t receive holy communion”'. Tobin further stated on a Providence radio station that '“If you freely choose to be a Catholic, it means you believe certain things, you do certain things", and “If you cannot do all that in [good] conscience, then you should perhaps feel free to go somewhere else.”' This all stems from the sneaky exclusionary language placed on abortion within the new healthcare legislation bill by the conservative-right just hours before voting on the measure in the House of Representatives.
I can’t say that I disagree with the Bishop’s statement that the Church upholds certain beliefs and its members are expected to abide by them – one of them for Catholics is being against abortion. However, this really isn’t the issue at hand, the issue is providing affordable, accessible healthcare for all citizens of the United States – YES, at a minimum, the same procedural care people get from insurance carriers today, but improved to include every citizen, without exclusions for pre-existing conditions (or abortions)! And it was down right criminal of the U.S. Catholics Bishops and its other religious extremist cronies to weasel in on legislation and demand its paid Representatives amended language to the bill so that abortions are excluded to its future users, or told vote “no” on its election. Once again, the Religious Right is trying to control the legislative branch, and through this action, it’s telling the American people and government, not just its followers, that they can’t have a procedure that is medically and federally approved. May I suggest, Your Most Extremist Reverend, that you are free to go elsewhere if you don’t like the basic tenant of separation of Church and State.
According to the U.S. Catholic Bishops, being a good Catholic constitutes, possibly denying healthcare to a nation of people in need, arm-twisting and paying-off congressmen, manipulating parishioners from a pulpit, and of course, slandering those who go against you. Why is it that the believers are always more virtuous than those who guide them?
Representative Kennedy, thank you for standing up for the people that you represent, and, if indeed your religious beliefs are different from those of the majority of your constituents for whom you speak, then you have been even stronger in your convections as a public representative and in the betterment of healthcare in this nation. You have wisely separated Catholic tenants from public policy, and it’s unfortunate that your church can’t understand its place in the world or the duty you have promised to uphold.
Lest we be brainwashed to forget that policy is created by Congress, not the churches, stand up and support congressmen like Representative Kennedy.
As reported by the NYT, Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy is absolutely correct when he states ‘“in an interview with Cybercast News Service on Oct. 21, that he.… could not understand how the Catholic Church could be against the biggest social justice issue of our time.”’ Bishop Thomas J. Tobin, speaking on behalf of the U.S. Catholic Bishops and the Vatican, took great offense to Mr. Kennedy’s statement and began a manhunt on his reputation as a good Catholic, even going so far as to threaten him, with what sounds like, excommunication – stating that Mr. Kennedy is '“false advertising”' and because of his support of this legislation '“...shouldn’t receive holy communion”'. Tobin further stated on a Providence radio station that '“If you freely choose to be a Catholic, it means you believe certain things, you do certain things", and “If you cannot do all that in [good] conscience, then you should perhaps feel free to go somewhere else.”' This all stems from the sneaky exclusionary language placed on abortion within the new healthcare legislation bill by the conservative-right just hours before voting on the measure in the House of Representatives.
I can’t say that I disagree with the Bishop’s statement that the Church upholds certain beliefs and its members are expected to abide by them – one of them for Catholics is being against abortion. However, this really isn’t the issue at hand, the issue is providing affordable, accessible healthcare for all citizens of the United States – YES, at a minimum, the same procedural care people get from insurance carriers today, but improved to include every citizen, without exclusions for pre-existing conditions (or abortions)! And it was down right criminal of the U.S. Catholics Bishops and its other religious extremist cronies to weasel in on legislation and demand its paid Representatives amended language to the bill so that abortions are excluded to its future users, or told vote “no” on its election. Once again, the Religious Right is trying to control the legislative branch, and through this action, it’s telling the American people and government, not just its followers, that they can’t have a procedure that is medically and federally approved. May I suggest, Your Most Extremist Reverend, that you are free to go elsewhere if you don’t like the basic tenant of separation of Church and State.
According to the U.S. Catholic Bishops, being a good Catholic constitutes, possibly denying healthcare to a nation of people in need, arm-twisting and paying-off congressmen, manipulating parishioners from a pulpit, and of course, slandering those who go against you. Why is it that the believers are always more virtuous than those who guide them?
Representative Kennedy, thank you for standing up for the people that you represent, and, if indeed your religious beliefs are different from those of the majority of your constituents for whom you speak, then you have been even stronger in your convections as a public representative and in the betterment of healthcare in this nation. You have wisely separated Catholic tenants from public policy, and it’s unfortunate that your church can’t understand its place in the world or the duty you have promised to uphold.
Lest we be brainwashed to forget that policy is created by Congress, not the churches, stand up and support congressmen like Representative Kennedy.
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