A church in the UK stopped performing weddings when the congregation realized how different the laws are governing civil unions vs. marriages there.
Unitarians, of course.
(Thanks to Valery for the tip!)
(Go Chris!)
Hitchens vs. Hitchens: On God, War, Politics, and Culture – Brothers Christopher and Peter Hitchens are set for their first public debate, this Thursday, April 3, at 7:30 p.m. at Fountain Street Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan. They plan to debate on numerous topics, from religion to Iraq.There will be a live Webcast of Hitchens vs Hitchens available at: http://www.allpresidents.org and http://www.cfimichigan.org. Continue reading “(Go Chris!)”
He Can Say It
Obama’s rally in Beaumont today was the highest-energy of this Texas swing, with a crowd that was about three-quarters black cheering at almost every turn.
An interesting moment came when he was asked a question about LGBT rights and delivered an answer that seemed to suit the questioner, listing the various attributes—race, gender, etc.—that shouldn’t trigger discrimination, to successive cheers. When he came to saying that gays and lesbians deserve equality, though, the crowd fell silent.
So he took a different tack:
“Now I’m a Christian, and I praise Jesus every Sunday,†he said, to a sudden wave of noisy applause and cheers. “I hear people saying things that I don’t think are very Christian with respect to people who are gay and lesbian,†he said, and the crowd seemed to come along with him this time.
(Do notice the comment left by Dan Savage. It’s #9.)
Life is Hard.
A Christian pharmacist, Brian Bundy, was fired by Target for not being willing to dispense Plan B contraception to customers. He’s suing.
How odd. I can’t imagine. You don’t do your job & you get fired. What a weird outcome.
Advene Advent
Betty & I regularly have conversations about what’s Christian and what’s specifically Catholic, since neither of us seems to know all the time. That is, I was raised Catholic and I’m never sure if an idea or ritual I was raised with is specifically Catholic or if it’s believed/practiced by other types of Christians, too. & For her it’s similar, since she was raised 7th Day Adventist.
The holiday season tends to bring more points to discuss, of course; this year we were buying a bottle of wine for some folks who put us up when I saw an Advent calendar for sale. I hadn’t had one with the little doors with the chocolates inside since I was a kid, so of course I had to buy one, because I’m just old enough to feel sentimental about kid stuff.
& Since then, Betty & I have been trying to figure out if Advent is a Catholic thing specifically or if it’s something a lot of Christians “do” with the exception of 7th Day types. (I think it’d be pretty damned funny if they don’t mark Advent, considering they call themselves “Adventists,” no?)
We could just look it up but we’re not going to. Instead, we’ll keep bugging each other, as I introduce her to a lovely bit of fun; everyday we’ll take turns opening the doors of the calendar though in all likeliness I’ll eat most of the chocolate (since she has no sweet tooth). That said, everyone can go check out some nifty online Advent calendars. My favorite so far is this neat one of comic book art because I like the tech – only the doors that should open, do – and the art itself.
So, happy Christmas season, all!
Gagged Twice
The Global Gag Rule, which feminists have been pointing out is bad news especially for the world’s poorest women, isn’t just about abortion. It’s about birth control, and family planning, which the very poorest women often need the most. For those who don’t know, it’s the law that demands that any organization that even mentions abortion lose all its U.S.-backed family planning funding which means they don’t get basic contraception.
Chair Nita Lowey (D-NY) (of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations and Related Programs) added: “In some cases, the largest distribution centers for contraceptives have experienced decreased access for over 50% of the women they serve.”
Besides: it doesn’t make much of a difference in the amount of abortions. What legal abortions provide is women who live another day.
Whether abortion is legal or illegal, rates are about the same. But the “shocking” difference is how dangerous it is to women where it is illegal. At least 67,000 women die each year from unsafe abortions.
I suppose it’s useless to point out that half the countries we’re funding aren’t, um, Christian, and may or may not feel that abortion is immoral.
(source: Feminist Daily News, 11/1)
Mara Keisling on C-SPAN
If you haven’t seen it yet, Mara Keisling’s appearance on C-SPAN’s Washington Journal last week is worth viewing, and apparently isn’t going to be online forever, so do go watch it within the next week or so.
(You want the 11/10/2007 show.)
My favorite bit is when the woman calls to talk about how the founding fathers were Christian, & how Mara shouldn’t be allowed to talk at all, & Mara drinks her coffee stone-faced like Buster Keaton, the smile only showing at the very corners of her mouth, after which she explains, again, that the Bill in fact exempts religious institutions. (It’s at about 1:17 or so.)
& As one caller put it, I agree with him: Mara is a brilliant woman, and I’m happy to see her doing advocacy. That anyone said, “you can’t be a full person if you have to hide all the love in your life,” on Washington Journalis amazing, but I’m pleased as punch it was someone talking about LGBT rights.
The Forgotten Veterans
by Monica Helms
Veterans Day is one the three most important days in this country when it comes to patriotism and pride. At the eleventh minute, of the eleventh hour, of the eleventh day, of the eleventh month, we start the day honoring all the veterans who have served this country, both in peace and in war. Today, we have 26 million military veterans in America, but sadly, we lose 1500 WWII each day and a similar number of Korean War veterans as well. Soon, the Vietnam War veterans will pass away in similar numbers.
The men and women who fought in those wars over the last 230-plus years came from every diverse background this country has ever known. People from every race, religion, ethnicity, economic status, social status and sexual orientation have fought, been wounded or died for this country. A current example of sexual orientation is the first person wounded in the current war in Iraq. Eric Alva lost a leg in the very early days of the war and then came out as being gay after his discharge. Continue reading “The Forgotten Veterans”
Monks Defy Orders
Imagine! Dubya finally said something in public I agree with! Today at the beginning of the UN’s general assembly, President Bush announced tighter sanctions on Burma:
He outlined a tightening of financial sanctions on Myanmar and an extension of a ban on visas of officials “responsible for the most egregious violations of human rights†and their families.
“Americans are outraged by the situation in Burma, where a military junta has imposed a 19-year reign of fear,†Mr. Bush said. “Basic freedoms of speech, assembly, and worship are severely restricted. Ethnic minorities are persecuted. Forced child labor, human trafficking, and rape are common.â€
& In the meantime, the junta (formerly known as SLORC), have pulled soldiers away from where they’ve been fighting the Karen tribesmen for years now. The Karen will, no doubt, take advantage of the situation, as they were the largest ethnic majority to rise up against the military junta in 1988, as well. Interesting for U.S. policy, but one of the objections of the Karen tribe is that they are not allowed to practice their religion because the practice of Buddhism is state-imposed, and a third of them are… Christian.
SoCo Keynote: Jenn Burleton
SOUTHERN COMFORT CONFERENCE 2007
KEYNOTE ADDRESS – SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 15TH, 2007
One Community, One Family
by Jenn Burleton, TransActive Education & Advocacy, Portland, OR
Thank you to the organizers of this amazing conference and in particular, Cat Turner, Lola Fleck and Elaine Martin. And I must thank my longtime friend, Mariette Pathy Allen. My life has been truly blessed as a result of knowing her and sharing many adventures with her…some of which are suitable for sharing with the whole family.
When Cat Turner called back in January and invited me to come to Atlanta I was of course, very honored. I was also surprised. After all, we’d never met. I’d never attended a previous Southern Comfort Conference and I am not, in my opinion anyway, one of the gender community heavy hitters.
Continue reading “SoCo Keynote: Jenn Burleton”