Sunday, April 22, 2012

R.I.P. Kenneth James Weishuhn



R.I.P. K.J.W.

Today is the funeral for Kenneth James Weishuhn, a 14-year-old high school freshman in Iowa who killed himself after coming out as gay and subsequently facing a storm of brutal bullying, death threats and hateful Facebook and cell phone messages.

Iowa teen commits suicide; family says he was bullied because he was gay – LGBTQ Nation

Friday, March 02, 2012

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Libya tells UN Rights Council: ‘Gays threaten continuation of human race’ – LGBTQ Nation

Libya tells UN Rights Council: ‘Gays threaten continuation of human race’ – LGBTQ Nation

Not good... I defended their revolution, but they will not recognize the human rights of LGBT people. But this kind of anti-gay ignorance is in every Muslim country.

Monday, January 30, 2012

Tennessee Senator Thrown Out of Restaurant for Antigay Stance | News | The Advocate


Tennessee Senator Thrown Out of Restaurant for Antigay Stance | News | The Advocate


A bistro in Knoxville, Kentucky is doing its part for gay rights. It refused to serve state Sen. Stacey Campfield, following his recent comments that straight people seldom get AIDS.
Martha Boggs, owner of the Bistro at the Bijou, asked the Republican legislator to leave her restaurant Sunday.
"He's gone from being stupid to dangerous," Boggs said today. "It's just my way of standing up to a bully."
Campfield is the man behind the controversial Don't Say Gay bill, which would ban schools from teaching anything about gays. Only sexuality involving "natural human reproduction" would be permitted in classrooms.
Then he made news last week after claiming the AIDS virus developed after men had sex with monkeys. He also stated that the disease was "virtually impossible" to contract via heterosexual intercourse.
So when Campfield walked through the bistro door during Sunday brunch, Boggs told him he wasn't welcome.
"I asked him to leave the restaurant to take a stand for the gay community and to let him know what it feels like to be discriminated against," said Boggs."He didn't have much to say. He left graciously."
On Monday, the sign in front of the Bistro today read, "Today's Special: Fried Chicken. Crispy Chicken Livers. No Stacey."


UN Secretary General: Africa Leaders Must Respect Gay Rights

Africa Leaders Must Respect Gay Rights: UN's Ban Ki Moon | Common Dreams

Monday, January 23, 2012

Tennessee Teen Is State's Second Suicide in Two Months


Tennessee Teen Is State's Second Suicide in Two Months
In Tennessee, where lawmakers are once again considering the “don’t say gay” bill aimed at schools, a 14-year-old Gordonsville student named Phillip Parker killed himself Friday.
The Tennessee Equality Project plans a candlelight vigil Thursday at the Cookeville Courthouse Square to remember Parker and to call on lawmakers to stop sending a negative message to students.

The so-called don’t say gay bill would bar teachers from discussing homosexuality in public school classes in kindergarten through eighth grade. It managed to pass the state Senate on a 20-10 vote last year. But the House ran out of time to consider it, and now lawmakers are trying again.

“We are reaching out and we continue to call for our General Assembly to turn from discriminatory legislation and toward positive solutions to bullying,” the Tennessee Equality Project wrote to its followers on Facebook.

They point out that this is the second suicide in Middle Tennessee in two months, with Cheatham County teenager Jacob Rogers killing himself December 7 after repeated bullying.




Wednesday, January 04, 2012

Ron Paul the Anti-Progressive


It's tragic that some leftists are getting behind Ron Paul's campaign at least to upset the GOP race. Ron Paul is NOT a progressive, he is a right-wing nationalist, like Pat Buchanan. He has connections with the John Birch Society and other racist and anti-semitic groups. Even at his worst, Barack Obama is more "progressive" than Ron Paul.

Ron Paul's "anti-interventionism" is not based on progressive principles, he is a right-wing nationalist, like Pat Buchanan. Ron Paul's feign policy would UNDERMINE many progressive goals. He opposes the UN and every international organization. He opposed the US "intervention" in WWII to "save the Jews." Those who oppose ALL intervention, even for humanitarian reasons or to stop genocides, are not "progressive." (Being against ALL and EVERY use of military force, even to stop genocides, is not "progressive" to me. Yes military actions often involve killing innocent people, but is it more moral or "progressive" to step aside and allow genocides? (WWII, Bosnia, etc.?) Don't those who oppose ALL intervention also have "blood" on their hands? According to Ron Paul, "Saving the Jews in WWII Was None of Our Business"!

Ron Paul's anti-interventionism is almost identical to Pat Buchanan's, in fact, Ron Paul is an admirer of Pat Buchanan's (another racist right-wing nationalist!)

In January 1992, Paul writes about his consideration of a presidential bid which he dashed after Pat Buchanan expressed his intention to run. Paul wrote of “the essential compatibility between [Buchanan’s] ideas and mine” and “agreed to serve as the chairman of his economic advisory committee.”

A 1992 issue of the Rothbard-Rockwell-Report tells of Paul’s decision to defer to Pat Buchanan in the 1992 Republican presidential primary.

10 Reasons Not To Vote For Ron Paul | Addicting Info

Three Myths About Ron Paul

Ron Paul's Racism

This December 1990 newsletter describes Martin Luther King Jr. as “a world-class adulterer” who “seduced underage girls and boys” and “replaced the evil of forced segregation with the evil of forced integration.”

Ron Paul and Libertarianism's Dirty Secret: Pandering to Racists

Ron Paul's Racist Newsletters

Ron Paul "South Was Right" Civil War Speech

Ron Paul ON Civil Rights

Ron Paul Opposes Civil Rights Act: "Destroyed Privacy"

Ron Paul's Sexism

Ron Paul Endorses Sexual Harassment in the Workplace, Blames Women

Ron Paul's Anti-Gay Bigotry

The June 1990 issue of the Political Report says: “I miss the closet. Homosexuals, not to speak of the rest of society, were far better off when social pressure forced them to hide their activities.”

Ron Paul Supports DOMA

Ron Paul is an Extremist Right-Wing Christian

Ron Paul's Christian Reconstructionist Roots

Why Some Right-Wing Christians Love Ron Paul

Ron Paul Court's Right-Wing Fringe in Iowa

More Ron Paul Newletters



MORE TO COME!

LIBERTARIANISM MAKES YOU STUPID

Critiques of Libertarianism

Libertarianism and Fascism

Rick Santorum's Top 10 Most Outrageous Campaign Statements | AlterNet

Michelle Bachman is out of the GOP clown car, but there are a few others left, like this wing nut

Rick Santorum's Top 10 Most Outrageous Campaign Statements | AlterNet

Sunday, December 11, 2011

Friends say classmate killed himself due to anti-gay bullying – LGBTQ Nation


Friends say classmate killed himself due to anti-gay bullying – LGBTQ Nation


ASHLAND CITY, Tenn. — Students at a local school are grieving a classmate. Friends say the young man took his own life because he couldn’t take any more bullying.

And they say school officials knew about the torment but didn’t do enough to stop it.

Friends say that kids bullied Jacob Rogers at Cheatham County Central High School for the past four years, but in the past few months it had become so bad he dropped out of school.

And Wednesday, he ended his life.

“He started coming home his senior year saying ‘I don’t want to go back. Everyone is so mean. They call me a f****, they call me gay, a queer,’” friend Kaelynn Mooningham said.

Kaelynn said her friend Jacob felt ignored.

Perry’s chief pollster ‘outed’ in backlash, in-fighting over anti-gay ad – LGBTQ Nation

Perry’s chief pollster ‘outed’ in backlash, in-fighting over anti-gay ad – LGBTQ Nation

Tuesday, December 06, 2011

Obama Administration Makes Case for World LGBT Rights | News | The Advocate


Obama Administration Makes Case for World LGBT Rights | News | The Advocate
In a historic address before the United Nations in Geneva, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton called on all countries to respect the civil rights of LGBT individuals. The Secretary also announced new U.S. initiatives to support organizations working to protect gay people who are marginalized and targeted with violence.

Hillary Clinton to UN: "Gay Rights are Human Rights and Human Rights are Gay Rights"

8 Must-read moments from Hillary Clinton's UN Speech

Sunday, November 13, 2011

Monday, October 17, 2011

Mid-South Pride Comes of Age



Mid-South Pride festival grows » The Commercial Appeal

Memphis "Mid-South Pride" has grown of age with the biggest and best pride parade and festival in the 30 year history of Memphis/Mid-south Pride.  Usually a subdued event held in gay-friendly area of mid-town Memphis, this year's parade was down historic Beale Street in downtown Memphis and was greeted by large crowds.   This year's  Pride Parade & Festival was a big step forward for Memphis and the Memphis LGBT community.

Congrats to Mid-south Pride on such a great job--and do it again next year!

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Gays honor U.S. rights pioneer Frank Kameny | The Raw Story

Gays honor U.S. rights pioneer Frank Kameny | The Raw Story

Fischer: "Homosexual Agenda" Is America's "Greatest Immediate Threat" | Right Wing Watch

Fischer: "Homosexual Agenda" Is America's "Greatest Immediate Threat" | Right Wing Watch

John Smid, Former Ex-Gay Ministry Leader Comes Out, Recants Previous Teachings

Former Ex-Gay Ministry Leader Comes Out, Recants Previous Teachings:

Love in Action (LIA) is one of the largest and oldest ex-gay ministries in existence, founded in 1973, the same year the American Psychiatric Association decided that homosexuality was no longer a mental illness. John Smid resigned as the group’s executive director in 2008, and since then has slowly been rethinking his understandings of sexuality and [...]/p

Sunday, October 02, 2011

Obama Lauds LGBT Achievements at HRC Dinnder


Obama Lauds LGBT Achievements at HRC Dinner

Obama's Remarks at 15th Annual HRC Dinner

With a lot of pressure and push from LGBT activists, President Obama did deliver on overturning Don't Ask, Don't Tell, but still refuses to support marriage equality (publicly), though that may change if he wins re-election since the only reason he could be holding back on endorsing gay marriage is to get re-elected.  He promised to work to overturn the Defense of Marriage Act which prohibits the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages even in states where they are legalized.

Now that the diversion of DADT is out of the way, the real fight for LGBT equality should focus on marriage equality and finally passing the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA).

Religious-Right Homophobes Whine That They're Being Oppressed | Civil Liberties | AlterNet

Religious-Right Homophobes Whine That They're Being Oppressed | Civil Liberties | AlterNet

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Bellevue Pastor Asks Members to Vote Against Equality | Memphis Gaydar

Bellevue Pastor Asks Members to Vote Against Equality | Memphis Gaydar

I don't understand why anyone who considers themselves a disciple of Jesus Christ would be a part of Bellevue Baptist Church, it is a scourge on Memphis and promotes anti-gay bigotry, as well as theocracy. Their pastor is a hypocrite for covering up the sexual abuse of a minor among other things. Shame on Bellevue, and shame on anyone who supports that den of iniquity.

GOP debate audience boos gay soldier | Raw Replay

GOP debate audience boos gay soldier | Raw Replay

Thursday, September 08, 2011

Christian group blasts BlueCross BlueShield for 'acceptance of homosexual conduct' | The Tennessean | tennessean.com

Christian group blasts BlueCross BlueShield for 'acceptance of homosexual conduct' | The Tennessean | tennessean.com

The TN Family Action Council argued against "imposing" anti-gay discrimination laws on businesses in TN, now they want to dictate to businesses that they cannot help gays?

Monday, September 05, 2011

Iran Hangs Three Convicted of "Sodomy"

Three men executed in Iran for Sodomy


Iran Human Rights, September 5: According to the reports from Iran, six people were hanged in the Karoun prison of Ahvaz (southwest of Iran) early Sunday morning September 4th.
The state run Iranian news agency ISNA reported that three of those executed were sentenced to death by the Ahvaz revolution court, convicted of "unlawful" acts based on the articles 108 and 110 of the Iranian Islamic penal code. Articles 108 and 110 of the Iranian Islamic Penal code are part of the chapter covering the punishment of "Hadd" for "sodomy". Article 108 says: "Sodomy (or Lavat) is sexual intercourse between men”, and article 110 says:”Punishment for sodomy is killing; the Sharia judge decides on how to carry out the killing".

Two teenagers were hung in 2005 for rape and sodomy. (Iranian officials are believed to accuse gays of rape to make executions more acceptable to the public and international community.)

Will Prop. 8 End California’s Democracy? | | AlterNet

Will Prop. 8 End California’s Democracy? | | AlterNet

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Surprise! Male Bisexuals Exist!


Study: Researches Confirm Male Bisexuality Exists

A new scientific study by researches at Northwester University confirms that men who have a sexual attraction to both men and women is real, and dispels the stereotype that bisexual men are just closeted homosexuals, or simply confused..

Did we really need a study to confirm male bisexuality? Why are both gay and straight people threatened by bisexuality? Maybe because bisexuality calls into question the assumption that human sexuality ("sexual orientation") is something fixed and immutable?

Related study:
New Report Highights Discrimination Against Bisexuals by both Gays and Straights

Monday, August 15, 2011

Where The Presidential Candidates Stand On LGBT Issues

Where The Presidential Candidates Stand On LGBT Issues: "pHere is a snapshot look at where all the current presidential hopefuls stand on LGBT issues (click to see it full-size): For a more in-depth look at the candidates’ positions, the Center for American Progress offers an interactive with quotes that inform their views on LGBT issues.  /p"

Top 5 Examples of Perry’s Anti-Gay Agenda

Top 5 Examples of Perry’s Anti-Gay Agenda: "pAs the hours tick down until Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) announces his candidacy for the GOP presidential nomination, many outlets are speculating as to whether or not he will win the vote of the religious right with his vocal social conservatism. Just last month, he stirred up controversy with various Christian groups by flip-flopping [...]/p"

Michele Bachmann: Gay Families Are Not ‘Families’

Michele Bachmann: Gay Families Are Not ‘Families’: "pOn yesterday’s Meet The Press, host David Gregory challenged Republican presidential hopeful Michele Bachmann on some of her anti-gay views. After grilling her about whether sexual orientation would be a factor she’d consider in making presidential appointments, he asked whether a same-sex couple raising children constitutes a “family.” She doesn’t: GREGORY: Can a gay couple [...]/p"

Sunday, August 14, 2011

Top 5 Examples of Perry’s Anti-Gay Agenda

Top 5 Examples of Perry’s Anti-Gay Agenda: "pAs the hours tick down until Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) announces his candidacy for the GOP presidential nomination, many outlets are speculating as to whether or not he will win the vote of the religious right with his vocal social conservatism. Just last month, he stirred up controversy with various Christian groups by flip-flopping [...]/p"

Sunday, August 07, 2011

Four GOP Presidential Candidates Sign Anti-Gay Marriage Pledge

im Pawlenty has become the latest Republican presidential candidate to sign a pledge from the National Organization for Marriage (NOM), according to Politico. The group is dedicated to fighting same sex marriage and preventing same sex couples from adopting children.

Republican candidates Michele Bachmann, Rick Santorum and Mitt Romney have also signed the pledge, vowing to support a federal marriage amendment defining marriage as one man and one woman.

By signing NOM's marriage pledge, the candidates also vowed to protect the Defense of Marriage Act in court, appoint conservative judges and a conservative attorney general, create a presidential commission to investigate harassment of same sex marriage opponents and put same sex marriage up to a vote in D.C.

Gay Concentration Camp Survivor Dies

Gay Concentration Camp Survivor Dies at 98

Rudolf Brazda, who was held at the Buchenwald concentration camp for three years until U.S. forces liberated the camp in 1945, died Wednesday, the Associated Press reports.
By Andrew Harmon
Rudolf Brazda The last known gay concentration camp survivor imprisoned because of his sexual orientation has died, according to Germany’s Lesbian and Gay Association.

Rudolf Brazda, who was held at the Buchenwald concentration camp for three years until U.S. forces liberated the camp in 1945, died Wednesday at the age of 98, the Associated Press reports.

In a 2008 interview with the French gay magazine Têtu, Brazda spoke for the first time of his imprisonment since he made remarks at the dedication ceremony of a Berlin memorial to gay victims of the Third Reich. “The way Nazis treated the ‘pink triangles’ is unspeakable,” Brazda said, referring to the emblem gays were forced to wear. “They had absolutely no mercy.”

After he was freed from Buchenwald, Brazda moved to France, where he lived for 35 years with his partner, who died in 2002.

Tuesday, August 02, 2011

Tenn. Gov: "Don't Say Gay" Bill a Longshot

Tenn. Gov: "Don't Say Gay" Bill a Long Shot

In an interview with Nashville's City Paper, Gov. Bill Haslam said he is tired of the media attention to the bill, which would prohibit teachers from discussing homosexuality in public school classes in kindergarten through eighth grade.
By Andrew Harmon
Gov. Bill Haslam Tennessee governor Bill Haslam is tired of the media attention yo the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, which would prohibit teachers from discussing homosexuality in public school classes in kindergarten through eighth grade.

"The ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill didn’t pass and probably is never going to pass," Haslam said in an interview with Nashville's City Paper.

Comparing the bill to reporting on the appointment of the first superintendent to run the new state Achievement School District, he added, "'Don’t Say Gay' is real sexy and yada yada yada. It’s not going anywhere.

Sunday, July 24, 2011

NY Gay/Lesbian Couples Line Up to Marry

At long last gay and lesbian couples are getting married in New York today. Congrats and best wishes to all the newly weds!

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Michelle Bachman's Husband Performs "Ex-Gay" Therapy

Evan Hurst from Truth Wins Out on MSNBC's Hardball discussing GOP presidential candidate Michelle Bachman's husband's ex-gay therapy (it doesn't seem to have worked on him)

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Wednesday, July 06, 2011

Court Orders End to DADT, Halt to Gay Military Ban

DADT Repeal: Court Orders Halt to Gay Military Ban

A federal appeals court ordered the U.S. government on Wednesday to immediately cease enforcing the ban on openly gay members of the military, a move that could speed the end of the 17-year-old rule.

Congress repealed the policy in December and the Pentagon is already preparing to welcome gay military personnel, said the ruling from a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco. There's no longer any purpose for a stay the appeals court had placed on a lower court ruling that overturned "don't ask, don't tell," the judges said.

In the meantime, the court order blocks the military from discharging anyone based on sexual orientation, a Pentagon spokesman said, news that brought relief from gay rights advocates who say there are still dozens of gay or lesbian personnel under investigation.

Saturday, June 25, 2011

New York: Another Victory for Marriage Equality


New York became the sixth state to grant gay and lesbian couples the right to marry Friday night. The bill, which passed the Democratic controlled NY House overwhelmingly, was finally passed in the GOP controlled state senate 33-29, with the support of four Republicans. It was a major victory for the national struggle for marriage equality because with the victory in New York the number of gay couples who can legally marry has doubled, and it was only the second time a state legislature was not forced to legalize same-sex marriage by a court order. Gov. Cuomo signed the bill before midnight.

New York Win Celebrated Far and Wide

New York Gay Marriage Victory Transforms National Debate

New York City Celebrates Marriage Victory (Pictures)

Unfortunately, President Obama was NOT a "fierce advocate" for LGBT equality as Gov. Cuomo.
Obama's Gay Marriage Wimp Out

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Harold Ford Jr. Makes Marriage Equality Video


My former political opponent, former Tennessee Congressman Harold Ford Jr.,  made a video in support of gay marriage in his new home state of New York.  I believe he supports gay marriage now, he LIED when he campaigned against gay rights, including marriage, when he was pandering for the bigot vote in Tennessee and bragged about his support of the anti-gay marriage amendment.  My opinion of him has not changed.  Sorry Jr.

Harold Ford Jr. Makes Marriage Equality Video

New York Assembly Approves Gay Marriage



The New York state Assembly approved same-sex marriage on Wednesday and the bill is likely to face a vote in the Senate on Friday, where it only needs support from one more senator to pass.







Sunday, June 12, 2011

"Justice For All" Rally Seeks to Unify Progressive Causes - WREG



"Justice For All" Rally Seeks to Unify Progressive Causes - WREG


A coalition of progressives groups representative women, labor, immigrants, and the LGBT community, organized a rally Saturday in Memphis to protest recent actions by the conservative Republican Tennessee legislature to restrict the collective bargaining rights of public employees, cut funding for Planned Parenthood, and to rollback and prohibit local laws to prohibit discrimination against gays and lesbians and LGBT people. 

In addition to anti-gay and anti-labor legislation at the state level, the Memphis City government is considering proposals to privatize sanitation services and destroy the local AFSCME labor union that Dr. MLK came to Memphis to march with to protest low wages prior to his assassination.