...and for those homophobic Americans, you better get used to it! Full marriage equality is coming soon.
2/28/13
Breaking news: Obama administration's Prop.8 brief argues for "8-in 1" legal solution: all eight states that offer civil unions would have to provide marriage equality
SCOTUSblog writes:
Administration sources said that President Obama was involved directly in the government’s choice of whether to enter the case at all, and then in fashioning the argument that it should make. Having previously endorsed the general idea that same-sex individuals should be allowed to marry the person they love, the President was said to have felt an obligation to have his government take part in the fundamental test of marital rights that is posed by the Proposition 8 case. The President could take the opportunity to speak to the nation on the marriage question soon.
In essence, the position of the federal government would simultaneously give some support to marriage equality while showing some respect for the rights of states to regulate that institution. What the brief endorsed is what has been called the “eight-state solution” — that is, if a state already recognizes for same-sex couples all the privileges and benefits that married couples have (as in the eight states that do so through “civil unions”) those states must go the final step and allow those couples to get married. The argument is that it violates the Constitution’s guarantee of legal equality when both same-sex and opposite-sex couples are entitled to the same marital benefits, but only the opposite-sex couples can get married.
Read more
My bottom-line: Obama has evolved into a strong advocate for the LGBT equality! Thank you, Mr. President. Everything you have done for this embattled community will be part of your legacy.
My bottom-line: Obama has evolved into a strong advocate for the LGBT equality! Thank you, Mr. President. Everything you have done for this embattled community will be part of your legacy.
Video of the day: Ordinary Iranians cheer on the U.S. team in last weekend's wrestling tournament in Tehran
As always, if old men can get over their egos and ambitions, we can find our way to peace. More on this story.
2/27/13
Why ACT UP succeeded & is American as apple pie
An excerpt from a powerful article on ACT UP and AIDS:
-- Garance Franke-Ruta
And if you have not watched the documentary "How to Survive a Plague," see it on Netflix or buy the DVD. My men's meditation group watched it recently and most everyone did not know the extent of the ACT UP had in changing the drug trials and approvals in the U.S.
Questions by prospective teams about Manti Te'o's sexuality reveal the deep homophobia in the NFL
"Here's the elephant in the room for the teams and it shouldn't matter, but we have to step aside from the rest of reality and walk into the unique industry that is the NFL. Teams want to know whether Manti Te'o is gay. They just want to know. They want to know because in an NFL locker room, it's a different world. It shouldn't be that way. I don't think you can ask that question -- If you go Katie Couric on Manti Te'o, it's going to come out that some team, some GM some coach asked Manti Te'o if he's gay. Then you'll have to deal with all the distraction and all the stuff that flows after that."--Mike Florio, NBC Sports pundit
Zen lesson on resiliency
"Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts."
--Winston Churchill
2/26/13
My beautiful grandmother passed away this morning. After being ravaged for eight years by dementia, she was finally set free from deteriorating body. Bless her!
This former Spanish-American beauty looked so tired and lost at the end of her life, breaking my heart every time I see this photo. My grandmother, Donna or Donato, loved and honored me as her first grandchild, showering me with love for over 50 years and completely accepting the fact that I was gay. More than anything, she wanted me to be happy.
Every time I left her place, she would send me off with her delicious Spanish meat pies that I would snack on for the next week. One time, my college roommate asked me what made her pies taste so good. His question caught me by surprise because I hadn't really thought about it before, so I paused and then answered, "she uses spicy Spanish chorizo from the best shop on the East Coast, but most importantly, these pies are made with pure love."
By the way, the above photo shows four generations of my family, including my 63-year-old aunt, my cousin with her one-year-old daughter. Below is a picture of the next generation of my family, featuring five cousins who all have some Hispanic blood -- from Portugal, Spain, and/or Puerto Rico, in addition to other European ethnicities. They are the face of this Obama-era world, a place of mixed races and groups. My grandmother loved them as much as I do.
2/25/13
The First Lady, in her surprise presenter's role at the Oscars, didn't forget to mention gay people in her remarks
In what turned out to be a very gay Oscar ceremony -- including the LA Gay Men's Chorus and several gay references through the evening -- Michelle Obama included us, too, in her remarks.
"These nine movies took us back in time and all around the world they made us laugh, they made us weep and they made us grip our armrests just a little tighter. They taught us that love can endure against all odds and transform our lives in the most surprising ways, and they reminded us that we can overcome any obstacle if we dig deep enough and fight hard enough and find the courage to believe in ourselves. These lessons apply to all of us no matter who we are or what we look like or where we come from or who we love."Thank you.
Three days ago, the Cardinal of UK's Catholic Church argued that priests should be allowed to marry but gays should not. Yesterday, he resigned after charges of sexual impropriety
The Roman Catholic Church hierarchy needs to be swept clean. In the latest scandal, Cardinal Keith O'Brien has been accused of sexual impropriety by four different priests. Of course, this is the same man that caused a stir when he said that priests should be able to marry...even though he is against gay marriage.
Well, his hypocrisy finally caught up with him after these charges, including a priest that said the Cardinal and he had a long-standing relationship. The Telegraph reports:
The most senior Catholic cleric in Britain, Cardinal Keith O'Brien of St Andrews and Edinburgh, has been forced to resign ahead of schedule following allegations that he made homosexual advances to younger clergy in his diocese – and isn't now expected to attend the conclave to elect the next Pope. There will now be no Briton in the Sistine Chapel when voting takes place. O'Brien's early resignation is believed to have been at the personal insistence of Benedict XVI, in one of his last acts as Pope.
The Cardinal denies the allegations, whose publication has been carefully timed – but his decision will remind the cardinals meeting in Rome next month that allegations against its clergy have now permeated the entire institution.
The next Pope's first priority must be to restore confidence in the sexual probity of the Church. Who on earth is going to be able to do that?
Amen.
Why the GOP -- Lincoln's party -- became racist...
From the Andrew Sullivan's Daily Dish:
Sam Tanenhaus claims that, when “the intellectual authors of the modern right created its doctrines in the 1950s, they drew on nineteenth-century political thought, borrowing explicitly from the great apologists for slavery, above all, the intellectually fierce South Carolinian John C. Calhoun”:
The image of the “angry black man” still purveyed by sensationalists such as Ann Coulter and Dinesh D’Souza is anachronistic today, when blacks and even Muslims, the most conspicuous of “outsider” groups, profess optimism about America and their place in it. A politics of frustration and rage remains, but it is most evident within the GOP’s dwindling base—its insurgents and anti-government crusaders, its “middle-aged white guys.”
They now form the party’s one solid bloc, its agitated concurrent voice, struggling not only against the facts of demography, but also with the country’s developing ideas of democracy and governance. We are left with the profound historical irony that the party of Lincoln—of the Gettysburg Address, with its reiteration of the Declaration’s assertion of equality and its vision of a “new birth of freedom”—has found sustenance in Lincoln’s principal intellectual and moral antagonist. It has become the party of Calhoun.
2/24/13
I am just sayin': you know you are winning the war for LGBT equality when the LA Gay Men's Chorus is in the opening act of the Oscars
Seth McFarland and the LA Gay Men's Chorus from tonight's show
The President's Department of Justice speaks out forcefully for marriage equality. Thank you!
Here are six of the top marriage equality arguments from Department of Justice's legal brief, filed on Friday, claiming that DOMA is unconstitutional. From LGBTThinkProgress:
1. Section 3 “denies to legally married same-sex couples many substantial benefits afforded to legally married opposite-sex couples under federal employment, immigration, public health and welfare, tax, and other laws.” For instance, a same-sex spouse of an “active-duty military servicemember is excluded from certain housing, healthinsurance, and disability benefits that would be afforded to an opposite-sex spouse…. A non-citizen same-sex spouse of a United States citizen cannot qualify as the citizen spouse’s immediate relative for purposes of obtaining lawful permanent residence. ”
2. Gay and lesbian people have been subject to a significant history of discrimination in this country. Until Lawrence v. Texas, 539 U.S. 558 (2003), criminal laws in many states prohibited their private sexual conduct. In addition, gay and lesbian people have long suffered discrimination in employment, immigration, criminal violence, child custody, police enforcement, voter referenda, and other contexts. “That history ranges from colonial laws ordering the death of “any man [that] shall lie with mankind, as he lieth with womankind,”… to state laws that, until very recently, “demean[ed] the[] existence” of gay and lesbian people.”
3. Sexual orientation is such a “distinguishing characteristic,” and that is true even though so many gay and lesbian people have been forced for so long to hide their identities in order to avoid discrimination. As this Court has recognized, sexual orientation is a core aspect of human identity, and its expression is an “integral part of human freedom.”
4. The “broad consensus in the scientific community is that, for the vast majority of people (gay and straight alike), sexual orientation is not a voluntary choice.There is likewise a medical consensus that efforts to change an individual’s sexual orientation are generally futile and potentially dangerous to an individual’s well-being. Accordingly, sexual orientation readily constitutes an “obvious, immutable, or distinguishing characteristic” for purposes of equal-protection law.”
5. “No sound basis exists for concluding that same-sex couples who have committed to marriage are anything other than fully capable of responsible parenting and child-rearing. To the contrary, many leading medical, psychological, and social-welfare organizations have issued policy statements opposing restrictions on gay and lesbian parenting based on their conclusions, supported by numerous scientific studies, that children raised by gay and lesbian parents are as well adjusted as children raised by heterosexual parents.”
6. If anything, “the denial of federal benefits otherwise accorded to married individuals undermines the efforts of same-sex couples to raise their children, hindering rather than advancing any interest in promoting child welfare.”The LGBT helped elect Obama and he hasn't forgotten that or his pledge to uphold the U.S. Constitution, for all Americans not just the 1%.
2/23/13
Obama's Justice Depart. files a brief claiming DOMA is unconstitutional. Just the latest move by a man who has done for the LGBT than all other presidents combined
A few years ago, some of my Republican friends prematurely claimed that Obama had betrayed the gay community, like Reagan did during the AIDS epidemic. Some of my Democratic friends felt at time that Obama should be more assertive on LGBT rights. But after five years in office, Obama has proved to be a "fierce advocate" for our cause, indeed, in political and symbolic ways. Friday was his latest important move:
From Towleroad:
The Obama administration urged the Supreme Court on Friday to throw out a section of a 1996 federal law that prohibits recognition of same-sex marriage.
The brief was filed Friday in United States v. Windsor, a case challenging Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA, the law that legally declares marriage to be only between a man and a woman. That section allows state and federal authorities to deny benefits to same-sex couples that are commonplace for heterosexual couples, like insurance for government workers and Social Security survivors' benefits.
Now, on my Obama LGBT rights wish list, is an executive order banning employment discrimination against the LGBT by any organization receiving federal funds, an openly gay cabinet official, and his appointment of gay person as ambassador to an important American ally.
Like Lincoln did with slavery, Obama has let society evolve to the point where his personal endorsement on gay marriage played a pivotal role in winning on this subject in four states on election day. To my gay Republican and Democrat friends, all I can say is that Obama will be remembered for helping promote the civil rights movement of this time, one of his many great achievements.
2/22/13
Zen lesson: 'the implacable grandeur of this life'
If there is a sin against life, it consists perhaps not so much in despairing of life as in hoping for another life and in eluding the implacable grandeur of this life.--Albert Camus
A modern American conservative advocates for marriage equality
“While serving as governor of Utah, I pushed for civil unions and expanded reciprocal benefits for gay citizens. I did so not because of political pressure—indeed, at the time 70 percent of Utahns were opposed—but because as governor my role was to work for everybody, even those who didn’t have access to a powerful lobby. Civil unions, I believed, were a practical step that would bring all citizens more fully into the fabric of a state they already were—and always had been—a part of.
That was four years ago. Today we have an opportunity to do more: conservatives should start to lead again and push their states to join the nine others that allow all their citizens to marry. I’ve been married for 29 years. My marriage has been the greatest joy of my life. There is nothing conservative about denying other Americans the ability to forge that same relationship with the person they love,”
-- Jon Huntsman.
2/21/13
Inauguration poet Richard Blanco is interviewed by Terry Gross. A pleasure to listen to...
Two insightful people have an illuminating conversation about being an immigrant and feeling home finally in America. Listen to it here.
2/20/13
2/19/13
I admit it: I'm addicted to Showtime's "Homeland" TV series. Tonight, I start watching season two
Strong writing, a good story line, deep character development, and fine casting and acting are some of the reasons that make this show a pleasure to watch. Like with Downton Abbey, I am hooked!
With strong and articulate straight allies like this, the LGBT are definitely going to change society for the better
"If any NFL players happen to read this, I guarantee you’ve played with or against a gay player at some point during your career — that’s simple statistics. Guess what? It didn’t make him any less of a player. It didn’t make him any less able to push through conditioning drills, less able to stay awake during meetings, less able to rally for the win when down by 10 with four minutes to go in the game. That gay player, whether you knew it or not — he was a teammate. He was your teammate. He was my teammate. Just like the coaches go on and on about every preseason: Once you step between those white lines, it doesn’t matter who you are, where you came from, what you believe or when you were born. There’s only one thing that matters, and that’s 'Can you play?'"-- Chris Kluwe
2/18/13
Thinking about the first gay president on this holiday...
Like Bill Clinton was called the nation's "first black president' for his special connection to the African-American community, Barack Obama has been dubbed "the first gay president" for his championing of LGBT rights. But on this Presidents' Day holiday, with all due respect to Mr. Obama, I think it is fair to ask who really was our first gay American leader?
One strong possibility must be President James Buchanan, a lifetime bachelor who loved and lived with William Rufus King, senator from Alabama. Most historians agree that Buchanan was gay, with ample evidence of his homosexuality, including this part of a personal letter that he wrote, after King had moved to Paris to become our ambassador to France, to a friend:
I am now “solitary and alone,” having no companion in the house with me. I have gone a wooing to several gentlemen, but have not succeeded with any one of them. I feel that it is not good for man to be alone; and should not be astonished to find myself married to some old maid who can nurse me when I am sick, provide good dinners for me when I am well, and not expect from me any very ardent or romantic affection.But another possibility for this honor must be our greatest president of all: Abraham Lincoln, who directly preceded Buchanan. Lincoln had several close relationships with men that he also slept with -- one even after marrying Mary Todd and becoming president. Imagine that: our honest Abe as a homo, or at least a bisexual man! While old-school historians stubbornly defend Lincoln heterosexual bonafides by claiming it was common in that period for men to share a bed, more open-minded (and non-homophobic) researchers acknowledge that Lincoln was at least bisexual in behavior. A good book on this subject, written by one of Kinsey's longtime (and straight) research assistants, C.W. Tripp, "The Intimate Life of Abraham Lincoln," is quite convincing. At first, I was skeptical, but I was won over by Mr. Tripp's arguments in the end. Here is what the New York Times said in the review of Tripp's book:
Six years later, Lincoln moved to Springfield, where he met Joshua Speed, who became a close friend; John G. Nicolay and John Hay, two early biographers, called him ''the only -- as he was certainly the last -- intimate friend that Lincoln ever had.'' Lincoln and Speed shared a double bed in Speed's store for four years (for two of those years, two other young men shared the room, though not the bed). More important than the sleeping arrangements was the tone of their friendship. Lincoln's letters to Speed before and after Speed's wedding in 1842 are as fretful as those of a general before a dubious engagement. Several of them are signed ''Yours forever.''I have known/know plenty of men who have married women, had kids, and have loved their wives, but still think of themselves as gay. Lincoln was a wildly ambitious man (who wanted to be remembered by history as a great leader) and he knew the importance of being married in order to advance in society. So given his attractions and goals, I am not surprised he married.
I think it is naive to ask the question "why does all this matter?" It matters because we still live in a homophobic society where gay people often feel invisible and are beaten, bullied, fired, discriminated against, and trivialized for being themselves. Gay men are especially shamed for their sexuality -- from the church to the locker room -- and are sometimes not considered to be "real men." We need to be truthful about American history and have role models so every kid in America knows that being gay is okay.
Just like we are aware of the many loves of Franklin Roosevelt or John Kennedy, I look forward to the day when every school kid knows that our "giant of a man," Abraham Lincoln, celebrated same-sex love, too.
2/17/13
Every gay person should see the documentary "How to Survive a Plague": it artfully tells how ACT-UP confronted homophobia and changed America. Remarkable story
This and Searching for Sugar Man are my favorite documentaries of the year. I was so moved in watching historic video footage of ACT UP meetings and watching its leaders angrily advocate for research and money to help HIV+ individuals live. At times, it was relive their suffering and struggles. But they changed America and attitudes toward gay people forever.
I am proud to be part of this long line of LGBT activists in our movement for love and equality.
2/16/13
Zen quote of the day
To say yes, you have to sweat and roll up your sleeves and plunge both hands into life up to the elbows. It's easy to say no, even if it means dying.
--Jean Anouilh
"So God Made a Gay Man": Lots of wisdom & self-acceptance in this gay version of a recent Chrysler Corporation ad
So God Made A Gay Man (from CrewMagazine.com) from Crew Magazine on Vimeo.
Here is the original ad for Chrysler's Ram division:
Both versions have a lot of truth in them.
Here is the original ad for Chrysler's Ram division:
Both versions have a lot of truth in them.
2/15/13
Something big happened yesterday in the world of sports: a gay professional athlete came out & most of his world accepted him
Read these wide words by Cy from Outsports:
The measure the progress we’re making in the fight to end homophobia in sports, we need just two things: Cause and effect.
The cause is the news story. Today, professional soccer player Robbie Rogers provided that when he came out publicly. Having struggled with his sexual orientation for years, today he open the door for a glimpse into the world of sports. It was eye-opening.
Rogers’ coming out in itself doesn’t tell us a heck of a lot. We now know he’s a young man who has struggled with his sexual orientation for years. In all likelihood, that struggle held him back from the promise that surrounded him just a few years ago. As we’ve heard so many times before from gay athletes, the closet is a dark place; It’s hard to see the ball when you can’t see the light.
Where we’re best able to measure the state of homophobia in sports is through the effect the story has had: The reaction to these news stories like Rogers’ announcement. Whether it’s Tim Hardaway saying “I hate gay people” or Rick Welts telling the world he’s gay, the reaction to these stories — from athletes, coaches, fans and the media — give us the barometer we’re constantly looking for.
Today we learned something profound. We’ve known the tide has been turning in sports. Support has been shown in the past for athletes coming out like Esera Tuaolo, John Amaechi and Wade Davis.
But the sudden groundswell of support and admiration for Rogers today confirmed in a new way what we’ve suspected for a while: For every person who says how difficult it would be for an openly gay professional athlete, there are a thousand more looking to show their support.
Also, read this insightful article about the historical significance of his coming out.
Pride! Top American soccer player Robbie Rogers comes out
Secrets can cause so much internal damage. People love to preach about honesty, how honesty is so plain and simple. Try explaining to your loved ones after 25 years you are gay. Try convincing yourself that your creator has the most wonderful purpose for you even though you were taught differently.
I always thought I could hide this secret. Football was my escape, my purpose, my identity. Football hid my secret, gave me more joy than I could have ever imagined… I will always be thankful for my career. I will remember Beijing, The MLS Cup, and most of all my teammates. I will never forget the friends I have made a long the way and the friends that supported me once they knew my secret.
Now is my time to step away. It’s time to discover myself away from football. It’s 1 A.M. in London as I write this and I could not be happier with my decision. Life is so full of amazing things. I realized I could only truly enjoy my life once I was honest. Honesty is a bitch but makes life so simple and clear. My secret is gone, I am a free man, I can move on and live my life as my creator intended.
I always thought I could hide this secret. Football was my escape, my purpose, my identity. Football hid my secret, gave me more joy than I could have ever imagined… I will always be thankful for my career. I will remember Beijing, The MLS Cup, and most of all my teammates. I will never forget the friends I have made a long the way and the friends that supported me once they knew my secret.
Now is my time to step away. It’s time to discover myself away from football. It’s 1 A.M. in London as I write this and I could not be happier with my decision. Life is so full of amazing things. I realized I could only truly enjoy my life once I was honest. Honesty is a bitch but makes life so simple and clear. My secret is gone, I am a free man, I can move on and live my life as my creator intended.
Read more at Towleroad
2/14/13
Regardless of your relationship status, happy Valentine's day!
True self-acceptance is the most important love of all. So be kinder to yourself today and do something nice for you. And then extend that love and warmth to the other beings in your life.
And in the spirit of love, here's one of my favorite wedding videos, from Canada:
Higher Love from Shortt and Epic on Vimeo.
Immigration reform is a nightmare for a party that is 89% white and pursues racist policies and political tactics (e.g. suppressing minority voters)
The new Gallup poll shows that 89% of the GOP is white, which is a HUGE problem in an increasingly diverse country like the U.S.. But the GOP and its media proxies (Fox News, Rush, etc) keep on stoking the red hot coals of racism, for short-term political gains and media ratings. Good luck with that strategy, boys!
With over 73% of Asians voting for Obama, I have even more bad news for the GOP: Asians are becoming the fast-growing immigrant group, over-taking Latinos. As an Asian-American friend said to me, "Asian-Americans aren't economically-disadvantaged, but they know that they aren't welcome by the GOP because of their skin color and cultural differences. Besides, we are highly-educated and believe in science, effective social programs, and equal rights for all Americans." Ouch!
Lastly, immigration reform is going to stir up dissent within the old GOP tea party base, making them uneasy about letting more people into the country who look different from them. But in order to be a viable political force in the future, the Republicans have no choice. However, because of the racial animosity of the hardcore GOP/tea-party base, most of these immigrants are likely to vote for Democrats for the next generation or so. In the long-term, the GOP is going to have to re-invent itself, hopefully, along the lines of Britain's Conservative Party or become irrelevant in national elections. The Reagan Revolution is over and done!
BTW, watch the stirring testimony of this gay Latino "DREAMer", Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, Juan Antonio Vargas, testifying in favor of immigration reform, yesterday. Riveting:
2/13/13
My quote for the day
Keep doing the right thing because it is the thing to do and it feels good in the long run.
--Joe Rodriguez
An anti-gay activist acknowledges the courage & determination of equality advocates
"I’m not in the least bit surprised by the victories of the 'gay revolution.' In fact, when I first became involved in this specific aspect of the 'culture wars' less than 9 years ago, I saw back then that our side had already lost the battle and that gay activism had won the day. So, these recent developments don’t faze or surprise me in the least. From day one, my trust was in God, not people, and that’s where my trust remains. Attempts to redefine marriage and family and to normalize different sexual orientations may have their day, but that day will pass. In the end, I can truly thank gay activists for helping us understand their world better – including the pain of bullying and the unique struggles they have endured – and for that, I am grateful. And I can admire their zeal and courage, even while differing with their goals. But just as they didn’t throw in the towel when they were a tiny, vilified, minority, much less we will throw in the towel when their revolution seems to be winning the day. This too shall pass." - Anti-gay activist Michael Brown, who says he's still going to fight against gay rights even though he knows we've already won.via Joe.My.God
2/12/13
Love needs to be celebrated, not hidden in the shadows
2/11/13
I am glad to see this pope go, a man who vilified gay people as well as protected priests that had abused children
Andrew Sullivan captures the moment:
I do think his reference to the world “being shaken by questions of deep relevance for the life of faith” is a critical qualifier here. He seems to recognize that the challenges the Catholic church now faces – its intellectual collapse in the West, the stench of moral corruption revealed by the decades of child-rape and cover-ups, and the resort to the crudest forms of authority and reactionaryism in response to new ideas, discoveries and truths about human nature – have now overwhelmed his physical and mental strength. At some point, the sheer human energy required to try and impose a moral authority already lost must have seemed hopeless.
And the damage has been enormous.
Look at Benedict’s legacy in Germany, his home country:
Since Benedict’s election in 2005, the number of people leaving the Catholic Church in Germany has more than doubled, and it’s been the highest most recently in Ratzinger’s former Archdiocese of Munich and Freising. Only 30 percent of Germans are still Catholic today.
In Ireland, the collapse has been close to total. At the start of his papacy, Benedict declared his intent to bring Catholicism back to intellectual life in Europe. He didn’t just fail; he failed catastrophically, accelerating the Church’s demographic, spiritual and moral decline in the West. Key pillars of the Wojtila-Ratzinger counter-reformation – like the Legion of Christ, the creation of the repeat child rapist and drug trafficker, Marcial Maciel – crumbled to dust. Key enablers of abuse were given rewards – Boston’s Cardinal Law springs to mind; other minor figures – including the monster who raped over 200 deaf children, Father Lawrence Murphy – were allowed a quiet retirement with no serious punishment; I called for the Pope’s resignation two years ago, as the full extent of his complicity in the child-rape crisis came into closer view:
Ratzinger can no more be separated from John Paul II than Bush can from Cheney. And the cult of authority was John Paul II’s and Benedict XVI’s key contribution to the modern church. Now we see how this cult of authority was directly connected to enabling the church to enable, hide and defend the rapists of children … there is no escaping the verdict of history.
The Pope must resign. He has no moral authority left. And a new Pope needs to be selected who represents an end to the euphemisms, an end to any tolerance for this, and who will seek to restore the balance of authority achieved by the Second Vatican Council.
For me, the great tragedy of Benedict was his panic after the Second Council. There is no disputing the elegance of his mind or the exquisite meticulousness of his perfect, orderly German theology – and his work alongside the more consistently modernist Hans Kung will stand the test of time. But his post-1960s theology had as much relationship to the real challenges of the 21st Century as the effete, secluded German scholar, embalmed in clerical privilege for his entire adult life. And his early promise as a theologian calcified into the purest form of reaction and fear when given the power to enforce orthodoxy, which is what he essentially did for well over two decades. It was excruciating to watch such a careful, often illuminating scholar turn into a Grand Inquisitor. It was revealing that a bureaucrat who never missed even a scintilla of heresy was able to turn such a blind eye to the monstrous rapes of so many children.
But as my dad says, rarely is someone a purely bad person. Here are some of the good things Pope Benedict did, from ThinkProgress:
– Addressing climate change. Benedict was dubbed the “Green Pope” for his commitment to environmental concerns. He boosted “efforts to make Vatican City more environmentally efficient,” used “Roman Catholic doctrine to emphasize humanity’s responsibility to care for the planet,” and called on world leaders to “agree on a responsible, credible and supportive response to this worrisome and complex phenomenon, keeping in mind the needs of the poorest populations and of future generations.”– A fair and equitable economy. “[T]he economy cannot be measured only by maximization of profit but rather according to the common good,” he said in 2011 during a visit to Spain. In a 2009 treatise, the pontiff called for protections for “labour unions — which have always been encouraged and supported by the Church,” the elimination of world hunger through “wealth redistribution,” the protection of the “natural environment” — “God’s gift to everyone” — from unchecked economic expansion, and a strengthened “family of nations,” like the U.N. with “real teeth.”– Universal health care. At an international papal conference on health care in November of 2010, at the Vatican, Pope Benedict and other Catholic church leaders said it is the “moral responsibility of nations to guarantee access to health care for all of their citizens, regardless of social and economic status or their ability to pay.” Saying access to adequate medical care is one of the “inalienable rights” of man, the pope said, “Justice in health care should be a priority of governments and international institutions.” Catholic bishops, however, led the charge against Obamacare’s contraception requirements and have rejected the Obama administration’s latest compromise.
– Immigration reform. Pope Benedict had been a supporter of U.S. immigrants, regardless of their legal status, urging the Bush administration to treat immigrants with human dignity. The United States must do “everything possibleto fight…all forms of violence so that immigrants may lead dignified lives,” the pope said when asked if he would address the issue of Latin American immigrants with Bush in 2008.My bottom-line: good riddance to a man who lost his humanity and moral authority when he failed to protect children from their abusers and the Pope's friends.
Rarely has a TV show has given me such pleasure as Downton Abbey. Last night's episode was no exception
Watch Downton Abbey, Season 3: Episode 6 Preview on PBS. See more from Masterpiece.
Underneath the elaborate Edwardian manners and costumes of Downton Abbey, most of the show's characters have lots of heart and compassion, reflecting the better aspects of the human spirit. I am sorry to see that there is only one episode left in this season.
Downton Abbey joins my pantheon of recent TV favorites, which include The Sopranos, The Colbert Show, Six Feet Under, Friday Night Lights, West Wing, The Hour, Homeland, The Daily Show, and The Newsroom, and the PBS News Hour.
2/10/13
Michelle Obama attends a funeral for slain Chicago teenager. What is it going to take better regulate guns in this country? The NRA should be shamed
Less than a mile from the President's house in Chicago, a star student was murdered by a gang in a case of mistaken identity. This could have been your daughter, niece, sister, or grand daughter.
Over 100,000 Americans are wounded each year by guns. 11,000 die from guns. Wake up, America,
The new norm: everyday images of same-sex couples are increasing & influencing this new generation of LGBT
This is the one show I wished I had grown up with: from Spain's Antenna 3 Network, "FÃsica o QuÃmica," which follows the romance of Fer and David, two Spanish boys in high school, who show a strong and naturalistic sense of affection for one another. It ran a few years ago.
2/9/13
Quote that summarizes why I am a progressive who also reads a lot of history. Like my president
Life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forwards.--Soren Kierkegaard
As I said to a conservative friend, why live by looking always in the rear view mirror and wishing for what you imagined was in the past? Informed by the lessons of history, I want to be here in the "juicy" now and look forward to bettering myself and my country.
The marriage equality debate in the UK shows how far society has come since Oscar Wilde's sodomy trial in 1895 & his defense of the love that dare not speak its name
This was Wilde's response to the prosecutor's question about "the love that dare not speak its name":
“The Love that dare not speak its name” in this century is such a great affection of an elder for a younger man as there was between David and Jonathan, such as Plato made the very basis of his philosophy, and such as you find in the sonnets of Michelangelo and Shakespeare. It is that deep, spiritual affection that is as pure as it is perfect. It dictates and pervades great works of art like those of Shakespeare and Michelangelo, and those two letters of mine, such as they are. It is in this century misunderstood, so much misunderstood that it may be described as the “Love that dare not speak its name,” and on account of it I am placed where I am now. It is beautiful, it is fine, it is the noblest form of affection. There is nothing unnatural about it. It is intellectual, and it repeatedly exists between an elder and a younger man, when the elder man has intellect, and the younger man has all the joy, hope and glamour of life before him. That it should be so, the world does not understand. The world mocks at it and sometimes puts one in the pillory for it.”While I don't believe in gay adult men having consenting relationships with underage youths (on emotional development grounds), I celebrate Wilde's appreciation of the beauty and naturalness of same-sex couples, and his courage in standing up to homophobia. At the end of this trial, he was sentenced to two years in prison.
2/8/13
2/7/13
2/6/13
Zen thought of the day
We have only this moment, sparkling like a star -- and melting like a snowflake.
-- Francis Baco
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