Pat Robertson: WTF

Why the HELL is Pat Robertson still on TV? Why is this senile hatemonger even allowed to SPEAK?

In his latest tirade, he says gays will cut your finger to give you aids.

Let that sink in. Let that idea and the sheer insanity of it wash over you. Don't fight it.

This man claims to be a man of God and represent my faith to the world at large. I wouldn't be able to share a ROOM with him let alone a church. If there's a SLIVER of doubt in you that he's gone completely insane, take a look at these bon mots:

It is the Democratic Congress, the liberal-biased media and the homosexuals who want to destroy all Christians.''

"I would warn Orlando that you're right in the way of some serious hurricanes, and I don't think I'd be waving those flags in God's face if I were you ... It'll bring about terrorist bombs; it'll bring earthquakes, tornadoes, and possibly a meteor."

"The feminist agenda is not about equal rights for women. It is about a socialist, anti-family political movement that encourages women to leave their husbands, kill their children, practice witchcraft, destroy capitalism and become lesbians."

God, please, take this man home or at LEAST give him a sore throat. Amen.

The Daily Huff: Old News edition

Well, there’s a regular pleathora from the huff. First, we have a city employee calling her friend gay while testing an email. What a classy broad. Offended by that? Yeah. Me too. At least she was “reprimanded quickly”. The employee claimed they meant gay in the old-timey happy way. Sure.

Next on the docket, a youtube video “Rated T For Tolerance”, the most misnamed movie since The Neverending Story. A teenager raps (badly) about how being gay will get you sent to hell, that it’s a choice, and not to believe the media. It breaks my heart to see a fellow Christian so misled. Jesus taught Love. God is LOVE. Why can’t people understand this?

Chris Sprouse, Superman artist, is leaving the company since noted anti-gay author Orson Scott Card is coming on to write a story. I’m a Marvel Girl myself, but c’mon DC. Get with the times. At least they’re not condemming Sprouse for leaving. Granted, they’re not dropping Card either…

Right in my backyard, a lesbian couple’s fight for adoption rights has become a fight for marriage rights. Sadly, my state has had a ban since 2004. This however, could be the turning point. My future brother in law is only not married to his boyfriend because of this ban. It would lift my heart to see it overturned.

A florist is refusing to do her long-time customer’s wedding due to “Her relationship with Jesus.” What hurts is that this wasn’t some random florist. This was a woman the couple had been buying from for years: they considered her a friend. This is the worst kind of bigot: the kind that refuses to see what is right in front of them. Oh, but she’ll take their money, no problem.

Religion gets no better when a gay youth is exorcized by his parents. When will people learn THIS CRAP DOES NOT WORK? It’s the year two thousand and FRIGGAN THIRTEEN! Why not grab some leeches and suck it out? Or is sucking to queer for you?!

To end on a high note, Mexico gets a gold star for declaring anti-GLBT speech not protected speech. As a patriot, I’ll disagree with you, but you still have the right to your speech. As a supporter of peace and love: YAY! Bueno!

The Daily Huff

Well, my Daily Showing may have been iced last night, but at least there’s the Huffington post!

AOL runs Huff news in its feed daily. This morning I found two stories about religion and homosexuality. The first was heartening: A grandmother standing up in front of her pastor and the whole congregation on behalf of her grandson. Quote the Huff:

A kid that attends the church and is in high school is gay, and apparently his parents wrote to the pastor asking what should be done about this. The pastor took the letter the parents wrote, and read it to the entire congregation, outed the kid, and told everyone that they would "work together to address this problem of homosexuality."

My grandmother stood up at this point, said "Thereare a lot of problems here, and him being gay is not one of them." She apologized to the boy, then walked out the door. She just got back from turningin all the stuff she was responsible for for the church's yard sale and BibleSchool activities.

So, not only did the Pastor out the kid in front of the community, he condemned him. The pastor (and I use that term loosely) was apparently pretty ticked off, but Grandma is sticking to her guns. You go Grandma!

This type of thing saddens me beyond belief. The Church is supposed to be a place of love and acceptance. Even if you believe being Gay is a sin, to publicly shame this child is beyond the pale. It could easily end in an attack on him by ‘pure’ Christians, schoolmates, or God only knows.

If this turns into a suicide, I hope that pastor is tried for murder.

At least the kid has ONE family member he can turn to.

I know the pain of an intolerant pastor. I have all but stopped my church attendance because of his views on homosexuality. “Gays will not inherit the kingdom of heaven.” These are words that have been spoken at my church by the man on the pulpit. It makes my heart ache that such a man of God could be so misled and wrong. In everything else, he is a model pastor, dedicated to his flock. If I were Gay, would he have outed me thus? I think not. I think he would have had more kindness and discretion…all while considering me a sinner.

The other story is equal parts sad and hilarious; sad that a man can say such nonsense and be believed, and hilarious in that someone in this day and age can believe women on the pill are full of dead babies. Kevin Swanson, another candidate for Pastor of the year Quote the Huff:

Said Swanson:

What’shappening is they want homosexuals to be able to be involved in adoption andfoster care as much anybody else. So picture a nice little home-school family,just trying to do the right thing. An anonymous tip comes in, social servicesswoops in, they grab the kids in the year 2022, and the kids get remanded intoa home with homosexuals, and these particular homosexuals happen to be tiedinto NAMBLA and other things.

I am so sick of hearing about how NAMBLA is entrenched in the gay community and all gays are pedophiles. More straight men are pedophiles! In fact, 90% of pedophiles are straight. You don’t have to be gay to molest little boys. You have to be SICK. He also implied that gays will burn Christians at the stake. That’s not what flaming means, buddy.

Oh, but the fun with Swanson doesn’t end with the homosexual community. Quote the Huff:

Meanwhile,Kevin Swanson has made Right Wing Watch headlines two more times since hisinflammatory "burning at the stake" comments: for claiming that women on birth control have wombs "embedded with dead babies", and for saying that allowing gay Boy Scout troop leaders islike allowing convicted child molesters and serial killers to teach in preschools.

Wha—Jhu—Haps---Sorry, just having a Grandpa Simpson style breakdown. I mean…HOW CAN SOMEONE BE THIS DUMB?!

Worse yet, how can people BELIEVE HIM?!

I don’t want to live on this planet anymore.

Actually…I like this planet….YOU get off!

Winter

I sit on my office, and I can just glimpse the snow falling on the road. It's the pretty kind of snow, the stuff that won't stick and doesn't get too deep. Perfect for watching through a window. I wonder if Grizz and Langly are at home watching it.

We missed a couples night out with them Saturday  as both were sick with the flu. Langly's voice was so rough I thought I'd called my boyfriend by mistake. The two of them usually take good care of themselves. If they're still sick Wednesday, we'll miss our usual couple's night.

Wednesdays, Bahamute and I always head over to their house. We bring a dessert or cook dinner, watch The Daily Show, and play Mice and Mystics. Grizz and I gab about the Nostalgia Critic and the latest Horror movies while Langly and Bahamute talk games and PC issues. When we get really crazy we break out a bottle of wine or some Woodchuck hard cinder. A good time is had by all.

It's one of the best days off the week. If we weren't in a show opening 2/15 (EEK!) I'd barge over there with hot soup and tea. Bahamute is the star, though, and can't afford to lose his voice. I'm the closest thing to his understudy, and a female Dr. Frederick Fronkensteen isn't going to cut it.

So I sit. And it snows. And I worry. 

It's the 2012 Michigan primary today

Neither of the GOP front runners are who I'd want running the country, and not just for their views on gay rights.  This is a lesser of two evils situation if I ever saw one.

With that said, I urge everyone NOT to vote for Santorum.  His views on Gay rights, as well as FEMALE and MINORITY rights are horrifying, small-minded, and hypocritical.

Remember: http://spreadingsantorum.com/


In other news...
http://www.birminghammail.net/news/top-stories/2012/02/27/birmingham-pub-goer-ben-martin-launches-horrific-attack-on-gay-couple-97319-30412299/

2012 Elections

With the Republicans scrambling to find a candidate, it's important to know about Rick Santorum. (Try googling him.  I'll wait).  I get my information from http://blog.spreadingsantorum.com/.  It has many fine editorials of it's own by one of my favorites, Dan Savage, and links such articles as:

RICK SANTORUM’S ANTI-ABORTION POLITICS WOULD HAVE KILLED HIS OWN WIFE

and

RICK SANTORUM’S TOP 10 MOST OUTRAGEOUS CAMPAIGN STATEMENTS, 

including ANNUL ALL SAME-SEX MARRIAGES,  GAY SOLDIERS ‘CAUSE PROBLEMS FOR PEOPLE LIVING IN CLOSE QUARTERS’, and one that sadly affects me and some close friends personally, WE DON’T NEED FOOD STAMPS BECAUSE OBESITY RATES ARE SO HIGH.

For a bit of a lighter side, take a look at 25 PEOPLE WHO JUST GOOGLED “SANTORUM” FOR THE FIRST TIME.

An Open Letter to Neil Patrick Harris (to be sent via snail mail whenever. Possibly never.)

Dear Mr. Harris,
     Greetings.  I hope this letter finds you in good health and...
No.  I'm not going to do this.  I won't hide my fan-girl gushings behind a veneer of formality and obvious thesaurus use.  You deserve better than that, Mr. Harris.
     I'm a little too young to have seen your earliest work, but I've known who you were since your two-line appearance on 'The Simpsons.'  Sad, I know.  Feel free to make fun (everyone does).  I didn't get heavily into Broadway until I was fifteen, and missed your apparently impressive performance during RENT.  Ditto for your turns hosting the televised award ceremonies of the last few years.  I was lucky enough to see your performance of Tobias Ragg on video when I did Sweeney Todd a few years ago.  Great, great stuff.  I didn't even see 'Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog' until a few months ago.  Now, I've seen it, bought the comic prequel, plan on going as Dr. H for next Halloween, and am singing the 'My Eyes' duet (your part, I'm a female Tenor) for a musical review.  When I find a new interest, I don't exactly go half-way.
     Which brings me to How I Met your Mother, and the main reason for my writing.  I started watching that show earlier this year, catching up via friend's DVDs and Netflix.  The main cast works wonderfully as an ensemble, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't find you the funniest.  It's my favorite show.  It piqued my interest in you, and your story.  What I found out shocked me in the best possible way.
     When you came out, I only knew because I frequented IMDB.  You were just another celebrity who'd been suddenly outed; I didn't even care enough to find out why you came out.  It was just another factoid to be memorized and trotted out in front of my friends. I wasn't much interested in gay rights then either: a few of my good friends were gay, and I wished they could get married, but it never crossed my mind to do anything about it. I'm not proud of that.
     In the last few years, I've changed.
     Gay rights is the first political issue I consider when voting for any candidate in any election, local especially.  My friend's rights, and lack thereof in my home state of Michigan, are constantly on my mind.  I created a Blog to chronicle my experience talking with people about GLBT issues, and what was going on in my state.  I began reading books on gender identity and GLBT history.  My eyes were open.  I didn't like a lot of what I saw.
     That's when I looked a little deeper into your story, Mr. Harris.  Coming out after having your partner David (Husband now?  I know you proposed once NY legalized it, but I haven't seen confirmation of a wedding. Wikipedia only takes you so far) on an episode of How I Met Your Mother.  Having two beautiful children via surrogate.  Recording a video message for Gay youth in trouble, and countless other efforts post-coming out.  It was inspiring.  You are who you are, and don't seem to give a damn what anybody thinks.  In this era of Sheens and Lohans t's rare enough to see a well-adjusted celebrity with his life together get as much press as you, straight or gay.
     I was so excited when you got a star on the walk of fame.  It's well deserved: in a few short years you've gone from a former household name on the small screen to a current household name on small, large, and computer screens, all while being out, loud, and proud.  Well done, sir.
     I'm not gay, and many would argue that it's not my fight.  I'm a supporter at best.  I'll never know the discrimination you've faced.  I'm just a half-Jewish girl from Michigan who's got a little bit of a crush on yet another taken celebrity.  But you inspire me too, Mr. Harris, for so many reasons.  Your journey has been amazing, and I can't wait to see where it takes you next.
     Keep it up, Mr. Harris.
Warmest regards to you, David, and the kids,

Shayna Lax

Another celebrity, another foot in mouth

Rapper T.I. has recently made a comment that...well, read it for yourself.

"Man, I will say this, the funniest joke I ever heard Tracy [Morgan] say during a stand-up was, 'C'mon man, I think gay people are too sensitive. If you can take a dick, you can take a joke.' [Cracks up laughing.] That shit was funny to me. And it’s kind of true." While T.I. makes clear that he supports anyone’s sexual preference, he then connects, in his opinion, a current oversensitivity among gay people with a consequential and ironic offense of the First Amendment. "They’re like, 'If you have an opinion against us, we're gonna shut you down.' ... That's not American. If you're gay you should have the right to be gay in peace, and if you're against it you should have the right to be against it in peace."


Free speech does not equal hate speech, which is what anti-gay rhetoric is.  Yes, as an American, you have the right to say it.  But we have just as much right to fight back.

Bloody outrage

I donate blood.  A lot.  Pretty much as much as I can, every sixty days or so.  Today was one of those days.  I'm O+, the most common blood type.  I'm the only person I know who donates on a regular basis.  One of my friends is interested in donation, but there's a small problem.

He's gay.  In the US, the current guidance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is to permanently defer any male donor who has had sex with another man, in the period from 1977 to the present day.

He doesn't have any diseases that would disqualify him.  Neither does his boyfriend.  They've been in a committed monogamous relationship for several years now.  The blanket ban still keeps them from donating.  At a time when blood supplies are so low (they've never been too high, to be certain) it no longer makes sense to exclude gay men.  Lesbians are NOT prohibited, by the way, as the questionarire specifies having sex with another man who's had sex with another man.

The UK recently lifted their ban on gay men donating--sort of. The USA needs to follow suit. Granted, we're not the only country with this ban, but since I live here, frankly, I want to get it done here first.  

Some progress has been made. In April 2010, the New York City Council passed a resolution calling on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to eliminate the ban stating "This ban was based on prejudice, a knee-jerk reaction, and misunderstandings about the HIV/AIDS disease. Given the constant need for blood, it does not make common sense to prohibit donations from an entire population." And on August 19, 2009, the Assembly Judiciary Committee in California passed AJR13, the U.S. Blood Donor Nondiscrimination Resolution, calling upon the FDA to end the MSM blood ban. Lastly, on June 1, 2010, the Washington, DC City Council passed a resolution calling on the FDA to "reverse the lifetime deferment of blood donations by men who have had sex with men since 1977 in favor of a policy that protects the safety and integrity of the blood supply that is based on an up-to-date scientific criteria."

As is sit here, my arm bandaged in bright red, I cannot help but think of all the lives lost because the blood simply wasn't there.  Limiting donations for any reason except medialc ones is an outrage, and a disgrace.All blood donated is tested for HIV, so prohibiting gay men from donation on that basis makes no sense. It's a slap in the face for the gay community, and it costs lives. 

I want to urge people NOT to boycott the Red Cross Blood drives because of this. Lives are at stake.  Instead, donate frequently.  Make a difference from the inside: as a donator, your opinions on the process will be all the more valid.  If donators themselves speak up, write letters, and  sign petitions, as I have done, change CAN be achieved.  

For now, I'm taking it easy and marking on the calendar when I can donate again. Visit http://www.redcross.org/ to see how you can make a difference.

Quotable: "Morbid Curiosity Cures the Blues"

"Morbid Curiosity Cures the Blues" is a collection of true(ish) stories of...well, the weird.  One quote from the closing of a story by Claudius Reich, about a bombing targeting homosexuals in London struck me.  The story itself is called 'Dragon's Teeth' and is worth a read, as is the anthology on the whole.
This is what captured my attention:


     "Y'know, I keep forgetting how many people want me dead.  While homophobia has had a horrendous impact on the lives of me and mine, it's [the bombing, which killed several people] rarely this damn visceral.So much of the worst of it was during childhood and adolescence--While you don't get over that, not unscathed, nonetheless that was still half my lifetime ago.  While I remain braced against fools acting hateful--when you're on the Better Dead list, though any given minute will likely be uneventful, you don't drop your guard--most days, the problem's absent or at worst negotiable.  I don't cry easily.  That some scumbag out there, who hates me for something that's properly none of his damn business, can make me sob, pisses the hell out of me.  That my anger is merely the shield arm, protecting older wounds, makes me seethe.  That there's nothing I can do--no cure, no defense in or from this fallen world--enrages me most.
     I';d love to be left alone in a room with this bomber, or Pat Buchanan, or the guys from Laramie--just me and my steel-toed Docs and more righteous fury than I know how to live with day to day.  There are those who've harmed me and mine in ways I can neither fathom nor condone walking freely upon this earth.  I have seen the face of mine enemy and I'm more than ready to rise up and smite him.  I yearn to see him put down like a rabid dog.  I hope I get to watch.
     Unfortunately, I imagine that's how the bomber felt."


I don't know if it's appropriate, but replace the word 'Homosexuality' with...well, almost any oppressed minority, and I think it still works.  In my case, that minority is Jewish.  I'm not in daily danger from wearing a Star of David, nor do I expect to be harassed on the street (at least, in that part of MI where I live) like my gay friends might, but knowing that people out there want me dead is still terrifying.  There are people who would kill me first, as I'm the result of a 'mixed blood' marriage.  That links me with my friends....with the community at large in a way some people won't (not can't) understand.  Another quote comes to mind...

"First they came for the communists,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a communist.

Then they came for the trade unionists,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a Jew.

Then they came for me
and there was no one left to speak out for me."  

~Pastor Martin Niemöller


We have to stand united.

Rebecca's Musings

     I've said time and time again that my connections to the GLBT movement run to my emotional core.  My friends and future in-laws are in committed relationships, but share few of the rights my boyfriend Bahamute and I posses. I've read one book that has given me hope, but also terrified me about the rights they lack, and what they have, and will, suffer in their lives.
     I feel I am not doing enough.  I can't afford to contribute monetarily (fresh outta college, and job-hunting). My support is, as of this moment, wearing a silly tee-shirt, reading books, signing online petitions, and speaking out to coworkers about the issues. I try to support my friends who are GLBT in any way that I can.
    Can I really change anything? I'm only one person.  I want to help on a local and global scale. I want to make it safe for my friends and loved ones to live and love.
    I know I can't do these things by myself.  I must be part of a bigger movement.  I'm not even GLBT: What can my support really add to the movement?
    I don't know.  But I won't stop trying.  If my silly shirt and provocative talks don't get a response, I'll find something else that will.  I'll keep trying.
     I have to.