Category: GLBT

The Fear of Trump Among the Elderly

senior, man, fearful, sad
senior, man, fearful, sad

A man fearful, sad. (Creative Commons)

I don’t know if there’s anything so under-reported and so heart-wrenching right now as the fear of Donald Trump among the elderly. There is a grave terror, almost, of what Trump and the Trump Administration might do to the safety net supporting the vast majority of our senior Americans. This is across the board, although some are more fearful than others, depending on race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, veterans, those with physical or mental disabilities — no one seems to consider herself or himself safe.

Had a conversation yesterday with a retired couple. They’re white, middle class, now living on a fixed income. But their fear is palpable. The rumblings among the GOP in Congress to gut or privatize Social Security, slash Medicare — these are real concerns for this couple.

I’ve heard similar fears expressed by older family members and friends. The revolt would be great and gray.

GOP governors have already hacked away at Medicaid, with Maine’s GOP Governor Paul LePage saying earlier this month “he would rather ‘go to jail’ than expand Medicaid programs without a long-term plan for substantial funding.” That’s a nice statement, and, on the surface, it sounds like responsible economics. But what is he doing to secure such sustainable funding? And what is the economic cost of people dying early or young because of lack of access to health care?

If we examine news reports, we find some coverage of Social Security, fears of what Paul Ryan might do to Medicare, but this anxiety our longtime residents feel about Donald Trump, is, I believe, under-reported.

And I hope some news organizations begin to take a closer look.


More Color, More Pride: LGBT Flag Redesigned To Highlight People Of Color

LGBTQ pride flag redesigned

More Color, More Pride.

Well, now I know why I was able to “purchase” a 5′ by 3′ rainbow flag for shipping only.

The iconic LGBTQ pride flag has been redesigned to highlight people of color.

And that’s cool.

This, from More Color More Pride:

Read more here: https://morecolormorepride.com/


Video: Catholics Call For Full Acceptance By The Catholic Church

“It’s just not a matter of accepting us, or tolerate us, you have to encourage us to be who we are. We are God’s creation. And to deny that is to deny that he knows what the hell he’s doing.”
– 74-year-old Mike Roper 

Please, please, watch this video.

As one of the voices in the video says, we are Catholic because we are baptized. If we abandon the Church, it may never change.

Talk about courage

Talk about hope.

h/t to the http://www.thenewcivilrightsmovement.com/


Video: Texas Sports Anchor Delivers Jaw-Dropping Speech On Gay NFL Players



Hat Tip to the Huffington Post:

Sports broadcasts are typically known for their punchy lists of best plays, epic goal countdowns and testosterone-fueled commentary.

Which makes Dale Hansen’s address Monday night all the more remarkable. The Dallas sports anchor for ABC local affiliate WFAA took a break from the standard script to address the issue of Michael Sam, a defensive lineman poised to become the first openly gay player in the NFL.


Video: Last Gay Standing (Late Show with Jon Stewart)

From the Daily Show:

Al Madrigal travels to Alabama and Mississippi to see which one of these backwoods, inbred, homophobic states will swim longest against the tide of history.  (05:44)

 


Video: Jacob Hemphill of SOJA Supports Marriage Equality

Commentary

Straight ally Jacob Hemphill of reggae band SOJA voices his support for marriage equality. SOJA joins a growing list of musicians standing with the Human Rights Campaign on the right side of history. Equality Rocks!

Learn more at hrc.org/equalityrocks #EQUALITYROCKS


Fox News Contributor Sandy Rios Says Matthew Shepard Murder a ‘Fairy Tale…Total Fraud’

Never forget Matthew Shepard

Between the reality, above, and the madness, below, lie two simple truths: Matthew Shepard was viciously beaten, eventually dying on October 12, 1998.

And Fox Contributor Sandy Rios is incredibly, incredibly mean-spirited.

Here is what she said on October 11, one day before the anniversary of Matthew’s painful death:

At today’s conservative Values Voters Summit, hosted by the certified anti-gay hate group Family Research Council, Sandy Rios made the horrific claim that the story of the 1998 anti-gay hate-crime murder of Matthew Shepard “wasn’t true,” and is “a total fraud,” and a “fairy tale” used as “propaganda” by LGBT activists.

Unbelievably cruel.

If you can tolerate her unabashed lies, below is video of her comments, spoken, horribly, on the eve of the fifteenth anniversary of Shepard’s death.

He was attacked overnight on October 6–7, and taken off life support and died on October 12, 1998.

Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson murdered Matthew Shepard. This is a matter of fact. This is a matter of public record.

Sandy Rios’ claims are cruel, rubbing salt in wounds that will never heal.

Our condolences to the Shepard family for being put through these awful, hate-filled claims, all over again.


Cardinal Donald W. Wuerl, Smug and Crafty Politician

Donald Wuerl, smug politician

Cardinal Donald Wuerl is a crafty, smug pol. (Catholics for Equality)

Donald Cardinal Wuerl has come a long way.

From John Cardinal Wright’s secretary, to bishop, to cardinal.

He’s come far.

But, in his heart, at his best, he’s just another pol.

Unelected, mine you.  But a pol nonetheless.

Our friends at Catholics for Equality are trying to talk some sense into him, but his sanctimoniousness won’t listen.

Here’s their release, where they note His Eminence’s blatant electioneering:

Catholics for Equality, the country’s largest national political organization of pro-LGBT equality Catholics, joined hands today with several fair-minded and faithful Catholic social justice groups in organizing a peaceful protest outside the Archdiocese of Washington, DC’s rally promoting the U.S. bishops’ “Fortnight for Freedom” election year political campaign. The Catholic groups came together with prayers and hymns under one giant united banner which read, Bishops: We Need Pastors, Not Politicians, Your Antics are Hurting the Church.

The peaceful protest took place outside a rally held at George Washington University’s Charles E. Smith Center. The special event presided over by Cardinal Donald W. Wuerl was billed as a prayerful service, but was in fact a political campaign rally to motivate Catholics to vote against the re-election of President Obama because of the Health Care Reform Act and his support for LGBT equality. Wuerl and his fellow bishops claim that the exemptions provided in the Act are not sufficient for the Catholic Church and that they are being victimized by the federal government. Furthermore, the bishops claim that the Act is the greatest infringement upon religious liberty in American history and see themselves as martyrs like St. Thomas More, St. John Fischer, and others in church history.

“The bishops no longer represent Catholics in the pews on so many social issues, from contraception to legal equality for LGBT people,” said Joseph Palacios, Director of the Catholics for Equality Foundation. “We also reject the bishops’ election year campaign that they are now somehow victims of religious liberty, especially as the U.S. Catholic Church receives 62% of its funding for Catholic Charities from federal and state funds — money coming from the taxes of all Americans. Catholics Charities in Washington, DC, receives 68% of its funding from taxpayers. This does not include taxpayer vouchers for Catholic schools and other support for Catholic health care programs. If the bishops want exemption from the law, then they should stop receiving taxpayer funding.”

According to a new report released this week by the Public Religion Research Institute, 57% of American Catholics do not believe that the right to religious liberty is being threatened in America today. The report also notes that 65% of Catholics believe that most employers should be required to provide their employees with health care plans that cover contraception at no cost and that 63% believe religiously affiliated agencies should not be able to refuse to place children with qualified gay and lesbian couples.

“The bishops’ 2012 “Fortnight for Freedom” campaign is nothing more than election year political posturing,” said Phil Attey, Executive Director of Catholics for Equality. “For the past 10 years the bishops have earned the public branding of abusers, oppressors, and political bullies. They’ve lost the ear of Catholics in the pews and political leaders in Washington … including Catholic political leaders. In order to change this political reality, the bishops know they have to first have to change their public image. But instead of doing so by championing social justice issues — fighting for the poor, the sick the marginalized and the oppressed, as bishops have done in the past — our bishops are opting to run around spending our collection plate money on a campaign to claim they are the real victims in today’s society. Catholics aren’t stupid, though. We know what we see and we’re not buying it. The bishops are only bringing more embarrassment to our church.”

The USCCB’s “Fortnight for Freedom” campaign launched this week consists of events in over 37 dioceses across the country. The campaign officially concludes on July 4th with a nationally televised Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, DC, though the bishops’ election year political activities are expected to continue all the way to election day.

Catholics for Equality empowers pro-equality Catholics to put our faith into ethical and effective political action on behalf of the LGBT community and their families.

Catholics for Equality was founded in 2010 to support, educate, and mobilize Catholics in the advancement of freedom andequality at the federal, state, and local levels for our lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender family, parish and community members.

Will no one save us from these meddlesome clerics? They, who now claim moral authority, after decades of shielding pedophiles.

Will no one save us?

 


Chicago’s Cardinal Francis George Earns Turning Left’s First Annual Rainbow Flag Award

Cardinal Francis George Rainbow Award 2011

Francis Cardinal George, winner of the first-annual Turning Left Rainbow Flag Award.

Chicago’s Cardinal Francis George easily won Turning Left’s first-annual Rainbow Flag award after comparing — and then defending his remarks regarding — the city’s gay pride parade to a rally of the Ku Klux Klan.

Yes, the KKK.

Honestly, what was this man thinking?

Some gay rights activists in Chicago asked the Cardinal to apologize for his remarks, calling his remarks “hurtful,” “brazen” and “bigoted.”

But George, always one to hold steadfast to his conclusions, refused.

From the Chicago Sun-Times:

Linking the KKK to gay rights activism led to criticism of the cardinal. On Tuesday, he issued a statement on the Archdiocese of Chicago web site defending his comments.

“The Chicago Gay Pride Parade has been organized and attended for many years without interfering with the worship of God in a Catholic church,” the cardinal’s statement said. “When the 2012 Parade organizers announced a time and route change this year, it was apparent that the Parade would interfere with divine worship in a Catholic parish on the new route.

“When the pastor’s request for reconsideration of the plans was ignored, the organizers invited an obvious comparison to other groups who have historically attempted to stifle the religious freedom of the Catholic Church. One such organization is the Ku Klux Klan which, well into the 1940’s, paraded through American cities not only to interfere with Catholic worship but also to demonstrate that Catholics stand outside of the American consensus. It is not a precedent anyone should want to emulate.”

How can the Cardinal possibly miss the fact that this really was not about him, or any “Catholic parish on the new route”?

Why would he possibly think that this change completely revolved around the Catholic Church, and the mass schedule of one parish?

Worst of all, the Cardinal lumped all parade participants in the same category with the KKK.  He did not distinguish.  The insult was to all of our GLBTQ brothers and sisters.

The change of time for the parade, believe it or not, was actually initiated to keep inebriated people from sullying the streets of Chicago. Thanks to your efforts, the parade will now launch at Noon, and the drinking will continue.

Here’s the rub:

Alderman Tom Tunney (44th Ward) and organizer Richard Pfeiffer meet with church representatives last week to discuss the parish’s concerns about the route and proposed start time of 10 a.m., which is one hour before the church’s morning mass.

As Chicago’s first openly gay alderman and a member of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Tunney was caught in the middle.

Now parade organizers say the 2012 parade will be pushed back to Noon – the previous start time – to help accommodate Sunday services along the parade route.

“After consulting with the various City departments, we believe this is an agreeable compromise to help keep the parade safe and manageable while respecting the diversity of our neighborhood,” Tunney and Pfeiffer said in a joint statement.

Congratulations to FRANCIS CARDINAL GEORGE, winner of Turning Left’s first-ever annual Rainbow Flag Award!


After This, Isn’t It Time Notre Dame Finally Recognizes Its Gay Student Groups? (Video and More)

If Notre Dame will permit this kind of thing to take place on campus, can official recognition of the University’s gay groups Outreach and GALA be far behind?

Let’s go, Irish!