Arizona Elections: Headless Bodies For Brewer

This is from the Rally to Restore Sanity - The Tucson gathering. And sadly, it looks as though our unelected dip of a governor is heading to an elected 4 year term. The late night comedians are salivating.

Good grief Arizona - wake up.

Via my favorite Arizona blog: Blog for Arizona

Could it possibly be this simple?

In the seven years my husband and I have been telling people that one of our sons is gay, we've had only one horribly ugly reaction and that was from one of my four brothers, and quite honestly, his reaction didn't come as much of a surprise (I have written about it here, here, and here). But that is not to say that it wasn't hurtful because it was, he is one of my brothers for cryin out loud. And I'd be lying if I said I don't still go back to our conversation that day and wonder if there was something I could have said that might have at least given him some pause, which brings me to the clip below. My guess is that this would not have worked with my brother since he's so completely entrenched in his own self righteousness and the people in the clip below seem a lot more thoughtful and willing to reconsider a previously held belief. My brother? Not so much. Doubt about any position he holds is now a completely foreign concept to him.

VIA: Andrew

Why why why can't this be the face of Christianity-Part 4

It Gets Better:

Why why why can't this be the face of Christianity-Part 3

It Gets Better (from a Jesuit Priest no less):

Why why why can't this be the face of Christianity-Part 2

It Gets Better:

Why why why can't this be the face of Christianity

I needed to see this clip right now. I have become so jaded, so cynical, so horrified by what is passing as Christianity today, that if I hear someone say they are a Christian, I literally cringe and start moving away.

I needed this reality check. This beautiful man in the clip below is a reminder that Christianity doesn't have to mean monster. Unfortunately, to so many parents who have a gay child that is exactly what Christianity has come to mean to them.

Hey Louisiana, do you really want to re-elect this sanctimonious fraud?

Seriously Louisiana, this is a man who ran on a platform of "Sanctity of Marriage", "Family Values", and "Christian Values" while cheating for years on his own wife and family with local and DC Prostitutes. Do you really want a Senator representing your state who has made a mockery of all three of these values and the good people of Louisiana? Don't re-elect this fraud, show the creep the door. You definitely deserve better.

Or maybe I need to point you to someone who makes it even more clear:

David Vitter, of course, is a whoremonger and a conservative Christian who supports "family values." But Vitter is right with God and right with his constituents—and will most likely get his rightwing ass reelected—because, you see, he at least has the decency to hate the homos. Vitter supports a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage, opposes the repeal of DADT, the passage of ENDA, and on and on. Just as New York's Carl Paladino can style himself as a faithful Catholic—never mind his extramarital affair, his lovechild, his mistress—because he hates the gays (at least the grinders in Speedos), Vitter is a "good" Christian despite the philandering because he hates the gays.

They set the bar pretty low for themselves, don't they? Hate the gays and you're right with God and right with Republicans. No personal sacrifices required.

Oh hell yes I remember and ...

I shall never ever forgive or forget:

And another thing I just have to get off my chest...

I am beside myself that it took so many young and promising young people committing suicide before the horrendous bullying problem that has pushed these kids to kill themselves caught the eye of mainstream news outlets in a big way. Don't get me wrong, I am relieved to finally see so much discussion about this tragic epidemic finally taking place, but good gawd, why the hell does it feel like the big white elephant in the room is still being ignored? Why the hell is no one brave enough to acknowledge exactly where all this hate and venom towards our precious children is originating from? I want to hear the names of wretched people like James Dobson, Tony Perkins, Maggie Gallagher, and the rest of these hateful freaks who pretend to be "advocates for the family" called out for the nasty, hateful, homophobes they are. And not only does the mainstream media need to go after this faux Family and Christian values crowd, but they also need to call out the monsters in all these right-wing churches of hate too. Hate-mongering, homophobes like Rick Warren and Pope Benedict and the rest of their ilk need to be put in the spotlight and held responsible for their roles in all these gay children's suicides. For it is these so-called men and women of God who have been given a free pass for far too long. I mean, c'mon, how many more children have to jump off bridges or hang themselves in their bedrooms before we start holding these self-righteous bastards accountable for the homophobia and bullying that got its start within the walls of their churches? They are NOT preaching God's love, they are spreading their hate, their hangups, and their bigotry in very much the same manner one spreads manure. And it has had deadly consequences. These sanctimonious frauds are the real bullies. These sanctimonioius frauds have our children's blood on their hands. And it is these sanctimonious frauds who have been using their positions of power to give biblical cover to the racists, the bigots, and the homophobes within their flock and it is our gay and lesbian children who have been their victims.

So thank you news organizations for talking about all these horrible suicides and the agony, desperation, and hopelessness that is driving so many of our gay children to kill themselves, but can we please take this conversation to the next level and discuss the real bullies driving our children to kill themselves: the monsters who contort and twist cherry-picked bible passages into permission slips to bully our children to death?

Update: Well apparently there is someone who is taking on these bullies -- and doing a damn good job of it too. And it is especially rewarding to see Focus on the Family (love child of hatemonger James Dobson) called out in this segment as well. More of this please...

Update #2: I'm not alone in my belief that the anti-gay evil emanates from our churches.

Update #3: More must-see follow up interviews with the school board bigot/bully, parents of one of the suicide victims, and Ellen (Via JMG):

It Gets Better - LA Gay Men's Chorus

Yes, yes I know... I have been completely neglecting my blog. Much of it is because I have been out of town and out of the country for quite a bit of the last four months. But if I am to be completely honest I would also have to admit that I have been in a very bad place emotionally when it comes to LGBT issues and the complete lack of progress towards equality in the last 2 years.

I had such high hopes, maybe too high, but I cannot help feeling like a complete and utter fool. I was so very naive to believe that my son's equality was a done deal once we got a progressive president into office and Democratic majorities in both the House and Senate. And now two years later, with nothing but the memory of promises made by our so-called "Fierce Advocate" we are about to see a wave of some of the most extreme, homophobic, and crazy candidates voted into office and any hopes we might have had at full equality for our LGBT sons, daughters, mothers, fathers, friends, and neighbors completely vanquished.

And worse yet, not only are we NO closer to seeing DADT and DOMA repealed, but the hate, bullying, bigotry, and nastiness that have always haunted our gay and lesbian children has only gotten louder and bolder in the last two years. How does one arm these children to face a world that makes them feel so desperate, so reviled, so unsafe, and so hopeless? Obviously we aren't doing a very good job with so many feeling that suicide is their only out.

If I cannot wrap my arms around the hate and venom that is so rampant, and I can't, how can I expect our children to? I just got done telling one of my brothers that I am basically an optimistic person, but on all issues LGBT, I can only see the glass half empty.

So let me end by posting something that really did lift my spirits, albeit temporarily:

And once again, a big thank you to JMG for the video clip.