Heh. Serves the schmucks right. Marriage for me, but not for thee.

First this:

Then this:

And then the Coup de Grace:

How lovely an ending is that? Thank you Brentwood Photography. You lost a customer, but you gained a lot of admirers.

So gonna tick off all the right people

Marriage – 1895, when wives were still chattel

I am posting an article below by Jeff Wilfahrt. I am posting it in its entirety and with his permission.

For those of you who've been loyal readers of this blog over the years, Jeff will be a familiar name to you. I have blogged about the amazing Wilfahrt family over and over and over and over and over and over and over again. I have also had the privilege of meeting Jeff in person as well.

But for those of you who are not familiar with Jeff, it is important that you know a few things about this special family.

Jeff and Lori Wilfahrt are the proud parents of Cpl. Andrew Wilfahrt, the eldest of their 3 children. Andrew fought and ultimately lost his life to an IED in Kandahar, Afghanistan in February of 2011. Cpl. Andrew Wilfahrt was gay and out to the men in his unit. This was before the repeal of DADT, but it did not matter, no one cared, everyone loved Andrew. He was a good man and an excellent soldier. Here is a must-watch short clip about Andrew:



And now that I have given you a little background about Andrew and his family, the bittersweet significance of the article below will be abundantly clear.

Marriage – 1895, when wives were still chattel
by Jeff Wilfahrt

The year is 1895. John Lind, soon to be Minnesota’s first non-Republican governor, is the lawyer representing Franziska in divorce proceedings against husband Josef.

The divorce is granted and 40 acres of land are to be handed over to Franziska. But alas, under law she is the husband’s chattel and cannot directly receive the land. Instead it is transferred by title to a daughter named Barbara. She in turn will deed the land back over to the mother, Franziska. That’s how marriage law worked 125 years ago.

Of course women couldn’t vote in 1895. That was still decades away.

Marriage and all its implications, legal and otherwise has changed a lot since 1895. Women are no longer simply part of a man’s property. Women vote. Still not on pay parity but hopefully that will come, the sooner the better.

Several generations slip by, offspring spread and the family tree branches.

Some 115 years later a scion of this couple dies by IED in the sands of Afghanistan. He’s an Army MP. Had he lived 24 hours more he’d been on a flight back to the states for his leave, now 10 months into his deployment. The day he was due home he was instead buried. Oh, and he was gay, and as his sister said, probably the least interesting thing about him.

Like all military personnel he had taken an oath to defend the constitution. He ended up making a payment in full.

Had he lived he may have seen the day that he had the option to marry. A right now granted by the Supreme Court under the majority’s interpretation of constitutional rights.

Like so many others, he now lies in what Obama so aptly described as the “quiet corners” of our country.

It is a slow crawl to recover what in all likelihood should never have been surrendered, by women, by our fellow citizens, all of whom live under the umbrella of that incredible document birthed in the Age of Enlightenment.

RIP Cpl. Andrew Wilfahrt.

dad

Saw this, loved this, and I am posting this

From one of my favorite blogs, Balloon Juice:

Also from the same blog:

Happy day for most - disastrous for some

The beautiful ending to Justice Kennedy’s gay marriage opinion

Thank you Justice Kennedy:

“No union is more profound than marriage, for it embodies the highest ideals of love, fidelity, devotion, sacrifice, and family. In forming a marital union, two people become something greater than once they were. As some of the petitioners in these cases demonstrate, marriage embodies a love that may endure even past death. It would misunderstand these men and women to say they disrespect the idea of marriage. Their plea is that they do respect it, respect it so deeply that they seek to find its fulfillment for themselves. Their hope is not to be condemned to live in loneliness, excluded from one of civilization’s oldest institutions. They ask for equal dignity in the eyes of the law. The Constitution grants them that right. The judgment of the Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit is reversed. It is so ordered.”

So lovely.

Attention Franklin Graham. Looks like there is an airline you must boycott ...

At this rate, there are not going to be any banks, airlines, restaurants, clothing outlets, or anything else left for the anti-marriage equality crowd to take their business. God won't smite them, but you can bet your boopy old sanctimonious fraud Franklin will.
(click to embiggen)

Oh snap! Franklin on cue:

Franklin Graham: 'Pray God will spare America' after same-sex marriage ruling

Agonizing Wait Is Over! Supreme Court Rules Same-Sex Couples Have The Right To Marry in ALL 50 States.

5-4 Decision. Five enlightened justices vs 4 Knuckle-dragging Neanderthals. No matter, it's done. We won. Finally. Let the right-wing frothing, fear-mongering, threatening, crying, pleading bullshit begin. I will enjoy every second of it. They deserve any agony they are feeling. They have dished it out long enough. It is their turn now. Karma really is a bitch.

UPDATE: It has begun:

UPDATE#2: From the Supreme Court opinion:

"No union is more profound than marriage, for it embodies the highest ideals of love, fidelity, devotion, sacrifice, and family... It would misunderstand these men and women to say they disrespect the idea of marriage. Their plea is that they do respect it, respect it so deeply that they seek to find its fulfillment for themselves. Their hope is not to be condemned to live in loneliness, excluded from one of civilization’s oldest institutions. They ask for equal dignity in the eyes of the law. The Constitution grants them that right."

What's the Definition of "Traditional Marriage"? Matt Baume explains.

With a Supreme Court ruling on gay marriage coming down any day now, it seems the perfect time to post this.

Listen up NOM and the rest of you ignorant sanctimonious frauds. We are NOT redefining traditional marriage by allowing same-sex couples to marry. Your precious bible (special third-grade-level edition) and the Supreme Court have been doing it long before this ruling.

I'm HIV positive, do you dare to touch me?

Not going to tell you how this HIV positive man's experiment turned out. Watch and see:



Thank you JMG.

Colin Farrell Celebrates Legalization of Gay Marriage in Ireland - and slips in a funny jab at the ridiculousness of the Catholic Church's reaction too

Fun times:

I've always loved Colin Farrell and he just gave me one more reason to adore him.

Since tomorrow is Fathers' Day ...

Saw this over at JMG's place and just had to steal it. It is such an appropriate thing to post since tomorrow is a day to honor our dads. And these particular dads are some of the best.



So lovely.

Something has been really bothering me about the Rachel Dolezal story and it doesn't have anything to do with her

I've been really struggling with this story since it broke. Yes, it's got strange elements to it. And yes, it is hard to understand her motivations. And yes, it is getting way more media attention than it should -- in my opinion.

But I keep asking myself, what harm has she done? And the answer in my mind is none. In fact many of the people who've worked with her at the NAACP in Spokane speak highly of her work and accomplishments and stand behind her advocacy record.

I suppose what has bothered me most about this story is the fact that it is her parents who went out of their way to expose her. Why? Who was she hurting? Why would they humiliate her and turn her life upside down like this? What kind of parents would do such a thing? Certainly NOT loving parents in my opinion.

And why has the media been so obsessed with this? And in all the wrong ways?  Well today I finally found the piece to the puzzle that makes this story make sense to me and I am posting it below. It is a segment from the Stephanie Miller radio show with guest Tina Dupuy (and if you do not know Tina's history, google her name with search words AA and cult). Tina recognized what made this story so tragic right away and it is NOT Rachel, but Rachel's parents, just as I'd suspected. As mentioned in the radio segment (which starts talking about Rachel Dolezal at the 3 minute mark), Tina also wrote an article on this subject and is well worth the read. And the radio segment is here:



I may take some flak for saying this, but I am going to say it anyway. To hell with hurt feefees. I believe with all my heart that for many children living in fundamentalist or crazy religious families, it is a living hell. Ask any one of the many glbt children who've been thrown to the streets how kind and loving their "good Christian" parents were. I see these kids every month at our support meetings. And when I first heard about Rachel Dolezel, my gut got that same sick feeling I get when I see these broken, lost kids come through our doors each month.

Dear Pope Francis - I am crushed by disappointment

A married lesbian couple kisses in front of the Colosseum
during Rome’s 2015 LGBT Pride celebration.

A friend sent this article to me and basically blew my good mood all to pieces. And any hope I had that this kinder, gentler Pope who proclaimed to all "Who am I to judge?" when asked about gay people, is actually just as bad (but sneakier) at judging the glbt community as his predecessor:

Pope Francis supported heterosexual complementarity in a speech on Sunday given to 25,000 people gathered in St. Peter’s Square for a pastoral conference for the Diocese of Rome.

Though he did not mention lesbian and gay couples, the timing of the speech seemed significant to some since it came a day after tens of thousands of people marched through the streets of the Eternal City to celebrate LGBT Pride and to call for marriage equality in Italy.

 So what is this message of complementarity? Well Religion News Service captured significant quotes from the papal talk:

“. . . [T]he pope said the differences between men and women are fundamental and ‘an integral part of being human.’

“The pontiff likened a long-lasting marriage to a good wine, in which a husband and wife make the most of their gender differences.

“ ‘They’re not scared of the differences!’ the pope said. ‘What great richness this diversity is, a diversity which becomes complementary, but also reciprocal. It binds them, one to the other.’

“Heterosexual marriages not only ensured couples’ happiness, the pontiff said, but were deemed essential for good parenting.

“ ‘Children mature seeing their father and mother like this; their identity matures being confronted with the love their father and mother have, confronted with this difference,’ Francis said.”

This is sneaky and underhanded. This is a dog whistle to the faithful and quite possibly to the knuckle draggers on our Supreme Court as well. This is so disappointing and depressing. Any doubts I may have had about walking away from the Church have been washed away with this very judgmental speech. Well all I can say is thank you Pope Francis, your words confirm for me why I shall never, ever walk thru the doors of a Catholic Church again.

  

Oh NO!!! Not Tylenol. This one will definitely give Franklin Graham a headache.

Another example of "moral decay" being "crammed down" poor Franklin's throat. Another company including gay couples in their commercials. Guess Tylenol is going to be added to Franklin's growing boycott list too.

When extreme homophobia makes one look like a complete blithering idiot

Well hello Franklin Graham. I am talking to you buddy. Your anti-gay nonsense has indeed come back to bite you in the arse and make you look like quite the fool:

Evangelical pastor Franklin Graham announced yesterday that he intends to “fight the tide of moral decay that is being crammed down our throats by big business, the media, and the gay & lesbian community.” And as part of the effort, Graham is starting with his … bank.

And that bank is Wells Fargo Bank and what set him off was this beautifully done ad:



So what does Pastor holier-than-thou do to escape the "moral decay"? Well he jumps out of the frying pan and into a big gay bonfire. He switched to BB&T, another North Carolina-based bank. So what could possibly go wrong with that, you ask?

Graham may not have done much research, as BB&T has received an 80 percent score in the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index and this year is the sponsor of the Miami Beach Gay Pride Parade, along with the chief sponsor of Miami Beach Gay Pride’s “Legacy Couples” program, which celebrates same-sex couples in “committed relationships of 10 years or longer.”

As the good Pastor is finding out, there is no escaping the "moral decay". He may want to consider pulling his money and keeping it under his mattress. He may also need to consider traveling by car instead of airplane, throwing away his tennis shoes, his computers, his jewelry, and probably most of his clothing and food. But then, who am I to tell the good Pastor what he should do. So I won't. It is too damn much fun writing about homophobic imbeciles like him. And as I have discovered over the last 12 years, these homophobic idiots really are doing the heavy lifting in our drive to reach full equality for our lgbt loved ones.

So can I end this post with a big HAHAHAHAHAHAHA what an idiot? Because one thing is for sure, I will never ever shed another tear or work myself into an ulcer-inducing lather over such stupid people again.


UPDATE: Rachel Maddow has waay too much fun at the expense of this idiot. 

In the Arizona Republic Newspaper today

I love it when a big newspaper in a red state calls out the hypocrisy of the "Family Values" frauds. And our editorial cartoonist does a great job of nailing it.

Also in our paper today:

It kills me that our Supreme Court has so many backward-thinking dinosaurs and corporate hacks making such huge decisions that will profoundly impact millions of people. 

Now here is a headline that is sure to send old grouch McCain into the fetal position

From the extremely conservative, anti-gay Washington Times:

US Army General Introduces His Husband At Pentagon Gay Pride Event

A married Army general on Tuesday introduced his spouse at a Pentagon event that featured lots of top brass, including Defense Secretary Ashton Carter as the keynote speaker. What made this seemingly routine introduction noteworthy is that Brig. Gen. Randy S. Taylor introduced his husband, Lucas. “My husband Lucas is sitting up front here,” Gen. Taylor said of the man in the same row as Mr. Carter, Army Secretary John McHugh and other senior officials. He said Lucas has subjugated his own career to support the general’s frequent moves over an 18-year relationship. “We bet everything on my Army career,” said Gen. Taylor, whose 27 years of service spanned an outright ban on gays, then “don’t ask, don’t tell” and finally, the ban’s lifting in 2011. Gen. Taylor was the master of ceremonies for the Pentagon’s 4th Gay Pride celebration that showcases a month of gay-themed posters and history.

Wow. What a long way we have come. I can remember so clearly how rigidly and vociferously John McCain fought the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell.  He was extremely offensive and completely (as usual) on the wrong side of history. His actions and his words belittled and minimized the sacrifices of so many brave gay men and lesbian women. And his ludicrous predictions of what would happen once Don't Ask Don't Tell was repealed were so paranoid and ugly that one had to wonder if he did not protest just a little too much:

"Today is a very sad day," McCain announced, detailing his continuing opposition to allowing gay and lesbian soldiers to be open about their sexuality.

"There will be high-fives over all the liberal bastions of America," he predicted, from "the elite schools that bar military recruiters from campus" to "the salons of Georgetown" and the "talk shows" where people -- "most of whom have never have served in the military" -- will crow over the law's repeal.

Allowing gays to serve openly in the Marines would prove a potentially deadly distraction McCain said, quoting from a Marine Corps Commandant warning, "and I don't want to permit that opportunity to happen."

Cpl Andrew Wilfahrt - RIP

And let's not forget the families who lost beloved gay children to IEDs and other hideous weapons of war. McCain basically told them all to Shut up and F*ck off. I guess he didn't feel that "those" people's sacrifices mattered as much as his.

Update: Woo doggie, this is gonna be an extra super duper bad day for McCain when he sees this headline:

Defense secretary extends equal protection to LGBT military members

I thinks this is your sign Senator McGrumpy pants. It is time to retire. As an Arizona constituent of yours, I beg you to consider it. Get out while you still have a tiny shred of dignity left.

Morning giggle

I saw this over at Crooks and Liars this morning. Nice way to start a day - with a chuckle rather than a grrrrrrrr!!!!!



This also reminded me of our oldest son back when he was in middle school and high school. Young kids will often mirror their parents political leanings and claim their political party as well because they know nothing else. We were Republicans back then (forgive me father for I have sinned ...), so our son thought he was too. He joined the Young Republicans and was active with them up until his Freshman or early Sophomore year of high school. And then one day, around the time of the Bush v Gore election, he came home and he announced he was no longer a Republican, much to our horror.

At this point he was in an all boys Jesuit high school. The Jesuits do not tend to be too political, but their teachings actually resemble more the principles of the Democratic platform (men for others, feed the poor, etc, etc) than the Republican. But still I was curious as to what specifically changed my son's political leanings, so I asked him what made him change his mind. And lo and behold, it was one teacher in particular, his business/economics teacher (and probably the only card carrying Republican on campus). The man's philosophies (which apparently so turned our son off) had actually forced our son to do some soul searching and re-evaluating of his own values. So it was not the day in and day out Jesuit message that permeated his studies that changed his mind, but the values (word used loosely) and beliefs of the one Republican in the faculty. BUT, I would be completely remiss if I did not say this, our son went on to live a life that has closely mirrored the values the Jesuits taught him and he is a better man because of those values.

Sadly, it would take his doofus parents a few more years to see the light ...


  

What a difference 12 years can make – a heartfelt thank you to those who helped us change the hearts and minds of the American people on gay issues

Dear right-wing sanctimonious frauds and crazies:

Thank you for all the bizarre, cruel, gross, ugly, despicable, and untrue things you said about my son and everyone else who did not fit your teensy, weensy template for normal. Thank you for being so rabidly over-the-top with your hatred whenever any discussion about gays, lesbians, and transgender issues came up that people would involuntarily recoil every time you opened your mouths. Thank you for constantly trying to legislate your hatred and bigotry into laws that would strip the lgbt community of all rights, protections, and dignity if they dared to love someone you did not approve of. Thank you for dedicating your entire careers to making the lives of lgbt people as miserable as you could while ignoring the rampant poverty, hunger, and war making that was going on right under your pious noses. And thank you, thank you, thank you for doing it all under the guise of being good “Christians”.  As a result of all your heinous lies and anti-Christian behavior, you've managed to repulse more people than you've won over, but don't worry, you've won this mama's eternal and heartfelt thanks.



A little background:

In 2003 my husband and I found out one of our 2 sons was gay. It was a horrible time to find out something like this. “Good Christian” President George W. Bush was running for re-election and his evil “brain”, Karl Rove, decided that using a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage would be a great way to whip up the base. He was brilliant that way - you know? Never had I ever imagined that so many rabid, hateful, horrible ant-gay people who call themselves “Christians” existed. I was flabbergasted at the angry hornets’ nest they stirred to life – and even more stunned that it was done on purpose.  It made our new reality, a gay son, exponentially more painful and scary. We simply could not believe that a sitting President of the United States of America could single out a whole segment of law-abiding American citizens and use them as pawns for his political gain. The hatred spewing all over the place was shocking – and devastating for any parent just finding out that their child was the target of all this venom.

And so it began for me … the obsessing, the raging, the ranting, the bitter tears, the fear, the anguish. I worried myself sick about what my son would have to deal with his entire life. NEVER, did I expect that in 12 years I would owe a whole lot of crazy, despicable fake Christians a great big thank you. I could have spared myself so much misery if I had been wise enough to realize that all I really needed to do during those 12 years was pop some popcorn and watch the right-wing Christian freak show do all the heavy lifting for those of us who believed in the rights and dignities of ALL God’s children. Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined that the anti-gay hate machine would become the best, most efficient tool in our fight. It certainly wasn’t pleasant or easy to watch, and most of the time it was quite painful, especially for the young, vulnerable glbt kids who were forced to listen that evil, mean drivel, but in the end the outcome could not be better. We are certainly not there yet, but I am counting on the Duggars, the Huckabees, and all of today's whack-job hypocrites and sanctimonious frauds (and even yesterday's hypocrites are gifts that keep on giving as well - Denny Hastert - I'm speaking to you, dear) to carry us over the finish line. I'd say they are doing a phenomenal job carrying that torch so far.

Lesson learned:

Who knew that when it comes to changing the hearts and minds of the American people all you need to do is expose them to a steady diet of hate and ugly lies under the guise of “Christianity”? What I failed to take into consideration during all the ugliness of the past 12 years (and much, much farther back for most people fighting this fight) is that most people are truly fair and kind. They just got drowned out by the loud-mouth god-botherers like James Dobson, Pat Robertson, dead Jerry Falwell, Rick Santorum, Karl Rove, Pope Benedict, Maggie Gallagher, Tony Perkins, Bryan Fischer, Michele Bachmann, Ted Haggard, George Rekers, Roy Moore, Larry Craig, Rick Warren, the Westboro Baptist Church and way too many others to even list. But to all of them, old and new, please accept my heartfelt gratitude for helping to change people’s hearts and minds on gay issues. I think most would call it a sea-change in opinion. You Heathens Rock!

Gee, you guys and gals really helped me see how God works in mysterious ways. I don't think that was your planned outcome, but a big fat wet kiss to y'all anyway.

Pop an acid blocker - and prepare for blasts from the past (and present too):

Are We Redefining Marriage Including Gay Couples?

I will never claim to be objective on this subject so take my opinion on this clip below for what it's worth. I have grown so weary of the anti-marriage equality side's view that marriage is ALL about procreation and nothing else. P-U-L-E-A-S-E!!! Spare me.

My beloved mom remarried at 77. She did not remarry to procreate. And even if she did, her biological time clock would have given her a rude awakening. But ... there is not a judge in this country that would have denied her the right to marry because she could not bear children. So how in the hell can this still be an argument for denying gay people the right to marry?

It can't and it shouldn't be. But watch the idiot side of the Supreme Court (some of whom believe in a 5000 yr old world) find some pretzeled-up logic to do just that.

Watch and listen to how logical one side sounds and how goofy the other sounds. (Remember - my opinion is not objective, but it's right - in my opinion)

This week's New Rules really struck a nerve with me

I've seen this "victim" shtick up close and personal. It is sickening. Why? Because it is usually the biggest, nastiest bullies that whine the loudest when they are called out for their very UNCHRISTIAN behavior. No wonder more and more people are walking away from organized religion. Bill Maher hits another home run with this one and I thank him for calling these frauds out.