Clipmarks | queah's clips

Why don't Catholic bishops care about healthcare?

Tue, 25 Aug 2009 12:09:53 GMT

clipped by: queah

For decades the bishops have advocated for universal healthcare -- in fact, for a single-payer system with a strong emphasis on covering the uninsured, the poor and immigrants. The best shot at reform is now. But the bishops are squandering every ounce of moral capital they have, not on the public option, but on ensuring that in any reform bill not one penny of federal funds is used for abortion.

Though it's not a "life" issue, the bishops also spent considerable sums in 2004 on various state ballot initiatives on marriage equality, including $500,000 to support a gay-marriage ban in Michigan and $200,000 to support a gay-marriage ban in California. But where's the money and work for healthcare reform?

Catholic groups boost campaign against Maine marriage

Tue, 25 Aug 2009 12:05:26 GMT

clipped by: queah

Clip Source: washblade.com

Anti-gay and Catholic groups made the largest donations in recent months to overturn Maine's new same-sex marriage law, helping opponents of such unions outraise supporters more than 2-1.

Campaign finance reports made available Wednesday show that while people trying to defend the law raised $148,930.32, opponents of same-sex marriage raised $344,619.50. The reports detail the period between April 1 and July 5.

In May, Maine became the fifth state in the nation to legalize same-sex marriage. But the possibility of a "people's veto" threatens the new law. If opponents of same-sex marriage gather enough petition signatures for a "people's veto" before the law takes effect, the law will be put up for a vote and the electorate will decide the matter.

Good Point on Gay Marriage

Sun, 16 Aug 2009 04:29:31 GMT

clipped by: queah

Clip Source: lollipopsandsugarcubes.wordpress.com

Alameda parents file lawsuit over gender curriculum mandate

Fri, 14 Aug 2009 12:54:50 GMT

clipped by: queah

Clip Source: lgbtqnews.com

Minnesota's largest school district has agreed to pay a $25,000 settlement to the family of a high school junior after two teachers harassed the boy in class because they believed he was gay.

Minnesota Department of Human Rights investigated after the boy’s mother filed a complaint charging that two teachers at her son’s high school subjected him to classroom jokes, comments, and innuendos, Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.

The boy’s “fence swings both ways,” teacher Diane Cleveland commented during a class in the 2007-2008 school year, according to the report on its investigation released this week by the human rights department.

Another teacher, Walter Filson, said in the classroom that the boy should be in a fashion show because he enjoyed wearing women's clothes.

According to an online district directory, Filson teaches classes in law enforcement and public service careers. Cleveland teaches social studies, KSTP reports.

Alameda parents file lawsuit over gender curriculum mandate

Fri, 14 Aug 2009 12:48:40 GMT

clipped by: queah

Clip Source: www.mercurynews.com

A group of parents opposed to a controversial anti-bullying curriculum adopted by the Alameda public schools has filed a lawsuit over the district's refusal to excuse their children attending the classes.

The parents are supported by the conservative Pacific Justice Institute which argues for parents on issues involving religious freedom and parental rights.

They oppose the curriculum because, they claim, it indoctrinates young children about the lifestyle and gay, lesbian and transgender families. District officials insist the curriculum was needed to address some of the causes of bullying on school campuses.

Maine Anti-Gay Activist Blames Bad Weather, Potato Blight on Gay Marriage

Fri, 14 Aug 2009 12:29:12 GMT

clipped by: queah

Clip Source: chattahbox.com

In an August 7, opinion column published in Brunswick’s The TImes Record entitled, “A ‘cloud of error’ hides the ‘light of reason,’” Heath suggests that the rainy weather and blighted crops that have plagued the State of Maine this summer are due to the evil of the legalization of gay marriage.

CourageCampaign.org Stop8.org

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 04:48:16 GMT

clipped by: queah

Clip Source: stop8.org

[Video]

Gay Marriage Opponents: Enough Signatures For Referendum

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 04:46:08 GMT

clipped by: queah

Clip Source: www.wcsh6.com

The group that wants to repeal Maine's new gay marriage law with a referendum vote says it has gathered enough signatures to put it on the ballot in November.

Stand for Maine Marriage is a coalition of several groups that includes Maine's Catholic diocese.

Spokesman Marc Mutty says, in just four weeks, the group has collected more than the 55,000 signatures needed to put the measure on the ballot. Those signatures still have to be validated by the Secretary of State's office. Mutty says Stand for Maine Marriage will continue to gather signatures to make sure there are enough valid ones on the petitions.

Massachusetts State Senator Comes Out on Independence Day

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 03:55:20 GMT

clipped by: queah

Clip Source: www.bilerico.com

Rosenburg has been an advocate for marriage equality but says he rarely addresses his sexual orientation publicly, saying "I don't practice identity politics. I practice policy politics." In the op-ed, he says:

I firmly believe that we will never fulfill our potential as a just society until we embrace the principle of equality for all and adhere to it as fundamental immutable policy.

Rosenberg joins at least six other openly gay members of the Legislature.

State sues over gay marriage

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 03:28:49 GMT

clipped by: queah

Clip Source: www.examiner.com

Massachusetts, which made history by becoming the first state to legalize gay marriage, has sued the federal government over the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). The law, enacted in 1996, defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman.

The trouble is that six states currently allow for same-sex marriages and a seventh, California, has thousands of valid same-sex marriages on the books as well. Prior to 1996, marriage was traditionally an issue that states were allowed to define for themselves. To a large extent, marriage is still seen as an issue for the states, but DOMA has imposed specific restrictions on all U.S. marriages.

Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley said DOMA "interferes with the right of Massachusetts to define and regulate marriage as it sees fit."

In gay-marriage battle, D.C. shapes up as next big prize

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 03:27:02 GMT

clipped by: queah

Clip Source: features.csmonitor.com

Washington began recognizing gay marriages performed in other states Tuesday – a move that is being called a potential first step toward allowing same-sex couples to wed in the nation’s capital.

The district’s measure stops short of other laws in states such as Iowa and Vermont, which allow for same-sex wedding ceremonies. But it adds to their momentum.

Moreover, Washington would be a unique prize in the battle over gay marriage. Not only does it bring the issue to where the nation’s lawmakers live – making it part of the city’s culture – but it also marks gay marriage’s first foray into a predominately black community.

Washington’s city council passed the law to give married same-sex couples the same rights as heterosexual couples by a 12-to-1 margin in May – a vote that supporters hail as significant.

DADT Repeal: Iraq Vet Takes the Lead in Congress

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 03:23:22 GMT

clipped by: queah

Clip Source: www.vetvoice.com

[Video]

On the Rainbow Lounge incident: Gay club raid inexcusable

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 02:07:51 GMT

clipped by: queah

Clip Source: dallasmorningviewsblog.dallasnews.com

In any other business environment, sexual harassment is cause for a trip to the human relations department.

Last weekend, it cost Chad Gibson a trip to the emergency room with an eventual stop in the intensive care unit. "Gay panic" is no excuse for the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission agents' actions.

The officers' justification -- that gay bar patrons were groping them -- is also shameless. All too often, straight men who commit attacks on gay men trot out this wan defense, expecting the public to believe that gay men are so voracious and sex-obsessed that they would willingly incite violence by reaching out to sexually titillate their adversaries. This is not predicated on plausible human behavior, but on rank and humiliating stereotypes about gay men that are rarely -- if ever -- true.

The Fort Worth Police department does a profound disservice to law-abiding police officers everywhere if they fail to address this grievous, profoundly criminal incident.

TWO Comments On James Dobson Resigning As Focus on the Family Chairman

Mon, 02 Mar 2009 21:01:38 GMT

clipped by: queah

Clip Source: www.truthwinsout.org

Truth Wins Out (TWO) expressed its hope today that James Dobson resigning as chairman of Focus on the Family would eventually lead the anti-gay organization in a new direction. Dobson has created an entire industry that distorts the lives of gay and lesbian people for political gain, says TWO.

“James Dobson’s legacy of lies has caused significant pain for gay and lesbian people and their families,” said Wayne Besen, Executive Director of Truth Wins Out. “We hope his departure will eventually signal a shift in tone and end Focus on the Family’s destructive attacks against gay and lesbian Americans.”

Identifying Yourself As A Lesbian Gets You Banned On XBOX Live

Sun, 01 Mar 2009 23:14:19 GMT

clipped by: queah

Clip Source: consumerist.com

Teresa says that she was harassed by other players and later suspended from XBOX Live because she identified herself as a lesbian in her profile. When she appealed to Microsoft, she says they told her that other gamers found her sexual orientation "offensive."