Republicans want to cut spending for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly known as SNAP, as part of the Farm Bill. Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala insists ”this is more than just a financial issue.” Government bills can be confusing but this infographic posted today by No Kid Hungry explains what the real moral issues behind these cuts are and the impact they would have on children.
Jon Stewart talks vagina
Last night, The Daily Show took on the GOP’s War on Women and more specifically, its War on Vaginas. Last week, Michigan Democratic legislators Reps. Barb Byrum and Lisa Brown (W. Bloomfield) responded to a bill limiting access to abortion with a provision that would limit men’s access to vasectomies. While addressing the house, Brown said: “I’m flattered that you’re all so interested in my vagina, but no means no.” The Republican House Speaker banned the women from speaking because of “their comments and actions yesterday that failed to maintain the decorum of the House of Representatives.”
Stewart joked,
“can you believe this lady bringing up vaginas in an abortion debate…. What are they worried about? Vaginas aren’t like Voldemort or Beetlejuice. Invoking the name ‘vagina’ doesn’t make them suddenly appear. Believe me, if it did, then high school would have been very different for me.”
Infographic: Workplace discrimination is wrong and bad for business
In light of today’s hearing on Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), it’s worth addressing the argument made by ENDA critics that protecting civil rights is just too gosh-darn expensive and will lead to all sorts of frivolous law suits. One, that’s a pretty indefensible argument, even if ENDA did cost money. Two, discriminating against people based on their sexuality and identification is pretty expensive as this Center for American Progress infographic illustrates. So, ENDA critics, don’t hide behind economic arguments. Just embrace your inner bigot.
Kylar Broadus: First transgender person to testify before the Senate
Today, Kylar Broadus made history by becoming the first openly transgender person to testify before the U.S. Senate. Broadus was speaking on behalf of Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), which would prohibit employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.
So, who is Kylar Broadus and why is he a proponent of ENDA? He’s the founder of Trans People of Color Coalition (TPOCC) and a practicing attorney and professor of law Lincoln University of Missouri, which are just two of his many accomplishments. But despite his impressive resume, he’s faced discrimination too. […]
Over 300 Mormons march in Utah Gay Pride Parade
It’s so refreshing when religious people actually ask themselves What Would Jesus Do. I’m no theologian, but I’m pretty sure he would walk with and not rally against people celebrating people’s right to be and love as they choose. So, I was thrilled to see that over 300 members of the Church of Latter Day Saints attended the Utah Gay Pride Parade on Sunday.
The group Mormons Building Bridges, started a few weeks ago by Erika Munson, a mom of five from Sandy, Utah, posted the following message on their Facebook event page.
Please come join Latter-day Saints in extending a message of love and support to our LGBT brothers and sisters by marching in the Utah pride parade. Each step we take will be an outward demonstration of our commitment to loving our neighbors. We are marching for the values of empathy and compassion that the Mormon faith teaches. Recognizing that silence (though coupled with good intentions) may leave some LGBT individuals to seriously question their self-worth in their homes, congregations, and before God, we are marching to save lives.
This march is not a political gesture, rather it is a simple statement that average Mormons do love their LGBT brothers and sisters and want to make that message clear. All who wish to march whether currently active LDS and/or former LDS are welcome. Please feel free to invite all like-minded friends to join the march. Thank you for being willing to stand up and build bridges of love and understanding.
Participants grounded their support for the LGBT community in Mormon values and teaching. One woman’s sign read: “Love thy neighbor as thyself.” Another marcher’s sign had words from a Mormon’s children song: ”I’ll walk with you, I’ll talk with you. That’s how I’ll show my love for you.” Another participant lamented the number of gay suicides among Mormons: ”There have been too many LDS deaths… No doctrine is more important than God’s children.”
43 Catholic organizations sue Obama over contraception
What would Jesus do? Forget about protecting the meek, turning the other cheek, feeding the hungry and clothing the poor–he’d get himself a good lawyer! The University of Notre Dame, the Archdioceses of Washington, New York and Michigan, and the Catholic University of America are among the 43 Catholic organizations suing the Obama administration over regulations requiring most employers to provide birth control coverage as part of their employee health plans.[…]
Support the death penalty? Then you support executing the innocent
I am vehemently, philosophically opposed to the death penalty. Even if our criminal justice system were not racist, classist, and unfair, I’d be against the death penalty. Even if we somehow had a way to ensure that we only executed people we knew were guilty, I’d be against it.
But I respect the position of people who are for the death penalty in theory, but realize that the way it is implemented calls for, at least, a moratorium on capital punishment. Today, it is impossible to support the death penalty in the United States without tacitly supporting the execution of innocent people. You can try to defend the death penalty and convince yourself that it doesn’t kill innocent people, but you would be wrong. A recently-released Columbia Law School study details how Texas killed Carlos DeLuna, when the actual Culprit was Carlos Hernandez, who shared a first name and a striking resemblance with De Luna. Texas, don’t be so hard on yourself. A simple mistake, that only resulted in the state sanctioned and funded murder of an innocent person, who, not only proclaimed his actual innocence, but pointed the police to Hernandez. But, whatever, who can keep up with all the Carloses?
Happy Harvey Milk (teen predator) Day!
Happy Birthday Harvey Milk! Today you would have turned 82. But your life was cut short when you were shot to death at the young age of 48, a year after being elected (as the first openly gay person) to California’s Board of Supervisors.
Harvey Milk is often considered an LBTQ rights activist, which he was. But he was an activist who saw the connections among the struggles of all disenfranchised people. In 2009, President Obama awarded Milk a posthumous Presidential Medal of Freedom, which his openly gay nephew, Stuart Milk, accepted. That same year, Stuart and Harvey Milk campaign manager Anne Kronenberg co-founded the Harvey Milk Foundation, with the support of Desmond Tutu. The Foundation established Harvey Milk Day, on May 22nd, Milk’s birthday.
Also in 2009, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed the Harvey Milk Day Bill, honoring the fallen hero on his birthday, and inducted Milk in the California Hall of Fame. Part of the bill encourages schools to shape their lessons on May 22nd around “remembering the life of Harvey Milk, recognizing his accomplishments and familiarizing pupils with the contributions he made to this state.”
Florida: You can kill an unarmed teen but can’t defend yourself against an abuser
What happens when you have a criminal record, fatally shoot a teenager armed with nothing more than a pack of skittles and an ice-tea and argue you were justified under Florida’s Stand Your Ground Laws? Nothing. The police believe you and it takes a national media campaign to actually get the criminal justice system to look into the case.
What happens when you have no criminal record, don’t harm anyone, but fire shots to scare off an abusive husband, who has choked and punched you, and just threatened to kill you? You get sentenced to 20 years of prison, of course. This is justice in Florida, where Marissa Alexander was sentenced to 20 years of jail time on Friday. The 31-year-old mother of three said she had no intention of hurting anyone, but feared for her life, after her husband, who admits to abusive behavior, threatened to kill her. Change.org, which has a petition for Alexander, recounts what happened to her:[…]
Newsweek cover: the first gay president
Newsweek is excited about its cover this week, a “take THAT!” response to the sensationalistic breast-feeding cover which graced Time last week. The Newsweek cover features an image Barack Obama, with a rainbow halo above his head. The headline is as nuanced as the graphic and reads “The First Gay President.” Here is the article behind the cover, by Andrew Sullivan.
katiehalper.com 