If you’re in the market for a 2012 calendar, I may have found one for you (and maybe me!).
The “Men of Stacks” Calendar not only makes the perfect gift for yourself or someone you love, but proceeds from the sales support the “It Gets Better Foundation.”
Mr. January has lost his bookmark
Mr. November dusted the shelves and needs a bath
Mr. December brushes his teeth before curling up with a book
Obviously, librarians have changed from the matronly women who parked behind the reference desk when I was younger. Maybe we should all make a pact to return to the dusty shelves, abandoning our electronic reading devices and online bookstore purchases, and head back to our libraries. I feel the need to wander throughout the dusty shelves and rediscover Dewey’s Decimal System.
Republican Presidential hopeful Rick Santorum once again proved today how un-electable he is.
During an interview this morning on FOX news, Santorum regurgitated his support for the reinstatement of DADT, which he expressed during the GOP debate where a soldier was booed. (Click here to read that post).
Santorum believes that if gays are allowed to serve openly in the military then our “recruitment and retention” will decrease. He makes these claims despite the reports that the majority of service members have no issue working alongside homosexual soldiers. Once again, a candidate chooses to ignore the facts and instead pushes an agenda fueled by hate and prejudice. Most soldiers don’t care who sleeps with who anymore than most people care who their colleague sleeps with at home. Everyone’s private life is just that–private. The government needs to stop caring what happens in the privacy of an individual’s home and refrain from making laws, which attempt to govern any individual’s pursuit of personal happiness.
To add insult to injury, however, Santorum’s rhetoric is strikingly similar to the arguments used in the 1940’s when racial integration became a problem for the military. Candidates against integration worried about “close sleeping quarters” and “showers” just as Santorum does. Homosexuality isn’t a communicable disease anymore than being Black is. If that was the case, I’d be sneezing all over everyone in Washington! Then, those conservative politicians would not only be gay but Latino too! (I bet they’d really hate that!)
Still, Santorum’s frothing at the mouth knows no bounds! For Santorum, homosexuality is a choice, despite the many psychological studies conducted to combat this belief. (Once again, science and cold hard data mean little when faced with ignorance). To make matters worse, Santorum supports ex-gay therapy saying that “There are all sorts of studies out there that suggest just the contrary, and there are people who were gay and lived the gay lifestyle and aren’t anymore. I don’t think that’s the case with anyone who’s black.”
Apparently, Santorum forgets there was a time when Blacks used to bleach their skin to try and blend in. The hate they felt from the nation drove those American citizens to feel as if they had to change their skin color something that is really unalterable in order to fit in. As ridiculous as trying to lighten one’s skin tone seems to be now, that is the same nonsense ex-gay conversion spouts.
Ex-gay conversion doesn’t work, according to the APA, but once again, who cares about the facts, when an argument is based on hate, fear, and ignorance? All of those are a wonderful platform for a presidential candidacy, aren’t they?
In the video below, Betty Bowers, a YouTube, personality explains “traditional marriage” as defined by the Bible. The video is humorous and, unfortunately, spot on. This is the type of marriage Christian conservatives want to uphold, and the type of marriage homosexuals destroy.
ThinkProgress reports how Southern Baptist Pastor Robert Jeffress “well-known for his bigoted views about gays, Muslims, and Mormons” believes that allowing Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney in The White House would be the same as supporting a cult. According to Jeffress, only true Christians (which apparently excludes Romney) should be allowed to lead our nation. Evidently, religious convictions are a pre-requisite for the Executive Office in this deluded man’s point of view.
Jeffress’ comments were made today at the Values Voters Summit, where Rick Perry was introduced by the Dallas-based Baptist pastor. In his speech, he called Planned Parenthood “a slaughterhouse” and repeated his belief that “Mormonism is a cult.” He also falsely claimed that “seventy percent of the gay population has AIDS” and that the virus is a well-known “gay disease.”
If you want the highlights, here’s the video.
What amazes me is that the summit is touted as Values Voters. This man demonstrates no values I would want anyone to follow. His perception is prejudiced, narrow, and alarming. Basically, his argument comes down to this: if you’re not like him, you’re not fit to hold office. That is most definitely not the principles this country was founded upon nor does it represent the true spirit of democracy. Perhaps Jeffress forgets that this country is “for the people” and “by the people.” Those people include Mormons, non-Christians, and gays!
Why does this man, or anyone really, feel the need to exclude groups within a country seeking national representation? A true candidate, someone who really wanted to represent America, would be a voice for the rich and powerful, the poor and downtrodden, and the social elite and the social pariahs.
True leadership means leading everyone not just those who are the most like you!
On his show a few nights ago, Jimmy Kimmel presented the latest exercise device that is sure to rival Suzanne Somer’s Thigh Master! His device, The Tug Toner, is a parody of the latest apparatus The Free Flexor (which you can purchase by clicking on the link I’ve provided). If you ordered it (or have ordered it), let me know how that exercise routine is going!
Kimmel’s Tug Toner far surpasses The Free Flexor as a phallic symbol. I can’t wait for a Tug Toner class at my gym. It would beat Naked Yoga any day of the week!
A few days ago, I posted about the Pastor, Jeremy Pittman, Sr., from Grace Fellowship Church in Tennessee, who assaulted his son and his boyfriend for trying to attend church. Click here to read the full post.
New information, first discovered on Queerty, has surfaced regarding additional charges being brought against the holier-than-thou pastor. According to WBBJ, the local ABC affiliate, the pastor’s criminal activity extends to “charges of stealing from a local business.” The business in question is owned by the elder Pittman’s estranged wife, where he is accused of stealing more than $1,000 in materials which were later sold by Pittman, Sr., for scrap.
It seems the pastor has a penchant for pilfering as well physical and psychological battery.
But wait…there’s more!
Closer inspection of Pastor Pilferer’s criminal record reveals that “This actually is not the first time Pittman has been arrested. Police said he was arrested back in 2006 for a simple assault charge” involving his daughter’s boyfriend.
Apparently, the pastor has a hate-on for anyone in or associated with his family. This is exactly the type of man who should be pastor of a church!
Honestly, I used to fear what the conservative Christians who preach hate and intolerance might do if they ever gained true power in this country. But as shown by Pittman, Sr. and many others in the news, they will ultimately self-destruct. Anyone who hates others so vehemently struggles with dangerous inner demons that will eventually see the light of day. All we need to do is wait and watch!
If you love Tony Bennet and Lady Gaga, you will love this video. Even if you’re a fan of one but not the other, I think you will still enjoy this pairing–an excellent duet, merging the classical stylings of Tony Bennett with the powerful, modern (and still classy) vocals of Lady Gaga.
Some of you who may have heard about the town clerks in New York whose jobs are threatened or who have resigned because they refused to sign gay marriage licenses. Gay marriage is now legal in NY, and part of their jobs is to sign marriage licenses for citizens in their county. Since these clerks refused, they are facing/have faced losing their jobs.
Naturally, NOM (National Organization for Marriage) jumped all over this faster than a rat on a Cheetoh!
They produced the following videos to help spread the panic that religious freedom is being threatened. Below you will find the video featuring Rose Marie Belforti. If you can keep from bringing up your latest meal, have a look.
What I find interesting about her commentary is that she claims she had no prior knowledge of gay marriage being made legal in her state. It took receiving a marriage certificate from two people of the same gender to clue her in. That is utterly preposterous. She works in a government office, where they receive updates on new laws, since, well, it’s their job to know these things. To claim ignorance is ridiculous, especially when the topic was all over the media–newspapers, television, and the Internet. These laws weren’t made in secret as she seems to allude.
Additionally, she (and the other clerks who NOM gobbled up for their campaign of terror, Laura Fotusky and Ruth Sheldon, whose videos can also be found via Towleroad) now believes that doing her job threatens her religious freedom.
If she feels that strongly in her religious beliefs, then she can resign.
Shirking your assigned (or elected) duties based on religion isn’t a defense nor does it get you out of performing duties you promised to uphold when you took the job (or were elected).
What about if a doctor refused to treat a gay man who was ill because homosexuality went against his Christian beliefs? Would he be allowed to get away with it? What if a teacher didn’t want to educate African-Americans because she was a white supremacist? That teacher has a right to her beliefs, but does that mean she is not required by her job to educate all students?
If Belforti, Fotusky, or Sheldon are no longer capable of fulfilling their job duties as town clerks, then they need to find jobs where they can perform the expected tasks and remain true to their religious convictions.
Their religious freedoms don’t negate someone else’s civil rights, and no one gets to pick and choose what laws we follow.
These women aren’t victims. They placed their jobs in peril by refusing to sign the marriage certificates. Now, they have to suffer the consequences, as any other employee would.
Ever wonder how to say menage e trois or skinny dipping in sign language? Michael Chase DiMartino shows you how in this gay parody of Katy Perry’s “Last Friday Night.” Michael also has a YouTube channel called SongsInSign, where he signs other popular songs. Take a look!
According to Mitchell Gold, founder of the non-profit organization Faith in America, religious leaders, who stand before their congregation and condemn homosexuality, are guilty of mental child molestation.
Here is why Gold believes this (as reported by ThinkProgress): “clergy people who stand at their pulpit and . . . speak about gay people as sinners and an abomination, that is bullying a young kid. That is really — and I know this may sound exaggerated — but that is nothing less than child molestation of a child’s mind. . . . It is devastating to a 14-year-old-kid to hear their rabbi or their imam or their priest or clergy person say that they are a sinner or an abomination…and I’m here to tell them, they are full and whole and wonderful and they will learn as life goes on that there are many, many people who feel that way.”
At a time when homosexuals are attacked by many religious conservatives, it is nice to see a religious man not only publicly support homosexuality but, more importantly, tell the gay youth of America that there is nothing wrong with them.
For these young people, their religious leaders are often next to God. Their words matter, and when the head of their church tells them they are going to hell, it hurts. I know this from personal experience as do many, many, many others.
I wish more religious leaders would keep the children in mind as they are preaching hate and intolerance. Gay children attend church too, and just as you wouldn’t want someone off the street attacking your child and saying he is worthless or she is going to hell, a trusted religious leader should not be allowed to do the same thing in a place for families or in a place about love.
