Kenneth Sutton's aide-mémoire
Well, all I can say is, God bless Peggy Parsons: Star-belly Sneeches and modern day cossacks
I don’t like fear-based segregation. I do not often find that it is based in reality. I like to challenge it and look for the good in the other side. That’s my default setting.
I won’t link to their website, because that’s actually good for them, but the Snickers website has 1) a homophobic ad they aired during the Super Bowl; 2) three more even worse ads that they’re inviting people to vote on for airing during the Daytona 500; and 3) bigoted reactions from pro football players.
So, no more: M&M’S, MARS, MILKY WAY, SNICKERS and TWIX; Skittles, Combos, Starburst, or Dove; Whiskas, Pedigree, or Sheba; Uncle Ben’s.
UPDATE: Andy Towle (Towleroad) reports that Mars has pulled the website, the ads, and the footballers’ reactions.
Haaretz reports on gay marriage ruling in Israel:
the High Court of Justice on Tuesday ruled that five gay couples wedded outside of Israel can be registered as married couples.
The Observer is reporting:
There is growing evidence that Shia militias have been killing men suspected of being gay and children who have been sold to criminal gangs to be sexually abused.
Mark Turner in The Observer: Welcome to the cruising capital of the world
Whether he was careless, reckless or foolish, as some have claimed, really isn’t very interesting. I also don’t care if he takes drugs (‘Shock! Horror! Pop Star Smokes Dope!’). I don’t care if he’s a well-adjusted homosexual. I don’t care about his pending ‘wedding’.
The article includes not only a defense of George Michael but also brief reviews of some London cruising locales.
There’s a skirmish in the culture wars under way in Lexington, Massachusetts. Elementary school principal Joni Jay is holding her ground about a teacher’s decision to read King and King to a second-grade class. The newspaper account describes her as a real pro, as well as having a balanced and sensible attitude. She’s met with parents who were upset about the reality of sexual orientation being raised at school and who are bringing suit against the school.
”She wanted to make us feel that our concerns were heard,” Rob Wirthlin said, ”and that’s what she left us with — that our concerns were heard.” That was insufficient, he said.
Exactly. She heard you, but you’re wrong.
Shame on them:
And hooray for:
The New York Times has an article on A Religious Push Against Gay Unions:
Organizers said the petition had brought together cardinals from both the left and right sides of the United States bishops’ conference, including the liberal Cardinal Roger M. Mahony of Los Angeles and the conservative Cardinal Francis George of Chicago, as well as Cardinals Edward M. Egan of New York, Theodore E. McCarrick of Washington, William H. Keeler of Baltimore and Sean Patrick O’Malley of Boston.
The gist of the news is that this year support is higher from the Roman Catholic hierarchy for the current attempt to bring out Republican voters by proposing a federal constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. What I think we need is a constitutional amendment banning Roman Catholic priests from being near children.
Inspired by Doc Smartypants, here is my inaugural Friday Ten:
(And if you think, “Ten what?”, well, the only point is that there are ten of them. That’s all the guidance there is from the Doc. But these are in fact ten of something very specific.)
Check out this UCC blogger: Chuck Currie: Beth Stroud And The Call To Ministry. He comments on a sermon preached by Beth Stroud, a lesbian United Methodist minister currently appealing the revocation of her credentials. Here’s a snippet. (He includes a link to the whole sermon.)
It’s taken me a while to learn that my calling is not about me. It’s still often hard to remain clear about that. It’s not about my gifts and potential, and it’s not about my limitations, either. It’s always about a need or a hurt in the world that God has seen, a cry that God has heard, and what God intends to do about it.
Fresh on the heels of Live8: Make prejudice history by Sir Elton John in The Observer (on the Guardian website).
I strongly believe that when thousands of us refuse to look away and stay silent, we make a difference to what politicians do and say. The sheer force of our numbers will ultimately help those who are suffering from extreme poverty and extreme prejudice all over the world.