Graph Of The Day

Thanks to New Jersey.....

Courtesy of AFER.

Let's Define "Traditional Marriage"

 

If you want to get technical about it, "traditional marriage" is between a man and his rib.

 

Now, that's what I can an institution...

 

Map Of The Day

The above map shows, in varying shades of green, how religious people tend to be in this country, by state.  The darker the green, the more religious that state is.  Based on poll responses, more people in Mississippi identified themselves as "very religious", than in any other state.  Less people identified themselves that way in Rhode Island and New York, than in any other state.  Here are the results, showing the 10 most religious states, and the 12 least religious states in the country:

Does anything stand out in your mind when it comes to the states in the bottom 12?  They are overwhelmingly in favor of marriage equality.

In Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Washington, Connecticut, Washington D.C., and New York, full civil marriage rights for same-sex couples is the law of the land.  In Oregon and Rhode Island, civil unions are legal.  Domestic partnerships for same-sex couples are legal in Nevada and Maine.

The only stand out is Alaska, where in their state constitution, it defines marriage between a man and a woman.  Then again, they voted in Sarah Palin as governor once.  I would be shocked if their laws weren't written in crayon.

Thanks to Joe My God for the images.

NOM To Board Of Directors: "Drive A Wedge Between Gays And Blacks"

Some background:  NOM (the National Organization for Marriage) was recently sued in Maine for violating campaign finance laws.  NOM contended that they were not a political organization, and, as such, were not required to disclose campaign and financial information.  The First Circuit Court disagreed.

NOM appealed the decision to the Supreme Court, which refused to hear the case yesterday afternoon.  When that happened, NOM was legally required to make certain information public, such as reports to their board of directors.

The sixteen pages released yesterday show evidence of the organization's mission to pit African-Americans, Latinos, and the LGBT community against each other.  All the while, straight white bigots just sit back and watch it all unfold.  On page 13 of the 2008-2009 report to their board of directors, under a heading called "Not a Civil Right Project", it states the following:

"The strategic goal of this project is to drive a wedge between gays and blacks - two key Democratic constituencies.  Find, energize, equip and connect African American spokespeople for marriage; develop a media campaign around their objections to gay marriage as a civil right; provoke the gay marriage base into responding by denouncing these spokesmen and women as bigots.  No politician wants to take up and push an issue that splits the base of the party."

JAZZ HANDS...

Immediately upon reading this, Ken Hutcherson came to mind.   The vehemently anti-gay pastor from Kirkland, Washington, was one of the most vocal opponents to marriage equality in Washington state.  During one debate on the issue, he even went so far as to say that marriage equality would lead to legalized horse fucking.

"If this law is passed, what is going to happen? Now ask your guests in the studio. Do they believe that if they change the definition of marriage being between one man and one woman, what is going to stop two men one woman, two women one man, one man against a horse, one many with a boy, one man with anything?"

 Also on page 13 of the report, is their strategy regarding the Latino community.  It involves using Spanish language ads to convince listeners that their "assimilation" into American culture is not complete, unless they're against marriage equality.

"Will the process of assimilation to the dominant Anglo culture lead Hispanics to abandon traditional family values? We must interrupt this process of assimilation by making support for marriage a key badge of Latino identity - a symbol of resistance to inappropriate assimilation."

That's right folks...You're not really an American, unless you're an intolerant bigot.  In case you didn't know, these three people are at the forefront of American culture.  They're trendsetters.

Tony Perkins, head of the Family Research Council and NOM's Maggie Gallagher and Brian Brown

Another interesting tidbit from the report is that it confirms, once and for all, the partnership between NOM and the Mormon church.  Under the section "Donor Protection Litigation", it points out the steps that NOM has taken to support (and publicly shield) the LDS establishment from protests and media attention brought upon them in the wake of Prop 8.

There is also a section called "Sideswiping Obama".  The mission of this "project" is especially telling:

"Expose Obama as a social radical.  Develop side issues to weaken pro-gay marriage political leaders and parties and develop an activist base of socially conservative and Christian voters.  Raise such issues as pornography, protection of children, and the need to oppose all efforts to weaken religious liberty at a federal level."

Does this sound familiar to anyone?  Calling Mr. Santorum.

Rick Santorum has publicly vowed to ban the distribution of "hardcore" pornography on the internet, by mail, and in stores.  He has claimed that "the Obama Department of Justice seems to favor pornographers over children and families".  He also incorrectly attests that pornography causes "profound brain changes" and leads to violence against women, statements which no evidence has not shown.


Could the National Organization for Marriage have Rick Santorum in their pocket?  He is, possibly, the most vocal politician today in regards to contraception use being against our "religious freedoms".  


The notions presented in yesterday's documents are disturbing, to say the least.  Even more unsettling is the fact that many of this country's most powerful individuals support the ideologies of this disgusting organization.

It's Official: I've Joined The Priesthood

That's right.  I have become an ordained priest in The Church of the Latter Day Dude, otherwise known as Dudeism.

The reason why I am accepting a new religion is simple:  I want to pay it forward.

Four years ago, our friend Lindsay officiated our wedding ceremony.  It was a simple service.  Just Jessi, myself, Lindsay and two witnesses to sign the marriage certificate.  We got married in the kitchen of our three bedroom apartment, followed immediately by a "reception" with chocolate chip ice cream and sparkling cider.  Lindsay became ordained through the Universal Life Church, an online church that allows you to become ordained, immediately, free of charge.  As a minister in the church, she has legally recognized authority to perform marriages in all 50 states in the U.S., and many countries abroad.  We didn't necessarily have the "wedding of our dreams", but, looking back, we wouldn't have had it any other way.

If the circumstances should present themselves, I also wanted to be in a position to officiate a wedding or civil service, especially if it could help someone in my local LGBT community.  However, considering my previous "issues" with religion, I didn't want to become ordained in a church that had a Judeo-Christian philosophy.  I am atheist, after all.

Dudeism was right for me.

Before you ask...Yes, it is a legitimate church.  And it has it's own philosophy.  Dudeism is very similar to Taoism and Zen Buddhism.  It's tenets are simple:  "Live and let live."  Life is short and complicated and nobody knows what to do about it. So don’t do anything about it. Just take it easy, man.

I can abide.

And, as a Dudeist, I don't have to know what in God's name other religions are blathering about.  It appears to be a perfect fit.

In case you were wondering, I am serious about this.  My certificate of ordination will arrive in the mail, hand signed, in approximately two weeks.  I want to be able to help someone in the way that Jessi and I were helped four years ago.

So....who wants to be my first marriage?

Allowable Marriage: According To The Bible (Chart)

Many people today believe in a literal interpretation of the Bible.  They believe that it is actually the word of god.  Since the book of Leviticus says that men lying together "are an abomination", then, in their minds, 6000 years later, obviously god doesn't want people to be having gay sex.  That being said, I thought I would share the other types of marriages that are permissible, according to the Bible.  Pay attention.

Now, the whole rapist/victim match up...that is an abomination.  However, I think the brother-in-law thing still takes place in West Virginia. (shudders)

Marriage Bigots Miss Out On $100K Matching Donation

On June 24th, the National Organization for Marriage, an anti-gay group that some say has ties to the Mormon church, raised an ambitious fund-raising challenge to their supporters.  For every new Facebook like, Twitter follower, and new text supporter they receive, an anonymous donor would donate one dollar up to $100,000.  The deadline for new supporters was today, September 1st.

I never thought that they would hit $100,000, but even I didn't think their efforts would be this pathetic.

Jeremy over at Good as You has been keeping track of NOM's stats over the last couple of months, and the results are just sad.  931 Facebook likes and 298 Twitter followers.  That's $1,229.00, people.  Unless NOM received 98,771 text messages in the span of two months and six days, it's highly unlikely that they received the $100,000 donation from their "anonymous donor".  That is, if there was an anonymous donor in the first place.  How much would you like to wager that this was a clever ploy to try to garner more support for their organization?

I would like to see their spin on this.