continuing the dialogue about marriage rights for same-sex couples and the repercussions from california’s proposition 8 vote this last week… please take a moment to watch this, and pass it on to anyone you know who should see it. -h

Filed under: Discourse, Links, News by stephen h @ 3:16 am on November 11, 2008
TAGS: [california | gay rights | keith olbermann | Links | msnbc | News | politics | prop 8 | video | youtube]

…as you would have them do unto you means the church gets what it has coming to it. for some weird reason, the mormon and catholic churches are acting all shocked and offended that there’s a massive outcry against them for their bigotry in supporting california’s prop 8.

apparently it’s ok for churches to take an active part in bigoted oppression, spending time and money promoting hatred and division, instead of championing social justice. apparently it’s ok for the church to take political stands in clear violation of federal tax laws, despite the scriptures stating to honor the laws of the land. apparently it’s ok for them to declare people with alternative sexual preferences as abominations, despite the fact they should deem themselves abominations because they trim their beards and eat fish and swine and don’t throw their wives out of their house every month when they’re on their period.

so, to these churches and to the people who support their policies i say this sincerely: fuck you. your oppression is your own doing. pull your heads out of your hypocritical asses and realize this: you are the problem with society, not them. maybe if you spent more time reading and focusing on the parts of scripture that teach you how to love, you wouldn’t have enough time to spread all that hate. gay people and even homosexuality in general are not your problem, YOU ARE. grow up and grow a pair, and confront your leaders when they speak out in bigotry and hatred. speak out for social justice and the human rights of others, or you will only stir up more hatred against yourselves.

stand up, grow up, and act right, or any oppression that you may face will be your own doing, and will be for the cause of hatred and evil, not for god. i promise you that.

-h

Filed under: Discourse, Links, News, Thoughts by stephen h @ 1:58 am on November 10, 2008
TAGS: [california | catholic church | corruption | crooks and liars | latter day saints | mormon church | News | politics | prop 8 | Thoughts | video | youtube]

on the eve of this year’s election day, i wanted to write one final note to those of you who may be on the fence about who to vote for in the presidential race. as it is no secret that i am a strong supporter of barack obama, i’ve heard from some friends of mine that will state either overtly or subtly their opinion that such support must mean an abandonment of the judeo-christian values i was raised with. this note is being written to make the case that exactly the opposite is true.

so i ask of you, please, take 15 minutes this evening before you go to the polls tomorrow to watch the video above.

consider, like i did:

• …that voting for a republican with a stated pro-life agenda will likely never bring about an end to abortions, as republicans have held the presidential office for 20 of the last 28 years, and still have not accomplished anything to that end.
• …obama’s stance on preventing the need for abortions and how that will positively impact our communities.
• …that a woman’s right to healthcare privacy should be something we support, and that there is no biblical directive to force upon others our own interpretations of how they should live their lives. i was particularly impressed by obama’s VP nominee joe biden when he was interviewed on meet the press(see this clip for the whole dialog), and how he talked about the intersection of his own faith and his political agenda, and how the two are separate. holding pro-life religious views and voting pro-choice are not mutually exclusive.
• …that even though obama has a record of attending the same christian church for 20 years, mccain’s supporters still make the claim that obama is muslim, while mccain himself very rarely attends church, and yet he is being touted by pastors and evangelists as god’s candidate, as seen in the clip below:
  
• …the impact of criminalizing abortion while the church still does little to nothing to raise the orphans already in society. consider that occurrences of child neglect and abandonment will rise exponentially, especially without efforts to reduce illegitimate pregnancies(and not relying on using abstinence-only education) and also promote adoption and make the adoption process easier for anyone interested(not just married christian families).

consider for yourself the motivations that religious leaders have for supporting the candidates that they do. consider for yourself that what makes this country great is its religious freedom - the same freedom that god gave you - and that elections are not contests to prove whose religion is better than every one else’s, but are a new chance for us as a country to come together to affect positive change and new directions for our common future.

remember that you can disagree with me and those candidates/causes i stand for, but that doesn’t make me anti-american or even pro-babykilling. let’s come together this election for a candidate who works to break down those barriers for ALL AMERICANS. so tomorrow, please…

Join me in voting for Barack Obama. -h

Filed under: Discourse, News, Thoughts by stephen h @ 8:11 pm on November 3, 2008
TAGS: [barack obama | john mccain | News | politics | Thoughts | video | youtube]

in an interview with a conservative radio station this morning, republican VP nominee sarah palin again insists on showing the country her lack of knowledge about one of the most fundamental rights granted by the constitution, our right to free speech. in the interview, as reported by ABC news, palin says:

“If [the media] convince enough voters that that is negative campaigning, for me to call Barack Obama out on his associations,” Palin told host Chris Plante, “then I don’t know what the future of our country would be in terms of First Amendment rights and our ability to ask questions without fear of attacks by the mainstream media.”

clearly she has no idea what our rights are. like the right to free speech, and the right of a free press to tell people what is actually going on: that she is running a negative campaign… or my own right to blog about her comments today and remark that i think she is ignorant, completely inept in matters of constitutional law, and that i think she must be stupid to think that the press is infringing on her rights. what’s next? is she going to lead a campaign to take away americans’ right to a free press so she can say whatever she wants without being questioned?

sorry, that was mean. maybe i’m just trying to make a point about how liberties are taken, not given, and maybe i’m taking the liberty to say let’s raise the bar in washington, and vote for someone who brings experience, KNOWLEDGE OF THE CONSTITUTION, wisdom and discretion under attack, and hope for real, positive change both at home and abroad. let’s cast our votes this week for barack obama.

vote early, vote often.

-h (p.s. happy halloween!)

Filed under: Discourse, Links, News by stephen h @ 11:03 am on October 31, 2008
TAGS: [abc | first amendment | Links | News | politics | sarah palin | Thoughts]

robert greenwald and the fine folks over at brave new films are making it easy for people like you and me to send a message to john mccain and sarah palin’s campaign, calling on them to stop campaigning with a message of hatred and racial prejudice. watch the video below, then please, take a minute of your time to click the link below and send your message to john mccain that this rhetoric has no place in american politics. -h

click here to sign the petition.

click here to sign the petition.

EDIT: for more on this, you should also view this special comment from keith olbermann from yesterday…

Filed under: Discourse, Links, News by stephen h @ 10:41 pm on October 16, 2008
TAGS: [brave new films | corruption | hatred | john mccain | keith olbermann | Links | msnbc | News | racism | robert greenwald | sarah palin | video | youtube]