Speaking of Coming Out…

Phoenix Suns President Rick Welts does just that. After 40 years of “suffering in silence”.

Why now?

Mostly, Welts said, he was inspired by young athletes who might be suffering in silence.

“I thought, there might be some young people out there who was in the same position I was, who love team sports … but are afraid,” Welts said.

“If by telling my story, if even just a few young people are encouraged to follow their passion and have a successful career, then it will have been worth it.”

Are we seeing a groundswell? Time will tell, but we all know that being gay has nothing to do with ability or aptitude in any profession- including sports. By coming out, all we do is strengthen the diverse human factor of sexuality.

And that’s always good.

NYT story here. NY Daily News take here.

What’s Gay About The News

May16 by D Gregory Smith

A couple of things.

On the one hand, Don Lemon, CNN weekend anchor and brave human being, has come out as a gay man.
Entertainment Weekly:

CNN’s weekend anchor Don Lemon reveals that he is gay in his new memoir, Transparent. “I abhor hypocrisy,” Lemon told theNew York Times. “I think if you’re going to be in the business of news, and telling people the truth, of trying to shed light in dark places, then you’ve got to be honest. You’ve got to have the same rules for yourself as you do for everyone else.”

Lemon admitted he is scared by peoples’ reaction, but that CNN has assured him of their support. “I think it would be great if everybody could be out,” he said to the paper. “But it’s such a personal choice. People have to do it at their own speed. I respect that. I do have to say that the more people who come out, the better it is for everyone, certainly for the Tyler Clementis of the world.”

Like I said, brave. Lemon, also a survivor of childhood sexual abuse, will no doubt become a more active voice in the LGBT community- as well as a sign to other human beings that being gay is not an obstacle- and that we have nothing to fear from the truth of who we are.

Next comes a poll from Fox News affiliate WACH in South Carolina. The poll, which attempts to gauge the pulse of its readers on the topic of the Presbyterian Church’s inclusion of openly gay clergy is clearly Fair and Balanced:

Oh, Lord.

“Sins, sinners, sinfulness- love the sinner, hate the sin”- the patronizing terms many evangelical/fundamentalist christians use to describe people they hate, is just one of the ignorant ways that keep them from facing the reality of human sexuality.

And Fox News seems to be contributing to that ignorance.

Again.

But the commenters are taking them to task. Which I love. Go ahead and read the story and comment. It’s getting interesting.

Sunday Sign 5/15/11

May15 by D Gregory Smith

From reader Mark (again!), comes this little treasure:

If you see a fun/ironic/stupid/sick publicly posted sign, grab your phone/camera,
click and send it to me! Dgsma@hotmail.com- and put “sign” in the topic line.

HIV Spike In Montana?

May13 by D Gregory Smith

The Billings Gazette is reporting a spike in positive HIV tests done by RiverStone Health clinic:

Six new positive tests were reported between March 24 and April 18, compared to nine new cases in all of 2007 and 2010. The newly diagnosed cases include five men and one woman, ranging in age from 24 to 43. In three of the cases, there was a history of intravenous drug use. The remaining three cases were sexually transmitted, according to RiverStone Health officials.

We know there are Montanans who are HIV-positive and have never been tested, or have been tested and for some reason, have never entered care.

HIV is a manageable disease. The sooner HIV-positive persons enters care and begins treatment, the less likely they are to have more difficult health issues later on in life. And because of lowering the amount of HIV in their bodies with medication, they are much less likely to transmit the virus.

Click here for more info...

Full story here.
Then, think about getting tested- and encouraging those you love to do the same.

Life

May12 by D Gregory Smith

Between moving Ken’s stuff, my exam, work, a helluva cold-and shuttling back and forth to Butte for work and moving some of MY stuff (the big move of all my stuff from Butte will come in a few weeks), my days just seem to get too full to spend time writing. Aside: When did “stuff” become synonymous with “belongings”?

I didn’t get on the internet for more than 5 minutes yesterday.

This is temporary, and once we get more settled and I get back into the groove, my schedule will be more regular. Needless to say, you will hear more here soon. Promise.

Shades of Hunthausen?

May10 by D Gregory Smith

Bishop Richard Morris’ (of Toowomba, Australia) removal by Pope Benedict XIV has some muscle memory for those of us who suffered through the Hunthausen shakedown. Heavy-handed tactics on the part of the papacy toward Hunthausen, one of the most Christ-like bishops I’ve ever known, still stings. A reminder from Richard McBrien:

The removal of Bishop William Morris from the pastoral care of the Australian diocese of Toowoomba, Queensland, where he has been bishop since 1993, is reminiscent of two other cases: that of Bishop Jacques Gaillot of the diocese of Evreux, Normandy, France, in 1995, where he had been bishop for 12 years, and the effective removal of Archbishop Raymond Hunthausen from the archdiocese of Seattle in 1986, where he had been archbishop since 1975.

I say “effective removal” because, although Hunthausen was not removed as such, a younger bishop was installed over him, with authority that no longer belonged to the archbishop.

That younger bishop is now an archbishop himself and a cardinal as well: Donald Wuerl, who also heads the U.S. Bishops’ Committee on Doctrine, which just issued a condemnation of Sr. Elizabeth Johnson’s 2007 book, Quest for the Living God. Johnson is a Sister of St. Joseph and is a Distinguished Professor of Theology at Fordham University in New York.

This is just getting creepy. Even discussion is being forbidden. Witch hunt, anyone?

Full article here.

Mother’s Day, 2011

May8 by D Gregory Smith

After considering this for a while, I have decided that I am going to partake of some shameless self-indulgent sentimentality.

I miss my Mom.

We all went to Lydia’s in Butte last night for dinner in her honor- it was one of her favorite places. Dad, my brother and sister, their spouses and their parents, me and Ken and his mom. We celebrated all the mothers in our families- including the absent ones. And I noticed something last night that I haven’t been able to shake.

I love being around this family.

I loved watching my Dad enjoy his children. I loved watching Ken gently pull the chair out for his mom before she sat. I loved how we all told stories and laughed and listened and ate delicious food- sharing tastes across the table. I loved the subtle teasing, the secret shared smiles, the knowing nods and the conversation that was all over the table. I loved how we drank wine and water and Manhattans and Diet Coke and shamelessly ordered dessert. I loved how we all treated each other like, well, like we loved each other.

Which we do.

And I wanted my Mom there- because she was always such an uncompromisingly real presence at all of our family gatherings. You never had to wonder what she thought, or who she was talking to- or about. She loved nothing more than to sit next to my Dad and tell stories and laugh, remind us of details- or have us remind her, and generally just be with her kids and have a good time. I’m not sure how, but she taught us how to enjoy each other.

I remember watching them watch us last Christmas. They were sitting together on a couch, and we (me, brother, sister and all our respective spouses) were all talking to each other, telling stories and teasing each other a little, laughing and just having a great time. I happened to look up at my parents and I saw my Mom look at my Dad, smile, and put her head on his shoulder. That moment is one of the most precious memories I have. In my mind, I hear that smile and that gesture say “We done good, Dave.”

They sure did.

Happy Mother’s Day, Mom. We miss you lots.

Catholics Becoming Protestants

May5 by D Gregory Smith

Jesuit Thomas Reese, former editor of the magazine America– and someone I respect greatly, is sharing some of his concerns about the “New Exodus” in the Catholic Church.

Any other institution that lost one-third of its members would want to know why.

And why not the Catholic Church?

…the U.S. bishops have never devoted any time at their national meetings to discussing the exodus. Nor have they spent a dime trying to find out why it is happening.

Thankfully, although the U.S. bishops have not supported research on people who have left the church, the Pew Center has.

…One of the reasons there is such disagreement is that we tend to think that everyone leaves for the same reason our friends, relatives and acquaintances have left. We fail to recognize that different people leave for different reasons. People who leave to join Protestant churches do so for different reasons than those who become unaffiliated. People who become evangelicals are different from Catholics who become members of mainline churches.

An excellent article- well worth the read. If you’re like me, you may recognize many people you know, or even yourself. Full article here.

Update: This may also be part of the reason.

Low Vitamin D Levels Associated With Rapid HIV Progression

May4 by D Gregory Smith

From AIDSMeds.com:

HIV-positive people with very low vitamin D levels were more likely to develop AIDS and to die than people with higher vitamin D levels, according to a study published online January 25 in the journal AIDS.

Low vitamin D levels have been found in numerous studies in HIV-negative people to be associated with serious illnesses, including cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes and kidney failure. What’s more, a number of recent studies have found that the proportion of people with HIV who have low vitamin D levels is quite high, with fewer than a quarter in some studies having ideal levels.

…and so it’s always a good idea to have your Vitamin D level checked regularly with your doctor, whether you’re HIV+ or not. More on Vitamin D can be found here.

And read the full story from AIDSMeds.com here.

More Heat For Rehberg?

May3 by D Gregory Smith

Nah, that would mean investigative journalism from the local mainstream media.
Pogie:

You certainly have to love the Montana media and Montana’s Congressman. The former never felt it necessary to cover the national news that Rehberg called Pell Grants welfare but decided he should get an op-ed in every newspaper defending his position, while the latter is pretending to be reforming Pell Grants when all he is doing is working to cut them, increasing college costs for students and families.