Yeah, I have a Kiki fetish.
Enjoy.
Sanders Joins HRC and Freedom to Marry, Appeals to Conservative Values
The Diocese of Yakima (in yellow), Washington State, has announced that it plans to take up special collections to support efforts to defeat the state’s referendum to enact marriage equality in November.
The Yakima Herald-Republic reports:
“Labor Day weekend marks the official beginning of what the three Catholic dioceses in the state are calling Preserve Marriage Month. In Yakima that means organizing an educational program and fundraising campaign to inform parishioners about Catholic teaching on marriage and church opposition to Referendum 74, which would affirm the state’s same-sex marriage law.
“Bishop Joseph Tyson sent a letter to pastors in all 41 parishes Friday asking that they announce a special financial appeal at Masses sometime during the next two weekends. Money collected will go to Preserve Marriage Washington, a statewide group seeking to defeat Referendum 74.”
The money collected will go directly to a political organization working to repeal the state’s newly-minted marriage equality law. The dollars will not be considered tax-deductible or a contribution to the church:
“Bishop Joseph Tyson sent a letter to pastors in all 41 parishes Friday asking that they announce a special financial appeal at Masses sometime during the next two weekends. Money collected will go to Preserve Marriage Washington, a statewide group seeking to defeat Referendum 74.
“. . . . He proposed that pastors suggest not only that parishioners inform themselves and others about the referendum, to be voted on in November, but also that they ‘can contribute to the campaign by using the envelope in this week’s bulletin to make a generous donation to Preserve Marriage Washington.’ “
The envelope reportedly is addressed to Preserve Marriage Washington.
Monsignor Robert Siler, the diocesan chief of staff, said:
“To be clear, this is basically a contribution to a political campaign, and these are not considered tax-deductible church donations.”
Of course, not all Catholics support such a fundraising campaign:
“Dr. Kevin Walsh of Toppenish is uncomfortable with what he views as picking only a few issues from papal encyclicals about social justice and raising them to the level of national causes.
” ‘It’s an example of church leadership using the pulpit for what they see as a moral issue, but it’s isolated. It’s not part of a package to make life better for everybody,’ he said.
“Walsh added,’I think it’s misguided. We should be struggling toward inclusion instead of excluding people.’ “
The diocese has not set a fundraising goal for the collection. Perhaps that was done as a strategic move so that they don’t end up in the embarrassing position of falling way short of the goal–which would be proof of what polls are consistently showing: although Catholic bishops oppose marriage equality, Catholic people in the pews are overwhelmingly supportive of it.
–Francis DeBernardo, New Ways Ministry
That Todd Akin isn’t the freak-of-the-party Republicans are claiming he is:
Yesterday, a friend sent me the following:
“Today I saw this headline:
West Nile Outbreak Largest Ever, 41 dead
and it made me think of this:
Rare Cancer Seen In 41 Homosexuals
…and wondering about what makes a disease a crisis versus a judgment. The number of victims was the same.”
Indeed.
And to further the irony, the famous speech given by Mary Fisher to the Republican National Convention in 1992- 11 years after the rise of “gay cancer” was highlighted in a feature by the New York Times today:
TWENTY years ago this month, Mary Fisher took the stage of the Republican National Convention at the Houston Astrodome and delivered a 13-minute prime-time speech that was seen by many as a sharp rebuke of her party’s negligence in the face of the growing AIDS epidemic.
Mary Fisher in 1992 made what is considered one of the best American speeches of the 20th century.
Ms. Fisher, a mother of two young children who had worked in Gerald Ford’s White House, addressed the delegates as someone who was H.I.V. positive herself. “Tonight, I represent an AIDS community whose members have been reluctantly drafted from every segment of American society,” she said. “I am one with a black infant struggling with tubes in a Philadelphia hospital.” She added, “I am one with the lonely gay man sheltering a flickering candle from the cold wind of his family’s rejection.”
It was a speech that was both surprising and poignant. Few, including Ms. Fisher herself, expected that she would survive a disease that had already killed more than 150,000 Americans by the summer of 1992.
But Mary Fisher is still alive — and still taking issue with her political party.
As she should. The discrimination and loathing that prevented government intervention is still with us. It’s made itself known in issues of women’s health, gender inequity, transgender rights and the House defense of DOMA.
However, West Nile will probably not become the epidemic that AIDS did. Because mosquitos don’t discriminate.
They bite everyone.
Rep Rehberg wants to deny over 1400 students and volunteers who want to give service to America the chance to make Montana a better place. He doesn’t think it works.
Well, I know the Congressman has been baffled by facts before, but here are a few (with pictures) to help clear things up.
Look what Americorps has done in Montana:
(click the pic for a way to make a difference )
A new community resource center aimed at meeting the needs of the Flathead Valley’s gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) population opened in June downtown at 17 Second St. E., Ste. 205.
The center is a labor of love for the Flathead Valley Gay Alliance, Inc. (FVGA), a newly reorganized social group that has met for 20-plus years in the area but recently applied for its 501c3 nonprofit status. They are open 1 p.m. – 5 p.m. weekdays, with many evening events.
“FVGA’s opening of the community resource center has given the local GLBT residents and area visitors a volunteer-staffed one-stop location for information and referral services, as well a meeting location and activities center for organizations that serve the Flathead Valley community,” says Roger Blair, Secretary of the FVGA Board.
Game nights, family movies, and discussion groups for men, women, and transgender people, including support and information services for health needs, are among the center’s offerings. Events are posted at the center’s website and Facebook page.
Founded in 2011, Flathead Valley Gay Alliance, Inc. provides information, resources, and social support to the GLBT community, friends, and family in a safe, confidential, and inclusive environment respectful of all, serving Northwestern Montana. To learn more, visit www.flatheadvalleygayalliance.org or e-mail fvga.info@gmail.com.
(click for more info)
For Disney fans. Must be seen. Srsly.
From The Montana Cowgirl:
Kochs (Photo credit: Truthout.org)
“I just learned this a few days ago, but Koch industries is listed as one Max Baucus’s largest donors. The company is listed as having contributed$40,000 to Baucus since 2005. That puts him in an exclusive club: with Paul Ryan, Michelle Bachmann, Mitch McConnell, John Boehner, and Eric Cantor–who have all taken more than $30,000 from the Kochs during the last four campaign cycles.
And it’s eight times what the Koch’s have given to Denny Rehberg, according to FEC reports.
This is a highly disturbing state of affairs and Baucus should promptly return the money.”
All I can say is this (and you may quote me): “Ick.”
From Eternity To Here 