Playing “Chicken” In Billings

Sep13 by D Gregory Smith

Jessica Mayrer wrote an article in today’s Missoula Independent about last week’s chicken stand-off in Billings. Money quote:‎

“We have got to ratchet back emotion,” Laszloffy says.

Montana Human Rights Network gay rights activist Jamee Greer agrees that violence is never appropriate. However, he finds it ironic that Laszloffy, a man who has consistently branded gays as perverts, sinners and criminals, now wants to tone down the rhetoric. “He’s made his living off of demonizing, scapegoating and harassing LGBT community members,” Greer says. (emphasis mine)

Laszloffy has repeatedly ratcheted up the rhetoric at strategic points along his career- including making veiled threats to one Jamee Greer. See a few of them here.

Now he wants to ratchet back emotion? After stoking the fires of emotion against fellow citizens for years? Now he’s nervous?

Asshat.

Oh, and if anybody knows the identity of the ‘local caterer’ that provided the hate nuggets- I’d love to know, too. And probably so would a lot of people. I’m surprised it wasn’t pursued in the article.

That kind of masked stuff is so 1870’s….

Greer Among Young NW LGBTQ Leaders Invited to The White House (dgsmith.org)
Chick-fil-A Brings Hate To Montana (For A Day) (bilerico.com)
Fairness For ALL Families- Full Details! (dgsmith.org)

Newest Ad For WA Marriage Equality

Sep12 by D Gregory Smith

Judy Martz: War On Women “Made Up”

Sep12 by D Gregory Smith

Just when you thought it was safe to, well, do anything- Judy Martz starts doing what she does best: muddying the waters of Montana politics. And guess who’s helping her?

From Montana Cowgirl Blog:

The GOP’s War on Women is “something fictitious and made up,” former Governor Judy Martz told a group of Havre Republicans yesterday. The Havre Daily News has the story on the latest ludicrous statement from the former Republican governor.

Martz is infamous for diminishing the dangers of domestic violence and belittling the women who are its victims. In a January, 2001 speech to an audience of 650 people in Butte, Martz said:

“My husband has never battered me, but then again, I’ve never given him a reason to.”

Besides Martz, the dream team that Republicans assembed to convince us that there is no War on Women included: TEA Party legislators Rep. Wendy Warburton and Kris Hansen of Havre, candidate for state school superintendent Sandy Welch, and Ronalee Skees. Ronalee is the wife of TEA Party poster boy Rep. Derek Skees, who is running for state auditor.

I can’t think of a worse group of women to make the claim that women’s rights aren’t under attack. These GOPers exemplify the efforts to restrict women’s rights. Each has either introduced anti-women legislation or championed the War on Women through work with right-wing causes.

Definitely do not miss reading this entire article. The Martz quotes alone are mind-bogglingly stupid. There’s even a reference to something Martz calls “meanness ears.”

But Martz’s loony, oddly-worded statements are only the beginning. Superintendent of Public Instruction candidate Sandy Welch, who is a transplant from California, told the Havre Republicans of her belief that there is no glass ceiling. Rather, says Welch, women just “weren’t going into positions that would advance them to leadership” by choice. Even Welch’s idol Sarah Palin talked about the importance of breaking the glass ceiling. Perhaps Welch doesn’t read the paper.

And let’s not forget Wendy Warburton’s explanation for the lack of GOP women candidates. Warburton said a couple of years back, “the biggest reason that more women who are Republicans don’t get into politics is because we are the pro-family party” and are home raising kids like the women of the pro-family party should be.

Read the whole article here.

Fox out-raises Bucy in latest period in AG race (billingsgazette.com)
Reality Check: RNC Pulling Out All Stops To Keep Ron Paul’s Name Out Of Nomination (dailypaul.com)
Governors groups to step up activities (billingsgazette.com)

Bozeman Gay/Bi Men’s Group Starts October 9

Sep11 by D Gregory Smith

We’re starting registration for our Fall Group! This is an amazing opportunity for personal and community growth, and we’d love to have any Gay/bi men from the Bozeman area call to talk with Laura about the particulars. Info below:

8-Week Gay/Bi Men’s Process Group

This group begins October 9, 2012
Tuesday evenings, 6:30-8 pm, in Bozeman, MT

Laura Bailey, MS LCPC, and
D Gregory Smith, MA, LMHCA, SMS
FacilitatorsThis 8-week group will explore
Dating ~ Relationships ~ Being Out ~ Mental Health
Community ~ Substance Use ~ Being Healthy
~Whatever You Need To Talk About!
~FREE, SAFE AND CONFIDENTIAL~PARTICIPATION IS LIMITED TO 8 MEMBERS.
If you would like to participate,
please contact Laura Bailey
406-539-8890

Greer Among Young NW LGBTQ Leaders Invited to The White House (dgsmith.org)
Help Inlaws & Outlaws Make It To Public TV! (dgsmith.org)

Participate! Study about LGB persons In the Workplace

Sep11 by D Gregory Smith

Received today:

My name is Paul Battle, I am a doctoral student at Oakland University working on my dissertation. I am currently compiling research on the work experiences of lesbian, gay and bisexual individuals. I hope that learning more about the work experiences of lesbian, gay and bisexual individuals will help improve work experiences and counseling education.

Participants should be over the age of 18 and currently be employed. To participate in the study please click on this link: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/Workplaceidentity

Study: Phrase ‘That’s So Gay’ Causes Lasting Harm (detroit.cbslocal.com)
Gay Chicago TV Tackles Bisexuality, Biphobia, & Bi Erasure (bilerico.com)
New CE Course on Culturally-Competent Healthcare with Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Individuals Added to HealthForumOnline’s Resource Library (prweb.com)

Who Is Denny Rehberg Really?

Sep10 by D Gregory Smith

Find out here.

Since Friday

Sep10 by D Gregory Smith

…I’ve been fighting a nasty bug. Much better now- thanks for your patience.

Help Inlaws & Outlaws Make It To Public TV!

Sep7 by D Gregory Smith

One of the best (and most elegant) pieces of human understanding and compassion is Drew Emery’s film Inlaws & Outlaws. I’ve written about the Montana screenings we had this past spring and the fantastic impact it had on the audiences that gathered in Helena and Bozeman. It’s an amazing piece of work.

Now, this little gem has a chance for public distribution- and a better tool for compassion and understanding of gay relationships (and all relationships in my opinion) would be hard to find.

If everybody in America saw this film, opposition to marriage equality would melt away like a bad mood in a room full of puppies.

From the True Stories Project:

We’ve got terrific news! The National Education Telecommunications Association (NETA) has offered to distribute a full presentation of Inlaws & Outlaws on public television! That means that, if we act quickly, the film will be made available to virtually all public television stations in the US this Fall – including over 350+ PBS affiliates!

This is huge!

Public TV reaches over 117 million viewers a week. If we slice off even a modest amount of that, we’ll bring Inlaws & Outlaws to a much, much larger audience than it’s ever had. Just as same-sex marriage has finally arrived centerstage with President Obama’s support, we have the opportunity to reach millions of households with true stories we know change hearts & minds.

But to meet our deadline, we need your help — and we need it now.
Donate

We need our first $50,000 in underwriting by the end of September. Your support will pay for vital post-production for broadcast, closed captioning, station relations and more. Can you help?

You betcha. I’m in. Anybody else?

Donate here.

Inlaws and Outlaws (davidhortonsblog.com)
Greer Among Young NW LGBTQ Leaders Invited to The White House (dgsmith.org)
Share Your Story- Montana LGBT Couples Needed (dgsmith.org)

Change 2.0

Sep7 by D Gregory Smith

Official photographic portrait of US President Barack Obama (born 4 August 1961; assumed office 20 January 2009) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I watched the President’s speech last night- and tweeted, along with thousands of others. Mostly about my philosophical agreement- and about the facts that seem so distorted by the other side.

I’m buying in to the man and his vision. Because it most agrees with my vision of social justice, economic fairness and the need to lay a firm foundation for continued growth in education, science and technology. Yeah, I’m still buying in to the hope, but I think that’s what the American Dream, the American Vision calls for. Plus, it goes along with every bit of my Christian faith perspective.

From today’s NYT:

Mr. Obama explicitly shifted from his 2008 appeal of hope and change to talk of tough choices and tough paths. “You didn’t elect me to tell you what you wanted to hear,” he said. “You elected me to tell you the truth. And the truth is, it will take more than a few years for us to solve challenges that have built up over decades.”

Mr. Obama went into this convention with an actual record at governing — not just the Republican posture of saying “No” to everything. He has far better ideas about how to create jobs, make Americans’ tax burdens more equitable and improve ordinary Americans’ economic prospects than the tired, failed trickle-down fantasies served up by Mitt Romney and the Republican Party.

He ended the war in Iraq, tried to rescue the Afghan war that Mr. Bush bungled, stepped up the offensive on terrorists far beyond Mr. Bush’s vision and rallied the world to ratchet up pressure on Iran.

He blunted the extreme message of the Tea Party by offering an alternative vision of government’s obligation to help the neediest, provide everyone with the basic structures of society and the economy and end unconscionable discrimination against gay and lesbian Americans. He has protected women’s constitutional rights and liberties, despite his own misgivings about abortion. He ordered the killing of Osama bin Laden — an act that was mentioned repeatedly on the last night of the convention.

Not that the killing of bin Laden would have been sanctioned by Jesus, but the protection of the people by the elected government is nothing to pooh-pooh.