Quote Of The Day- Maureen Dowd

From her column on the lackluster Republican Candidates:

In an interview with ABC News’s George Stephanopoulos, Santorum offended the Catholics he’s courting by saying that the J.F.K. speech ratifying the separation of church and state made him want “to throw up” because Kennedy had thrown “his faith under the bus.”

“I don’t believe in an America where the separation of church and state are absolute,” Sanctorum said.

If he is willing to cross that line, the only two possibilities are that he doesn’t understand the nature of the United States or that he wants to do damage to the United States. Neither is acceptable.

Santorum Believes That State Should Not Tell Churches What To Believe (lezgetreal.com)
Rick Santorum Says Separation of Church and State Makes Him Want to Vomit: VIDEO (towleroad.com)

A Closer Look At Pro-Gay Republicans In An Anti-Gay Party

Feb29 by D Gregory Smith

Video on msnbc.com: Frank Rich, writer-at-large for New York Magazine, talks with Rachel Maddow about the wild disconnect between Republican power players (both politicians and donors) who support gay rights and the Republican presidential field who are competing to pander to the most extreme right wing of the party.

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A closer look at pro-gay Republicans in an anti…, posted with vodpod

Rachel Maddow Talks to Frank Rich About the Silent Hypocrisy of Pro-Gay Republican Power Players: VIDEO (towleroad.com)
No Talking Points: Gay Skeletons In The Conservative Closet (dgsma.wordpress.com)

Infographic: Climate Change Hoax

Feb28 by D Gregory Smith

Click for story

Catholic Nuns File Amicus Brief Supporting Affordable Care Act

Feb28 by D Gregory Smith

Some sisters have come out in favor of The Affordable Care Act, saying

(We) believe that a civilized society must ensure the provision of basic healthcare to its citizens regardless of their ability to pay for it. (We) further believe it is a moral imperative that all levels of government institute programs that ensure the poor receive such care. (We) believe Medicaid expansion under the Act is critical to the communities (we) serve.

Predictably, some “Catholic” websites are leading with headlines like “Liberal Nuns Support Obamacare”, and “Liberal Activist Nuns Want Socialized Medicine”.

Sigh. What’s wrong with these people? What do they think Jesus would charge for healthcare? And they’re theologically out of step with their church.

From ThinkProgress:

As further proof that conservative efforts to paint President Obama as the enemy of religion are a red herring, nearly two dozen leading Catholic nuns filed a brief in the Supreme Court last week supporting the president’s signature legislative accomplishment. The Catholic sisters who joined the brief include the leaders of many prominent religious orders providing health care and other services to the needy.

These nuns have unique stature to explain why their support for the Affordable Care Act flows from their faith, given that so many of them have devoted their lives to providing care to those most in need. Nevertheless, their views are hardly unique within their church’s hierarchy. Pope Benedict XVI called health care an “inalienable right,” and added that it is the “moral responsibility of nations to guarantee access to health care for all of their citizens.”

Duh. “Is the Pope Catholic?” may no longer be a rhetorical question- especially for catholic fanatics.

Oh- and Jesus healed for free….

Rick Santorum Tries To Explain Why He Does Not Agree With The Catholic Church On Health Care Reform (thinkprogress.org)
Often Overlooked, Sisters on The Forefront Of Equality (dgsmith.org)
The Nail On The Head (dgsmith.org)
Catholics defend The President (From Eternity To Here)

Montana Gay-Friendly Health and Mental Health Providers

Feb27 by D Gregory Smith

Looking for a doctor who isn’t freaked out by your sexuality? Or a dentist that will work with you if you have HIV? Or a therapist that has experience with gay couple’s therapy?

The Montana Gay Men’s Task Force has a list of gay-friendly healthcare providers for the State of Montana which they have compiled through a referral and questionnaire network. The providers listed have also given their assent to be on the list.

Check it out here.

Oh, and if you have a fabulous healthcare professional who isn’t listed- you can help them get on the list here.

Advocates: More gay-friendly senior housing needed (mysanantonio.com)
Red Lodge Ski Event to Raise Money for Scholarship (dgsma.wordpress.com)

Red Lodge Ski Event to Raise Money for Scholarship

Feb27 by D Gregory Smith

Billings Group Hopes to Establish LGBTQ Scholarship for Montana

RED LODGE, MT — The Billings-based group TAP 365 will bring Slide 4 Pride to the Beartooth Recreational Nordic Center on Saturday, March 17, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. This family-friendly cross-country ski event aims to raise money to start a scholarship fund for a lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or straight-allied Montana student, and will also accept donations for the Beartooth Recreational Trails Association.

“Gay students are more likely to lose family support and even face homelessness after they come out,” explained Suzie Eades, a volunteer with TAP 365 and Pride Foundation who is planning the ski event after two successful 4 Pride fundraisers earlier this year in Billings. “It’s important that our community step up and show these students that we believe in them and know they can succeed in college.”

TAP 365 is a new nonprofit aimed at raising awareness about LGBTQ issues east of the Continental Divide and to build bridges with heterosexual allies. TAP 365 hopes the 4 Pride events will raise enough money to endow a scholarship fund, which will be managed by Pride Foundation and perpetually support a Montana LGBTQ student who is pursuing a degree or post-secondary certification in Montana.

“We are thrilled to partner once again with TAP 365 and the 4 Pride Event Series,” said Caitlin Copple, Montana’s Regional Development Organizer for Pride Foundation. “It’s great to see the energy and enthusiasm coming out of the Billings community for LGBTQ equality, thanks to the work of these volunteers.”

Slide 4 Pride is a free event featuring beginning cross-country ski instruction, food, and music under a heated tent. All donations are tax deductible, and sponsorships from the Pride Foundation, Jason Webinger of Farmers Insurance in Billings and Café Regis of Red Lodge helped underwrite event costs.

Pride Foundation provides grants and scholarships to strengthen the LGBTQ equality movement across the Northwest states of Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Montana. It is the single largest provider of scholarships for LGBTQ students in the nation, and will give away $380,000 in community scholarships this year. To learn more, visit www.pridefoundation.org or email Caitlin@pridefoundation.org or call 406.546.7017.

Pride Foundation: Big Plans for Montana (dgsma.wordpress.com)
Montana’s Last Best Chance (dgsma.wordpress.com)
Couple’s Love Inspires A More Equal Montana (dgsma.wordpress.com)
Harrisburg University awarded $1 million scholarship endowment (pennlive.com)

“Kill every last gay person”‏

Feb26 by D Gregory Smith

Citibank and Barclays could save the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in Uganda.

The Ugandan legislature could vote any day on a so-called “Kill the Gays” bill that could result in legalizing the death penalty for any LGBT person in the country. But Citibank and Barclays together have hundreds of millions of dollars invested in Uganda and wield significant influence in the country, just as banking lobbyists wield influence with Congress in the US. If Citibank and Barclays speak out against the “Kill the Gays” bill, Ugandan legislators will take notice in a hurry.

Collin Burton is a Citibank customer — he’s also gay. Collin started a petition on Change.org asking Citibank and Barclays to speak out against the “Kill the Gays” bill. Click here to sign Collin’s petition right now.

Citibank and Barclays are both big supporters of LGBT rights for their own employees, yet they invest money with a government that is threatening to execute LGBT people. “I expect Citibank and Barclays to live up to the values of equality and fairness, not just list them on their websites,” Collin says.

If Citibank and Barclays speak out against the “Kill the Gays” bill, Ugandan legislators will see that they are risking the business relationships that keep their government afloat.

Click here to sign Collin’s petition asking Citibank and Barclays to issue strong statements condemning Uganda’s “Kill the Gays” bill. The bill could come up for a vote any day, so swift action is essential.

Gay Rights Petition: Citibank and Barclays: Condemn Uganda’s ‘Kill the Gays’ Bill (secularnewsdaily.com)
Kill The Gays Bahati Says Uganda Will Not be Blackmailed by the West (oblogdeeoblogda.wordpress.com)
Archbishop of York challenges Uganda’s Anti-Gay Bill (kiwianglo.wordpress.com)
Ugandan Government Distances Itself from ‘Kill the Gays’ Bill (towleroad.com)

Dutch Outraged Over Santorum’s Euthanasia Claim

Feb26 by D Gregory Smith

More Santorum leaking.

Check this out. From Buzzfeed:

Image via Wikipedia

Rick Santorum’s invocation of a nightmare of mass murder of the elderly in the Netherlands has provoked a storm of incredulity and criticism in the Western European country, where the local press say his statistics are wildly inflated.

“Rick Santorum Thinks He Knows the Netherlands: Murder of the Elderly on a Grand Scale” is Saturday’s headline in the daily newspaper NRC Handelsblad.

“Rick Santorum is an arch conservative. The most conservative of all candidates in the Republican primaries. He loathes abortion and euthanasia. So now he loathes the Netherlands. Because in the Netherlands we kill the elderly like there’s no tomorrow,” reads the story, according to a translation provided by BuzzFeed’s Low Country correspondent, and author of a Dutch blog on American politics, Bertine Moenaff. The story quotes Santorum, before concluding: “This man is really imaginative. It would be a laughing matter, if he weren’t in the race for the Republican nomination to take on Barack Obama in the race for the presidency of the most powerful country in the world.”

Santorum said in an interview with social conservative leader James Dobson earlier this month that euthanasia makes up “ten percent of all deaths, and half of those people are euthanized involuntarily, because they are old or sick. And so elderly people in the Netherlands don’t go into a hospital. They go to other country.”

The Dutch public broadcaster Radio 1 described Santorum’s remark as “fact-free politics,” and the comments have gotten wide play, leading this evening’s broadcast of the country’s popular current-event’s show De Wereld Draait Door and drawing reports all over the national media.

The Dutch sources estimate that legal euthanasia is the cause of what the Christian paper Nederlands Dagblad put at 3.2% fo deaths at the most liberal estimate, and others put around 2%. Public statistics, which have been reported since the practice was legalized in 2002, cite 3,136 reports of euthanasia out of a total of 136,000 in the Netherlands in 2011, a bit more than 2%.

The Dutch were also flummoxed by Santorum’s claim that Dutch elderly wear “Don’t Euthanize Me” bracelets.

Other reports label Santorum a “crazy extreme Catholic” with “a surreal view of the Netherlands.”

Santorum’s Not The Perfect Catholic He Claims To Be (DgSmith.org)
Santorum: Who Will Protect You From Crazed Euthanizing Dutch Doctors? (jonathanturley.org)
Dutch TV Anchor To Rachel Maddow: The Dutch Are Furious At Santorum Over Euthanasia Claim (mediaite.com)

Tester Meets with Constituents, Rehberg Continues Invisibility Plan

Feb25 by D Gregory Smith

From The Montana Democrats:

While multimillionaire Congressman Dennis Rehberg continues to hide from the public (see ‘Related Articles’ below), Jon Tester hosted his 10th public small business workshop, following months of meetings with Montanans across the state.

Denny Rehberg - Caricature (Photo credit: DonkeyHotey)

As for Congressman Rehberg? He cancelled his latest scheduled appearance–at a Republican Party fundraiser he was supposed to headline Sunday in Havre. And Congressman Rehberg has held virtually no public meetings with Montanans since November.

“After 35 years in politics, Congressman Rehberg no longer thinks he’s accountable to Montana,” said Ted Dick, executive director of the Montana Democratic Party. “Congressman Rehberg gave himself five pay raises in Congress, but he votes to cut funding for our public schools, cut Pell grants, and cut health care for our veterans. His 35-year career in politics is marked by irresponsible decisions like tax breaks for fellow millionaires and corporations that ship jobs overseas—at the expense of Montana families, education, Medicare and Social Security.”

Congressman Rehberg has avoided accountability for the last year, hiding the donations he takes from lobbyists, refusing to meet with Montanans, and giving his full endorsement to the Citizens United ruling that allows big corporations to spend unlimited money on dishonest political attack ads. Here’s more:

Hiding Campaign Cash from Lobbyists: An investigation by the Associated Press found Congressman Rehberg refused to disclose the identities of 189 lobbyists on his financial disclosure reports. Rehberg hid more than $20,000 he took from Washington lobbyists.

Dodging Public Meetings with Constituents: Congressman Rehberg went 6 months without holding a public townhall meeting, and when he finally scheduled one, he watched a Sheriff removed someone from the meeting.

Siding with Anonymous Corporate Cash in Elections: Following his endorsement by Citizens United, Congressman Rehberg gave his full endorsement to the secretive organization’s Supreme Court Ruling, which allows big corporations to spend unlimited to buy elections.

“Where Are You?” (dgsma.wordpress.com)

Items From New Ways Ministry

Feb24 by D Gregory Smith

New Ways Ministry Blog offers some items of interest to LGBT-inclusive Christians:

1) Sister Maureen Fiedler, who blogs for the National Catholic Reporter, comments on the passage of the Maryland marriage equality bill by suggesting that “Catholic bishops should read the writing on the wall for same-sex marriage.”

2) In a HuffingtonPost.com essay, Marianne Duddy-Burke, Executive Director of DignityUSA, observes that “Same-Sex Marriage IS Dangerous — to Church Workers .” She is commenting on the recent firing of a Catholic parish’s music director, whichBondings 2.0 reported on here.

3) North Carolina’s two Catholic bishops are among the supporters of a proposed state constitutional amendment to define marriage heterosexually, according to “Both sides gear up in N.C. gay marriage fight,” which appeared on The Washington Post website.

4) Maryland’s Martin O’Malley and New Jersey’s Chris Christie, two Catholic governors who have opposing views about marriage equality for lesbian and gay couples, will square off on TV’s “Face the Nation,” Sunday, February 26, 2012, on CBS. While the topic for their segment is the 2012 presidential race, since both governors have been so visible about marriage equality, it will likely come up as a topic of discussion. For more details, check out The Washington Post’s article “O’Malley, adversary Chris Christie booked on ‘Face the Nation.’ “

–Francis DeBernardo, New Ways Ministry