(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.”
(found on Facebook- if you know the source, leave me a comment)
Just a week ago, we reported that Most Holy Redeemer parish in the Castro neighborhood of San Francisco had banned an annual fundraising event because it featured drag queens.
The San Francisco Examiner is now reporting that the ban on drag queens has been lifted:
“Although a gay-friendly Catholic church in The City’s Castro neighborhood is receiving heat for allegedly banning drag queens from all future events on its premises, church officials are saying that while they opposed the idea at first, they quickly changed their minds.”
The event is a fundraiser for the Castro Country Club, a neighborhood 12-step recovery organization, which has used the church’s hall for several years.
The news report suggests that the new pastor received some education about drag queens before announcing the new decision:
“. . . “[C]hurch Business Manager Michael Poma acknowledged that Pastor Brian Costello did tell members of the Castro Country Club that they could not hold their event if drag queens were scheduled to attend, Poma said he quickly reversed his decision.
“ ‘Father Brian wasn’t educated about the importance of drag queens in the gay community,’ Poma said. ‘Once it was explained to him, he said they were welcome to attend as long as their behavior was church-appropriate.’ ”
Most Holy Redeemer says that there was a different reason for the ban:
“Church officials now say the new policy is not a prohibition against drag queens, but rather an end to all one-time events that do not originate at the church. Poma said the ban applies to all outside events — gay or straight — including weddings, parties or fundraisers. The church is still planning to hold its own events, including 12-step programs, suppers for the homeless and AIDS support groups.
“ ‘This is not a ban on drag queens or an insult to the gay community whatsoever,’ Poma said. ‘In the church hall there have been issues with weddings and other groups, so we decided to put an end to them altogether. We are part of the community here and to think that we’re banning drag queens is obnoxious and ridiculous.’ ”
Sister Jeannine Gramick
New Ways Ministry’s Sister Jeannine Gramick, co-founder, and Francis DeBernardo, executive director, will be speaking at two separate events to promote Catholic support for marriage equality.
If you’d like to understand what transgender people go through- well, you’re in luck. My friend Bobbie Zenker will be on YPR’s Home Ground tonight at 6:30, interviewed by Brian Kahn (one of the best interviewers around).
(click to see the book)
Bobbie’s story is inspirational on many levels, and for me represents the power of truth, exploration and acceptance. Her new book, TransMontana, is a must-read, creating understanding and humanity through the components of sexual/gender/spiritual identity. All people must- if they are interested in integrity- explore the truth of their experience and strive to live it honestly and authentically. Bobbie’s life is a dramatic example of that process.
Bobbie’s life is authentically her own, and, as I said before, an inspiration for all people who struggle to live an honest life. Tune in tonight, not only to hear Bobbie’s story, but maybe parts of your own.
So, what is my response to Mitt Romney picking a man who conveniently disregards his church’s teaching on universal healthcare and caring for the poor, doesn’t think women need protecting, doesn’t believe in hate crimes, supports banning of same-sex adoptions, wants to gut medicare and keep allowing corporations to buy elected offices in this country?
The White House makes the case:
(click to enlarge)
From The National Coalition Of STD Directors:
Today, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released updated guidelines for the treatment of the sexually transmitted disease gonorrhea, which is a major cause of pelvic inflammatory disease, ectopic pregnancy, and infertility and can facilitate HIV transmission.[i] CDC estimates there are more than 700,000 gonorrhea infections each year in the United States. The updated guidelines were published in CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
The change marks an end to CDC exclusively recommending oral antibiotic treatment as the first line of defense for gonorrhea, and now instead recommends that infections be treated with the injectable antibiotic ceftriaxone in combination with one of two other oral antibiotics, either doxycycline or azithromycin. This change in treatment has significant implications for clinical service delivery and infected patients alike, as the simple act of taking pills is replaced by an administered injection by a certified health professional.
“We applaud the CDC’s preemptive strike of changing recommended treatment and with the intention of extending the life of the last effective drug,” said William Smith, Executive Director of the National Coalition of STD Directors (NCSD). “However, the rising resistance of gonorrhea to our last line of defense against it must be a clarion call to policymakers and private industry alike to invest in the research and development pipeline for new antibiotics and more sophisticated diagnostics…and quickly. We desperately need additional options to meet the challenges of this infection,” continued Smith.
Last summer, the CDC sounded the alarm on gonorrhea’s rising resistance to antimicrobials. This report outlined that we are on the verge of a highly untreatable gonorrhea epidemic as gonorrhea has developed resistance to every class of antibiotics put up against it and there is no new drug in the pipeline. Documented increases in resistance throughout the U.S. are what has prompted the CDC to make the current recommended treatment change.
From Eternity To Here 