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Video & more after the jump.
In short: McMackin described Notre Dame’s chant before last year’s Hawaii Bowl as a “faggot dance”:
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Per OnTop:
President Barack Obama’s list of 16 recipients to the Presidential Medal of Freedom includes 2 gay icons, the Associated Press reported.Harvey Milk and Billy [sic] Jean King will be among the honored at a White House ceremony on August 12. …
And OnTop notes the first thing that came to my mind when I saw Milk’s name: Arnold Schwarzenegger’s veto of Harvey Milk Day, because…
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No, darlings, not Anna Duke, as in Patty Duke (who, by the way, is appearing live, along with Bruce Vilanch, at the Castro screening of Valley of the Dolls July 20th), but Annie Duke, a seriously-hot redhead who is, apparently, A Very Big Name Indeed in the world of live, sit-down poker (as opposed to the sit-down but not-so-live video poker yours truly enjoys, very, very much, even while plonked down just yards from the usually awful local country-western cover bands on the downstairs stage at the dearly-departed Fitz at 3:00 a.m., trying to decide whether or not to keep the high pair or go for the outside royal, while a very nice, but unbearably longwinded unemployed trucker on disability tells yours truly, a saintly-polite, empathetic smile and nod ever in place, his long, long life story).
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Before we get to the issue at hand:
There is no question tennis legend Martina Navratilova, in the midst of yet another ugly and expensive divorce, is
On the surface, that’s despicable. However, if she succeeds, the result promises to be a very good thing indeed for the rest of us, and for The Cause.
Allow me to explain — without for one second excusing, defending, or even doubting that Martina’s shameful actions are motivated solely by money.
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I can’t nail down this Proposition H8 donor — but there’s only one James Loney I know of in Southern California who would have a very good reason indeed for trying to hide his H8 donation from the general public:
PROTECTMARRIAGE.COM (ANTI-GAY)
MR. JAMES LONEY
Occupation: “DECLINED”
Employer: “DECLINED”
TUSTIN CA 92780-6731
10/20/08 - $500.00 - 1396394-INC120373 - Filed: 01/30/09
Anyone know for sure if this is the James Loney? Anyone know for sure it isn’t?
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I don’t know what her politics were about, and I don’t particularly care. There are so many things about her we can all admire, I don’t know where to begin (although
Andrea Mead Lawrence dies at 76;
Olympic Alpine skier became environmentalistShe made the U.S. Olympic team at 14, won two gold medals at 19 and competed in her third Games just four months after having her third child. Then she became an advocate for the Eastern Sierra. …
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The dearth of sports news on the Newswire tells you: We’re not sports fans. (As I always say, I don’t understand worshipping 22 millionaires running around in the mud and slapping one another on the ass.) So when we recognize the name of a sports figure, you know it’s not because s/he ever did anything on the field to impress us; it’s usually because s/he is either queer, or a queer-hater.
Which brings us to Tony Dungy:
Tony Dungy, Despite What You May Be Told,
Is Not PerfectTony Dungy, by all accounts, is a good guy. People who’ve met or know him constantly stress his character, his amicable personality, his overall likability. In the cutthroat NFL coaching world, where reputations are there to be broken down by those looking to climb the ladder, nobody has a bad thing to say about him. Also, he’s a great football coach.
But while you’re being inundated with retrospectives, glowing portrayals, and an avalanche of goodwill now that Dungy has retired from coaching; while it’s easy to let the media make you believe that Dungy is, just like deity he worships, infallible…
“I’m sure I would talk to him about my views on it, what the Bible says about it,” he said at the time regarding the possibility of having a gay player on the Colts.
We all know how Dungy feels about his faith. And we all, obviously, know how Dungy feels about homosexuality; if the above quote weren’t enough, he’s also publically supported the Indiana Family Institute, which has sought to make gay marriage illegal in Indiana.
And that’s just the problem: we shouldn’t know these things.
Having faith, no matter what that faith is in, is an asset in my opinion. But it’s rude to impress your faith on others unsolicited, and it’s downright unprofessional and borderline disgusting when it’s in the context of “saving” an employee because you disagree with a lifestyle that has absolutely nothing to do with said employee’s ability to do his job. … It’s not Dungy’s place to impose his values on an employee. Nor is it wise to publicly condemn a demographic of the business which has made Dungy millions.
It’s beyond me why Dungy has largely gotten a pass on this matter…
The author ends by echoing the first thought I had when I heard Dungy’s name come up on the news today:
Being a role model is obviously important to Dungy, and I respect that. But there’s a vast difference between being a role model and being a missionary. Being a role model is about inspiring young people to do great things with their lives. Being a missionary is about spreading the “good” word and converting the masses to your way of thinking. While Dungy may be a great guy, it’s obvious which one of the two he leans closer towards. …
More at the link.
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A fascinating little history lesson — and one both the Mormon church and equal-rights advocates would do well to heed — by Dave Zirin, author of A People’s History of Sports in the United States: From Bull-Baiting to Barry Bonds:
Latter Day Protest? Proposition 8 and Sports As supporters of Gay Marriage have discovered, it’s never easy to be on the Mormon Church’s enemies list. The Church of Latter Day Saints backed the anti-Gay Marriage Proposition 8 in California with out-of-state funds, and gave the right a heartbreaking victory this past election cycle. But the Mormon Church has been challenged in the past. Just ask Bob Beamon.
If you know Beamon’s name it’s almost certainly because he won the long jump gold medal in legendary fashion at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics. …
But you may not know that Beamon almost never made it to Mexico City. Along with eight other teammates, Beamon had his track and field scholarship revoked from the University of Texas at El Paso, the previous year. They had refused to compete against Brigham Young University. Beamon and his teammates were protesting the racist practices of the Mormon Church, and their coach at UTEP, Wayne Vanderburge, made them pay the ultimate price.
They weren’t alone. …
On June 6th, 1978, as teams were refusing road trips to Utah with greater frequency, and the IRS started to make noises about revoking the church’s holy tax-free status, a new revelation came to the Book of Mormon.
Whether a cynical ploy to avoid the taxman or a coincidence touched by God, the results were the same: Black people were now human in the eyes of the Church. African Americans were no longer, as Brigham Young himself once put it, “uncouth, uncomely, disagreeable, and low in their habits, wild, and seemingly deprived of nearly all the blessings of the intelligence that is generally bestowed upon mankind.” The IRS was assuaged, the athletic contests continued, and the church entered a period of remarkable growth. …
Hit the link for the rest — it’s a quite satisfying read.
When you’re done, ask yourself if the anti-gay hysterics screaming about Prop 8 boycotts would hurl the same insults (and downright lies) at Beamon and all the other athletes who stood up against the Mormon church for its racism.
And when the Mormons, or their fair-weather defenders, start screaming that the “real” goal of the marriage equality movement is to restrict religious freedom, or at least strip churches of their tax-exempt status, or simply destroy religion altogether (all common arguments from the reality-impaired world of the religiously insane), tell them the story of Bob Beamon — and remind them that the Mormon church never lost its “right” to discriminate against blacks, or continue preaching any hateful thing it wanted (such as Brigham Young’s declaration that blacks were “uncouth, uncomely, disagreeable, and low in their habits, wild, and seemingly deprived of nearly all the blessings of the intelligence that is generally bestowed upon mankind”).
No, the church never lost any right to practice its religious bigotry as it saw fit — it only lost the privilege of practicing the kind of discrimination that is unequivocally illegal in the public sector, on the taxpayer’s dime.
And that’s when Mormon grand poobah Spencer W. Kimball suddenly experienced the “revelation” that blacks were equal to the white man. (Was Brigham Young wrong? Or did God suddenly change His mind about the race He purposely created as “inferior”? These are questions no Mormon can answer directly, although many will expend extraordinary efforts to talk around the issue in the apparent hope that the old saying is true: “If you can’t dazzle ‘em with brilliance, baffle ‘em with bullshit.”)
Funny how that works: The threat of losing something the church wants very, very badly — such as statehood — inevitably leads to a new “revelation” that changes the whole game, and leaves the faithful scrambling to come up with excuses for their god’s unpredictable caprice.
Below is a story from one of my favorite books, Zen Flesh Zen Bones: A Collection of Zen and Pre-Zen Writings.
Zen Flesh Zen Bones was recommended to me when I was 19 years old, by one of those people who appear in your life briefly, and then vanish without a trace — and leave you wondering why you invested any energy at all into a relationship that was not only obviously destined to be transient, but was ultimately unsatisfactory.
Well, that’s how I saw it when I was 19. And when I was 19, and thought I knew everything, I cracked open the slim volume and began to read. And I didn’t understand any of it. “The sound of one hand clapping”? What kind of idiocy was that? And why don’t any of the stories in the book have a point — or, in lieu of a point, so much as an ending?
Nearly twenty years would pass before I plucked Zen Flesh Zen Bones out of its spot amidst the other several thousand books on my shelves and read it again. This time, I got it. All of it. The stories moved me — to laughter, to tears, to periods of brooding introspection from which I emerged clearer and calmer.
Was I suddenly enlightened? No. More open to enlightenment, certainly, but I will never expect to be enlightened. That defeats the whole purpose of enlightenment, you see — striving for enlightenment, or even expecting it. What is is, you know, and when you exist in complete harmony with what is, no matter what is, then you’re there.
Me, I’m way too flawed to even dream of achieving that state of consciousness (see? enlightenment is not something to be “achieved”), but I get the concept, completely. Just like I finally “got” Zen Flesh Zen Bones.
So, here is my favorite story from Zen Flesh Zen Bones — and anyone who has to ask why I’m including it here… well, if you have to ask, then you probably won’t care much for the story, either (although I can almost guarantee you will remember it for the rest of your life). If it doesn’t make sense, come on back in twenty years or so, and it will:
Three Days More Suiwo, the disciple of Hakuin, was a good teacher. During one summer seclusion period, a pupil came to him frim a southern island of Japan.
Suiwo gave him the problem: “Hear the sound of one hand.”
The pupil remained three years but could not pass this test. One night he came in tears to Suiwo. “I must return south in shame and embarrassment,” he said, “for I cannot solve my problem.”
“Wait one more week and meditate constantly,” advised Suiwo. Still, no enlightenment came to the pupil. “Try for another week,” said Suiwo. The pupil obeyed, but in vain.
“Still another week.” Yet this was of no avail. In despair the student begged to be released, but Suiwo requested another meditation of five days. They were without result. Then he said: “Meditate for three days longer, then if you fail to attain enlightenment, you had better kill yourself.”
On the second day the pupil was enlightened.
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Cherry Grrl’s picks — including such lesser-known backers of Prop Hate such as North American Health Care, Inc. (”before we decide where to put our gay loved ones in need of a nursing home or long-term care facility, let’s be sure it’s not one owned by North American Health Care Inc.”), Pacific Shores Masonry of Corona (”Need some stone work done? Don’t use these guys – they donated $125,000 to Yes on 8″), Grossmont Union High School District (”effectively teaching students throughout their school system all about hate”), and the only known “celebrity” (besides Chuck Norris, who has always been a jerk and a joke) who hates gays to the tune of $15,000: MLB free agent Jeff Kent:
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SACRAMENTO — November 1 — Magic Johnson, enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame after winning five NBA championships as a Los Angeles Laker, and three Most Valuable Player awards, has lent his voice to the chorus of those calling Proposition 8 wrong and unfair.
Johnson’s efforts to defeat Prop 8 occurred as the family of Steve Young announced their opposition. Barbara Young made it clear last night that they will vote NO on 8. Steve Young, the legendary former quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers was MVP of Super Bowl XXIX, MVP of the NFL in 1992 and 1994, and is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
The Young family released the following statement last night: “We believe ALL families matter and we do not believe in discrimination, therefore, our family will vote against Prop 8.”
And in a recorded telephone call to California voters, Johnson says:
“This is Magic Johnson calling to ask you to join me and Barack Obama in opposing Proposition 8.
“Prop 8 singles out one group of Californians to be treated differently — including members of our family, our friends, and our coworkers.
“That is not what California is about. So this Tuesday, vote no on Proposition 8. It is unfair and wrong. Thanks.”
The telephone message from Magic Johnson will reach millions of California voters in the final days, urging voters to reject this discriminatory and unfair initiative.
For more information on NO on Prop 8 please visit www.NoOnProp8.com.
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If only all Mormons believed “all families matter, and we do not believe in discrimination”…!
Video after the jump.
Signs point to Steve Young’s politics … Former 49ers quarterback Steve Young and his wife, Barbara, have posted yard signs in front of their Palo Alto home urging citizens to vote no on the ballot measure that would ban same-sex marriage in California. Barbara Young also has donated nearly $50,000 to defeat the measure. …
A few Halloween-themed campaign signs were placed in front of the Youngs’ home. Steve Young declined to comment about the signs in the yard, KPIX-TV reported on its Web site.
But Barbara Young sent a statement Friday through the gay-rights group Equality California, saying: “We believe all families matter, and we do not believe in discrimination, therefore, our family will vote against Prop. 8.”
Young, a Brigham Young University graduate, is the great-great-great grandson of Brigham Young, the second president of the Mormon church. …
Chino just uploaded news coverage to YouTube last night:
My Favorite Mormons: Steve & Barb Young Vote No on 8 You gotta check out the inscriptions on the gravestones that Barb planted in their yard for Halloween:
RIP inequality, Nov. 4
RIP
May discrimination
be a thing of the past,
May hate and fear
be gone at last
RIP prop 8!Those who forget
the past
are condemned
to repeat it.No to 8!!!
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It seems eight-gold-medal winner Michael Phelps is estranged from his dad. That’s too bad — but here’s what’s really too bad: Mike’s father is named Fred. Fred Phelps.
You know, no matter how proud I might be of my family, if my dearly departed dad had been named, say, George Bush, I’d not only change my own name, but get a posthumous name change for my old man, too.
Speaking of the MSM’s obsession with delving into the personal lives of Olympic stars, why is NBC ignoring Aussie diver Matthew Mitcham’s sexual orientation? Observes Outsports:
The only openly gay male athlete in Beijing pulled off one of the great upsets at the Olympics in a spectacular fashion. If he had had cancer, or if his parents had been killed in a car crash when he was 2, or if he had just proposed to his girlfriend, they would have mentioned it. But they never showed him hugging his boyfriend, never mentioned it. They referred to “personal problems,” but I’m afraid they decided Matthew’s sexuality was off limits. A real shame.
More at the link.
Further reading:
NBC defends not saying Mitcham is gay
Outsports, August 25, 2008
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