The nerve of gay folks!

Daily News (Bowling Green, KY)

The nerve of gay folks 
Now, they are demanding the same rights of heterosexuals – the right to fail in marriage 

   JIM GAINES, The Daily News, jgaines@bgdailynews.com
Published: February 15, 2009

My fellow defenders of traditional American values, for years we have seen the slow disintegration of our standards, ground down by an “anything goes” society. Many of us have sat by and watched it happen, figuring that we could do little to stop it. But now I, for one, can remain silent no longer. It’s time to stand up to the wreckers of our moral codes.

A new assault has been raised upon one of our most cherished traditions. If this bastion falls, we could be facing the final collapse of American society.

During the past few years, thousands of gay couples have married or formed legally equivalent civil unions in places like Massachusetts, Vermont and California. But many of those newlyweds didn’t stay put; they fanned out to other states. Now, even as rallies to promote gay marriage are scheduled elsewhere, those legally committed couples are taking advantage of the continuing furor over marriage itself to stage an insidious attack on another fundamental institution.

They must be exposed and stopped, else our nation may lapse at last into chaos, as the televangelists have been predicting every two weeks for decades.

Hillary and Julie Goodridge were the lesbian couple behind the landmark case that persuaded the Massachusetts Supreme Court to declare gay marriage legal there in 2003. Now they are claiming, in a travesty of a straight break-up, that their relationships just “didn’t work out.” They’re filing for divorce.

My friends, this cannot be borne. Who do they think they are, wanting to end their relationships like other people?

We must stand up and say no! Join me in the fight to preserve the sanctity of heterosexual divorce.

We must never allow that solemn ritual, the deep and lasting feeling engendered by divorce, to be rendered meaningless by diluting it among gay couples.

There’s also the burden on others’ consciences to consider. Will divorce lawyers be forced to take fees against their will? We cannot allow jackbooted court bailiffs to force attorneys to hold out their hands for cash and checks from gay former couples. No lawyer should be made to violate his or her personal moral code by accepting money.

Sorry, Hillary and Julie, you’re stuck as you are. You should have thought of this before you entered so lightly into the multi-year legal fight to get your marriage accepted. For thousands of years, millions of mixed-sex couples have been trapped in loveless, abusive or enforced marriages – what makes you so special?

Of course, homosexual activists will argue that they’re not seeking a special right to divorce. They’re only asking for what straight couples have had for years.

I say that’s hogwash. Gays already have equal rights – they’re free to divorce people of the opposite sex, just like everyone else.

Yet now they claim to have the same disagreements over money, careers and child-raising that straight couples have. Nonsense, I say; don’t fall for that. Courts and state legislatures should decide that same-sex divorces are invalid.

My call has been anticipated. States as diverse as Texas and Rhode Island are courageously standing up to ban gay divorce. But not all are so sensible; it shouldn’t be surprising that Iowa, a notorious sink of iniquity, has allowed a gay marriage to dissolve. New Jersey is on that path, too.

I propose a federal Defense of Divorce Act to preempt this terrible dilemma. That would be only the first step, a public call to arms. The Defense of Divorce Act would be the precursor to a permanent and comprehensive solution, which will re-establish divorce as it has always been.

We must organize to promote a Constitutional amendment defining divorce as between one man, one woman, two or more lawyers, a judge, at least one mother-in-law, a pack of shiftless friends, a nosy neighbor and as many other people and possessions as they can drag into it.

Should we fail, the consequences will be dire. Our slide down the slippery slope will accelerate. Next thing you know, perverts will start wanting to divorce their siblings, children and pets.

Dare I look further? Unless this mockery of traditional divorce is stopped before it starts, I predict we’ll soon find another time-honored institution targeted by the homosexual agenda. Before you know it, they’ll demand an equal share of adultery, too.

It would be a tragedy indeed if extramarital affairs are rendered meaningless by letting gay couples cheat on their spouses. Not the least factor to consider is the long historic tradition of adultery. Think how much of European royal history – just to choose a commonplace example – would be affected. Homosexuals weren’t content with King Richard the Lionhearted and Frederick the Great; now they’re going after Henry VIII, and mark my words, they won’t be satisfied until they can claim a share of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine as well.

It all comes down to defending our values. Adultery is a special thing between a man and a woman, not to be shared indiscriminately.

If we let married homosexuals join heterosexuals in mutual infidelity, the result will be to ruin it for everyone. What value will cheating on a spouse have if you know that everyone’s doing it?

Copyright 2009 News Publishing LLC (Bowling Green, KY)

Don't divorce my dads! / Don't divorce my moms!

"Fidelity": Don't Divorce... from Courage Campaign on Vimeo.

"Fidelity": Watch the video and sign our letter to the state Supreme Court

Tell the Supreme Court to invalidate Prop 8, reject Ken Starr's case, and let loving, committed couples marry. DEADLINE: Valentine's Day.

Antony & the Johnsons Music Video featuring TransWomen

Antony & the Johnsons - "You are My Sister" with Boy George (back-up vocals)

Transgender recording artist, Antony, singing about hope...I found this very touching, emotional, & powerful...Bravo!!!

http://transworkplace.ning.com/video/antony-the-johnsons-music

And so did I!

Gene Robinson's Prayer Kicks off Inaugural Events

He gave a wonderful prayer, too bad so few people got to see it since I guess the Obama people would not let C-Span or HBO use it and the PA system was apparently were off until almost the end. I wonder why?

O God of our many understandings, we pray that you will…

Bless us with tears – for a world in which over a billion people exist on less than a dollar a day, where young women from many lands are beaten and raped for wanting an education, and thousands die daily from malnutrition, malaria, and AIDS.

Bless us with anger – at discrimination, at home and abroad, against refugees and immigrants, women, people of color, gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people.

Bless us with discomfort – at the easy, simplistic “answers” we’ve preferred to hear from our politicians, instead of the truth, about ourselves and the world, which we need to face if we are going to rise to the challenges of the future.

Bless us with patience – and the knowledge that none of what ails us will be “fixed” anytime soon, and the understanding that our new president is a human being, not a messiah.

Bless us with humility – open to understanding that our own needs must always be balanced with those of the world.

Bless us with freedom from mere tolerance – replacing it with a genuine respect and warm embrace of our differences, and an understanding that in our diversity, we are stronger.

Bless us with compassion and generosity – remembering that every religion’s God judges us by the way we care for the most vulnerable in the human community, whether across town or across the world.

And God, we give you thanks for your child Barack, as he assumes the office of President of the United States.

Give him wisdom beyond his years, and inspire him with Lincoln’s reconciling leadership style, President Kennedy’s ability to enlist our best efforts, and Dr. King’s dream of a nation for ALL the people.

Give him a quiet heart, for our Ship of State needs a steady, calm captain in these times.

Give him stirring words, for we will need to be inspired and motivated to make the personal and common sacrifices necessary to facing the challenges ahead.

Make him color-blind, reminding him of his own words that under his leadership, there will be neither red nor blue states, but the United States.

Help him remember his own oppression as a minority, drawing on that experience of discrimination, that he might seek to change the lives of those who are still its victims.

Give him the strength to find family time and privacy, and help him remember that even though he is president, a father only gets one shot at his daughters’ childhoods.

And please, God, keep him safe. We know we ask too much of our presidents, and we’re asking FAR too much of this one. We know the risk he and his wife are taking for all of us, and we implore you, O good and great God, to keep him safe. Hold him in the palm of your hand – that he might do the work we have called him to do, that he might find joy in this impossible calling, and that in the end, he might lead us as a nation to a place of integrity, prosperity and peace.
AMEN.

http://www.nhepiscopal.org/artman/publish/article_750.shtml

Keith Olbermann: Eight years in eight minutes

I don't get political in this way very often, but way to go Keith! Tell it like it is.

Shopping with Donna

I need to try this with my BlackBerry. Fun video Donna. You rock!

Kelly Clarkson - Because Of You

Clarkson originally wrote the lyrics and melody for "Because of You" when she was sixteen years old to cope with the emotional distress she was experiencing as a result of her parents' divorce. Clarkson has stated that although she has grown to overcome her pain, she can still relate to the pain of "Because of You." Wikipedia

God! I love this song. It makes me cry when ever I here it. 

Because Of You
By Kelly Clarkson, David Hodges and Ben Moody, 

I will not make the same mistakes that you did
I will not let myself cause my heart so much misery
I will not break the way you did
You fell so hard
I've learned the hard way, to never let it get that far

Because of you
I never stray too far from the sidewalk
Because of you
I learned to play on the safe side
So I don't get hurt
Because of you
I find it hard to trust
Not only me, but everyone around me
Because of you
I am afraid

I lose my way
And it's not too long before you point it out
I cannot cry
Because I know that's weakness in your eyes
I'm forced to fake, a smile, a laugh
Every day of my life
My heart can't possibly break
When it wasn't even whole to start with

Because of you
I never stray too far from the sidewalk
Because of you
I learned to play on the safe side
So I don't get hurt
Because of you
I find it hard to trust
Not only me, but everyone around me
Because of you
I am afraid

I watched you die
I heard you cry
Every night in your sleep
I was so young
You should have known better than to lean on me
You never thought of anyone else
You just saw your pain
And now I cry
In the middle of the night
For the same damn thing

Because of you
I never stray too far from the sidewalk
Because of you
I learned to play on the safe side
So I don't get hurt
Because of you
I tried my hardest just to forget everything
Because of you
I don't know how to let anyone else in
Because of you
I'm ashamed of my life because it's empty
Because of you
I am afraid

Because of you
Because of you

Fwd: Tranny Roadshow

Linda,

I was looking for websites that mention the trans voice  actress and comic Maddie Blaustein who recently passed away. One link pointed to the Tranny Roadshow site. It had a flickr page and I found you on both sites. So cool.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/trannyroadshow/3103250862/in/set-72157611106168903/

That must have been fun. How was it?

Hugs,

Vickie

Venus DeMars at Click + Drag 3.0

Venus DeMars at Click + Drag 3.0, originally uploaded by Jackie Factory NYC.

What a cool picture. I see the hormones have been working.

Kenneth Cole Features Trans Model In Ad

Kenneth Cole, a company that sells shoes, clothes, and fashion accessories is featuring Nina Poon (trans woman) as part of their "We All Walk in Different Shoes" ad campaign.

Previously Kenneth Cole has been bold in their advertising by featuring two lesbian moms and their daughter. They have been in the forefront of queer visibility within the context of their advertising.

Thank Kenneth Cole for being LGBT inclusive and call toll free at 1 800 KEN COLE (536-2653).

More about Nina Poon
Born in 1975 in Saigon, Vietnam, the oldest son of traditional Chinese parents, multi faceted media artist Nina Poon immigrated with her family in 1978 to Orlando, Florida at age four.

At age five she began showing prodigious talent with her childishly animated, Disney inspired drawings. It was during this initial stage of childhood that Nina first remembers identifying as female and experiencing viscerally, the knowledge that she was assigned to the wrong gender. Nina’s authentic, innate femininity made her the target of frequent abuse at the hands of her father. Alienated as a child by both her family and her peers, Nina immersed herself in her sketchbook and looked to fashion icons like Coco Chanel, with whom she shares a birthday, for inspiration.

On the basis of her abilities as an illustrator, Nina gained entry into Miami’s International Fine Arts College and at seventeen, left home to fulfill her dream of becoming a fashion designer.

While at college, Nina entered into the South Beach club scene and began performing with drag impresario Kevin Aviance. During the day she went on castings which led to an appearance on an international commercial for H&M with Marcus Schenkenberg and time on the runway for Hugo Boss’ 1994 Spring Collection. Nina soon became a regular on the Miami club circuit, where she befriended many local celebrities, among them Gianni Versace and Madonna, whose brother Christopher Ciccone cast and directed her in the Lonnie Gordon video IF YOU REALLY LOVE ME.

Nina moved to New York in the summer of 1994 and expanded her social network to include party promoters Richie Rich and Michael Alig. It was at this time that she caught the eye of Lady Miss Kier, who cast her in the Deee-Lite video PICNIC IN THE SUMMERTIME.

In New York, Nina found her true element. Despite having lived as a woman for the majority of her life, she completed her full surgical transition. She became a muse to designers Thuy Pham of United Bamboo and Jack McCollough of Proenza Schouler, both whom she briefly lived. While living with McCollough, Nina decided to try her hand at makeup, as a natural extension of her interest in fashion illustration. After assisting makeup artist Tracy Murphy during New York fashion week in 2000, Nina began honing her skills for the legendary Patricia Field at her signature Manhattan boutique, which led work on music videos, celebrity appearances and a position as key makeup artist for the HBO short film BETTY LA FLACA, winner of the 2006 Latin Film Festival Best Short Film.

Nina currently lives with her boyfriend Robert Jason, an Emmy award winning producer and filmmaker. Nina appears in Jason’s forthcoming docu-series on the lives of transsexual women in New York entitled BEING T. In addition to making appearances on the Fuse Network’s PANCE OFF DANCE OFF and Style Network’s SPLIT ENDS, Nina has been cast in her first motion picture speaking role in director Dito Montiel’s FIGHTING starring Terrence Howard and Channing Tatum. While there is an ongoing interest by casting agents in Nina, she also continues to enjoy her work as a makeup artist, fashion illustrator and has recently added photo retouching to her list of talents.