#MarriageMonday: There’s Still a Chance to Stand on the Right Side of History
While we didn’t hear from the Supreme Court today on Obergefell v. Hodges, the historic case that could bring nationwide marriage equality, there’s still a chance to stand on the right side of history.
HRC.org
Maggie Gallagher Thinks Gay Conversion Therapy Is Harmless Fun
Real-life Harry Potter villainess Maggie Gallagher took quill to papyrus scroll on June 22nd, penning a somewhat nonsensical screed in the National Review titled “If Race and Gender Are Social Constructs, Why Not Sexual Orientation?” (Isn’t that a Morrissey song?)
Attempting to throw Rachel Dolezal, Bruce Jenner, and the consumer-fraud case against JONAH (Jews Offering New Alternatives For Healing) into the same bubbling cauldron, The National Organization for Marriage founder writes:
“Apparently, you can change your racial identity, but if you do, you are lying. You can dress up as a woman on the cover of Vanity Fair, and everyone must believe you are in fact female. But when it comes to sexual orientation, even the attempt to change your identity or behavior must be viewed as an imposition against the laws of nature, if not nature’s God.”
Related: Maggie Gallagher Loves To Wallow In Her Defeat. And Blame Others For It.
As a smothering fog rolls in from the moors, Baggy Maggie continues: “[JONAH’s] weekend retreats incorporate some bizarre elements, but nothing stranger than the Esalen Institute and other hippie happenings in the 1970s did… it is the attempt to live a Torah-observant or Biblical life that is intolerable to the SPLC and must be shut down.”
We’ll remind you that JONAH’s “bizarre elements” — which you can read about here — include (but are not limited to) stripping off your clothes, beating effigies of your mother, being ridiculed in public with cries of “faggot” and “gay boy,” and violently grabbing two oranges that are meant to symbolize your testicles.
Sorry, but that’s not exactly assuming the lotus position and singing Kumbaya.
Derek de Koff
President Of Racist Hate Group That Influenced Dylann Roof Is Also An Anti-Gay Bigot Who Donated to Ted Cruz, Others
Earlier this month, we told you how the mayor of conservative Longview, Texas, issued a proclamation declaring June LGBT Pride month.
Among the many Longview residents who criticized Mayor Andy Mack over the proclamation was Earl Holt III, who wrote in a letter to the editor of the local newspaper:
With his recent proclamation declaring June our Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Month (news story, Tuesday), Mayor Mack has demonstrated that he is unable to say “no” to well-organized leftist interest groups demanding favors or privileges.
Many naïve businessmen enter the political arena clueless about the political environment to which they aspire. Since avoiding controversy seems to be an almost universal concern among them — so bad publicity won’t translate into lowered profits — businessmen are extremely vulnerable to manipulation by the left and its endless public relations firms within the Corrupt Leftist Media.
As it turns out, Holt (right) is the president of Council of Conservative Citizens, a white supremacist hate group that heavily influenced Dylann Roof (above), the 21-year-old who’s accused of shooting nine African-Americans in an apparent hate crime at a Charleston, South Carolina church last week. In a manifesto posted on his website, Roof said he first learned about “brutal black-on-white murders” on the Council of Conservative Citizens’ website in the wake of the Trayvon Martin case.
Holt, meanwhile, has made political contributions to numerous Republican politicians and causes across the country, including current GOP presidential candidates Ted Cruz, Rand Paul and Rick Santorum, as well as the likes of Reps. Michele Bachmann and Louie Gohmert.
The New York Times reports:
Mr. Cruz, a Texas senator, said Sunday night that he would be returning about $8,500 in donations that he had received from the Texas donor, Earl Holt III, who lists himself as president of the Council of Conservative Citizens. …
Mr. Paul’s campaign said Monday that it planned to send $2,250 received from Mr. Holt to a victims’ fund set up in the wake of the shooting. …
The group is regarded by the Southern Poverty Law Center, a leading authority on hate crimes, as a white supremacist extremist organization that opposes “race mixing” as a religious affront and that vilifies blacks as an inferior race.
More from the Southern Poverty Law Center about the Council of Conservative Citizens:
The Council of Conservative Citizens (CCC) is the modern reincarnation of the old White Citizens Councils, which were formed in the 1950s and 1960s to battle school desegregation in the South. Among other things, its Statement of Principles says that it “oppose[s] all efforts to mix the races of mankind.” Created in 1985 from the mailing lists of its predecessor organization, the CCC, which initially tried to project a “mainstream” image, has evolved into a crudely white supremacist group whose website has run pictures comparing the late pop singer Michael Jackson to an ape and referred to black people as “a retrograde species of humanity.” The group’s newspaper, Citizens Informer, regularly publishes articles condemning “race mixing,” decrying the evils of illegal immigration, and lamenting the decline of white, European civilization. Gordon Baum, the group’s founder, died in March of 2015.
Ironically, one of the politicians who received money from Holt was Ohio Republican Sen. Rob Portman. But that was in 2010, before Portman’s son came out as gay, and the senator came out for marriage equality.
The post President Of Racist Hate Group That Influenced Dylann Roof Is Also An Anti-Gay Bigot Who Donated to Ted Cruz, Others appeared first on Towleroad.
John Wright
Nevada: State Health Insurers Cannot Discriminate Against Trans People
The Silver State becomes the 10th nationwide to knock down certain barriers to transition-related coverage, though not all trans citizens can rejoice just yet.
Mitch Kellaway
What Happens When A Black Man And A White Woman Speak For Each Other
Darius Simpson and Scout Bostley begin to speak into their individual microphones — but then they stop, switch mics and start talking again.
In the video below from the 2015 College Unions Poetry Slam Invitational, the two Eastern Michigan University students perform their spoken word poem “Lost Voices” and discuss white privilege, reproductive rights, male privilege and dating while black.
But instead of telling stories from their own lives, Bostley and Simpson tell one another’s experiences. The result is a powerful commentary on white privilege and male privilege, respectively.
When the two trade their respective privileges they’re allowed to say things they normally wouldn’t be able to. Bostley says things that Simpson cannot because he is black, while Simpson says things Bostley cannot because she’s a woman. Each story holds more weight with this added (normally absent) weight.
Bostley shares Simpson’s experience as a young black man, while Simpson mouths the words. “The first day I realized I was black it was 2000,” she says. “We had just learned about blacks for the first time in second grade, at recess all the white kids chased me into the woods chanting ‘slave.’”
Then Simpson takes over to speak for Bostley. “As a woman, having a boyfriend is a battle,” he says. “If 70 percent of us are abused in a lifetime what is the number of men doing it? The answer is not one man running faster than light to complete a mission and that is what leaves me sick.”
They each go on to tell one another’s story:
“As a woman I’ve learned to answer to everything except my name,” Simpson says, while Bostley mouths his words. “‘Little Lady’ is not said to mean equal, but to make sure I remember my place. I battle between wanting to own my body and accepting there is a one in four chance a man will lay claim to my skin.”
“Do you know what it feels like to be black? To pop-lock your way in and out of hugs — it is not a problem you want to sympathize,” Bostley says, speaking for Simpson. “But to tell me you know my pain is to stab yourself in the leg because you saw me get shot. We have two different wounds, and looking at yours does nothing to heal mine.”
Finally the two switch back and speak for themselves. “I fight so my voice can be heard,” Bostley says. “I fight for the voices you silence all in the name of what is right.” Simpson continues, telling the crowd, “I am black and bold and beautiful by nature. Ain’t no income that can change that.”
Watch the full video above to hear the rest of Bostley and Simpson’s riveting spoken word.
— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
News: Marvel, Ben Carson, SCOTUS, Stonehenge, NASA
Jurassic World stomping its way to $1 billion faster than any film in history.
Caitlyn Jenner posts Father’s Day photo with her kids. “Great day yesterday for Father’s Day. We had so much fun off-roading. So much love and support! Love my family!”
With great power and responsibility, Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan jokingly inserts Spider-Man references into her Kimble v. Marvel Entertainment opinion.
NASA’s New Horizons captures the first color “movies” of Pluto and Charon.
Ben Carson calls out other 2016 GOP contenders for not calling Dylann Roof mass shooting an act of racism. “Not everything is about race in this country. But when it is about race, then it just is. So when a guy who has been depicted wearing a jacket featuring an apartheid-era Rhodesian flag allegedly walks into a historic black church and guns down nine African-American worshipers at a Bible study meeting, common sense leads one to believe his motivations are based in racism. When the sole adult survivor of the ordeal reports that the killer shouted before opening fire, “You rape our women and you’re taking over our country. And you have to go” — well, that sounds to me a lot like racial hatred.”
Sen. Angus King (I-ME) to undergo prostate cancer surgery.
Thousands flock to Stonehenge to celebrate summer solstice.
Single gay dad marks his first Father’s Day by sharing his inspiring personal story of adopting an older child. “Sometimes people ask me if I missed the early years with Paul, but I guess I don’t know what I don’t know. Despite our challenges, I’m blessed with an awesome child, and I wish more people would give kids like Paul a chance. It’s never too late to give someone a happy childhood.”
Check out these new trippy photos made by Google’s artificial neural network (ANN).
The New York Times looks at the roots of Justice Anthony Kennedy’s gay rights support. “Those who know him well cite a mix of factors in explaining his thinking: his views on privacy and liberty, his belief in marriage as a stabilizing force, his concern for the children of same-sex couples and his custom — in the words of one good friend, Judge Alex Kozinski of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit — of “stepping into the skin” of those his decisions affect.”
Beyonce reportedly in talks for role in a future Marvel’s Avengers film.
Jake Lloyd (aka little Anakin Skywalker) arrested and charged with recklessly driving his podracer (car) in Charleston, South Carolina.
Anti-gay legislation in Kyrgyzstan prompts fears of Russian influence. “Two and a half decades after gaining independence, many post-Soviet states are grappling with issues of identity as they navigate their way through an intimidating complex of strong currents: the disappointing fruits of democratic and capitalist reforms, a resurgent Russia, the emergence of an Internet-borne global culture and the reemergence of pre-Soviet forms of religion and traditional values. All of these have come together with particular strength in the battle over Kyrgyzstan’s values.”
Male model Monday: Chris Folz.
The 10 most promising video games of E3 2015.
Calvin Harris is super proud of Taylor Swift for “changing the entire music industry” by taking on Apple’s artist royalties policy.
Obama says N-word while discussing racism in America. “And it’s not just a matter of it not being polite to say n****r in public. That’s not the measure of whether racism still exists or not. It’s not just a matter of overt discrimination. Societies don’t, overnight, completely erase everything that happened 200 to 300 years prior.”
Ava DuVernay to direct Marvel’s Black Panther film.
Supreme Court adds this Thursday and Friday to decision release days.
The post News: Marvel, Ben Carson, SCOTUS, Stonehenge, NASA appeared first on Towleroad.
Kyler Geoffroy
WATCH: To Mike Huckabee, Marriage Equality Is Like Dred Scott
‘If we’re not going to follow our Constitution, maybe we should loan it to some developing country,’ suggested the presidential hopeful.
Sunnivie Brydum
The Daily Struggles Only People Who Overthink Everything Will Understand
What day is it? Am I forgetting something I have to do? Should I dress casual? What if I run into an ex and they think I’ve given up on life?
If you’re a classic over-thinker, then you will totally identify with this video from BuzzFeed. The daily struggles of the over-thinker are part of a very private battle that goes largely unknown to the outside world.
It’s time for the world to know your struggle.
— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
This Guy Turned Ride-Sharing Into A Real Drag
The days of drag queens having to rely on performing in the nightclubs to make their coins are long gone. The modern queen has plenty of avenues to walk down to put her moneymaking talents to the test. In the case of Erika Simone, she doesn’t even have to walk at all. She is making money from inside her car.
Erika is the alter ego of Erik Koral who is the founder of Driving Is a DRAG, the first and only ride-sharing experience that has a drag queen as the driver. As Erika, Koral works in Los Angeles for both Uber and Lyft driving around in a Toyota Prius that has also received a drag makeover complete with signage, pink boas and teddy bears in its interior. When Erika is out on the road, she alternates between three different looks — sexy taxi driver, speed racer and classy limo chauffeur.
Erika Simone’s career as a driver came about shortly after Koral completed a stint in rehab in 2014. In search of a low-stress job that could pay the bills, he began driving for Lyft and shortly after, decided to incorporate his love for cross-dressing into the ride-sharing experience. The response has been overwhelmingly positive from customers and almost one-year later Erika is a busy gal.
Koral has 15 years of marketing expertise in the music industry that he has applied to Driving Is a Drag. When he is not providing passengers with the ultimate road trip kiki as Erika, he is working on developing a reality TV show about it. He also hopes to launch a franchise of drag queen limo and party bus drivers in major cities throughout the country next year.
Erika was recently profiled in Uber Lives: L.A., a series of online short documentaries featuring Los Angeles-based Uber drivers. The interview touches on the fear Koral initially felt when he began driving as Erika Simone, along with the reaction he receives from customers. Koral, who is bisexual, also reveals the unique way in which he began to explore the world of female impersonation. He goes on to state that his addiction was the direct result of not being comfortable in his own skin and that drag has helped him.
“I’m really blessed that I’ve discovered dressing in drag as a way to express myself and it’s a great outlet that’s non-harmful.”
Jeremy Kinser
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