Sunday, February 19, 2012
Black GLBTQ Legends
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/leyla-farah/black-gay-celebrities_b_1284795.html?ref=gay-voices#s690899&title=Lee_Daniels
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Personal Notes-Feeling The Blues
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| Awaken (One of my favorite paintings I've done recently) |
Hi everyone,
Its been more than a month since my last personal update. As always lots going on.
Tomorrow I have the day surgery to repair the meniscus tissue in my knee that was damaged more than four months ago. I'm apprehensive, not because of the surgery, it's actually quite simple, but because I loathe hospitals and our medical system as a rule. My memories of hospitals are tainted by horrible experiences and painful knowledge of just how fragile life is and how little, even in our modern age, we can control that. I'm hoping to be able to fight off my anxieties and keep my blood pressure down, until the get me into the operating room. I'm lucky to have Stan; he will at least make that easier. I'll try to let everyone know how everything went via a Fbook post late tomorrow evening. I should be back to were I am in a few days and back to my active self in four weeks. Just in time for spring.
All nine local organizations I belong to have seen growth in numbers and strength in the last few months. Lots of new ideas floating around for our area and lots of foundation work being laid. It is encouraging, but also somewhat tiring. The local Dems are organizing a Candidates Forum for next week and we are working to start a community garden in spring. We have lots of interest in the Candidates Forum and we meet next week the hash out all the last minute details. The town is preparing to clear the area for the community garden. It is already fenced in and the town is going to put in a meter for water(we will have to pay usage). We have a group outlining guidelines and expectations. We are going to go for a hybrid garden-part paid section, part open community space. I'm not just administering the Farminton Dems site any longer; I'm also creating a new site for the Strafford County Dems. The old one was very outdated and not geared for being social. Its in the test phase right now. Hopefully it will be up live in a few weeks.
Progress has plenty of adversaries. We heard griping about the Dems spearheading the community garden. The Budget committee is out for blood this year. Almost all departments of the town budget were subject to cuts. The Recreation Dept and the Goodwin Library were targets. Each week that the NH legislature is in session they seem to bring forth damaging legislation. Education, workers, jobs, you name it they've tried it. Sometimes we win sometimes we loose. Its really hard to get people to break down outmoded constructs,work in their own interest, and have empathy and compassion for others. It's even more difficult to get new people involved in the community and to get them to vote. Its hard to get people to see all the great things we have here in our town. Sometimes it feels like the more connected Stan and I get to our community, the harder it is to tolerate those things. Not a problem unique to Farmington NH.
This time of year is bad for me. My depressive nature finds comfort in the darker days, isolation, and the land being locked in a long slumber. I've had to deal with these feelings each year since I was a teen. This year has been harder than most. I'm sure the injured knee and the restrictions that have come with it haven't helped, but right now I feel disappointed and apprehensive. I feel like I can't get ahead. I'm trying to remind myself that there are some things I can change and others I simply cannot. I need to find my pacing, my focus again. I need to let some things go. On my birthday I tried to think of all the things I was holding onto that over the last twenty years I simply couldn't change and tried to find other things(normally local) that I could effect. It has been a hard transition. I like being bold and inspiring, but after over forty years on the planet I guess I'm starting to feel more pragmatic. I know know what forty years really feels like and how quickly it slips through your hands. If I'm lucky I'll be able to give people hell for another forty, but now I know what that really means. Does that make sense? It's a bitter pill. I don't like it, but I can't let things drive me crazy. Stan says it isn't worth it.
As I said, I'm feeling the blues. I'll talk to you all in another four. Take care of yourselves.
P.S. Anyone know about missing blog lists after a domain change. My entire blog list was gone after the domain name change. I've added most of you back. Can't seem to get the rest of you back into the list. Any ideas/experiences?
P.S. Anyone know about missing blog lists after a domain change. My entire blog list was gone after the domain name change. I've added most of you back. Can't seem to get the rest of you back into the list. Any ideas/experiences?
Use Science To Inspire You
Science, Art Come Together As International Visualization Challenge Winners Announced
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/03/science-becomes-art_n_1252428.html?ref=arts&ir=Arts#s664691
The Beauty Of Pollination
Sher, thanks for the vid.
The Beauty Of Pollination
Sher, thanks for the vid.
GLBTQ Articles Not Getting The Representation They Should
Why Are Faggots So Afraid of Faggots? A Flaming New Anthology
Bullying And Suicide: The Dangerous Mistake We Make
Federal Air Marshals Face A Hostile Work Environment, ABC News Reports
How Books Made Me Gay
What's Next for Same-Sex Marriage?
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Take A Stand For Russian GLBTQ
The Russian law to silence LGBT people is back -- and we need to act now.
Lawmakers are about to vote on bill that will make it illegal for any
person to write a book, publish an article or speak in public about
being gay, lesbian, bi or transgender. And this is just the beginning -
if the law passes in St. Petersburg, officials have threatened to take
it nationwide.
Activists in St. Petersburg are rushing to organize a public protest against the bill, but no matter where you are, you can stand with them. Join this call to leaders around the world to reach out to their counterparts in the Russian government - and ask them to reject this discriminatory and anti-democratic law.
Activists in St. Petersburg are rushing to organize a public protest against the bill, but no matter where you are, you can stand with them. Join this call to leaders around the world to reach out to their counterparts in the Russian government - and ask them to reject this discriminatory and anti-democratic law.
Monday, January 30, 2012
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Income Inequality 'The Defining Issue Of Our Time'-SOTU 2012 Address Video, Transcript, Links
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/24/obama-state-of-the-union_n_1229720.html
State Of The Union Address 2012: Obama Calls Income Inequality 'The Defining Issue Of Our Time'
State Of The Union Address 2012: Obama Calls Income Inequality 'The Defining Issue Of Our Time'
Obama To Announce Mortgage Crisis Unit
Chaired By New York Attorney General Schneiderman
Chaired By New York Attorney General Schneiderman
Obama State Of The Union Speech Calls For Job Training, Unemployment Insurance Reform
Obama's State Of The Union Address: Everybody Must Play By The Same Rules
Obama Greets Gabrielle Giffords At 2012 State Of The Union
GSA Day-January 25th
Celebrate National GSA Day: January 25th, 2012
Gay-Straight Alliances have been forming
in schools and colleges across America, bringing lesbian, gay, bisexual,
transgender and straight allied people together to stop bullying,
homophobia, transphobia and hate. Now, its time to celebrate their work!
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Get Ready For The SOTU Speech Tonight-9PM ET
President
Barack Obama will deliver his State of the Union address at 9:00 p.m.
ET. During that speech, he’ll lay out his vision for an America where
hard work and responsibility are rewarded, where everyone does their
fair share, and where everyone is held accountable for what they do.
There is a range of ways to get involved with this year’s State of the
Union address.
- There
will be an online-only enhanced version of the speech, featuring data
and graphics, live while the President is speaking. Watch the enhanced
version at www.whitehouse.gov/sotu.
- Immediately
after the speech, Senior White House advisors will answer your
questions about the President’s address submitted via twitter (use #WHChat & #SOTU), Facebook and an in-person audience of tweetup participants.
- Top
Administration officials will continue to answer "Office Hours through
Twitter" through the rest of the week. Check out the full schedule of
experts, dates and times at www.whitehouse.gov/sotu.
- On January 30, President Obama will join a special Google+ Hangout from the West Wing to answer your questions about the speech. Just visit the White House YouTube channel at http://www.youtube.com/whitehouse to submit your questions and vote for your favorites between now and January 28. A few participants will be chosen to join the President in the Google+ Hangout to ask their questions of the President live!
-- In his State of the Union Address, the President will lay out a blueprint for an economy that's built to last -- an economy built on American manufacturing, American energy, skills for American workers, and a renewal of American values.
-- The President believes this is a make or break moment for the middle class and those trying to reach it. What's at stake is the very survival of the basic American promise that if you work hard, you can do well enough to raise a family, own a home, and put a little away for retirement.
-- The defining issue of our time is how to keep that promise alive. No challenge is more urgent; no debate is more important. We can either settle for a country where a shrinking number of people do really well, while more Americans barely get by. Or we can build a nation where everyone gets a fair shot, everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same rules.
-- The fact is, the economic security of the middle class has eroded for decades. Long before the recession, good jobs and manufacturing began leaving our shores. Hard work stopped paying off for too many Americans. Those at the top saw their incomes rise like never before, but the vast majority of Americans struggled with costs that were growing and paychecks that weren't.
-- In 2008, the house of cards collapsed. Mortgages were sold to people who couldn't afford or understand them. Banks made huge bets and bonuses made with other people's money. It was a crisis that cost us more than eight million jobs and plunged our economy and the world into a crisis from which we are still fighting to recover.
-- The President has been clear that we need to do more to create jobs and help economic growth. But under his leadership and thanks to action taken by this President, the economy is growing again. The economy has added a total of 3.2 million private sector jobs over the last 22 months.
-- American manufacturing is creating jobs for the first time since the late 1990s. The American auto industry is coming back. Today, American oil production is the highest that it's been in eight years. Together, we've agreed to cut the deficit by more than 2 trillion. And the President signed into law new rules to hold Wall Street accountable. He stands on a solid record and tonight will lay out a blueprint that will ensure an economy built to last over the long term.
-- For the first time in nine years, there are no Americans fighting in Iraq. We've decimated al Qaeda's leadership, delivered justice to Osama bin Laden, and put that terrorist network on the path to defeat. We've made important progress in Afghanistan, and begun a transition so Afghans can assume more responsibility. We joined with allies and partners to protect the Libyan people as they ended the regime of Muammar Qaddafi.
-- We cannot go back to an economy based on outsourcing, bad debt, and phony financial profits. The President intends to keep moving forward and rebuild an economy where hard work pays off and responsibility is rewarded -- an economy built to last.(source)
Ten Steps For Radical Revolution USA
"I am convinced that if we are to get on the right side of the world revolution, we as a nation must undergo a radical revolution of values." - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. 1967
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Sign The Petition-Sweden's Transgender Sterilization Law Slammed By International Activists, Politicians
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/20/sweden-transgender-sterilization-law-activists_n_1219878.html?ref=gay-voices
Over 61,000 people have signed the petition so far. Click here to view and sign the petition.
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