No On Prop 8...

Here is a PSA for No On Prop 8. The nice thing about this ad is that there are kids (in their teens and 20's) that talk about having gay parents. The interesting part is that these kids turned out just llike every other kid in America. They all have different quarks, but the one thing they had in common is parents who loved them.

This Should End The Debate...

A study in Sweden has concluded that the brains of gay men are like that of heterosexual women and lesbians are like that of heterosexual men.

Scientists have noticed for some time that homosexual people of both sexes have differences in certain cognitive abilities, suggesting there may be subtle differences in their brain structure.

This is the first time, however, that scientists have used brain scanners to try to look for the source of those differences.

When these results were collected, it was found that lesbians and heterosexual men shared a particular "asymmetry" in their hemisphere size, while heterosexual women and gay men had no difference between the size of the different halves of their brain.

In other words, structurally, at least, the brains of gay men were more like heterosexual women, and gay women more like heterosexual men.

A further experiment found that in one particular area of the brain, the amygdala, there were other significant differences.

(BBC News)

Now of course this should put the debate to rest, but we all know that the Christian right does not believe in science. If "god" did not talk to one of their leaders (James Dobson, the Pope, Pat Robertson, or Bush - he talks directly to god), then no matter what scientist found would be true.

Sarah Palin Wanted To Ban Books...

This is just scary and the Christian Right sees nothing wrong with this. From Crooks and Liars:

[Former mayor] John Stein says that as mayor, Palin continued to inject religious beliefs into her policy at times. “She asked the library how she could go about banning books,” he says, because some voters thought they had inappropriate language in them. “The librarian was aghast.” That woman, Mary Ellen Baker, couldn’t be reached for comment, but news reports from the time show that Palin had threatened to fire Baker for not giving “full support” to the mayor.

This comes from a TIME article filed from Wasilla, where journalists are busy doing the vetting that McCain left to a secretive ultra-right group, the Council for National Policy.

Think that this could not happen in 2008 - your wrong. From September 27 until October 4 is Banned Book Week. Still across this country of ours, people who think they have an "in" with their almighty god feel that can tell me what I and my children can and cannot read. How dare these people assume that they know what everyone should read!

From the American Library Association (ALA):

Each year, the American Library Association's (ALA) Office for Intellectual Freedom receives hundreds of reports on books and other materials that were "challenged" (their removal from school or library shelves was requested). The ALA estimates the number represents only about a quarter of the actual challenges. "Most Challenged" titles include the popular "Harry Potter" series of fantasy books for children by J.K. Rowling. The series drew complaints from parents and others who believe the books promote witchcraft to children.

Here is a list of the books that have been banned (or requested to be banned) and the reasons:

1. "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" by Mark Twain, for its use of language, particularly references to race
2. "It's Perfectly Normal", a sex education book by Robie Harris, for being too explicit, especially for children
3. "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou, for the description of rape she suffered as a child.
   
4. "Tripping Over the Lunch Lady" by Angela Johnson, challenged at the Magruder Elementary School for inclusion in the library for passages about war.
5. All Harry Potter Books because some Christians are scared of wizards and witches!?
6. "The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things", Carolyn Mackler, challenged for sexual content, offensive language, being "anti-family", and being unsuited for age group.
7. "And Tango Makes Three" by Peter Parnell, Justin Richardson, and Henry Cole, challenged for homosexuality and being "anti-family".

The best part of And Tango Makes Three is that this is a true story of two male penguins in New York City's Central Park Zoo. "They cuddle and share a nest like the other penguin couples, and when all the others start hatching eggs, they want to be parents, too. Determined and hopeful, they bring an egg-shaped rock back to their nest and proceed to start caring for it. They have little luck, until a watchful zookeeper decides they deserve a chance at having their own family and gives them an egg in need of nurturing. The dedicated and enthusiastic fathers do a great job of hatching their funny and adorable daughter, and the three can still be seen at the zoo today." - amazon I love that some crazy people out there want to ban this book. Are they afraid that since homosexuality happens in nature that means that it is not a choice. Cannot have that. Our kids will be scared for life. Also saying that it is "anti-family" when it shows true love for the offsrping they are entrusted with. God I hate people that try to make something out of nothing.

Ellen Talks About Larry...

***TRANSCRIPT***

"On February 12th, an openly gay 15-year-old boy named Larry who was an eighth-grader in Oxnard, California was murdered by a fellow eighth-grader named Brandon. Larry was killed because he...was gay. Days before he was murdered, Larry asked his killer to be his Valentine.

"I don't want to be political. This is not political, I'm not a political person, but this is personal to me. A boy has been killed and a number of lives have been ruined.

"And somewhere along the line the killer Brandon got the message that it's so threatening and so awful and so horrific that Larry would want to be his Valentine that killing Larry seemed to be the right thing to do. And when the message out there is so horrible that to be gay you can be killed for it, we need to change the message.

"Larry was not a second class citizen. I am not a second class citizen. It is okay if you're gay. I don't care what people say. I don't care what people think. And I know there are entire groups of people who face discrimination every single day and we're a long way from treating each other equally. All of it is unacceptable. All of it. But I would like you to start paying attention to how often being gay is the punchline of a monologue. Or how often gay jokes are in a movie. And that kind of message — laughing at someone because they're gay — is just the beginning. It starts with laughing at someone, then it's verbal abuse, then it's physical abuse, and then it's this kid Brandon killing a kid like Larry.

"We must change our country and we can do it with our behavior, we can do it with the messages we send our children, we can do it with our vote. This is an election year and there's a lot of talk about change. I think one thing we can change is hate. Check on who you're voting for, and does that person really truly believe that we are all equal under the law? And if you're not sure, change your vote. We deserve better. My heart goes out to everybody involved in this horrible, horrible incident."

***END***

(via Towelroad)

If you would like to volunteer your services to help gay and lesbian kids who are being harassed and bullied or if you are having difficulties because of your sexual orientation, here are some wonderful services that can help.

The Trevor Project
The Trevor Project operates the nations only 24/7 crisis & suicide prevention helpline for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and questioning youth. If you or a friend are feeling lost or alone call The Trevor Helpline. There is hope, there is help. The Trevor Helpline: 866-4-U-TREVOR.

PFLAG -­ Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays
PFLAG promotes the health and well-being of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender persons, their families and friends through: support, to cope with an adverse society; education, to enlighten an ill-informed public; and advocacy, to end discrimination and to secure equal civil rights. Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays provides opportunity for dialogue about sexual orientation and gender identity, and acts to create a society that is healthy and respectful of human diversity.

GLASS - Youth & Family Services
Gay and Lesbian Adolescent Social Services (GLASS) is a private, non-profit 501(c) (3) social service agency dedicated to providing a wide range of social and health care services to children and youth who are in foster care, on probation, or who are homeless. We provide these services in safe, loving, supportive, non-judgmental living environments, while providing full access to all of the educational and vocational opportunities to which these youth are entitled.

GLAAD - Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation
The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) is dedicated to promoting and ensuring fair, accurate and inclusive representation of people and events in the media as a means of eliminating homophobia and discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation.

(via Ellen)