Today in My History

2001:  Over the Rainbow
2002:  Rochester
2003:  Old Blue Eyes is Back
2004:  It's All a Game
2005:  Thanks, but No Thanks
2006:  A Day with My Mommy
2007:  The Toothpaste Terrorist
2008:  A Bit of Undigested Beef
2009:  "Says You," Part 2
2010:  Coughing Again

Bitter Hack
Updated: 2/15
Spring Awakening

Books Read in 2011
 Updated: 2/6
"Leaving Home"

VIDEO OF THE DAY/WEEK

Valentine's Day, 2011 from Bev Sykes on Vimeo.

You Tube

Valentine Event for
Marriage Equality

Postcrossing Postcards (new 2/3)

THE WORLD GONE MAD

16 February 2011

I had one way this was going to go, but then I started doing some reading on the internet and it may be quite different.  In either case it's kind of a "what in the world is happening to us?" kind of question.

Anybody watch The Today Show and see the "sell your house" lady, Barbara Corcoran being asked a question about what to do if you're trying to sell your house but you live next door to an eyesore, a guy who has junk cars all over his yard and a house in disrepair.  I thought Al Roker would drop his teeth when she said 'Well, if it was me, I'd probably take a gun and shoot the guy."  Roker went on at great length about how she was only kidding.  

Apparently Corcoran didn't get the "ix-nay on the illing-kay" memo after the Arizona shootings.

I don't doubt that Corcoran wasn't really advocating going out and shooting a neighbor because you don't like how he keeps his property.

Sadly that is not what people are trying to make happen in the state of South Dakota. 

I couldn't believe it when I read the article this morning.

South Dakota's HB1171, scheduled to be voted on in the House tomorrow, would expand the legal definition of justifiable homicide in the state. The measure legalizes the killing of abortion providers by saying a homicide is permissible if committed by a person "while resisting an attempt to harm" an unborn fetus.  The bill has already passed committee, by a vote of 9-3 (9 Republicans and 3 Democrats of course).

As someone wrote today, "Apparently they believe that passing through the birth canal destroys all right to life."

In the meantime, those wacky Republicans (you know--the guys that were going to make jobs a priority) are trying to change the definition of rape and to exclude from any federal funding for abortion women whose pregancy occurs as a result of "forcible rape," a legal term that includes the following categories of rape: date rape, gang rape, marital rape or spousal rape, incestual rape, child sexual abuse, prison rape, acquaintance rape, war rape and statutory rape.   Apparently to qualify for "forcible rape," there has to be a police report filed, so if you want to have an abortion and you would like the government to foot the bill then you need to provide proof that you were raped or be a minor in a situation where it might be dangerous for you to report the rape or your caregiver could hurt you further.

All potential rape victims, please be advised to know your legal rights and responsibillities before the rape occurs and try to keep your wits about you afterwards so that you cross all the Ts and dot all the Is so that if a child is conceived, you have a possibility of having government assistance, if needed, for an abortion.  This is especially important for those under the age of 13.

But what is really bugging me today, given the Marriage Equality gathering I went to yesterday, is what's happening in Uganda.  I have a special interest in Uganda, now that I sponsor a young girl there and it frustrates me, somewhat, to know that I can never discuss this with her, given that I sponsor her through a religious organization.

Because I have an interest in Uganda, I watched an hour long program about the anti-gay campaign going on in that country.  I did a lot of reading after that, so I've lost the place where I read that the country had a more lenient view of homosexuality until American evangelicals visited the country and spoke at a conference called "Seminar on Exposing the Homosexual Agenda."

One of the ministers was Scott Lively, a pastor from Springfield, MA who believes that countries like Uganda can still protect themselves from the scourge of the gay agenda. (Gosh darn it...where is that document? I've been promoting gay rights for decades and I've still never seen the gay agenda.)

Lively told the conference's audience that "even though the majority of homosexuals are not oriented towards young people, there's a significant number who are. And when they see a child from a broken home, it's like they have a flashing neon sign over their head."

The message was embraced by Pastor Martin Ssempa, the "star" (for lack of a better word) of this report from Uganda. 

"Anal licking!," he shouts, directing the crowd's attention to the images of hardcore gay pornography that he's projecting via his laptop. "That is what they are doing in the privacy of their bedrooms."

"Everything having to do with eating of the poo-poo…heterosexuals do not eat the poo-poo," Ssempa said. "And if they do, they are misguided, they are not real heterosexuals. We don't practice, that's an abomination. It's like sex with a dog, sex with a cow; it's evil."

The crowd gets worked up, more and more disgusted by the images they are seeing.

Pastor Ssempa's campaign resulted in the introduction of The Anti-Homosexual Bill of 2009.  The bill creates a new category of crime called "Aggravated Homosexuality," which calls for death by hanging for gays or lesbians who have sex with anyone under 18 and for so-called "serial offenders."

The bill also calls for seven years in prison for "attempt to commit homosexuality," five years for landlords who knowingly house gays, three years for anyone, including parents, who fail to hand gay children over to the police within 24 hours and the extradition of gay Ugandans living abroad.

A man in the film said that if he learned that his daughter was lesbian, he would take a gun and kill her himself.

The anti-gay sentiment resulted in the death of gay rights activist David Kato, who was outed as gay by a local newspaper.  (I'm not 100% certain, but I think Kato was the gay activist being interviewed in the film I saw...a lovely man, who knew that his life was in danger)

The editor of the newspaper who outed Mr. Kato made an incredible statement:   "We want the government to hang people who promote homosexuality, not for the public to attack them."

All of these things have been done by God-fearing Christians and I sincerely hope that they do fear God because I don't imagine that He is going to be ecstatic about their un-Christian attitude towards their fellow human beings.

I don't know exactly what Jesus would do, but I am pretty sure he wouldn't be supporting any of these actions.

PHOTO OF THE DAY

Filling out our visa applications for China

|