OMG

So the California Supreme Court struck down the states ban on gay marriage today! It was a 4-3 decision which will go into effect in 30 days, at which point California will become the 2nd state to legally allow gay marriage (this does not include states that allow civil unions/domestic partnerships).

For the complete story, visit CNN

Pridefest is coming

Pridefest is June 6-8th this year! If you are on our mailing list and did not receive volunteering information, drop a comment and let us know so we can get that out to you as soon as possible!

Who loves Anne Hathaway?

I love Anne Hathaway!



From the 2008 HRC Dinner in Los Angeles

Sally Kern Believes LGBT People are Worse Than Terrorists

Sally Kern, an Oklahoma State Legislator, went on an anti-gay tirade when she believed only 50 people were listening to her speech. Little did she know that her grossly inaccurate and offensive speech would be broadcast across the internet thanks to a little site named YouTube.




If you are interested in adding your name to an open letter, please visit the Victory Fund website.

In addition, I have found a letter written in response to the speech Sally Kern made. It is written by an Oklahoma highschool student who identifies himself as Tucker.

Rep Kern:

On April 19, 1995, in Oklahoma City a terrorist detonated a bomb that killed my mother and 167 others. 19 children died that day. Had I not had the chicken pox that day, the body count would've likely have included one more. Over 800 other Oklahomans were injured that day and many of those still suffer through their permanent wounds.

That terrorist was neither a homosexual or was he involved in Islam. He was an extremist Christian forcing his views through a body count. He held his beliefs and made those who didn't live up to them pay with their lives.

As you were not a resident of Oklahoma on that day, it could be explained why you so carelessly chose words saying that the homosexual agenda is worst than terrorism. I can most certainly tell you through my own experience that is not true. I am sure there are many people in your voting district that laid a loved one to death after the terrorist attack on Oklahoma City. I kind of doubt you'll find one of them that will agree with you.

I was five years old when my mother died. I remember what a beautiful, wise, and remarkable woman she was. I miss her. Your harsh words and misguided beliefs brought me to tears, because you told me that my mother's killer was a better person than a group of people that are seeking safety and tolerance for themselves.

As someone left motherless and victimized by terrorists, I say to you very clearly you are absolutely wrong.

You represent a district in Oklahoma City and you very coldly express a lack of love, sympathy or understanding for what they've been through. Can I ask if you might have chosen wiser words were you a real Oklahoman that was here to share the suffering with Oklahoma City? Might your heart be a bit less cold had you been around to see the small bodies of children being pulled out of rubble and carried away by weeping firemen?

I've spent 12 years in Oklahoma public schools and never once have I had anyone try to force a gay agenda on me. I have seen, however, many gay students beat up and there's never a day in school that has went by when I haven't heard the word **** slung at someone. I've been called gay slurs many times and they hurt and I am not even gay so I can just imagine how a real gay person feels. You were a school teacher and you have seen those things too. How could you care so little about the suffering of some of your students?

Let me tell you the result of your words in my school. Every openly gay and suspected gay in the school were having to walk together Monday for protection. They looked scared. They've already experienced enough hate and now your words gave other students even more motivation to sneer at them and call them names. Afterall, you are a teacher and a lawmaker, many young people have taken your words to heart. That happens when you assume a role of responsibility in your community. I seriously think before this week ends that some kids here will be going home bruised and bloody because of what you said.

I wish you could've met my mom. Maybe she could've guided you in how a real Christian should be acting and speaking.

I have not had a mother for nearly 13 years now and wonder if there were fewer people like you around, people with more love and tolerance in their hearts instead of strife, if my mom would be here to watch me graduate from high school this spring. Now she won't be there. So I'll be packing my things and leaving Oklahoma to go to college elsewhere and one day be a writer and I have no intentions to ever return here. I have no doubt that people like you will incite crazy people to build more bombs and kill more people again. I don't want to be here for that. I just can't go through that again.

You may just see me as a kid, but let me try to teach you something. The old saying is sticks and stones will break your bones, but words will never hurt you. Well, your words hurt me. Your words disrespected the memory of my mom. Your words can cause others to pick up sticks and stones and hurt others.

Sincerely

Tucker

I mean honestly, does she really believe in what she is saying? I can't imagine an American believing that homosexuality is worse than TERRORISM. At one point, she even says that the increased suicide rate shows how bad of a lifestyle homosexuality is. People don't kill themselves because they are gay, people kill themselves because of societal pressures. If gay people could simply change themselves to be straight, it wouldn't be a problem. The fact that society, specifically some communities not only refuse to accept but actively try and suppress a person for who they are and something they cannot change is what leads to depression and suicide.

The only thing I have to say to Sally Kern is "It's not me, it's you!"

Blog Changes

It has recently come to my attention that this blog was a little more active than the organization realized. A former student and GSA member who graduated last year has been keeping the blog updated on a fairly regular basis. Unfortunately, this has turned into a personal blog instead of an organizational blog. There have been several posts recently that have nothing to do with the GSA and have called out conservatives on several issues that do no pertain to our organization.

The GSA of Marquette is a non partisan organization, there are both conservative/republican and liberal/democratic members of the group. We do not condone the use of words like "breeder" even if the intention is not malicious and we certainly do not condone bashing conservatives.

Over the next few days, the blog is going to be combed through and all posts not related to the GSA and its goals on campus will be removed. Several posts have already been removed from the blog.

I would like to apologize to any readers who may have been offended by words used or any members who may have felt alienated by the anti-conservative posts of late.

Brokeback Mountain Actor Heath Ledger Dies

From the New York Times

January 22, 2008, 4:42 pm

Heath Ledger, 28, Is Found Dead; Signs Point to Suicide
By Sewell Chan

Updated, 5:28 p.m. | The actor Heath Ledger was found dead this afternoon in an apartment in Manhattan inhabited by the actress Mary-Kate Olsen, according to the New York City police. Signs pointed to a suicide, police sources said. Mr. Ledger was 28.

At 3:31 p.m., a masseuse arrived at Apartment 5A in the building, at 421 Broome Street in SoHo, for an appointment with Mr. Ledger, the police said. The masseuse was let in to the home by a housekeeper, who then knocked on the door of the bedroom Mr. Ledger was in. When no one answered, the housekeeper and the masseuse opened the bedroom and found Mr. Ledger naked and unconscious on a bed, with pills scattered around his body. They shook him, but he did not respond. They immediately called the authorities.

The police said they did not suspect foul play. Officials said they believed Ms. Olsen, 21, was in California and said it was not clear how long or why Mr. Ledger had been in her apartment. Ellen Borakove, a spokeswoman for the office of the city’s chief medical examiner, Dr. Charles S. Hirsch, said that employees of the office were at the apartment and that an autopsy would be conducted on Wednesday.

Mr. Ledger, a native of Perth, Australia, won acclaim for his role as a co-star in “Brokeback Mountain” (2005). The film, based on a short story by Annie Proulx about two cowboys who fall in love, won critical acclaim. Reviewing the film in The New York Times, the critic Stephen Holden wrote, “Mr. Ledger magically and mysteriously disappears beneath the skin of his lean, sinewy character. It is a great screen performance, as good as the best of Marlon Brando and Sean Penn.” Mr. Ledger was nominated for an Oscar for Best Actor in January 2006.

Mr. Ledger met the actress Michelle Williams while filming ‘’Brokeback Mountain.” The two actors fell into a romance and moved to Boerum Hill, Brooklyn, where their comings and goings were widely noted by the celebrity press. They had a daughter, Matilda Rose, who was born on Oct. 28, 2005. The couple separated last year.

Mr. Ledger’s first Hollywood film was the teenage romantic comedy “10 Things I Hate About You” (1999). He later appeared in romantic-hero roles in films like “A Knight’s Tale” (2001) and “Casanova” (2005).

In an interview in London for an article published in November, Mr. Ledger told The New York Times, ‘’I feel like I’m wasting time if I repeat myself.” He said in the interview that he was not proud of his latest role, in Todd Haynes’s “I’m Not There,” in which Mr. Ledger was one of a half-dozen actors depicting the musician Bob Dylan. ‘’I feel the same way about everything I do. The day I say, ‘It’s good’ is the day I should start doing something else,” said in the interview.

Calls by The Times to Mara Buxbaum, a publicist for Mr. Ledger, and Steve Alexander, the actor’s agent, were not immediately returned this afternoon.

Thomas J. Lueck and John Sullivan contributed reporting.

RIP

Hey You, GA City Council Candidate Who Came In 3rd Place! And a sidenote

Blipped up the news, and not so much to my surprise, Georgia Fuller's case against the results of a suburban Georgia city council election was tossed. Fuller came in 3rd place, a Mr. Wayne Hall came in 2nd, and leading Fuller by 150 or so votes, Michelle Bruce.

The suit alleged that Bruce had de-frauded the voters of the city of Riverdale, GA by pretending to be a woman running in a city that likes to elect women to city councils.

Okay, Bruce is transgender and was born a Michael. Nevertheless, I believe America is still a two sex system, whether you mince words on gender terms or not, so unless transgender is all of a sudden it's own sex/gender/race of human being, where's the fraud? Besides that, Georgia Fuller already lost to a man, so what was that about the city voters liking the ladies?

Enough of the hilarity on that note, and here we go for a classic example of the conservative "judicial activism" concept when it comes to the LGBT community: the voters have spoken, so under their argument that votes are all that matters and common sense of right and wrong means little, wasn't this claim asking the court to say "screw you voters and legislature that allows transgendered persons to run for elections, it's fraud"? For the sake of the point, let's just assume Fuller is a card carrying "conservative."

Pardon if that's not worded succinctly and clear, I'll rephrase the analogy: If a gay man or woman, or an ally, sues against the voters and wins, that's judicial activism and clearly wrong. But when the other side is suing against "da gays" there's nothing wrong with that, even though the voters have spoken here and clearly prefer Bruce to Fuller.

Of course I could go on forever about how stupid it is to flaunt Christian morals to the legal oppression of the LGBT populace for all sorts of reasons, but that will have to be another day. Besides, I highly doubt anyone in the world, except maybe the sample population of the film Jesus Camp, is incapable of dissecting those arguments from a Christian scholarly view and/or the American history point of view.




here's the sidenote
you know how often a guy on TV with a job like Bill O'Reilly, or a blogger like Dr. McAdams is always knocking student presentations on social issues for not presenting both sides of the issue adequately? Here's why I hate that concept: in the context of a Catholic school, pick the issue of theology on homosexual sins. How many students don't know the other side of the story? I would be shocked if anyone in the audience of such a talk isn't already fully aware of the "Catholic View." I think there should be a rule, if you need to take your shoes off to count the number of people in your projected audience who don't already know the "other view," then you should consider at least drawing up a pamphlet about it.

That bother anyone else when some demagogue cries foul when CNN is talking about Palestine and Israel, or anything else, and only talks to a Palestinian activist.... even though you would have to have been raised by wolves and live inside a rock with no tv or radio to not have a well rounded knowledge or the Israeli view?

and I'm spent. if any of you go to lawschool, civil procedure is one of the worst classes you will ever take in your life, but like most things that suck, you just have to go through with it.

peace, love, rock 'n' roll
-jason...

Patrice Oneal Asks Why Faggot is a Bad Word

if you're a fan of the comic, you've probably already seen his downloadable, iPod ready show Patrice Oneal: Coming Soon, where it is "Comedy without Limits." you may have also enjoyed the strange, strange episode "Dyke Punching" weeks back if only for the absurdity of the concept. Since he hasn't really had much work since Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn got cancelled, and hardly anyone watched that, I wouldn't be surprised a lot of you reading this aren't familiar with Patrice Oneal

In this weeks episode, "Faggots, Faggots, Faggots," Patrice uses his comedy to ask, is it just saying a word that makes it a "bad word," or is it how, or the context it is said in that causes the offense? It is rare, mind you, where this general type of word discussion isn't started by a 60 year old white guy in Washington DC and then goes nowhere b/c he has to leave the session at 3pm to make it intime for the early bird dinner around the corner.


What say you? Is it just offensive and shouldn't be said period, or does context matter?


by the way, if all you can put in the comments thread is whether or not you enjoyed the show, might as well stick that there since that type of feedback is usually a good discussion catalyst, so long as there's some qualification to your responses.

the show's available best off iTunes btw, if you're sick like me and enjoy these kinds of comics

peace, love, rock 'n' roll
-jason

Obama Explains It All

Advocate News and not an endorsement one way or another as I am personally intending to vote for whatshisface from New Mexico, and like a true American, have no idea what he really stands for.

If you follow campaign politics closely, Obama's gearing up for a gospel tour of some of the southern states and has already been accused of pandering to try and achieve middle ground. This Q & A from the Advocate I like for it offering a bit of an explanation. And it admittedly makes me long for a time when "it's just politics, baby" isn't a cop out answer and politicians are no longer driven by campaign contributions, but by their own thoughts (nothing against the ministers in his camp, just a general response.... see, see what I did there, I played my hand and then went to back track to try and appear centrist again like Politicians always do, did it work?).

Anyway best part for me:

Part of the reason that we have had a faith outreach in our campaigns is precisely because I don’t think the LGBT community or the Democratic Party is served by being hermetically sealed from the faith community and not in dialogue with a substantial portion of the electorate, even though we may disagree with them.

I for one do not appreciate putting faith in politics, but since we need to put faith in the politicians, I'll buy that on the implication that just b/c he's a Democrat, he's not going to stomp on religious rights. Oh yea, and the jazz that being within the LGBT community ought not to be kicked out of the faith or the party, even though "gay christian" has been called a misnomer for so long.... and I'm starting to ramble, so I'll quit while I'm ahead. Go on, click the link at the top of the page to read the rest of the interview

peace, love, rock 'n' roll
-jason...


starting to get more hits on my crappy youtube videos... ahh, shameless plug

Oh The Lengths They Go To

I was seriously interested in writing about Albus Dumbledore being an ancient gay man in a magical, magical world, but with my personal enjoyment of stereotyping, I can't possibly take it seriously. Besides that, I can't give any weight positively or negatively to a fictional character in a fantasy novel since it's a pretty neutral subject.

But you'd hardly be able to tell it's neutral with the way the usual suspects in the "gosh, gays sure suck" camp. JK Rowling has only outed Dumbledore, as if we should have known all along, and I'm going to have to go with Good As You's post on the Americans For Truth About Homosexuality:

Higgins' version of truth: Stranger than fiction

In response to J.K. Rowling's revelation that she intended for her Dumbledore character to be gay, Peter LaBarbera has turned his Americans For Truth site over to our favorite gay-unfriendly teacher, Laurie Higgins. And in an opinion piece on the subject, Higgins says the following:

In case you haven’t heard, J.K. Rowling, who wrote the Harry Potter series, just announced before a large audience of fans at Carnegie Hall that one of the most beloved characters in the book, Dumbledore, is homosexual. Now some perhaps many of the children who love this character will feel ambivalent about regarding homosexuality as deeply sinful. Young children,
adolescents, and even many adults fall victim to the specious syllogistic reasoning that goes something like 1. Kindness is good, 2. Homosexuals are kind, 3. Therefore, homosexuality is good. It is clearly a faulty syllogism, and yet it’s wildly successful.

The “gay” manifesto After the Ball written in 1989 describes a number of strategies to be used to transform cultural views of homosexuality, one of which is “conversion” (how very darkly ironic). The authors Marshall Kirk and Hunter Madsen write that “In Conversion, we mimic the
natural process of stereotype learning, with the following effect: we take the bigot’s good feelings about all-right guys, and attach them to the label ‘gay,’ either weakening or, eventually, replacing his bad feelings toward the label and the prior stereotype.” Whether Rowling is aware of this process or not, she is employing it.

Uhm, okay. Let's stop right here. For Ms. Higgins has already delved into a bizzaro world of her own imagination, in which people like J.K. inject gay life into the consciousness not because of their own artistic choices or desires to convey a certain story, but rather because of some sort of
"agenda." Higgins states that Rowling is employing this process whether she is aware of it or not. But on what grounds to she have to make this statement about the author?! Oh, that's right -- on no rational basis whatsoever!

We have seen social conservatives cite "After The Ball" literally hundreds of times, acting as if it is a book that we gays and their allies are handed on the day that they decide to support equality. They make it sound as if every single sympathetic gay character the comes to light was borne from the pages of this 1989 tome, not from the creators' own experience with gay people. Ms. Higgins is making it sound as if a gay character can only be kind, compassionate, and lovely if the writer has a goal to corrupt children. This is likely because in the story directed by her socially conservative team, gays are only cast villains or sufferers of a cruel fate.

She goes on to say:

This is one of the most significant problems with repeated exposure to positive portrayals of homosexuals in films, television show, plays, novels, textbooks, and speakers. Unsophisticated thinkers come to believe that somehow good behaviors or traits are inherently exculpatory in regard to others. But we should no more say that the sin of homosexuality is effaced by a
homosexual’s compassion, generosity, or good humor than we would say that a polygamist’s sin is effaced my his compassion, generosity, or good humor.

The movement is afoot to include positive portrayals of homosexuals and the transgendered in all textbooks from kindergarten on up. I have no objections to textbooks including the important invention or discovery of a homosexual or transgender person so long as their homosexuality or
transgenderism is not mentioned. To mention it suggests that somehow their deviant sexual impulses are connected or relevant to their discovery, invention, or contribution to learning. And supporters of subversive sexuality know this. They know that associating the deviant sexual orientation or identity with something positive will irrationally transform society’s perception of the deviant sexuality. Concerned citizens must strenuously oppose the identification of the sexual orientation or sexual identity of figures discussed in textbooks.

And again, this is a false setup. She makes it sound as if Rowling and other authors are trying to say that a character's sexuality automatically makes them perfect specimens of humanity whose action are deeds are above reproach. We're not exactly sure what sort of gay characters Ms.
Higgins has been consuming, but in our entertainment pantheon, nothing could be further from the truth. We have seen LGBT people of all stripes appear in the various forms of media, because there are LGBT people of all stripes that appear in life! But these characters tend to have real problems, real issues, and multi-faceted lives of which their orientations (just like their straight
counterparts) is merely one facet. By making her revelation about Dumbledore, Ms. Rowling is only providing the reader with an extra layer that was always present in her mind. There is absolutely no reason to assume that she's asking readers to support or even condone his fictional gayness. She, as thee character's guiding voice, is just telling it like it truly is!

It probably does seem to someone who holds a gay-unfriendly world view that LGBT people are portrayed more humanistically in this modern age. That's because for decades, they were portrayed as offensive caricatures, broad stereotypes, and victims of a cruel fate. If the latter is the message that you want to send to the children of the world, then you probably do regret
the positive turn that society has taken towards more well-rounded portrayals. TOUGH SH*T! We regret the fact that the bias that has been fostered by folks like Ms. Higgins and Mr. Labarbera has led to a disgusting lack of respect for our lives and loves! Higgins goes on to make one final claim:

Another problematic way by which cultural values are being transformed is through the exposure to the stories of suffering shared by homosexuals and those who experience the psychological disorder of transgenderism. It is not uncommon in public high schools for LGBT (lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) students to share their stories of suffering with their peers. The result is that children, teens, and even adults who, of course, do not want to increase the suffering of others, retreat from making moral judgments. In so doing, they fail to make the critical distinction between suffering that results from harassment or abuse, and discomfort that results from an encounter with reasonable judgments about morality.

Parents and concerned taxpayers must be aware of and oppose these kinds of manipulative stratagems.

And this is perhaps the most ridiculous of all of her claims, as it deals with real-life portrayals. Does Ms. Higgins want LGBT students to lie and say that they are treated respectfully so as to not garner sympathy from their heterosexual peers? Does she want those same straight kids to further mock and scoff at the gay kid who has just poured his or her heart out? Who knows? But what we do know is that one's moral outlooks should absolutely be culled from real-life experiences and dealings with fellow humans. And if heterosexual students are left questioning whether or not it is morally right of them to tease, bully, or harass their gay peers, then perhaps they should listen to their consciences rather than the learned biases that have been passed on to them by a previous generation!

The "manipulative stratagem" at play is the one employed by our opposition, who are desperately trying to stem the tide of gay acceptance. Homosexuality comes naturally. Accepting homosexuality comes naturally. And as has always been the case with our fight, people like Laurie Higgins are making preposterous assertions in order to muddy the waters of that simple truth. For
shame, Ms. Higgins.

I think that's a good way to put it.

"Manipulative strategem"....that concept remind anyone else of those old science fiction jokes where the nerdy paranoid types stick a helmet made of tinfoil on their heads to block out the evil mind control rays?

Speaking of which, thank God Rosie's off the view. I can finally take the foil off of my own head.

peace, love, rock 'n' roll
-jason

...a ps note. kind of depressing that my name is the 1st one on an open forum sheet for my law school lgbt group.

Vatican Suspends Apparently Anonymous Homosexual Priest

Note: All I've got for this is a very sparse article off of the yahoo pages. i've been unable to source anything else, so go ahead and comment with links to anything providing more information.

The Vatican has suspended a senior cleric who confessed his homosexuality on a television programme, even though his face and voice were made unrecognisable, a spokesman was quoted as saying Saturday.

The first question I have to wonder if why? Presumably, the Vatican "authorities" know who he is already, but to suspend someone from his duties simply for being okay with his homosexuality is just nonsense, even in today's Catholicism where it's not such a great idea to be proud of who you are.

And it's hard to write anything else, not knowing more details. If this priest was harrassing people, a criminal, or altar boy chaser, that's one thing, but all that can be gathered from this newsbrief is that some 60 yr old in the priest hood is considered unfit for duty simply for being okay with who he is. Think about it this way: the Pope was a willing member of the Hitler Youth, Nazi, what have you. If that doesn't forever condemn him to damnation, why should being a homosexual condemn somone else? That is to assume of course that this priest has not broken any vows and whatnot.

Well, that's probably a bit much from such a teensy article, but whatever. My views aren't exactly objective when it comes to human issues.

peace, love, rock 'n' roll
-jason...

From the US Military: Homosexuality is Not A Choice, It's a Bomb

since embed video doesn't work right now

That's not a typo or a joke, digging via the Freedom of Information Act, a Mr. Edward Hammond of Berkely's Sunshine Project (Sunshine weblink) found out that yes indeedy, the military has been researching theoretical non-lethal weapons that would do crazy things, like make them smell so bad their positions are given away... bugs attract to them for a period of time, giving the position away.... and a chemical that would at least temporarily make everyone attracted to their partners on the front lines, that they'd.... well, just use your imagination on that one, and try not to be too Kubrick on it. I sort of agree with the comments near the end of the video clip, but I think the concept is cool and offensive and wrong at the same time. Like watching .....pardon me, I can't come up with an analogy there without being vulgar and off topic, so I'll move on.

The official story out of the "news" is from fox where it's told that the Air Force confirmed that a researcher requested 7 million tax dollars to research such a weapon.

Note that the story indicates that no money was spent on the research, but if you hit up Google, you'll find many mentions that the "gay bomb" idea has resurfaced many times in discussions at least. So what if tax dollars are wasted on discussions that go nowhere, that's nothing new for America really.

And there you have it. Our strange, strange government at work.

and as a closer, a really odd billboard pretty much claiming a Massachusetts Senator is the same guy as Judas Iscariot and Benedict Arnold. And some people wonder why it is so hard to respect contrary views. Well, when they're posed so ridiculously that meaning is missed, can you blame someone?

peace, love, rock 'n' roll
-jason...

This Day In History: Soap

30 years ago today, Bill Crystal debuted on the tv. series Soap. Billy Crystal, known best today perhaps for being the voice of the one eyed green dude in disney's Monster's Inc, played Jodie Dallas: the first openly gay character to be a regular on a major TV show.

Don't feel bad about not knowing this show ever existed. My research on the topic shows that only parts of Europe still air it, and our own TV Land and Nick @ Nite and the like have never touched it. Look for it on DVD if you're so intrigued...it is offered for rent through Netflix btw.

peace, love, rock 'n' roll
-jason...

Legal Jargon: Florida Schools

This is the kind of news that makes the many times ol' MU has prevented the GSA of Marquette to do something look not so bad.

Florida School Board Preparing New Attempt To Ban Gay Student Group

per 363Gay.com, the Okeechobee County School Board is moving to completely ignore a US District Court injunction to allow a fledgling GSA style group to meet while a lawsuit over the club's existence is being heard.

In case your wondering, the school board is essentially arguing that it is in the best interest of all students in their jurisdiction to not allow the GSA to meet or exist within the school because Florida State Law obliges them to promote abstinence and the benefits of the wonderfully flawless heterosexual marriage.

There's also a mention in the article of a young lesbian student being barred from bringing her girlfriend to the prom. I can honestly say that that is just sad. I went to a conservative, traditional Catholic all male school, and even that stuffy administration allowed any student to bring his boyfriend to prom or other school functions if he so desired.

That makes sense considering that the GSA of Marquette is nothing but a "sex based club" that is trying to bring down heterosexuality and have orgies on campus. Oh wait, a GSA doesn't work like that

Not using our own GSA as a model, but using the concept for a point of reference, I'll make my point: a GSA is a student club. Like any student club, it allows for likeminded people to come together to make friends, meet people one my otherwise not meet in school, and potentially work on projects outside of the school. Student clubs of all natures and topics thereby allow for leadership opportunities, and certainly no one will argue against helping kids be better leaders in the school and community. To define a GSA as a "sex club" or "Sex based" is unjust because suck groups are not based on a member's sexual orientation or gender, but on true blue, straight out of the New Testament, good old fashioned acceptance and tolerance and respect of other people who are different. Moreover, it is just silly to presume that any club will do nothing but try to tear down the county's moral fabric and the institution or marriage. Any school reserves the right to deny a club to meet that is truly contrary to the school's purpose to teach and promote safety, but no school can so arbitrarily abuse that right.

peace, love, rock 'n' roll
-jason...

Gender In The Future: Star Trek

Having spent so much of the summer at home... work, sleep, work sleep, blahbittyblah bah... I have pretty much watched nothing but classic Star Trek, Vincent Price films, and the Detroit Tigers.

Star Trek from its beginning in the 1960s is sort of the iconic and utopian view of the future of humankind. Everyone gets along and while not everyone is friends, there is no racism, sexism, or senseless hate of others unless you're a Klingon. While Stark Trek did feature the first interracial kiss on TV, ever notice...if you even watch the stuff...that even in the later series that came on in the 1990s through the early 2000s, this somewhat utopian future has no LGBT community. There is no negative view of sexual orientation, nor is there a positive one. There isn't anything at all.

Having been rather nerdy for much of my life, I'm aware that portions of the long-running Star Trek novel series have included complete alien races where everyone is transgendered and there is acceptance of them, like all people who are different gain acceptance.

Certainly its not a huge deal that a huge deal that a show that is now cancelled, excluding where it exists in syndication, has never tackled gender and orientation issues. Yet my longwinded point is that science fiction in general is a media that makes it easy to propose views on right and wrong, even if this is contrary to the status quo. A novel may do the same, but it may go unread or unpublished. A TV show, especially with a nerdbase like Star Trek has alwas has, will be seen by someone.

peace, love, rock 'n' roll
-jason...

Gah Gah Movie Role....

I don't know what's up with the gah gah part. I just write what I want, I always do.

When you have access to satellite cable like I do.... and have a ridiculous amount of free time and movie channels..... you no longer need Netflix. Yes, that means I have a couple movies for you. I'm doing spoilers a bit

First, Sleepaway Camp. it wouldn't be a movie about camp without a lot of campy flair. It's a late 1970s slasher romp in camp, and if you like horror movies, you might appreciate how the paradigm of never killing the children is broken. In the beginning, there's a boating accident and daddy dies and apparently so does the daughter and son. Angela, the daughter, goes to summer camp with her cousin. I never went to summer camp, so I don't know if it's an accurate portrayal with a lot of pre-puberty sex and aging fat guy chefs making dirty jokes. Right in the middle of it, there's a scene of a angela and her brother watching daddy making out with the head counseler, who is a very angry old man. And in the end, it turns out that the daughter we all thought didn't die actually did... and Angela turns out to be the a gender confused 13 year old son we thought was dead; was raised by her aunt a girl; and is supposed to have brain damage resulting from the boating accident. An ending that makes you go: oh my gosh, that's a really creepy pose, but the best scene is still when the bees eat the guy's face.

Second and last movie: Beyond the Valley of the Dolls. When watching a movie Russ Meyer directed, you know it's going to be very sexual. This movie is Russ Meyer's greek tragedy, exploring the sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll scene of the 1970s SoCal following a girl band and their manager just trying to have fun. If you like the song, "Incense and Peppermint," the band responsible for it, Strawberry Alarm Clock is all over the movie. It may seem stupid to point out, but through the sexual encounters in the movie, Russ Meyer is exploring if taboo is really a matter of right and wrong, or if the person you go to bed with is really a matter of who you are. Through a voiceover in the end, Meyer points out all the character flaws, and you'll notice that despite the insane climax of the flamboyant transgender killer "Superwoman" offing his male companion, his houseguest, and the girls who had a one night stand together, Meyer offers a lesson. Don't hide who you are, don't walk on the people who care about you, and do what's right instead of what's cool.

for a cool old movie that makes fun of old timer gender definitions, try Carey Grant in I Was A Male Warbride. it's pretty funny and truthful in the old goofball way.

peace love rock 'n' roll
-jason...

Summertime with the GSA!

Hello all~!

Well, since we're all fully delved into our respective summers, I would like to throw a very large shout out and say THANK YOU to all of our volunteers for this year's Pridefest! I have heard good things and I hope all of you had a great time - because you deserve it! We all in GSA appreciate your time and effort and hope that you were at least able to have some good times at Pridefest. Your support helps your GSA do you better service each year.

And let's plan for a fantastic upcoming year! There's a little over two months left of summer but we here at GSA are already brainstorming and starting planning for events at Marquette! Be on the look out and if you have any questions, feel free to email your GSA at gsa@mu.edu. (Psst. We're also on Facebook!)

Hope everyone is having a safe summer! :) And don't worry, you'll be hearing from us more as summer goes on.

With Pride,
Joan

PS - Questions/Comments? Want to share a great idea you want your GSA to know? Leave 'em here! *points below* Hit the comment button! We'll try to get back to you as soon as we can.

Don't Feel Like Dancing

Can't help myself. I felt like listening to Jake Shear's disco falsetto in the Scissor Sisters, therefore you ought to as well via this very trippy video

peace, love, rock 'n' roll
-jason...

In The News: Did Conservatives in Canada Hide the Findings of a 2003 Study on Same-Sex Parenting?

The very word "study" is most likely leaving a bad taste in every student mouth right now, considering finals week has just wrapped up. But enough of that, on to poking watchdog news sites!

from 365gay.com, care of the Gay Rights Watch there's a hodgepodge of news on the same study: Gay Parents might actually be better than heterosexual parents. Wait, what's that? Yep, it's true, Concordia University carried out a government commissioned study in 2003 on same-sex parenting, studying the findings of 100 other studies on the same topic and then some. But what happened to the findings?

Before I go in to the accusations that are going on, it pains me to request a note: no study proves anything, no matter how much anyone has ever tried to say their study is definitive proof. That doesn't make it useless, because as many of you learned from Dr. Holstein and others, studies suggest a lot of things. "Suggest" is a better word because obviously in the topi cof parenting, there are exceptions to every rule.

So, as the article related, the study was completed in 2005. Conservatives had taken over, and Harper is now the chief executive, to the chagrin of most of my Canadian friends. One thing that Conservatives promised to do was re-visit the vote that legalized same-sex marriage in Canada, and they did.... and the Conservatives lost in parliament. BUT! and a big, but at that, the Conservatives speaking against same-sex relationships did not reference this study at all, but only a French one that found same-sex couples might not be good parents.

How come, Mr. Harper Tories, nobody on your side was willing to admit that the Liberal government found a study that counters your arguments against same-sex parenting and whatnot? Harper's government stands accused of hiding the findings, and if that's true, they would have gotten away with it if Canada did not have a law that does pretty much what our own freedom of information act does.... and someone named Paul Hastings, the prof at Concordia who is the leading name apparently in the report at hand, went to request a copy of it for an interested newsline.

The reason why a politician would conveniently neglect to mention reports that counter arguments they have is easy: it hurts their argument. It makes me wonder what they're afraid of. Per the article, exactly what I mentioned is how it's read: Hastins and Co. found that the majority of studies in history suggest that same-sex parents raise kids no different than heterosexuals do. They found "a few" which suggested that lesbian mothers are actually better parents in terms what they term "social competence," otherwise known as well adjusted, "normal" kids.

But contrary to accusations the study was buried, there's evidence that several conservative members of Parliament knew about the study and had "talking points" prepared if it ever came up... and it didn't come up. Now what does that mean? If you're a conservative reading about this, you're probably saying "Pff, it's not Harper's fault no dirty liberal brought it up as a counter point." Yea, but like the article lets on, the fact that "talking points" were drawn up at all leads one to believe that the conservative parliament is trying to distance itself from anything positive said about homosexuals, even empirical evidence that all their put downs on the gay community are wrong.

peace, love, rock 'n' roll
-jason...

The Women's Liberation and Gay Liberation Movements

From the very depths of history, comes something rather cool. The link I picked up on off of livejournal. It's the text of a speech given by the late Black Panther co-founder Huey P. Newton in 1970 about women's liberation and the gay rights movement, particularly about how the politics of the time overshadowed gay rights and even the peoples fighting for their own rights contradicted themselves and mistreated homosexuals when they shouldn't. And me, never to deny that lessons are to be learned from history (if you only gain amusement at the old rhetoric, so be it), will open with the beginning paragraphs and hope you keep going to the linked bit and read the rest......

During the past few years strong movements have developed among women and among homosexuals seeking their liberation. There has been some uncertainty about how to relate to these movements. Whatever your personal opinions and your insecurities about homosexuality and the various liberation movements among homosexuals and women (and I speak of the homosexuals and women as oppressed groups), we should try to unite with them in a revolutionary fashion. I say " whatever your insecurities are" because as we very well know, sometimes our first instinct is to want to hit a homosexual in the mouth, and want a woman to be quiet. We want to hit a homosexual in the mouth because we are afraid that we might be homosexual; and we want to hit the women or shut her up because we are afraid that she might castrate us, or take the nuts that we might not have to start with.

We must gain security in ourselves and therefore have respect and feelings for all oppressed people. We must not use the racist attitude that the White racists use against our people because they are Black and poor. Many times the poorest White person is the most racist because he is afraid that he might lose something, or discover something that he does not have. So you're some kind of a threat to him. This kind of psychology is in operation when we view oppressed people and we are angry with them because of their particular kind of behavior, or their particular kind of deviation from the established norm.

Remember, we have not established a revolutionary value system; we are only in the process of establishing it. I do not remember our ever constituting any value that said that a revolutionary must say offensive things towards homosexuals, or that a revolutionary should make sure that women do not speak out about their own particular kind of oppression. As a matter of fact, it is just the opposite: we say that we recognize the women's right to be free. We have not said much about the homosexual at all, but we must relate to the homosexual movement because it is a real thing. And I know through reading, and through my life experience and observations that homosexuals are not given freedom and liberty by anyone in the society. They might be the most oppresed people in the society.

If you think Huey P. Newton is cool, there's a pretty neat filming by Mr. Spike Lee of his semi-autobiographical play where the actor playing Huey goes a lot more about the rhetoric and what he actually wants. You can get it for a nasty price on Amazon but it's probably available at blockbuster or netflix.

peace, love, rock 'n' roll
-jason...

It's true, we are ALL Marquette!

I was in attendance at the Student Leadership Awards Brunch yesterday morning, as I was honored for my outstanding contribution to recreation, health, and wellness at Marquette through my position as a Building Supervisor at the Rec Center. w00t. Anyway, they read my bio, and I have to say I nearly laughed out loud when they mentioned that I was also the President of the Gay/Straight Alliance because I heard audible gasps from some of the parents in the crowd. Did I leave the stage with a smug smile on my face? You bet.

The thing is, there is a whole category for students who make outstanding contributions to social justice and diversity education, and none of the recipients were honored for their contributions to LGBT-related causes on campus or in the community. I'm not saying that myself or someone else from GSA should have been honored for anything we've done this year (I acknowledge that I was under-ambitious with my Presidency, something I regret wholeheartedly), but it certainly made me wonder IF one of us would have been honored in that category. It would mean bringing us up on stage and declaring how proud they are of us for promoting LGBT equality... they would have to say it in front of hundreds of parents... hundreds of tuition paying, possible Marquette Fund contributing parents... would they do that? Somehow, I'm reluctant to believe they would.

And then of course, I laughed, because of the many categories, I counted more than a half a dozen award recipients who were openly gay and another dozen or so active members of GSA or other organizations that emphasize LGBT rights (JUSTICE, Students for a Fair Wisconsin, College Democrats). We're obviously not a bunch of morons, we're obviously capable of doing great things on campus, and we're obviously recognized as being strong leaders... so why was my bio the only one that made mention of the GSA?

It continues to sadden me that the University allows us to exist, but only in silence. It saddens me that the GSA embodies the Jesuit mission of cura personalis perfectly, yet the University makes as little mention of the organization as possible. It saddens me that GSA leaders can work their fingers to the bone to make Marquette a more inclusive environment for LGBT people, and the best we can hope to do in terms of public recognition is a student organization award -- a ceremony that is given far less pomp and circumstance (and room for parent involvement) than the student leadership awards.

Marquette, you're obviously proud of your LGBT students, or you wouldn't have honored us publicly for all our other contributions. It's about time you recognize that our identities aren't something to be swept under the rug.

As I end my reign as President tonight, I want you all to remember some things: don't be ashamed of who you are. Don't be afraid to stand up for yourself, your identity, and your community. Don't be afraid to hold people accountable for their bigotry. Don't be afraid to challenge the status quo, the administration, and anyone else who tries to make you feel like you're less of a person because of your sexual identity. Don't be afraid to be vocal, to get angry, to stir up controversy. Controversy brews dialogue, and if there's one thing that Marquette needs, it's some good serious discussion.

Gay or straight, we are all an essential part of the Marquette community, and we deserve the same dignity, rights, and respect. Anything less is unacceptable.

With Pride,
Jess

PROBE: A Little Rock N Roll

Well, it's been awhile since there's been a music post up here. So here goes one, a little different than usual.

I won't do much in terms of reviewing though. Obviously, if I didn't like it, I wouldn't post it, so click, click, click and see if you like it.

Up first for the hodgepodge, the Cliks. Really good rock 'n' roll from Toronto I believe, been around a little while. Their singer, Lucas Silveira recently was in the Boston Globe where he talks about the new songs coming up and how being in a rock band has helped him find the freedom to be an out transgender. This is their song "Complicated" live from somewhere on Youtube. And the Music Video of the song that got them signed, "Oh Yea". I'm really into the riffs and the rock voice Silveira has.

David Bowie's "Ziggy Stardust" because it's mentioned in the Boston Globe article about the Cliks. Bowie needs no review :)..... and because I haven't seen this video before, The Pretenders "Brass In My Pocket".


So if you didn't know and didn't click on that Boston Globe article, The True Colors Tour is happening starting in June. The tour is being organized to raise awareness for the LGBT community. There'll be Cyndi Lauper, The Dresden Dolls, Erasure, and the Cliks who I've already posted on. You know that means that I get to post links to Erasure and Cyndi Lauper videos.... ahhh, 80s videos of all genres are great for guilty pleasures

so let these take you out....
oh baby please, give a little respect to -hoo-hoo-hoo me......and it's goood enough for meeee (not to mention old wrasslers are funny, with or without the Goonies Connector)

and nope, not "Coin Operated Boy" bc i like this one better, but you are forewarned, there's a buttshot or two and they're in cabaret makeup that makes it creepy

peace, love, rock 'n' roll
-jason...

Breakfast With Scott

Who would expect the National Hockey League, the least popular major league in America, would be able to tip the radar of American Family Association and company.

AFA is incensed at a "pro-gay publicity stunt" that involves the Toronto Maple Leafs and NHL granting film-makers the rights to use the Leafs imagery in a movie version of an a book called Breakfast With Scott.

What's the thing about about? In a nutshell, a homosexual couple adopts an 11 year old boy who likes wearing makeup. I haven't read the book, but the movie obviously focuses on the Toronto Maple Leafs, and one of the boys fathers is a hockey player.

I can tell you that nobody working on the movie would have thought the NHL or Toronto would let them use their logos or names. Hockey culture like any sport is uber masculine, all about drinking, partying. A player who comes out on a team is risking being benched, not getting protected from physical violence of the other players, or just being removed from the team.

But in Toronto history, they found out that one of their former players had come out. Good luck finding the player's name, the Maple Leafs are thankfully protecting his family's privacy. But anyway, granting rights to their logos out of respect to just 1 former player of a team that has existed in one name or another since the original era of the NHL (1920s or so), that's saying something. The NHL, which has roots tracing back to nearly 100 years back, is enforcing that statement by raising no objection to these film-makers wanting to pay tribute to a former NHL player for who he was. Also significant is that the Toronto Maple Leafs are supposed to be "Canada's Team," so in getting to use their logo, the movie is representing all of Canada (hopefully positively you know, since I admit i haven't read the book) in a movie about a gay family. But you know, if you're in the AFA, honoring someone for any reason is anti-family and anti-American if that person is homosexual.

The downside is that it's going to be a Canadian movie about hockey, so the chances of it getting any kind of release in the USA are like all hockey movies are about 0.000001%.

Well that's news of a different color, eh?

peace, love, rock 'n' roll
-jason...

Soulforce In Seattle

...what i wanted to show the other day...

Soulforce in Seattle: Confessions of an Equality Rider
"Time and again Equality Riders have been told we are affirmed as human beings created in God's image but would not make suitable roommates, teammates, and coworkers. What kind of love can have such distinctions inscribed upon it?"

By Alexey Bulokhov

An Advocate.com exclusive posted April 13, 2007

Easter season is an ideal time for self-reflection. This year I'm wrestling with the idea of accountability. First, there's Christ's resurrection, with its grand motif of commitments and promises. Secondly, there's the Soulforce Equality Ride, which has reached its halfway point. There is so much to think back on and look forward to.

The westbound bus has been blessed with opportunities to engage in serious dialogue on homosexuality and faith with conservative Christian communities on our itinerary. The rhetoric du jour at most of these stops has been that homophobia is not a Christian value. Administrators, faculty, and student leaders have been coming forth in chapels and classrooms to condemn hate speech and violence against LGBT people.

Refreshing as it is, I am weary of the "love the sinner, hate the sin" fallacy that is being offered as an alternative. The concept seems benign and doable when homosexuality is perceived as a cultural pestilence extraneous to the campus bubble. Time and again Equality Riders have been told we are affirmed as human beings created in God's image but would not make suitable roommates, teammates, and coworkers. What kind of love can have such distinctions inscribed upon it?

On Good Friday at George Fox University in Newberg, Ore., a group of Christian students told me they loved me and sympathized with "my issue." They also told me they would still vote against LGBT nondiscrimination laws and marriage equality. Their professed love for me leaves me potentially jobless, homeless, and heartbroken. What kind of conscience allows for such a worldview? My heart is heavy this Easter because I struggle to see Christ in the Christian response to diversity. One cannot condemn people on the basis of sexual orientation and aspire to end hate at the same time. That does not work.

It is revealing that so often Soulforce Equality Ride visits fall under the jurisdiction of the Christian institution's marketing offices. Homosexuality, then, is treated as a matter of public relations. In the opening remarks to the morning assembly at Pepperdine University, a faculty member spoke about confessing the institutional sin of homophobia until a rider pointed out the antigay literature the university had provided its students in preparation for our visit. Right then it became evident that our lives as LGBT people and our quest for equality are not publicity stunts to be assuaged with politically correct pronouncements. What an educational opportunity that long and awkward moment was!

It also highlighted a larger problem afflicting the conversation about homosexuality and faith. In our era of hype, confession has become a hip marketing term—hardcover to DVD, it is available for purchase in all formats. PR firms see it as a cure-all for clients stuck in a harsh spotlight. Confession as a pop culture phenomenon is celebrated as if a tell-all were an end-all.

Along the way, the spiritual nature of this sacrament seems to have become a moot point. Confession calls one not to simply acknowledge a transgression and accept responsibility for any damage caused. It also calls for a radical change in behavior in order to earn a life beyond forgiveness. Unfortunately, so many Christians misguidedly equate the act of confession with the blessing of forgiveness. I believe there is a vast spiritual distance between the two. The Soulforce Equality Ride operates in that reconciliatory space in between, which can only be traversed with intentional, proactive steps.

Repentance is twofold: regret and atonement. After decades of sustained activism and prayerful study, some congregations have been moved to regret their previous rhetoric and actions toward the LGBT community. Even if this sentiment is first expressed in words only, it’s a powerful call to transformation. Now, is there a blueprint for atonement? Such a journey is deeply personal for an individual, but what does it look like for a campus, church, or society at large? What can academic institutions and communities of faith do to right the wrongs of homophobia?

On the latest leg of our westbound itinerary, Soulforce Equality Ride has provided two schools with ripe opportunities to commit to the process of true confession. The courageous members of the Malibu GLEE (Gay, Lesbian, and Everyone Else), the unofficial support group for LGBT students at Pepperdine University, has approached the administration with a request for official student government–approved status, which would enable it to create programming that addresses issues of faith and homosexuality. A committed group of faculty and staff at Fresno Pacific University are exploring ways to establish a Safe Spaces program on campus. Even MidAmerica Nazarene University in Olathe, Kan.—while still figuring out what to do about dancing—has opened its minds and hearts to this dialogue. How can we succeed as a community in reaching out to those affected by the religion-based oppression? It is as much the responsibility of national and local organizations as individuals (like the alumni) to make sure these efforts are taken seriously.

Confession does not stop at words. We must hold ourselves and each other accountable to bring theological doctrine, institutional policy, and private behavior into harmony. Only then would we have a cause to celebrate truly good news not just on Easter but every day. Hallelujah.

peace, love, rock 'n' roll
-jason...