Monday, 1 July 2013
In the morning the boyfriend and I are headed to Ft. Lauderdale to stay with friends that hosted us back in February (where we are staying is shown in the images above and below). Posting tomorrow will be limited since we will be in travel mode. Our two dogs will be sojourning at the boyfriend's father's home while we are away and the Terry McAuliffe staffer that we are hosting through November will be holding down things at the house with the help of a friend here in the neighborhood who will tend the boyfriends numerous potted plants. Interestingly enough, we are driving to Richmond to catch a direct flight on Jet Blue that was extremely reasonable and which avoids the pitfalls of connections.
While in the Ft. Lauderdale area, we will definitely make use of our reciprocal membership benefits through HYC.
I would ask any readers in the Ft. Lauderdale area to e-mail me if they'd like to get together. We will be getting together with friend from the area and also seeing Virginia friends who have second homes in the area, but meeting new friends is always something we enjoy. I am 100% serious in extending this invitation.
The photos I posted from Saturday's Hampton Single Class sailing races were taken with my new smart phone which I am admittedly still learning to use after having a 7 year old Nokia that refused to die. Some other members of the HYC Sonar crews with better photographic equipment and far superior skills took far better pictures, a few of which I wanted to share. What follows is a selection of a few more of these photos:
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| Five of the six Sonar class boats owned by HYC |
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| Another good shot of the Sonar class boats |
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| The weather early in the day was less than pretty |
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| Our wonderful sailing director who keeps us organized |
Am I hooked on sail boat racing? Most definitely. The next step will be to get the boyfriend to help crew in future races.
I will admit that I was a little apprehensive when we first joined the Hampton Yacht Club, but now I have no regrets and I hope our membership (and that of a gay couple down the street from us) will inspire other local LGBT individuals to join. Pushing the envelop if you will can be scary, but the rewards can be amazing. And it is the best way to open hearts and minds.
One should never expect modern day Virginia to do the right thing willing. At least not so long as the Virginia Republican Party is controlled by far right Christian extremists and their equally self-centered Tea Party cousins, the vast majority of whom describe themselves as "conservative Christians." Lobotomized Christians might be a more apt description, in my opinion. While the recent U. S. Supreme Court rulings did not directly impact Virginia's foul anti-gay Marshall-Newman Amendment (which amended the Virginia Constitution's Bill of Rights to take away rights), language in United States v. Windsor has set the stage for a constitutional challenge under the 14th Amendment to the U. S. Constitution which - contrary to what Ken Cuccinelli believes - DOES supersede Virginia's Constitution. A column by Delegate Scott Surovell sketches out why Virginia will eventually see its anti-gay marriage ban fall. Here are highlights:
There are two important issues. First, whether Virginia allows gay marriages to take place in Virginia. Second, whether Virginia recognizes gay marriages performed in other states. The Supreme Court has not addressed Virginia's power to ban gay marriage. However, United States v. Windsor puts Virginia in violation of the 14th Amendment.
The way the law stands today, the Supreme Court has not told Virginia that it must legalize gay marriage nor has it said Virginia's gay marriage ban is constitutional. But it has effectively told Virginia that we must recognize gay marriages created in other states. Virginia's Constitution specifically prohibits this and puts Section 15-A of the Constitution of Virginia in violation of the 14th Amendment of the United States Constitution.United States v. Windsor makes clear that government must recognize unions created in other states.DOMA seeks to injure the very class New York seeks to protect. By doing so it violates basic due process and equal protection principles applicable to the Federal Government. The Constitution’s guarantee of equality “must at the very least mean that a bare congressional desire to harm a politically unpopular group cannot” justify disparate treatment of that group. . . .
DOMA’s principal effect is to identify a subset of state-sanctioned marriages and make them unequal. The principal purpose is to impose in equality, not for other reasons like governmental efficiency. Responsibilities, as well as rights, enhance the dignity and integrity of the person. And DOMA contrives to deprive some couples married under the laws of their State, but not other couples, of both rights and responsibilities.
The due process and equal protection provisions of the 14th Amendment explicitly apply not only to the Federal Government, but also to the states.No state may abridge the privileges and immunities of any of its citizens, or deny them due process of law or equal protection of the laws.The 14th Amendment contained this language to prevent southern state legislatures from economically and politically disenfranchising freed slaves after the Civil War through the Black Codes which restricted black's movement, required year-long labor contracts, prohibited gun ownership, and made Blacks incompetent witnesses in court. Virginia can no longer marginalize gay residents.
There is an entire moral, religious, ethical backdrop to all of this which could fill ten articles. I'm only focusing on the basic constitutional analysis above in this article. Aside from the legal issues, I also believe it's morally wrong to marginalize people for who they love.
I agree with his analysis and the only question is how long it will be before a federal lawsuit is filed challenging the constitutionality of the Marshall-Newman Amendment under the United States Constitution. For me, that day cannot come soon enough.
Inasmuch as the Republican Party is now a defacto arm of the most extreme far right Christian elements in America, the Christofascists refusal to take climate change as a real and growing problem is translating itself into a growing threat to the nation's future. If people want to embrace ignorance and harbor racist and bigoted views within their houses of worship, it's one thing. When it cripples governmental policy and threatens the rights and property of others, it is something far different. A column in The Humanist looks at the far right's increasing insanity on climate change and how it is harming the rest of us. Here are some highlights:
According to a Newsweek poll, 40 percent of people in the United States believe the world will end with a battle between Jesus Christ and the Antichrist. And overwhelmingly, those people also believe that natural disasters and violence are signs of the approach of the glorious battle—so much so that 22 percent of Americans believe the world will end in their lifetime. This would logically mean that concern for the world of their great-great-grandchildren makes no sense at all and should be dismissed from their minds. In fact, a recent study found that belief in the “second coming” reduces support for strong governmental action on climate change by 20 percent.
Apart from the corruption of money, whenever you have 40 percent of Americans believing something stupid—combined with the forces of gerrymandering in the House, disproportionate representation of small states in the Senate, the Senate filibuster, the winner-take-all two-party system that shuts many voices out of the media, out of debates, and off of ballots, and a communications system that mainstreams Republican beliefs—it’s almost guaranteed that the 40-percent view will control the government.
Congressman John Shimkus (R-IL) says the planet is in fine shape and guaranteed to stay that way because God promised Noah as much. 22 percent of Americans believe the world will end in their lifetime.
This would logically mean that concern for the world of their great-great-grandchildren makes no sense at all and should be dismissed from their minds. In fact, a recent study found that belief in the “second coming” reduces support for strong governmental action on climate change by 20 percent.
And where does that belief show up to damaging effect? In our politics it shows up primarily as an attitude toward presidents. While President Obama has spent five years actively promoting fossil fuels over renewable energy and doing very little to preserve our natural environment for future generations, the largest block of those concerned about global warming have spent their time telling each other to trust in God, that he works in mysterious ways, that he is up against the “evil one” and must be allowed time to succeed in his battle. You see, the problem with theism is not that some of its spin-off beliefs succeed in an undemocratic system. The problem is that theism is anti-democratic at its core.
I’m proposing the unpopular position of taking the facts as they come, acting accordingly, and acting cautiously when it comes to the fate of generations as yet unborn—even if that caution requires huge sacrifices.
There are other powerful forces weighing against action. There’s our love of technology, . . . . There’s also greed, including our fear that living sustainably would involve living with less of the materialistic non-essentials that currently clutter our lives and fuel our obesity. And there’s the myth that we’re powerless to effect change. Impotence is a self-fulfilling loop.
Those longing for the end of the world are far from alone in imagining that we don’t have the power to make the world over ourselves. Nonetheless, among the things we should be doing right now is explaining to our neighbors that Jesus isn’t coming back.
It would be nice - and divine justice, if you will, if we could put all the climate change deniers in thee lowest lying Louisiana parishes and leave them to experience first hand what their ignorance and close mindedness is causing to happen.
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| A gay protestor is arrested in St. Petersburg |
In a move reminiscent of Tsarist efforts to blame Russia's domestic problems on disliked minorities by inciting anti-Jewish pogroms and other forms of bigotry, Vladimir Putin has signed a sweeping "anti-gay propaganda" bill into law that can only stir up anti-gay animus and violence. Signing the law will win Putin points with the utterly reactionary leadership of the Russian Orthodox Church and be a distraction from Putin's own failed policies. Meanwhile, the move will do nothing to enhance the image of Russia as a modern nation, nor will it help Russia's tourism industry. But then again, Putin seems only concerned with retaining power at what ever cost. NOTE: foreigners can be arrested and serve jail time under this anti-gay law. The Washington Blade looks at this disgusting development:
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday signed a bill into law that bans the “promotion of homosexuality” to minors.
The Associated Press reported Putin signed the measure — under which individuals will face fines of between 4,000 and 5,000 rubles ($124-$155) and government officials would face fines of between 40,000 and 50,000 rubles ($1,241-$1,551) — less than a week after Russia’s upper house of Parliament approved it.
Organizations will also face a fine of up to 1 million rubles ($31,000) or suspension of their activities for up to 90 days. Foreigners will also face up to 15 days in jail and deportation.
“I was sure it would be passed,” Nikolai Alekseev of Gay Russia, an LGBT advocacy group, told the Washington Blade during an interview from Moscow after the Duma vote. “It will now be signed by the president, who is very much using this fight against homosexuals in his campaign to attract voters.”
Two men in Volgograd and on the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia’s Far East in recent weeks have been killed during what local authorities have described as anti-gay attacks. Police in St. Petersburg on Saturday arrested 40 LGBT advocates . . . .
Alekseev and a growing number of other LGBT rights advocates have also called for a boycott of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi and the 2018 World Cup that will also take place in Russia. “[They are] a very good opportunity to raise particular concerns,” Alekseev told the Blade earlier this month. “One of the ways for many countries would be to boycott these international sporting events because they take place in a country which doesn’t respect basic human rights.”
Personally, I say let's boycott - or better yet move the Olympic games and World Cup to a less bigoted and reactionary country.
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