It took a long time, even in the place where the gay rights revolution was born. Every homophobic group in Amerika tried to stop it. But tonight the state of New York finally legalized gay marriage.
Here's the historic vote as covered by Rachel Maddow:
Can you believe it? Almost 42 years to the day since the Stonewall Uprising, gays and lesbians in that state have finally won the right to celebrate their love.
I dedicate this moment to Patrick, and all those who could not live to see this day. But they are with us now in Heaven, and we can know at least we - and so many straight people - did not let them down.
You think it’s going to stop with this? You think now bigamists are going to want their rights to marry? You think somebody that wants to marry his sister is going to now say “I have a right”? I mean, it’s the same principle, isn’t it?
You know...the Empire State Building is decked out in the rainbow colours these days to mark Pride Week.
Holy Lady Gaga. Sometimes it's not easy to be gay eh? When the bigots aren't trying to kill you, the Christianist closet queens are trying to "cure" you.
In the United States their hugging fondling praying cousins at Exodus International recently had an app removed by Apple.
But in this country the eggy freaks at EGA are able to promote the same harmful nonsense, and suck up hoover up donations as a registered CHARITY !!!!!
But now finally, some are taking aim at that scam thanks to the excellent work of my awesome brother Mark at Slap Upside the Head.
So please sign his petition, because it's the best way to put those phonies out of business. And since Stephen Harper shares their views and believes that homosexuality is a choice, so can presumably be "cured," it won't be easy.
As for the "ex-gay" movement, as someone who came out at the age of thirteen and has been fighting bigots and bullies ever since. All I want to say to those self-haters is this:
Closet queens PUH......LEAZE.Get a grip on yourselves...uh...metaphorically speaking. And repeat after me:
Hooray you're gay
And gay is never going to go away.
Or better still, sing it with the Juliettes...
Yup. As I was saying. Sometimes it's not easy to be gay eh?
When I think about what Stephen Harper and his sinister thugs might have been up to in Afghanistan. And how we'll never know what really happened, because the Cons have shutdown the judge's panel.
The Conservative government decided to shut down a panel responsible for vetting documents on the handling and treatment of Afghan detainees, a newly released letter indicates.
The June 15 letter from two former Supreme Court judges on the panel says they were advised by the government after the recent election “that it is unlikely” the document review process would be renewed, even though they had examined only an “initial” cache of records.
So the great document search into torture turned out to be nothing but a FARCE.
When I think about how most Canadians probably don't give a damn because they tuned out the Afghan War a long time ago. And the how the words "Canada" and "human rights" don't go together anymore.
I say thank goodness for Amnesty International, which is celebrating its fiftieth birthday.
I've always admired the organization. I tattooed its logo on my arm when I was fifteen. I love the way it fights for the rights of political prisoners all over the world. And how it champions all kinds of other human rights causes that would otherwise receive little or no attention.
From the rights of Gypsies to be treated with respect and dignity.
To the rights of girls in Nicaragua to live free from sexual violence.
Well I see that Rob Ford has announced that he'd rather get drunk at his cottage, than march in the Pride Parade.
Rob Ford is skipping the pride parade to spend his Canada Day weekend at the cottage, ending a long tradition of participation by Toronto mayors in the popular event.
And I for one am delighted eh?
Because it is a long parade route, it can get brutally hot, and if he melted into a pool of grease, they'd have to get a sewer sucker to hoover him up.
And surely nobody is surprised by the message he is sending to the city's gay community.
Councillor Janet Davis said the mayor’s decision not to march is indicative of his feelings toward the gay community. “By not going to Pride I think he is sending a very clear message that they don’t count in Rob Ford’s city,” she said.
Gawd. What an idiot MONSTER. Why does he hate the people of Toronto soooo much? When can we remove him from office?
And why is that grotesque Fordzilla stirring up homophobia again? Because all you have to do is read the comments in the Globe article to see what I mean:
Hmmm, hang out at lake with family, have a beer, grill some steak and catch some fish.
OR
Watch half-naked, oiled up men dance around in their underpants blowing whistles.....
Pass the beer Rob. I wouldn't go either; someone might sneeze and spread AIDS
And if some gay person is beaten or murdered as a result, he'll have blood all over his trotters.
Oh well. At least the lesson couldn't be clearer eh?
Until progressives unite to defeat the common enemy, they'll get the government, the Prime Minister.
If you want to survive Canada's Summer of Anger, there are two subjects you absolutely must NOT discuss with your fellow hosers.
One...who is to blame for the Vancouver riot? Because chances are you'll have to listen to some deranged rant about how young people are inherently dumb and dangerous. How they HUMILIATED Canada. And how they should be shamed, jailed, whipped, and their lives ruined FOREVER.
Because then you might have to listen to a lengthy and foamy diatribe about how those unionized workers are lazy, greedy, PARASITES, who are giving themselves juicy pensions with OUR tax dollars. And how DARE they have a pension when I don't ???!!!
When in fact:
(1) The postal service workers make millions and millions of dollars in PROFIT for the government. They don't depend on the largesse of taxpayers, and the only people that do are the ones with the best performing pensions in the country.
(2) The attempt to create two kinds of workers at Canada Post is part of a larger campaign to do away with pensions altogether, and an all out assault on the rights of young Canadians.
The CEOs have decided. The value of young people is lower than the value of people from my generation. You don’t deserve the same salary, even if you are better educated. You don’t deserve the same vacation time or health benefits. And you certainly don’t deserve to have the same kind of secure retirement. It’s just not in the business plan.
(3) Stephen Harper and his Cons are out to destroy public pensions, and what's left of the union movement in Canada. Because for them and the big business porkers, pensions are SOCIALISM. And unions are The Enemy.
And they know that if young Canadians are barely able to support themselves, they'll be less likely to join a union, and less able or willing to support the elderly.
So we'll ALL suffer, the race to the bottom will continue, and people will end up gnawing on each other in the darkness of a capitalist jungle. While the fat cats look down on us from their fortresses or their executive jets, rattle their jewels, swill their champagne, and laugh their porky asses off.
Which is when I start thinking of what happened in Vancouver. And wonder what might happen when young Canadians realize that their future has been stolen, their planet has been torched. And find a REAL reason to riot...
But for Godzilla's sake, whatever you do, don't mention that to anyone you don't know really well eh? Or you might be attacked or publicly SHAMED.
Even though that won't change the truth: Or there will be justice, or there will be trouble.
And this too is true:
If you are under the age of 35, pay close attention. Your standard of living, and that of your children, is being decided right now in the boardroom, the workplace and even on the picket line. Sooner rather than later, you will need to pick a side.
We are heading for an ideological and generational struggle the likes of which most Canadians can't even IMAGINE.
The Cons and their corporate masters are preparing to wage war on young and old Canadians.
I am always moved when I see the special bond between a homeless person and his or her dog.
How they share what little they have with their pets. And how their dogs are oblivious to their miserable surroundings, and are just glad to be with the ones who love them.
Because I share a special bond with the homeless. Their condition makes me sad, and ashamed. And the cruel way they are often treated makes me wild with anger.
And of course, as you know, I love dogs eh?
So I found this story both sad and beautiful..
I'm glad that poor man was treated kindly before he died.
Because that's the way all human beings, whether they have a home or not, should be treated all the time.
And I'm happy his last wish came true. Because homeless people have dreams too.
As for the dog, I wonder as she sleeps in her fancy new home, whether she dreams of waking up in that car next to her friend.
But despite the sinking feeling that I had boosted Sun TV's ratings by at least forty percent, and had joined the very small group of Canadians who have ever watched any of their programs for more than an hour, I still liked what I saw.
Oh sure, I wish they could have put the democratic socialism/social democratic debate behind them. Because although you're judged by what you do, not by what you call yourself.
Socialist parties in Europe have often achieved more that their sisters and brothers in Canada---in some cases including free university tuition, strong job protection and termination benefits, higher minimum wages, better pensions, pharmacare, free full day early childhood education, state funded family vacations, worker participation in the management of industry, generous parental leave, a shorter work week, rent subsidies, and in a few odd cases, free firewood, and free access to municipally owned ski lifts and ski runs.
And although I'm proud to call myself a democratic SOCIALIST.
So many Canadians were raised during the Cold War, and confuse socialism and communism. Duh. So social democratic is probably better.
Because for me the ONLY thing that counts is defeating the Harper Cons, and in that regard the most significant thing that happened this weekend was this:
In earlier voting Sunday, party delegates also rejected a resolution calling on the party to reject all future mergers with the Liberals — which leaves the door open to potential future talks between the two opposition parties.
Talk about the Great Leap Forward eh?
Yes comrades... I know that right now the Liberals don't support a merger. But if the NDP can look like a government-in-waiting and still keep their options open, so can the Liberals.
And after they've healed themselves, and accepted reality, and seen what the Harper Cons have done to this country, I'm sure they will.
In fact, on this strange day when I was forced to watch the NDP on Sun TV, I think it's only fitting that I should ask a famous Liberal to sum up my view of this weekend's democratic socialist/social democratic convention.
Because he was once a socialist.
The universe Pierre Trudeau said, is unfolding as it should.
Or as I say these days, if you can't call it Ipanema eh?
Lardy. Bean me with a bacon bit...or a Vienna sausage. They don't call them Con hogs for nothing eh? But who knew they were such party animals?
Prime Minister Stephen Harper's own department has repeatedly broken the government's tough rules for hospitality spending.
An internal report on how the Privy Council Office spent $340,000 on hospitality found widespread flouting of a basic rule — that is, public servants must get prior approval from a supervisor before spending the cash.
Oinky Boinky. I know having a majority means never having to say sorry. But is Stephen Harper running a government, or the prom he never had?
The Canadian Press later reported Harper had personally approved a $47,000 event for 600 employees in Privy Council Office.
And who does he think he is wasting the taxpayer's money so casually? Tony Clement ? You know...the Minister of Pork responsible for slashing government spending.
But of course, for sheer debauchery nothing could beat this Con party...
At the recent Tory convention, party members voted to support any religious organization’s right to refuse to perform same-sex marriages. Meanwhile, a group of gay Conservatives at the convention, held at the Ottawa Westin, hosted “The Fabulous Blue Tent,” a hospitality suite open to all.
The party went on until 3 a.m. Ministers in attendance included Kenney and John Baird. Among the Conservative MPs were Patrick Brown, Rick Dykstra and newly elected Toronto Tory Ted Opitz (who beat Liberal Borys Wrzesnewskyj by 26 votes in a recount). One Tory attendee quipped: “The Conservatives have made progress clearly by upgrading from a closet to a ‘fabulous blue tent.’ And if you keep throwing fabulous parties they have got to love you.”
Because having a party after voting to strip gays and lesbians of their right to marry, is about as hoggy as it gets.
And inviting the porker homophobe Jason Kenney, is the opposite of FABULOUS.
Unless of course, La Kenney came in drag...
But sadly I can't confirm that, because my only other source is Dr Roy.
And he's a friend of Dorothy too, and a huge monarchist, so he's not telling.
The Conservative government is vowing to legislate an end to the Canada Post lockout even if it means extending the Parliamentary session and overriding the strong objections from labour and the opposition.
NDP Leader Jack Layton and interim Liberal Leader Bob Rae both accused Prime Minister Stephen Harper of ignoring the larger issue behind the disputes – the trend of employers moving away from defined benefit – or guaranteed – pension plans for new hires.
We both had the same message for the workers, the nicest bunch of people you can imagine. We are against this war on pensions, this assault on young and old Canadians, and we support their union one-hundred percent.
We felt we had to say that eh? After hearing so many people muttering that they don't have a pension so why should the postal workers? As if a race to the bottom is what this country needs. Instead of a decent pension system for everyone, so old people can live out their lives in dignity instead of misery.
And the young aren't treated like slave labour. And condemned to a future of low wages and exploitation.
But of course that's exactly where Stephen Harper and his Con ideologues would take us, to please their masters in Big Business...
Today on the CBC the despicable capitalist shark Kevin O'Leary said, if he was Prime Minister, he'd declare unions illegal. So you know what those porkers are thinking eh?
The good news? If they try to turn this country into a jungle they'll have a hell of a fight on their hands. I was delighted to see how many ordinary Canadians honked their car horns in support as they drove by the CUPW picket line.
They know, as Seb and I know, that unions are some of the greatest defenders of our precious Canadian values, champions of human rights, that without them we would ALL be slaves.
And of course that, see you in the streets brothers and sisters. Say it again Billy.
