...and a little child shall lead them, or, The Littlest Activist

Ethan McNamee is a third grader at Montclair Elementary in Denver, Colorado. As improbable as it sounds, for his class project, Ethan organized an Equal Marriage Rights Rally today at the Capitol Building in Denver.

From all I’ve read about it, this was entirely Ethan’s idea & he was told that not everyone in attendance at his rally would necessarily agree with what he was saying. In the video below, Ethan even addresses the fact that “there might be some people who have a different view from us”, but young Ethan encouraged supporters to “please keep all your positive energy on the rally. Despite the views of these people, I believe that I am doing the right thing, and lots and lots of people can many lives better…”.

Since I don’t think I can put it any better than Ethan did today at the rally, let’s hear and (thanks to YouTube) see what Ethan has to say.

Rock on, my little brother…

He's Gay! That's Why!

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What God Gave Me Today

In the midst of the current storm of my life, God keeps whispering sweet hope to my heart.

As insubstantial as the source of this hope may seem on its face, a song I heard for the first time today by (of all people) Miley Cyrus proved yet again to me that our Lord will do what He must to touch our lives, if we only let Him in.

I'm also starting to see that I can't let my life be about all those things I do not or cannot have; I want it to be about how--in spite of everything--truly blessed I am that God loves me enough to send me encouragement from the four corners of the world, and to have so many dear, precious friends who selflessly hold me up in prayer...and just plain hold me up when I don't even feel like I have the strength to stand at all.

Today, God gave me this...

The song is called The Climb and below is Miley's video.



Some of the lyrics that especially touched me today:

]I can almost see it
That dream I'm dreaming but
There's a voice inside my head sayin,
You'll never reach it,
Every step I'm taking,
Every move I make feels
Lost with no direction
My faith is shaking but I
Got to keep trying
Got to keep my head held high

There's always going to be another mountain
I'm always going to want to make it move
Always going to be an uphill battle,
Sometimes you going to have to lose,
Ain't about how fast I get there,
Ain't about what's waiting on the other side
It's the climb.

P.S. Thank you, God.

In Honor of Matthew...

On April 29^th, after debating the issue, the U.S. House of Representatives approved, the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act (LLEHCPA), also known as the Matthew Shepard Act by a vote of 249 to 175.

In the midst of the debate, with Matthew’s mother, Judy Shepard, in the Visitors Gallery to hear every word, Republican Representative Virginia Foxx of North Carolina’s 5^th District resorted to outright lies to try to stop passage of the LLEHCPA:

“…I also would like to point out that there was a bill -- the hate crimes bill that's called the Matthew Shepard bill is named after a very unfortunate incident that happened where a young man was killed, but we know that that young man was killed in the commitment of a robbery. It wasn't because he was gay. This…the bill was named for him, hate crimes bill was named for him, but it's really a hoax that…that continues to be used as an excuse for passing these bills…”

Rachel Maddow had a chance to speak exclusively with Judy Shepard after the vote about how she felt about what the US House had done & to comment on Rep. Foxx’s reprehensible mis-characterization of her son:

Being me, I examined the results of that House vote & thought I’d share it here.

Of the 256 Democrats currently in the US House:

231 Voted FOR the Matthew Shepard Act
17 Voted AGAINST
8 DID NOT VOTE

There is also a vacancy in California’s 32^nd District at present, due to Rep. Hilda Solis (D) being appointed as President Obama’s Labor Secretary. A special election in the district will be held on July 14, 2009 to select Ms. Solis's replacement for the remainder of her term.

Of the 178 Republicans in the US House:

18 Voted FOR The Matthew Shepard Act
158 Voted AGAINST
2 DID NOT VOTE

It’s also interesting to note where the 17 Democrats who voted against the LLEHCPA came from:

3 came from the Midwestern States
1 came from the Northeastern States
13 CAME FROM THE SOUTHERN STATES
NONE of the Democrats from Western States voted against

As for the Republicans who voted in favor of the LLEHCPA:

2 came from Midwestern States
7 came from the Northeastern States
5 came from the Southern States
4 came from the Western States

Next stop for the Matthew Shepard Act is the U.S. Senate. Not sure what the prospects in the Senate are right now, but I’m feeling more hopeful now than I have in the past…oh…8 years or so.

Always Golden

My world is a little darker & a little sadder today.

Bea Arthur passed away this morning.

Thank you, Bea, for giving us Maude & Dorothy.

They (YOU) are more precious to your fans than you will ever know.

May you find even a fraction of the joy you gave to others while we were blessed enough to have you here.

When you meet your Maker, I pray you are given at least one star for every time you made us laugh.

The entire night sky wouldn’t be enough.

Love Me Some "First Wives"!

I am posting this video clip from The First Wives Club merely because not only do I adore Bette Middler, Goldie Hawn & Diane Keaton I truly dig their own inspiring rendition of Leslie Gore's hit You Don't Own Me.

Check it out:

"...recognize ourselves in each other..."

Yesterday, President Obama spoke at a Capitol Hill ceremony honoring the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum’s Days of Remembrance, the theme of which was Never Again: What You Do Matters.

In the speech he gave at the ceremony, President Obama highlighted the fact that the same fears & ignorance (including homophobia) that helped to give birth to & nurtured the Holocaust, are sadly afflicting the human race even now:

"To this day, there are those who insist the Holocaust never happened, who perpetrate every form of intolerance--racism and anti-Semitism, homophobia, xenophobia, sexism and more--hatred that degrades its victim and diminishes us all.

Today and every day, we have an opportunity as well as an obligation to confront these scourges, to fight the impulse to turn the channel when we see images that disturb us or wrap ourselves in the false comfort that others’ sufferings are not our own."

President Obama also spoke of the innate power in the human ability to examine our own hearts when we see all around us examples of humankind’s cruelty to its own. He challenged us not to give in to the urge to look away when we see the inevitable effects of that cruelty. He called on people of good will to use the ugliness foisted upon us as an impetus to challenge the status quo; as a way to re-dedicate ourselves to the idea that we can change this world, but only as long as we believe we can, and as long as we're ready to back up our good intentions with equally good actions:

"…we have the opportunity to make a habit of empathy, to recognize ourselves in each other, to commit ourselves to resisting injustice and intolerance and indifference, in whatever forms they may take…"

Amen, Mr. President.

Amen.