Let My People Marry! What the Torah Is Trying to Teach Us

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Wednesday January 13, 2010 · 6:44 PM PST

2010/01/13 · 18:44

Special Note: Please pray for the safety and healing of our brothers and sisters in Haiti and give mightily the relief fund of your choice. Mine is the American Jewish World Service.

The Cycle of Torah Reading

Jewish congregations all over the world read more or less the same portions from the Bible in regular cycle that varies only a little from year to year. Each portion, or parshah, is a roughly thematic unit, roughly one fifty-second of the length of the original five books of Moses, and is named after a prominent word in the first line or so.

This coming Saturday morning, we will start reading again from a portion of Exodus called Va'eira, which means "And I appeared." It's the big one. It's where G-d (some of us leave out the vowel to capture respect and mystery and to not create something with G-d's name on it that might be thrown away or defaced) identifies G-dself to Moses as the Being that appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

The text is the same as last year. We are different.

mg3ca

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Monday May 18, 2009 · 4:43 PM PDT

2009/05/18 · 16:43

Back in March, eight married gay couples and three widowers filed suit to compel the federal government to recognize their legal marriages. The effort is being led by the same team that helped bring marriage equality to Massachusetts five years ago and seeks to overturn section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which denies married gay couples spousal protections in Seocial Security, federal income tax, federal employee and retiree benefits, and a few other areas.

According to a press release being put out by what looks like an ad-hoc, Facebook-driven advocacy group domaflipflop.com, the Obama administration has until June 22 to decide whether they will defend DOMA in court. http://

Poll

70 votes Show Results

Will the Obama Justice Department Defend DOMA in Court?

70 votes Vote Now!

Will the Obama Justice Department Defend DOMA in Court?

Yes. Nothing says "bipartisanship" quite like throwing the homos under the bus.

34 votes

No way. No one in the Obama Administration would go so far as defending something blatantly unconstitutional.

10 votes

You got me! I don't know where they'll go on this one.

26 votes

Excuse Me. Our Lives Are Not an "Issue."

mg3ca

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Thursday December 18, 2008 · 12:10 PM PST

2008/12/18 · 12:10

Some thoughts to follow Clarknt67's's excellent diary on the inauguration team's choice of pastoral kick-off lineup.

Rick Warren may be a nice guy. He may be a good speaker. He may even be the idea person to bring evangelicals to some common ground with the rest of us.

But a nice as he dresses it all up, we don't have a disagreement on the "issues." He's a perpetrator of spiritual violence. It's just a question of how close your are to being the crosshairs.

Put yourself in the head of a GLBT teen who lives in the all-enveloping world of a place like Saddleback. This is your life, in a nutshell:

a) Pray that God will change the sexual orientation He created you with.
b) Be celibate until then.
c) Repeat from step (a)

Don't like it? Well, you can leave. Or die. Dead is better than whole.

mg3ca

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Friday September 12, 2008 · 3:22 PM PDT

2008/09/12 · 15:22

Americans may or may not punish the McCain/Palin ticket for lying to them, pandering to them, dragging our democracy further into the mud.

Most people probably aren't moved enough by issues, even the bread-and-butter ones.

But how many are unmoved by the suffering of animals?

We are a nation of fur lovers. Fur lovers who may be about to hand the reins of power to someone who thinks THIS is okay:

mg3ca

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Saturday April 07, 2007 · 10:45 AM PDT

2007/04/07 · 10:45

Cross-posted from my Vox.com blog, a story coinciding with the oncoming Easter holiday.

mg3ca

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Saturday January 21, 2006 · 6:11 PM PST

2006/01/21 · 18:11

Another day, another recommended diary with uncritical use of the term 'gay marriage.'

This has to be one of the shrewdest manipulations of political language in recent memory ... just look at how many pro-equality activists and bloggers, particularly here on DKos, use it without a second thought. Read More

Scary Legislative Alert: Houses of Worship Free Speech Restoration Act

mg3ca

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Wednesday September 15, 2004 · 6:20 AM PDT

2004/09/15 · 06:20

I got this in an update from the Missouri ERA PAC. I experienced the electoral reach of fundie churches first-hand as they turned into a vast organizing machine in the run-up to the vote on Amendment 2, the gay-marriage amendment. If you would rather not see this played out on a national scale, call Ways and Means Chairman Bill Thomas today!

If the Religious Right gets its way, churches will be able to legally endorse candidates and lend support to campaigns just in time for November¹s elections.
In a move designed to crush all opposition, House Majority Leader Tom Delay and House Speaker Dennis Hastert have joined with Rep. Walter Jones to attach the Houses of Worship Free Speech Restoration Act (Jones bill/HR 235) to the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004 (H.R. 4520). If passed, the Jones bill would go far towards eroding the wall of separation between the institutions of religion and government by reversing IRS tax laws that prohibit houses of worship from engaging in partisan politicking.
The American Jobs Creation Act already passed the House and Senate and is in conference committee. By inserting the Jones legislation into this bill during conference committee, Delay and Jones ensure that the House and Senate will never get a chance to vote on the Jones bill, which the House has defeated in various forms twice before.
Shortly before the Congress moved into its August Recess, Rep. Jones, according to The Hill newspaper, delivered a letter to the Speaker signed by 131 lawmakers stating that the House 'lost an ideal opportunity' to change IRS policy in regards to the ability of houses of worship to endorse partisan candidates when the House passed the tax reform bill on June 17.
In that bill, The Interfaith Alliance, along with nearly two dozen religious denominations, was successful in leading a bipartisan effort to defeat the so-called 'Safe Harbors Act,' a variation of the Jones bill that would have allowed houses of worship to endorse political candidates up to three times without losing their tax-exempt status. Capitol Hill sources say that the letter delivered by Jones to Speaker Hastert is a clear pressure tactic reminding the Speaker that many Republican votes for the larger tax reform bill are in jeopardy if the Jones legislation is not included in the bill.
On September 9, action alerts sprang up on Religious-Right websites instructing their members to call Hastert and Delay stating, "UPDATE: WE NEED YOU TO MAKE CALLS TODAY! The hope of returning free speech to our pastors is closer than ever. There is a solid possibility of inserting HR235, the Houses of Worship Free Speech Restoration Act, into the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004 that is currently in conference committee on Capitol Hill."
Contact House Ways and Means Chairman Bill Thomas and thank him for his past work in preventing this dangerous and landscape-altering legislation from becoming reality. Please ask Chairman Thomas to prevent the hijacking of the Jobs Creation Act by Walter Jones and his Houses of Worship Free Speech Restoration Act. His office can be reached by calling 202-225-3625.
Telephone calls are the only communication that will make an impact at this point. With the strong network of right-wing organizations making calls, please immediately let every national organization you are affiliated with know about this.

Kerry would have voted for MO gay marriage ban

mg3ca

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Friday August 06, 2004 · 2:56 PM PDT

2004/08/06 · 14:56

From today's Kansas City Star

http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/9332043.htm

"Kerry did say that he would have voted for Amendment 2, the constitutional amendment banning gay marriage that passed overwhelmingly Tuesday. He said that Massachusetts passed the same type of amendment a few years ago and that he supported it."

mg3ca

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Thursday July 15, 2004 · 12:24 PM PDT

2004/07/15 · 12:24

Fellow Kossacks-

I'm looking for the source of a quote I have in my head and could use some help!

I think some Supreme Court Justice said something like:

"The true test of whether restrictions the majority would place on a minority are just is whether anyone in the majority would consent to live under them."

Any leads?

Michael Getty
Constitution Defense League of Missouri

Please googlebomb us! Missouri Launches Campaign to Defeat Anti-Gay Amendment

mg3ca

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Friday May 21, 2004 · 5:40 PM PDT

2004/05/21 · 17:40

Hello Kossacks!

On May 14th, in the final minutes of their session, Missouri legislators passed a Joint Resolution, which will put before voters an amendment to the State Constitution reading as follows: To be valid and recognized in this state, a marriage shall exist only between a man and a woman.

The amendment will likely be on the ballot on August 3rd, despite some tense last-minute wrangling in the courts on the part of Republicans, who want the issue on the ballot in November as a way of defeating John Kerry, Nancy Farmer, and Gov. Bob Holden at the polls.

Missouri will be the FIRST of more than a dozen states to face a marriage amendment.

The entire nation will be watching us.

Our campaign website, www.constitutiondefenseleague.org has info, an online donation form, and lots of other stuff.

Please link us as much as you can!

Here's a bit to get a taste of the politics behind this amendment:

Shortly after passing the amendment in the House, representatives joined in a round of prayers invoking the name of Jesus. The amendment is just the latest attack by a group of fundamentalist legislators who are bent on imposing their religious beliefs on every citizen in the state. Ed Emery, a representative from Barton County, accused House Democrats who stood up against the amendment of "promoting Sodomite relationships."

How about sending us some of that Kossack buzz?

Show Me Equality!
Michael in St. Louis

P.S.
www.constitutiondefenseleague.org

New online poll at www.cbn.com. Will these yahoos ever learn?

mg3ca

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Wednesday March 31, 2004 · 11:05 AM PST

2004/03/31 · 11:05

Fellow Kossacks,

The Chirstian Broadcasting Network has an online poll that asks, "Do you believe a constitutional amendment is necessary to stop homosexual marriage?"

www.cbn.com

The last online poll from the American Family Association ended up with 80% in favor of recognizing marriage equality for same-sex couples.

Shall we instruct them once again in the power of the blogosphere?

RSS

Let My People Marry! What the Torah Is Trying to Teach Us

The Coming DOMA Showdown

Excuse Me. Our Lives Are Not an "Issue."

FUR RAGE! Hit Palin the Wolf Killer Hard with $40

Happy Easter! Into the Heart of Catholicism

'Gay Marriage' Must Be Outlawed

Scary Legislative Alert: Houses of Worship Free Speech Restoration Act

Kerry would have voted for MO gay marriage ban

Looking for source for a quote: Minority rights

Please googlebomb us! Missouri Launches Campaign to Defeat Anti-Gay Amendment

New online poll at www.cbn.com. Will these yahoos ever learn?