Beat poetry by Denice Frohman.
I saw this last night and really liked it. I’d love to write like this 🙂
Brendon Ayanbedejo cut by Baltimore Ravens
Marriage equality ally Brendon Ayanbadejo’s contract was terminated by the Baltimore Ravens yesterday, Newsday reports:
At tonight’s Straight for Equality Gala in Manhattan where he and Vikings punter Chris Kluwe were being honored, Ayanbadejo said his non-football activities were a factor in the Ravens’ decision.
“My bark is louder than my bite,” he told Newsday. “I make a lot of noise and garner a lot of attention for various things off the football field. When that starts happening, why do you have that player around?”
Ayanbadejo said he understands it’s just a piece of the ultimate decision. The three-time Pro Bowler as a special teamer said he knows the Ravens can find players to do what he does for less money and conceded that his productivity has gone down in recent years.
“But,” he said, “I don’t necessarily think that teams want this type of attention.”
The Ravens say it had nothing to do with that:
“We are surprised that Brendan would indicate that,” said Ravens spokesman Kevin Byrne. “We have always respected Brendan’s opinions and his right to express them. He was released for football reasons, period.”
UPDATE – Brendon posted the following statement on his Facebook page clarifying he was NOT cut for speaking out about marriage equality:
“Just a heads up I did an interview today and no way said I was cut because my views. I said my talk was louder than my production and at 36 when you are not producing it is a fair move. You can find cheaper guys to do what I do. Ravens are the best organization in the NFL period!”
North Dakota: Sen. Heidi Heitkamp supports marriage equality
“In speaking with North Dakotans from every corner of our great state, and much personal reflection, I have concluded the federal government should no longer discriminate against people who want to make lifelong, loving commitments to each other or interfere in personal, private, and intimate relationships. I view the ability of anyone to marry as a logical extension of this belief. The makeup of families is changing, but the importance of family is enduring.” – Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND), becoming the 52nd sitting U.S. Senator to endorse marriage equality.
(Via JMG)
Indiana: Sen. Joe Donnelly supports marriage equality
Senator Joe Donnelly (D-IN) has come out for marriage equality:
“In recent years, our country has been involved in an important discussion on the issue of marriage equality. While serving in the House of Representatives, I had the opportunity to act on a core belief of mine: we are a stronger country when we draw on the strengths of all Americans. I voted to repeal ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ and was an original supporter of the bill that would make it illegal to discriminate against someone in the workplace because of their sexual orientation. It is also for that reason that I oppose amending either Indiana’s or our nation’s constitution to enshrine in those documents an ‘us’ and a ‘them,’ instead of a ‘we.’ With the recent Supreme Court arguments and accompanying public discussion of same-sex marriage, I have been thinking about my past positions and votes. In doing so, I have concluded that the right thing to do is to support marriage equality for all.”
Another poll shows a majority of Americans support marriage equality
New Quinnipiac poll puts same-sex marriage support at 50 percent:
“Fifty-percent of American voters support same-sex marriage, while 41 percent oppose it and the remaining 9 percent are unsure or did not answer, according to a Quinnipiac University Polling Institute survey released on Thursday.
It’s the first time support has reached the 50 percent threshold for Quinnipiac.
Florida: Sen. Bill Nelson supports marriage equality
Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL), in a statement today to the Tampa Bay Times announced his support for marriage equality.
“It is generally accepted in American law and U.S. society today ‘that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.’ I believe that.
The civil rights and responsibilities for one must pertain to all. Thus, to discriminate against one class and not another is wrong for me. If we are endowed by our Creator with rights, then why shouldn’t those be attainable by Gays and Lesbians?
Simply put, if The Lord made homosexuals as well as heterosexuals, why should I discriminate against their civil marriage? I shouldn’t, and I won’t.
So I will add my name to the petition of senators asking the Supreme Court to declare the law that prohibits gay marriage unconstitutional.”
Sen. Nelson makes it 51 members of the Senate that have endorsed marriage.
Fired Rutgers coach Mike Rice issues public statement about his abuse of players
Fired Rutgers basketball coach Mike Rice has issued an emotional apology to the media:
As I stated three months ago after I watched the video…how deeply regrettable those actions… I also stated how I was going to try and work on changing and I think I have accomplished a lot of that.
I can’t say anything right now except I’m sorry… they’ll never be a time when I am going to use any of that as an excuse – or be any excuse.
I have let so many people down… my players, my administration, Rutgers University, the fans… my family who’s sitting in their house just huddled around because of the fact that their father… is an embarrassment to them.
It’s troubling but I will at some time…maybe I will try to explain it but right now there’s no explanation for what’s on those films because there is no excuse for it – I was wrong.
I want to tell everybody who’s believed in me… that I am deeply sorry for the pain and hardship that I have caused.
Rice was fired yesterday after hours of video was released showing him subjecting players to homophobic slurs and physical assaults.
Rice’s behavior was first reported by former director of player development Eric Murdock, who compiled footage of Rice’s actions—including kicking players and calling one a “fucking fairy” and a “fucking faggot.”
Initially, Rice was just suspended for three games, sent to anger-management classes and fined $50,000. But when ESPN and other media outlets got a hold of the disturbing 40-minute video, the school made an about-face and fired Rice.
David Letterman on excluding gays from marriage: “It is absolute stupidity”
With Rachel Maddow sitting as the guest, no less.
Said Letterman:
“I’m just sick and tired, and I think it has really crossed the line of being nonsense. This ongoing, politically nuanced, religiously nuanced discussion of gay marriage, gay rights. It is absolute stupidity….
“Humans have the right to do what humans do, that’s it. End of story. There’s no argument. There’s no exceptions. Humans have rights and they get to do what humans get to do. Case closed. Good night.”
Trailer: “Bridegroom”
Last May, I posted the devastating video “It Could Happen to You” made by Shane Bitney Crone in response to the accidental death of his boyfriend Tom Bridegroom. The video, which documented the aftermath of Tom’s sudden death, has since been viewed more than 3.5 million times.
When the video went viral, director Linda Bloodworth Thomason sought funds on Kickstarter for a documentary about Tom’s story, a Kickstarter which broke records for the fundraising start-up.
The completed film is set to premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on Tuesday, April 23 where it will have four screenings.
Bridegroom tells the emotional journey of Shane Bitney Crone and Tom Bridegroom, two young men in a loving and committed relationship that was cut tragically short by a misstep off the side of a roof. The story of what happened after this accidental death – of how people without the legal protections of marriage can find themselves completely shut out and ostracized – is poignant, enraging and opens a window onto the issue of marriage equality like no speech or lecture ever will.
Here’s Shane’s original, heartbreaking video that moved millions:
For more info on the film, go to www.bridegroommovie.com
Texas A&M student senate votes to allow students to “opt out” of funding LGBT Center
The student senate at Texas A&M University voted Wednesday night, by a vote of 35-28, to allow students to “opt-out” of having their activities fees fund the campus LGBT center.
Originally, the measure was called the “GLBT Funding Opt Out Bill” but was renamed the “Religious Funding Exemption Bill” so that it would not sound as bigoted. Thomas McNutt, a co-author of the bill, tried to say the name change changed the point of the bill and that it did not discriminate against specifically against gays. “We came up with the new bill — the new bill that does not point out anyone,” McNutt said of the reworked proposal. “If you think this is pointing someone out, it is a fabrication in your head that you have created on your own.”
Student Andrew Lupo, who identified as openly gay, spoke against the bill.
“The Religious Funding Exemption bill is a facade to deprive GLBT students of resources to create a safe environment,” Lupo said to the senators. “I see so many of you, you’re young — 18 and 19 years old– and there is a great future for you. Is this how you want to begin your career — by attacking your own Aggies, your own community?”
Student Aaron Ackerman disagreed and somewhat overly dramatically compared forcing students to pay for the GLBT center to forcing doctors to perform partial-birth abortions.
The bill now moves to the desk of student body president John Claybrook, who told The Eagle that a “veto is always on the table” but that he was still mulling the decision.
The traditionally conservative university landed at the top of the list of “LGBT-unfriendly” schools in Texas by the 2012 installment of Princeton Review, and was ranked as the seventh least-friendly public university nationwide.
(source)