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Medical journal finds differences in the brains of liberals and conservatives

A study in the journal “Current Biology” looked at students who identified their political views on a scale from “very liberal” to “very conservative.”

The “liberal” students tended to have a larger region of the brain that processes conflicting information, the anterior cingulate cortex. In other words, the region of the brain that helps us take two opposing ideas and weigh them out for ourselves

The “conservatives” tended to have a larger Amygdala – the part of the brain that identifies fear and threats.

So I wonder, based on those findings, if that means that some people tend to hold conservative political views because they have a greater innate fear of things such as government?

“Previously, some psychological traits were known to be predictive of an individual’s political orientation. Our study now links such personality traits with specific brain structure,” Kanai said in a journal news release.

The study appears online April 7 in the journal Current Biology.

Things that make you go “hmmmmm…”

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I can’t believe I’m about to write this…

Mike Huckabee and I actually agree on something.

In an appearance on Fox News this afternoon, the former Governor urged his fellow Republicans to make the deal on budget cuts, drop the social issues riders and move on.

The former Arkansas governor replied, quoting The Rolling Stones, “you can’t always get what you want. The reality of governing is, you get what you can and then you fight for what you want the next day. But if you battle everything on one moment and forget that [governing] is a process and it’s not a single event then you end up with a philosophy [of] ‘I want it all or I want nothing, I want it now or I want it never.’ You end up getting nothing, and you get it forever.”

I couldn’t agree more. Dragging Planned Parenthood, which spends 97% of it’s budget on preventive measures, into a budget fight makes no sense. This is surely not the hill to die on. Planned Parenthood helps millions every year with cancer screenings, birth control (which helps avoid unwanted pregnancies – duh!), HIV screenings, and a host of other services. No money is used to provide abortions – it’s illegal already due to the Hyde Amendment.

So come on Republicans. You got the spending cuts you wanted. Agree to it and move on. Otherwise, among a lot of things, our military won’t get paid and that would be a serious, serious mistake.

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NOM Strategist now supports marriage equality

Louis Marinelli, who served as a strategist for the National Organization for Marriage – which virulently opposes marriage equality, has had a striking change of heart and now makes a public statement that he has resigned from NOM and now SUPPORTS marriage equality.

Jeremy Hooper of Good As You broke this story earlier today.

Marinelli was the strategist and organizer for NOM’s Summer Marriage Tour 2010 Bus.

Just some of what Marinelli tells Hooper: “The lesbian and gay people whom I made a profession out of opposing became real people (on the summer bus tour) for me almost instantly. For the first time I had empathy for them and remember asking myself what I was doing.”

“As a supporter of civil marriage equality, any statements I’ve made in the past about not recognizing homosexual relationships for one reason or another, of course it goes without saying that I no longer stand by these comments and I apologize for the insensitivity. Same-sex couples, whether they are married, in civil unions or domestic partnerships, ought to be recognized for what they are.”

“Any support or endorsement of what Peter LaBarbera does I retract. I have been reading via Twitter and his website what this guy has to say, and it is clear that he is just a hateful man and I would be embarrassed and ashamed to be associated with him.”

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Target loses case against Canvass For A Cause

From San Diego Gay & Lesbian News: Target Corporation lost it’s lawsuit trying to stop Canvass For A Cause from speaking to customers outside it’s stores.

Judge Barton, in his decision, said Target failed to show sufficient evidence that the retailer’s business was suffering as a result of the petitioners.

During the hearing last month, the judge asked Target’s attorneys why Target’s court documents did not offer concrete evidence to back their allegations that CFAC volunteers were harassing customers and driving away business.

Tres Watson, executive director of Canvass For A Cause, said after the hearing that all his volunteers are trained on how to properly speak with customers outside stores such as Target, Ralphs and Vons.

During the hearing, Target’s attorneys tried to persuade the judge to rule on their behalf because they had won 121 cases in Superior Court to stop groups from talking to customers outside their stores in California. The judge seemed unimpressed, Watson said at the time.

“It’s hard to read the tea leaves,” Watson said in March, but noted that Target won those 121 cases because nobody defended their cases. “They bring out their million-dollar lawyers and go after grass-root groups that don’t have a lot of money. It’s always a David vs. Goliath situation.”

Watson says the lawsuit is another black eye for Target with the LGBT community. CFAC supports gay marriage, among other issues, and one of Target’s court documents complains that the corporation fears its customers will think Target supports same-sex marriage as a result.

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My first cover story as a writer!

This is really cool for me. I recently got my first assignment as a writer of a cover story, and it’s now available!

I wrote the cover story/interview about Mike Manning of “The Real World – Washington, DC” for QVegas Magazine, which is the largest magazine in Nevada covering LGBT issues.

To see a PDF of the cover and story, click here.

Mike is a really cool young guy who, during his time on The Real World in Washington DC, became involved in LGBT politics and began working with the Human Rights Campaign. He now travels the country on behalf of the HRC speaking to college students about coming out, LGBT issues and getting involved in politics as young people. Writing the interview couldn’t have been a better fit for me since I share the same passions about being involved and raising our voices as Mike does.

Mike will be in Las Vegas on April 21st at UNLV. I encourage everyone in Las Vegas who may be facing their own issues regarding coming out or anyone who cares about grassroots political participation to attend. Or just show up to see him – clearly he’s easy on the eyes.

Click here for more info about Mike’s appearance in Las Vegas.

Everyone in Las Vegas, be sure to pick up the current issue of QVegas Magazine! Whoo-hoo!

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Nashville Council approves non-discrimination policy

From LGBTQ Nation: The Nashville Metro Council on Tuesday approved new rules for city contractors that would prohibit discrimination against LGBT people.

The council voted 21-15 to require firms doing business with the city not to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity, and to sign affidavits to that effect. Contractors already agree not to discriminate against federally protected classes.

“I think this is a great move for Nashville and it’s a great step to show we believe in equality,” said Erica Gilmore, one of the co-sponsors of the bill.

Council member Jamie Hollin called the vote “a milestone moment” for the city.

“As of today, no matter who you are, you’re welcome in the city of Nashville,” said Hollin. “Not only can I tell my son that it’s not cool to hate gay people, it’s the public policy of this city.”

Let’s hear it for Nashville, kids! This clearly must have been a bit of a fight in Tennessee. Good for these public officials to do the right thing.

Forward, kids. Slowly, but surely.

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LGBT Community: about 9 Million in the US

According to a study done by Gary J. Gates, Williams Distinguished Scholar at the UCLA School of Law, about 9 million or 3,5% of the population of the US identify as members of the LGBT community

Gates compiled his information from four recent national and two state-level population-based surveys.

“Understanding the size of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) population is a critical first step to informing a host of public policy and research topics,” Gates’ report said. “Examples include assessing health and economic disparities in the LGBT community, understanding the prevalence of anti-LGBT discrimination, and considering the economic impact of marriage equality or the provision of domestic partnership benefits to same-sex couples.”

A few interesting facts from the study:
• women are more likely than men to identify as bisexual
• about 19 million respondents say they have engaged in same-sex sexual behavior
• nearly 26 million Americans acknowledge some same-sex sexual attraction

When you take all that “extra” criteria into account, I think the word “identify” becomes a somewhat narrow term.  Just my .02

You can read the entire report by clicking here.

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Ryan Tax Cut Plan: Most savings from low-income programs

From the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: About two thirds of the $4 Trillion dollars in savings would come from programs that benefit low-income and moderate-income Americans.

The larger percentage of savings would come from cuts to programs like Medicaid, Pell Grants, food stamps and low-income housing subsidies. This does not include Medicare, which also goes to a large number of low-income Americans. This would account for a proposed $2.9 Trillion dollars in cuts/savings.

The coverage gap in the Medicare prescription drug benefit would be brought back. Obama’s health care law gradually eliminates the so-called doughnut hole. Analysis shows Ryan’s plan repeals that provision.

Medicaid, the federal-state program that covers low-income and severely disabled people, would be converted into a block grant program that gives each state a lump sum to design its own insurance plans. But the poor no longer would have a right under federal law to health care.

Medicare would convert to a system whereby Americans would get a flat payment from the government to use towards buying private insurance. Details aren’t clear how the payment levels would be decided.