Very well done “songification” – Charles Ramsey melodically recounts the day he heroically helped rescue 3 kidnapped Cleveland women.
I laughed out loud… I admit it.
Charles Ramsey, Cleveland kidnap victims hero: “Take that reward and give it to the victims”
Charles Ramsey became an instant Internet sensation on Monday when he helped free Amanda Berry, Georgina DeJesus and Michele Knight from the house next to his where they had been trapped for around 10 years.
“Bro, I knew something was wrong when a little, pretty white girl ran into a black man’s arms,” he told WEWS following the rescue. “Something is wrong here. Dead giveaway.”
When told that there was a reward offered for at least two of the victims, Ramsey declined.
“Just went picked it up, paycheck,” he added, producing an envelope from his pocket. “What that address say?”
“Where are them girls living? Right next door to this paycheck. So yes, take that reward and give it to — that little girl came out the house and she was crying.”
Read more about Charles Ramsey at Rawstory.
Chris Kluwe – “Only one thing matters: can you play?”
“If any NFL players happen to read this, I guarantee you’ve played with or against a gay player at some point during your career — that’s simple statistics.
“Guess what? It didn’t make him any less of a player. It didn’t make him any less able to push through conditioning drills, less able to stay awake during meetings, less able to rally for the win when down by 10 with four minutes to go in the game.
“That gay player, whether you knew it or not — he was a teammate. He was your teammate. He was my teammate.
“Just like the coaches go on and on about every preseason: Once you step between those white lines, it doesn’t matter who you are, where you came from, what you believe or when you were born. There’s only one thing that matters, and that’s ‘Can you play?'” – Minnesota Vikings punter Chris Kluwe, writing for Salon.
(via JMG)
Indiana: Gay EMT and Eagle Scout dies in tragic car accident
Very sad news coming out of Indiana.
Timothy McCormick, a 24-year-old gay EMT from Greenwood, Indiana, was killed in an accident early Saturday morning in Indianapolis when the ambulance he was in was struck by a 21-year-old woman WTHI-TV reports had alcohol on her breath when officers spoke with her after the crash.
McCormick was also an Eagle Scout and spent his time at health fairs educating people about CPR.
He made an ‘It Gets Better‘ video posted to YouTube in December 2011, in which he said:
“My name is Tim McCormick. I am an Eagle Scout, college student, and professional EMT living in Indianapolis, Indiana. I am a gay American adult.
I have a brief but short message for you today. I want you to know that It Gets Better. Regardless of who you are. Regardless of your persona. academic, spiritual, professional, or sexual identity.
The things that are happening today are only typical of the hard times in which we live. If you don’t have anything, keep searching. If you’ve lost what you used to have., keep trying. Life isn’t a dress rehearsal, and it’s your time to shine. Right now.”
Very sad when heroes die.
Even though the Boy Scouts of America continue their ban on gay scouts, Timothy is a shining example of what great things can come from the program. His contributions to family, community and society in general make it clear what “gay” scouts can do.
My best thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends.
(via Towleroad)
Broadway’s Hunter Foster on Chick-Fil-A and marriage equality
From Broadway’s Hunter Foster on Facebook: “I just posted this on an anti-gay marriage/pro Chick-Fil-A blog and I wanted to share.”
I live in New York City. The majority of my friends, neighbors and colleagues are gay. My wife’s maid of honor at our wedding is gay. One of my best friends in the world is gay. We have traveled to Europe with gay friends, attended gay weddings and seen our gay friends adopt babies, buy houses and now, thankfully, get legally married in the state of New York. We know gay couples who have been together in long term loving relationships of thirty years or more and seen the joy of gay parents with their newly adopted children.
Unfortunately, I have also seen how the argument against gay marriage affects my friends. How it makes them feel like second class citizens. It may seem trivial to those who can get married, but what if you were told you were not allowed to stand up in front of your friends and family and commit your life legally to the love of of your life. How would that make you feel? Cathays comments are hurtful because he reiterates this. You can read between the lines in his comments: same sex relationships are “inferior” to heterosexual relationships.
I believe marriage is more than just the statement: one man/one woman. I believe it’s about love, its about two people who want to spend the rest of their lives together. Who want to create a family. Who want to build a home and a life together. Why does that have to be one man/one woman? Great families are born out of love regardless if it’s gay or straight
And I know this has a lot to do with religious beliefs. But, why would God want to deny love to exist in the world? Why would He want to deny certain people the same opportunity for happiness as everyone else? I believe people need to search their own hearts and find the truth about where this prejudice comes from, and maybe see the world as it truly is from a human point of view and not just a world influenced by scripture.
Happy Memorial Day to our four-legged heroes too
Nine year old takes on Westboro Baptist bigots
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When nine-year-old Josef Miles spotted members of Fred Phelps’ Westboro Baptist Church doing their hate-mongering thing on the Washburn University campus in Topeka, he asked his mother, Patty Akrouche, if he could stage a small counter-protest to their message of intolerance.
With just a pencil and small notebook in hand, Josef took on the bigots with a succinct yet poignant proclamation: “God Hates No One.”
Let’s hear it for the boy! Winner winner winner!
(source)
Betty White on gay marriage
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Rough road for Missouri tornado hero
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| Staff Sgt. Mike Byers of the National Guard shares a moment with hero Mark Lindquist |
Mark Lindquist is a hero – an underpaid social worker who nearly gave his life trying to save three developmentally disabled adults from the Joplin tornado. Both houses of the Missouri legislature honored Lindquist, the Senate resolution calling him “a true hero and inspiration to others.”
The tornado’s 200 mph winds tossed Lindquist nearly a block, broke every rib, obliterated his shoulder, knocked out most of his teeth and put him in a coma for about two months.
Lindquist’s medical expenses exceed $2.5 million, and the bills keep coming. He requires 11 daily prescriptions and will need more surgery.
He assumed workers’ compensation would cover his bills, but his claim was denied “based on the fact that there was no greater risk than the general public at the time you were involved in the Joplin tornado,” according to a letter to Lindquist from Accident Fund Insurance Company of America, his company’s workers’ comp provider.
“I think they need to take another look at the circumstances and revisit the claim,” state Rep. Bill Lant, R-Joplin, said. “What he did went beyond heroics.”
On the evening of May 22 Lindquist made his way to the group home occupied by Mark Farmer, Rick Fox and Tripp Miller, three middle-aged men with Down syndrome. Soon after he arrived, a tornado siren began to blare.
Because there was no basement or shelter and the residents moved too slowly to relocate, Lindquist placed mattresses over the men for protection, then climbed atop the mattresses for added weight.
The EF-5 tornado was among the nation’s worst ever. It destroyed more than 7,000 homes, including the group home, and killed 162 people.
Among the dead were Farmer, Fox and Miller, a fact that still haunts Lindquist. “I loved them almost as much as I love my own kid,” he said.
After the storm, rescuers found Lindquist buried in rubble, impaled by a piece of metal. Large chunks of flesh were torn off. Bones from his shoulder crumbled as they placed him on a door used as a makeshift stretcher.
Relatives contacted every hospital within 100 miles of Joplin searching for him. None of the unidentified matched Lindquist’s description.
His injuries were so severe that his slender, athletic body had become swollen and unrecognizable. He was in a coma. Finally, after three days, he was identified by tiny brown flecks in his hazel eyes.
Doctors told Baldwin that if Lindquist survived, it likely would be in a vegetative state. Even in a best-case scenario, he likely would be blind in one eye, never regain use of his right arm, and never speak or think normally, she was told.
Lindquist’s recovery amazed doctors. His right arm remains in a sling, but he has use of the hand. The eye that was temporarily blinded has full sight. He moves slowly and has short-term memory loss, but speaks well.
His sister, Linda Linquist Baldwin, said the insurance company’s decision is unfathomable because if her brother hadn’t been at work, he wouldn’t have been hurt. He also could have jumped in his van and driven away from the group home as the tornado approached.
Lindquist said that thought never crossed his mind.
“I could have abandoned them to save myself, but I would never do that,” he said.
Since word of Lindquist’s plight spread, people around Joplin have pitched in, donating a few hundred dollars. Baldwin said her brother is touched by the kindness, even if it barely pays for the prescriptions, much less the medical costs.