UPS ends charitable contributions to Boy Scouts.

I love stories like this!

Apparently UPS is ending their charitable contributions to the Boy Scouts because of their discriminatory policies toward gays.

Read the AP story here.

We are finally getting to a place in this country that being discriminatory towards the LGBT community is bad for business!  UPS and Intel are two major corporations sending a message to the Boy Scouts of America that their policies are out of touch!

When the whole Chick-fil-A debacle was going on I got some hateful phone calls and emails calling me a hypocrite. They wanted to know why I was calling on Chick-fil-A to stay out of the business of equality and stick to the business of making great chicken sandwiches.  "Where were you when JC Penney came out in support of gays; telling them to stick to the business of making clothes?"

Standing for Equality is always the right thing to do! This is a civil rights movement and standing up and saying "I've had enough!" is what all corporations should be doing.

Should companies stay out of personal issues? maybe? But this is not a personal issue, this is about civil rights, and bringing a group of minorities into full inclusion as a viable member of American society! This is about being treated as a full and equal citizen! ENDA discrimination needs to pass in all 50 states! Being gay is not a legitimate reason for being fired. Marriage Equality needs to pass in all 50 states!

I would imagine many corporations felt the same way about civil rights in regards to African Americans and later saw the error of their ways and ended up apologizing for their backward stance. I truly believe the same will come about, hopefully in a few short years.

Jeran

Brilliant summary of the election!

What are the lessons to be learned from this election?  I have a couple of take aways....

• This country is no longer the property of middle aged white men.  
• Elections can't be bought by giant super PAC's.
• A grassroots effort can be extremely effective and victorious.  
• The tide has finally turned on gay rights and people will stand up for equality at the ballot box. 
• Women are more suited to make their health care decisions vs. 80 year old Senators.
• The Tea Party should be nervous.
• Democrats can't be afraid to play "rough" just like Republicans have been doing for years.
• Racism is alive and well in this country.

So will Republicans learn anything from this election? Will they continue to blame Hurricane Sandy for stopping Romney's momentum and stick to the extreme policies that ultimately cost them this election?

I think Republicans need to do some soul searching and shift away from an image of exclusivity. As long as they continue to align themselves with super radical Judeo Christians, stand for a policy of self deportation, make stupid comments about how's a woman's body can shut down a pregnancy resulting from rape (or call it God's gift,) and reserve the holy sanctity of marriage as only between one man and one women, they will continue to lose elections.

The Republican Party has cancer and I believe an all out civil war is about to ensue.  As long as you have the Tea Party screaming at the middle and vice versa, as long as you have RINO hunters, and as long as you continue to profess "My way or the highway," Democrats will continue to pick up seats.

I think Rachel Maddow sums it up perfectly! Could not have said it any better myself!



Jeran

p.s.  Florida and Arizona get your shit together!

Deny it all you want, racism is alive!

Hmmm.  See any correlation?

I've had it with this hatred towards our president! I keep seeing Facebook posts saying things that are, well, downright hateful!

I've never seen such hatred and vitriol spewed out towards any president.  I remember how disappointed all the dems were when George W won a second term but I don't recall the name calling, finger pointing, and fighting that has ensued since Obama was re-elected.

I've seen people saying we've re-elected the Muslim. We've re-elected a president who disrespects the flag. We've re-elected a president who will take away our guns.  We've re-elected a president who wasn't even born in this country. We've re-elected a president who is a socialist.

Really? Really?? First, the last I checked we lived in a country that professed freedom of religion. Our president isn't a Muslim but even if he was it shouldn't matter! Second, disrespecting the flag and taking away your guns??  Has there been evidence of this in his first term?  The birther and socialist thing.. give me a break! Saying these types of things make you look like an ass just like Donald Trump!

This really leads me to believe the underlying factor in this hatred has to be racially motivated. None of the other statements hold water..

Check this out. I found this fascinating!

click on the pic to enlarge

Jeran

This is my article for the Wyoming Equality newsletter in case anybody wants to read it early;

Well… it’s finally over! Election Day has come and gone and this has undoubtedly been the greatest election ever in regards to LGBT rights! The first sitting president to affirm his support for marriage equality has been re-elected.

Wisconsin voters are sending Tammy Baldwin to the United States Senate. She will be the first openly gay member of the upper chamber. New Hampshire has elected its first transgendered member of the state legislature; and Colorado and Oregon are both set to have openly gay Speakers of the House.

The Stonewall Democrats released a statement saying 57 of the 60 candidates they endorsed for marriage equality won their races for Congress. A win rate of 95%!

Finally, three states, Maine, Maryland, and Washington approved marriage equality at the ballot box and Minnesota voters rejected an anti-gay marriage amendment. This is a really big deal my friends! Since the late 90’s voters have rejected marriage equality 32 separate times in state initiatives across this country.  This clearly proves that public sentiment is changing. Our adversaries will have a hard time continuing to argue that liberal biased judges are the only people who feel strongly about equality!

However, I’m afraid the election results in Wyoming are a bit more problematic. Many candidates that voiced support for equality lost their bids to the Wyoming Legislature. I fear that we will once again be battling some very ugly anti-gay legislation in 2013.  Passage of civil unions may also be more of a battle than we had originally hoped for.

That being said, I am more fired up than ever before!  The national election has proven that a solid grassroots campaign can overcome what may seem like insurmountable obstacles! We will fight for equality in this state until we have achieved our goals! Momentum is on our side and I will not rest until I can marry the man that I love!

Jeran