Random Musings

Ethan Couch, the so-called “Affluenza Teen,” who murdered four people driving drunk and was subsequently sentenced to probation  for that crime, will now spend the next two years in adult prison for violating his probation.

Judge Wayne Salvant: “You’re not getting out of jail today.”

And perhaps not for 720 days. And Ethan’s idiot mother, Tonya, who helped him flee Texas after video surfaced that seemed to show Couch drinking alcohol, is facing 10 years in prison if convicted.

I’m liking that …

Okay, so ABCs Once Upon A Time is a Hot Bed of Hot Men — I’m liking that visual — and last week was no exception as they introduced Wes Brown, top ... I think ... as Gaston, from Beauty and the Beast. He is definitely a beauty.

Then we watched Ricki and the Flash, starring Meryl Streep, a rather formulaic film about a mother — Streep — who abandons her children to pursue her career as a musician, and then has all kinds of troubles trying to reconnect. It was bearable for a few reasons:

Meryl Streep, of course

A joke made by Meryl’s character when she was asked at a wedding by someone who didn’t know she was the groom’s mother, how she knew the groom, and she replied: “Caesarean section.”

And, it was made hot by both Sebastian Stan — bottom left and openly hot — and Nick Westrate — bottom right and openly gay and openly hot — as her sons.

Yum.

Following Bruce Springsteen's lead — he cancelled a North Carolina concert in protest of that state’s hate bill — Bryan Adams has canceled a show in Mississippi to protest that state’s passing of what has been described as the most aggressive anti-LGBT law in America.

And then quoting the Beatles classic All You Need Is Love, Ringo Starr cancelled his June 18th concert in Cary, North Carolina, and vowed to fight “against the bigotry of HB2.”

Add Sharon Stone to the list, because she was set to film a movie in Mississippi but she and the producers decided to move filming to a less hate-filled area of the country … most likely not the South.

While it seems certain that Donald [t]Rump will win the GOP primary in New York, there are at least two people who will not get his vote: his children Ivanka and Eric.

The kids have never registered to vote in the state’s closed primary and [t]Rump says they missed the deadline to vote for Daddy because they were unaware of the rules.

Look, if my father was running for president the first thing I would do, if I had never registered to vote and I was in my thirties, would be to get downtown and register my ass to vote.

But [t]Rump kids don’t need politics because they have Daddy's cash.

Planting Peace has done it again with a new sign welcoming visitors to North Carolina in light of their recent legalization of Hate.

Also, on Ivanka. I like her, I do; she seems kinda level-headed and smart but then she said, of her father’s penchant for being anti-women, how he gave her a chance to prove herself in business just like her brothers.

Yeah, I remember the years Ivanka [t]Rump spent as a maid at a [t]Rump property, or worked in the mailroom at a [t]Rump enterprise.

Look, she’s smart; she went to business school; but when she got out Daddy gave her a job. She never really worked for it and for her to suggest that means her daddy is pro-women is laughable,

And stupid; and [t]Rump-like.

Random Musings

Sometimes, when a bill passes that paves the way for statewide discrimination — I’m looking at you Mississippi, right now — folks need a Come To Jesus moment.

Enter nonprofit organization Planting Peace who purchased space on a giant electronic billboard:

Yup, Planting Peace just countered a bill that discriminates in the name of religious freedom with one of Christianity's most fundamental principles. 

Aaron Jackson, president of Planting Peace:

"We will keep sharing this message as long as we need to, to counter hateful actions designed to infringe on people's basic human rights and dignity."

This isn’t the first time Planting Peace used a billboard to fight hate; last September, when Kentucky Kounty Klerk Kim Davis was to return to work after objecting to signing marriage licenses to same-sex couples, Planting Peace bought billboard space in her hometown with a message about redefining marriage:

Planting Peace; it’s a good thing. 

Well the Supremes really gave a smackdown to the Conservatives and they did so unanimously … by ruling that states can rely on total population, and not just eligible voter population, when redrawing voter districts. 

It all began Texas Bigots Conservatives said that only the number of eligible voters should be relied upon when redistricting, and that the Constitution forbids counting immigrants, children, and prisoners, who are not legally eligible to vote.

Not so much said SCOTUS:

"The plaintiffs alleged the Texas legislative map effectively diluted the representation of citizens in rural, Republican-leaning areas in favor of Democratic-trending cities like Houston, where the population includes immigrants and children who are ineligible to vote. As the Framers of the Constitution and the Fourteenth Amendment comprehended, representatives serve all residents, not just those eligible to vote" — Notorious RBG, AKA Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg

So sorry Texas, but your plan to keep your state red, and conservative, might just fall out of favor now.

In North Carolina News:

PayPal has announced it will cancel its planned expansion in Charlotte over North Carolina’s newly-imposed anti-LGBT bill which bans all local LGBT rights ordinances.

PayPal CEO Dan Schulman said:

“Two weeks ago, PayPal announced plans to open a new global operations center in Charlotte and employ over 400 people in skilled jobs.  In the short time since then, legislation has been abruptly enacted by the State of North Carolina that invalidates protections of the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender citizens and denies these members of our community equal rights under the law … . As a result, PayPal will not move forward with our planned expansion into Charlotte.”

It’s on!

I kinda like, er, liked Martin Sheen but this idea of his sounds, well, disgusting.

It appears that Sheen believes that O.J. Simpson is innocent of the 1994 murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman; he doesn’t mean “not guilty,” he means “innocent.” And so he wants to prove it with a true crime TV show and is seeking to produce a six-part docuseries called Hard Evidence: O.J. Is Innocent for Investigation Discovery.

He says the show will reveal new evidence — like that rusty knife? — and cover a new hypothesis as to what happened on the night of the murders.

I know what happened: OJ murdered two people that night.

Most of Sheen’s docuseries — notice it isn’t a documentary but a docuseries, which is what Oprah called Lindsey Lohan’s “reality” show — will be based on a book by a private investigator called O.J. Is Innocent and I Can Prove It. Except, um, he didn’t prove it.

Sheen will also narrate the series and says he hopes that O.J. Is Innocent will help answer the following three questions:

“What if there were enough evidence that proved O.J. Simpson did not murder his ex-wife Nicole or Ron Goldman?

What if the real killer were still at large?

And finally, what if a grand jury convened to reconsider the case based on new evidence.”

And a fourth question: what if this is a ploy to capitalize on the American Crime Story: The People v OJ Simpson?

Oh, and this: OJ did it.

Greensboro, North Carolina was one of those cities whose LGBT rights ordinance was overturned by Hate Bill 2 and this week the Greensboro City Council voted 8-1 in favor of a resolution opposing Hate.

The lone dissenting vote came from the council’s only Republican because … of course.

“This is one of the worst discrimination bills that we’ve seen in a long time. It’s not really about bathrooms; that’s to throw us off track.” — city council member, Sharon Hightower

It’s a symbolic move, sure, but these voices of reason need to be heard throughout the state.

And speaking of voices of reason, on the heels of Mississippi’s voraciously hate-filled anti-LGBT law, the Jackson, Mississippi City Council also passed a resolution regarding that state’s Religious Liberty Accommodations Act signed into law by Governor Phil Bryant.

“Regardless of what our Governor, our state agencies our legislature may have passed, the city of Jackson wants you here regardless of what color you are, regardless of your sexual orientation, regardless of what gender you are, we want you here in Jackson.” — Councilman Tyrone Hendrix

The resolution states that Jackson acknowledges the U.S. Constitution, which prohibits governments from respecting an establishment of religion and protects all people equally under the law.

Sound, sane voices in Mississippi; let’s hope they are heard and more join the fight.

Up there in New York Coty, the MCC Theater held its annual Miscast benefit, in which Broadway’s stars perform songs from roles in which they would never be cast. The benefit helps MCC Theater produce Off-Broadway shows and supports its Youth Company and in-school partnerships that serve New York City public high school students. 

This year’s steamiest duet was between Broadway vets Gavin Creel — Jimmy in Thoroughly Modern Millie,  Claude in the revival of in Hair, and Elder Price in The Book of Mormon in London — and Aaron Tveit —  Gabe in Next to Normal, Frank Abagnale Jr. in the stage version of Catch Me If You Can, and Danny Zuko in Grease Live—who stole the show by playing the parts of Maureen and Joanne singing “Take Me of Leave Me” from Rent:

Aaron Tveit also sang “As Long As He Needs Me” from Oliver which cannot be embedded so go HERE to see and hear it ... beautiful.

Planting Peace Has A Message For Kim Davis

I have written about Planting Peace several times on this blog; like the time they bought a home right across from the Westboro Baptist Church and painted it ‘rainbow’ [HERE], and the time they hosted a same-sex wedding  [HERE] and the time a little girl sold Pink Lemonade for Peace there [HERE].

And Planting Peace has done it again, in light of the recent rants and raves from religious wingnut Kim Davis, that Kentucky clerk who signed an oath to God to do her job and then didn’t.

But this is about Planting Peace and the billboard they erected in Morehead, Kentucky — Kim Davis’ home town — with a special message for Kim and her ilk that pick and choose passages from the Bible to use in their hate messages and hate actions and hate lives, and here it is:

BAM!

Planting Peace:

Following the June 26th Supreme Court ruling on marriage equality, Rowan County clerk Kim Davis refused to issue same-sex marriage licenses in her home state, citing that doing so compromised her religious beliefs. That day, she became the poster child for the anti-gay movement.

As has been painstakingly observed time and time again, the anti-LGBTQ movement is comprised of a substantial number of zealots who unfailingly refer to their rigid interpretation of religious text to narrowly define “traditional” institutions and values. They pick and choose what they wish to convey as immoral and unacceptable, while seemingly sweeping lines of scripture just a few letters away completely under the rug.

In response, Planting Peace has constructed a message for Kim Davis and the anti-LGBTQ movement. The intent of the billboard is to expose this narrow interpretation by Davis and others that they use to defend their discrimination against the LGBTQ community. It is important and relevant to call this out, because these messages and actions are not simply about a political or religious debate.

There are LGBTQ youth across the world who are taking their lives at an alarming rate because of these messages from society that make them feel broken or less than. We have to meet hate with love…intolerance with compassion.

Our message to our LGBTQ youth is simple:

You are loved, valued, supported, and beautiful.

There is nothing wrong with you, and we will stand by you.

You are not alone.

 On this issue, on this sign, as of right now, Kim Davis is keeping her yap shut because, well, she’s lost this argument before it really ever got started.

NCRM

Good News Friday II: After Selling Pink Lemonade For Peace, Equality House Hosts A Same-Sex Wedding

Before I get into this post, I wanted to show a picture of the sign that the Westboro Baptist Church put up while Jayden Sink--of that post just below this one--was selling her Pink Lemonade for Peace.

Lovely. But no signs, no obscenities shouted, will stop the Equality House--located in Topeka, just across the road from God Hates Fags Central™, AKA Westboro Baptist Church--from continuing to fight for equality.

See, now the Equality house will be the site of the wedding of Little Rock, Arkansas residents Kimberly Kidwell and Katie Short. Sure, same-sex marriage is illegal in Arkansas, and it’s illegal in Kansas, but it’s a symbolic ceremony and all the more powerful being performed in full view of the WBC.

Aaron Jackson—who runs his nonprofit, Planting Peace—out of the Rainbow Flag colored Equality House, says he hopes publicity surrounding the ceremony will send a signal to the U.S. Supreme Court as it prepares to decide two key cases regarding the constitutionality of gay marriage.

“We would like marriage equality, and we don’t think people should be treated as second-class citizens.”—Aaron Jackson

Planting Peace sent out a message on social media outlets asking if any same-sex couples would like to be married in front of Equality House, and after reviewing the responses, Jackson decided that Kidwell and Short, who have been together five and a half years, would be “a good fit.”

Lizz Phelps, a spokeswoman for God Hates Fags the Westboro Baptist Church says Planting Peace has been doing a “wonderful” job of bringing attention to issues she considers significant, and she hopes that the Supreme Court will rule in favor of Marriage Equality because when that happens Jesus Christ will return.

Phelps said the legalization of same-sex marriages in the days of Noah were soon followed  by the Great Flood, “and it says in the Gospel that as in the days of Noah, so will it be in the time of the return of our savior.”

Bob, however, says the Baby Jeebus--who never said a word about The Gays--will return to Earth because he wants to party with all those same-sex couples who will have the right to marry.

But I digress ….

Kudos to Aaron Jackson and Equality House for their continued support of all things peaceful and equal, and Congratulations to Kimberley and Katie on their wedding.

Good Friday, indeed.

source

Good News Friday: Jayden Sink Faces Down The Westboro Baptist Church In The Name Of Peace

Jayden Sink wanted to sell lemonade; and she wanted to sell pink lemonade. She wanted to sell pink lemonade for peace. And she did, setting up her stand at the Equality House [see my post HERE] which is located just across the street from the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas.

 What happens when a little girl decides to set up a lemonade stand for peace outside the Westboro Baptist Church headquarters in Kansas? Members of the community step out in droves to show support, even as the hate group tries to quash it.

Jayden, the daughter of Jon Sink, founder of the philanthropic arts group FRESHCASSETTE—Creative Compassion, set up her lemonade stand at Equality House, painted the colors of the pride flag, is owned by Aaron Jackson, a founding of Planting Peace, a multi-pronged nonprofit aimed at spreading goodwill and equality around the globe, when her parents told her that the church across the street had a message of hate.

Jayden decided to raise money for peace. So she painted a banner for the event reading, "Pink Lemonade for Peace: $1 Suggested Donation" and she set up her stand on the lawn and waited.

During the day, Westboro Baptist Church sent representatives outside to try and find a way to stop Jayden; they attempted to call the local police and when they were told that little girls can sell lemonade in Topeka, they began yelling profanities at those who stopped for a cool drink.

All their interference and shouting didn’t stop Jayden from raising $400 during the day, but adding an additional--as of Thursday--$21,000 from an online campaign [HERE].

Aaron Jackson:

"As we all know, the Westboro Baptist Church puts a lot of hate into the world. Since we cannot stop them, the next best thing is to smother it with love. That is what 5-year-old Jayden accomplished today! Jayden set up a lemonade stand in front of the church. Not only did she quench the thirst of a lot of loving supporters, the money she raised was donated to Planting Peace so she could help Planting Peace promote a more peaceful world."

If a little girl can stand up to the Westboro Baptist Church in such a non-threatening, non-confrontational, positive way, she is setting quite the example for the rest of us. She was just selling lemonade, she was also selling hope.

source

Equality House: Aaron Jackson Paints Rainbow Home Across From Hate Church

When we were looking for a house we were quite picky. I was shown one that was down the street from a factory; it was instantly scratched off the list. As was the one across from the school and the one on the busy road, and the one that was the best house in a neighborhood of worse houses.

But, imagine owning a home across the street from the Westboro Baptist Church [WBC]. I get chills. What would you do about it? I mean, day after day, ‘God Hates Fags’.

Well,  Aaron Jackson, one of the founders of Planting Peace—a nonprofit organization that spreads “peace in a hurting world”—bought  the house  that sits directly across from the WBC compound six months ago, and this week they decided to paint it like the Gay pride Rainbow Flag.

God Loves Flags, you know.

This new project of Planting Peace—called the "Equality House"—is the first in a new campaign the group plans to wage against the group. The WBC is known for its rabid tactics of protesting what they call America’s pro-Gay, anti-God agenda, by bringing their special brand of hate to pride parades, soldier funerals and other events like the Sandy Hook memorial services.

"I read a story about Josef Miles, a 10-year-old kid who counter protested the Westboro Baptist Church by holding the sign that says 'God Hates No One.' I didn't know anything about the church or where they were located, but that story kept popping up. And one night I wondered, Where is this church? I got on Google Earth, and I was 'walking down the road,' and I did a 360 view. And I saw a 'For Sale' sign sitting in the front yard of a house. Right away it hit me, Oh my gosh, I could buy a house in front of the WBC! And immediately I thought: And I'm going to paint that thing the color of the pride flag."—Aaron Jackson

Jackson has always wanted to get involved in LGBT activism, but didn’t know how, or what to do, until he saw that For Sale sign.

"The reason I haven't gotten into the gay rights activism is because, in a sense, it's almost silly -- it's 2013, are we really still in this position? It just seems ludicrous, but it is a real issue and kids are killing themselves. I've wanted to do something, and I knew when I saw that house for sale that it all came together. Everyone who knows me knows that I'm a little crazy and there's no red tape in my charity. When I want to do something, I do it."—Aaron Jackson

So, Jackson and Planting Peace bought the house for roughly $83,000, and Jackson lived in it for about a month, waiting to spruce the place up.  In that time, he met several members of the church, including the founding Phelps family, and learned that the WBC owns a majority of the home surrounding the church.

“I walk through the area every day, and I see them running in between each other's houses. One day I was walking, and Shirley Phelps [a WBC spokesbigot, and daughter of WBC leader Fred Phelps] was on her four-wheeler. And I said, 'Hey guys, how are you?' And [Phelps and her husband] responded, 'Oh, we're good. How are you?' We had a short conversation, and she was extremely nice, and she made a joke and we all laughed. It's the craziest thing -- and it really throws you off -- because she's the type of woman who calls you "hun" and "darling" -- she's very Southern. It's like, aren't you the lady that's supposed to be casting me into hell? It's truly mind-boggling, but I can't say anything personally bad about her because she was kind to me and she made me laugh. She'd probably be fun to hang out with."—Aaron Jackson

But pleasantries aside, Jackson waited, and thought about what he might do. As, as he did so, he noticed that members of the church were watching him. They noticed that he :::gasp::: drove a Prius with an original ‘Reelect Jimmy Carter’ sticker on it, and Jackson figured that they had figured him out; a liberal. Right there in the neighborhood. And then he decided; Aaron Jackson and Planting Peace painted their home the colors of the Gay pride Rainbow flag, front to back, side to side.

"We want this house to be a message that where there's hate, there's also love. But we also want to raise awareness and capital, and we want to put all that money into creating and sustaining anti-bullying programs, along with supporting anti-bullying programs that already exist. Beyond the symbolic message of the home, [the house] will be utilized by volunteers to live here, and these volunteers will work on promoting equality anywhere in the world and managing these anti-bullying initiatives that we plan on creating."—Aaron Jackson

And don’t get him wrong, Aaron Jackson knows that the WBC feeds off this type of media attention, but, he knows, the attention they receive also brings attention to his cause, to bullying issues, to LGBT rights.

And Jackson believes that Equality House is just one more step in bringing about the end of the Westboro Baptist Church. Lately, the WBC has been facing a backlash, not just from the public at large but from some former members as well; Lauren Drain, for example, wrote a book about her life in the church and has suggested that founder Fred Phelps is one of the self-loathing closeted homosexual types—which obviously explains his over-the-top hatred of The Gays. And throw into the mix the numbers of city governments that have passed legislation aimed at limiting the group's ability to picket, and, well, you can see them beginning to fade. Jackson is confident that the WBC’s loss of power and relevance is just one sign of the good things still to come for the LGBT community.

"I love seeing all of these Republicans and all these people who have been anti-gay all this time jumping ship because they know they're on the wrong side of history. It's an amazing thing to see. I know we have a long way to go in fighting bigotry, but we all know the gays are going to win. It's going to happen."—Aaron Jackson

Of course, the WBC, never one to face reality, to understand facts, has a different side to the story. The church released this statement:

"We thank God for the Sodomite Rainbow House. It is right across the street from the ONLY church that loves people enough to tell them the Bible truth about the filthy, soul-damning, nation-destroying sin of sodomy...The Sodomite Rainbow house helps shine a bright spotlight on this!"

And even Shirley Phelps-Roper says she loves Equality House: 

“I love it. What he does is he keeps the eyes of the whole earth on this message. Now everyday all people are thinking about is God will not have same sex marriage.”

Actually, Shirley, what Aaron Jackson and Planting Peace have done is show that, even alongside hate and intolerance, love and acceptance takes a stand. He’s shown that bullies don’t always win; sure, they might win a battle here and a skirmish there, but, in the end, everyone will see that his little Rainbow House stood up to, what you think, is the mighty Westboro Baptist Church and didn’t back down.

And never will.

HuffPost Gay Voices

Planting Peace

Equality House