HAPPY HOLIDAYS !!!!

My Wish for Everyone for Everyday

Peace, Love, Good Health, Long Life, Rewarding Employment, Friends, Dignity, Inspiration, Liberty, Equality, Happiness, Joy, Comfort, Hugs, Care, Respect, Acceptance, Courtesy, Recognition, Affection, Welcoming, Decent Shelter, Harmony, Spiritual Fulfillment, Adequate Food, Laughter, Music, and a Fruitcake.

I invite others to add their own good wishes -------------

Bah Humbug !

"Tis the season to be jolly - fa la la" - NOT!
A news article by LISA LEFF

SAN FRANCISCO - The sponsors of Proposition 8 asked the California Supreme Court on Friday to nullify the marriages of the estimated 18,000 same-sex couples who exchanged vows before voters approved the ballot initiative that outlawed gay unions.

The Yes on 8 campaign filed a brief arguing that because the new law holds that only marriages between a man and a woman are recognized or valid in California, the state can no longer recognize the existing same-sex unions. The document reveals for the first time that opponents of same-sex marriage will fight in court to undo those unions that already exist.

"Proposition 8's brevity is matched by its clarity. There are no conditional clauses, exceptions, exemptions or exclusions," reads the brief co-written by Kenneth Starr, dean of Pepperdine University's law school and the former independent counsel who investigated President Bill Clinton.

The campaign submitted the document in response to three lawsuits seeking to invalidate Proposition 8, the constitutional amendment adopted last month that overruled the court's decision in May that had legalized gay marriage in the nation's most populous state.

Both Attorney General Jerry Brown, whose office is scheduled to submit its own brief to the court Friday, and gay rights groups maintain that the gay marriage ban may not be applied retroactively.

The Supreme Court could hear arguments in the litigation as soon as March. The measure's backers announced Friday that Starr, a former federal judge and U.S. solicitor general, had signed on as their lead counsel and would argue the cases.

Proposition 8's supporters assert that the Supreme Court lacks the authority or historical precedent to throw out the amendment.

"For this court to rule otherwise would be to tear asunder a lavish body of jurisprudence," the court papers state. "That body of decisional law commands judges - as servants of the people - to bow to the will of those whom they serve - even if the substantive result of what people have wrought in constitution-amending is deemed unenlightened."

The cases are Strauss v. Horton, S168047; City and County of San Francisco v. Horton, S168078; and Tyler v. State of California, S168066.

"The Birds"

Yesterday morning at about 6:30am I was at the Trenton train station in New Jersey. All of a sudden the sky turned dark with hundreds of flying, screeching black birds. After flying around for awhile they began to perch on the overhead electrical wires, the trees, and roof edges. I was beset with a very uneasy feeling and wondered if I had just been transported into the Hitchcock movie - "The Birds". Then just as suddenly they all flew up and away. What a strange phenomenon. Was this a migration event - if so - why so many - why this location - where were they all going? Once again, nature astonishes and sometimes frightens me.

Fall Seminary Semester Completed

Yeah! Yesterday was my last class (3 hour exam) for the fall semester. Now maybe I can get into the holiday mood. Ho Ho Ho! I never imagined when I started this venture that there was that much to learn about religion. This past semester courses included: Religions in the City (very interesting course that included field trips to different houses of worship), Christian History (was somewhat difficult trying to assimilate dates, events, and all those popes - over 300), and my favorite - Using Psalms in Ministry. In the psalms course, the instructor encouraged us to apply our own interpretations and/or rewrite our own versions of the psalms while remaining true to the original intent. For a Unitarian Universalist, this was like giving candy to one with a sweet tooth.

Considering what I have been writing about lately, i would like to share my version of Psalm 2.

Why are the nations of the world in turmoil and people conspiring against each other?

Too often rulers of nations and their advisers take counsel together, against the righteous people of faith.

Saying, “Let us burst their alliances and cause discord amongst them.”

The heavens will laugh at them in scorn.

They will be held accountable and found hateful.

Divine righteousness will prevail.

Know this decree, “We are all children of the Divine and inheritors of the earth”.

Conspirers will be called to account for their transgressions and their authorities will be shattered.

Now therefore, rulers of all nations be wise and warned.

Serve with honesty and fairness; attend to the needs of your people or they will have cause to be angry and you will perish, for their wrath is quickly kindled.

Happy are all who take refuge on the path of righteousness.

Travesty of Justice (My Opinion)

U.S. Missing in Action on UN Declaration on LGBT Human Rights

The U.S. has declined to endorse a declaration being put before the UN assembly today, to which the Vatican and the Organisation of Islamic States have been vocal in their opposition, calling for the global decriminalisation of homosexuality.

I love the USA but shame on you!

What A Handsome Young Man Was I

Is This What Jesus Would Do?

I find this latest pronouncement by Catholic Church despicable. It is paramount to condoning those countries that impose the death penalty upon homosexuals. Is this not reverting back to “burn them at the stake” mentality?

The Vatican has said it opposes a European Union proposal for a United Nations declaration formally condemning discrimination against homosexuals, which it claims would "de-criminalize" same sex unions.

Monsignor Celestino Migliore, the Holy See's permanent observer at the UN, said the Catechism of the Roman Catholic Church forbade "unjust discrimination" against homosexuals. However outlawing discrimination by means of a UN declaration meant that states which did not recognise same sex marriages would come under pressure to do so.

All countries of the European Union have signed a draft declaration drawn up by France, which currently holds the rotating EU Presidency, condemning "discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity". France is due to submit the draft declaration at the UN General Assembly on 10 December, the sixtieth anniversary of the UN declaration of human rights.

Over 80 countries in the world currently outlaw same-sex relations, with punishments range from short prison sentences to life imprisonment and even death by execution. The UN declaration will not be binding, but gay rights movements hope it will lead to a UN resolution. The French minister of human rights and foreign affairs, Rama Yade, said that the EU should also "take the lead in stopping violence against women worldwide."

DIGNITY

I just read a very relevant and salient article entitled “Be a Dignitarian” by Robert Fuller and Pamela Gerloff, published in the winter 2008 edition of UU World. Herein, it states that Dignity is a primal need that everyone wants, craves, and seeks. People’s whole lives change when they are treated with dignity – and when they are not. All of us want to be treated with dignity. Fundamentally it is about respect and value. Yet routinely, we fail to accord dignity to those we perceive to be weaker (the oppressed) than us (the oppressor). Naming the problem of indignity is to identify it and make it visible and actionable. A good term for the source of if dignity violation is rankism.

Rankism is the abuse of power attached to rank. It is when those of a higher rank, i.e, those with power over another, threaten those of a lower rank in ways that violate their dignity. Rankism can be considered an umbrella term that encompasses many other “isms” that sets one group or individual apart from another and claims superiority. If we are ever to free ourselves from retaliatory rankist behavior, we will need to disallow rankism and instead create cultures of dignity. To create a dignitarian world, not only must rankism must be counteracted when it occurs, there needs to be an initiation of new processes, procedures, and training. Dignity for all is a stepping stone to realizing the democratic promise of liberty and justice.

World AIDS Day - Dec 01

Acknowledgment of this continuing crisis should be an everyday event and of all those who have lost their lives to this insidious disease. Remembering my friends, relatives, and countless others who have gone Somewhere Over the Rainbow. For my beloved friend, Chris - I miss you so much - you left us way too early. PS - Am disappointed how little attention was given to this day this year. Guess people were too busy trampling over others or shooting them for holiday sales.