Methinks Dr. Tyson doth protest too much, don't you? Anyway, it's cool that there are blogs like Godless and Black and Words of Wrath as well as organizations like African Americans for Humanism and facebook pages like Black Atheists of America. Hopefully MadProfessah's Godless Wednesday will join this list of Black Atheist resources.RONNELLE ADAMS came out to his mother twice, first about his homosexuality, then about his atheism.“My mother is very devout,” said Mr. Adams, 30, a Washington resident who has published an atheist children’s book, “Aching and Praying,” but who in high school considered becoming a Baptist preacher. “She started telling me her issues with homosexuality, which were, of course, Biblical,” he said. “ ‘I just don’t care what the Bible says about that,’ I told her, and she asked why. ‘I don’t believe that stuff anymore.’ It got silent. She was distraught. She told me she was more bothered by that than the revelation I was gay.”[...]African-Americans are remarkably religious even for a country known for its faithfulness, as the United States is. According to the Pew Forum 2008 United States Religious Landscape Survey, 88 percent of African-Americans believe in God with absolute certainty, compared with 71 percent of the total population, with more than half attending religious services at least once a week.[...]According to Pew, the vast majority of atheists and agnostics are white, including the authors Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris and Christopher Hitchens.Seeking a public intellectual of their own, some black atheists have claimed the astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, interpreting his arguments against teaching intelligent design in the classroom to be an endorsement of atheism. But Dr. deGrasse Tyson is loath to be associated with any part of the movement. When contacted last week by e-mail, he noted a Twitter exchange he had in August, in which he told a follower, “Am I an Atheist, you ask? Labels are mentally lazy ways by which people assert they know you without knowing you.”
Nigeria’s Senate voted Tuesday to criminalize gay marriage, gay advocacy groups and same-sex public displays of affection, the latest legislation targeting a minority already facing discrimination in Africa’s most populous nation.
The bill, now much more wide-ranging than its initial draft, must be passed by Nigeria’s House of Representatives and signed by President Goodluck Jonathan before becoming law. However, public opinion and lawmakers’ calls Tuesday for even harsher penalties show the widespread support for the measure in the deeply religious nation.
“Such elements in society should be killed,” said Sen. Baba-Ahmed Yusuf Datti of the opposition party Congress for Progressive Change, drawing some murmurs of support from the gallery.
Gay sex has been banned in Nigeria, a nation of more than 160 million people, since colonial rule by the British. Gays and lesbians face open discrimination and abuse in a country divided by Christians and Muslims who almost uniformly oppose homosexuality. In the areas in Nigeria’s north where Islamic Shariah law has been enforced for about a decade, gays and lesbians can face death by stoning.
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| AP Photo/Sang Tan |
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AFP PHOTO / GLYN KIRK |
"I think it's really cool that a guy who doesn't look like a model can have this [title]," saysthe Hangover actor, 36. "I think I'm a decent-looking guy. Sometimes I can look great, and other times I look horrifying."Congratulations, Bradley
Another reason to love him? Cooper, whose father Charles passed away in January, is especially close with his mom, Gloria. When he learned he'd been crowned Sexiest Man Alive, the "first thing I thought," he says, "was, 'My mother is going to be so happy.' "
Since March, state officials have been investigating whether religious agencies that receive public funds to license foster care parents are breaking anti-discrimination laws if they turn away openly gay parents.
After the civil union bill went into effect in June, Catholic Charities told the state that accommodating prospective foster parents in civil unions would violate Catholic Church teaching that defines marriage as between a man and a woman.
Catholic Charities said it would instead refer gay couples elsewhere and only license married couples and single parents living alone.
The agency has pointed to a clause in the Religious Freedom Protection and Civil Unions Act that they believe protects religious institutions that don't recognize civil unions.
But lawyers for the Illinois attorney general said that exemption only shields religious clergy who don't want to officiate at civil unions. The policy of Catholic Charities violates state anti-discrimination laws that demand couples in civil unions be treated the same as married couples, they said.Good riddance to bad rubbish, I say. Thankfully, there are plenty of secular foster care agencies who care more about helping children then promoting religious-based homophobic ideology.
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| AFP PHOTO / GLYN KIRK |
Q11 Do you think same-sex marriage should beThe margin of error is +/- 4.4 percentage points. This is more evidence that people who think that 2012 is the right time to attempt to repeal Proposition 8 are fooling themselves. I do think that there are more Californians who support marriage equality than not, but the polling shows that the difference is well within the margin of error.
legal or illegal?
Legal............................................................... 48%
Illegal .............................................................. 43%
Not sure .......................................................... 9%
Q12 Which of the following best describes your
opinion on gay marriage: gay couples should
be allowed to legally marry, or gay couples
should be allowed to form civil unions but not
legally marry, or there should be no legal
recognition of a gay couple's relationship?
Gay couples should be allowed to legally
marry ..............................................................43%
Gay couples should be allowed to form civil
unions but not marry .......................................35%
There should be no legal recognition of a gay
couple's relationship .......................................21%
Not sure .......................................................... 1%
It's probably the best decision overall to make the case go away. I am satisfied that the brazen killer of an openly gay (or transgender) teen will be serving significant time in jail, thus validating the idea that perpretators of such heinous acts will be prosecuted and punished by the state.The Oxnard teen who shot a gay classmate he believed was flirting with him has agreed to spend the next 21 years in prison, a plea deal that ends a case that drew national attention and ignited debate on how schools should deal with openly gay students.Brandon McInerney, who was 14 when he pulled a gun out of his backpack and shot Larry King twice in the head in 2008, has already served nearly four years in jail and would be released by the time he is 38, under terms of the deal."Larry had a complicated life, but he did not deserve to be murdered," the youth's father,Greg King, said after a court hearing Monday afternoon.McInerney’s first trial ended with jurors split between convicting him of voluntary manslaughter and first-degree murder. Several of the jurors have since spoken in favor of a plea bargain, in order to avoid a second trial.Prosecutors, in initially deciding to try McInerney a second time, had already dropped a key allegation that the shooting was motivated by a hatred of homosexuals, an accusation that several jurors in the original trial said they did not believe.During the first trial, prosecutors portrayed McInerney as a budding white supremacist who hated homosexuals and was enraged by King's sexuality and aggressive flirtations.The defense argued that McInerney was the product of a violent and dysfunctional home and had reached an emotional breaking point in response to King's advances.McInerney was 14 when he carried a .22-caliber handgun to school in a backpack on Feb. 12, 2008, took a seat behind King, 15, and shot him twice in the back of the head.Gay rights advocates were largely silent after the mistrial. A national gay rights group later said prosecutors should have done the "just and merciful thing" and reached a plea deal in the case.
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| Richard Perry/The New York Times |
Fewer than 2 percent of the 77,000 members of the United States Chess Federation are masters — and just 13 of them are under the age of 14.
Among that select group of prodigies are three black players from the New York City area — Justus Williams, Joshua Colas and James Black Jr. — who each became masters before their 13th birthdays.
“Masters don’t happen every day, and African-American masters who are 12 never happen,” said Maurice Ashley, 45, the only African-American to earn the top title of grandmaster. “To have three young players do what they have done is something of an amazing curiosity. You normally wouldn’t get something like that in any city of any race.”
[...]
In September last year, Justus, who is now 13 and lives in the Bronx, was the first of the three boys to get to 2,200, becoming the youngest black player to obtain the master rank. Joshua, 13, of White Plains, was a few months younger than Justus when he became a master last December. James, 12, of Brooklyn, became a master in July.Maurice Ashley is also quoted as saying "Chess just isn't that big in the African-American community." What do YOU think, Gentle Readers? Why isn't chess a bigger sport in the African-American community? Isn't that what people used to (and still) say about tennis?
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| Adenia stylosa, photo by Mr Sentient Meat of his plant |
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| Leaves from different individuals, all Adenia stylosa |
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[T]he position of A. stylosa has been clarified. This species was once treated as A. firingalavensis var. stylosa, and prior to that as A. epigea var. stylosa, but molecular and morphological data suggest it is separate from these species.Hearn, D. J. 2007. Novelties in Adenia (Passifloraceae): Four new species, a new combination, a vegetative key, and diagnostic characters for known Madagascan species. Brittonia 59(4): 308–327.
As of 2010, nearly 79,200 same-sex couples living in the United States include at least one partner who iscurrently not a U.S citizen or was naturalized as a citizen. Of the nearly 650,000 same-sex couples in the US:
4.4% or 28,574 are binational couples (one partner is a U.S. citizen and one is not)
1.8% or 11,442 are dual non-citizen couples
6.1% or 39,176 are dual citizen couples with at least one naturalized partner
Under U.S. immigration policy, a citizen may obtain permanent residence for their non-citizen different-sex spouse, and expedited citizenship for a resident, different-sex spouse. Permanent residents may also petition for permanent resident status for their different-sex spouses. However, these options are not extended to same-sex couples, even if they are married or are in civil unions or registered domestic partnerships. Currently none of the estimated 40,000 binational and dual non-citizen same-sex couples in US are eligible to use the immigration mechanisms available to different-sex spouses.Immigration Equality is the premier national LGBT organization advocating for and assisting same-sex couples impacted by federal immigration policies. (MadProfessah has served on the board of the organization since November 2008).
[...]
Additional findings from the analyses include: California ranks first in the total number of binational same-sex couples. A quarter of them (7,115) live in the state. California is followed by New York (3,695), Florida (2,545), Texas (1,607), and Illinois (1,596).
Mexico is the country of birth for a quarter of non-citizens in binational same-sex couples. Canada, the second highest country of origin, is home to 8% of the non-citizen partners, followed by the United Kingdom at 6%.
More than two-thirds of binational same-sex couples (69%) are male.
A third of binational couples (33%) are inter-racial/ethnic.
Forty-five percent of non-citizens in binational same-sex couples are Latino or Latina, while 14% are Asian/Pacific Islander. Just over a third (36%) are White. Among citizens in same-sex binational couples, a third (33%) are Latino or Latina while 54% are White and 7% are Asian/Pacific Islander. AfricanAmericans comprise just 3% of both groups.
A quarter of male binational couples and 39% of female binational couples are raising an estimated 17,000 children. Rates of childrearing are even higher among non-citizen same-sex couples. More than half (52%) of male non-citizen couples and nearly two-thirds (64%) of non-citizen female couples are raising more than 7,700 children.
Citizens in binational same-sex couples have higher median income levels than their non-citizen partners. However, the non-citizen partners in binational couples have median incomes that are substantially higher than non-citizens with non-citizen partners.
Almost two-thirds of binational same-sex couples own their home. They are more than twice as likely to be home owners as dual non-citizen same-sex couples (30%).
The vast majority of same-sex partners in binational couples speak English “well” or “very well”. Among citizens in binational couples, 93% report a very good command of English compared to 81% of their non-citizen partners.
More than 40% of citizens and non-citizens in same-sex binational couples have a college degree.
Non-citizens in binational same-sex couples evidence low rates of unemployment at just 2%. Nearly 8% of citizens in binational same-sex couples say they are unemployed.
The measure, adopted by the House last night, passed the Senate by a voice vote this morning. Governor Deval Patrick has indicated he will sign the bill into law. It would go into effect July 1, 2012.
The transgender civil-rights bill would add protections based on “gender identity” to the statutes banning discrimination in employment, housing, education, and credit. It would also add gender identity to current hate-crimes laws.
The measure, however, does not include protections for public accommodations, such as hotels and restaurants, restrooms, locker rooms, public buildings and transit, including subway and bus lines.
That omission bothers a lead sponsor of the bill, Representative Carl M. Sciortino, Jr. (D-Medford). But he said, the bill is a step forward “It makes sure that people who have faced violence and discrimination have legal remedy.”Massachusetts will become the 16th state to include protections for transgender people from discrimination into law. Curious that this is happening more than 7 years after the state embraced marriage equality. Better late than never.
