kiran’s pensieve

Extremist Muslims and Right-Wing Westerners can agree on one and only one sociocultural phenomenon: hating gay people. It’s painful for the moderates of both sides to accept, but it is a reality that must be confronted by intelligent people on all sides before any real, positive, progressive change can be realistically forged.

“I really believe that the pagans, and the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays and the lesbians who are actively trying to make that an alternative lifestyle, the ACLU, People for an American Way, all of them who have tried to secularize America, I point the finger in their face and say `you helped this (September 11) happen.’”

-Jerry Falwell (Aug 11, 1933 - May 15, 2007)

…247gay.com
…NPR news

There’s a news story I’ve been following for a while that has to do with a London, Ontario family of a same-sex couple who had a child with a male friend. The second female member of the couple (the non-bio mother) had applied to gain status as the child’s third parent, and as of a ruling yesterday, she now has this status.

“Boy can have two mothers and a father, Ontario appeal court rules”
A.A. and C.C. have been in a stable same-sex union since 1990. In 1999, they decided to start a family with the assistance of their friend B.B.

The two women would be the primary caregivers of the child, but they believed it would be in the child’s best interests that B.B. remain involved in the child’s life.

Not only is this wonderful news for the progressive, sophisticated community of open minded individuals paving the beautiful realities of tomorrow in the face of traditionalists who would rather see loveless nuclear marriages than happy open families, this is also excellent for the child who will get to enjoy the love and support of 3 parents, 6 grandparents and a much larger family base than most others in the world.

There are those who believe that the human race is headed for hell specifically because the traditional definitions of marriage, family and community are being re-written. I say to them, who came up with those traditional definitions? Do you think things were always so? No they were not. Our idea of the 2 parent nuclear family is very recent. In fact untill about the middle ages, the Church itself frowned upon marriage of any kind. Until the Industrial Revolution, children were raised by an interconnected network of familial bonds with both blood and non-blood relatives. Monogamy itself is a concept very recently enforced in human history, there are many cultures in the world where it’s still not the norm.

So what’s the big deal? I say let all children enjoy the benefits of having more people love them and care for them. I say let all adults enjoy the same benefits. Let’s stop thinking of love as a limited commodity that must be held back. Instead let’s free ourselves to be who we know we are in our deepest dreams. Lets love and let love.

These stories don’t even require commentary…

“NJ Supreme Court gives same-sex couples more rights”

The case that resulted in Wednesday’s ruling was brought by seven same-sex couples who were denied marriage licenses in New Jersey. The dissenting justices, led by Chief Justice Deborah Poritz, argued that the majority did not go far enough, saying that only marriage would allow gay couples to achieve equal benefits.

In making its ruling, the court reflected on the changes that have transformed marriage during the last 200 years, such as granting women greater rights within marriage.

“The institution of marriage reflects society’s changing social mores and values,” the majority said in its opinion. “Although courts can ensure equal treatment, they cannot guarantee social acceptance, which must come through the evolving ethos of a maturing society.”

“Bush concedes depth of domestic unease over war but vows new tactics will earn victory”

With less than two weeks to go before midterm elections in which the Republican party is expected to suffer heavily because of doubts about Mr Bush’s leadership of the war, yesterday’s press conference at the Oval Office was intended to convince ordinary Americans that the president has a credible plan for Iraq.

“Apple Hacking Could Be Good for iTunes”

What will this mean for Apple?

It’s too early to say. The company will clearly mount a legal challenge, but some analysts believe Apple could end up selling fewer iPods but more music.

“It could be in Apple’s interest that when people download music from iTunes, that consumers will be able to import it to other places: your home, your computer, your car,” McSherry says.

And other lawyers say there’s a big difference between “reverse engineering” and hacking into a company’s internal, confidential information or a bank’s records, for example. That is clearly against the law.

“Radio host accuses Fox of faking Parkinson’s”

In a new embarrassment for the Republicans, Rush Limbaugh, the doyen of conservative talk radio hosts, has issued a graceless apology after suggesting the actor Michael J Fox might have faked the effects of Parkinson’s disease in an election campaign advertisement pleading for embryonic stem cell research.

And last, but not least…

“Canada troops battle 10-ft Afghan marijuana plants”

“We tried burning them with white phosphorous — it didn’t work. We tried burning them with diesel — it didn’t work. The plants are so full of water right now … that we simply couldn’t burn them,” he said.

Even successful incineration had its drawbacks.

“A couple of brown plants on the edges of some of those (forests) did catch on fire. But a section of soldiers that was downwind from that had some ill effects and decided that was probably not the right course of action,” Hiller said dryly.

Tories reopen same-sex marriage debate.

Poor clueless Stephen Harper… just doesn’t realize what century he’s in. As one commenter on this article put it, “Harper is a complete fool. A bigot, prejudiced, homophobic simple little man.”