Saintless

I don’t have time to write out all of my thoughts on this, nor do I have all of the detail in either case. Regardless, my overall opinion will remain the same.

It takes acts like rioting at the G20 and Tim DeChristopher bidding on auctions for our society to get our heads out of our collective asses.

U.S. Attorney for Utah Brett Tolman said that, while he recognized people (i.e. DeChristopher) may have deeply held views on government behavior, they should express them lawfully.

Well, see, there’s a problem with that. People like me go to protests and stand around on street corners with signs, and no one gives a shit. We write, or we tell our friends, or we donate to causes, and nothing gets done. And if you look back at the history of the US, it takes people willing to do things that are “wrong” to make things change. And in retrospect, they’re called heroes. So, while breaking windows in Europe isn’t something I can actually condone, I’m glad someone is doing it. And now the press is paying attention, and the world is reacting.

Sadly, it took way too long this morning for me to decide whether the G20 riots and the news of DeChristopher’s indictment were real, or some sad April Fools Day joke. Society needs to wake up, and these people are the only ones who seem to be getting our collective attention.

Tags: G20, Tim DeChristopher

This is being reposted with permission from the lovely Dominique Storni:

2-20-2009
10:05am
(feel free to post & repost)

Dominique Storni

I’d like to say a little something about Senator Chris Buttars, the President of the Utah State Senate, Michael Waddoups, and what took place at the Utah State Capitol at this morning’s press conference.

Many are upset with how Senator Waddoups responded; that he was maudlin, didn’t go far enough, or that he was complicit by not censuring Senator Buttars. By the tone of his voice and by the words he spoke, it is apparent that Senator Waddoups agrees with Senator Buttars’ comments and was upset he was forced to do anything at all.

Senator Waddoups was evasive in answering questions, and completely ignored the question from the Gay press. Did we really expect anything different? I didn’t. 

The greatest good that has come from Senator Buttars speaking openly, honestly, and without filter, is that he has been exposed for who he is. Time and time again he proves how he feels about people who are not white and not Mormon. He has proven in words and in deed that he is a bigot. 

That is not an ad hominem attack. It is simple truth. He has stated his disdain for people of color and for gay and transgender people emphatically many times. He has said that gay and transgender people are the greatest threat to America than anything else. He has declared that he will openly block any legislation that will give these minorities any civil rights. 

When someone calls him on his behavior, he once again proves his true colors. In his own words, “I don’t care.”

This has not only created a stir in Salt Lake City. This has not only created a stir in Utah’s Gay community. This has not only created a distraction at the Utah State Capitol. This is now national and international news. Senator Buttars has single handedly brought more attention to backwards beliefs, bigoted thinking, false information, and stereotypical Utah attitudes than any gay or transgender activist could ever hope to bring.

The more he exercises his right to free speech, (which, by the way, I will defend to my death) the more he hurts himself, his constituents, and Utah. With every bigoted statement, he exposes himself. For me, the saddest reality is that Senator Buttars most likely does speak for his constituents. 

By their failure to vote him out, by their silence, by their posts on ksl.com and other blogs, there are few among his supporters who disagree with him or who want him censured. 

Hell’s bells, they re-elected him. They emboldened him. They empowered him to speak for them. And he does.

Two friends of mine stated it poignantly. The first said, “I think Waddops is an idiot – checking his watch every second – and then not addressing the GLBT community at all – grrrr!”. 

The second said, “I think the outrageous part of Waddoups behavior isn’t that he ignored us, it’s that he actually said he and his colleagues agree with most of what Buttars said, but not ALL of it. Are you kidding me with this? Waddoups should be censured.”

I happen to agree with the Senate action. The harsh truth for those of us who are a bit more enlightened and a bit more progressive is that the voters should decide if this man serves or not. I don’t believe that he should be removed by the Senate until he breaks the law or violates the terms of his oath. It is up to the voters of West Jordan to decide if a bigot represents them.

Senator Buttars doesn’t care about anyone who’s not white and not Mormon. Senator Waddoups appears not to care, either. The people of West Jordan don’t appear to care. The people of Utah don’t appear to care. The elected officials on The Hill don’t care because they “agree with most of what Senator Buttars said.”

Some may speak less offensive words. Some may speak words of support. But their actions speak so loudly that I cannot hear what they say. By their deeds, their words are erased.

By their fruits ye shall know them. In my humble opinion, their fruits are rotten. I suggest everyone read chapter 5 of the book of Jacob in The Book of Mormon and meditate on how the vineyard of Utah is represented in the parable of the vineyard.

In my Mormon youth, I was taught, “Where much is given, much is required.” 

There are so many Utahns and so many Mormons who support equal rights for gay and transgender people. Recent polls show that the Utah legislature is out of step with the majority of Utah. 

It is time for them to listen to the silent majority and stop being frightened into submission by the very vocal minority represented by America Forever, The Sutherland Institute, and the Gayle Ruzicka’s Eagle Forum.

When political leaders claim moral superiority due to their religion, or religious leaders claim high moral ground because of their politics, I see a major problem. Indeed, I see the secret combinations of the Gadianton Robbers spoken of by Helaman in the Book of Mormon. 

I expect higher morals and more ethical behavior from my Utah politicians because of their religion.

To them I repeat the words of the Savior, “Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” 

 

Tags: Dominique Storni, President Michael Waddoups, Senator Chris Buttars

Pres. Waddoups - Sen. Buttars Press Conference

After President Waddoups ended the press conference about Buttars, Troy Williams pressed him to speak to the gay community. My impression was that he was looking for some sort of apology or empathy from Waddoups, and the Republican caucus in general, for the hurtful statements that Senator Buttars has made. Waddoups replied that he didn’t hear a question. Troy then asked if Waddoups thought that gay people have the same rights everyone else does. Waddoups sidestepped the question, answering that the Constitution gave everyone rights.

Troy Williams

Waddoups and the rest of the Republicans there for the press conference left. Senators Pat Jones and Ross Romero then took some questions and made some statements. I wasn’t able to catch them all, because the room was buzzing with noise.

Senator Pat Jones spoke about the fact that they were pushing for something to happen in regards to Buttars, but that it was something that the Republican leadership had to deal with. She was asked if she was satisfied with the censure of Buttars, and she refused to answer.

Senators Ross Romero and Pat Jones

Senator Ross Romero then spoke. He said that he was proposing today on the floor that there be a join rule change for both House and Senate, require cultural sensitivity and diversity training. He said that he fully agreed that free speech was legal and proper, but that there needed to be a balance when representing the people. He said that it would help (people like Buttars) to understand how offensive certain things they say could be. He mentioned that he had considered it last year after Buttars’ “black baby” comment. The purpose of this would not be to limit free speech, but for representatives to better understand the effects their speech has on others.

Romero also said that he thought that there should be an apology issued because of statements such as the one where Buttars said that the LGBT community lacks morals.

Senator Jones stepped back in to say that she felt that if Buttars apologized but was not sincere, it would be disingenuous.

Troy Williams and Gayle Ruzicka

Troy Williams with Gayle Ruzicka trying to leave

Shortly after that, Troy Williams went up to Gayle Ruzicka, President of The Eagle Forum, and spoke with her. The cameras were all over that. Ruzicka was obviously trying to leave the whole time. I didn’t hear the whole conversation, but I did hear Troy suggest that Gayle ask Buttars what “pig sex” was. He also asked her how she could support him when he outright lied, and how was that moral or just. I don’t think she answered, and she did finally get her opportunity to run out of the room. That was quite an interesting exchange, and I was proud of Troy for taking the opportunity.

Tags: Eagle Forum, Gayle Ruzicka, Senator Chris Buttars, Senator Pat Jones, Senator Ross Romero, Troy Williams

I’m sitting in a room off of the Utah Senate Chambers, awaiting the press conference regarding Senator Chris Buttars to begin. KSL is broadcasting this live. I recognize many people here – Troy Williams, Glen Warchol, Michael Aaron, as well as tv news personalities.

When I arrived, I was turned away for not having a press pass. I will be changing that soon, but it’s too late today. I started to walk away to figure out who I knew that could get me in, when I was called back and told to go down the hall and have someone ask Ric Cantrell if I could get in.

Ric was very gracious, and said that he wanted to let bloggers that he knew in. I don’t think we’d met before, but he apparently knew my name and/or blog.

There’s lots of speculation as to whether the man of the hour will attend, and if we can ask questions.

My prediction (and as I write this, it’s 6 minutes away) is that Buttars will not resign. Instead, he’ll opt to be stripped of committee assignments. I’m told he’s a year away from the 10 year mark, where he gets free healthcare for life.

I’m thrilled at the possibility that the Utah State Senate might be stepping up to the plate, and not allowing such heinous statements to represent the entire Senate, or the people of Utah. Of course, at this moment, that’s just hope. They could very well end up defending him, using the “free speech” line.

There’s 1 minute left now, the room is getting quiet.

Free speech, but handle fairly for public.

Waddoups: Buttars is stripped from committee leadership. Intent to remove focus from distracting personal issues, so that the bills can be heard for their own merits rather than stir created in public with controversial comments. Second it frees Buttars to feel more at ease saying how he personally feels, without speaking on behalf of the committee or legislature. Allow him to more fully express his freedom of speech rights.

Buttars will continue serving on the Rules Committee.

Troy Williams pushed hard for Waddoups to address the gay community. Waddoups tried to sidestep it, even after asked directly if he believed that gay people have the same rights. Waddoups gave a generic answer, and said that all people were given rights in the constitution.

Ross Romero is still answering questions, the conference is over. I’ll make notes and write them up later.

Tags: Senator Chris Buttars

I’m sure that Bush didn’t actually mean to, but he did something good Tuesday. W signed into law a requirement that employers allow couples (including teh gay!) to roll a retirement plan over to their non-spouse partners.

Really. He did. From HRC:

The Human Rights Campaign today hailed the passage of a law that protects partners who inherit retirement savings. The Worker, Retiree and Employer Recovery Act of 2008 (WRERA), signed by President Bush today, contains technical corrections to the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (PPA). PPA made it possible for employers to allow any nonspouse beneficiary of an employee’s retirement plan—including an employee’s same-sex partner—to roll inherited retirement benefits directly to an individual retirement account (IRA) and avoid immediate taxation. WRERA requires that all employers provide this rollover opportunity to nonspouse beneficiaries.

(via ThinkProgress)

(h/t HuffPo)

When my younger sister, Jenee, moved here to Utah, she was 18 years old, going on 19. Things were bad at home with our mother, and I knew she needed to be somewhere else. So, I bought her a one-way ticket to Utah, with a promise of a return ticket in a few weeks, whenever she wanted it. Well, I’ve never purchased it.

Jenee is now 23, going on 24. It was mid-December when she moved here, so it’s been almost 5 years, now.

She has lived with me on and off for most of that time, as she is now. Jenee has relied on me for a lot of things, including finances ocassionally, though I won’t get to far into that in such an open forum. Suffice it to say, I have considered her my dependant this entire time. I jokingly refer to her as my 3rd child, though that often irritates her.

Over the years, she has has many medical conditions, most of them minor. She has always had hives (nonstop), though because she can’t afford an allergy test, she has only been able to deal with it by ocassionally getting some cream that she hoards, because she doesn’t often have the chance to get it. She’s had minor infections like strep throat which go untreated, probably infecting others without her having much choice. She’s had multiple ear infections, which also go untreated, the last of which left a hole in her eardrum. After that, she managed to go to a doctor but it was too late for him to do anything except recommend surgery she couldn’t afford.

Her birth control comes from Planned Parenthood, thank the heavens for that organization, because otherwise she would have no access to it. Her last PAP smear came back abnormal, which could mean anything, but what if it’s something serious? I’m not even covering everything here, but you have a good idea of the medical challenges she faces, which are so easily treatible, if only Utah law would recognize her dependence on me!

She’s never had much of an income, and scapes by. She can’t afford health insurance. Living with me, she can’t qualify for any state benefits, even if she were willing and they were available (which she’s not and they aren’t).

If Utah were to pass domestic partner benefits during the upcoming year, as have been proposed, I would be able to add my sister to my insurance benefits. The hole in my sister’s ear would be fixed, when she gets strep throat, it doesn’t get shared with the general public, and she’d be able to find out what’s causing her hives and end the constant holes in her arms from them. This is all much more expensive untreated than treated.

There are thousands of stories just like hers across Utah, whether it’s a grandparent, relative or “life partner”, dependant upon their loved ones financially, who just go without healthcare because they have no choice. This is something we can end, and we should. Human compassion says it’s the right thing to do.

Will you call your State Representative and Senator, and ask them for their support of the Common Ground Initiative, especially the Domestic Partner Rights and Responsibilities Act? Please, for Jenee, and for all the other children, parents, grandparents and PEOPLE it will benefit?

After considering the idea of pursuing the end of legal marriage, and having a lot of discussions both here and with friends, I read this article today from the LA Times.

I had already been seriously considering the implications of the idea, partly based on comments that I received here, and also because there was a nagging voice in the back of my head. When I read the LA Times article, I realized why.

For my entire life, I’ve dreamt of falling in love with my soul mate, and what life will be like, and of the wedding. I know the sounds and smells and wonder that will be part of that wedding. I know that there is someone out there who will share that magical feeling with me every day of our lives, long after the “new” has worn off. I know that we will share hopes and dreams and tears. I know that laughter and smiles and joy will dominate our lives, even through the tough times. I know that we will walk through life, holding hands and loving each other. I know that the people I love in my life, my friends, my children, and my family will be there to watch as this love of my life and I get married, and join in a lifelong committment. 

Since I haven’t actually met this person yet, I don’t know who it will be, nor do I know if it will be a man or a woman.

This is the part of the article that gave words to that voice in the back of my head, nagging me:

On election night, I was less anxious about whether Barack Obama would become president than about whether a certain little girl could marry her princess.

I’m talking about the girl in the “Yes on 8″ commercial who came home from school after reading “King and King” and announced, “And I can marry a princess!”

Not in California, she can’t — at least for the time being. Proposition 8 passed 52.5% to 47.5%, after a $74-million battle.

And that idea, the idea that if someday, I find my princess, I don’t get to marry her. I don’t want to “civil union” her. I don’t want to sign dry legal documents with her. I want to announce to the world that I am in love with my princess, and have the wedding of our dreams to start of the marriage of our dreams. The idea that this wonderful, loving relationship is something less than everything I’ve dreamt of because someone else tells me so makes me sad, and I haven’t even met her, yet.

Then again, maybe this love of my life is a man. How could I possibly enter into a marriage when my friends are prohibited from doing the same?

And if I worked towards ending legal marriage, that would be even worse, somehow. That would be ending this social institution of which dreams are made. And that’s not what I want. Not at all.

Tomorrow night (Friday, 11/7/08) is a protest against Prop 8 at Temple Square. I will be there, and I will continue to support everyone’s hopes and dreams that rest in marriage.

It appears as though equality suffered a blow yesterday, when Prop. 8 passed by a narrow margin in California. It’s a sad day when we see equality and human rights take a step backwards. But, we don’t have to sit back and accept defeat. And I’m not going to.

After a discussion with Joseph Price on Facebook, I realized that we can take this movement in a different direction, and maybe it’s the one we should have been going in the first place.

Marriage should not have a legal definition in America. Religious groups have argued that marriage belongs to them, and used that argument to ban gay marriage. Well, I say we let them have it.

I realize this is a really difficult and complicated issue. But, the government needs to get their noses out of my business. Churches should issue marriage certificates, not the County Clerk. I am no legal scholar, nor do I have all of the potential issues ironed out. And I definitely need help. This is far bigger than I am. I’m hoping to get some experts on board, and I’ve started putting out feelers to get that help.

In the meantime, share your thoughts and ideas in the comment section, after you read this article that Joseph shared with me:

WHY do people — gay or straight — need the state’s permission to marry? For most of Western history, they didn’t, because marriage was a private contract between two families. The parents’ agreement to the match, not the approval of church or state, was what confirmed its validity.

Stephanie Coontz goes on to talk about the history of marriage in America, and provides a very convincing argument that maybe it’s time for the historical tradition of marriage to make a comeback.

I just got this email from Janet Hurley, the Events Coordinator for Utah for Obama:

Hello Utah for Obama members,

Last year we helped plant trees along the Jordan River Parkway with Tree Utah in the Spring and sponsored a food drive for the Utah Food bank in the Fall. This year let’s help homeless patients of the 4th Street Clinic in downtown Salt Lake City.

I will collect your donations of $5 gift cards from grocery stores from now until Election Day. These $5 gift cards will be distributed by care providers at the 4th Street Clinic to their homeless patients.

If you would like to donate more than $5, please purchase additional gift cards in $5 increments. If you would like to make a large donation, please contact me so that we can arrange for development staff at the 4th Street Clinic to get you an acknowledgement letter for your tax purposes.

If you would like to act as a bundler, collecting $5 grocery gift cards from your friends and acquantances, that would be great! Contact me and we can coordinate our efforts.

I will submit the gift cards to 4th Street as soon as I have a large number of them. If we do well, I may be able to sumbit multiple times before Election Day on November 4th.

We’ve already experienced winter conditions and yesterday’s news indicated that unemployment has begun to rise in Utah. These gift cards will help some of the most vulnerable among us get through the season and this economic downturn, at least in the short term.

You can find out more about the 4th Street Clinic and its programs here:

http://www.fourthstreetclinic.org/

To get your gift card donations to me, please call or email me so that we can arrange an exchange. Thanks for your generosity everyone!

Janet Hurley
shamba_84@msn.com
(801) 712-3564

Since Albertsons and Smiths are both located downtown, and across the valley, they are probably the best choices, if you’d like to help with this.