So, it’s come to this in the good ol’ U.S. of A. Private corporations are so running our politics that we have to direct our political energy to boycotting and supporting large businesses in order to change anything. Our national values are now promoted to
Back in 1970, the AFL-CIO-affiliated American Federation of Teachers became the first major union to stand against discrimination against lesbians and gay men. In 1974, its larger national rival, the National Education Association added sexual orientation to its anti-discrimination policy. Both unions have struggled with
When I saw the oily executives from BP and its drilling partners, Transocean and Halliburton, testify before the Senate May 11, I was reminded of another confrontation of business with government. Last December, President Obama summoned the heads of the nation’s banks to the White
Gay or European? People used to ask that about a man who didn’t fit the American image of manhood: “Is he gay, or is he European?” In an episode of Seinfeld, Jerry acquired a small bag to carry around everything that stuffed his pockets. When
It’s been haunting the church for decades. It’s an issue the Roman Catholic Church is currently dealing with in the way any international corporation would. What we’re seeing in the current discussions of priestly abuse of their positions sexually and the standard institutional cover-up, is
On January 30, 1948, Mahatma Gandhi during his nightly walk in New Delhi was assassinated by Nathuram Godse. Godse was a right-wing, gun-toting religious believer with connections to a political party whose goals included making India a Hindu nation, rejecting the secularism that separated religion
Marriage can’t bear the weight of our culture’s expectations for sex today. Sex as defined in America is ruining marriages. After poring over redundant discussions about sex, monogamy, biology, evolutionary anthropology, and clinical studies, I’m not convinced that the difficulty is based in something inherent
With November’s poll results, marriage equality continues to fail when put on the ballot. We can’t ignore the progress that’s been made, but the American people remain an easy mark for those who claim protecting marriage involves denying it to LGBT people. If we use
Almost 80 million people voted for a Barack Obama that talked about real change including single-payer healthcare and the end of Wall Street and other corporations pulling the strings in Washington. A march of – at most – 60,000 in Washington in September should mean
The Norman Rockwell-style American Thanksgiving is a feast of mythology about pilgrims and Indians sitting down like buddies giving thanks to the Christian god for a successful harvest. Add the picture of the perfect American family, every member home for the holiday, sitting down together