Anne Hathaway - An Amazing Ally

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My oldest daughter posted this quote from Anne Hathaway that to my think states the real measure of common human decency - something lost to the Christianists and the leadership of the Roman Catholic Church.  Like myself, Hathaway is a former Catholic who had had enough of the Church's anti-gay bigotry and hypocrisy.

Lady Gaga Launches 'Born This Way' Foundation

Yesterday at Harvard University Lady Gaga and her mother Cynthia Germanotta launched their Born This Way Foundation. The launch event included a panel with Oprah Winfrey, Deepak Chopra, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, and Neil Patrick Harris' partner and actor David Burtka. One of the stated goals of the Foundation is to fight bullying - something that will no doubt have the Christianists foaming at the mouth since they want to have free license to denigrate and abuse LGBT individuals and others whom they hate and despise. I applaud Lady Gaga's and her mother's efforts to stop insidious bullying. What's striking is that while the far right malign her endlessly, Lady Gaga practices the true Gospel message of love for others far better than the self-congratulatory, sanctimonious professional Christians and many. many pastors in pulpits. Here are some highlights from the Boston Globe's coverage:

When Lady Gaga stepped on stage at Harvard University’s Sanders Theatre yesterday to launch her youth foundation, it was hardly a typical appearance for the pop star who has built her reputation with over-the-top theatrics.

She didn’t hatch from an egg, or appear in a dress made of raw steaks. Instead the 25-year-old Gaga wore a subdued full-length black dress and spoke to a polite audience of students, academics, and educational specialists about the Born This Way Foundation, a nonprofit charity whose mission is to “foster a more accepting society, where differences are embraced and individuality is celebrated.’’

The official rollout of the foundation was held at Harvard because the university’s Berkman Center for Internet and Society and its Graduate School of Education are offering assistance to the fledgling organization.

Gaga - who was joined by Oprah Winfrey, spiritual leader Deepak Chopra, and Kathleen Sebelius, the US Health and Human Services secretary - is counting on her supersize persona, which has already had a major influence on pop culture, to help encourage and fund the foundation’s programs.

“The goal of the Born This Way Foundation is to challenge meanness and cruelty by inspiring young people to create a support system in their respective communities,’’ she said. “This is about changing . . . the school environment, and not putting the power in the hands of the teachers or the government.’’

The foundation is planning a nationwide bus tour, which it says will teach teens about getting involved in civic groups and allow them to connect with mentors. The “Born Brave Bus’’ will also follow the route of Gaga’s next North American tour.

While yesterday’s Harvard launch was no Lady Gaga concert, hundreds of fans gathered outside in the afternoon snow for a glimpse of the singer.

The star power behind the group immediately makes it one of the nation’s highest-profile efforts against bullying, which has been gaining more attention from education specialists, policy makers, and politicians. Some recent suicides tied to bullying, including the death of Phoebe Prince in South Hadley in 2010, have led to new laws meant to combat such behavior. According to the Berkman Center, 48 states have enacted some form of legislation that requires schools to form bullying policies.

But Gaga said laws won’t make bullying disappear. “There is no federal law that can change these problems,’’ she said. “The only way to solve the problem is to change the environment.’’

In recent years, Gaga has been outspoken on various social and political issues. She campaigned against the military’s now-abandoned “don’t ask, don’t tell’’ policy, which allowed gays and lesbians to serve as long as they hid their sexual orientation. She has also advocated in favor of laws allowing gay marriage.

No matter what message she wants to promote, Gaga can wield an enormous virtual bullhorn to attract attention: She has almost 20 million Twitter followers and 48 million Facebook fans.

Miley Cyrus: The Christian Hate She's Recieved for Supporting Marriage Equality

You can always tell the conservative Christians by their most notable traits: hate and bigotry towards almost everyone different from themselves. Oh, and did I mention false piety and sanctimonious self-congratulation? It's the "godly Christians" who make me increasingly want to have nothing to do with Christianity. Now, in a Glamour Magazine article singer Miley Cyrus describes the hate and venom she has received for being supportive of marriage equality for LGBT citizens. Slurs, hate mail, mockery - all the usual signs of the "love" that is, in my view, the hallmark of the conservative Christians. Here are highlights from the Glamour piece:

Imagine finding someone you love more than anything in the world, who you would risk your life for but couldn't marry. And you couldn't have that special day the way your friends do—you know, wear the ring on your finger and have it mean the same thing as everybody else. Just put yourself in that person's shoes. It makes me feel sick to my stomach.

When I shared a picture of my tattoo on my Twitter page and said, "All LOVE is equal," a lot of people mocked me—they said, "What happened to you? You used to be a Christian girl!" And I said, "Well, if you were a true Christian, you would have your facts straight. Christianity is about love." The debate resulted in a lot of threats and hate mail to people who agreed and disagreed with me. At one point I had to say, "Dude, everyone lay off." Can't people have friendly debates about sensitive topics without it turning into unnecessary threats?

I believe every American should be allowed the same rights and civil liberties. Without legalized same-sex marriage, most of the time you cannot share the same health benefits, you are not considered next of kin and you are not granted the same securities as a heterosexual couple. How is this different than having someone sit in the back of the bus because of their skin color?

We all should be tolerant of one another and embrace our differences. My dad [country singer Billy Ray Cyrus], who is a real man's man, lives on the farm and is as Southern and straight as they come. He loves my gay friends and even supports same-sex marriage. If my father can do it, anyone can.

This is America, the nation of dreams. We're so proud of that. And yet certain people are excluded. It's just not right.

For many LGBT Americans, instead of a nation of dreams, America is a long continuing nightmare. Here in Virginia, the Republican Party of Virginia and the Christofascists at The Family Foundation are working diligently to make the nightmare continue as long as possible. They care nothing about the lives and souls they damage. It makes me sick.

Victim of Bullying Has the Last Laugh - And a Video Message from Lady Gaga

As noted in past posts, junior high school and much of high school were not good periods in my life and I suffered my share of taunts of "fag," "pansy"and other derogatory names since I wasn't the butch, macho type. Add to that the fact that I was regarded as being one of the smartest kids in my class, so I had the nerd image to further enhanced my misery. Summers at the family lake house were a totally different matter, but did little to get me through the school year. Then came snow skiing that made a big difference later in high school. I excelled and was better than many of the high school jocks - even some of the sports stars would go skiing with me. My point is that I know that one can be bullied and yet ultimately have the last laugh. A case in point is Jacques St. Pierre, a 17 year old student at the Etobicoke School of the Arts in Toronto, Canada. St. Pierre under went bullying but decided to fight back and organized a school assembly with an anti-bullying theme. He also sought out celebrities to back up the assembly's message. Lady Gaga was one of those asked and did a video for St. Pierre. Here are highlights from the Vancouver Sun followed by the video:

The Fame Monster herself is putting her popularity to good use — Lady Gaga recently acknowledged a Toronto student’s tremendous endeavour to raise awareness and put an end to bullying.

Jacques St. Pierre, 17, was motivated to make a change after being bullied himself growing up. As the student council president of the Etobicoke School of the Arts, he organized a school assembly with an anti-bullying theme.

“I got called the gay kid, the fag, because I liked to be in the school plays,” St. Pierre told CBC. “I lost my best friend because he joined in with the bullies. It’s not fun, I’ve been there, I’ve been bullied. Before that, I didn’t know bullying could affect people so severely.”

Gathering pledges from fellow students and contacting an array of celebrities for their support, St. Pierre was overjoyed and emotional after he received Gaga’s heartfelt video voicing her unconditional support for his actions.

“I just wanted to tell you how proud I am of you for being such a strong advocate of the LGBT community in your school. There should be more little monsters like you,” Gaga said. “It is important that we push the boundaries of love and acceptance. It is important that we spread tolerance and equality for all students.”

St Pierre said Gaga’s high profile will help spread a positive message. “Young or old, people know who Lady Gaga is, because she’s such as character and she does so much to stand up against bullying in any way she can. And someone as inspiring as her, taking 20 minutes out of her day to write down a speech, sit in front of a Teleprompter, get all made up and read it to us directly at our school. It’s fantastic,” he told CBC.

Lady Gaga Again Proves She's a Powerful Ally

In A Very Gaga Thanksgiving, the 90-minute special that aired last night on ABC, Lady Gaga once again demonstrated that she's a powerful ally to the LGBT community with her anti-bullying remarks and her self-affirming message to youths. She also showed that she's far more complex than the often crazy caricature that she sometimes comes across to be.

Yes, I am sure she will have her detractors, but I respect her willingness to use her celebrity to send out a message be it on ending bullying or in the past on the repeal of DADT. Perhaps I'm biased having watched her from 20 feet away at the National Equality March, but her activism is most refreshing compared to the mindless conduct of supposed celebrities that seem to exist only to promote themselves. Kim Kardashian, are you listening?

Vote NO on Proposition 8

Dana Delany, Loni Anderson, Kathryn Joosten, Eduardo Xol, Eric McCormack, Marissa Jaret Winokur, and Carmit Bachar speak out against Proposition 8.