I share with you our family tradition:

The first national Great American Smoke-Out was sponsored by the American Cancer Society in 1977 in hopes that Americans would quit smoking for a day. And that day would lead to another and so on.

Here's what the Cancer Society has to say about smoking in it's materials for this year's event:

"Today, about 43 million US adults smoke. Tobacco use can cause lung cancer, as well as other cancers, heart disease, and lung disease. Smoking is responsible for nearly 1 in 3 cancer deaths, and 1 in 5 deaths from all causes. Another 8.6 million people are living with serious illnesses caused by smoking."

Transgender Awareness week began yesterday and will culminate on November 20, the 11th International Transgender Day of Remembrance. This day was set aside to memorialize those killed due to anti-transgender hatred or prejudice.

One of the many reasons that 53% of Maine voters elected to repeal the same-sex marriage law is based on a misconception. In fact, most of the arguments used by Yes on 1 activists are based on fear and lies. Disinformation aside, one of the reasons you hear over and over again by those who support "conjugal marriage" is that homosexuality is against the laws of nature.

That anyone can believe this with the mountains of evidence to the contrary simply amazes me. But indeed, there are educated, articulate people like Kathryn Jean Lopez of the National Review that do. She cites a few others in her article canonizing Maggie Gallagher and celebrating the Maine victory. People like Archbishop Timothy Dolan who says marriage is an "institution grounded in natural law".

These three, and many others like them who stand against same-sex marriage, believe that homosexuality is something that perverts the natural order. Since it takes male and female to reproduce, any behavior that contradicts that pattern would be going against our basic nature, right? Well, the real answer is not so much.

There is a long laundry list of studies that show evidence of homosexual behavior in animals. Some of the evidence is old. As in from the 1800s old. It's only gotten news in the last decade or so because of prejudice. Bruce Bagemihl wrote a book in 1999 called Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity. In it, he rather clearly cites example after example of animal homosexuality. In fact, he documents over 450 species in his book.

The facts are that homosexuality occurs across many species and in many environments. As our understanding of biology grows, we're learning more about the complexity of sexual behavior, both straight and gay. Genetics plays its part but so do environmental factors. From the womb and beyond, we're shaped by the environments in which we live. And the two can't be separated. They are both equally important. Changes we encounter in our mother's womb can shape who we become and we have no more control over the outcome than we do the sunrise. Our genetics contain our potential that will be shaped by the environments we encounter in our lifetimes. Each is as natural as it gets.

Homosexuality is not a choice. It is not a lifestyle. And it is as natural as heterosexuality.

From: Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity.(author Bruce Bagemihl )(Brief Article) by Harrold, Max
Source: The Advocate (The national gay & lesbian newsmagazine), 2/16/1999.
Via: HighBeam™ Research
COPYRIGHT 1999 Regent Media

From: ANIMALS Do Do IT.(homosexuality in the animal kingdom) by BAGEMIHL, BRUCE
Source: Alternatives Journal, 6/22/2001.
Via: HighBeam™ Research
COPYRIGHT 2001 Alternatives, Inc.

In one of last places you might expect to find this, Arkansas, a 5th-grader has taken a stand. By refusing to stand.

Will Phillips, after discussing the meaning of the pledge of allegiance with his parents, decided that as long as there are no equal rights for LGBTs to marry or adopt, he would not be standing for the pledge.  As you might gather from this description, Will is not your average 5th-grader. For one thing, he skipped the fourth grade.

“I've always tried to analyze things because I want to be lawyer,” Will said. “I really don't feel that there's currently liberty and justice for all.”

Will is 10-years-old. When a 10-year-old, precocious or not, can look at the current situation in our country and recognize the reality of inequality, there is hope for the future. Perhaps we should remember this young man's name. And some day, about 30 years from now, when his lawyerly ambition turns to politics, we'll remember the stand he took for equal rights and honoring the pledge that we've all taken all our lives. And we'll vote.

Will Phillips for President in 2032.

H/T to OCICBW.

Hank Gilbert, Democratic candidate for Texas Governor has just issued a statement in which he sets forth the following goals:

• proposes allowing civil unions in Texas, and repealing the Texas Defense of Marriage Act.
• proposes legislation prohibiting employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity or expression.
• proposes legislation prohibiting insurance companies from considering a history of transition treatments as a reason to deny coverage
• proposes legislation allowing Texas public and governmental institutions—including all universities, public school districts, municipalities, and all governmental entities to offer same-sex domestic partner benefits.
• proposes prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity or expression in housing, public accommodations, and real estate transactions.
• Ending Discrimination For Public School Employees.
• proposes legislation prohibiting the electronic sharing of information related to a person’s sexuality on medical records
• proposes legislation establishing the authority of domestic partners in medical decision making
• Ending baseless lawsuits challenging the veracity of medical powers of attorney for LGBT couples.
• proposes tough anti-bullying statutes.
• proposes removing the requirement stipulating that adopted children must have both male and female parents on their birth certificate.
• proposes expanding the James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Act to include gender identity or expression.
• proposes making it less difficult for transgender individuals to change the gender marker on birth certificates and state identification cards.
• proposes repealing §21.06 of the Texas Penal Code, the “Homosexual Conduct Law,” which was declared unconstitutional by the US Supreme Court in 2005.
• proposes affirmative defenses to protect gay teens from disparate treatment under the Texas Penal Code.      

We lost in Maine. We won in Kalamazoo and Washington state. Openly lesbian Annise Parker is in a run-off for mayor of Houston. So, things could be worse. As in all things political, we won some and we lost some.

I think though, that there is room for hope. Despite the fact that Maine voted 53 to 47 to repeal same-sex marriage, on the University of Maine- Orono campus the results are telling:  81% No, 19% yes. Time is on our side.

The struggle for LGBT rights is not over. We, allies and LGBTs alike, need to remain vigilant. We need to be open and visible. We need to continue to voice our concerns and our demands. Too many are silent.

The results reminded me of a song. Jo Dee Messina had a big hit a few years ago with this song by Billy Montana and Helen Darling. I give you, "Bring on the Rain":
 

So SyFy, the cable channel formerly known as Sci-Fi and forever more as sih-fee in my house, has remade that 80s mini-series great "V".

Remember the reptiles masquerading-as-humans who liked to eat small mammals whole? Who wasn't enthralled by that special effect? How they took over the planet and only a brave band of resistance fighters saw through their masquerade and tried to save us all? Didn't they seem rather Nazi-like to you? Brown shirts and youth led groups of thugs police seemed pretty much like my history lessons on Nazis.

Well, apparently, I was wrong. In reality, this new incarnation of "V" is a thinly veiled smack-down of Obama. Take a gander at this critic's "analysis":

"Imagine this. At a time of political turmoil, a charismatic, telegenic new leader arrives virtually out of nowhere. He offers a message of hope and reconciliation based on compromise and promises to marshal technology for a better future that will include universal health care."

Yes, that's right. Glenn Garvin of the Chicago Tribune believes that "V" is all about Obamania and how gullible we've all been to drink the kool-aid. Never matter that this was written and began pre-production while W. was still in the White House. This is so clearly about Obama and his slick salesmanship that has duped America.

I suppose that Garvin thinks we'll all wake up and realize that Obama is just like the aliens - intent on our destruction and total domination.

I kinda think SyFy just wants to cash in on the trend of remaking 80s classic TV in major productions. Seems to have worked for a them before. Can anyone say "Battlestar Galactica"?

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