Grateful Dead Tribute Album Could Break HIV Fundraising Records.

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Day of the Dead, is a love letter to the Grateful Dead, curated by The National rockers Aaron and Bryce Dessner. A tribute to the eclectic and iconic band from the era of psychedelic music, the album took four years to collect and compile.

Featuring over sixty artists from a variety of musical backgrounds, (including Mumford & Sons, Wilco, Courtney Barnett, and The National) the set reinterprets the songs and sounds of the Dead for a whole new generation.

A project of Red Hot, the international organization dedicated to fighting HIV  through pop culture, Day of the Dead,  is expected to break the organization’s previous fundraising records.

The 5-hour, 59-track album features artists from Mumford & Sons to Wilco, and Courtney Barnett to The National. Full Story Here.

The Robertson Theory.

pat-robertson-accuses-gays-of-using-organized-thrustx750Naturally, Pat Robertson has weighed in on the Orlando Massacre, after possibly 5 minutes of figuring out how to blame everyone he hates.

“The left is having a dilemma of major proportions and I think for those of us who disagree with some of their policies, the best thing to do is to sit on the sidelines and let them kill themselves,” he said.

Earlier in the program, Robertson explained “the dilemma of the liberals”

“We’re looking at a favored group by the left, the homosexuals, and that in Islam is punishable by death or imprisonment or some sanction, so what are the left going to do? How are they going to describe it? And they don’t know quite what to do now. The fact that this Islamic gentleman opens fire in a gay nightclub and kills almost 50 homosexuals, that says something and tells the fact that Islam is against homosexuality, so the liberals are going to be scrambling to find some rationale. I think they’re going to have a hard time doing it.”

I don’t think there’s so much as an iota of surprise in any of that rhetoric, it’s yet another iteration of the same bigot hash that has been served up for years now. At this point, I was continuing to read the article, when the ol’ brain came to a screeching halt upon reading this:

Claims this offensive and grandiose might immediately seem laughable and dismissable to America’s informed and educated populations, but the fact is that there are a lot of poor, uneducated, and gullible people in this country — Donald Trump, after all, was voted as the Republican candidate.

Emphasis mine. This has got to stop. Stop, stop, stop. The majority of people who support Trump are not poor (a great many of them are filthy rich), they are not uneducated or undereducated, and while there might be a fair amount of gullible minds there, those are all over the fucking place, and a propensity for gullibility is probably more likely to strike those who have a great deal of money to burn. At any rate, poor does not equate to stupid and gullible. A lot of poor people manage to do a damn good job educating themselves in spite of the broken system called public education in uStates. If you want to talk about the people who support Trump, looking at all those Christians who follow people like Robertson and other preachers of hate is a good place to start. Another one is those who suffer from an excess of jingoism and a bad case of gun fetishism. More of them are simply bigots, always glad to add yet another group to their ever expanding capacity to hate. A lack of education can be corrected. A case of ignorance can be corrected, and easily so. When it comes to those following and supporting people like Robertson and Trump, we are not talking about those things. We are talking about calculated hate, a laser-focused bigotry that these believers want to lie over the land like a bloody lash. Don’t blame the poor. It’s past time they stop being a handy target whenever someone is searching for a scathing line to express their upset and disgust with those who wallow in hate.

Full story here.

Jackson, Mississippi Stands Up.

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LGBT residents of Jackson, Miss., now have citywide protection from discrimination in housing, employment, and public services.

Jackson’s new ant-discrimination ordinance was passed by a unanimous vote of the City Council Tuesday evening, The Clarion-Ledger reports. Mississippi’s capital and largest city made a loud statement to Republican Gov. Phil Bryant and other state leaders who in April passed one of the nation’s most egregious anti-LGBT laws.

[…]

Regardless, Jackson’s new ordidance is a huge step forward for one of the most conservative states in the nation. Whether there will be a statewide backlash — like what occurred when Charlotte, N.C., passed a now-defunct nondiscrimination ordinance — should be known soon.

“I think that this City Council along with the mayor have said repeatedly that Jackson is not a place that will tolerate discrimination of any kind,” Councilman Tyrone Hendrix (pictured, above) told The Clarion Ledger. “Tonight’s vote was just more evidence of our sentiments.”

Full Story at the Advocate.

Spot the Bird!

From Crimson Clupeidae, beautiful desert. In the first shot, you’ll definitely need to click for full size. “Can you find (and identify) the bird here?” (I found the bird right away, and my guess is Roadrunner.)

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And a beautiful shot of the sun behind a saguaro.

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© Crimson Clupeidae. All rights reserved.

A Change of Heart.

https://youtu.be/MU_ZP2j74bY

SALT LAKE CITY — Utah Lt. Governor Spencer Cox addressed a vigil held Monday night to honor the victims and survivors of the mass shooting in Orlando. Here is a transcript of his remarks:

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Thank you for being here tonight on this very solemn and somber occasion. I begin with an admission and an apology. First, I recognize fully that I am a balding, youngish, middle-aged straight, white, male, Republican, politician… with all of the expectations and privileges that come with those labels. I am probably not who you expected to hear from today.

I’m here because, yesterday morning, 49 Americans were brutally murdered. And it made me sad. And it made me angry. And it made me confused. I’m here because those 49 people were gay. I’m here because it shouldn’t matter. But I’m here because it does. I am not here to tell you that I know exactly what you are going through. I am not here to tell you that I feel your pain. I don’t pretend to know the depths of what you are feeling right now. But I do know what it feels like to be scared. And I do know what it feels like to be sad. And I do know what it feels like to be rejected. And, more importantly, I know what it feels like to be loved.

I grew up in a small town and went to a small rural high school. There were some kids in my class that were different. Sometimes I wasn’t kind to them. I didn’t know it at the time, but I know now that they were gay. I will forever regret not treating them with the kindness, dignity and respect — the love — that they deserved. For that, I sincerely and humbly apologize.

Over the intervening years, my heart has changed. It has changed because of you. It has changed because I have gotten to know many of you. You have been patient with me. You helped me learn the right letters of the alphabet in the right order even though you keep adding new ones. You have been kind to me. Jim Dabakis even told me I dressed nice once, even though I know he was lying. You have treated me with the kindness, dignity, and respect — the love — that I very often did NOT deserve. And it has made me love you.

But now we are here. We are here because 49 beautiful, amazing people are gone. These are not just statistics. These were individuals. These are human beings. They each have a story. They each had dreams, goals, talents, friends, family. They are you and they are me. And one night they went out to relax, to laugh, to connect, to forget, to remember. And in a few minutes of chaos and terror, they were gone.

[Read more…]

Doubling Down on that Christian Love…

Pastor Roger Jimenez (Photo: Screen capture)

Pastor Roger Jimenez (Photo: Screen capture)

The Sacramento, California pastor of Verity Baptist Church went viral yesterday, after news of his sermon after the Orlando shooting spread.

“As a Christian, we shouldn’t be mourning the death of 50 sodomites. Let me go ahead and start right there. As a Christian, we shouldn’t be sad or upset,” Roger Jimenez said in his sermon.

YouTube has since removed the video of the sermon deeming it “hate speech,” but Pastor Jimenez is doubling down on his message, according to an interview with ABC10 News.

[…]

He wants people to understand, however, that his comments are not encouraging people to kill LGBT people.

“I’m not calling people to arms. And I’m not telling people they should go do this… What I’m saying is that if the government followed the laws of God, that’s what they would be doing. And if the government did that, I’d be fine with that,” Jimenez said.

“I would be fine,” he said if the government was the one who sentenced LGBT people to die. “I would be totally okay with that, if the government did that. That’s what they would do, if we lived in a righteous nation.”

The full story is here. Raw Story also has a summary of 7 Christian leaders also expressing the depth of their Christian love.

Once again, I have to ask, where are all you progressive Christians? What are doing, to police your own? You don’t get to say “oh, those people aren’t mine!” Yes, they are. They believe in the same god you do, the same holy book you do, the same tenets you do. When are there going to be legions of Christians denouncing these evil clowns?

For all those steeped in this smug, judgmental hatred, one of your favourite things is this, yes?: Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. John 15:13, out of your very own book of stories. You know one person who did that? Edward Sotomayor, Jr. A 34 year old man, out for a night of fun with his boyfriend. Edward put his boyfriend in front of him, and pushed him out the door, saving his life, as he was cut down by bullets. There’s love. No greater love, according to you christian lot.

Here is the face of love, no greater love than his:

Edward Sotomayor, Jr.

Edward Sotomayor, Jr.

Look well, all you Christians, at a person you condemn, a person you’re happy is dead, a person who was more of ‘Christian’ than any of you could be in 3 lifetimes. Edward wasn’t alone, either. The other people there were also most concerned with their loved ones, and all you have hate. Is it now okay for all of us who are utterly disgusted by your revelry in death to start talking about how good and righteous it would be to round up all Christians, and have the government sanction them being shot in the head? No? Have you asked yourselves why not?

Native Cooking: Summer Fruit Breads.

Strawberry bread is a good summer bread option. The frosting is an optional add-on. Photo: istock.

Strawberry bread is a good summer bread option. The frosting is an optional add-on. Photo: istock.

Every cultural area in Indian country, if not every tribal nation, has breads that are unique to them.  Then, there are other breads that are made by all, like corn bread or fry bread, but that may have variations. Many breads are used as a vehicle to put foods on or in, a tortilla for example. Many breads take the name of their major flavor ingredient, pumpkin, apple, molasses, wild rice, walnut, cranberry, lemon, blueberry, and on and on. Here are a couple to get us ready for summer, which is just around the corner.

Strawberry Bread

½ cup real butter, softened

¾ cup maple sugar

2 cups flour

1 egg

½ cup cornmeal, white or yellow

½ cup chopped walnuts

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

Milk – enough to form a stiff batter

1 heaping cup of strawberries, wild or commercial

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread ingredients in a greased 8- or 9-inch baking pan and bake for 20-25 minutes. Let cool then serve warm.

To vary, mix together 2 tablespoons of light brown sugar with ½ teaspoon of cinnamon and sprinkle on top before baking.

Cranberry-Apricot Bread

1 cup dried cranberries (crasins)

1 cup dried apricots

1 tablespoon lemon zest

1 cup boiling water

4 tablespoons butter, room temperature

1-1/2 cups sugar

2 eggs

3 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Cover the apricots with boiling water and let stand for 10 minutes. Cream the butter and sugar together in a large bowl, add eggs and apricots and blend. Now add flour, baking powder and salt. Mix well and fold in nuts. Pour into a greased 9 x 5-inch loaf pan or two 8 x 4-inch loaf pans. Bake 50 to 60 minutes, until done.

To vary this bread, use chopped dates or fresh peach pieces and some pine nuts.

From Dale Carson (Abenaki), via ICTMN.

Atheist Perspective in Times of Tragedy.

Alternately, Thoughts and Prayers # 896,367.

AP

The aftermath of our all too regular mass homicides follows a familiar pattern. “Thoughts and prayers” are with survivors, victims’ families and the affected city. There are defiant assertions from the horror­struck that, “We will not tolerate this any longer.”

Some politicians call for an end to hate and better coordination between law enforcement agencies. And others, when there’s a whiff of Islamic heritage involved, play the “enemy is here” card, recklessly injecting accelerant into the roiling emotions of the moment.

For the media, standard reaction reporting involves transcribing pretty much all of the above. In the case of the Boston Marathon bombing, the Ft. Hood shooting, Paris, San Bernardino and now Orlando, it’s also standard practice to log the response from leaders of various religious faiths, most of whom encourage restraint and emphasize that Muslims themselves are collateral victims of these atrocities. The good, dutiful notion being to develop a body of sympathy that reflects solidarity among the broader local religious community.

While the Strib and the PiPress haven’t gone the latter route yet, at least when I called Monday, National Public Radio was hitting all the customary notes.
And all that is fine insofar as the objective is to register the solidarity of the community at large. But if the intention is ever to discuss the “perversion of religion,” a common enough refrain today and in past incidents involving radicalized Muslims, there’s at least one group, silent but no longer all that small or irrelevant, that the media rarely draws into these discussions, such as they are: atheists.

[…]

“I think we were called once, some time after 9/11,” says August Berkshire. “And no, no one else has called today.”

Berkshire is the founder and past president of ​MinnesotaAtheists​ . He’s been active in the cause of challenging the belief systems of organized religions since the mid­-1980s and jokes that current membership in the state is “probably around 250,000, although most haven’t paid their dues yet.”

Humor aside, Berkshire, a local delivery truck driver by day, is serious about the value of inserting an atheist perspective into conversations about religiously inspired violence. “Look, prayer didn’t do anything to stop this latest attack and prayer won’t do anything to stop this kind of violence from happening again. All it may do is make some people feel good for a while.”

[…]

But if the point is to engender an honest debate, you’d expect the atheist view to at least have a seat at the media table in moments like this. “Look,” says Berkshire, “at their origin, all three of the Abrahamic religions — Christianity, Judaism and Islam — preach and warn against homosexuality. They’re anti­gay. A lot of their followers today may be cafeteria Christians, Jews and Muslims, picking and choosing what they want. But I’m talking at their scriptural origins. We reject that. Atheists reject the teachings of religions for a lot of reasons, but among them is the lack of respect for science. Atheists, if I have to point it out, are very accepting of gay equality and other minority issues. We understand that.”

With ​23 percent of Americans in 2014  ​describing themselves as “nones,” which is to say having no religious affiliation, a nearly 50 percent increase since 2007, the atheist, or agnostic or “nothing in particular” perspective would seem to warrant at least as much regular reporting as what we get on priests, ministers and rabbis, certainly more than the “almost never” Berkshire describes.

[…]

Perhaps the problem with pulling atheists into a conversation about the “perversion of religion” is that spokespeople like Berkshire lack the curriculum vitae of traditional religious leaders. I mean, a guy who drives a truck cheek by jowl in a discussion with a priest, a minister and a rabbi?

But maybe the real issue is that the taint of taboo that still hangs to word “atheist.” Conventional journalism is partial to conventional wisdom and despite the steadily slumping numbers in church/synagogue/mosque attendance — and the rapid increase in those tuning out traditional religious messages — conventional journalistic wisdom has not yet reached a comfort point with overt atheism. Until that point is reached, speculation here is that mainstream news organizations will continue to treat it like a semi-­reputable curiosity.

Full Article Here.