Who the heck knows what the pope thinks of gays?

I ran across something today that Pope Francis said. I found it in HuffPo. I detest HP but you sometimes find things there that are ignored elsewhere. For instance, these remarks by the pope:

Throughout his 15-minute homily, Francis repeatedly slammed the “narrow and prejudiced mentality” of believers who cling to religious laws out of fear. They wind up rejecting the very people they should be ministering to, he said, which means anyone on the margins of society “who encounters discrimination.”

This confuses me. Obviously, he means gay people, along with others - but surely, gay people are covered in that statement. As I say, I find this confusing.

Coming on the heels of his recent anti-gay tour in Slovakia, I was convinced that the pope's upcoming tour of the US was going to be The Anti-Gay Tour of 2015. What brings this to mind is the stated purpose of the American visit: to "celebrate the family".

As a longtime Catholic-watcher, I've learned that when the Catholic church says "family", they mean "everyone but gay people". In fact, it seems the word family can literally be translated (in Vatican-speak) as anti-gay.

Yet here he is, talking to his new cardinals (many of whom come from viciously anti-gay pockets of the globe) and seemingly telling them (in code words) not to spit on gays. But, but...didn't he just spit on gays in Slovakia?

The poster you see at this link pretty much tells the tale. Here it is, in case you're too lazy to click on things:

In this poster, he tells his minions to vote "yes" in a referendum meant to restrict gay rights. Ahem. This little episode counts. It seems the pope isn't down with gay rights in any way. So what will he do in New York and Philadelphia?

Who the heck knows?

This should be interesting

Let's see. First Obama refuses to meet with Putin because Russia is harboring Edward Snowden. And now this:

MOSCOW — Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights activists said Tuesday they have been invited to meet with President Barack Obama on the sidelines of this week's Group of 20 summit in Russia. 

What will Putin do? It's all so junior high, so tit-for-tat, when you get right down to it. Will Putin view Obama's meeting with gay reps as "propaganda" and arrest him? That would be fun. On the other hand, will Putin punish the gay reps afterward? I wouldn't like to see that happen.

But seriously, the whole thing is like a cartoon. The Russian president with a fixation on personal manliness goes after the gays. And the American president who promised the most transparent administration in history goes after whistleblowers with demonic vengeance. (And after receiving the Nobel Peace Prize, tries to start World War III -- to prove his manliness.)

These are cartoon times, for sure.

Russia is a pig sty

Some reparagraphing ahead. All taken from this article.

MOSCOW — A bill that stigmatizes Russia's gay community and bans the distribution of information about homosexuality to children was overwhelmingly approved by the lower house of parliament Tuesday. 

Before the vote, gay rights activists attempted to hold a "kissing rally" outside the State Duma, located across the street from Red Square in central Moscow, but they were attacked by hundreds of Orthodox Christian activists and members of pro-Kremlin youth groups. The mostly burly young men with closely cropped hair, who are obviously gay closet cases, pelted them with eggs while shouting obscenities and homophobic slurs.  

Earlier Tuesday, dozens of anti-gay activists picketed the Duma. One of them held a poster that read: "Lawmakers, protect the people from perverts!" while others held Orthodox icons and chanted prayers. 

An executive with a government-run television network said in a nationally televised talk show that gays should be prohibited from donating blood, sperm and organs for transplants, while after their death their hearts should be burned or buried. 

Lovely, eh? It's official: Russia is a disgusting country. And notice how the Russian Orthodox church plays into this whole thing. This is a Christian pogrom against gays, assisted by the government.

I have news for them. This sort of thing makes gay people stronger. We have always been a part of every society since the beginning of human civilization. We're not going anywhere, no matter what anyone else wants. 

Always remember: Equality is greater than jeebus.

The history of the gay rights movement

Associated Press just put out a longish article about how the gay rights movement progressed from the fifties until the present day. It's quite good and mentions a few of the heroes of the movement. Naturally, five pages can't tell the entire story -- but I assume other papers will pick it up, and that's a good thing because the article is entirely positive.

Tiny excerpt:

"There are kids coming out in high school now, being accepted by their classmates," he said. "Parents, relatives, friends are seeing the people they love come out. It's very hard to discriminate against someone you love."

It's our time. No one can doubt this.