a handkerchief sandwich

vanishingevocations: Cornel West <3

(via queen)

backseatconfidential: me and my best friend Jennie at the L.A. Walk For Choice today.

I was so mad that I couldn’t go today! I’m glad so many people did though!

(Source: slutsinthecity)

hannahkarina::schwenk:

A gay man at Chicago’s gay pride hugging a group of Christian men and women who had protests of apologies for the hatred the church and religious groups everywhere had for the LGBT community.

“I spent the day at Chicago’s Pride Parade. Some friends and I, with The Marin Foundation, wore shirts with ‘I’m Sorry’ written on it. We had signs that said, ‘I’m sorry that Christians judge you,’ ‘I’m sorry the way churches have treated you,’ ‘I used to be a bible-banging homophobe, sorry.’ We wanted to be an alternative Christian voice from the protestors that were there speaking hate into megaphones.”

Nathan, one of the Christian men present blogged about it here.

This makes me feel like there is some hope for humanity :)

From the site: A student from the University of Illinois at Chicago, Jason Connell used the appearance of the hate group to raise money for queer rights groups such as Human Rights Campaign, International AIDS Foundation and Chicago based Jerusalem Open House. Donations were named in honor of the Westboro Baptist Church and community thank you cards will be sent from the non-profits to WBC leader Fred Phelps. 

I know, I know, two videos in a row. But tell me that this gorgeous guy from the Midwest didn’t just inspire you in some way? Whether it’s to work harder for civil rights, again say fuck you to the Westboro Baptist Church, take a cold shower or all of the above.

just-dandy:via meghanmagnolia

I’m sick of people talking about the Iranian election and not actually doing anything about it. I keep seeing people change make their twitter picture green to “show support,” yet they don’t change their location and time zone to Iran, something that would actually help make a difference. They buy a “Where’s my vote?” t-shirt to “show support” (or, I’m guessing, show others that they’re “showing support”), yet you don’t see them out protesting or trying to actually make others aware of the horrific things going on in Iran.

If you would actually like to make a difference in the election, here is something that might interest you:

2008:
Side by side, Americans fought for Change and elected Barack Obama.

2009:
Iranians voted for the same ideals that we voted for, they had the same desires for a more just and peaceful governance, but their voices were simply, even blatantly ignored. So far the opposition has managed to launch an awe inspiring non-violent campaign, the likes of which the world has not seen in decades. We must support the non-violent resistance of Iranians, to bring meaningful change to their lives.

Yesterday we witnessed the most brutal repression of the demonstrators to date. In fact the use of live rounds on unarmed citizens is unprecedented. We need your help to send a message to the UN Missions of targeted countries that will be able to express our outrage and push the UN nation body not to accept the legitimacy of the repressive Ahmadinejad government, who is using brute force against the will Iranian people to force acceptance of his stolen election.

LET’S FLOOD THEIR OFFICES WITH OUR FAXES, ALL OF THIS WEEK. SHAME THEM INTO DOING THEIR JOB.

Please download the actual letter here: http://tinyurl.com/lndzrk (keepandshare)

Here is what you need:

1. If you have access to a fax machine then great, just print the document, sign it, print your name, and location.

If not, you can use one of many free online fax services to upload the (pdf) file we have prepared. In this case please make sure you include your name and location on the cover page. Here is two that we recommend:

- http://www.popfax.com/

- http://faxzero.com/ (two free faxes per emails account)

2. Download the prepared PDF from here, if you haven’t already:

(keepandshare): http://tinyurl.com/lndzrk

3. Fax the one sheet to all of these missions based in NY (or at the very least to five):

Americas:
Argentina: (212) 980-8395 / (212) 223-1291
Brazil: (212) 371-5716
Canada: (212) 848-1195
Chile: (917) 322-6891
Peru: (212) 972-6975
Uruguay: (212) 593-0935

Europe:
Czech Republic*: (646) 981-4099 (EU Presicency)
France: (212) 421-6889
Germany: (212) 940-0402
Italy: (212) 486-1036
Spain: (212) 949-7247
Sweden: (212)-583-2549 -updated
United Kingdom: (212) 745-9316

Other:
Australia: (212) 351-6610
Ghana: (212) 751-6743
India: (212) 490-9656 / (212) 490-9658
New Zealand: (212) 758-0827
Nigeria: (212) 697-1970
South Korea: (212) 986-1083 -updated

& if you are really Mad as Hell and Cannot Take it Anymore. Here is all of them, courtesy of group member Jon Helge Hesby:

http://www.un.org/members/missions.shtml

Then:

Spread the word: We need as many people as possible from all over the world to participate: http://bit.ly/oLA7H


CONTINUING WITH THE MOVEON CAMPAIGN:

As you may have noticed republicans and neocons were out in full force to condemn President Obama’s sound policy on Iran, for their own personal political gains. But our President needs our support more than ever, as the political pressure increases. His handlig of the situation has been refreshingly measured and grounded in reality. Please put your support behind the President.

Send 1 Million unique requests to MoveOn.org to mobilize it’s members in support of President Obama’s handling of the situation to date. His response has been on the money! But also under attack by the very same people that brought us the Iraq war. Don’t allow them to use Iran’s struggle to hijack the moral high ground from Obama.

**Please Cut and Paste the Suggested language for MoveOn call to action, then simply click here to link to MoveOn: http://bit.ly/KlfZO

Dear MoveOn,

I stand in solidarity with the people of Iran as they defend their constitutional right to a free and fair election. And while I am deeply concerned about the human rights abuses occurring in Iran in the aftermath of the presidential election, I support President Obama’s measured response and his commitment not to interfere in Iran’s internal affairs.

History has rightly made Iranians wary of foreign interference and American policy-makers in particular must be careful not to give Iranian hard-liners a pretense for accusing Iran’s human rights defenders and its non-violent protesters of acting on behalf of foreign influences.

Please mobilize the MoveOn community to stand by the president, and support him against those who are pushing for a more aggressive American response to what is taking place in Iran. These critics are pursuing their own narrow political interests, rather than the interests of Iranian people. Their advice will only hamper the fledgling freedom movement in Iran. Let the President know that the MoveOn community is behind him.

Tell the world to allow Iranians define their resistance. Don’t let their movement be hijacked by outside forces, be they well meaning, self interested, or malicious.

Go Green ~ Act now.

Viva Solidarity!

Via my friend Yashar’s facebook group We Stand in Solidarity. Please join for updates, information and ideas of other ways to help.

think4yourself:savingpaper:

Flickr Set of the Day: Iran Streets After Elections.

Riots erupted following the Interior Minister’s announcement that president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had been elected to a second term.

Above: Tehran.

See Also: The Lede, NYT’s news blog, is following the latest developments in the equally turbulent online debate.

(via thedailywhat)

See Also: Andrew Sullivan’s blog. Great photos, great updates.

think4yourself:inothernews:

A Moussavi supporter was injured in a demonstration. Witnesses reported that at least one person had been shot dead in clashes with the police in Vanak Square in Tehran. Photo: Olivier Laban-mattei/AFP - Getty via the NY Times)