Brad's on Tour

Hello nice people!

 

I wanted to give you the heads up that I'll be out of the office until the 17th.  As you might be aware, the Twin Cities Gay Mens Chorus embarks on our 8-day "Great Southern Sing-Out Tour."  Tomorrow I'll be flying to Nashville.  After a concert on Sunday we'll be caravanning (with 3 buses!) on to Birmingham, Mobile, Biloxi, Jackson, and New Orleans where we'll catch a flight back to MN.

 

It means a lot that I can participate in such a momentous event.  Not only are we the first "g-word" ensemble to ever perform at the historic Ryman Auditorium (home of the Grand Ole Opry!), we're going to raise awareness in a part of the country where GLBT people live with fewer rights and greater fear than I experience here in Minnesota.  Did you know that in all of the states we're visiting it is legal for employers to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity?  In fact, any establishment could refuse to serve us or let us stay in their hotels.  Mississippi has a law that bans unmarried or same-sex couples from adopting children, and countless lives are kept unfulfilled by people being forced to remain in the closet for fear of violence.  Find out which other parts of the country might need a visit from us forward-thinking Yankees here.  I'm proud to be part of building community through music and thankful for the support I've found in Minnesota.

 

If you want to keep tabs on us, I'd invite you to peruse our blog where several guys are going to give you their perspectives on the tour: http://community.livejournal.com/tcgmc/.

 

Yours, in the fight against heat, humidity, and homophobia:

Brad

A new blog!

Hello friends. Long time now see. Hope all are doing well. As some of you might know, I'll by tagging along with the Twin Cities Gay Men's Chorus as we tour the South. Well, there's an official blog (using Livejournal - boo) happening which I'll be contributing to but the real fun will happen on my other personal blog I just created (using blogspot, of course - yay!). The unmonitored tcgmc blog. Delicious.

get the dirt.

My bday color.

Save me i'm at the dome

Brad sent you an article from startribune.com

This article from StarTribune.com has been sent to you by Brad. *Please note, the sender's identity has not been verified. The full article, with any associated images and links can be viewed here. Brad wrote these comments: I'm so angry I can't even process this right now...

Boston's Catholic Charities to halt adoptions Steve Leblanc, Associated Press BOSTON - The Boston Archdiocese's Catholic Charities said Friday it would stop providing adoption services because of a state law allowing gays and lesbians to adopt children. The social services arm of the Roman Catholic archdiocese, which has provided such services for the state for about two decades, said the law runs counter to church teachings on homosexuality. "The world was very different when Charities began this ministry at the threshold of the 20th century," the Rev. J. Bryan Hehir, president of Catholic Charities, said in a joint statement with trustees chairman Jeffrey Kaneb. "The world changed often, and we adapted the ministry to meet changing times and needs. At all times we sought to place the welfare of children at the heart of our work. "But now, we have encountered a dilemma we cannot resolve," they said. Archbishop Sean O'Malley, who had sought an exemption from the law, said the church was faced with a choice between its faith and the state law. "Sadly, we have come to a moment when Catholic Charities in the Archdiocese of Boston must withdraw from the work of adoptions in order to exercise the religious freedom that was the prompting for having begun adoptions many years ago," he said in a statement. Gov. Mitt Romney said he planned to file a bill that would let religious organizations seek an exemption from the state's anti-discrimination laws to provide adoption services. "This is a sad day for neglected and abandoned children," he said in a statement. "It's a mistake for our laws to put the rights of adults over the needs of children. Lee Swislow, executive director of Gay and Lesbian Advocates & Defenders, called the archdiocese's decision disappointing. "All of the homes were good and loving homes, and now through the pressure of the bishops, Catholic Charities is being forced to get out of the business," she said. "There are no winners here. The children are the ones who suffer." The state's four Catholic bishops said this month that the law threatens the church's religious freedom by forcing it to do something it considers immoral. Eight members of Catholic Charities board later stepped down to protest the bishops' stance. The 42-member board had voted unanimously in December to continue considering gay households for adoptions. Catholic Charities has been involved in adoptions for about a century but has had a contract with the state for the past two decades to provide such services to children with severe emotional and physical needs. Its contract with the state expires June 30. In that time, Catholic Charities has placed 720 children in adoptive homes, including 13 who were placed with same-sex couples, Catholic Charities said. In a 2003 document, the Vatican said gay adoption was "gravely immoral," and that children placed in such homes "would be deprived of the experience of either fatherhood or motherhood."

Back in BeanTown

Am wri. ing this out on my palm so it will be short. Harvard is neat. Was @ 2 classes today with Michelle - one was on real estate (public private development) @ the aesign school which was cool cuz thats what lm sorta wurking on. This is way too slow. bye

Where faith, work meet

Where faith, work meet

This article truly frightened me, especially the photo of the freaky people praying in the conference room. Admittedly this is all a very gut reaction but my gut is telling me that I want to puke. Bringing religion into the workplace? Proselytizing at work? You've got to be kidding me!?!? This requires some more examining, especially if this is getting more and more popular - I have to get prepared for something like this at my work and how to fight it tooth and nail. Keep your superstitions and imaginary friends away from your coworkers.

The article tried to paint a pretty picture of these groups, that they're making their employers more ethical and giving back to the community. YOU CAN DO THIS BECAUSE YOU ARE A GOOD PERSON - you don't have to do it because you're afraid the boogeyman (god) won't let you into some special Candyland floating on clouds. My point of view: we're all on this big ball of dirt together, we need to make the most of it. Do what's right and help other people because they're people and nobody else is looking after us.

What's my beef with religion? Intolerance. The only thing I will not tolerate is intolerance and religions is filled with it and so many other contradictions. That and the fact that the basis of religious people's fundamental beliefs is some moldy old book written centuries ago when women were property and the earth was flat. Guess what, people, we've learned a lot of things since then. Get over it.