Constance McMillen wanted to go to her high school prom with her girlfriend.  She wanted to wear a tuxedo.  The Itawamba County Agricultural High School faced a dilemma.  Their policy said no same-sex couples, and no cross dressing.

The American Civil Liberties Union, however, said that policy was a violation of civil rights.  The ACLU's point had already been decided in Fricke v. Lynch, 491 f. Supp. 381, way back in 1980.  So the school district made a decision: rather than let one girl wear a tuxedo, they cancelled the prom for everyone.

The report didn't actually say it was because of that, but "due to the distractions to the educational process caused by recent events."

Apparently, in that county in Mississippi, learning about civil rights is a distraction to what they consider a proper education. 

Read the story at http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_lesbian_prom_date

Image used is at http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-13517.html/ and appears at http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-13517.html/ No threat to its copyright is intended.

Posted by The Loveshade Family at 08:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

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I know you've all been waiting for this all year, so here it is.

Here are my predictions for 2010 (actually, other members of The Loveshade Family contributed to this; they just don't want to admit it):

* The HEALTH CARE REFORM so praised by Americans (that is, those who don't have health care), will not work as planned.  Detractors will say it's a huge waste of money, and will put America in the toilet.  However, supporters will say it's at least better than it was, and it will continue to get better.  Rush Limbaugh will say at least I'm still alive.

* ELVIS PRESLEY will be spotted in a shopping mall in New Jersey.

* The AMERICAN ECONOMY will show significant improvement; Democrats will claim it's because of their fine work, while Republicans will claim it's because of improvements made while George W. Bush was still president.

* An American group will work very hard to prove that BARACK OBAMA DOESN'T QUALIFY AS PRESIDENT.  The group will be suspected of having ties to a dissident group overseas.

* The supposedly dim-witted PARIS HILTON will still maintain the facade of being dim-witted, but will none-the-less cleverly manage to get herself in the news for yet another scandal.

* A male AMERICAN ICON of purity and wholesomeness will be caught with his hand somewhere people don't think it belongs; i.e., in someone else's pocket.

* A female BRITISH ICON of purity and wholesomeness will be caught exposing a portion of her anatomy that the prudish will not think should be exposed.

* The Law that DEATHS ALWAYS HAPPEN IN FIVES will once again be proven this year.  At least of those deaths will be unexpected, a famous singer, and a famous actor.

* QUEEN ELIZABETH I will not die, but will have a significant medical problem.  (Sorry, your Majesty).

* A major figure in the MIDDLE EAST will be violently killed.

* In the United Kingdom, there will be renewed interest in an ANCIENT ACTIVITY.  It will be something that's been popular in North America for years.

* HIP HOP will still be popular with many, and still hated by many others.

* I will perform a legally-recognized DISCORDIAN WEDDING, and there will be much rejoicing.

HAPPY NEW YEAR,

THE LOVESHADE FAMILY

Posted by Reverend Loveshade at 09:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (12) | TrackBacks (0)

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There is a bill being proposed in Uganda that would make homosexuality a capital crime; violators would be hung.  Anyone who failed to report a homosexual in Uganda could be imprisoned for three years.

Apparently, some of the people behind the bill (possibly the author) are associated with The Family, a conservative Christian organization.

See the video at www.loveshade.org/blog/uganda_hang_gays.html

Thanks to Vernon Avaritt for pointing this out to us.

Posted by The Loveshade Family at 07:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (16) | TrackBacks (0)

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New Hampshire is now the sixth American state (if you don't count California) to recognize same-sex marriage.

Legislators approved a law that lets the state join gay-marriage-accepting states Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maine, Vermont and Iowa.  California had briefly allowed same-sex marriage, but voters changed the law.

New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch, who opposes gay marriage and had threatened to veto a previous version, none-the-less signed the law.  This was after the legislature added a provision that religious organizations would not be forced to officiate or participate in same-sex marriage.

We support both the law and the exception.  We believe that consensual marriage should not be illegal, but also believe in the right of a religious group to stand by its beliefs.

See the story at http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/06/03/national/a120055D33.DTL

See all our entries dealing with same-sex marriage by going to http://www.loveshade.org/blog-mt/mt-search.fcgi?IncludeBlogs=1&search=same-sex+marriage

Posted by The Loveshade Family at 11:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (9) | TrackBacks (0)

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Gay Marriage in California has been a merry-go-round in just the last year.

On May 15 2008, the California Supreme Court said prohibitions against same-sex marriage violated the law.  Soon after, gay and lesbian couples began getting married.

On November 4, 2008, Californians approved Proposition 8, which changed the law, so that same-sex marriages would once again be considered illegal--if the law held up.

On May 26, 2009, the California Supreme Court upheld the new law, meaning gay marriages would be banned--unless they occurred during the short time in 2008 when they were considered legal.  Those marriages would stand.

On May 26, 2009, about 175 peaceful protesters were arrested in San Francisco for protesting the decision.

Already, the law is facing lawsuits.

And already pro-same-sex marriage groups are planning to get another proposition on the ballot to make same-sex marriage legal again in 2010.  Perhaps not coincidentally, the tree front runners to become the Democratic front-runner for governor all support gay marriage.

California politics hasn't been this much of a circus since several dozen people simultaneously ran for governor.

To learn about the San Francisco arrests, see http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090527/lf_afp/usvotegaymarriage_20090527010456

For information on lawsuits, see http://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/story?id=6194048&page=1

To read about pro-same-sex marriage plans for the ballot in 2010, see http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/Story?id=7502090&page=1

To see all our entries dealing with same-sex marriage, click on http://www.loveshade.org/blog-mt/mt-search.fcgi?IncludeBlogs=1&search=same-sex+marriage

Posted by The Loveshade Family at 03:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (9) | TrackBacks (0)

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In 1920, America approved a constitutional amendment that meant the prohibition of alcohol.  In 1929, the stock market crashed into the Great Depression.  In 1933, America revoked the amendment, and made alcohol legal again.  By 1936, the American economy (with the exception of still lower employment) had improved so much it was back to pre-crash levels.

Now, there's a debate about the legalization of marijuana.  Marijuana is already legal for medical purposes in several states, although until recently the federal Drug Enforcement Administration would still raid it.  Possession for non-medical use is only an infraction in a few states.  What if it were generally legal, and the federal and state governments could make money taxing it?  in California alone, the estimate is that taxes could raise $1.3 billion.

And that's not mentioning the money that could be saved.  Approximately a third of all prison inmates are there because of "illegal substance" violations.  In Texas, that percentage is about two thirds.  Billions and billions of dollars are spent enforcing laws and punishing people for victimless crimes.

Opponents are claiming the old "gateway drug" theory.  If you smoke pot, soon you'll be snorting cocaine and then shooting heroin.  Your life will be destroyed.  It's like the still-gasping-for-its-last-breath pornography theory.  If you look at pornographic pictures, whatever you see you'll go out and rape.

Continue reading "Fight the Recession: Legalize Marijuana" »

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Connecticut is set to become the fourth U. S. state (if you don't count California) to legally recognize same-sex marriage.

A spokesperson for Gov. M. Jodi Rell said she will sign it into law.  The state house and senate already approved the proposed law, which came after the state supreme court voted 4-3 that marriage could not be restricted by gender.

The state will join Massachusetts, Vermont and Iowa as the fourth state to recognize same-sex or gay marriage.  The gender discrimination had been rejected by the court in California, only to be overruled by the voters who changed the state constitution.

Same sex couples in Iowa have begun tying the knot.  Some of these lesbians and gay men have been couples for years, but not recognized as married.  But if relatively open-minded California reversed same-sex marriage, how long will it take voters to outlaw it in heartland Iowa?

Marriage is still defined in the United States as being between one person and another, usually restricted to one man and one woman.  But the changing definition leaves another question.  How long will it be before biblical fundamentalists push for biblical marriage, that between one man and multiple wives?

See the Iowa story at http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/nation/6395280.html and the Connecticut story at http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090423/ap_on_re_us/xgr_gay_marriage_connecticut.

For all our blog entries dealing with same-sex marriage, click on http://www.loveshade.org/blog-mt/mt-search.fcgi?IncludeBlogs=1&search=same-sex+marriage.  For entries on other terms, such as "gay" or "lesbian," use our search box.

Posted by The Loveshade Family at 12:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (13) | TrackBacks (0)

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Filmmaker George Kalman tried to register the name "I Choose Hell Productions" with the state of Pennsylvania.  It was rejected because of a state law that prohibits names containing profanity or blasphemy.

The ever-vigilant ACLU filed a lawsuit based on the Bill of Rights; freedom of religion/separation of church and state, and freedom of speech.

Someday someone's going to have to go after that obscene and profane unholy book that talks about hell, bestiality, both outlaws and promotes incest, and promotes genocide.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29284648/?GT1=43001

Posted by Reverend Loveshade at 11:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (8) | TrackBacks (0)

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Thankfully, the Texas Supreme Court has crawled out of its Dark Ages hole for a moment to decide that ripping children away from their loving parents may not be a great idea. For a brief moment, the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is seeing a brief ray of hope that America may actually, occasionally, value freedom of religion.

Now even Child Protective Services (motto: "We can take children away from anybody") has agreed to actually follow the law for once, and are giving the children back. There's nothing in the agreement that says fathers have to stay away, although the parents are required to take parenting classes (which we think every high schooler should take). But, perhaps worst of all, they have to stay in Texas.

This whole case raises several issues. First, why is polygamy illegal? It's supported in Christian, Jewish and Islamic tradition (try actually reading the Bible and Torah and the Qur’an). And why do the headlines continually speak of the "polygamist group?" That's one part of their belief system, not the defining part. Why don't we called Baptists the "monogamist group?"

Second, why do we insist people aren't adults until they turn 18? Is there some adulthood fairy who magically transforms them at midnight? Consider that Muhammad, father of Islam, had a 12-year-old wife, and Joseph, who early Christian writers said was about 60, married Mary when she was somewhere between 12 and 16. Nowhere does Christian or Jewish scripture specify an age for adulthood or a minimum age for marriage.

People are also upset by arranged marriages. This was the standard in Christian, Jewish, Islamic and many Eastern traditions for millennia. The marriage success rate was generally very high, with families getting together who had similar religious and economic backgrounds.

Am I saying I personally agree with everything this church teaches and practices?  Am I ready to join?  No.  Even though, had all the restrictions that CPS and the American Government want to apply been followed several years ago, I would never have been born.  Of course, that would have made some of you very happy.

What I am asking is this: Where does America get off persecuting people for practicing their religion and loving each other?

See story at http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080530/ap_on_re_us/polygamist_retreat

Posted by Reverend Loveshade at 08:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (22) | TrackBacks (0)

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"A group of up to 300 young men have burned to death 11 people suspected of being witches and wizards in western Kenya — in some cases slitting their victims' throats or clubbing them to death before burning their bodies, officials said."

We like to think that burning, hanging, killing people suspected of being witches is over.  Obviously, it isn't.

Police have little hope of solving the crimes, as villagers have refused to identify who did it.

To read the article from the Associated Press, visit http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/05/21/africa/AF-GEN-Kenya-Burning.php

Posted by The Loveshade Family at 05:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (10) | TrackBacks (0)

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The Holy Bible says nothing against polygamy--in fact, many of the greatest spiritual leaders and men of God were polygamists.  Even King David, the man after God's own heart in Christian and Jewish faith, practiced it.

Warren Jeffs, head of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, promoted it.  And was sentenced to two consecutive five-year to life sentences as a result.  This in the United States of America, which prides itself on following biblical principles.

The Holy Bible also doesn't give a minimum age for consenting to have sex.  And many United States laws insist that the older partner in a sexual encounter is automatically the perpetrator--if the "victim" is under the legal age of consent.

But now, an 8-year-old and two 9-year-old boys are charged with the rape of an 11-year-old girl.  Was this preteen rape by preteen rapists?  If all the participants were 7 years older, a 15-year-old boy and two 16-year-old boys with an 18-year-old female, she might be the suspect.   Certainly she would be, if "she" were the "he."

So why do so many American laws claim that it's impossible for a 13-year-old to consent to sex, when they claim some preteens, or even pre-tens, can not only consent, but force it on another?

In both these cases, America might want to question its current version of reality.

See the polygamy story at http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071120/ap_on_re_us/polygamist_leader and the preteen sex story at http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071120/ap_on_re_us/boys_rape;_ylt=Aj3SaSuhfmz37xFV8fkOfI5H2ocA

Posted by Reverend Loveshade at 05:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (9) | TrackBacks (0)

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See our March 2007 Snooze Letter, in which: 

• Adam Gorightly, author of The Prankster and the Conspiracy, The Story of Kerry Thornley and How He Met Oswald and Inspired the Counterculture gives us a suggestion.
• Love Your Neighbor/Discordians for Jesus Day may be recognized in church?
• Reverend Loveshade and other "prominent individuals" are being interviewed for a book.
• Wikipedia Wars on Discordian Works heats up--again.
• And much more Insanity!  Check out our Snooze Letter HERE!

Posted by Reverend Loveshade at 03:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

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We expose even more Bizarre stuff in our second part!

• Christina Pearson, Robert Anton Wilson's daughter, acknowledges that RAW is Reverend Loveshade's Grandbob!
• We announce two new inductees into the highly exclusive (only given one day a year, on Pat Pineapple Day) Order of the Pineapple!
• We discuss the result of the FBI (American Federal Bureau of Investigation) report on our group!
• We reveal new submissions for our book, Ek-sen-trik-kuh Discordia: The Tales of Shamlicht!  (To see the submissions, you have to subscribe to our free Snooze Letter--instructions are at the bottom)

See the February 2007 Snooze Letter by going to discordia.loveshade.org/xtra/snooze0702.html

Posted by Reverend Loveshade at 05:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (8) | TrackBacks (0)

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The Exposure Issue Part One, Discordian Snooze Letter for January and February 2007, is revealed at http://discordia.loveshade.org/xtra/snooze0701.html

In it we expose:

• Our Robert Anton Wilson page and share a post about Grandbob made on our Blog about RAW by daughter Christina Pearson.
• Regress made on our work Ek-sen-trik-kuh Discordia: The Tales of Shamlicht
• The Wikipedia War over the article Discordian Works

And more!  See it all exposed at

http://discordia.loveshade.org/xtra/snooze0701.html

Posted by Reverend Loveshade at 05:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (9) | TrackBacks (0)

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I've been trying for three days to come up with something poignant, clever, insightful, and moving about the passing of Robert Anton Wilson. For three days, I've failed. But I would be remiss if I let another day pass and posted nothing.

To es fans, Robert Anton Wilson was the co-author, with Robert Shea, of The Illuminatus! Trilogy, and the author of many other great books that challenged our perspectives and perceptions of society, human relations, and even reality. E was a free-thinker, a friend of Dr. Timothy Leary, and, with Shea, the popularizer of Discordianism, the religion-joke began by Malaclypse the Younger and Omar Khayyam Ravenhurst. According to Wikipedia, e was "a prolific American novelist, essayist, philosopher, psychologist, futurologist, anarchist, and conspiracy theory researcher." E worked to be an agnostic in all things, taking nothing for granted or at face value. To the Church of the SubGenius, e is possibly the model for their "God" Bob Dobbs. According to es former co-workers at Playboy magazine, e was an associate editor with a fresh sense of humor. To es friends, e was a gentle spirit who cared about others. You can read more about RAW at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Anton_Wilson, or at es website at http://www.rawilson.com.

But what was e to me? I cannot answer. Es passing is still too close.

I like to imagine that BloodStar, our missing friend who "left Earth" following the paranoia and Government abuses following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack on the United States, returned. I can see the space alien picking up Bob on the StarShip Lorelei, and taking Bob back home to planet Eris. There they can discuss conspiracy theories, sex, humanity, the Illuminati, our crazy planet Earth, and, of course, fnord.

But what have I to say about Robert Anton Wilson? I have no pithy comments, no great witticisms. I have just one, very simple, thing to say. Goodbye, Grandbob.

* * * * *

(For information on Memorial Events and other RAW stuff, go to http://discordia.loveshade.org/xtra/raw.html)

Posted by Reverend Loveshade at 03:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (68) | TrackBacks (0)

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On Friday, November 3 2006, a musician and anti-war activist stopped near a 25-foot-tall sculpture called "Flame of the Millennium," and set his gasoline-soaked body on fire.  Even though this happened near the Kennedy Expressway of Chicago, his death received little media attention, and he wasn't even identified until five days later.

But he's being recognized now.  His death wasn't just a suicide, it was a political protest against corruption, cruelty, and what he perceived as murder by the American government and, by extension, the American people.  Ritscher felt the guilt, and wrote that he could no longer live with it.  Some view him as a matyr for peace like the Buddhist priests who immolated themselves in protest against the war in Viet Nam, and some as a seriously mental ill man who died without cause.

But the Mission Statement he left behind makes some powerful and controversial points about war, greed and corruption, and America's part in it.  You can read it below.

Continue reading "Malachi Ritscher: Burn to Death for Peace" »

Posted by Alden Loveshade at 06:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (7) | TrackBacks (0)

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The Ek-sen-trik Discordian Snooze Letter for October/November 2006 is up and posted!

We had some delays due to some technical problems (Beware the Elppin!), but you can see:

Proposed Submissions for our book Ek-sen-trik-kuh Discordia: The Tales of Shamlicht!

Info on The Illuminatus! Trilogy co-writer, ex-Playboy editor and Conspirator, Robert Anton Wilson!

News about our new Ministers of Deviant Art and how you can submit!

Notes on Planet Eris!

And some bits about our continuing Fight for Freedom!

See the Ek-sen-trik Discordian OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 200 SNOOZE LETTER!

Posted by Reverend Loveshade at 04:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (7) | TrackBacks (0)

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Dancasso, art editor for our book-in-progress Ek-sen-trik-kuh Discordia: The Tales of Shamlicht, was disposed in a violent coup. (At least that's the way we're telling it.) Danacasso escaped with es life and the title Ars Ministeralis Deviantis, which e claims e owns as a registered trademark. This leaves us without a leader or a title for the head of our Ministry of Deviant Art.

As the writing portion of Ek-sen-trik-kuh Discordia: The Tales of Shamlicht is nearing completion, we have a serious need for artwork and for someone to get us art. The Art Editor (by whatever title) doesn’t have to be an artist, but does have to be able and willing to find art for us. This could include works with expired copyrights or that were released into the public domain, and art that the artist will let us use in our book and/or on our site. Email us at ed_submit@loveshade.org with your resume' if you’re interested in this no-pay but lots-of-bragging-rights position.

To get an idea what we're all about, visit us at discordia.loveshade.org

Posted by Reverend Loveshade at 06:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (15) | TrackBacks (0)

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Sgt. Patrick Stewart may be the first American Wiccan ever killed in combat. He was honored with the bronze star and the purple heart. But he was the only veteran in a whole cemetery without a memorial plaque because they refused to put up anything with the Wiccan pentagram. ( http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/03/AR2006070300968.html)

Now they have, even though the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs still refuses to accept Wicca. The state of Nevada learned they didn't have to do what Veterans Affairs said, so they honored him. (http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/military/20060913-1728-nv-wiccansoldier1stld-writethru.html)

How can they say you can fight and be killed for your beliefs, but if you die for them and for America they'll refuse to recognize your religion?

Continue reading "Wiccan War Hero Patrick Stewart is Finally Accepted" »

Posted by Lorien Loveshade at 07:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (9) | TrackBacks (0)

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Who will be the next Ruler of the World?  Who are Discordians for Jesus?  Will Planet X be named Eris?  Did a prostitute really get named as a saint?  And do we really need a new Art Editor?

Find out by checking out our Ek-sen-trik Discordian Snooze Letter September 2006.

Posted by Reverend Loveshade at 06:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBacks (0)

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In this issue you'll find:

* Information about the planned Aug. 25 to 27 Summit Meeting/Battle for World Rulership between the Discordian Division of the Ek-sen-triks CluborGuild and Mythics of Harmonia.

* Coming Holydays (Weird and Fun)

* Reverend Loveshade in Hospital--and back out again

* Special Message from Untroubled Teen and Princess Unicornia

* Mega Cool New and Coming Entries for Ek-sen-trik-kuh Discordia: The Tales of Shamlicht

See Ek-sen-trik Discordia Snooze Letter -- August 2006 at http://discordia.loveshade.org/xtra/snooze0608.html

Warning: contents may open your mind

Posted by Reverend Loveshade at 06:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBacks (0)

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Much of the world is in a time right now of paranoia.  Paranoia is an irrational fear, in this case the fear that "somebody" is out to get you. You know "they" are very different than you, and thus dangerous, even if you really don't understand what "they" are.

In today's world, people of various skin colors and hair and body types are increasingly living near each other. In much of the world, we're starting to get used to this, and "racial discrimination" is losing popularity, although by no means has it disappeared.

Continue reading "Modern Day Paranoia: Five Blind Men and an Elephant" »

Posted by The Loveshade Family at 05:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

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