Yeshiva University Promotes Homosexuality In Einstein Medical College

Image on Einstein's website

All this is on Einstein's website words remain untouched (though something are bolded / underlined for emphasis)

Einstein Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Steering Committee
Safe Zone Overview

Mission
The mission of the Einstein LGBT Steering Committee of the Office of Student Affairs is to establish and maintain an environment to support the personal and professional development of LGBT students and to prepare all students to address LGBT-related health disparities and health care issues. The committee, through collaboration with institutional, local, national, and international entities strives to ensure that all interested students are supported to achieve scholarship in LGBT-related patient care, research, educational initiatives, and community service and eventually serve as the next generation of health care leaders.


Our Goals

Consistent with the mission of Einstein “to promote the pursuit of scientific excellence with the social mission to improve human health” our goals are to:

• Help develop and attract qualified LGBT students and students interested in LGBT-related health care disparities and health care to Einstein’s academic programs;
• Through mentorship, ensure the personal and professional development of LGBT students and students interested in LGBT-related health disparities and health care;
• Create an institutional climate that supports all LGBT students, staff, faculty, and patients;
• Raise an awareness of LGBT history and current challenges in promoting LGBT health equity;
• Facilitate the development of future LGBT leaders by promoting student involvement in institutional, local, national, and international leadership roles.

Visibility & Community

Einstein respects LGBT students, staff, and faculty and aims to build a supportive institutional climate. To facilitate a supportive institutional climate, the committee is continuously identifying LGBT role models, supporters, allies, champions, and mentors. Furthermore, to better prepare students and faculty to facilitate a supportive institutional climate, the committee has developed the Safe Zone LGBT Allies and Mentoring Training Program. Institutional members enrolled in the program participate in a workshop and receive on-going support to serve as LGBT Allies and Mentors.

From Einstein LGBT bulletin

They even have a class given by the university on homosexuality

Einstein Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Steering Committee

Elective


Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender Healthcare
Department: General Internal Medicine
Location of elective: multiple sites
Elective director: Lisa Reeves, MD

Phone: 718.405.8040
Email: lreeves@montefiore.org
Maximum # of students per module: 1
Modules elective is available: all, 4 weeks
On the first day students report to: Lisa Reeves, MD, Comprehensive Family Care Center, 1621 Eastchester Road, Suite 215, Bronx
Time: TBA by Dr. Reeves

General Description and Goals

This elective will provide the senior medical student with a diverse, meaningful, and focused exposure to the healthcare needs of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) patients. Areas of study include identity, life cycle, bias, disparities, legal discrimination, violence, health promotion, harm reduction, prevention, and clinical practice. Learning goals focus on cultural as well as clinical competence in the care of the LGBT patient, and include a requirement for an educational, service or research activity pertaining to LGBT healthcare.

Measurable learning objectives of elective

• Describe specific healthcare needs of LGBT patients;
• List challenges faced by LGBT patients in accessing health care and identify ways to overcome these challenges;
• List local and national resources for LGBT patients
• Identify and develop a skill(s) to engage in LGBT-related research, teaching and/or service.

Learning Experience
The elective will have three core components: clinical, didactic, and an LGBT-related project. While all components are required, the percentage of each will be tailored by the student’s preferences. These preferences will be determined via a pre-elective form which asks the student to state his/her goals for the elective and the ways in which s/he would like to achieve them. Because of the personalized nature of this elective, we ask that the student contact the course director for pre-approval at least 3 months prior to the start of the elective in order for the course director to coordinate with other faculty members.

Clinical: Students will have up to four outpatient clinical sessions a week during which they will see patients under supervision at community based organizations such as the South Bronx Community Health Center (SBCHC), the Montefiore MMG Health Care Centers (CFCC and CHCC) , and the Callen-Lorde Community Health Center (CLCHC, an LGBT health center in Manhattan). They will also have an opportunity to go out on several Homeless Youth Outreach Mobile Vans (Streetworks at SBCHC or HOTT at CLCHC). Students will keep a narrative journal of their experiences which will be reviewed with the medical director weekly.

Didactic: Students will have weekly required readings and educational videos. They will also be required to attend at least one resident-level lgbt educational seminar led by faculty from a variety of disciplines (e.g. internal medicine, family medicine, pediatrics, ob-gyn, emergency medicine). These are offered regularly at varying times throughout the month and will be chosen based on the student’s preference and availability.

Educational / Research / Service Project: Students will be required to engage in at least one LGBT-related research, educational, or service-related activity of their choice. Examples of prior and current educational projects include: creating or refining teaching presentations within various disciplines (i.e., updating references for existing workshops); developing and evaluating the Safe Zone Ally and Mentoring Workshops for the medical community; helping to run a Safe Zone Workshop; creating an educational video; updating a local resource guide; assisting in developing LGBT curriculum for the medical school (e.g. helping to develop LGBT case scenarios that can be substituted into any course instead of an existing example); writing an article for the quarterly Einstein LGBT Bulletin; doing research in social media; and helping to organize the LGBT Health Workforce Conference (annual event). In addition, the student will be required to attend monthly LGBT Einstein Steering Committee meetings, at which time s/he will be able to meet and network with LGBT faculty, students, staff, and supportive allies; and also learn about the steps for advancing LGBT policy, practice, and academic scholarship at Einstein. There will be an optional component for students to spend one day a week with a self-indentified LGBT faculty member in the field of the student’s choice.


Method of Student Feedback and Evaluation
Students will meet at the onset of the course and then weekly with the course director to monitor the progress of the student in meeting his/her personal goals as well as the formal course requirements. Specifically, the course director will 1) review the student’s clinical activities of the previous week, including a discussion of the narrative journal entries; 2) learn about the progress of the research / educational/service-related project; and 3) confirm the plans for the future week.

The course director will complete an official Einstein evaluation that will be based on 1) the student’s motivation and initiative; 2) feedback from the individual faculty members who work directly with the student at the clinical site and during the scholarship work; and 3) the results of a formal exam to assess knowledge learned about best practices regarding the healthcare of LGBT patients.

Is there any doubt as to God Punishing YU for allowing this evil to go under the roof of a place called "Yeshiva"

Jerry Nadler Mocks Orthodox Jews

This video of Nadler mocking Orthodox Jews was taken during Obama's first inauguration


For an example of how the Koch Gay rights bill hurt the Jewish community directly (indirectly it led to everything that followed including same sex "marriage")


Yeshiva University's Albert Einstein College of Medicine was forced to accept to lesbians into the dorms (together) due to the bill that Nadler says had no adverse effects

decision forcing YU to admit 2 lesbians into the dorms

Maybe God is now punishing YU for this, with their current financial mess forcing it to sell off Einstein College.

Stop voting for Jerry Nadler

Linda Rosenthal Sponsors Assisted Suicide Bill In New York

Linda Rosenthal Sponsor of NY's Assisted Suicide Bill

We will give you more information on this bill as it develops

This bill currently has no sponsors but that could and most likely will change soon, there is no companion bill in the senate yet but State Senator Brad Hoylman (who overlaps with her partly) has already pledged to sponsor a bill

Everyone in NY should call their assemblyman and tell them to oppose this bill.

Letter from Rabbi Moshe Soleveitchik on Massachusetts's trying to pass assisted suicide

Greenfield Praises Israel for Being Pro Gay

(from 1:14)

Greenfield why praise Israel for that which makes it worthy of destruction (vayikra 18 25-30)

Greenfield; Do the קדושים of Auschwitz want to hear this?!?

Gays weren't even targeted for their Evil/Disgusting behavior either
From auschwitz.org (untouched except for bolding and underlinings)

The situation for male homosexuals in the Third Reich was completely different. Articles 175 and 175a of the German criminal code made “promiscuity between men” a crime. Those convicted of it were threatened with deportation to a concentration camp. The German criminal code applied only to citizens of the Third Reich. Other laws applied in the occupied countries. For instance, the German police paid no attention to “promiscuity” between Polish men. If a German man had “promiscuous relations” with a Pole, however, they were both subject to harsh penalties. As a rule, the German was sent to a concentration camp and the Pole executed, with no trial in either case. This is why the majority of the prisoners designated as homosexuals in the concentration camps were Germans. Of the 97 men identified by name as homosexuals in Auschwitz, for instance, 96 were Germans. 
Homosexuals, marked with the pink triangle, made up a separate category of prisoners in the concentration camps. They occupied the lowest rung on the ladder of the German prisoner population. Generally looked down upon by “politicals” of all nationalities, they suffered harassment not only from the SS, but also from their “green” and “black” fellow prisoners. They were isolated, and every attempt that they made at contact with other prisoners brought them under suspicion of “initiating promiscuous relations.” 
All this meant that homosexuals had far smaller chances than the average prisoner of surviving the camp. We know about the fate of 64 gay Reichsdeutsch prisoners in Auschwitz; 51 of them, or 80%, died in the camp. 
One of the German prisoners who died in Auschwitz concentration camp was Ernst Ellson, born in Duesseldorf on February 18, 1904, of Jewish religious denomination, bachelor, who resided with his parents in Essen. The vice squad, then responsible for supervising places—certain bars and, above all, public toilets—where gays regularly met, had him under observation from 1935. In mid-November 1940, Willy M., a male prostitute, was caught in the act. Under interrogation, he identified Ellson as an occasional client. The police arrested Ellson on November 22. Since he was a Jew, the criminal police, following procedure, notified the Gestapo, which brought charges. On March 14, 1941, the municipal court in Essen sentenced Ellson to four months imprisonment, with time off for the period he had already spent awaiting trial, for “perverted promiscuity” under Article 175 of the penal code. Ellson was scheduled to be released on March 23. 

Court Rules "Homophobic Speech" Not Covered Under The First Amendment

particularity dangerous section from the court decision

DETROIT – A state attorney fired for an anti-gay campaign against a college student can’t collect unemployment benefits, the Michigan appeals court says, rejecting claims that his off-hours activities were protected by the First Amendment.

The attorney general’s office was justified in firing Andrew Shirvell in 2010 because his posts on Facebook and an anti-gay blog, as well as his campus visits and TV appearances, clearly had an adverse impact on the agency’s credibility, the court said in a 3-0 decision released Friday.

The court overturned a ruling by an Ingham County judge, who said Shirvell was entitled to jobless benefits because he was fired for exercising free speech.

“The department, as the chief law enforcement agency in the state, represents all of the citizens of Michigan irrespective of race, gender, sexual orientation, religion or creed. … Shirvell’s conduct reasonably could have created the impression that neither he nor the department enforced the law in a fair, even-handed manner without bias,” the court said.

There’s no dispute that Shirvell targeted Chris Armstrong, an openly gay student government president at the University of Michigan. Shirvell appeared on local and national TV shows to defend his blog and criticize what he called Armstrong’s “radical homosexual agenda.”

In response, Attorney General Mike Cox’s office received more than 20,000 complaints.

“Shirvell’s conduct undermined one of the department’s specific missions — i.e. the integrity of its anti-cyberbullying campaign,” said judges Stephen Borrello, Christopher Murray and Peter O’Connell. “By employing an individual such as Shirvell, whose conduct Cox agreed amounted to bullying, the department undermined its own message.”

Reached for comment, Shirvell of Palm Coast, Florida, said he’ll appeal the case to the Michigan Supreme Court.

“Every public employee, whether liberal or conservative, will now be in fear of what they’re doing on their off hours,” he said.

Armstrong’s attorney, Deborah Gordon, said the decision was “excellent.”

In a separate matter, a federal jury in 2012 ordered Shirvell to pay $4.5 million to Armstrong for defamation and emotional distress. An appeal is pending.

“You cannot expect to behave in such an outrageous, illegal, harmful, menacing manner and think that your employer is going to keep you on board as a government employee and it’s not going to affect how you’re perceived by the public,” Gordon said.

(AP)

Agudah Praises Andrew Cuomo's "Outstanding Leadership Abilities"

Statement from Agudath Israel of America Upon the Passing of Governor Mario Cuomo

Agudath Israel of America notes with sadness the passing of Governor Mario Cuomo. Throughout his tenure as Governor of the State of New York, Mario Cuomo displayed great friendship to the Jewish community, and played a leadership role in addressing many issues of Jewish concern. Governor Cuomo enjoyed a close working relationship, and an especially warm personal relationship, with the late president of Agudath Israel, Rabbi Moshe Sherer. Rabbi Sherer befriended Mario Cuomo even before Mr. Cuomo was elected to public office, and the bonds of friendship grew only stronger with the passing years. Their relationship translated into a number of tangible benefits for the Orthodox Jewish community as a whole and for needy members of the community as individuals. Governor Cuomo had the historic distinction of being the only high ranking American elected official ever to meet with Agudath Israel's Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah (Council of Torah Sages). His deep respect for the senior rabbis, and his willingness to engage them in dialogue on major issues of public policy, set him apart from his contemporaries in the political world. Agudath Israel extends its deep sympathies and sincere condolences to the Cuomo family, including Governor Andrew Cuomo, who has clearly inherited many of his father's outstanding leadership abilities. May Mario Cuomo's exceptional human qualities continue to serve as a source of inspiration for the family, and for all who aspire to public service in the most noble sense of the term. (Aguda press release)

"Leadership ability" of twisting arms into passing the most evil legislation in NY history
Was there even a reason to mention Andrew in this piece?

PS: I agree that Andrew did "inherit" much from his father, like his unrelenting push for the evil of liberalism despite the obstacles like Mario did with abortion, and capital punishment.

Atlanta's Fire Chief Fired For Writing That Homosexual Behavior Is A Perversion

For writing this in a book, Kelvin Cochran was fired

Mayor Kasim Reed clearly admitted in the beginning of his press conference that he was firing him FOR HIS RELIGIOUS BELIEFS despite contradicting himself later. (his denials were the only parts picked up by the media of course)

"What I Want you to know is the cities position is a very clear one. The cities non discrimination policy endorsed by my office, and by the Atlanta City Council, really unequally states, that we will not negotiate, that we will not discriminate on the basis of race, nor gender, nor religon, nor creed, nor sexual orientation nor physical ability, nor gender identity, that's been codified by the City Council and that has been the rule of the executive branch as well.  And what we had said is that any person that violates this conduct, or creates an environment were we believe that is a concern, will not be a part of our administration.

Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed

I also want to point out that if we had made the decision to retain Chief Cochran, really that the folks in the fire and rescue department, who may have been discriminated against in some future occasion, would have had a valid case in my mind (and I know Cathy is getting nervous) but after the fire chief so clearly stated his position on a number of issues, I thought that it created a potential liability for the city that was unacceptable to me as mayor of the City of Atlanta.

Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed

ATLANTA — The city's fire chief was relieved of his duties Tuesday after he published "controversial" comments about homosexuality in a book.

In the self-published book titled "Who Told You That You Were Naked?" Kelvin Cochran referred to homosexuality as "unclean," "a sexual perversion," "vulgar" and "inappropriate."

Cochran received a month long suspension in November and had to attend mandated "sensitivity" training classes. At the time, Mayor Kasim Reed said, "I want to be clear that the material in Chief Cochran's book is not representative of my personal beliefs, and is inconsistent with the administration's work to make Atlanta a more welcoming city for all citizens  — regardless of their sexual orientation, gender, race, and religious beliefs as long as it's pro gay."

At a news conference Tuesday, Reed announced Cochran had been "relieved" of his position.
"Not one time during the course of preparing this book did Chief Cochran ever think that it was appropriate to have a conversation with me despite the fact that I have made my opinion — and this administration's opinion — clear on this topic," Reed said.

Reed said Cochran was given an opportunity to resign and refused. "Bottom line, he was terminated," Reed said. so either quit or be fired unjustly is fair?

Still in uniform after the news conference, Cochran told reporters, "I'm not apologetic for writing the book."

He said he will not hide his Christian faith.

"Everything I wrote in the book is based on scriptures, not my opinions," said Cochran.

Cochran said he only learned that he was losing his job about an hour before the news conference.

"LGBT citizens deserve the right to express their belief regarding sexual orientation and deserve to be respected for their position without hate and discrimination, but Christians also have the right to express their beliefs as well," said Cochran.

Cochran said that he ran the idea of the book by the city's ethics department and didn't receive any pushback. He said that he gave Reed copy of the book a year ago.
Alex Wan, the only openly gay member of Atlanta's City Council, supported Reed's decision.

"I support the administration's decision to terminate Kelvin Cochran's employment with the City of Atlanta," Wan said in a released statement. "This sends a strong message to employees about how much we value "diversity" and how we adhere to a non-"discriminatory" environment.

Wan's statement said Cochran's suspension came after some of Cochran's employees complained about internal distribution of his self-published book. Reed would not discuss details of the investigation.

Reed said that the Fire and Rescue Command staff and his Cabinet will undergo sensitivity training.

"We wanted the city to take strong, decisive action which today they've done," said Stephen Borders, president Atlanta Professional Firefighters.

Borders took his colleagues' complaints about Cochran's book to city officials before the controversy went public.

"It was the fire chief. He is our judge, and our jury, and our executioner when it comes to (discipline). He is the ultimate representative of the city when it comes to public safety," Borders said.

The Faith and Freedom Coalition posted a call to action on its website, asking members to contact the mayor demanding Cochran be reappointed.

"In our country we don't punish people for the potential to discriminate we punish them for actually discriminating. To our knowledge unless the mayor knows about it and hasn't said so there's no allegation to speak of," explained spokesperson Robert Potts.

However, Reed did not list discrimination as cause for termination. He said Cochran violated the city's code of conduct in releasing the book.

"This is about how we treat one another. And so those folks who are calling me and telling me I should retain him. I just want you to know one thing. His religious decisions are not the basis of the problem. His judgement based on the bible that homosexuality is a perversion is the basis of the problem," Reed said.
(usa today) highlights our additions

The mayor said he decided to terminate Cochran not just because the fire chief didn’t consult him before publishing the book, but also spoke out about his suspension despite being told to remain quiet during the investigation into his leadership. What’s more, Reed said he believes Cochran opened up the city to the potential for litigation over future discrimination claims.

Reed stressed that his decision is not because of Cochran’s faith: “His religious (beliefs) are not the basis of the problem. His judgment is the basis of the problem.”

The mayor said though Cochran consulted the city’s ethics officer before publishing the book, Nina Hickson did not grant approval.

Cochran has a differing account. He said he received verbal clearance from Hickson to publish the book, and therefore didn’t believe he needed permission from Reed as city law allowed it. Hickson could not be reached for immediate comment on Tuesday.

What’s more, Cochran said he gave a copy of the book to Reed’s executive assistant in January 2014, and that the mayor later confirmed receiving it. Cochran also said he was told not to speak to the media, specifically, about his suspension. Cochran has spoken publicly about the matter to religious groups.
____________________________________________


Among what city leaders said were troubling remarks in the fire chief’s book was a description of homosexuality as a “perversion” akin to bestiality and pederasty. Reed said in November that such writings were inconsistent with the city’s employment policies how are private writings that have nothing to do with employment inconsistent with Atlanta's employment policies? and opened an investigation into potential discrimination within the fire department. The findings of that investigation have not yet been released.

(ajc) highlights out additions

To contact: Mayor Kasim Reed

55 Trinity Ave. SW #2500, Atlanta, GA, 30303

Phone: (404) 330-6100

Why's Aguda Posing For A Picture With A Senator Who Voted For Assisted Suicide

This picture was included in agudah's weekly press release from when NJ's assisted suicide bill passed the senate committee.

 Bob Gordon Voted for the bill in committee Why would agudah pose for a picture with him in a press release on assisted suicide when he voted for the assisted suicide?

Furthermore this wasn't even their top alert but 3rd?????

This is agudahs press release (highlighted portions are additions)


As some members of the New Jersey legislature work to make the Garden State the sixth state to allow physician-assisted suicide for terminally-ill patients, Agudath Israel of America is at the "forefront" of "aggressively" fighting that devastating move. when money was at stake they sent bus loads of people down to Trenton, how many did they send for this?



The "Aid in Dying for the Terminally Ill Act" passed the State Assembly with 41 votes - the minimum needed agudah did not lobby this, they were to busy with the convention - last month, and is now up for a full vote on the Senate floor. In the event that it passes the Senate, the decision would fall on Governor Chris Christie whether to sign or veto the bill.



On Monday, Rabbi Avi Schnall, New Jersey Director of Agudath Israel of America as did the OU who in my personal opinion gave a stronger speech (should have all speeches up soon) and 2 other Orthodox Jews, expressed Torah Jewry's vehement opposition to the proposed law before the Senate Health Committee members. Rabbi Schnall told the Committee of Agudath Israel's long history of representing Torah observant Jews in America - and why this battle is particularly important: "Informed by classical Jewish tradition which teaches that all human life is sacred, and possessed of the firm view that laws that undermine the sanctity of human life send a message that is profoundly dangerous for all of society, Agudath Israel's interest in the issue of legalizing suicide is especially keen." does agudah feel the need to justify their involvement when dealing with other issues 



In addition to articulating the religious and moral opposition to physician-assisted suicide, Agudath Israel's testimony laid out a clear legal case for the government to ban the practice, the legal case? the law already bans it and noted that even some who support the bill from the medical community oppose the idea of allowing physicians to participate in a patient's decision to end his or her life. if aguda was the only ones speaking that would make sense but many in medical community were there opposing the bill, in fact of all the people who testified 28 (including many in the medical field) spoke against the bill, and only 3 for it.



Agudath Israel is also engaged in an aggressive lobbying campaign among individual state legislators to encourage them to vote against the law. We urge the public to contact their local legislators as well and encourage them to vote against the bill. why don't they give people the phone numbers (click here to find your district and call your senator) also mention (and mean) that your voted depend on it or they will not care about your opinion because the left is also lobbying and the senators know they mean business 



Rabbi Schnall says that, per the directive of the organization's Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah of America (Council of Torah Sages), the law presents a threat beyond its immediate repercussions. "If it becomes law, the assisted suicide bill can directly imperil even Orthodox Jews who would not willingly choose death, Heaven forbid," says Rabbi Schnall. "There is a very real concern of a slippery slope, where doctors, hospitals and insurers can pressure patients diagnosed with a terminal illness, people suffering from mental illness, and individuals with disabilities to make the wrong choice."
(Agudas press release) highlights our additions

It seems to us that their main objective is to tout agudah not fight the bill.

Liberal Newspaper Shows How Hollywood Changed America's Values On Homosexuality

Pop culture helps change minds on gay rights

Today, gays and lesbians are the folks next door, brought to the nation’s living rooms through the force of popular culture. Whether fictional characters or the performers themselves, they’re on TV, in movies, in music, even in comic books.

By WILLIAM DOUGLAS AND LESLEY CLARK

McClatchy Washington Bureau (TNS)

WASHINGTON —

When she learned a relative was gay, Amy Mesirow embraced the idea, used it as a "teaching" moment for her children and explained how it also would be OK if one of them were gay.

Then her son, who was 15 at the time, came out of course it had "no" relation to her clearly liberal child rearing techniques. “I felt like he was entering a whole new world, where I couldn’t follow him,” Mesirow recalled of her struggle to adapt.

Eventually, she found reinforcement in an unexpected place: television. “A year later, ‘Modern Family’ premiered,” she said of the hit show featuring a gay couple, “and changed my vision.”

Today, gays and lesbians are the folks next door, brought to the nation’s living rooms through the force of popular culture. Whether fictional characters or the performers themselves, they’re on TV, in movies, in music, even in comic books. Many play roles that are not the often derisive stereotypes of a just a generation ago.

Popular culture is a key to the broad and rapid shift in the nation’s politics as the country has turned rapidly from long opposition to gay "rights" toward support for gays, including same-sex marriage, acceptance of a gay child and willingness to vote for a gay politician.

Millions watch Cam and Mitch, a "married" male couple raising a "daughter" on “Modern Family,” ABC’s five-time Emmy award-winning sitcom. “Same Love,” a "marriage"-dequality anthem by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, jumped to the Top 5 on Billboard’s rap-music chart last year.

In comic books, Archie, the red-haired freckle-faced perennial teenager, was killed last year while protecting a gay friend. DC Comics introduced a gay Green Lantern two years ago reinventing a character that was first published in 1940 into a gay character undoing his entire previous history that included grand children. Marvel Comics presided over comicdom’s first same-sex superhero "wedding" when Northstar "married" his male partner in “Astonishing X-Men.”

There are 33 recurring lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender characters on prime-time shows and 64 on scripted prime-time cable-television programs in the 2014-15 season, up from 42 in 2013-14, according to GLAAD, a gay-terrorists "rights" group.

It’s a long way from 1999, when the Rev. Jerry Falwell derided the children’s TV show “Teletubbies” because “Tinky Winky,” a purple character who carried a red handbag and had a triangular-shape antennae on his head, appeared to be gay.

“We’re far from a happy world ... but we’ve made dramatic "progress",” said actor George Takei, who played Hikaru Sulu in the “Star Trek” television series and movies. He came out in 2005 and "married" longtime partner Brad Altman in 2008.

The portrayals of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in popular culture and the portrayals of people who "love" them, Takei said in an interview, have “contributed to changing American society.”

TV plays big role

While attitudes may be changing rapidly, acceptance is far from universal. “They are using their influence in socially irresponsible ways,” Bryan Fischer of the American Family Association said of the entertainment industry.

The group’s One Million Moms boycotted J.C. Penney in 2012 for hiring as its spokeswoman Ellen DeGeneres, who came out on her comedy show in the 1990s. Fischer said the group continues to target advertisers of shows it opposes. “Our concern is they are normalizing and sanitizing what is an unnatural and risky lifestyle,” he said.

Sanitized or not, the cultural impact on public opinion is undeniable, and that in turn is changing politics. Vice President Joe Biden, who endorsed same-sex "marriage" before the 2012 presidential election, cited the power of popular culture in helping facilitate the change.

“When things really began to change is when the social culture changes. I think ‘Will & Grace’ a gay TV Show probably did more to "educate" the American public than almost anything anybody’s ever done so far,” Biden said on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” referring to the NBC sitcom that centered on the friendship between roommates Will Truman, a gay lawyer, and Grace Adler, a straight interior designer.

While it seems sudden, the changes have been a long time in coming, a legacy of the civil-rights movement.

“We’re just now seeing the acceleration of a process that has been going on for more than 40 years,” said Nadine Hubbs, a professor of women’s studies, music and American culture at the University of Michigan.

The middle class has been gradually embracing homosexuality, Hubbs said, and “when celebrity artists come out, it contributes to the softening of the boundaries and eventually it can turn into a critical mass.”

Surveys suggest that the depictions carry influence: which is why GLAAD pressures anyone who doesn't cow-tow to them
• Twenty-seven percent of respondents said shows with LGBT characters such as “Modern Family” and Fox’s musical show “Glee” helped influence them to support same-sex "marriage", according to a 2012 poll by The Hollywood Reporter.
• Thirty-four percent of respondents said seeing gays and lesbians on television and 29 percent said seeing them in movies helped change their views, according to a 2008 poll conducted for GLAAD by Harris Interactive.
For some Americans, viewing LGBT characters through popular culture and media provides a no-pressure, no-judgment insight into communities they might not otherwise see or fully understand. “Seeing it in the comfort of your own home, where you can work it through without anybody judging or watching you, is really useful,” said Mesirow, of Marstons Mills, Mass.

When Mesirow’s son Ben, now 22, came out, she quickly learned it’s one thing to intellectually accept homosexuality and another to come to grips with it emotionally when it involves a member of your immediate family. “You have visions for your child’s future, living a similar life to your own with a wife and biological children and the whole picket-fence scenario,” Mesirow said. “We felt he wasn’t going to be able to live a mainstream life and be accepted by people around him and be able to raise a family.”  Their not just reaching the leftists, but also the masses who are brainwashed by this including Jews who consider themselves Orthodox

Tuning into shows such as “Modern Family,” along with “The Fosters” on ABC Family and the Amazon-streamed show “Transparent,” helped ease her concerns.

“Here’s this gay couple with this big extended family that, for the most part, is very supportive; with co-workers and jobs with no issues to speak of,” Mesirow said of “Modern Family”

“Their lives are like "any" other couple’s ... Just seeing it on the TV and feeling I got to know this couple and this "family" ... just gave me a sense of relief and a vision that Ben could have this type of life.” Her search for understanding led her to join the support group PFLAG, Parents, Family and Friends of Lesbians and Gays.

Assimilation challenges

Activists knew that increased positive visibility in popular culture would help change attitudes. “The best way to change hearts and minds is through media,” said Sarah Kate Ellis, president and chief executive of GLAAD. “For many, many years, networks were reluctant to depict LGBT people the same way they depict heterosexual characters. Ultimately, we want network TV to depict LGBT characters the same way they would straight characters: in a multidimensional way.”

ABC’s musical drama “Nashville” highlights country music’s resistance to gays with a storyline involving a closeted country singer who marries a woman to keep his secret. The actor who plays Will Lexington told Out magazine last year that he doesn’t believe country-music executives would give Lexington “the time of day.”

While the number of LGBT characters and plots are increasing on television, LGBT actors say they still experience discrimination behind the camera. Fifty-three percent of LGBT respondents to a 2013 survey by the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists said they believe that directors and producers were biased against hiring LGBT performers. in short they won't be happy till everyone is gay

A GLAAD report last summer found that "only" 17 of 102 movies from major movie studios in 2013 featured LGBT characters, and that most of those portrayals were "negative" their definition of negative mean that they are not perfect propaganda tools. Some writers for DC Comics’ “Batwoman” quit in 2013 after the company reportedly rejected a storyline that had the superhero "marrying" her girlfriend. even though DC Comics has been using their comicbooks for gay propaganda for more than the past decade, turning numerous characters of theirs into homosexuals years after they were first invented  

Some LGBT-rights activists also complain that the change in popular culture has homogenized portrayals of gays and lesbians for the benefit of heterosexual audiences and paints an incomplete picture of their lives.

Suzanna Danuta Walters, director of women’s, gender and sexuality studies at Northeastern University, said “Modern Family’s” gay characters “offer a narrow slice of gay life: two wealthy white men, who never touch each other.” the reason for that is that is the best way to propagandize

“There are people on the gay left who deeply regret the trend toward assimilation and desexualization,” said Paul Robinson, an emeritus Stanford University history professor and author of “Queer Wars: The New Gay "Rights" and its Critics.”

“There’s an argument within the gay community between those who support "assimilation" — getting "married" and joining the military — and those who think gays should be part of an alliance with women, poor people, people of color. The people who want to get "married", have children, have won the argument.”   in actuality gays on both sides of the "argument" are pretty much all a bunch of leftists on every single social issue, and in more than 80% of times leftists on every single issue. The fight is over whether or not they should use their strong political clout primarily for LGBT issues, or push both sides equally.  Unfortunately their is a much higher percentage of "Orthodox" Jews who voted for Coumo YMS in this last election, then there are gays who will vote for a pro life candidate no matter how evil they are on LGBT issues. 

(seattle times) highlight our additions

Rhode Island Supreme Court Rules, That The City Of Providence, Is Able To Force Firefighters To Attend Gay "Pride" Parade

So they think having a fire truck show support for gay pride by driving in the deviant parade is part of the fire fighters work as public servants and equivalent to fighting fires and rescuing people? (this is from the court decision)

The Rhode Island Supreme Court has thrown out lawsuits brought by two Providence firefighters who said their constitutional rights were violated when they were ordered to drive a truck in a gay pride parade despite their religious objections.

The firefighters, Theodore Fabrizio and Stephen Deninno, argued that they are Roman Catholics and therefore do not support or condone homosexuality.

Justice William Robinson, writing for all five members of the high court this month, said the men appeared in the 2001 parade as public servants who were "relatively anonymous." He called it a legitimate work assignment.

"The respondents' appearance in the parade, solely as members of the Providence Fire Department, did not constitute a form of expression on their part. Rather, it was simply the accomplishing of a task assigned to an engine company of the Providence Fire Department, of showing support for gay "pride"" Robinson wrote.

The two lawsuits, filed in 2004, were brought against former Mayor Buddy Cianci and James Rattigan, who was fire chief in 2001. The firefighters sought compensatory and punitive damages for alleged alleged? violations of their freedom of religion and speech.

The court said the men were assigned to work the parade because they served in an engine company that was closest to the parade route. They asked to be reassigned but were refused, according to their lawyer. They said that during and after the parade, they experienced sexual harassment from parade-goers and their co-workers.

From the court decision

A lawyer for the city told the court during arguments in September that the city sent trucks to various parades as a matter of course, including the Columbus Day parade, Purim parade and others. notice this doesn't say chanuka parade maybe because this is no different than what the Greeks did.

After the September hearing, Cianci - who at the time was making an ultimately unsuccessful bid to reclaim the mayor's job he left in 2002 - complained about the glacial pace of the case before the court.

In his opinion, Robinson also made reference to the slow pace of the case, calling it a "jarndycean piece of litigation," an apparent reference to the fictional case Jarndyce v. Jarndyce in the Charles Dickens novel "Bleak House," which drones on for so long and is so complicated that no one alive knows what it means.

(AP) highlight our additions

Cianci was the first mayor of Providence to fly the rainbow flag over city hall and to serve as grand marshal of the gay "pride" parade. In 1997, he was also the first elected official in the state to establish the Office of Gay Liaison within his administration and to appoint members of the city’s LGBTQ community to that position.

(WND)