Super Rugby star, comes out!

:

"I've been through all sorts of emotions with this, tears, anger and absolute despair. I wasn't sure if I ever wanted to let people know, and, to be honest, I feel anxious about people's reactions and the effect it might have on my family. It's been really tough for me, hiding who I really am, and I don't want it to be like that for the next young person who wants to play rugby, or some frightened young kid. I don't know if my life is going to be easier because I'm out, but if it helps someone else, if it makes one young lad pick up the phone to ChildLine, then it will have been worth it. My parents, my family and my friends all love me and accept me for who I am, and even if the public are upset by this, I know the love of those people who mean the most to me will never change. I'm not going on a crusade, but I'm proud of who I am. I feel I have achieved everything I could ever possibly have hoped to achieve out of rugby, and I did it being gay. I want to send a positive message to other gay people that they can do it, too."

Much more at the Daily Mail...

Former Australian rugby star Ian Roberts, who came out late in his career in 1995, told theSun Herald: "It's great that the times have allowed for it. It's so bewildering to me that other people haven't allowed for that to happen to themselves. There are so many gay sportspeople ... gay people playing league. I'm just like, 'How can you be controlled by all these other people?' It doesn't have to be a problem, as long as you don't allow it to be a problem. I think it's great ... at long last someone else has done it! It's almost like, that's the breaking of the ice for me. The fact that someone else has done it, it shows that it can happen and it does happen."

POSTED 9:41 AM EST BY ANDY TOWLE IN GARETH THOMAS, I'M GAY, NEWS, RUGBY, SPORTS,WALES | PERMALINK

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A Clip from " A Single Man"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MCgJOxw788&feature=player_embedded

Here's a brand new clip from Tom Ford's A Single Man featuring Colin Firth and model Jon Kortajarena.

You may remember Kortajarena from Tom Ford's naked eyewear campaign or Diesel's kinky gay sneaker fetish campaign.

"A sucker born every minute" What goes around comes around.

NY Senator Addabbo: “Marriage Equality Transcends Just The Issue Of Equal Rights.”

by DAVID BADASH on DECEMBER 4, 2009 · COMMENTS (5)

in CIVIL RIGHTS, LEGISLATION, MARRIAGE, NEWS, POLITICS

Step right up folks! View the circus that is the New York State Senate! New York’s Senator from Queens, Joe Addabbo, who has repeatedly said he is on the fence on marriage equality, and who reportedly took a good deal of money and support from the LGBT community, and who Wednesday voted against the same sex marriage bill in Albany, said today, “marriage equality transcends just the issue of equal rights.”

Via the New York Daily News:

“To this day, I have kept my personal belief out of it, and it’s still personal,” he told reporters following a City Hall press conference at which he and Sens. Liz Krueger and Bill Perkins unveiled proposals to end runoff elections.

“It’s a personal belief. It is my belief, and it’s only my belief,” Addabbo continued. “I voted, again, the will of the people in my district.”

“First and foremost, I am very thankful to everyone who got me to where I am as a state senator. I am grateful to all those in the gay community that supported me – whether it be financially or with the hours of volunteer work. I’m grateful to them, but never once did I say to anyone or any particular entity what my position was on the issue.”

“So, I would only have been truly a disappointment if I said I was going to

Hippocrazy...a deadly sin!

Pastor Rick Warren, distancing himself from any association with the Uganda "kill the gays" bill, released a video message to pastors in Uganda urging them to treat all with respect.

Says Warren: "The potential law before your parliament is unjust, it's extreme, and it's un-Christian towards homosexuals."

Late last month, Warren was asked about the proposed law on Meet the Press and refused to condemn it, saying that he "doesn't take sides." Interesting to see, now that pressure has built around the issue, that Warren is doing everything he can to disassociate himself.

Warren's work in Africa, his ties to anti-gay Anglican religious figures, and his tacit endorsement of condom-burning and anti-gay 'witch hunts' in Uganda, have been well-documented in a thorough article by Max Blumenthal at The Daily Beast,

Watch, AFTER THE JUMP...

POSTED 1:24 PM EST BY ANDY TOWLE IN NEWS, RICK WARREN, THE FAMILY, UGANDA | PERMALINK

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A thought about equal rights

"The moment a mere numerical superiority by either states or voters in this country proceeds to ignore the needs and desires of the minority, and for their own selfish purpose or advancement, hamper or oppress that minority, or debar them in any way from equal privileges and equal rights -- that moment will mark the failure of our constitutional system."

- Franklin D. Roosevelt

A Happy Thanksgiving and a thought

I am one of those people that love turkey and stuffing with a nice gravy. This year the Turkey I got was too big for my fridge. I gave it away. So I ended up cooking a pot roast on a crock pot and roasted chicken on the side with Tortellini Alfredo(cheese).
I don't know what you call this, but I call it dinner.
I have an Italian pinot noir with goat cheese as an appetizer. On second thought I should have gone for a California pinot; but this one was a better value(cheaper).
But the food is there and the thought is there to all family and friends, acquaintances on Facebook, twitter,

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO YOU AND ALL CLOSE TO YOU.

adamfoxie

They found an iceberg nobody knew it existed: A way to melt down DOMA

TIME is reporting a fascinating story today. Turns out, the Obama Administration just got a kick to the behind over the Defense of Marriage Act. How? Well, it took the form of a letter sent by a California Chief Judge in which he ordered an executive branch agency to stop interfering with a court employee's claim for health care coverage for her female spouse. But how does this relate to the Defense of Marriage Act?

Earlier this year, Chief Judge Alex Kozinski of the Ninth Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals determined that the Federal Health Benefits Act, and its definition of the term "spouse", could be interpreted to include lesbian and gay marriage partners after a claimants application for spousal benefits was referred to the Court in January.

This case made very little noise at the time, and that would have been the end of the matter, except that the Office of Personnel Management – an Executive Branch of the Presidential Administration – chose to intervene, and barred the application. It cited the federal Defense of Marriage Act, saying that the federal government does not recognize same-sex marriages, therefore there can be no spousal benefits.

Judge Kozinski has now challenged that decision, writing them a stern rebuke:

"The Executive Branch, acting through the Office of Personnel Management... directed the insurance carrier not to process Ms. Golinski's form 2809, thwarting the relief I had ordered. I must now decide what further steps are necessary to protect Ms. Golinski and the integrity of the Judiciary's EDR [employee dispute resolution] plans."

Kozinski has given the Office of Personnel Management 30 days to desist its interference and to process the application, saying that it is fundamental that the Court, as a co-equal branch of government, be allowed to define how it deals with judicial employees.

The original decision to allow the claimant her rights to spousal benefits had no power to establish legal precedent, simply finding, instead, that DOMA does not have a blanket effect covering all gay marriage issues. However, speaking to TIME, University of California law professor Rory Little, a former Justice Department prosecutor and chief of appeals, called the order a "bombshell" and said, "This is like exposing the tip of a huge iceberg that nobody knew even existed."

Why? Well, it puts the Obama Administration in a difficult position.

Do they continue to defend their actions and refer to the Defense of Marriage Act, a policy that Obama has consistently said that he is against (even though the Obama Administration has defended the law on several occasions since his taking office), and run the risk of Judge Kuzinski taking further legal action? Or, do they concede that the Office of Personnel Management overstepped its bounds by interfering with the judicial branch, and flirt with conceding too that DOMA itself is overreaching and infringes not just on this one Court's ability to make rulings independently, but a state's right to autonomy, and, as part of that, its right to define marriage by its own constitution as expressly stated as part of the Defense of Marriage Act?

Think that's a bit of a stretch? The state of Massachusetts' Attorney General doesn't.

In June of this year, the Attorney General filed a suit against Section 3 of DOMA, saying (emphasis mine):

“Today, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts takes an important step toward ensuring equality and fairness for its citizens and maintaining our authority as a sovereign state. DOMA affects residents of Massachusetts in very real and very negative ways by depriving access to important economic safety nets and other protections that couples count on when they marry and that help them to take care of one another and their families. DOMA also directly and fundamentally interferes with Massachusetts’s right as a state sovereign to determine the marital status of its residents.”

Update on my experience in a Hate Crime- One down

Im back to blogging, Facebook andTwitter. Being involved in a Hate crime in which I was assaulted and then they try to destroy my car is been taxing on me.
So far I've had a good experience with the anti hate crime org. Will blog latter on this.
Good news: One assailant was arrested last Thursday. One to go.
I will blog more about this as events come to a conclusion.
AdamF

Who says no one is come back from the dead?

Back From The Dead
56-Year-Old Man Brought Back To Life After 47 Minutes, 4,500 Chest Compressions And 8 Zaps With Defibrillator
Staff At NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center Pulls Off True Medical Miracle

Joe Tiralosi came back to life after being dead for 47 minutes thanks to a tireless effort from a team of physicians at New York Presbyterian Hospital.
CBS
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CBS 2 HD recently met a Brooklyn man who lived after his heart quit for 47 minutes, and it's all thanks to a team of doctors who refused to give up until they brought him back from the dead.

"These doctors did not stop," Joe Tiralosi said, fighting through tears to find the words to describe his experience. "Without them, and I'm serious when I tell you, I wouldn't be here."

Tiralosi is a medical miracle. He's been to the edge and back, to a place most people don't return from. Now he's at home in Brooklyn, but three months ago he literally died.

"I think miracle best describes it," Tiralosi said.

Tiralosi suffered sudden cardiac arrest. His heart stopped beating for 47 minutes.

"Not a moment goes by that I don't take for granted every second because I know it only takes the blink of an eye to lose your life," he said.

Last week, the 56-year-old father of two returned to NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center to thank the medical team who saved his life and share his story with CBS 2 HD.

On Aug. 17, Tiralosi walked into the emergency room feeling sick and disoriented. He collapsed a minute later.

"The doctors themselves were responsible for giving my chance to live again," Tiralosi said.

Doctors Rahul Sharma and Flavio Gaudio led the team who worked on him.

"It's a miracle for which it is difficult to find words," Dr. Gaudio said.

"When Joe came in he was talking. It was his presence when he came in that made us all say we're not going to give up," Dr. Sharma added.

"I felt he had a good pulse with the compressions so part of me thought that we had bought some time," Gaudio said.

It took 4,500 chest compressions and eight shocks from a defibrillator to get Tiralosi stabilized at 11:55 a.m. While his doctors worked frantically to save him he barely remembers anything about that day.

What Are Your Thoughts On This Story? Submit Comments Here!

"I kind of remember going out. I knew I was going out and I heard someone call my name, and I just went out," Tiralosi said.

Tiralosi's doctors said only one out of four people survive sudden cardiac arrest. Most die within 10 minutes of heart failure. And of those who survive 30 percent suffer serious brain damage.

CBS 2 HD: "Was there a time after 47 minutes in the room when someone said 'Guys, enough's enough. Time to end it'?

Dr. Gaudio: "There were whispers of that but I imagined that he was a man with a family, with a family someplace and I didn't want to go out and tell that family that we had lost him. I had to keep going."

A specific procedure helped save Tiralosi's life. Special cooling pads, not available in all emergency rooms, lowered his body temperature to 91 degrees, essential in preventing long-term neurological damage and preserving brain function. Placed in a medically induced coma, incredibly, he began to wake up three days later -- without brain damage.

"For me, I was blessed that day. God was with me and brought me here," Tiralosi said.

Doctors restarted Tiralosi's heart but he said it was his family's support that sustained him. His wife, Janet, still can't talk about it. He said he remembers hearing his son Joey's voice when he was still in the coma.

"There was things he wanted to do with me yet, but we hadn't had the chance to do and that I should hang in there," Tiralosi said.

"I would squeeze my daughter's hand. She'd ask me to be … tell me how strong I was," Joe Tiralosi said.

"I never really looked at him as a miracle during those weeks because I always had hope," Christina Tiralosi added.

The doctors said Joe Tiralosi's case is one for the record books -- one they'll never forget.

"I've never seen this. This is extremely rare. We were all very emotionally involved as well," Dr. Sharma said.

We're happy to report Joe Tiralosi is making steady progress in his recovery.

"I'm not complaining because we know where I've been," he said.

CBS 2 HD: "You're doing pretty well all things considered?"

"I just look forward to getting the chance to live a long normal life, and let people know they shouldn't take for granted ever your life and your family because they can be taken away from you so quickly," Tiralosi said.

Tiralosi is going through cardiac rehab right now. The professional chauffeur is working hard to get his life back to normal. He is taking life one day at a time.
CBS HD