It’s a question I see a lot. Sometimes it’s bandied about as a badge of honour. In any group dedicated to the reading or writing of queer fiction, there’s a thread somewhere asking who’s ‘out’ and who’s ‘closeted’ about what they do. Most people don’t seem to think it’s a big deal, but I do and here’s why.
I keep seeing news stories centered around the protection of religious freedom in America: indeed, there’s a case being heard by SCOTUS right now, brought by the chain Hobby Lobby, who want to exclude the provision of two contraceptive pills from their mandatory health care plan as the owners deem them abortifacients which violate their religious beliefs.
Because those around me are getting bored of hearing me bitch 🙂 In no particular order… (more…)
I feel like I’ve not had a rant on here in the longest time… Heh, that’s writing for you. I’ve been busy locked in the Writers’ Cave (it’s an actual place) working on Match, but when news of a certain book currently being sold at reputable retailers everywhere reached my ears, I decided to climb out of the coffee-coma and fire up the old blog. You see, this book has got me pretty riled up. And what is it? Why, a “Christian” parenting guide.
I’m sure by now you’ve all heard the news. A small shitstorm started in the UK about ‘obscene’ ebooks depicting underage sex, bestiality, (pseudo) incest and rape fantasies has grown in the last few days to an all-out war on indie books. Some genius apparently went to WH Smith’s online store (powered by Kobo) and typed in “daddy”. You can imagine the results. (more…)
Some of you may have seen a (very quiet) announcement in the news that by the end of the year, the majority of British ISPs will block access to pornographic content unless a homeowner opts in to receiving it. There are a multitude of reasons why this is a Very Bad Thing, and why we should all be worried. (more…)
Some of you may be aware of an incident that occured the other day at Seattle Pride, where a street preacher was attacked by an attendee. While I would never condone resorting to physical violence to solve a problem… Is anyone really surprised that something like this happened? Wasn’t it inevitable? (more…)
An article on the ACLU blog this morning caught my attention, reporting that in Norristown, PA., the state has introduced legislation to force landlords to evict tenants if the police are summoned to their address. Such ‘nuisance ordinances’ might seem reasonable if your neighbour’s a drug dealer constantly getting raided – but what if your neighbour’s a victim of domestic violence?
It takes a lot to make me feel sick. I’ve got a pretty strong stomach; I’ve drank from a stream while hiking, gone further uphill and found a rotting sheep carcass in said stream and still held onto my lunch. But something I saw today induced a wave of rolling nausea so great I feel compelled to share it. This video is just over 4 minutes long; I urge you to watch it all, with the sound up. But if you’re really pushed for time, skip forward to 55 seconds in. (more…)
I’ve broached this subject before. Ex-gay organisations are up in arms over an episode of Criminal Minds that this week featured a serial killer who’d undergone sexual conversion therapy. (more…)