I am a son of God, named Angelo Martinez.....sometimes I identify as a fallen angel for the countless sins that I've committed. I am an Aquarius, the epitome of the sign; I am the perfect representative for the Age of Aquarius. I have the social conscience needed to carry us into the new millennium. A humanitarian, philanthropic and keenly interested in making the world a better place. Along those lines, I'd like to make the world work better, which is why I focus much of my energy on my social institutions and how they work (or don't work). I'm a visionary, progressive soul who loves to spend time thinking about how things can be better. I'm also quick to engage others in this process, which is why I have so many friends and acquaintances. Making the world a better place is a collaborative effort for me. I shower the world with my thoughts and new ideas, I am at a near-genius level, so my mind churns out some amazing things. My thought process is also inventive and original. While I am happy to bestow my ideas as a gift with no strings attached, I am much happier when the rest of the world agrees with me.....LOL Naysayers will quickly find out that I can be impatient, even temperamental, with those who disagree. Yes, I can be quite fixed in my opinions. Even though I am happy to give, and I do, it's often on my terms and within my comfort level. Generally, that means ample space, since I am freedom-loving and individualistic and need to roam (and yes, I do enjoy traveling). While I am generally sympathetic and compassionate, I like it when things go my own quirky way. Some might call my behavior eccentric (and they would be right), but when you consider that my heart is truly in the right place, a few oddities should be overlooked. In my own way, I treasure my many friends and acquaintances and want to give back as much as I can.
royale-noir
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Great news! Pittsburgh youth will learn how to protect themselves from STD's. Too bad they won't actually practice the fundamentals of contraceptives but it's a step further than they were last semester.
What's sad about Mr. Brentley's argument is that clergy shouldn't have any say about what children in public schools are learning. If that's the case, evolution is going to be challenged next, then what else?Board member Mark Brentley Sr. was the only one of nine board members opposing the change from an "abstinence-only" policy Tuesday night, saying officials didn't get enough input from clergy and the public before making the change.
Anyways I am happy that Pittsburgh is taking a step forward rather than standing still as so many communities have on this issue.
royale-noirOnce again discrimination in the land of the "free" prevails!
In my Bible, God has not changed and his words have not changed," said Dennis Dutton, assistant pastor of Calvary Chapel West Oahu. "This is about upholding the first institution established by our Lord."
I don't know if I will ever fully understand the hatred for gays in this country but until EVERY MAN AND WOMAN IS VIEWED EQUALLY we need to stop saying this is the land of the free. Yesterday in Honolulu officials took another stab at civil unions, the underhanded version of marriage for gays. According to the Associated Press...
More than 1,400 people signed up to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee, who took more than 15 hours of testimony before voting at 3 a.m. It was the largest turnout for a Capitol hearing in years.
I think we need more turnouts like this every time, but that's just my opinion.
royale-noir
According to BBC News there are more setbacks in developing an HIV vaccine.
Scientists have had many struggles over the past 10 plus years developing a vaccine for the HIV virus. A vaccine would help aleviate the rapid transmission rates across the globe. HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) is the virus that causes AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) which means it attacks the human body's immune system by breaking downt he body's natural defenses against infection.
A vaccine would save many lives especially since there still isn't a cure for the virus.
royale-noirAs some of you may know, a couple of years ago 2 young women were expelled from a private Lutheran School for being assumed as lesbians. The wording school officials used was, "they have behavior consistant with that of lesbians."
WTF! Apparently a fellow class mate overheard the young girls say, "I love you" to one another and that was the clue that they were lesbians. Yes my head is spinning right along with you just writing this! School officials were instructed to check the girls' myspace pages for any evidence, and boy what did they find? Awe, a picture or two of the girls hugging and acting friendly. Whoopty doo! They also saw that one of the girls identified as bisexual and the other was unspecified. Mind you, neither girl until this day has ever admitted to the allegations. Kind of reminds me of the Salem Witch Trials...but that's just me.
I attended a similiar Jesuit School for boys when I was young and suffered a similar fate, except I was told to confess my sin and promise to never give into it and I will be okay. As a terrified 13 year old I did what I was told, only I didn't know what I was admitting to. I was only accused of being gay because I had a picture of my bestfriend in my locker door. That was all!
My heart goes out to these poor young women, not only did they have to be humiliated at school, at home and in their communities for what may or may not be true, but in the press as well. Imagine living with that. No solid evidence was provided to prove they ARE lesbians, they just had too good of a friendship. The school was protected by the policies in place now that respects how religious institutions conduct business. I am having a hard time trying to see how that is supposed to be the Christian way of doing things...I ask myself, WHAT WOULD JESUS DO?
These policies need to be changed, discrimination is WRONG no matter how you try to justify it. What next...expelling students for behavior consistant with those of other ethnicities?
royale-noir
South African president Kgalema Motlanthe has appointed openly gay and HIV-positive judge Edwin Cameron to the nation’s highest court.According to the The Star, Cameron was considered for the Constitutional Court nearly a decade ago, but then-deputy president Thabo Mbeki blocked the appointment.
Speaking to The Star yesterday, Achmat said he believed that Mbeki’s controversial sidelining of Judge Cameron was “one of the best things that could have happened … although we didn’t think so at the time”.
His appointment “comes at a time when the Constitutional Court needs judges who will continue its legacy of independence and rigour,” Achmat said.
royale-noir
It is the year 2054 and you are about to have an intimate encounter with someone you love dearly. No cure has been discovered for HIV. The government has determined from the lists it keeps of HIV positive people, that your partner is HIV positive, and consequently they are under surveillance. In fact, all HIV positive people are under surveillance because they may display, “behaviors presenting imminent danger”.
In the midst of enjoining in intimacy together, the “sex police” enter your house and find you entwined and immediately take away your partner, not even allowing them to dress, covering them with a sterile black plastic tarp. It did not matter that the sex was consensual, that you already knew your partner’s HIV status, and that you were practicing safer sex. Sound strange? In reality, we are not to far off from such a scenario.
royale-noirSo I go poking around on the internet and I see ABORTION IS MURDER!
And yet many Pro-lifers will say that an abortion is acceptable or okay in regards to incest, rape, a birth defect, if the female is a young child, endangerment of the mother's life, etc.
I guess what stumps me the most is.... if abortion is murder, why are there certain exceptions to the rule? If you're raped, a fertilized egg is still a fertilized egg, which is still a baby. Aborting it is still murder right?
royale-noir
royale-noirAccording to BBC news Pope Benedict discourages modern interpretation of gender and how many are living their lives now....
My question to the Pope is, what about inter-sexed individuals? He seems to feel that he is protecting God's creation by discouraging transgendered and homosexuals from their self-expression but I don't think he realizes who is really listening to him. His words are not only condemning us under the rainbow but inspires those that hate us.When the Roman Catholic Church defends God's Creation, "it does not only defend the earth, water and the air... but (it) also protects man from his own destruction," he said.
royale-noir
25 years into the pandemic of HIV, the rates are still rising everyday....with 48% of black men, ages 14 to 24, who have or had sex with other men infected with HIV, and the rising rates in all other demographics- this idea should have been implemented a long time ago. The only reason that it hasn't happened as of yet is MONEY. You'd think that human lives should trump cost, but it's only a pattern in America's failed health care system.The American College of Physicians is urging doctors to screen all patients for H.I.V. routinely beginning at age 13, whether or not they engage in risky behaviors.
If we are screened for HIV whenever we visit a doctor's office, hospital, emergency room, etc. we are better suited for combatting the virus. If someone is positive they can immediately go into treatment, rather than waiting to fall within a "risk behavior group."
