A non-profit has purchased the property directly across the street from Westboro Baptist Church and painted it as a rainbow flag. ‘Equality House’  will house volunteers fighting bigotry.

artoftransliness:

truthisweirder:

From the designer:

My Facebook and G+ newsfeeds have been filled with pink and red lately, so it seemed important to point out to the queer and allied in my life that Human Rights Campaign actually has a track record of promoting some rights at the expense of others. Being a fairly rough-and-tumble sort of cisgender queer man, I waded in.

It’s frankly unconscionable; transgender rights are integral to queer liberation, and moreover transfolks are our sisters and brothers, have shed the same blood, sweat, and tears in horrifying numbers for the same goals. The fact that names like Virginia Prince and Sylvia Rae Rivera aren’t as prominent in our histories as Harvey Milk says, I think, all it needs to about the need for some pink and purple soul-searching. Go forth and introspect.

Visually, too, I think the HRC equality logo leaves a bit to be desired, but I made minimal changes. The colors are based on the transgender pride flag designed by Monica Helms in 1999, the most widely used of several designs and to my eye, the most pleasing.

Considering that HRC seems to be continuing to give lip service to trans folks while throwing them under the bus, this is important and timely.

People need to know that the most visible LGBT “equality” organization out there continues to only fight for gay and lesbian equality at the expense of everyone else.

Trans allies, please repost. (And don’t give money to HRC.)

We’re big supporters of same-sex marriage (as one issue among several other major ones facing queer people these days), but also really disappointed in the Human Rights Campaign for their multiple screw-ups when it comes to trans* issues. All of this is something to think about as, on Facebook anyway, support for same-sex marriage has become synonymous with support for the HRC. You can absolutely support same-sex marriage without supporting the HRC, and there are plenty of other organizations out there who are doing great work for the LGBTQ communities in regard to marriage equality as well as queer homelessness, job discrimination, and anti-bullying that are not throwing trans* people under the bus (GLAAD is an excellent example of one such organization!) 

futurejournalismproject:

Faces of Deportation

The New York Time Lens Blog is carrying “Detained, Deported and Determined,” a photo essay by Getty photographer John Moore.

In an accompanying article, Moore writes:

During President Obama’s first term of office, authorities deported a record 1.5 million people. A majority fell into several categories — those who had recently crossed United States borders illegally, repeat violators of immigration laws and those with a criminal record, according to the White House.

I have photographed this stark ritual often in the last few years. But in the United States, law enforcement restrictions that photojournalists not show the faces of immigrants in their custody has made it hard, at times, to humanize the images.

So, on this last trip to Arizona, the challenge for me was to find deported — or soon-to-be-deported — immigrants not in federal custody.

Moore did so by going to the San Juan Bosco shelter in Nogales, Mexico and to Maricopa County in Arizona.

Image: Gilbert Mendez, 28, arrested for driving without a license and deported. Mendez claims he worked for five years as a farm laborer in Washington State and plans to try to get back into the United States. By John Moore via The New York Times.

fuckyeahfeminists:

Costco CEO Craig Jelinek supports raising the minimum wage.

Costco announced record profits today, averaging $10,000 in profit per employee compared to $7,400 at Walmart. 
The secret to Costco’s success is paying employees well, providing benefits, and giving them an opportunity to unionize.

So large corporations’ excuses that treating & paying workers well would damage profits are all a crock of shit.

slavicinferno:

“I heard police or ambulancemen, standing in our house, say, “She must have provoked him,” or, “Mrs Stewart, it takes two to make a fight.” They had no idea. The truth is my mother did nothing to deserve the violence she endured. She did not provoke my father, and even if she had, violence is an unacceptable way of dealing with conflict. Violence is a choice a man makes and he alone is responsible for it.”-Patrick Stewart

missrep:

Special cover of Tehelka magazine in India to celebrate One Billion Rising today (via V-Day)