Sigh

I wish Obama felt the same sense of conviction about women's rights and LGBTQ rights as he seems to about the freedom of religion.

Yet another example of why we need the Equal Rights Amendment so desperately.

Our work continues.

Taking the Plunge

I have decided to try going vegetarian again.

I am going to start by cutting out meat.  Then, I'll move on to chicken and fish.

I'm not sure about vegan.  We'll see.

I think it's best to take these things one step at a time.

I just think our planet is in such dire straits.

I just can't justify eating meat anymore.

Plus, some of my most significant personal relationships in life have been with animals.

Separate Never Equals Equal

I am thrilled that the US District Court ruled that Prop 8 is unconstitutional!! They did the right thing. This is how our judiciary is supposed to work: protecting the individual against the tyranny of the majority. Constitutional rights may not be put to a vote. Woo hoo!


And, the decision is amazing.  A must read.  The court also stands up for gender equality.  


And, for everyone who has ever scoffed at me for stating that morality has no place in the law -- this court agrees with me.  


I've decided that LGBTQ activists and advocates have to get together with women's rights activists and advocates.


This is the same fight.  We need to be working together to fight for equality and desegregation and secularism.  

Burqa Ban or Bust

The Freedom From Religion Foundation was kind enough to print my burqa ban piece in the latest issue of their monthly newspaper, Freethought Today.

I have a couple other pieces on the burqa ban coming out shortly, including one in The Humanist.

Here's the FFRF Freethought Today piece:

http://www.ffrf.org/publications/freethought-today/articles/thats-me-in-the-burqa-losin-my-religion/

My Salvation

I will always love you, Jacob.

Here's to you kid.

Jacob Michael Braasch (01/28/86 - 02/02/10)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mthzWZrYNJQ&feature=related

Settled Law

The issue of whether the US is a Christian or secular state is no longer a subject of debate.

Our government is secular.  

That bears repeating.

Our government is secular.

We still have civics classes in public schools, right?  

I think the Constitution should be required reading in public high schools.

This issue is moot.  It is, like the right to abortion, settled law.

And, I can't even understand how anyone would want to regress to a religious state.

And, it would, undeniably, be a regression.

We have been living the benefits (not without some serious hiccups, of course) of residing in a secular democracy for well over 200 years now.

The proof is in the pudding.  The evidence is in.

Does anyone really want to go back to burning witches?

How quickly one forgets the French Enlightenment.  

Our government was not founded on Puritan colonists' values.  Our government was founded upon French Enlightenment values.

Not to mention that, sans secularism, women's rights do not exist.

Even in our secular democracy, per current American jurisprudence, religious liberty trumps women's rights.  And, women suffer dire consequences as a result of their second class citizenship status.  

Here's another civics lesson for y'all:  We do not live in a majoritarian democracy.  We live in a liberal constitutional democracy.  

Theocracy equals tyranny.  End of story.  

It boggles my mind that people still think that this is a legitimate topic of debate.

Vertigo

Since Jakie died, I've felt like I've been living in this alternate reality, and I can't get back.

His suicide tore a hole in the space-time continuum, and dragged me along with him.

I keep wandering this new world, dazed and disoriented, looking for him.

I will always love you, Jacob.

Jacob Michael Braasch (01/28/86 - 02/02/10)

My Favorite Picture in the Whole World

I will always love you, Jacob.

Jacob Michael Braasch (01/28/86 - 02/02/10)

La Laicite

La laicite is not hostile to religion; it is indifferent to religion. It is secular. Government has nothing to say about religion, and religion has nothing to say about government. This is what the wall of separation between church and state means. Somehow, in the U.S., secularism has been perverted to mean that government has a responsibility to protect and favor religious expression.

What of Religion?

Freedom of religion means freedom of religion for everyone -- for every man, woman and child.  Everyone.

Religious groups and leaders don't really want freedom of religion.

They certainly don't want freedom of religion for their community members, especially the women and children.

They don't want their community members to have access to real choices about their lives.

It's not freedom of religion, but only for some people.  It's not freedom of religion, but only for men.  It's not freedom of religion, but only for adults.  It's not freedom of religion, but only for people born into freethinking or liberal families and communities.

Freedom of religion means freedom of religion for everyone or the expression and the constitutional provision is meaningless.

I Left My Heart With Jim Morrison in Paris

Jacob is going to spend eternity in fine company.

I was trying to think of badass places in Paris where Jakie would want to hang out for eternity.

Nothing's more badass than Jim.

I will always love you, Jacob, my heart, my beloved baby brother.

Always.

Jacob Michael Braasch (01/28/86 - 02/02/10)

My Bros

My beloved baby brothers, Aaron and Jacob.

Not My Problem

The fight for secularism is not an act of aggression against religion.

The fight for women's rights as universal human rights without compromise is not an act of aggression against religion.

Of course, religion is the institutionalization of misogyny, so, almost necessarily, any advancement of women's rights will appear as an attack upon religion to the religionists.

That's their raison d'etre.

Here's what I have to say to that:

Not my problem.

Future?

We must reject the barbarism of prior centuries, or we will not survive this one.

Heroism

Jacob is my hero.

Yes, he took his own life.

Yes, I would give anything to have him back.

But, he said what I could not say.

He did what I could not do.

His was the ultimate act of self-expression.

And, now, because of his sacrifice, I no longer need to wreak vengeance.

He wreaked it.  It's done.

He freed me to go out and try to do some good in the world, in his honor.

In his name.

Jacob is my hero.  My heart, my beloved baby brother.

I will always love you, Jacob.

Always.

Jacob Michael Braasch (01/28/86 - 02/02/10)

I Left My Heart With Pan in Paris

You will spend eternity with Pan in the Parc des Buttes Chaumont in Paris.

I think he'll make for good company.  I know you will.

I will always love you, Jacob, my heart, my beloved baby brother.

Always.

Jacob Michael Braasch (01/28/86 - 02/02/10)

I Left My Heart in Paris in the Parc des Buttes Chaumont

You will spend eternity in the grotto in the Parc des Buttes Chaumont in Paris.

I will always love you, Jacob, my heart, my baby brother.

Always.

Jacob Michael Braasch (01/28/86 - 02/02/10)

Round 36

Round 35 was a pretty wild ride.  The highs were pretty bloody high and the lows were pretty hellishly low.

For a while, I wasn't really sure that I wanted to stick around for Round 36.  It hurt too much.

I am turning 36 today (7/7).  And, I know why.

I am turning 36 today for my baby brother, Jacob, and I will live the rest of my days for Jacob.

Because someone has to stick around to honor his memory.

And, I will.

Everything I do for the rest of my life I do to honor my beloved baby brother.

Here's to you, kid.

Jacob Michael Braasch (01/28/86 - 02/02/10)

$$

I never used to want to make money.

I hated money.  I thought money was the root of all evil.

But, now, I want to make a shitload of money.

So, that I can do good with it, in Jacob's name.

I foresee a Jacob Michael Braasch Scholarship.

A Jacob Michael Braasch Foundation.

A Jacob Michael Braasch Institute.

A Jacob Michael Braasch Fellowship.

Et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.

I will always love you, Jacob.

Jacob Michael Braasch (01/28/86 - 02/02/10)

Home Sweet Home

I miss the US.  I'm homesick.

I miss open spaces and big to go cups of coffee and punctuality and diner breakfasts and an abundance of movie theaters and our national parks and the comfort of being understood and understanding at the same time and that very American notion of limitless possibilities.

It's nice to go away, so that you can appreciate coming home.

I'll be back.  Soon.