Historic Reflections

A  L  O  H  A !

Hawaii's Radiant Nature finds it's way even into dark places

" Their hope is 

not to be condemned 

to live in loneliness, 

excluded from one of 

civilization's oldest institutions, 

They ask for equal dignity

 in the eyes of the law. 

The [USA]Constitution 

grants them that right. "

                 Justice Anthony Kennedy

                                 United States Supreme Court

Linking to

Weekend Reflections

This is a

Historic Day.

Thank You

for Sharing it!

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Veterans of the Culture Wars

A    L    O    H    A  !

" But 
there’s nothing wrong 
with old age 
that a curious mind, 
an 
active life and 
a glass of wine 
with a friend 
cannot cure. "


Friko 
Link

GEN Silent Trailer 2.0 from Stu Maddux on Vimeo

These people suffered

 for being different 

in a way that people today 

cannot comprehend.

The culture they grew up in

called them sick, evil,

& worse. 

Most were 

estranged from

(or unknown to)

 their families.

They showed 
real courage

standing up 
for each other. 

They changed the way 

the world

looks at Diversity

and Human Rights. 
THIS generation
that we are talking about.

We all live the freedom 

that they won. 

They paid enormous

economic,

emotional,

& legal costs.

They nursed their

 closest friends

who died horribly

in the first nightmare years

of the AIDS Epidemic.

They wear no medals.
They draw no pensions.

But can't we see

that at least

they live with 

D I G N I T Y

that they have

 certainly earned

for others - 

for us?

  }
/V\
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New Year, New Laws

 A L O H A ! 

Father/Son Color & Clogs

 "I will honor Christmas

 in my heart, 

and try to keep it 

all the year."

Charles Dickens

The REST of the Picture (and family)

Click to see those New Year Day SMILES

 "Kindness,

 I've discovered,

 is everything

 in life. "

Isaac Bashevis Singer 

Married by me, Jan 1st 2014

"By the power vested in me
by the State of Hawaii
just last month,
I now pronounce you
spouses and wives
before these your friends
Legally
To your military command,
ALL of it
EVERYTHING!

(One is in the military,
the other is now a 
military spouse)



  =^..^=        



As of Jan 1 2014

  Illinois police
cannot fly drones
without a warrant;
also becoming the 
13th state to prohibit 
handheld cellphones 
while driving.

Legal marijuana
is now for sale 
in Colorado.

Transgender children
may use the 
school bathroom
and play sports
in California.

Friendly, Humane
Francis is Pope
in Rome.

Connecticut has
tighter gun control,
and raises the 
minimum wage to $8.70 an hour,
New Jersey to $8.25
New York and Rhode Island to $8. 
Nine states automatically raise
their minimum wage because they 
index it to inflation. 


And I performed 
a wedding.

What is NEW
for YOU
this year?

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Hawaii Equality Signing LIVE

LIVE STREAM    LINK

Hawaii Passes Marriage Equity!

A celebration dance - the Electric Slide,

 a staple in Gay bars and events :-) 

Made me cry to see it at the State Capitol
Rotunda on this occasion!

Hawaii is floating a foot above the Pacific today

and may never come down.

God Bless our opponents too.

Justice won.

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Exciting New Day

A  L  O  H  A !

The air smells even sweeter today in Hawaii

and the rainbows above Honolulu

were never more meaningful!

Marriage Equity

should be signed into 

Hawaii law this week!

We are SO proud of this

young representative

for his wisdom:

History Before Our Eyes

Watching History Unfold

"HONOLULU — When, as most everyone expects, Gov. Neil Abercrombie signs into law same-sex marriage here in the coming days, it may almost seem like a routine event. Hawaii is poised to be among 16 states to approve gay marriage, along with Illinois and shortly after Minnesota, New Jersey and Rhode Island.
     But the step in Hawaii has special resonance because the contemporary battle over same-sex marriage was born here two decades ago. Such marriages existed nowhere when Ninia Baehr and Genora Dancel, along with two other couples, filed what seemed like an utterly quixotic lawsuit seeking a marriage license. To near universal shock, Hawaii’s Supreme Court granted them a victory in 1993, ruling that a refusal to allow gay and lesbian couples to marry was discriminatory and illegal."

New York Times LINK

It is 9:50pm (Hawaiian Time) Friday November 8th.

LIVE LEGILATIVE VOTING RIGHT NOW  HERE

Honolulu Capitol Views

A  L  O  H  A !

 Standing on the Mauka (Mountain Side) steps

of the Hawaii State Capitol

looking over St. Damien's shoulder

(Link)

towards the memorial flame

through a row of royal palms

with Punchbowl Crater behind.

(Link)

Father Damien did amazing "Mother Teresa" type

work in Hawaii during the 19th Century.

This statue was erected BEFORE

his sainthood.

"Leprosy is beginning to be very prevalent here. 

 There are many men covered with it.  

It does not cause death at once, 

but it is rarely cured.  

The disease is very dangerous, 

because it is highly contagious."

  Father Damien 

to his family back home.  

"All Lepers must 

report to the government health authorities

 within fourteen days from this date 

for inspection

 and final banishment

 to Molokai" 

Official Government Proclamation

The center of the Capitol is not a dome

but  an open courtyard

ringed by offices and 

open lanai (balcony).

The House and Senate "sides" 

are across the open courtyard 

formed by the space between them.

As you can see from the curve here,

each chamber recalls the volcanoes

that formed these islands.

From the courtyard, you can look

down through big windows

at the legislative activity
in the legislative chambers

below (inside the volcano!)

Behind this grand banyan tree

 beyond the Makai

(Ocean side) of the capitol

stands Iolani Palace (Link)

where Hawaiian Royalty

ruled these islands in a 

constitutional monarchy.

Queen Liliuokalani, our last Queen 

(deposed shamefully)

stands watch over the daily affairs

 of today's

people and government.

She is an inspiration to great leadership.

Incidentally, many claim to have seen Liliuo's

ghost in this area, and in the corridors of the

modern capitol building too!

She seems to be 

ushering these people inside

to do their work.
(A nice aloha shirt with dress slacks
are business wear for men in Honolulu)

Liliuo also left us

this famous song

Listen and REALLY hear it
for the FIRST TIME!

Many of us have been spending 

a lot of time at the capitol

lately, as the Special Session 

called by the governor 
for Marriage Equality

proceeds.

THOUSANDS of people testified.

We heard LOTS of dumb and hurtful things.

We also saw our friends tell their truth, 

and lots of really illuminating

and moving testimony

while many of us watched 

57 hours of hearings

live and streaming.
I sent in written testimony.

Hawaii seems really poised

to legalize marriage

between two adults

regardless of gender.

There are "people of faith"

on both sides of the issue,

but one side is loud, angry,

not listening,

SCARY!

But you know what?

That day is OVER

in the civilized world

(listening, Putin?).

I'll post as soon as the Bill

is passed by both houses,

because the Gov called the sess

and wants to sign the Bill.

ALOHA, my dear friends!

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This is Democracy!

Hawaii News Now - KGMB and KHNL

Seeing History Unfold

A L O H A!

 Is more than a word, 

it is a concept, a philosophy of life, 

a rule of behaviour, 

a deep and sacred truth 

that is at once simple, obvious 

and powerful 

in any context. 

The Hawaiian People, 

it is said, recognized 

the spirit of Jesus 

immediately, but wondered 

at the cold behavior 
of the missionaries 

It was not a perfect society,

holding slaves, fighting wars,

ruled over by a class

of "superiors."

In other words,

it was like other

cultures around the globe

in that time.

What I am praising

is the inclusion and

courtesy that was

their heartbeat.

Vestiges of ALOHA 
remain.

They have blessed,

educated,

and changed

me;

For the better.

This week

our legislature

seems poised

to extend marriage equality

to all.

Hearings in special session

have run the gamut

from: "Gays are trying

to take over the world,

shame on you for taking

bribes to help them."

To wonderful testimony

from local families,

faith leaders,

seniors,

children,

as to why

equality and inclusion

are Pono

(the Hawaiian word

for "Right, righteous.")

For once, the dignity

of our local senators

(the majority of them!)

has risen to a

statesmanlike stature.

Senator Hee asked a 

very nice older woman

how she reconciled

the disagreement

between different churches

as to the bill.

She could not answer.

Nor could the person

who testified that 

legislative staff

was infiltrated with gays

when the same senator

asked:

"Which of them do I work with?

*Pause*

Thought you said you knew."

The US Supreme Court ruling,

as well as marriage equality

from South Africa to Iowa

have made a huge change

to local leaders.

Hawaii will vote: aloha to ALL

this week

or next.

My friends, my betters,

my forerunners,

 martyrs,

 and I

are poised to

succeed

in a long long long long long

struggle.

The world will not end.

Promise!

"It's historic in the sense that there's a huge paradigm shift, but it's a shift that, in my opinion, bends the arc of justice towards the right way,
It takes us to a new level of equal rights."

Hawaii State Sen. Clayton Hee 

" Kanaka Maoli*

 have been conditioned for so long

 to think and act like foreigners

 that we have allowed the meaning

 and intent of our words, traditions and philosophies 

to be replaced by neo-Christian beliefs 

and used to further a 

Western political agenda 

on our islands."

Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu 
More about Hina:
HERE


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* Kanaka Maoli is what the original Hawaiian people call themselves in their own Language. 

Back in the 19th century, Hawaiian sailors were often listed on crew manifest as "Kanaka" or "Kanak)

44 Years From Stonewall

A  L  O  H  A !

Back in the day,

 there was no rainbow flag,

 no signs, no hoopla. 

Gay bars were hidden away from view,

dingy dives (often) operated by criminals

 and regularly raided by the vice squad.

Patrons were arrested, roughed up,

 had their names and sometimes faces,

 published in the local papers.

Then they lost their jobs,

 family support, apartments.

The only place the GLBT people could gather 

and be themselves

 in lives that consisted of prudent hiding

of  the most fundamental personal things,

was the bar.

Being gay was a crime,

 a sin, a moral weakness.

44 years ago this month

 the Stonewall Inn,

a gay bar in New York City 

was raided around 3am.

This time, the patrons had enough! 

Office workers,

shopkeepers, and drag queens

 in full regalia 

battled the cops

for several days.

Yesterday, the US Supreme Court 

declared that

if you are a gay couple, 

legally married by the laws

of the US State you live in,

then the federal government

 will NO LONGER

discriminate against you.

Social Security benefits, survivorship,

 federal taxes,

military benefits,

all will acknowledge

 same sex couples

along with opposite sex couples.

I was 16, and 90 miles away

 when Stonewall happened.

I marched in the first

Gay Liberation March

in Philadelphia

in the early 70's.

Today, I rallied 

with about a 1000 Hawaii friends

at the state capitol,

to celebrate this day. 

The fight for marriage equality

 is not over

in Hawaii, 

or perhaps your state or province.

But determined people,

despised, powerless, abused,

discriminated against,

summarily fired,

beaten and killed,

called mentally ill,

can change all that.

I played a part,

I've seen it happen.

So speak up for what you believe.

I helped to change the world,

You do too, every day.

Make it count!

YOU can read more about 

Stonewall  HERE

 > < } } (°>

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