Tag: justice

MAR 15, 2012 - Musician Miley Cyrus Tweeted a pic the other day about science, stardust, and the scientific part of the origin of life, and angered her Christian Twitter followers. The Tweeted pic had a quote from Canadian-American theoretical physicist Professor Lawrence Krauss that said, "...forget Jesus. Stars died so you can live." (see Tweet and full quote below) After angering many of her religious and Christian followers, she responded with the famous Einstein quote, "Science without religion is lame. Religion without science is blind". 

Miley Cyrus continues to be brave and take a stand for equality and tolerance by ReTweeting NOH8 Campaign Tweets, and now she takes a stand for science and facts, and didn't back down when attacked for her beliefs and free thought by religious extremists.

MAR 12, 2012 - An extreme Christian "rock band" who call themselves the "Junkyard Prophets" put on a hate-filled show at a Dunkertown High School in Iowa attacking the LBGT community, and preaching to the teen girls they need to be "submissive". Some of the hate speech was that "gay men will die by the age of 42", and that "gay men molest an average of 117 kids before they get caught". 

The band, which hails from Minnesota, was supposed to bring a message of non-violent solutions to bullying in school, and about making good choices, but instead showed pictures of aborted fetuses and then separated the men and women into different groups for the band's "sermons". The boys were shown pictures of rock musicians, such as Elvis Presley, who "died of drug overdoses".  The girl teens were told to "save themselves for their husbands", and that they should "assume a submissive role in the household". Many teens were not able to leave the room, and later called their parents very upset at the incident.

The school superintendent Jim Stanton later said the band doesn't represent the beliefs of the school, and the district is trying to get the $1,500 back from the Junkyard Prophets that they were paid for their appearance. Read more on LacrosseTribune.com. And the Junkyard Prophet's website is here.

MAR 6, 2012 - Peter Gabriel was shocked to learn that his song "Sledgehammer" was in the background playing when conservative talk radio personality Rush Limbaugh was attacking Georgetown University law student and activist Sandra Fluke for speaking out on the need for her to use contraceptives for ovarian cyst prevention, and the need for that medicine to be available for all women as medicine covered by their insurance plans. Peter Gabriel has been a musical activist for years, from speaking out about human rights and peace, and working with Amnesty International. In 1980 he wrote a song for Steve Biko, an anti-apartheid activist that was beaten and killed by South African police. He has recently gave his support for a campaign to release an Iranian woman, Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, who was sentenced to death by Iranian courts for adultery.

In a statement on his Facebook Page, a spokesperson said, "Peter was appalled to learn that his music was linked to Rush Limbaugh's extraordinary attack on Sandra Flute. It is obvious from anyone that knows Peter's work that he would never approve such a use. He has asked his representatives to make sure his music is withdrawn and especially from these unfair aggressive and ignorant comments.”

Connect with JTMP and Peter Gabriel on Facebook, and below is a powerful live version of his song, "Biko" from the 1986 Amnesty International Conspiracy of Hope Tour.
(Photo credit zarabeatriz/Flickr)

MAR 5, 2012 - Laura Clawson over at Daily Kos has a great review and article about Bruce Springsteen's new album, "Wrecking Ball", and how he has cranked up his musical activism recently, and has really captured the Occupy movement in song and prose.

Laura wrote, "[Wrecking Ball] contains some of the most political music he's written. It is also, in places, deeply gospel-inflected, with the political and spiritual knitting into a moral argument. We may be lost, individually or as a society, we may be oppressed and barely clinging to hope. But we can't believe either that it's good enough for things to be better in the next world (there's no "you'll get pie in the sky when you die" on Wrecking Ball) or that the fight for something better in the here and now is anything but a fight for our souls and the soul of the nation." Bruce's 17th album "Wrecking Ball" will be out tomrrow, March 6. Check out the article over at Daily Kos here, and listen to the track "Death To My Hometown" from the upcoming album  below.   (Photo credit Lord_Henry/Flickr)

MAR 5, 2012 - Lady Gaga and her mother Cynthia Germanotta have launched the "Born This Way Foundation", a non-profit based out of Harvard University with a mission to stop bullying against the LBGT community in our schools and society. In a statement Lady Gaga said, "My mother and I have initiated a passion project. We call it the Born This Way Foundation. Together we hope to establish a standard of Bravery and Kindness, as well as a community worldwide that protects and nurtures others in the face of bullying and abandonment."

A "Born To Be Brave" bus will follow her current North American tour, to help spread awareness on this issue. A kick-off event was held on February 29, 2012, and along with Lady Gaga speaking, there was Oprah and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and others. Connect on Facebook with JTMP and Born This Way, and watch the video below of the event.