Transgender, Bisexual, Lesbian and Gay People - All People Need Change

BP Blocks Photos Plus: Blaming Rape Victims • World’s Biggest Killer • Blocking Black Juries • Silencing Science Teachers • Glee’s Controversial Homosexuality What does all of this have to be with being Transgender, Bisexual, Lesbian or Gay? As long as people and their organizations are selfish and self centered, they will never care about anything but themselves. Large corporations are raping Mother Earth and most folks look the other way. Vicious predators rape teenage girls and the victim is blamed. Thinly veiled religious groups as so-called political movements attempt to rewrite history and bastardize science that disproves their religious beliefs and political agendas.  Are we sinners? Can't be a sinner because there is no such animal as sin. The concept is just another way to control people. It is based on shaming people into thinking they are dirty and less than. The object of control is to make marginalized people invisible - not human - dead - to pacify. There is a whole lot of change needed but nothing will really change until mankind changes and learns to do the right thing according to conscious. Greed, power and control stops change dead in its tracks. If you are not like others with this mindset, you are in harm's way.     May 31 - June 06 TOP ACTIONS THIS WEEK President Obama: Send the Tobacco Treaty to the Senate for Ratification by Lance Armstrong Foundation Sign the Petition » Not an Environmental Disaster? Tell Congressman Don Young to Stop Defending Big Oil by Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Sign the Petition » Tell Congress to Permanently Protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge by The Wilderness Society Sign the Petition » THIS WEEK on CHANGE.ORG BP Blocks Photos Plus: Blaming Rape Victims • World’s Biggest Killer •Blocking Black Juries • Silencing Science Teachers • Glee’s Controversial Homosexuality There's been something noticeably absent from the media coverage of the oil spill. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has tallied hundreds of dead birds, sea turtles, and dolphins drenched with oil. But where are the photos? The reason you're not seeing many is because BP doesn't want you to. They've barred workers from sharing photos of oiled wildlife and, according to locals, have been whisking away dead and injured wildlife to buildings and offshore ships. Why does this matter? The American public needs to see the tragic reality of the impact our addiction to oil has on our wildlife, our environment, and our future. Because ultimately BP is not the only one responsible for this catastrophe; we all are. Change.org Changemaker and Executive Director of the Monterrey Bay Aquarium, Julie Packard, writes this weekthat amid the finger-pointing, there's a missing player: the American public. Why haven't we learned from past experience? Why haven't we mustered the political will to approve policies that our oceans and coasts demand, and why haven't we advanced beyond our dependence on oil? The problem we face is bigger than BP and the catastrophe in the Gulf. It's that we have allowed our economy to run on an unsustainable fossil fuel that ravages our environment, enriches foreign dictators, and undermines our national and economic security. The time to change this reliance is now. One of our partners, the Sierra Club, launched a bold campaign this week called "Beyond Oil" that will include rallies and events across the country to build a movement to advance beyond petroleum. If you want a world with a clean energy future, we encourage you to join this campaign now. For more news and commentary from this week in change, check out summaries from your favorite causes below:   Blaming Rape Victims in WOMEN'S RIGHTS In 1997, 15-year-old Tina Anderson became pregnant after being repeatedly raped by an older man she knew from church. Women's Rights blogger Roxy MtJoy reports that, when she told her pastor what had happened, he insisted she go before the entire congregation to apologize for her sins. After she took part in this victim-blaming, she was shipped out of state in shame. And, while her rape was reported to police, no action could be taken because Tina had been hidden away. This appalling story is seeing the light of day because Tina Anderson decided to come forward this year upon finally realizing that what occurred wasn't her fault. Read more » World’s Biggest Killer in HEALTH CARE In 2010, cancer will become the number one cause of death in the world. This statistic is especially tragic considering that one-third of all cancer deaths are preventable, writes Change.org Changemaker and CEO of the Lance Armstrong Foundation, Doug Ulman. Taking a stronger stand to prevent tobacco addiction will save countless people the pain of a diagnosis. In 2004, the U.S. took an important step towards addressing the devastating global impact of tobacco by signing the World Health Organization's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. Tell Washington it's time to finish the job and join other leading nations in ratifying this treaty.  Read more » Blocking Black Juries in CRIMINAL JUSTICE The right to be tried by a jury of peers is a cornerstone of the U.S. justice system. But tell that to prosecutors across the South, who are finding dozens of ways to keep blacks out of the jury box - thereby creating a disproportionate number of all-white juries. Criminal Justice blogger Te-Ping Chen writes how lawyers are using any reason at all to pull blacks off juries: from accusing blacks of being "arrogant" to "looking like a drug dealer." Read more » Silencing Science Teachers in ENVIRONMENT Weeks after conservative activists convinced the Texas Board of Education to rewrite history, they are at it again. This time they want to silence science teachers who talk about climate change in a Colorado public school district. Environment blogger Nikki Gloudeman tells us how the Tea Party group, "Balanced Education for Everyone," is pushing their petition as a national test case. Read more » Glee’s Controversial Homosexuality in GAY RIGHTS Does the religious right have a problem with the television show Glee portraying homophobic people as ... too mean? Sure seems like it. Gay Rights blogger Mike Jones writes that one religious right leader is out with a call for Glee to stop portraying people against homosexuality as thugs, and instead treat the subject of homosexuality with more of a "love the sinner, hate the sin" mentality. Too bad there's just no sin to hate here. Read more » Have a great week, – The Change.org Team