Two Ben Carson interviews that went south

Honestly, I can't even...

I'm just going to let the clips speak for themselves.

Just when you think it couldn't get worse.

Ben Carson on bullets, bodies, and bereavement

So first a friend on Facebook shared this Gawker piece, which quoted Ben Carson as saying this during a Fox and Friends interview, on whether or not he'd visit the families of victims from the recent mass shooting in Oregon:

Probably not. I mean, I would probably have so many things on my agenda that I would go to the next one.

...

What?

And then Facebook suggested checking out this Rolling Stone article, which quoted Ben Carson's view on gun control, which he shared on Facebook:

There is no doubt that this senseless violence is breathtaking, but I never saw a body with bullet holes that was more devastating than taking the right to arm ourselves away.

...

I think I just heard two nails in the coffin of his campaign. Yes, a rather dark metaphor considering the topic.

But I'd be surprised if he makes it much further, at this point.

A MD Arts Day Tweet Cheat Sheet - when politics, social media & the arts collide

Hey there,

So I decided to post this up on my personal blog, because it was a nice intersection of several topics that are of particular interest to me.  I'm going to Maryland Arts Day for the third year in a row, representing Class Acts Arts.

And I wanted to make myself a Twitter cheat sheet, at least of all the people and organizations mentioned in the formal program, as well as whichever delegates I could find on Twitter (after two or so hours...).

Would have loved to do one of all the delegates attending and organizations represented, but I'm sure we'll find each other tomorrow. Maybe next year, I can get access to a attendee list ahead in time enough to to so. And if missed anyone, I apologize. This is certainly not a comprehensive list.

But I digress, here it is, complete with hyperlinks!!

You may also view or download the PDF at Google Drive.

Maryland Arts Day 2013 Tweet Cheat Sheet

Hashtags - #MDArtsday2013 #mdarts #mdlove

Americans for the Arts - @americans4arts

Maryland Citizens for the Arts - @ArtsAdvocate_MD

Maryland State Arts Council - @marylandarts

Susquehanna - @susquehannabank, Lead Sponsor

Veteran Artist Program - @VetArtistProg, A New Partnership

Governor Martin O’Malley - @GovernorOMalley

Program

Clarice Smith Center - @claricesmithctr, ED Susan Farr is the ‘13 Sue Hess MD Arts Advocate of the Year

Lt. Governor Anthony G. Brown - @ltgovbrown

Strathmore - @strathmore, Performer Matt Wigler was an Artist-inResidence in 2010

Manhattan School of Music - @MSMPresents, Performer Matt Wigler is a current student

Delegates on Twitter (some not as active as most)

District 2B (Washington County)

Neil Parrott - @neilparrott

District 3A (Frederick County)

Patrick Hogan - @PatrickNHogan

District 3B (Frederick & Washington County)

Michael Hough - @houghdelegate

District 4A (Frederick County)

Kathy Afzali - @Kathy_Afzali

Kelly Schulz - @KellySchulz

District 5A (Carroll County)

Justin Ready - @JustinReady

District 5B (Baltimore County)

Wade Kach - @WadeKach

District 6 (Baltimore County)

John Olszewski, Jr. - @JohnnyOJr

District 7 (Baltimore & Harford Counties)

Pat McDonough - @Pat_McDonough

Kathy Szeliga - @MarylandKathy

District 9a (Howard County)

Gail H. Bates - @BatesGail

Warren Miller - @delwarmill

District 11 (Baltimore County)

Jon Cardin - @JonCardin

Dan Morhaim - @DanMorhaim

District 13 (Howard County)

Guy Guzzone - @GuyGuzzone

District 14 (Montgomery County)

Anne R. Kaiser - @DelegateKaiser

Eric Luedtke - @EricLuedtke

Craig Zucker - @DelegateZucker

District 15 (Montgomery County)

Aruna Miller - @arunamiller

District 16 (Montgomery County)

Bill Frick - @billfrick

Ariana Kelly - @DelArianaKelly

District 17 (Montgomery County)

Kumar Barve - @KumarBarve

District 18 (Montgomery County)

Al Carr - @alfredcarr

Ana Sol Gutierrez - @asolg

Jeff Waldstreicher - @jwaldstreicher

District 19 (Montgomery County)

Sam Arora - @sam_arora

Bonnie Cullison - @Del_Cullison

District 20 (Montgomery County)

Tom Hucker - @tomhucker

Heather R. Mizeur - @heathermizeur

District 21 (Anne Arundel & Prince George’s Counties)

Barnara Frush - @delegate61hotma

District 22 (Prince George’s County)

Alonzo T. Washington - @DelegateATW

District 23B (Prince George’s County)

Marvin E. Holmes Jr. - @MarvinEHolmesJr

District 30 (Anne Arundel County)

Herb McMillan - @herbmcmillan

District 31 (Anne Arundel County)

Don Dwyer - @DelegateDwyer

Nic Kipke - @Kipke

District 32 (Anne Arundel County)

Pamela Beidle - @beidlep1

District 33A (Anne Arundel County)

Tony McConkey - @McConkey

District 35A (Harford County)
H Wayne Norman - @DelegateNorman

Donna Stifler - @DonnaStifler

District 36 (Caroline, Cecil, Kent & Queen Counties)

Mike Smigiel - @MikeSmigiel

District 37B (Caroline, Dorchester, Talbot & Wicomico Counties)

Jeannie Haddaway-Riccio - @jeannie_riccio

District 39 (Montgomery County)

Kirill Reznik - @DelegateReznik

A. Shane Robinson - @DelSRobinson

District 40 (Baltimore City)

Shawn Z. Tarrant – @DelegateTarrant

District 41 (Baltimore City)

Jill P Carter - @jillpcarter

Sandy Rosenberg - @delsandy

District 42 (Baltimore County)

Susan Aumann - @Susanaumann

District 43 (Baltimore City)

Maggie McIntosh - @DelMaggie43

Mary Washington, PhD - @DelMaryW

District 44 (Baltimore City)

Keiffer Mitchell - @KeifferMitchell

District 46 (Baltimore City)

Luke Clippinger - @lukeclippinger

District 47 (Prince George’s County)

Jolene Ivey - @joleneivey

Please bookmark and share with anyone else interested,

JR

Paul Ryan and the Arts

Hey there,

So this'll be the third blog I've posted about Paul Ryan. Following one looking at him and LGBT issues, and a more recent one on internet memes inspired by him, I wanted to do one taking a look at him and the arts.

First, I'd like to highlight a recent incident that might initially come to mind when you think about Paul Ryan and the arts, or specifically artists. Sometime recently, he cited Rage Against the Machine as his favorite band, to which RATM's Tom Morello saw an opening and went for it, via an opinion piece in Rolling Stone:

Paul Ryan's love of Rage Against the Machine is amusing, because he is the embodiment of the machine that our music has been raging against for two decades...

He goes on to say:

I wonder what Ryan's favorite Rage song is? Is it the one where we condemn the genocide of Native Americans? The one lambasting American imperialism? Our cover of "Fuck the Police"? Or is it the one where we call on the people to seize the means of production? So many excellent choices to jam out to at Young Republican meetings! (read more) 

This is a great segue to what is the focus of this piece, and ties in with research I did in grad school on how artists define community and arts advocacy. While Tom Morello might not have been speaking specifically to Paul Ryan's stance on other issues, he is speaking to being informed and civically participating in society and the democratic process.

My graduate studies were just the foundation for a larger conversation, how to get artists informed and advocating for themselves. To this purpose, Americans for the Arts' Action Fund has a great tool at their Action Center to look up the legislative voting records of those in public office, in terms of arts related legislation. Here's the page for Paul Ryan.

If you click on the votes tab, you'll see a break down of Paul Ryan's. What's important to notice is that it's not necessarily how he voted, but if you look at the score column next to that, whether it's a check mark or an "x".

You can see the details of what he voted on and how, but to sum it up from the graphical representation, over the course of the past thirteen years, he has one unscored vote, three voting with the arts, and twenty-nine against.

Twenty-nine.

And this tool is more helpful than some because it translates what each vote means in terms of whether its support of or against via the score columns, when others only have the votes without any context.

Again, like with my blog on Paul Ryan and LGBT issues, this isn't to say that anyone should be a one-issue voter. But if the arts are something you care about and support, then this is a great tool to use and keep track of representatives and how they feel about and act on the arts.

So check out his voting record, and think about how the arts affect your life as you consider all the other issues that matter you in this upcoming election,

- JR

Paul Ryan and the Meme'ing of life

Hey there,

So with the announcement of the presumptive (a technicality that just seems silly) Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney's vice presidential pick, Paul Ryan, thought it'd be a good chance to look at the ripple effects in the social media pool. This is turning into one in a limited series of posts on Paul Ryan as he intersects with my own interests. Last week, I blogged about Paul Ryan & LGBT issues. Later this week I'll be blogging about his support (or lack of support) for the arts.

The first would be Paul Ryan's twitter account, or should I say accounts, as there are two. One he was using as a representative who's last tweet as of the time of this post was:

My thoughts and prayers are with the victims, their families and everyone in Oak Creek who has been impacted by this tragic act of violence.
— Paul Ryan (@RepPaulRyan) August 5, 2012

And one he is using as the Republican VP pick, who's first tweet was:

I'm honored to join @mittromney on America's Comeback Team. mi.tt/Romney-Ryan #RomneyRyan2012
— Paul Ryan (@PaulRyanVP) August 11, 2012

Not only does this mean that there were 6 days of Twitter silence, but it seems he's sacrificed one channel for the other. I would personally say that this would have been a great opportunity to show that he's still engaged in the work of his current office while campaigning, and that one doesn't have to choose. But it also seems that both accounts have been used to broadcast rather than for discourse, and while both are forms of engagement, I believe the latter more active engagement is where social media has its true value, rather than the former, more passive and traditional one.

Now where things get interesting for me are the memes and parodies that have been inspired by this pick. In fact, the main meme is actually a marriage with a previous one, the Ryan Gosling one. If you're not familiar with it, check out this article at Social Times from last year. If you're familiar with it (or read the link), the following will make sense in the context of humor:

Hey girl, let's take the "u" out of "uterus."
— Paul Ryan Gosling (@PaulRyanGosling) August 20, 2012

Mashable actually has a piece from last week about the Paul Ryan Gosling meme:

“Have election season, will meme” would be an apt tagline for this year’s presidential election, as evidenced by the latest and so far greatest of Twitter political parody accounts, @PaulRyanGosling. (read more)

If you wanna see some gems, The Daily Beast highlighted some of the best ones. And in true form with the Ryan Gosling meme, which was visually driven (images with captions), there is a Paul Ryan Gosling Tumblr. The internets aside, this meme has apparently made a real world appearance. Jezebel has a piece about a Paul Ryan Gosling quote flown over an actual Paul Ryan rally.

As long as we're talking real world effects from the memes of cyberspace, Policymic has a piece on the pros and cons of this one:

...the “Paul Ryan Gosling” meme could be damaging to the Romney/Ryan ticket; especially, since one of the narratives Obama and the Democrats are going to hammer away is the GOP’s supposed “War on Women.” In this sense, the “Paul Ryan Gosling” Tumblr is pure evil genius. (read more)

And I'm sure it's just going to get more interesting over the next couple of months, especially once the debates start. One meme I personally hope to see more of is this one:

Yes, that would be RuPaul Ryan. A good note to end on, I think. Any Paul Ryan Gosling favorites you have? Definitely share them.

The only other political meme that seems to have gained traction in recent time is the "Texts from Hillary" one. Are there any other political memes you've observed or remembered that compare?

Please comment with any of them, or just thoughts in general.

- JR

It's not about class envy

Hey there,

So a friend of mine shared on Facebok a Politico piece, "Ryan’s mom is new face in Medicare wars". A friend of his replied with a response (and I'm paraphrasing) asking about all the rhetoric with regard to class envy, from his friends on the left. And he put it in the context of what is he supposed to teach his sons, if financial responsibility is a character flaw, and being rich is "demonized". To which I responded with this:

[My friend's friend]: I believe you've taken one word/label completely out of context from [my friend]'s comment. I'm not saying it doesn't have the tone you're justifiably reacting to, but I'd try to look at it without having a proverbial axe to grind. Because this isn't about class envy. 

In this context, I would say there's a difference between being "rich" and being "financially responsible", although I prefer the term "financially successful and upwardly mobile". I would also say that the matter is further complicated by one's responsibility to self, and one's responsibility to community. And there is the rub. 

I'll also say that I would warn you against implying that anyone who isn't making a profit professionally (i.e. saving more than their spending) implies that they're financially irresponsible. But that's a whole other bag of worms 

With [my friend]'s use, despite successfully amassing wealth, the implication is that because of Ms. Ryan's financial status, she probably won't be able to speak intelligently to people who aren't in her financial position, much less understand that because of their economic situation they might not have the freedom or options she has. 

So the other point with being responsible is that (again in this context) "rich" people see themselves financially responsible only for themselves, to which I will say that this is indeed a character flaw of such people, as they exist in their community. To beat dead horses, if money is power and with great power comes great responsibility, then I would conclude that the more one is financially successful, the more responsibility they have, as a member of their community, to others. 

And herein lies the rub. For "rich people", it is often perceived that not only is that responsibility a choice, but it's a choice that "rich" people don't make. Because when financially successfully people do make that choice, I believe we tend to call them philanthropists. 

So I would say bring your sons up with the ambition that you seem to have if not more, teach them the need to be financially responsible, but don't stop there. Let them know that it's not about how much they make, but what they decide to do with their financial success that will make them great.

Anyway, it was one of the FB posts where I realized I pretty much just wrote a substantial blog entry, and so wanted to share here. Due to respect for my friend's privacy, instead of linking to the original post, I had to copy mine in it's entirety here. And, to clarify, by no means am I saying that this post is a comprehensive definition of any of these terms. I'm merely breaking down the understanding and implication of "rich" in the context of this post and response.

With that, curious what others think, as I believe this is just scraping the surface of larger debates and discussions that have been going on in the public sphere. I realize that the idea of financial successful people having more responsibility to their community and society is a value judgement on my own part, to which I would attribute I get from my mom, and not just my Catholic upbringing, but really seeing her practice it.

She would practice it to the point where my dad would regularly joke (and it all comes from a place of love), about how many friends and families she helps and sometimes takes care of back in the Philippines. But if you know many older Filipinos, you would know that this is not an uncommon practice. What's remarkable is that it is practiced regardless of how much or how little they make.

But I digress, in this case, here in America, I believe that the difference between rich people and philanthropists, rich people think that being successful in and of itself is what makes you great while philanthropists believe that it doesn't stop there, and it is what you do with your succes that makes you great.

Would like to hear what you think, please let me know in the comments. Share any links that are relevant for you. And definitely share any examples that come to mind, or which you've experienced,

-JR

Links I shared today

Hey there,

Trying out a little experiment. Because of the nuggets of time I know I view social media feeds in, I wanted to amalgamate what I've shared today so far (mainly on Facebook & Twitter), for anyone that might've missed any of it so far.

As you might know, my content (both personal and shared) tends to focus on the arts, LGBT issues, nonprofit stuff, politics & policy, and social media, plus random funnies here and there with a dollop of geeky nerdery. And honestly, this selection is partly just the roll of the social media die, and is by no means objective. That being said, I do my best to post and share particularly compelling and timely content.

Personal

• Aids Walk Portland - support the Portland Gay Mens Chorus fundraiser but going to my friend Ricky's page. He originally had a $100 goal but people were so eager to support that he increased it to $200!!- donate here
• Late Night with Jimmy Fallon - so Joshua Bennett is someone I had the pleasure of sharing the stage with here in DC, and he recently moved to NYC. He's barely been there, he is one of the dancers in the following clip, Battle of the Instand Dance Crews, Part 1 - watch on Hulu here

Nonprofit

• Finally! Using Social Data to Increase Fundraising Revenue and Lift Your Advocacy on 8/23 - register at readytalk here

Politics

• 96-year-old Woman Who Voted During Jim Crow Is Denied Photo ID - read more at Nashville Scene
• In-Flight Voter Registration Available From Virgin America - read more at Huff Post Travel
• Obama better for world economy: poll - read more at Yahoo! News
• Romney Answers Obama’s Tax Returns Challenge and Makes Things Much Much Worse - read more at Politicususa
• Tom Morello: 'Paul Ryan Is the Embodiment of the Machine Our Music Rages Against' - read more at Rolling Stone
• What the Right Gets Wrong About the FRC Shooting - read more at Mother Jones

Social Media

• 42 lessons I've learned from my first 10,000 Tweets - read more at Jay Palter
• Does Google+ Matter for Small Business Marketing - read more at socialmouths
• Fear of Missing Out Drives Social Media Use - read more at MediaPostBlogs

And this, Cirque du Soleil's Totem at the National Harbor here near DC :-)

And I just got home, so who knows what else I'll share this evening!!

- JR

Paul Ryan on LGBT Isuues

Hey there,

So if you're part of and/or involved with the LGBT community now you've probably seen the Human Rights Campaign's response to the GOP's VP nomination by now:

Let's go ahead and assume that there aren't only 4 things one should know about Paul Ryan, but these are the ones HRC highlighted.

Erwin de Leon, a researcher and writer in the DC area, wrote a piece for Nonprofit Quarterly, "Ryan, Romney’s VP Pick, Stirs Viral Response from LGBT Group", and among the points of his article, I love the point he ends with, explaining the promptness with which HRC responded to the announcement.

If Romney, Ryan and most of the Republican Party didn’t adopt anti-LGBT positions, then perhaps they wouldn’t have such determined and energized opponents. (read more)

One issue that has come up is the larger conversation in terms of what LGBT issues are. This has prompted numerous exchanges all over the internets and social media, such as the one below, between Dan Savage and Chris Barron:

@chrisrbarron @cjaymahoney Ryan's position and record on gay issues: advocate.com/politics/elect…
— Dan Savage (@fakedansavage) August 12, 2012

@fakedansavage you nor HRC nor the Advocate get to decide what qualifies as gay issues. @cjaymahoney
— Chris Barron (@ChrisRBarron) August 12, 2012

And that's just the tip of the iceberg. To be fair the exchange was more in depth than this selection, and I gotta give props to Dan Savage for RT'ing tweets that might be critical or disagree with him.

But personal thoughts and opinions aside, I recommend reading craigkg's piece on the Daily Kos, "ABC News: Ryan more pro-LGBT than GOP; Reality: not so much". He breaks down Paul Ryan's policy history into facts based on legislative voting records, which HRC turns into a scorecard for members of congress:

[Paul Ryan's] scores, in order for the 111th through 107th Congresses are, in order: Zero, 10, Zero, Zero, Zero. That's on a 100 point scale. (read more)

So...there's that. And don't mistake me, I don't think anyone should be a single issue voter, and I'm actually going to be blogging soon about Paul Ryan's support for the arts. If anything, it's curious when a person belongs to different groups & communities whose interests sometimes come into conflict with each other. Ultimately, I believe it's the duty of every individual to inform themselves, which is what I'm just beginning to do.

I suppose I've been fortunate that I have not been in that situation, and all the various communities I'm a part of, the different aspects of my individual identity, more or less exist in harmony with each other in my own life.

Any other articles you recommend checking out about Paul Ryan and his stance or history on LGBT issues? Let me know. Are you a member of the LGBT community that supports him? Please share why.

Also, coming up next week for Social Media Monday, I'll be blogging about Paul Ryan and the response his nomination had in social media. Definitely let me know if you've seen any particular memes are parody accounts on twitter, as well,

Until next time,

JR

Chik-fil-A's LGBT stance: Business & politics collide

A visual meme from
the Courage Campaign

You've probably heard about it by now.

"The Muppets have filed for divorce from Chick-fil-A citing irreconcilable differences" (thank you, Ricky!!).  And just in case you haven't, or even if you have,  Jezebel has a great piece on it, "Muppets and Homophobes Locked in Fierce Battle Over Chick-fil-A":

Last week, Chick-fil-A's CEO confirmed what liberal fun-ruiners already knew — the restaurant not only serves up delicious waffle fries, but also some good old fashioned from-scratch bigoted homophobia. Like Mom used to make! (read more...)

This caused the Muppets, via the Jim Henson Company, specifically their Facebook page, to assert their own stance on the matter:

A parody of
Chick-fil-A's catchphrase 

The Jim Henson Company has celebrated and embraced diversity and inclusiveness for over fifty years and we have notified Chick-Fil-A that we do not wish to partner with them on any future endeavors. Lisa Henson, our CEO is personally a strong supporter of gay marriage and has directed us to donate the payment we received from Chick-Fil-A to GLAAD. (http://www.glaad.org/)

If you're on Facebook, you can go here to see the note. As of the time of this post, the note has had almost 12,000 likes, roughly 5,600 shares, and over 2,500 comments, mostly positive and supportive. And as you can see from the images posted, it's inspired a number of visual memes shared via social media.

The divorce also inspired calls for a boycott of Chick-fil-A from the LGBT community and its allies, but als a day of support from those who consider themselves stewards of the "traditional family".

The Atlantic posted an interesting opinion piece, addressing the call to boycott,  "In Defense of Eating at Chick-fil-A" which kicks off the article by asking, seemingly rhetorically:

Do we really want a country where people won't do commerce with those who have beliefs different than their own? (read more...)

I consider myself a man of logic, and for the most part, I could follow the author's point, and agreed with certain aspects of it. Until he stopped short of seeing his argument out to fruition. While I can empathize with his feelings about the knee-jerk reaction to scream "boycott" in a crowded theatre when you realize a company you've supported doesn't support you, to me this causal relationship, this flow of money can't be ignored.

Because I'd rather be part of a society where we might feel the desire to boycott more than we need to, versus one that encourages a culture of consuming without considering consequence and not speaking up against discrimination.

There is always consequence where profit is concerned. In fact I would say that it's actually hypocritical to claim that you treat every customer with "honor, dignity and respect", when as soon as you have the money of your LGBT customers you spend it on policies and rhetoric that causes harm to them. It's as if to say they're only your customers at the time of purchase.

And to encourage people to spend blindly, without thought for what business owners spend their profits on, when it's spent on organizations that affect others' lives for better or worse...I would say that is the worst trait of consumer culture.

On the flip-side you have Boston's Mayor, Mayor Thomas M. Menino, who has vowed to keep the franchise out of his city. Time has a piece on this, "Boston Mayor Blocks Chick-fil-A Franchise from City over Homophobic Attitude":

"You can’t have a business in the city of Boston that discriminates against the population. We’re an open city, we’re a city that’s at the forefront of inclusion." (read more...)

What it comes down to is corporate philanthropy. Grantspace has a page answering the question "Where can I find information on corporate giving?"

And it's the realization on the part of businesses and corporations that what they do with their profits can encourage or discourage consumption of their product. Anything that goes to something other than their own personal pursuit of happiness and begins to affect others is up for scrutiny. While most corporations have acknowledged this to some extent, it seems Chick-fil-A believes that their consumers and the causes their profit support exist in two different worlds.

Hopefully this will be a wake-up call for them as similar issues have been for others companies and even non-profits, teaching that eternal and universal lesson, with every action comes an equal and opposite reaction.

This is a bad thing when that action works against and excludes people. And a good thing when the action works with and includes others.

Divided, we fall, and all. Obviously, all this is just my opinion and based on personal experience. Would love to hear what others think, even if, especially if it's a different point of view, as long as it's constructive and respectful.

- JR

Artists and the Affordable Care Act

Hey there,

So while trying to stay informed about the various reactions to last week's Supreme Court decision, with regard to President Obama's Affordable Care Act, I've been trying to pay particular attention to the decision's impact on the artist community.

Below are three selections, I've come across and highly recommend checking out.

The first is from ARTINFO.com, a site from Louise Blouin Media (go to here to learn more about 'em). The article, How Artists Will Be Affected by the Supreme Court's Decision to Uphold Obama's Affordable Care Act, was written by Reid Singer & Shane Ferro, two writers based in New Yrok City.

Here's an article at the Huffington Post, A Victory for the Creative Economy. This was written by Adam Hutt, the Executive Director of Fractured Atlas. If you're not familiar with the organization, here is their mission:

Fractured Atlas is a non-profit organization that serves a national community of artists and arts organizations. Our programs and services facilitate the creation of art by offering vital support to the artists who produce it. We help artists and arts organizations function more effectively as businesses by providing access to funding, healthcare, education, and more, all in a context that honors their individuality and independent spirit. By nurturing today's talented but underrepresented voices, we hope to foster a dynamic and diverse cultural landscape of tomorrow.

Go to their website to find out more about the organization.

The final article is up at Americans for the Arts', ARTSblog, The Supreme Court's Healthcare Decision & The Arts. The piece was written by Narric Rome, senior director of federal affairs and arts education at AFTA. And if you're not familiar with AFTA, here's some info from their about page:

Founded in 1960, Americans for the Arts is the nation's leading nonprofit organization for advancing the arts and arts education. From offices in Washington, DC and New York City, we provide a rich array of programs that meet the needs of over 150,000 members and stakeholders. We are dedicated to representing and serving local communities and to creating opportunities for every American to participate in and appreciate all forms of the arts.

All-in-all, a huge step forward, particularly for individual artists. This isn't to say that there isn't more work to do, and all of it is moot if artists aren't aware of or don't take advantage of the benefits they get from the ACA.

Any other articles others have come across with regard to how this act and last week's decision affects the artist community? Does this affect and significantly change your own situation with regard to increasing your healthcare options and actually making things more affordable?

Will definitely be keeping track of this, especially as the law continues to be implemented over the next couple of years.

JR

P.S. If you're interested in following any of the authors of the pieces written on Twitter, here they are:

• Adam Hutt
• Narric Afta
• Reid Singer
• Shane Ferro

Follow @AWayofLife0

5 selections on NAACP's endorsement of same-sex marriage

Hey,

So checking my Facebook feed, there were multiple friends and others I subscribe to who had posted about the NAACP, specifically their recent endorsement of same-sex marriage.

As a person of color (my father's black, my mom is Filipino) and a member of the LGBT community, this is obviously an issue that is of relevance to me. That being said, I wanted to pay it forward, and share these pieces from the past several days which showed up on my wall:

• NAACP Endorses Gay Marriage, Huffington Post Politics
• NAACP President Hopes Group's Support for Marriage Equality "Will Be a Game-Changer", Metro Weekly (DC)
• NAACP Supports Same-Sex Marriage As Civil Right, NPR
• NAACP president chokes up over support for marriage equality, The Raw Story
• Obama leads on marriage equality, the NAACP and others follow, Post Partisan

Again, just wanted to share, and curious to see how this will continue to play out. What makes me hopeful is that more and more communities are coming together over what they have in common, and working together. Seems like a win-win situation, when we realize that what affects some of us, in the end affects us all.

Please share any thoughts, as well as other articles from the past several days, worth checking out,

JR