D Gregory Smith

With the rhetoric being used by the Pope to his bishops, I have every reason to believe that these are not words of someone struggling to understand the reality of LGBT persons, these are the orders of attack given by a supreme commander to his highest officials.

Nuns have been on the cutting edge of social issues (it can be argued) for over a thousand years. What you may not know is this: they are also some of the fiercest advocates of social justice for LGBT persons.

Anyone who has watched Olympic champion Greg Louganis do his thing from a diving board knows that he possesses grace, power, determination and skill. But can he move on the dance floor? Louganis' Facebook fans have launched a campaign to encourage "Dancing With the Stars" producers to cast Louganis for the show.

Janus was the Roman God of Thresholds, of transition, of beginnings and ending. He is often depicted with two faces, one for looking forward and one for looking back. January, the beginning month of the new year is named for Janus, and so, it's natural that humans take this time to look back -- and look forward -- at the approach of the New Year...

This time of the year is probably the best time (at least in our hemisphere) for World AIDS Day. Our twenty four hour days are filled with more darkness than light in December than any other month of the year. In some places it can be very dark and dreary, indeed. It’s an appropriate time of the year to remember the darkness of HIV.

I’ve written about the importance of Rural Pride Celebrations before — but if you want to see it firsthand, or if you ever wondered what the 2011 Montana Pride Celebration was like, well wonder no more.

Candidates are actively interrupting scientific communication in this country. Blatantly standing up in the middle of the show and making factual inferences with fantastical statements. Distracting people from the reality hiding behind the curtain with a little folksy humor or superstitious nonsense. And I’m annoyed.

Michele Bachmann has championed the “Christian” cause, sprinkling her speeches with scripture and holy buzzphrases. But one in particular caught my ear.

The Williams Institute has released a report summarizing academic studies and other documented evidence of employment discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, and the negative impact such discrimination has on lesbians, gay men, bisexuals and transgender (LGBT) people.

My worldview doesn’t condemn anyone else to eternal fire and damnation. It doesn’t threaten anyone else at all, really. People ... may think they’re being threatened, but I think they’re just scared — too scared to look at the reality of life with open hearts. Their hearts are set in stone — immovable, inflexible, afraid.

I’ve been struggling to find a meaningful way to discuss the Oslo tragedy -- and I’m at the point of simply admitting the sheer frustration I have with my abilities as a writer, as a therapist, as a commentator -- and as a human being. Maybe you’re there, too.

In the New England Journal of Medicine this week is an excellent research study on HIV, entitled Preventing HIV-1 Infection with Antiretroviral Therapy.

Marriage, civil unions, Montana GOP, and Communion -- What do all of these things have in common? The answer in my head is this: injustice.

You may have heard that actor Tracy Morgan (30 Rock) mentioned in his stand up act in Nashville, Tennessee, that if his son were gay, he would “pull out a knife and stab” him ... So what does Tracy Morgan have to do with the State of Montana?

Look up a rural Pride event this summer. Go to it. Let us know you support us. Clap at the little parade, dance in a barn, make out with a hot cowboy, cowgirl and/or farmer, encourage a teen, hug a drag queen, listen to an elder, give money to a PFLAG chapter.