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Skipping to the Piccolo
  • Home
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    • The Rainbow Kingdom
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Posts / View All
  • New York City Skyline as seen from Jersey City. Photo by David W. Shelton

    Remembering the September 11, 2001 attacks

    September 12, 2019
  • Unification: Rise of the Thunderblade

    Unification: Rise of the Thunderblade

    May 8, 2019
  • Battlestar Galactica and the quest for a great story

    May 6, 2019
  • Image copyright by CBS/Paramount Pictures.

    Lessons from Star Trek are timeless

    March 9, 2019
  • Star Blazers: The power of a great story

    March 5, 2019
  • Finger pointing at viewer while holding a Bible

    “I am a Christian, therefore…”

    February 26, 2019
  • Same-sex marriage rights under attack again in Tennessee

    February 17, 2019
  • The Irony of “Keep Christ in Christmas”

    December 22, 2018
  • GLAAD poll finds LGBTQ support slipping

    January 28, 2018
  • Adam West (1928-2017)

    June 10, 2017
New York City Skyline as seen from Jersey City. Photo by David W. Shelton

Remembering the September 11, 2001 attacks

By David W. Shelton On September 12, 2019 · Add Comment · In General Commentaries, Politics
It's been 18 years since our country was attacked. Our sober reflection on that horrific event is also a time to consider how far we have fallen since the Twin Towers fell.
Read More »
Finger pointing at viewer while holding a Bible

Sincere Religious Beliefs as an Excuse to Discriminate?

By David W. Shelton On February 13, 2014 · 1 Comment · In Gay Rights, General Commentaries, Hate Groups, Politics
For years, anti-gay politicians and religious impersonators have been warning their followers that the gays want to put preachers in jail and that LGBT equality will allow the gays to fully and legally intimidate, bully, and discriminate against Christians. A new flurry of bills throughout the country has tipped their cards to the rest of us — and the reality of their goals is nothing short of horrifying. While these professional bigots do all they can to convince us that the gays are the danger, they’re working hard to put the gays in jail, and give legal blessing to anti- gay discrimination.
Read More »

Maggie Gallagher Suddenly Thinks Boycotts are the New McCarthyism

By David W. Shelton On July 13, 2013 · 2 Comments · In Gay Marriage, Gay Rights, Politics
For Maggie Gallagher, a boycott of this year's Thanksgiving blockbuster sci-fi film Ender's Game is like McCarthyism. Of course, such a nonsensical claim rings completely hollow because of her own sordid love affair with boycotts. She conveniently ignores not only her own organization's long history of boycotts, but that of her fellow anti-gay activists as well.
Read More »

How to Not be a Viewed as a Religious Bigot

By David W. Shelton On July 6, 2013 · 30 Comments · In General Commentaries, Politics
The greatest fear in modern the modern anti-gay world these days is simple: being viewed as a bigot. Nothing sends a chill down the area where the spine normally resides of our spineless, bigoted neighbors — than being called for what they are: Bigots.
Read More »

Four Words. Foresight. For Clarksville.

By David W. Shelton On December 18, 2012 · Add Comment · In Gay Rights, podcast, Politics

Over the next few weeks, I will be posting compelling reasons and examples of nondiscrimination policies that include sexual orientation and/or gender identity. I have asked the City of Clarksville, Tennessee to expand its own internal policy to include both sexual orientation and gender identity to its internal nondiscrimination policy. Such a change would not affect any business or organization that is not managed by the City’s human resources department.

Interestingly, local anti-equality activists have started a smear campaign against this common-sense policy, and as usual, their tactics include an astonishing amount of disinformation and known falsehoods.

Read More »

American Churches Will Not Be Forced to Marry Gays

By David W. Shelton On August 29, 2012 · 2 Comments · In Christianity, Gay Marriage, podcast, Politics
How to sell a lie: First, convince your audience that you, and only you have the truth. Then feed them half truths and manipulated data to build their trust and make them reliant on your teet for every single bit of information they receive. Then bring out the big lies. This is how the far right has been convinced that churches will be forced to marry gays — there's not a single shred of evidence to support this claim, yet every single wingnut pundit and commentator says this without impunity. Not only is there not a single shred of evidence to support the claim, there's not a single gay rights group or a single activist that even remotely WANTS to force churches to marry gays.
Read More »

So I did this TV show…

By David W. Shelton On June 27, 2012 · Add Comment · In Christianity, Gay Marriage, Politics
Thanks so much to the folks at NewsChannel5+ for helping us get the word out about the Conversation over Coffee — and it was live TV. Also on the set was Terry McMoore and his ever-so-gorgeous wife Wanda. My God. I did live TV. Yikes! Check it out!
Read More »

President Obama endorses marriage equality

By David W. Shelton On May 9, 2012 · Add Comment · In Gay Marriage, Politics
President Obama announced his support for marriage equality during an interview with ABC News this afternoon:
"I have to tell you that over the course of several years as I have talked to friends and family and neighbors, when I think about members of my own staff who are in incredibly committed monogamous relationships, same-sex relationships, who are raising kids together; when I think about those soldiers or airmen or marines or sailors who are out there fighting on my behalf and yet feel constrained, even now that 'don't ask, don't tell' is gone, because they are not able to commit themselves in a marriage, at a certain point I've just concluded that for me personally it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same sex couples should be able to get married," Obama told Roberts in an interview to appear on ABC's "Good Morning America" Thursday.
Interestingly, right-wing Republicans who said they would never vote for him have declared... that they would never, ever, ever vote for him. Of course, the religious right and hate groups are all declaring their utter outrage. Thank you, Mr. President. This is going to be an interesting election year.
Read More »

Anti-gay hate groups show true colors and tantrums

By David W. Shelton On May 2, 2012 · 5 Comments · In Gay Rights, Hate Groups, Politics
In the long quest toward reconciliation between LGBT Christians and the Church at large, we must be clear about reality. This is no easy task. Quite frankly, there are plenty of people who are convinced that it’s not even remotely possible. If I weren’t a man of faith, I might even agree with that assessment. This crazy idea might just be impossible. However difficult or even impossible the task might be, I’m reminded of several things. First, I am a man of faith. My faith isn’t in myself, or even my abilities. It certainly isn’t in my fellow man or in the Church. The object and focus of my faith is in Jesus Christ Himself — who was very clear about what we considered to be impossible. After all, He said all things are possible. All things. All. Who then can be saved? Anyone. Who then can be healed? Anyone. Who then can be restored? Anyone. Who then can be brought together? Any one. No exceptions. No disclaimers. No asterisks.
Read More »

Day of Silence Gets Anything but the Silent Treatment

By David W. Shelton On April 18, 2012 · 1 Comment · In Gay Rights, Hate Groups, Politics
Day of Silence, a project of the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), remains one of the most powerful messages against the kind of bullying that is directed at LGBT kids across the country. Its message is simple: Be silent to end the silence that bullied kids get from school administration and community leaders regarding their plight. The event has garnered significant opposition over the past 16 years, including psudo-religious groups who are particularly miffed over “politicizing” our schools.
Read More »

Allen West: “Progressive Democrats are Communists”

By David W. Shelton On April 12, 2012 · Add Comment · In Politics, Scandals
In America, we have a wide range of political views that typically vote Republican. There are those who are simply Republican because they agree with the party's fiscal platform (which is probably a majority, I would guess), there are the right wing politicos, the Tea Party supporters, and then there are the batshit crazy wingnut teabaggers. A classic example of the latter is whackadoodle Florida Congressman Allen West. He makes most Tea Party folks look sane. This guy puts the batshit in batshittery. Interestingly, though, the previous sentence is one that I never thought I'd have to write. Too bad.
Read More »

Rick Santorum “Suspends” Presidential Campaign

By David W. Shelton On April 10, 2012 · Add Comment · In Politics
Rick Santorum, GOP candidate for President of the United States, has announced that he will "suspend" his campaign. Don't ask me what the hell "suspend" means, but generally no one "unsuspends" a Presidential campaign when they're getting trounced in the polls.
Read More »

Lies: the New Christian Value?

By David W. Shelton On April 10, 2012 · 14 Comments · In Christianity, Gay Christians, Hate Groups, Politics
As the quest for full equality for LGBT Americans continues its long march toward inevitability, the “religious right” has beefed up its newest and most powerful weapon: lies. Sadly, this new arsenal of multiple abject falsehoods is nothing new, and has been employed for decades. Worse yet, these baldfaced concoctions are blended with half-truths and cunning deception, leaving their supporters with little clue just how vile these groups really are.
Read More »

Religious Liberty Does Not Trump Individual Rights

By David W. Shelton On April 5, 2012 · 6 Comments · In Gay Rights, Politics
One of the great “debates” of this election cycle has swirled around the question of whether a person can use “religious beliefs” as a legitimate reason to discriminate against gays and lesbians. This same argument is also being employed for a renewed assault on women's rights.
Read More »

Powerful performances throughout ‘8’

By David W. Shelton On March 4, 2012 · 8 Comments · In Gay Marriage, Politics
Last night, more than 30,000 people tuned in to watch a free, live presentation of 8, a play written from the transcripts of testimony during the Perry v Schwarzenegger trial. The finished script was written by Dustin Lance Black, the Academy Award winning writer who turned in scripts for Milk and last year’s J. Edgar.
Read More »

Tennessee Congresswoman Appears on Hate Group Radio Show

By David W. Shelton On February 25, 2012 · 5 Comments · In Hate Groups, Politics
Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn not only appeared on a radio show run by a SPLC-certified hate group, but was "thankful" for that appearance.

Blackburn, who voted to oppose the payroll tax holiday, and has made an asinine issue of incandescent light bulbs, showed that her bulb was clearly dimmed when she appeared on "FRC Radio" with AFA leader "Time Wildmon" (sic) and FRC president Tony Perkins. Both organizations are listed as hate groups because of their frequent dispensation of known falsehoods.
Read More »
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    David W. Shelton is a writer, graphic designer, activist, and business owner. He currently lives in Clarksville, TN, and has had works appear in The Leaf-Chronicle, The Advocate, The Tennessean, and Impact Magazine.
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