gay

26 Sep 2016

Rainbow and Rebel flags for Willy Marshall

By Paul Duane

Jessica Wise

founder – The Litas

Devin Townsend

recording artist

Pat Bagley

Pulitzer finalist political cartoonist

Sean Whalen

men’s coach

Robert Clark

National Geographic photographer

Kurt Bestor

composer

Richard Dutcher

filmmaker

Marianne Willamson

author & spiritual teacher

Steven Wilson

Grammy nominated musician & producer

Peter Breinholt

singer / songwriter

Genpo Roshi

Zen Master Genpo Roshi

In a zeitgeist of being politically correct, Willy Marshall is a rebel that’s hard to argue with.

Utah’s first openly gay mayor defends the rights of business owners to hire and fire HIM beause he’s gay. Freedom is that important to him. I’ve interviewed plenty of people who say they love freedom, but this guy takes the cake.

Aside from that, Willy is just a hilarious, classic Corvette driving dude. A brilliant embodiment of the “sacred clown” (what is that? read more about it here).

In keeping with Willy’s promise – if you are serious about running a campaign and want coaching on how to run for office, you can contact Willy Marshal here: https://www.facebook.com/willy.marshall.7

_________________________________________
Subscribe on iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher or TuneIn
_________________________________________
Want more exclusive insights? Want to support the show? Get my monthly handwritten newsletter, delivered via USPS in your mail box. Nothing electronic about it:

20 Feb 2016

An insiders view of the Mormon Political Machine

By Paul Duane

_________________________________________

Justin Anderson is a self styled citizen lobbyist and political strategist. He comes on the show to tell the story of working as a political adviser to the upper echelons of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Justin shares with us some jaw dropping perspectives on what happens when The Mormon Church grapples with issues such as LGBT rights, gay marriage, and medicinal marijuana.

I have UTMOST respect for Justin for being willing to speak the truth, and to do it from a place of love – FOR THE TRUTH.

* * * * * * * * *

ADDENDUM

* * * * * * * * *

Since this interview was published, many of you have asked “What happened to Justin?” I asked Justin to answer that question for you. Here is his answer:

* * * * * * * * * *

Hey Paul,

It’s been about six months since you invited me to sit on your show to discuss my interactions with church leaders and officials. The day I went on your show changed my life forever.

The weeks following the show I was left to evaluate my relationship with God and the Church. I was committed to stay and to work through my faith crisis. I was committed to do everything it took to “remain in the fold.”

During the weeks following the show I had to request the assistance of an attorney. Ecclesiastical leaders of mine showed hostility towards me in emails and voicemails. The Church asked that I delete all my emails from their Correlation Dept and other depts to remove all proof of discussions. I wasn’t expecting an apology, Elder Oaks made it clear that the Church does not apologize. I wasn’t expecting an apology but I was expecting any threats either, I was wrong on the latter.

The hostility that I encountered by my ward leaders added to my anxiety that already existed. Trying to find room for myself, and others with beliefs like my own, I was left with no choice but to resign through the means of an attorney. It was denied when I asked to remove my records directly to my bishop, and after further hostility, I had to move forward with an attorney.

For the past few months I’ve been faced with difficult emotions. I’m still processing my faith crisis which I’ve been struggling with for over a year. I’m trying to figure out if I’ll ever participate in another religion. Im trying to figure out what my life has in store for me. In fact, I sometimes refer to Mormons as “we” as if I’m still in the Church. A part of my heart will always remain Mormon, and I welcome and cherish that. “Do what is right and let the consequence follow” is one of the many Mormon phrases and beliefs that I will always hold close to my heart.

Closing that chapter of my life has been painful, but I welcome the new chapter with hope and excitement.

Your friend,

Justin

* * * * * * * * *

28 Apr 2015

Mark Lawrence of Restore Our Humanity

By Paul Duane

Mark Lawrence director of Restore Our Humanity joined me on the show today to talk about recent human rights happenings in Utah. One particular item of interest is the annual convention for The World Congress of Families that will be taking place in Salt Lake City in October. The WCF is an organization that pedals intolerance and violence, cloaked in a pro-family guise.

A coalition has been formed to do three things:

Educate the public on what the World Congress of Families is truly about
Educate the public on the involvement of the LDS Church with the WCF
Create a TRUE pro-family platform that will pervade the local culture, firmly establishing Salt Lake City as the most family – friendly city in America.

Restore Our Humanity is seeking people who are willing to donate a mere $5 per month for 12 months. These $5 donations will simply be automatically paid out of your credit / debit card account without you needing to worry about it. Visit http://www.restoreourhumanity.org/donate/ to add your support to this very important cause.

On a less serious, yet related note… One of the songs that played on the way to a break was “Gay Agenda” by The Toros – click to listen (which happens to be a band I played bass in). This was purely coincidental. The commercial break songs are chosen at random by a computer… yet, there could not be a more appropos song at that moment in the show!

22 Dec 2014

Paul Duane falls victim to polarized thinking

By Paul Duane

LDS Church backtracks on it’s statement of support of equality laws in Utah: http://utahpoliticalcapitol.com/2014/12/21/mormon-church-walks-back-statement-of-support-for-non-discrimination-laws/

The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows: http://www.dictionaryofobscuresorrows.com/

My Husband’s Not Gay! LDS men in SLC, who are attracted to men, but have married women, make their way onto a TLC reality show: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/20/my-husbands-not-gay_n_6359768.html

Utah Highway Patrol Officers go above and beyond to protect and serve: http://fox13now.com/2014/12/12/troopers-take-elderly-woman-to-see-gravely-ill-son-after-she-hit-patrol-vehicle-during-traffic-stop/

29 May 2014

Abi Harrison

By Paul Duane

I have a lot of great shows. I get to talk to a lot of interesting people with unusual stories…. today’s show went above and beyond my expectations.

Last week, I was at a comedy showcase; most of the performers are people that I know well. Abi Harrison was on the bill; I had heard of her but never have seen her perform. Abi proceeded to take the stage and absolutely destroy the crowd. She was hysterical… her quirky observational style hearkened hints of Mitch Hedberg and Maria Bamford. I immediately approached her and invited her onto the show, not knowing a single thing about who she really is. For the next few days, my girlfriend and I have been talking about how insanely funny Abi was. Prior to the show today, we didn’t have much time to get aquainted (no thanks to some chump at Wendy’s that came to work entirely too stoned to handle the complex task of putting together my order of a small fry and large Dr. Pepper). What you hear on the show is me getting to know Abi for the first time. The conversation takes a brilliant turn that I was not anticipating. I thought we were going to talk comedy…

Looks like I’m going to have to re-think some of my material after today’s interview.

Today’s show is a prime example of what I love most about this work. Thank you Abi for an incredible, candid interview about some pretty damn personal stuff.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Abi-Harrison/143866838996697

abiharrisoncomedy.com

Twitter: @abigailharriso

31 Jul 2012