Something guaranteed to piss you off - The sequel

Months ago, I wrote a post bringing attention to a repulsive anti-gay comic book that masqueraded as correct information regarding the lgbt community.

It was a 1986 comic was created by a man named Dick Hafer.

Well the site which featured the comic book has found yet another one by Hafer and it's just as nasty, probably more repulsive. It was created just as AIDS came on the scene. Notice how the work of discredited researcher Paul Cameron is cited:







The webpage featuring this comic is not anti-gay. It's a site that looks at "problem-based comics" from the past.

But it is still an excellent look at the past of anti-gay activism and we must ask ourselves (yet again) are the messages we get from the religious right today really any different from the ones Hafer threw out?

Reposting of two entries: Matt Barber's lies and the attacks on GLSEN

Was Matt Barber's story about roaming gay hands in the military truthful? I doubt it

Something I read this morning has been bugging me so much that I have to post about it.

Anti-gay spokesperson Matt Barber wrote a press release patting the U.S. Supreme Court on the back for its recent decision not to hear a case challenging Don't Ask, Don't Tell - the policy of gays in the military.

Now in this piece, Barber says the following:

I served twelve years in the Army National Guard. During basic training a young man who later turned out to be homosexual was discharged after making unwanted advances toward other soldiers and for inappropriately touching several while they slept in the barracks.“A lengthy investigation ensued. Troops were pulled away from their regular training to answer questions. It was a tremendous distraction for our entire platoon. This incident most definitely disrupted unit cohesion and harmed troop morale.

I have a serious problem believing Barber's story and here's why:

The one thing I know about Barber is that he never misses a chance to attack the lgbt community on our supposed wrongs and proclivities. His entire career has been built on being a phony martyr of the alleged gay agenda.

But to my knowledge, this is the first time I have ever heard him recount this story. I find it hard to believe that Barber would let such an juicy anti-gay anecdote be unheard until now.

And the ironic thing is that Barber is quoted repeating the alleged incident in a One News Now article which also quotes Elaine Donnelly. Donnelly is the head of a the Center for Military Readiness and has been vocal with attacking the concept of gays in the military.

The question I have is where was Barber and this story last year when Donnelly was figuratively and deservedly butchered in front of a Congressional committee last year for her abysmal testimony against allowing gays in the military.

You will remember that one example she cited about an alleged incident in 1974 concerning a white female who was accosted by a group of lesbians.Why didn't Barber supply her with his incident, which would have been a more up-to-date story.

Let me first apologize if the concerns I have relayed are inaccurate.

But for now, I think that Barber's story of roaming gay hands in the military is a vague and skillful lie.


More attacks on GLSEN'S Kevin Jennings - Now the Family Research Council gets in the act

While the lgbt community is distracted by marriage equality, Don't Ask, Don't Tell, and anger at President Obama, the religious right is attempting to play the death of a thousand cuts game on GLSEN's Kevin Jennings

There seems to be an attempt to create a rising storm regarding President Obama's pick of GLSEN (Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network) founder Kevin Jennings as Assistant Deputy Secretary in the Office of Safe Schools.

The religious right have been steadily attempting to portray Jennings as a danger to children and another cog in the so-called gay conspiracy to indoctrinate children.

The usual characters, Peter LaBarbera, Linda Harvey, and One News Now, have already cast Jennings as some sort of psychological lamia out to strip children of their innocence.

Now the Family Research Council via its blog has gotten into the act.

Let's look at the group's claims:

View of Christians

Addressing a church audience on March 20, 2000 in New York City — just days before “Fistgate” — GLSEN Executive Director Kevin Jennings offered a stinging (and quite intolerant) assessment of how to deal with religious conservatives:

Twenty percent of people are hard-core fair-minded [pro-homosexual] people. Twenty percent are hard-core [anti-homosexual] bigots. We need to ignore the hard-core bigots, get more of the hard-core fair-minded people to speak up, and we’ll pull that 60 percent [of people in the middle] … over to our side. That’s really what I think our strategy has to be. We have to quit being afraid of the religious right. We also have to quit — … I’m trying to find a way to say this. I’m trying not to say, ‘[F---] ‘em!’ which is what I want to say, because I don’t care what they think! [audience laughter] Drop dead! It should be noted that GLSEN and Jennings make heavy use of the words “respect” and “tolerance” in their public rhetoric and in descriptions of their programs.

The claim that Jennings is bigoted towards Christians is debatably inaccurate. The quote says nothing about Christians, but rather some folks who oppose lgbt equality.

And based on how these individuals and organizations have opposed lgbt equality in the past, Jennings has a point with his comments.

However that is not the point. FRC tries to imply that Jennings is bigoted towards Christians much like a racist would be bigoted towards African-Americans. And the quote the organization uses just doesn't justify that implication, despite the profanity used by Jennings.

You will notice that the example mentioned "fistgate." FRC's blog goes into detail about this alleged incident further down:

GLSEN and “Fistgate

”GLSEN, which promotes homosexual clubs and the homosexual lifestyle in high schools, middle schools and grade schools and is the driving force behind the annual “Day of Silence” celebration of homosexuality“

The most notorious education scandal involving homosexual activists is a GLSEN sponsored conference that occurred on March 25, 2000, dubbed ‘Fistgate’ by conservatives. Three homosexual activists employed by the Massachusetts Departments of Health and Education led a youth workshop titled ‘What They Didn’t Tell You about Queer Sex & Sexuality in Health Class’ — part of the annual Boston-GLSEN ‘Teach Out’ conference held at Tufts University. The ‘Queer Sex’ session, advertised to ‘youth only ages 14 to 21,’ was attended by Massachusetts family advocate Scott Whitemen, who taped it while standing in the back of the room.In the workshop, instructor Michael Gaucher, prompted by a teen’s question, verbally guided the students on the mechanics of ‘fisting’ — a homosexual slang term for a sadistic sex act in which a man inserts his hand and arm into another person’s anal cavity.

Another instructor, Margot Abels, said fisting ‘often gets a really bad rap,’ and described it innocuously as ‘an experience of letting somebody into your body that you want to be that close and intimate with.’ Abels and Gaucher also guided the students on techniques of oral sodomy and lesbian sex.”

"Fistgate," which I have talked about repeatedly, is one of those phony moral panics created by Massachusetts religious right group Mass Resistance. The group illegally entered and taped a discussion from a Massachusetts state conference on teens and sexual behavior.

My take on the so-called controversy is here.

But the most important thing about this situation regarding Jennings and GLSEN is other than helping to sponsor the conference, neither Jennings nor GLSEN had anything to do with the questions asked or the controversy that took place because of it.

One last point I want to make:

On Statutory Rape

‘In his own writings and books listed on the GLSEN [Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network] Website, I’ve reported, Kevin Jennings has given tacit nods of approval to sex between young teens and adults,’ (Linda) Harvey told WND. ‘In addition to that, the writings and books, many of which I’ve read and are incredibly graphic, seem to normalize early teen same-sex sexual behaviors.’

As I have said so many times before, Linda Harvey is a phony expert. She is the founder of Mission America and a former ad executive who became "born again." She has no credentials or expertise.

She also has a very, very negative view of anyone who is lgbt supportive. This is what she said three years ago:

When people have views supporting homosexuality, they should not be involved with youth in any way, period. Because they:
will provide inaccurate, misleading information to kids;
may limit a student's opportunity to hear warnings about the behavior;
may advocate or model inappropriate behavior;
may be directly involved in the molestation of kids themselves;
or may be in a position to allow others to do so.

I think it's safe to say that Harvey is not a credible source of information regarding lgbts.

The attacks on Jennings is important because they are taking place while the lgbt community is distracted with marriage equality, Don't Ask, Don't Tell, and our anger at President Obama for allegedly not moving fast enough on our issues.

How long will it be before a letter signed by several religious right groups asking for Jennings's removal goes out to the media?

We had better get on the ball with this before we are caught with our pants down.

Past writings on the religious right attacks on Jennings and GLSEN:

'Fistgate' and President Obama - religious right pushes a pitiful attempt of guilt by association

More right wing lunacy on Kevin Jennings courtesy of Kevin McCullough

Congratulations fellow bloggers for good work

This has suddenly become a weird day.

At lunch I discovered that my add-on button does not work. Subsequently, when I got home, I spent a long time trying to fix it.

I didn't fix it but now I have two add-on buttons. And neither work.

But anyway, congratulations to my fellow bloggers who made The Advocate's list of top 15 Gayish blogs, including:

AmericaBlog.com

Gawker.com

DListed.com

HuffingtonPost.com

OhLaLaMag.com

Signorile.com

TowleRoad.com

WorldofWonder.net

PerezHilton.com

Slog.TheStranger.com

PinkIsTheNewBlog.com

Popnography.com

Rod 2.0

GoodAsYou.org

Now though Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters was not listed, I bear no malice because we are in this for the work and the community, not for renown.

However, if something should happen, say a big boat falls from the sky and just misses hitting you, a mysterious shape at your window, your pet rabbit being found boiling in a pot, a fortune teller letting you know that someone has roots on you, just know that I am not at fault ;p

All jokes aside, all of these folks deserve a lot of kudoe. Many of them are my friends and mentors. I take lessons from how they operate to make my stuff better.

And speaking of another person who I consider a role model, congratulations to Wayne Besen and Truth Wins Out on this:

NEW YORK – Truth Wins Out announced today that its Executive Director, Wayne Besen, would be in Grand Rapids, Michigan, to participate in actions to educate the public about the dangers of the “ex-gay” industry. Besen is the author of “Anything But Straight: Unmasking the Ex-Gay Myth”. The educational events coincide with Love Won Out, Focus on the Family’s “pray away the gay” road show, which will be held on June 13.

“The community response has been incredible and we are looking forward to countering the misinformation that Focus on the Family will import into Grand Rapids,” said Wayne Besen, Executive Director of Truth Wins Out. “It is important that people know that you can’t pray away the gay, but you can learn to love people for who they truly are.”

Grand Valley State University departments have teamed up to host a panel discussion on religion and homophobia that will feature national and local experts. “Religion and Homophobia: Spiritual Violence in Our Community” is set for Thursday, June 11, from 7-9 p.m. in the Eberhard Center, room 215, on Grand Valley’s Pew Grand Rapids Campus at 301 W. Fulton St. The event is free and open to the public.

Besen will begin the discussion with a presentation about the validity of “ex-gay” reparative ministries or therapies. Truth Wins Out is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to defending the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community against anti-gay misinformation campaigns.

Panel members will include the following:
• John Corvino, Wayne State University professor, author and lecturer;
• Milt Ford, director of Grand Valley’s LGBT Resource Center;
• Judith Snow, Grand Rapids area forensic therapist and author;
• Doug Van Doren, pastor of Plymouth Congregational United Church of Christ;
• Josh Sleutel, GVSU student, previous reparative therapy patient.

The event is sponsored by Grand Valley’s Division of Inclusion and Equity, Dean of Students Office, LGBT Resource Center, Women’s Center, Women and Gender Studies Department, Office of Multicultural Affairs, Liberal Studies Department, Allies and Advocates, and the LGBT Faculty and Staff Association .

This is a much needed discussion and I want to congratulate everyone who put it together.

Now I'm going to see if I can get this add-on button situation taken care of. Pray for me.

Was Matt Barber's story about roaming gay hands in the military truthful? I doubt it

For those looking for news briefs, they are in the post before this one.

Something I read this morning has been bugging me so much that I have to post about it.

Anti-gay spokesperson Matt Barber wrote a press release patting the U.S. Supreme Court on the back for its recent decision not to hear a case challenging Don't Ask, Don't Tell - the policy of gays in the military.

Now in this piece, Barber says the following:

I served twelve years in the Army National Guard. During basic training a young man who later turned out to be homosexual was discharged after making unwanted advances toward other soldiers and for inappropriately touching several while they slept in the barracks.

“A lengthy investigation ensued. Troops were pulled away from their regular training to answer questions. It was a tremendous distraction for our entire platoon. This incident most definitely disrupted unit cohesion and harmed troop morale.

I have a serious problem believing Barber's story and here's why:

The one thing I know about Barber is that he never misses a chance to attack the lgbt community on our supposed wrongs and proclivities. His entire career has been built on being a phony martyr of the alleged gay agenda.

But to my knowledge, this is the first time I have ever heard him recount this story. I find it hard to believe that Barber would let such an juicy anti-gay anecdote be unheard until now.

And the ironic thing is that Barber is quoted repeating the alleged incident in a One News Now article which also quotes Elaine Donnelly. Donnelly is the head of a the Center for Military Readiness and has been vocal with attacking the concept of gays in the military.

The question I have is where was Barber and this story last year when Donnelly was figuratively and deservedly butchered in front of a Congressional committee last year for her abysmal testimony against allowing gays in the military.

You will remember that one example she cited about an alleged incident in 1974 concerning a white female who was accosted by a group of lesbians.

Why didn't Barber supply her with his incident, which would have been a more up-to-date story.

Let me first apologize if the concerns I have relayed are inaccurate.

But for now, I think that Barber's story of roaming gay hands in the military is a vague and skillful lie.

Tuesday midday news briefs

American Idol rocker Adam Lambert comes out to Rolling Stone - This is as big of a surprise as when Clay Aiken came out. That's all I am going to say.

10 reasons why a march on Washington is a bad idea - Preach on, brother!

KRXQ to Apologize, 11 Ads Pulled - Damn right. You had better apologize.

A Seemingly Simple Question: Where Does Harry Jackson Live? - This is a good question.

Boehlert: "Militia-style vigilante rhetoric has become a cornerstone of the conservative media movement in America" - This needs to stop before something ugly happens. What am I saying? It already has.

More attacks on GLSEN'S Kevin Jennings - Now the Family Research Council gets in the act

While the lgbt community is distracted by marriage equality, Don't Ask, Don't Tell, and anger at President Obama, the religious right is attempting to play the death of a thousand cuts game on GLSEN's Kevin Jennings

There seems to be an attempt to create a rising storm regarding President Obama's pick of GLSEN (Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network) founder Kevin Jennings as Assistant Deputy Secretary in the Office of Safe Schools.

The religious right have been steadily attempting to portray Jennings as a danger to children and another cog in the so-called gay conspiracy to indoctrinate children.

The usual characters, Peter LaBarbera, Linda Harvey, and One News Now, have already cast Jennings as some sort of psychological lamia out to strip children of their innocence.

Now the Family Research Council via its blog has gotten into the act. Let's look at the group's claims:

View of Christians

Addressing a church audience on March 20, 2000 in New York City — just days before “Fistgate” — GLSEN Executive Director Kevin Jennings offered a stinging (and quite intolerant) assessment of how to deal with religious conservatives:

Twenty percent of people are hard-core fair-minded [pro-homosexual] people. Twenty percent are hard-core [anti-homosexual] bigots. We need to ignore the hard-core bigots, get more of the hard-core fair-minded people to speak up, and we’ll pull that 60 percent [of people in the middle] … over to our side. That’s really what I think our strategy has to be. We have to quit being afraid of the religious right. We also have to quit — … I’m trying to find a way to say this. I’m trying not to say, ‘[F---] ‘em!’ which is what I want to say, because I don’t care what they think! [audience laughter] Drop dead! It should be noted that GLSEN and Jennings make heavy use of the words “respect” and “tolerance” in their public rhetoric and in descriptions of their programs.

The claim that Jennings is bigoted towards Christians is debatably inaccurate. The quote says nothing about Christians, but rather some folks who oppose lgbt equality.

And based on how these individuals and organizations have opposed lgbt equality in the past, Jennings has a point with his comments.

However that is not the point. FRC tries to imply that Jennings is bigoted towards Christians much like a racist would be bigoted towards African-Americans. And the quote the organization uses just doesn't justify that implication, despite the profanity used by Jennings.

You will notice that the example mentioned "fistgate." FRC's blog goes into detail about this alleged incident further down:

GLSEN and “Fistgate”

GLSEN, which promotes homosexual clubs and the homosexual lifestyle in high schools, middle schools and grade schools and is the driving force behind the annual “Day of Silence” celebration of homosexuality

“The most notorious education scandal involving homosexual activists is a GLSEN sponsored conference that occurred on March 25, 2000, dubbed ‘Fistgate’ by conservatives. Three homosexual activists employed by the Massachusetts Departments of Health and Education led a youth workshop titled ‘What They Didn’t Tell You about Queer Sex & Sexuality in Health Class’ — part of the annual Boston-GLSEN ‘Teach Out’ conference held at Tufts University. The ‘Queer Sex’ session, advertised to ‘youth only ages 14 to 21,’ was attended by Massachusetts family advocate Scott Whitemen, who taped it while standing in the back of the room.

In the workshop, instructor Michael Gaucher, prompted by a teen’s question, verbally guided the students on the mechanics of ‘fisting’ — a homosexual slang term for a sadistic sex act in which a man inserts his hand and arm into another person’s anal cavity.

Another instructor, Margot Abels, said fisting ‘often gets a really bad rap,’ and described it innocuously as ‘an experience of letting somebody into your body that you want to be that close and intimate with.’ Abels and Gaucher also guided the students on techniques of oral sodomy and lesbian sex.”

"Fistgate," which I have talked about repeatedly, is one of those phony moral panics created by Massachusetts religious right group Mass Resistance. The group illegally entered and taped a discussion from a Massachusetts state conference on teens and sexual behavior.

My take on the so-called controversy is here. But the most important thing about this situation regarding Jennings and GLSEN is other than helping to sponsor the conference, neither Jennings nor GLSEN had anything to do with the questions asked or the controversy that took place because of it.

One last point I want to make:

On Statutory Rape

‘In his own writings and books listed on the GLSEN [Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network] Website, I’ve reported, Kevin Jennings has given tacit nods of approval to sex between young teens and adults,’ (Linda) Harvey told WND. ‘In addition to that, the writings and books, many of which I’ve read and are incredibly graphic, seem to
normalize early teen same-sex sexual behaviors.’

As I have said so many times before, Linda Harvey is a phony expert. She is the founder of Mission America and a former ad executive who became "born again." She has no credentials or expertise. She also has a very, very negative view of anyone who is lgbt supportive. This is what she said three years ago:

When people have views supporting homosexuality, they should not be involved with youth in any way, period. Because they:

will provide inaccurate, misleading information to kids;
may limit a student's opportunity to hear warnings about the behavior;
may advocate or model inappropriate behavior;
may be directly involved in the molestation of kids themselves; or
may be in a position to allow others to do so.

I think it's safe to say that Harvey is not a credible source of information regarding lgbts.

The attacks on Jennings is important because they are taking place while the lgbt community is distracted with marriage equality, Don't Ask, Don't Tell, and our anger at President Obama for allegedly not moving fast enough on our issues.

How long will it be before a letter signed by several religious right groups asking for Jennings's removal goes out to the media?

We had better get on the ball with this before we are caught with our pants down.

Past writings on the religious right attacks on Jennings and GLSEN:

'Fistgate' and President Obama - religious right pushes a pitiful attempt of guilt by association

More right wing lunacy on Kevin Jennings courtesy of Kevin McCullough

Let me reiterate - we don't need another national march

I want to go into more detail about why I am totally against another march for lgbt rights.

For one thing, I am an eccentric idealist when it comes to national marches. I even refused to attend the Million March. In fact, I was set against it. The reason was that I figured why should I go to Washington, D.C. to make a commitment to my family and community when I could honor that commitment by staying home and working at my job like always. I didn't need to go to Washington to make a show of it.

The second reason is because of the memories I have of the 1993 Gay march in Washington. It was my first and last national march. I remember being disgusted by the vulgarity of some half naked individuals and mostly by the lack of a coherent plan other than demonstrating how mad we were.

I also remember the words of a gay-friendly columnist who said that based on the march, he couldn't tell what the lgbt community wanted. The problem with the 1993 March was that there were so many groups, factions, and different interpretations of lgbt rights that it was difficult to get all of those groups unified.

My guess is the same thing will happen with this march. Hell, the only folks who may benefit from this march will be religious right figures who will no doubt film the lack of discipline that many of us will probably demonstrate.

The idea that the lgbt community should have a huge march only underlines our huge problem. It seems like we are trying to end the fight for lgbt rights with a quick knockout rather than a strategic dismantling of discrimination and ignorance.

I fail to see how a public showing of our anger will do us any good if we can't articulate that anger into something productive. All a March on Washington would demonstrate is that we enjoy transitory visibility and symbolic anger but don't have the wherewithal to translate that symbolic anger into positive action.

Maybe it's time that we start looking at things on a state-by-state basis. The Christian Coalition began by taking over area school boards. Focus on the Family and Concerned Women for America are connected by statewide organizations.

Why can't we do the same thing? With so many statewide lgbt groups in existence, have we ever thought of meeting, sharing resources, and drafting plans for our individual communities?

That would make more sense than a useles public showing of anger.

Monday midday news briefs

Oklahoma: Teacher asserts he was terminated for advocating for LGBT youth - From Sally Kern land. Why doesn't this surprise me?

Gay rights activist calls for march on Washington - NO,NO, NO, a million times NO!! Why do we always pick visibility over brick-by-brick planning. I would rather work with my South Carolina community and surrounding state communities on strategies to further lgbt rights and understanding. I would rather trade resources with these communities. AND NOT UNDER THE GLARE OF CAMERAS!! Why is it that folks want to come together for a march but can't seem to be able to work with other lgbts in THEIR OWN community.

Head of San Diego Pride attacked, beaten - What the hell?

Entercom Communications Corporation: When Big Business Demonizes Innocent Children - I didn't mention this last week and I really should have. On a Sacremento radio show, the hosts made ugly uncalled for comments about our transgendered children. They are now finding out what happens when they say rude things about these babies.

Down to the Wire In Albany on Marriage, GENDA - Possible good news from New York

State Supreme Court rules in favor of same-sex foster parents - More good news from last week

More right wing lunacy on Kevin Jennings courtesy of Kevin McCullough

President Obama's decision to appoint GLSEN(Gay Straight Lesbian Education Network) founder Kevin Jennings as Assistant Deputy Secretary in the Office of Safe Schools has really brought out the wolves.

Aside from the nonsense emanating from Concerned Women for America, Peter LaBarbera, and wannabe activist and expert Linda Harvey comes more nonsense from an old friend of mine, Kevin McCullough via the conservative Town Hall.

McCullough has written a column, Why Obama's Elementary Queering Must Be Stopped, that says less about our President and Jennings and more about the lunancy of those who continue to attack Jennings.

McCullough, who, based on some of his past writings, obviously thinks of President Obama as the Second Coming of Damien Thorne (i.e. The Omen) doesn't hold anything back:

While President Obama was in Cairo preaching Islamist propaganda to the ears of Muslim students this last week, his administration was carrying out an even more sinister agenda.

McCullough of course attacks Jennings for his activities at GLSEN. It disappointed me a little that he didn't pull the "fistgate" card. But not to worry, because McCullough still doesn't disappoint those who have come to anticipate his bizarre ravings:

Kevin Jennings is not just your normal activist nominee. He is a firm advocate of mandated affirmation of approval of homosexual actions by school children, and to this end, his involvement with the GLSEN's "Day of Silence" has moved them to go beyond that to demand "Queer Proms" in the local public schools, and to lobby for legislation in each state to change the definition of marriage to make it mean something it has never meant.

With Jennings' support, the GLSEN chapter in Connecticut has begun pushing not just for "tolerance" or "acceptance" of those who choose to engage in homosexuality in the public schools, but they have actually created an "activity" for the school systems which pushes "positive levels of attitude" such as mandated "admiration" and "nurturance."

In his past, Jennings has left quite a swath of destructive choices as well. He authored the forward for the book titled Queering Elementary which argues for the teaching of sexual "identity" (what you could easily call "indoctrination", "initiation", or "brainwashing") to the children in the elementary education stage of life. The book is so disturbing that it reportedly includes a description of how to "properly" teach a seven year old girl to masturbate.

Because we all know that seven year old girls don't already have enough challenges in this world without being quickly inducted into the "get yourself off" stage of life.

McCullough also proceeds to go into detail about an alleged incident involving Jennings counseling a young boy who was molested by an older teacher. McCullough charges that Jennings should have alerted the authorities but did not.

Now I don't know what exactly happened because McCullough does not give enough details, except for ones that cast Jennings as the bad guy (surprise surprise), but I do know Kevin McCullough enough to know that before I believe anything he says, I would first want two lie detector tests and an affadavit from Jesus Christ himself.

McCullough is not above stretching the truth to fuel his own agenda, such as his behavior in the David Parker controversy. I've talked about the phony claims of Parker before. The gist is that Parker falsely claimed to be persecuted because he wouldn't allow his son's school to teach him about homosexuality. The truth is a bit more complicated.

McCullough entered the situation when he helped to spread a phony story that Parker's son was attacked by a gang of students angry at his father's stance. He wrote a column about the incident - New liberal strategy: Assault 7-year-olds

When the truth came out (Parker's son had gotten into a fight with a friend over a cafeteria seat), McCullough issued no apology for his claim.

In April of last year, McCullough claimed that ENDA(Employee Non-Discrimination Act) would protect pedophiles; a baffling lie:

So stifling would ENDA be in fact that if a Youth Pastor who works with young boys in a church program got caught in an inappropriate relationship with them, ENDA would make it nearly impossible for the church involved to fire the youth pastor. ENDA would directly challenge and seek to limit religious expression, doctrine, theology, and practice.

And then there is my favorite McCullough piece in which he slanders the entire lgbt community:

The “alphas” in homosexual relationships, be they men or women, are many times recruiting younger partners. A vast percentage of those who enter the homosexual life do so after having been sexually initiated by an older person of their sex—be it consensual or not—it usually has the feel of enticement or seduction.

For the record, Jennings has done a lot of positive stuff with GLSEN. I support his appointment and hope he carries that energy into his new job.

The question is not who will protect children from him, but who will protect all of us from the lies of McCullough and company.

The State newspaper runs my column on lgbts of color

My column about lgbts of color is up and it looks good. From what I understand, it will be on The State's webpage until next Saturday. It is the first time that the State newspaper addressed lgbt issues from an African-American gay man's perspective on its editorial pages.

Click here for the link. One of my favorite highlights:

Instead of real conversations, gays and lesbians of color are supposed to be placated by ridiculous assurances that no one has a problem with our “lifestyle” as long as we aren’t in anyone’s faces about it.”

Then we are condemned about our supposed “lifestyle” — as if homosexuality was the original sin that drove Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden — while over-sexualized images in African-American entertainment, fornication and out-of-wedlock births are given a virtual pass in the pulpits. (When President Obama called out homophobia in the pulpits, he was given a standing ovation while his advice went unheeded.)

Meanwhile black-oriented television shows and motion pictures consider us as persona non gratis or simpering oversexed caricatures.

Gays and lesbians of color are being pushed in a psychological closet and muzzled by our own community. We are treated like dog dirt on the front lawn of black America, something to be avoided or eliminated with the utmost efficiency.

Like I said before, I deliberately avoided the tired comparison of the "black civil rights movement" and the "gay civil rights movement."

There have been very few words or columns that center on the plight of lgbts of color, period. When there are discussions about African-Americans and lgbts, there seems to be this need to separate the two entities. I can't tell you how many times that hurts me. I feel like a rope in a vicious tug war game.

I want some attention to be focused on lgbts of color; not how the black community ignores us affects the lgbt community at large, but how the lack of attention affects us.

And I don't want patronizing comments from well-meaning supportive black heterosexuals either. For a change, I want all words to come from us and all eyes to be on us.

Yes I sound selfish when I say this but I don't care. I've seen other people talk about lgbts of color for the longest time.

Now it's time for us to do the talking. Or rather the shouting because we have been talking but no one has cared to listen.

Also, to the side, I have added a new feature - The Best of Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters, which features some of my best work. Message to the Religious Right is included.

Know your lgbt history - Foxy Brown and Cleopatra Jones

Everything still seems to be on deck for tomorrow regarding my column in The State newspaper.

But that's tomorrow. Let's get through today.

The blaxploitation period of American cinema was an interesting time. It was when filmmakers suddenly figured out that black folks liked movies, could write and direct films, and that black women could carry motion pictures.

The films from this period encompassed good(Blacula, the Cleopatra Jones series), bad (The Mack, Soul Vengeance), and so damned awful that you had to watch them for their campy quality (Dolemite, Truck Turner).

Still there were drawbacks. The films, for the most part, were violent and coarse. They took the stereotypes of the superstud black man and the extremely racist white man and blew them up to outrageous proportions.

And how these motion pictures portrayed lgbts were just awful. Gay men of all stripes were seen as weak.

And lesbians were portrayed as threatening. White lesbians in particular were seen as either subservient to black women or as criminals.

These two clips demonstrate my point.

The first is from Foxy Brown, a motion picture starring Pam Grier. Grier plays a woman seeking to free her neighborhood from a drug and prostitution cartel. In this scene, she is involved in a lesbian barroom brawl:




This second clip is from a more sophisticated movie, Cleopatra Jones. Tamara Dobson portrays Jones, an international super spy who is battling a lesbian drug lord named Mommy. That's right, her name is Mommy.

But it gets better. Mommy is portrayed by two-time Oscar winning actress Shelley Winters. And this performance didn't exactly hurt her career. She would later get another Oscar nomination for the Poseidon Adventure.

I'm ashamed to admit that despite how insulting it was, I enjoyed Winters's performance. It's obvious that she did not take this movie seriously. Winters doesn't just chew scenery, she grinds it into powder.

Her performance, in fact, softens the insult of the evil lesbian stereotype just a little.

In this clip, Winters explodes on the scene at 2:00 but watch the entire thing. It's entertaining as hell:

Friday midday news briefs

Pride & Prejudice - Just one state away from me comes a hot mess.

Fla. Bar support in gay adoption case upheld - I love to see the religious right lose not matter how big or small the court case.

R.I. lawmakers debate gay benefits, drop bill - Well this sucks. They want to help us when we pass away but not when we are alive.

'Ten Commandments Judge' Makes 2nd Run for Governor - Roy Moore is running for governor again and apparently it's OUR fault. Okay I will take being blamed for Bjork's dead swan dress at the Oscars before I'm going to be blamed for this.

Knoxville restores GLBT web access to schools - We win in Tennessee!!

Obama more than tolerant of homosexual lifestyle - Can someone please tell me what the "homosexual lifestyle" is. I'm a homosexual and even I don't know!

Truth Wins Out puts another nail in the coffin of the ex-gay farce

From Truth Wins Out:

For decades, anti-gay organizations have gleefully pointed to Masters & Johnson’s 1979 book, “Homosexuality in Perspective”, that claimed to cure homosexuality. Indeed, Dr. William H. Masters and Virgina E. Johnson, the husband and wife sex research team, went on Meet the Press on Sunday, April 22, 1979, to discuss their finding that homosexuals could be converted into heterosexuals. The book has since been used by the so-called “ex-gay” industry to “prove” gays could go straight, if they just tried hard enough.

In his groundbreaking new book, “Masters of Sex”, author Thomas Maier discovered through investigative reporting that the results of Masters & Johnson’s study were entirely fabricated. Virginia Johnson acknowledged that the results were fake. She had actually argued in 1978 that book should never have seen the light of day - but it was already to late in the publishing process to undo the damage.

One can not overstate the importance of Maier’s findings. They undo the very underpinnings of the so-called “ex-gay” therapy movement, further showing that there is no scientific evidence or data to support the outdated idea that gay people can become heterosexual through therapy. Indeed, many people who have undergone such “treatment” claim the experience was harmful and that they were psychologically damaged. The American Psychiatric Association says that attempts to change sexual orientation can lead to “anxiety, depression and self-destructive behavior.”



Yet another reason why Truth Wins Out is one of my favorite webpages!

My column 'drops' on Saturday

I have just received final confirmation that barring anything out of the ordinary, my column on the importance of Black prides and how the African-American community ignores lgbts of color will be appearing Saturday as a part of the State newspaper's Saturday Opinion Extra package.

This means that it will most likely appear online but not in the printed newspaper, which is okay by me. Progress is progress.

Of course I reiterate the "barring anything out of the ordinary part" because as many of you know, South Carolina is in the middle of a huge controversy regarding our Governor (Mark Sanford) and his refusal to accept $700 million of President Obama's stimulus package.

The General Assembly passed a budget including the stimulus money and Sanford vetoed it. The General Assembly overrode his veto thereby causing the situation to go to the State Supreme Court.

The court today ordered Gov. Sanford to accept the budget and thereby apply for the $700 million.

So in the middle of all of this lovely hullabaloo, my column will come out - the equivalent of finding out that you have won the Pulitzer Prize 60 seconds before Jesus comes back to Earth.

Still, my column appearing is a remarkable achievement which I will forever be proud of. As far as I know this will be the first time that the State newspaper will address lgbt issues from an African-American gay man's perspective on its editorial pages.

I've done a lot of good things with my book and this blog, but this column is special. It's personal. What I wrote isn't just for me but every lgbt of color, living or dead, who have been marginalized by an intentionally ignorant African-American community. Trust me when I say I am very proud of what I wrote. It's to the point and makes no apologies, especially about the role of God in our lives.

I have no idea what the fallout, if any, will be. I'm not going to lie about what I hope to accomplish. I want a nice controversy just in time for South Carolina Black Pride (June 18-21). I want comments both positive and negative, I want pastors to talk about it in church, and I want definitely want it to be read by as many folks as possible.

Like the proverb says, a man is like a turtle in that they both have to stick their necks out to move forward.

Thursday midday news briefs

Gay groups grow impatient with Barack Obama - I am of two minds about this.

Yes, we need to be very vocal and very pushy about our rights. But other than getting angry and bitching about how President Obama is being slow, is there anything else we can be doing?

It's as if we have surrendered all action to President Obama.

It reminds me of the small but very interesting argument the community is having about holding a national march.

Both ideas (i.e. a national march and dependence on President Obama) seem to push the notion that if something big and showy is done, then the lgbt community will be successful in getting our rights. This idea that if we all come together in a huge showy march or if President Obama does something demonstratively decisive for us then everything will be alright is simplistic.

Just like I hate the idea of a national march (when we should be building community power on a state and city level), I don't like the idea of depending too much on a "Great Father Figure" to come down from the Heavens and make things right for us. The struggle for lgbt equality does not belong to President Obama. It belongs to us.

And the struggle is not going to be won by a huge showing march nor will it be won from a legislative thunderbolt thrown from the White House. It will be won by us pushing forward and pressing on with dignity for what belongs to us. And sometimes that does take time.

Okay, I've rambled too much. If I haven't bored you or gotten you angry, read on:

Gay partner language could doom immigration reform - You cannot be serious

EXCLUSIVE: California lesbian couple allege discrimination at Fresno hospital - This is why those "court documents" are sometimes useless.

In NH and Iowa, gay marriage has political angle - Ya think?

Never fear, Chick Publications is here! or What some people really think of gay marriage

Maybe it's just me but marriage equality coming to New Hampshire seems to have left some members of the religious right a bit dazed.

One News Now has yet to report on it and my usually reliable anti-gay Peter LaBarbera hasn't said a word yet.

Even Focus on the Family have been strangely silent.

But not everyone is silent.

Someone alerted me to this tract from Chick Publications. Chick Publications is a site that publishes cartoon gospel tracts. You may have seen these various tracts in a doctor's office or at the bus stop.

It is an old tract (it was created in 2004) and while it does not address marriage equality in New Hampshire per se, it's safe to say that the creator doesn't exactly care for gay marriage at all.

The following are some snippets from the tract:










Judge for yourself but I tend to think that minus the little imps, this is exactly the argument the religious right uses against marriage equality.

It's not exactly a logical argument when drawn out, is it?

While I was at work, all hell broke loose in a good way

I'm speechless. In the short hours between the time I posted my midday news briefs and when I logged on just now, two interesting things happened.

Forgive me for not making long comments; although I do say something at the end of this post about President Obama and the lgbt community.

But I just want to try and include these happenings in little bullets:

NH governor signs same-sex marriage into law - I believe this is number 6 with a sweet bullet. Right about now, my mind is wandering back to election night 2004 when President Bush got re-elected on the strength of those anti-gay marriage amendments. I love kismet.

Former SC Congressional candidate Linda Ketner calls out rumored Palmetto State queens - Aw damn. I know Linda Ketner and she has never been one for keeping it reigned in. This issue will probably go away. But then again maybe it won't. Man, I am loving the fact that I live in South Carolina right now!

Now . . . there seems to be some disenchantment on some levels of the lgbt community with President Obama. It seems that he is backtracking on many of the promises he made to us. Some folks have even talked about how they no longer support him. There is even talk in a few circles about sitting out the next election to show how angry we are.

You know what I say? Big fat f#%!! deal!

Please spare me the mantra about how "lgbts are second class citizens" because I've heard it more times than I care to. I want to be solution-oriented. And you don't be solution-oriented by thinking that you can pick up your toys and go home when the game isn't going your way.

Never in my life have I seen so many folks who want to make a show about how angry they are even at the expense of cutting off their noses to spite their faces.

No more of this ridiculous "I no longer support President Obama" bullshit. The man has been in office for less than a year. What are you all expecting? For him to wave a magic wand and make everything right?

It ain't going to happen. We need to put his feet to the fire and not let him forget what he promised us. Even President Kennedy had to be reminded about his commitment to civil rights in the 60s.

Such is the case with politics. There are so many issues to be considered that there is this constant jockeying for attention.

It ain't pretty but that is how it's done. Politics is a cynical, harsh world that has no room for these ridiculous Woodstockian notions of togetherness and one-world humanity. If you want to sing "We Are The World" then do it in the privacy of your own home.

We are not wrong for being a little miffed at President Obama and we certainly aren't wrong for letting him know that he promised our community certain things.

But we are wrong when we pull out of the fight simply because things seem to be not going the way we planned. This isn't a goddamn fashion show; it's politics.

I don't mean to be so curt, but the finality of the tone that many have expressed has gotten on my nerves.

It sometimes drives me nuts how as a community we get so caught up in "expressing our anger" that no one wants to take strategy and pragmatic planning into account.

Oh sure - have a march, do some shouting, call the media and poof- everything is fixed.

We have moved beyond that level of thinking so let's act like it.

For a long time, we have had no power. We have had to sit outside the circle and watch the religious right play the game with President Bush.

Now it's our turn with President Obama. That's right. We are in the circle now and the religious right are on the outside.

And I don't want to lose that spot just yet.

To hell with all of this righteous indignation. Let's have some cynical maneuvering for a change.

Wednesday midday news briefs

Desired results misfire - You have to see this sure sign of the Apocalypse! We are winning in a One News Now poll. Apparently some folks don't mind President Obama's proclamation of June being LGBT Pride Month. Probably some poll crashing by folks who are on our side of the argument. BUT ISN'T IT NICE!!

NH Senate passes gay marriage revision; House next - Slightly derailed never means totally stopped.

Court Upholds LGBT Protections for Students - Uh oh. You know those "activist judges" making us treat everyone equally. It's soooo unfair.

Mental illness less likely for lesbians' kids - Here is one foreign study the religious right won't be trying to distort. Then again . . .

Rhode Island: No Equal Marriage, But Possible Funeral Rights - Okay, I'm one for sometimes being pragmatic and patient and taking a little bit and a little bit more until you have it all but DAMN!

Facebook group advocated the murder of gays

From one of my favorite sites Box Turtle Bulletin comes a bit of disturbing news. Apparently there was a group on Facebook whose sole purpose was to advocate the murder of gays:

Facebook has become a ubiquitous communications and organizing tool encompassing a whole range topics. Many of the groups are based on entertainment, hobbies, religion and spirituality, history, politics — you name it. Even hate groups advocating the murder of gays and lesbians.

One such hate group with a Facebook presence is the “Kill Out Dem Batty Man” group. “Batty Man” is Caribbean slang for gay men. Most of the group members appear to be from Trinidad and Tobago, although the Jamaican person who tipped me to it identifies the patois dialect as Jamaican. The Facebook group is listed under “Beliefs & Causes.”

Thanks to Box Turtle Bulletin leading the charge of folks complaining, the group is now gone. But it bothers the hell out of me.

This group was not a joke. And it bothers me that someone would actually devote time and effort to the creation of something so hateful.

It bothers me that over 400 folks joined this group.

And it bothers me that a large number of those folks writing comments supporting the group were black.

Trying to pass brings negative consequences regardless of what some people think

Now I would be the last brotha' to constantly harp on the ignorance of a certain religious right member by the name of Peter LaBarbera . . . .

Oh who am I kidding? Other than exposing the lies of religious right groups, I live for demonstrating just how clueless he is.

I mentioned twice today I have been having ongoing email conversation with LaBarbera (who, according to his own words, has spent over a decade tracking the so-called gay agenda) on his claims about the lgbt community.

We tend to go back and forth because we both refuse to give an inch. There have been, however, many times when LaBarbera has shown himself to be a complete ignoramous.

Our original email conversation was about Anita Bryant. This morning, it drifted to the African-American community and sexual orientation. LaBarbera continued to push the broken record talking point about not being able to choose race while being able to choose sexual orientation.

I pointed out a parallel between how light-skinned black folks tried to pass for white years ago to how some gays try to pass as heterosexuals. This was my exact comment:

I prefer to say that just as some blacks have tried to pass as white, some gays try to pass as straight - both of these actions have negative consequences.

This was LaBarbera's answer to me:

Alvin, you are a twit . . . That is one of the most ridiculous things I have ever read. You CANNOT become ex-Black. Period. You can change your sexual behavior.

Seems to me that if LaBarbera wants to be the best friend of the black community, he should be up on black history a little bit.

Some light-skinned African-Americans in the past did try to pass as white because of the racial climate. The ability to pass for white kept them free from violence and made available to them certain opportunities usually not given to African-Americans.

However, being exposed could have meant several things, from violence to loss of home or job to complete rejection from both communities.

And then there were the feelings of guilt and self-hatred felt by many of those who did successfully pass.

Unfortunately while blacks trying to pass as white is a nonexistent occurrence in this country now, gays trying to pass as heterosexuals is still an unfortunate happening.

The negative consequences are the same - the possibility of violence or rejection, the self-hate, and the guilt.

It doesn't matter if we are talking sexual orientation or color. When you feel that you have to hide your true self, it means nothing but trouble.

It's a shame that folks like LaBarbera can't see this simple parallel. And it's an even bigger shame that they do what they can to keep others from seeing it also.

Tuesday midday news briefs

I'm still having those email conversations with our friend, Peter LaBarbera. However, I don't think our exchange is going well for him. He called me a "twit." I'm offended. He called Pam Spaulding and Jeremy Hooper much worse.

Gay marriage will pass state Senate, says Manhattan Sen. Thomas Duane - We can only hope.

Cheney Comes Out for Gay Marriage, State-by-State - Emperor Palpatine comes out for marriage equality? Paging Rod Serling!

Indiana removes gay white men from HIV/AIDS funding priorities - What the hell!

REMINDER: First-ever UAFA Senate Hearings this Wednesday 10:00am - Keep your fingers crossed on this one.

Obama declares June 'LGBT Pride Month' - Okay I know I'm going to catch a bit of hell for being so late on this. Other blogs covered this yesterday. However, my blog is different. I'm focusing on the issue from the lying perspective of One News Now. The comments are a hoot!

Interracial dating and homosexuality - two health risks?

I've been having a very interesting email exchange with Peter LaBarbera regarding his stigmatization of the lgbt community.

For LaBarbera, every lie he tells is justifiable because of his belief that gay men have "health risks" greater than that of heterosexuals. In fact, it's something he likes to highlight every chance he gets:

“Barack Obama’s homosexual agenda is beginning to take shape – but he has no election mandate to impose GLSEN’s radical vision of celebrating homosexuality, bisexuality and gender confusion (transsexuality) in U.S. schools,” LaBarbera said. “Anti-religious bigots should not be setting policy for schools — and promoting dangerous sex and gender identities to youth is the antithesis of ‘safety.’ (Men who have sex with other men (MSM) suffer from much higher rates of sexual diseases – including anal cancer, HIV, syphilis, and gonorrhea — than non-MSMs.)

Also:

LaBarbera also argues that many liberal school districts teach false facts about AIDS. He says they imply that everyone is at equal risk for contracting the disease -- even though in 2005 71 percent of U.S. male AIDS cases involved homosexuals. He contends that many American young people are not being informed about other health risks associated with homosexuality either -- such as increased infections of the Hepatitis B or C virus and the herpes virus. "We have all this evidence out there that homosexual behavior is dangerous," the activist point out, "and yet our politically correct elites are promoting gay identity" to teens and children.

And he is not the only one to assert this "gays are dangerous because of their behavior" claim:

If there was ever a clarion call for our entire society to say with one united voice that homosexual behavior is a danger to health and should be discouraged at all costs, this is it. We've found one voice as a society with regard to drug use and drunk driving; it's time we find it with regard to homosexual behavior. - Bryan Fischer

In fact, multiple studies have established that homosexual conduct, especially among males, is considerably more hazardous to one’s health than a lifetime of chain smoking. - Matt Barber

The "homosexuality is a health risk" factoid is a popular talking point in religious right circles. It stems from manipulating legitimate medical information regarding disease and the lgbt community. Rather than go into detail about just how this information is manipulated, I'm going to take another route.

I found this video on youtube. I dare anyone to tell me the difference between it and the nonsense about the supposed "health risks of homosexuality" factoid pushed by the religious right:

'Fistgate' and President Obama - religious right pushes a pitiful attempt of guilt by association

Members of the religious right are upset today over the appointment of GLSEN(Gay Straight Lesbian Education Network) founder Kevin Jennings as Assistant Deputy Secretary in the Office of Safe Schools.

This means a huge smile has crossed over my face. Anything that drives the religious right nuts is a good thing as far as I'm concerned. And for the longest time, Jennings and GLSEN has been the unremovable pebble in the religious right's shoe.

GLSEN deals with the safety of lgbt students and also helped to found the Day of Silence, an annual event commemorating the struggles of our lgbt youth in America's schools.

The Day of Silence has been an annual humbling event for the religious right. They have tried many times to undermine the event from creating an unsuccessful counterpart event (the Day of Truth) to encouraging parents to keep children out of school during the Day of Silence; a bigger flop than the Day of Truth.

Today, One News Now published an article criticizing the appointment via the words of anti-gay activist and Mission America head Linda Harvey:

A conservative activist says the appointment of the founder of the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network to head the U.S. Education Department's Office of Safe Schools is the equivalent of putting O.J. Simpson in charge of women's safety.

Harvey, who by the way is a former advertising executive before forming Mission America - meaning she has no credibility to make any comments about Jennings's appointment, referred to an alleged event that took place under the auspicies of GLSEN:

Harvey finds it ironic that President Obama's new "safe schools" czar is a leading proponent of an extremely unsafe, destructive lifestyle.

"They are the people involved in the infamous 'Fistgate' programs in Massachusetts where public health officials were describing dangerous, high-risk behaviors to very young teenagers," she says. "Again, this was a GLSEN-sponsored program."

Our favorite anti-gay spokesperson, Peter LaBarbera, made a comment about the same event:

GLSEN founder who presided over ‘Fistgate’ scandal; Jennings’ group has corrupted and endangered students by exposing them to “queer” perversions

I've heard about this "Fistgate" several times when trolling anti-gay sites. Apparently religious right supporters reference the event as proof that gays are allegedly trying to lead children into dangerous acts.

Like all claims of the religious right, "Fistgate" is a huge lie.

The first thing you need to know is that this situation was blown out of proportion by a familiar person - Brian Camenker of Mass Resistance.

Mass Resistance was the group behind the David Parker controversy, in which a parent, David Paker, falsely claimed that he was arrested for trying to keep his son from being taught homosexuality.

The truth was a bit more complicated. If you want to read the full story, go here.

But the story in a nutshell is that Parker and Camenker worked together to orchestate a situation in which Parker was arrested and Camenker was there to take pictures and spread his version of the story.

"Fistgate" was not as complicated but it is still a nasty situation.

First of all, Jennings did not "preside over" the so-called "Fistgate" scandal. He wasn't even there.

In 2000, Mass Resistance, entered unauthorized in a state conference, "Teach-Out," that was sponsored by the Massachusetts Department of Education, the Governor’s Commission on Gay and Lesbian Youth, and the GLSEN. This conference was held at Tufts University.

Included among the conference-goers were preadolescents, some as young as 12, who were (like the rest of Teach-Out's attendees) allowed to ask questions about sex in a safe environment.

One student asked what fisting was, and was answered with an explanation. This led the incident to be dubbed "Fistgate" by Camenker and others. A person working for Camenker's organization, Scott Whiteman, taped some of the students without their knowledge. As a result of the outcry that was generated when parents heard tapes of the event, Margot Abels, a state employee who participated in the discussion, and two other state employees were fired.

Abels later sued the Massachusetts Department of Education, Camenker, and Whiteman for "violating her civil rights and the state's antiwiretapping law."

In 2001, she was not only reinstated but was also given back pay via arbitration. The arbitrator, Marc Greenbaum ruled that:

Abels was not acting on behalf of the Department of Education, but said the department had knowledge of and "supported" her participation in the presentation.

He also said:

that her participation was "authorized by her superiors, and her conduct, while controversial, did not violate then-established department guidelines."

And here is my favorite part, regarding the tape:

He also said that the tape was "misleading" because portions of it, which contained "important messages about AIDS prevention, abstinence, postponement, alternative forms of sexual intimacy and the need for students to enforce their own boundaries of personal security," were missing.

So what this all boils down to is a case of guilt by association perpetrated by members of the religious right on Jennings. And if you don't pardon me for saying so, a very bad case of guilt by association.

Pitiful, pitiful, pitiful.

Is this the best they can do?

Monday midday news briefs

Hey Maine: Do you really want to lend your name to gay 'conversion'? - As soon as we win Maine, here come the wolves.

Compromise reached on NH gay marriage bill - Sometimes you have to chop a tree a few more times before it falls.

Lawmakers reject veto of partnership bill - Two words - HOT DAMN!

Join Us! Today Is Blogging for LGBT Families Day - Let's celebrate and support our families.

George Tiller and the DHS Report - Maybe it wasn't such a good idea for the religious right to raise hell about this report after all.

GLSEN founder overseeing safety of nation's schools? - Based on the first sentence of this piece, One News Now hasn't learned anything from George Tiller's murder: "A conservative activist says the appointment of the founder of the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network to head the U.S. Education Department's Office of Safe Schools is the equivalent of putting O.J. Simpson in charge of women's safety."

Hatred never rests

I received this lovely bit of trash in the mail this weekend via the Family Research Council. I took the liberty to bolden a few words:

Stop the Attempts to Repeal the Defense of Marriage Act
May 29, 2009 Share with Friends

"If You and Others Protect This Law, National Same-Sex Marriage Is Impossible . . ."

Dear Alvin,

In the past few months, the Left has launched an angry, intolerant rush to try to destroy America's resolve to define marriage as between one man and one woman.

They've attacked a Christian young lady in a beauty pageant for speaking out for marriage. They've been whipped into a frenzy as radicals on the Iowa and Connecticut supreme courts and in the Vermont , Maine and New Hampshire legislatures have moved to legalize counterfeit marriage in those states.

They rejoiced when the Washington , DC city council voted to recognize same-sex "marriages" from other states.

They're trying to make homosexual marriage seem "inevitable."

But it's not inevitable.

That's largely because of a 1996 law called the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). With leadership from Family Research Council and our allies, it passed Congress with 85 percent majorities and was signed by President Clinton.

Please stand with FRC Action to stop President Barack Obama and radicals in Congress from their attempt to repeal or weaken the Defense of Marriage Act.

The Defense of Marriage Act stops radical judges from forcing all of America to accept counterfeit marriage just because extremist officials in five states have legalized it.

But if the President Obama and extremists in Congress like Nancy Pelosi abolish or weaken DOMA, then counterfeit marriages will spread and become the law of the land-whether you and a majority of Americans like it or not.

They don't want to awaken pro-family Americans, so they may not use one bill to destroy DOMA. They may dismantle it piece by piece via stealth tactics such as amendments to other bills or federal regulations. There are no less than 15 bills currently in Congress that seek to undermine DOMA, many of them have been fastracked.

That's why I'm asking you to send a donation to support FRC Action's tireless efforts on Capitol Hill to stop Barack Obama and his extremist allies from repealing or weakening DOMA.

And I need to hear from you immediately.

Pro-family Americans like you passed DOMA. It was your victory-for your values. Don't let the angry forces of the fringe Left take it away.

If DOMA is abolished or weakened and counterfeit marriage is spread nationally by radical judges, then:

Children in elementary school will be required to learn that homosexual marriage and same-sex behavior are normal and good ... and that their parents or pastors are bigots if they oppose it. It's happening where counterfeit marriage is legal.

Religious charities that oppose homosexual marriage could be forced to close -it happened to Catholic Charities' adoption services in Massachusetts because they refused to hand over innocent orphans to "married" same-sex couples.

Their goal is to silence the moral voices of America. Our social fabric will unravel.

With your donation, FRC Action will work faithfully to protect marriage in Washington and the states. We'll also remind members of Congress that

the vast majority of Americans oppose homosexual "marriage"

30 of 30 states where citizens have voted have upheld marriage as between a husband and a wife

45 states currently favor keeping marriage between a man and a woman

even the radicals in Iowa , Vermont and Maine could be overruled by voters.

But we must act now to counter the propaganda. Thank you for your prayers, petitions, and contribution to stop this immediate threat.

Standing (Ephesians 6:13),

Tony Perkins
President


This email was sent out before the murder of Dr. George Tiller, but it still is food for thought. True Christians don't need to stoop to such ugly rhetoric to get their points across.