Porno Pete LaBarbera goes too far with attack on gay blogger

Anyone who reads this blog know that I don't particularly care for anti-gay activist Peter LaBarbera. I consider him to be a homophobic hypocrite who, while using the Bible to explain his hatred of the lgbt community, stoops to the lowest levels to disrespect us.

I happen to know that he despises the name of "Porno Pete," a monicker given to him by us for his penchant of going to subcultural leather events, taking pictures, and providing commentary.

Any other time, a person like that would be considered gay, but since Peter is a so-called pro-family activist, calling him "Porno Pete" is giving him the benefit of the doubt

And to top it all off, he is constantly complaining how we are "intolerant" of him and pick on him because of his supposed Christian opposition to homosexuality.

No, Peter, we get mad when you do stuff like this:

The persons in this picture is Goodasyou.org's Jeremy Hooper and his partner celebrating their wedding. But Peter took it and vandalized it to publicize his group's ridiculous upcoming banquet.

Was it really necessary for him to do this?

His actions are the equivalent of spraypainting the word "faggot" over a poster advertising an lgbt oriented event.  To me, it is the same thing because a message is being sent to lgbts : "How dare you think that you are normal and are deserving of happiness. How dare you don't keep things to yourself and slink back into your closets. How dare you don't define yourself by my standards. Don't you know my heterosexuality makes me better than you."

And it's not the first time that Peter has done something like this. He has taken photos of a transgender friend of mine, Autumn Sandeen, and used them to demonize her and the entire transgender community.

Three years ago, he exploited a webpage tribute to a deceased gay man, Russell Goff, to again attack the lgbt community.

But believe it or not, as I have said before, Peter is our biggest asset in this so-called culture war. Unlike many of his comrades, he doesn't hide behind the "love the sinner but hate the sin" lie of homophobia.

He trots his hate and absolute disregard of us out in public for the world to see and note the hypocrisy of his position.

Peter doesn't see us as people capable of love and values and any type of basic human decency. He sees us as things totally undeserving of simple respect.

Of course other people  would venture to say that he sees us as a mirror. I'm not one of those people, but if this is the case, it's not our fault that he doesn't like what he sees.

That's between him and God.

New study - zero child abuse in lesbian households and other Thursday midday news briefs

Lesbian family study: No sexual or physical abuse - Cue the religious right's bull*$@! explanation.

'Day of Dialogue': Focus' latest attempt to have it both ways - Focus on the Family is taking over the failed anti-gay "Day of Truth" program, calling it "Day of Dialogue." This means they dialogue, we shut up.

Albion College president talks about gay flag burning - No one got punished for this by the way.

University Ousts Professor After She Announces Same-Sex Marriage - I think this sucks but if it's a private school receiving no tax dollars, what can you do?

Leaked portion of Pentagon study supports DADT repeal

More leverage for getting rid of DADT:

A Pentagon study group has concluded that the military can lift the ban on gays serving openly in uniform with only minimal and isolated incidents of risk to the current war efforts, according to two people familiar with a draft of the report, which is due to President Obama on Dec. 1.

More than 70 percent of respondents to a survey sent to active-duty and reserve troops over the summer said the effect of repealing the "don't ask, don't tell" policy would be positive, mixed or nonexistent, said two sources familiar with the document. The survey results led the report's authors to conclude that objections to openly gay colleagues would drop once troops were able to live and serve alongside them.

One source, who has read the report in full, summarized its findings in a series of conversations this week. The source declined to state his position on whether to lift the ban, insisting it did not matter. He said he felt compelled to share the information out of concern that groups opposed to ending the ban would mischaracterize the findings. The long, detailed and nuanced report will almost certainly be used by opponents and supporters of repeal legislation to bolster their positions in what is likely to be a heated and partisan congressional debate.

President Obama has vowed to end the ban. Senior Pentagon officials requested the survey to address areas in which a repeal might cause conflicts that could hinder the military's ability to fight.

More here.

And notice I said "get rid of." I didn't say a word about a Senatorial repeal. This may not be in the cards in the lame duck session so let me make a wild prediction. Wouldn't it be interesting if Obama ended DADT via executive order after building up leverage against the policy via this survey and the words of his Pentagon advisers. Just wondering.

Now let my shellacking begin by those lgbts who think that Obama is the second coming of the Anti-Christ.

Religious right group wants a million people to pray for Sen. Jim DeMint

I received this interesting email from the Family Research Council today:

Recently Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.), a well-rounded conservative stalwart in the U.S. Senate, has come under attack from both left wing groups and establishment Republicans because he has refused to waver in his defense of the family. When liberals gang up on a principled leader, doing what is right can seem like a lonely effort. That's why we're gathering together one million Americans to pray on a regular basis for Sen. DeMint.

The senator has expressed his appreciation for those who would pray for him, and has agreed to keep those who pledge to pray updated with specific prayer requests as he works with the new Congress on issues critical to faith, family, and freedom.

Sen. DeMint need not feel alone in his convictions -- will you stand with me and Americans across the nation as we pray for Sen. Jim DeMint?

Click here to pledge to join us as we seek to unite one million Americans in praying for Senator Jim DeMint.

Don't you just love the generic way the Family Research Council tries to make DeMint seem like an innocent in danger of being tied to the railroad tracks by the dastardly forces of evil from the left and the right.

Of course it's not true. Jim DeMint is having problems because he is a homophobic, unprincipled charlatan who sacrificed his political party's chances for control of the Senate for a personal desire to have his own personal cadre of "conservatively pure" Senators.

Not that I mind that DeMint did this. It was a bright light of last week's mid-term elections as far as I am concerned.

But that first point about his homophobia isn't exactly one that I find to be a good point. DeMint has on more than one occasion unabashedly taken the role of an enemy of the lgbt community.

In December of last year, he said he  found the idea of a gay president "bothersome."

In June of  last year, he sent out an inaccurate letter to several pastors and religious leaders claiming that if lgbt-inclusive hate crimes protection were passed, they were in danger of going to jail for simply preaching that homosexuality is wrong.

In October of this year, he repeated his belief that unmarried women and lgbts should not be allowed to teach. It was the same statement he made in 2004 when he initially ran for his Senate seat.

Seems to me that the people who need one million prayers are the folks who voted DeMint into office and those whom his actions have harmed.

President Obama had a gay nanny and other Wednesday midday news briefs

Video: In Oregon, Maggie wants to take 'bigots' meme off table; Everywhere else, the table is so crowded with her claims, we'd need two lifetimes to clear it - FINALLY someone else takes NOM's Maggie Gallagher to task for her phony "waaaaah they called me a bigot" card she is always pulling.

Obama's Indonesian gay nanny and other things from his past - Uh oh. Cue up right-wing smear machines on the right and pissed off lgbt activists on the left.

Lesbian couple's custody battle with gay man who fathered their children - Pay attention to this issue. If we don't address it, it will be a religious right roadblock.

Carl Steward: Documentary reveals Glenn Burke's struggles - The first openly gay Major League Baseball player (and he was an African-American too). It's about time his story was told.

Uh oh - Peter LaBarbera is posting dirty pictures again

Your "friend and mine," Peter LaBarbera has returned to the tactic that has made him a controversial laughing stock in pro and anti-lgbt circles.

He is back to posting risque pictures of Folsom Street Fair in San Francisco. Now while I won't repost the picture, I will post his explanation:

The cities with large homosexual populations, and which advertise themselves as “gay’ meccas, are the most perverse in the world. San Francisco is an example. Deviance begets deviance, pushing “tolerance” to preposterous extremes. Only the committed, and corrupted, social liberal sees this as acceptable. A couple of years ago when I and others went to observe Folsom and protest the public depravities, we were struck by how straight liberals came to accept these hideous “fairs” in the name of tolerance. One reporter, who told me she had been raised in a Christian home, acted as if we outsiders who were condemning the public lewdness were more suspect than the debauched behavior itself. (I doubt her mother would agree.) God does indeed give people over to a reprobate, depraved mind – and it is only through the inestimable grace of God that some men and women once lost in the twisted world of Gays Gone Wild (and its advocacy) leave it and return to sanity. — Peter LaBarbera, www.aftah.org

The photo below was taken by an Americans For Truth reporter who attended the annual Folsom Street Fair in San Francisco on Sunday, September 25, 2010. It confirms that public sex continues at the devent sex “fair” despite past pledges by fair organizers and the city to stop public nudity and open sex in the streets (following exposes by AFTAH and others in previous years). Children were photographed attending this event.

In the (redacted) center of the photo, a naked man is standing on the ground performing oral sex on another naked man, who is standing on the stage of a booth sponsored by ‘Steamworks,’ a local bathhouse (anonymous homosexual sex club). Behind him (at left), another barely-clad man grabs the genitals of a fellow “fair”-goer at Folsom

I can forgive LaBarbera for the inaccurate claim about what happens in cities with "large homosexual populations" and I won't be petty as to criticize the fact that he can't spell "deviant" (goodness knows he has used it a lot to describe the lgbt community) because I am "thrilled" that the "Porno Pete" side of his personality has returned.

For those who are not in the know, LaBarbera is famous (or infamous) for attending subcultural events like Folsom Street Fair, taking pictures of gay men in questionable activity (while making sure to ignore the heterosexuals engaging in the same activity) and posting them on his Americans for Truth webpage along with descriptions about what exactly the men were doing in the picture and at times, relating how long it took them to do said activity.

And even when the pictures show no risque activity at all, we can always count on Porno Pete to manipulate them to imply that they do, like he did in May during a tirade against Progressive Insurance for their pro-lgbt support.

He would like to think that what he does is an attack on Democrat Nancy Pelosi and the lgbt community at large. But his activity has been the subject of much criticism in religious right circles and derision in lgbt circles.

And it's beginning to remind me of some cheesy, but enjoyable television movie I recently saw. A prim and proper woman is possessed by an alternate personality which would force her to dress in black, seek out men, and kill them.

Oh come on. Can't you just see it? LaBarbera spends the entire year pretending to be an upstanding "pro-family" activist but every time Folsom Street Fair rolls around, the voices in his head start to talk to him. He tries hard to ignore them, but they become louder and louder until they overcome his will.

Under their spell, he enters a secret chamber in his house (paid for no doubt by his years of dubious "anti-gay activism) where in a closet is a complete leather outfit equipped with a secret camera and a pair of butt-less chaps.

He puts on the outfit and stares at himself in the full length mirror that sits in the middle of his secret chamber.

Peter LaBarbera, the proud "pro-family" activist is gone and in his place is Porno Pete, the radical, extreme anti-gay activist who takes no prisoners, but lots of pictures.

Someone cue the ominous soundtrack.

Hat tip to Truth Wins Out

Related posts:

Peter LaBarbera - the self-destruction of an anti-gay activist

Peter LaBarbera's pictures contradict his ramblings

Porno Pete LaBarbera continues lying vendetta against Progressive Insurance

Yes I am rambling but the situation with DADT and the lgbt community upsets me

Okay folks, get off your butts, stop whining about "Gay Inc." and Obama, and get to work doing something. From the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network:

Friend,

Time is running out to tell your senators to vote for repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (DADT).

When Congress returns to Washington, D.C., next week, the full Senate will have its first opportunity in 17 years to do away with DADT when it votes on the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which contains provisions that would allow for repeal of this law.

Their legislative calendar looks crowded, and the window of opportunity to pass repeal will be narrow. That's why you must keep up the pressure on both your senators until the Senate votes to end DADT.

Call and urge your senators to make passage of repeal legislation a top priority the week of September 20th. And ask them to urge their Joint Leadership (Senators Reid and McConnell) to schedule this vote.

Senate switchboard (can direct you to your senators):
(202) 224-3121

A full Senate floor vote is one of the last major legislative hurdles that stands in the way of repeal. Unfortunately, Senator John McCain has been a vocal opponent of repeal from the start. He has indicated that he, along with other repeal foes, will pull out all the stops in coming weeks - from attempting to strike repeal language from the NDAA to offering weakening amendments or threatening to filibuster the entire defense budget.

We cannot let that happen.

If the defense budget bill doesn't move to the Senate floor by the end of this month, DADT repeal may not happen for several more years.

Call these key senators now. We need a repeal vote the week of September 20th.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV)
(202) 224-3542

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY)
(202) 224-2541

Senator John McCain (R-AZ)
(202) 224-2235

This is not the time to let up in the fight to end DADT. With your continued support we will make it clear to the Senate that repealing DADT should be a top priority this month.

Thank you.

Aubrey Sarvis
SLDN Executive Director

Betcha two to one that the Family Research Council and their allies have sent out their action alerts. And THAT is the crux of our problem. John Aravosis of Americablog says that if the DADT repeal fails, it will be a major disaster for President Obama.

I disagree with that for the same reason why I remain perplexed by my lgbt brothers and sisters. In the past two years since Obama has been in office, the lgbt community has protested against him more than we have protested against all of the major religious right groups combined.

Will GetEqual ever protest the headquarters of the Family Research Council for the repeated ugly comments of Peter Sprigg or the lies of Tony Perkins?

What about Candi Cushman, Focus on the Family, and their continued fight against legislation to stop the bullying of our children?

And yet we wonder why the media takes these folks and their lies seriously. It's because we aren't raising enough noise against them. But they certainly pay attention when we raise hell against Obama.

And what's worse, if we aren't raising hell with Obama and calling him names, we attack each other with the same amount of nasty vigor. You heard the names and phrases - "Obamabot,"  "Obamapologist," "drinking the Obama kool-aid."

It's such irrational, emotional, self-defeating bullshit.

By no means am I saying we should let Obama slide on his promises. What I am saying is that many in our community don't know the fine line between exerting pressure on an ally who won't do right and going overboard on the same ally. And this is costing us. While we rail against Obama, the folks who we should have been raising hell against from day one (i.e. the religious right) will continue to do what they do unchallenged - lie on the lgbt community.

My point is this - many of us have accused Obama of being weak but when it comes to taking on the religious right head on, we are just as weak as we accuse him of being.

Until we engage THEM in loudly and unapologetically, making sure we control the argument by constantly pointing out their lies and hypocrisy, we won't get anywhere. We will stay exactly where we are, kicking up dust online and to each other.

Sarah Palin gets well-deserved twitter smackdown and other Tuesday midday news briefs

Watch would a President Huckabee's family policy look like? Look to Iowa - If Mike Huckabee gets anywhere NEAR the White House, lgbts are in trouble.

Six volunteer CMPD police chaplains resign their posts - They left cause CMPD added a gay clergy member. Bye bye guys.

"Glamour" magazine names Constance a "Woman of the Year" - As well she should be. THIS is a female role model.

Jackson: Elections Prove That God Is About to "Sweep Clean" The Nation - Cause you know God designated Harry Jackson as the arbiter of who is and isn't a Christian. You forgot to mention the Senate, Harry.

Palin Lashes Out At WSJ Reporter, Misquotes Story - And speaking of the person partly responsible for the Republicans not getting the Senate, Mrs. Palin got a very good twitter smackdown today. Not necessarily an lgbt issue but child, it's too good not to post and spread. Just what did she do to get the following twitter post knocking her on her behind:

Palin has a journalism degree, so I'm guessing she knows what an ethical no-no it is to misquote somebody like that. It ought to be awfully hard for her to get on her pedestal and condemn the media when she can't even quote somebody honestly. How about to make it up to Reddy, Palin lets a real reporter like him fly out to Wasilla to interview her for once instead of going to her house folks at Fox News?

Religious right blames 'civil rights' for situation involving kidnapped child

The Janet Jenkins/Lisa Miller situation has raged for a long time. Jenkins and Miller are two women in a relationship who agreed to have a child and raise the child together. However after the birth of the child, Isabella, Miller "renounced' her homosexuality and refused to allow Jenkins access to their daughter.

In December 2008, Newsweek magazine featured a long article about the case. Here are some of the facts:

Miller and Jenkins agreed to raise Isabella together.

Jenkins said the reason why she did not file for adoption was because she was told she didn't need to because they had the civil union (the two had married in a Vermont civil union before Isabella was born). 

When the two broke up, Miller agreed to allow Jenkins to have visitation rights. Jenkins even paid child support. Miller allegedly began keeping Isabella away from Jenkins.

The entire controversy is solely because Miller will not allow Jenkins to have unsupervised time with Isabella. Jenkins mainly won her case due to the Federal Kidnapping Prevention Law.

Miller has claimed she witnessed Isabella engage in disturbing behavior after vists with Jenkins. The claims were investigated by Virginia's Child Protective Services and were deemed "unfounded." 

Miller's continued resistance led the courts to give Jenkins full custody. However, Miller kidnapped little Isabella and at the present remains missing. Recently, the Supreme Court refused to listen to the case.

But in the eyes of the Family Research Council, allowing a parent to see her child is the blame for it all:

This case is a loss for all involved. It is a tragic consequence of the civil “right” that, unfortunately, Lisa Miller, fought for – and now has to live in spite of. Only this time, an innocent child suffers at the hands of adults in a political milieu where the innocent loses and no one, especially little Isabella, wins.

That's right. Blame the concept of a parent wanting to spend time with her child for the child's kidnapping instead the one who stole her. We all know why FRC is doing this. The parent wanting to spend time with her child is an lgbt and in their world, we aren't deserving of the right to have children or raise children.

Sorry, but the stereotypes of self-hating oversexed gay man, violent man-hating lesbians, and devious confused transgenders - all who have no concept of love, family, and devotion - are slowly but surely moving out of the door. And the FRC is moving with it.

If the organization had any idea of Christianity, it would be telling Miller to bring her self and little Isabella back to face the responsibility of her actions.

But, just like so many other occasions, we have seen that FRC practices a bizarro version of Christianity.

My belief, my wish, and my prayer is that this situation will turn out positive and Jenkins will be reunited with her daughter. It should be in all of our prayers and wishes.

Related posts:

Arrest ordered for Lisa Miller - it's about time

Isn't it a shame when the kidnappers of children get no respect?

Janet Jenkins/Lisa Miller case gets Nightline treatment

FRC's Peter Sprigg voices support for kidnapping of child in custody case

Liberty Counsel attacking lgbt parenting again but won't comment on Jenkins/Miller case

Washington Post columnist: Lisa Miller needs to come out of hiding and face her chaos

Janet Jenkins pleads for help in finding her daughter

Janet Jenkins/Lisa Miller custody case still not resolved despite judge's orders

Jenkins gets full custody

Lesbian mother wins custody case against 'ex-gay' former partner

Stop misrepresenting the Lisa Miller/Janet Jenkins custody case

Liberty Counsel uses bad logic to deny lesbian the right to see her child

Mrs. Kramer Vs. Mrs. Kramer

Andrew Shirvell FINALLY fired for harassing gay student

File this under IT'S ABOUT @!^ TIME!!:

An assistant Michigan attorney general who caused a national stir by waging a campaign against the University of Michigan's openly gay student president was fired today.

Andrew Shirvell, who kept a critical blog and picketed against Chris Armstrong, was told he is fired today in a brief meeting in Lansing.

"The cumulative effects of his use of state resources, harassing conduct that is not protected by the First Amendment, and his lies during the disciplinary conference all demonstrate adequate evidence of conduct unbecoming a state employee," Attorney General Mike Cox said in a statement issued by his office today. "Ultimately, Mr. Shirvell's conduct has brought his termination from state service."

Shirvell is considering a civil service appeal of his termination or lawsuit for wrongful discharge, according to his lawyer Philip Thomas.

"I feel terrible for Andrew," Thomas said. "He has worked at that agency approximately four years. He has gotten excellent ratings and reviews each of his four years. His supervisors were aware of the blog as early as April or May, not that they condoned the content of it or that they condemned it. I just feel my client's constitutional First Amendment rights were in play here. Attorney General Mike Cox at first said the same thing and now, all of a sudden this happens."

Shirvell, 30 and a U-M alum, created a blog last spring to launch a crusade against the 21-year-old student assembly president he called, "a radical homosexual activist, racist, elitist and liar."

Armstrong has said Shirvell contacted his friends, showed up at his public appearances and insulted his family and friends on the blog. Shirvell was briefly banned from the Ann Arbor campus on harassment claims, but the order was lifted earlier this week by the university.

Shirvell's campaign attracted national attention when Shirvell appeared last month after giving an interview to CNN news personality Anderson Cooper. Shirvell took a personal leave of absence after appearing on the national broadcast. Last week, Comedy Central's news parody "The Daily Show" aired a lampooned interview that Shirvell's lawyer said he also gave near the end of September.

Armstrong's lawyer, who has said has asked the Michigan Attorney Grievance Commission to disbar Shirvell, said today Cox made the right decision.

Part of me feels guilty for being happy that someone has lost their job, but this was long overdue.

Truth Wins Out protests 'ex-gay' group's lies and other Monday midday news briefs

Lisa Miller's in hiding. We can now scratch SCOTUS building off places to search - Lisa Miller needs to the right thing and return little Isabella.

Pictures from Truth Wins Out’s ‘Lift My Luggage’ Protest at the NARTH Convention - Awesome protest. I hated that I had to miss it.

Gates, Obama urge repeal of military's gay ban - Get cracking, folks!

Gay Episcopal bishop to retire amid death threats - THIS is something I hate.

In Efforts to End Bullying, Some See Agenda - Of course there is an agenda and that is to make sure that all children are safe. Ooooo spooky!

Fox News Channel's anti-Obama smear campaign resembles Shakespeare's Othello

(Not necessarily an lgbt issue but our community would do well to pay attention to how Fox News's war on Obama has transpired. The same tactic has been used on us by the religious right.)

Fans of William Shakespeare are familiar with the play Othello in which a black leader (Othello) is done in by a treacherous lieutenant (Iago) constantly whispering in his ear, implying that his new wife (Desdemona) has been unfaithful to him.

In the past two years, this country has been witnessing a sort of recreation of this play in the smearing of President Obama by Fox News.

Ever since the 2008 Presidential election, Fox News hasn't simply registered disapproval with Obama's policies. The network has carried it three steps further by engaging in a personal vendetta and an undeclared campaign of misinformation designed to poison the public against Obama, exploit many Americans' silent uneasiness with electing the first black president, and thereby undermining not only his policies but his legacy as well.

 From Fox News, it has been implied that:

• Obama hates America because he is a socialist.
• Obama is a racist seeking "payback" for African-Americans
• Obama is secretly a Muslim
• Obama hates the Constitution
• Obama is running a Justice Department who won't prosecute discrimination cases where whites are the victims and African-Americans are the perpetrators
• Obama doesn't believe in the free market.
• Obama is in charge of a huge unethical empire of voter fraud whose base is ACORN
• Michelle Obama is sort of the reincarnation of the "extravagant" Marie Antoinette
• Obama is trying to destroy America in pursuit of his father's Keynesian beliefs
• Obama is always apologizing to foreign countries instead of pushing the idea of "American Exceptionalism (whatever the heck that is) because he is secretly ashamed of this country.

And the latest lie:

• Obama is spending an unnecessary amount of money ($200 million a day) on a trip to India.

None of these charges are well-thought-out reasonable opposition to Obama's policies. Rather they are the equivalent of feces thrown by enraged baboons so consumed with hitting their targets that they don't care how deep they have to sink their arms into the gunk.

Now in Othello, Iago's constant hinting, whispering, and nudging drove Othello to a fever pitch, leading him to murder his wife and then commit suicide after realizing that he had been duped.

Some progressives can probably make the case that this is figuratively similar to the 2010 mid-terms where the American people gave control of the House of Representatives back to the Republicans - a party whose policies are responsible for our presently poor financial state, a party who, despite its clarion cry of "jobs, jobs, jobs," has no concrete plan for job creation or deficit reduction, and a party who seems to want to waste time and attention in a futile war over Obama's health care bill and useless Congressional investigations instead of fulfilling their promises to the American people.

It's not that simple. One can't completely blame Fox News for the 2010 mid-term elections. There is enough blame for the Democrats and Obama himself to absorb a little.

But still, this version of Othello hasn't ended just yet. As long as Obama is in office, Fox News will continue to act as an imp seated on the shoulder of America, whispering in her ear, manifesting fears, and sowing doubts via ugly innuendo camouflaged as legitimate news with every intention of painting our President as a sepia "Manchurian Candidate."

My hope is that enough Americans will eventually recognize Fox News as the propaganda machine that it is and develop a tin ear to its vitriol.

We have every right not to like our President. At times we should disagree with our President. But no American should ever be made to fear our President. And we should always respect our President.

But the way Fox News is going,  I wouldn't be surprised if some folks ended up using Obama as a boogeyman to get their children to behave.

That's what Fox News's goal seems to be. And there is something dreadfully wrong with that.

Porno Pete LaBarbera, the Republican victories, and victory disease

It happens every time Republicans get huge victories in a national election.

The "it" I am speaking of are religious right figures misjudging the results and make total fools of themselves.

The last time Republicans had a huge victory in a national election was in 2004 when Bush was re-elected. Soon after that, the discredited Paul Cameron slithered from whichever cave he was hiding in and began publishing "new studies" about the so-called dangers of homosexuality. These new studies were nothing more than his old monstrosities painted up to look like new developments in a way that someone with a nasty sense of humor would cover a brick with frosting

After a while, Cameron realized that the Republican victories didn't exactly mean his resurgence was eminent so he slithered back into his cave of well-deserved shame and obscurity.

But his misreading of Bush's re-election and the Republican victories was indicative of how many on that sense of the fence felt. For months on end, Republicans (particularly evangelicals who actually played a huge part in the victories) acted as if the word "humility" never existed.

Then reality, i.e. things like Hurricane Katrina in 2005, hit them like a ton of bricks. And the 2006 mid-terms, where Democrats won both the House and the Senate, finished them off.

The midterm victories of the Republican party this year brings out another degree of stupid from a familiar, but soon to be fading voice in the religious right - your friend and mine, Porno Pete LaBarbera:

What Is Obama Thinking? Renews Push For Homosexuals in Military

TAKE ACTION NOW: Read Lt. Col. Ollie North’s article, “Military Lab Rats,” and urge your U.S. Congressman and U.S. Senators [202-224-3121 (Senate); 202-225-3121 (House) www.congress.org] not to make our servicemembers guinea pigs for the Left’s radical social experiment of homosexualizing the U.S. Military. As for the new, Republican-led Congress, we must demand a congressional investigation of the Obama administration’s subversion of the law banning homosexual servicemembers. Obama has so politicized the process of reporting homosexuals in the military that he has made it very difficult to expel violators of the policy. This must end.

LaBarbera is talking about the possibility that the repeal DADT may be taken up during the lame duck session of Congress to be held before the Republicans take over.

Now I know plenty will be said about whether or not this is a possibility, plenty will be said about whether or not it will be successful, and even more will be said about Obama and DADT.

But let's focus on something else for a second.

Don't you smell a little victory disease coming from the other side again?

Wikipedia (yes I know I am citing wikipedia so don't bother pointing it out) defines victory disease as:

when in military history, because of complacency and/or arrogance brought on by a victory or series of victories, an engagement ends disastrously for a commander and his forces.

Historically, there have been several cases of these. The most specific was when after a score of victories, legendary French leader Napoleon invaded Russia. He won the battle, but it cost him a large part of his army, thereby precipitating his fall. In hindsight, it was a dumb idea.

Just like calling for a Congressional investigation of the repeal of DADT. Of course a dumber idea would be for the Republican Congress to take LaBarbera up on that offer.


I really don't that they will. However there are plenty of other things they plan to investigate the Obama Administration over and none of them make any sense. Then there is Senate Minority leader Mitch McConnell's bold statement of the biggest Republican priority is not jobs or deficit reduction but to defeat Obama in 2012. And don't even get me started on how they want to repeal the entire health care bill, even though a majority of Americans actually like parts of it.

Just like Cameron's idiocy in 2004 masked a broad misreading of Republican victories, it seems that LaBarbera's statement of investigating the Obama Administration's DADT repeal efforts seems to be masking another broad misreading of Republican victories in this mid-term.

Which in the long run may prove yet again those who do not learn from history will always repeat it.

Know Your LGBT History - The Birdcage

The Birdcage (1996) is an Americanized version of the 1978 movie La Cage aux Folles. La Cage aux Folles was a huge hit and spawned a very successful Tony-award winning 1983 Broadway play.

The Birdcage was also a huge success, but not without controversy. From the Internet Movie Database:

A gay cabaret owner (Robin Williams) and his drag queen companion (Nathan Lane) agree to put up a false straight front so that their son (Dan Futterman) can introduce them to his fiancé's (Calista Flockhart) right-wing moralistic parents (Gene Hackman and Dianne Wiest).

The Birdcage got some criticism because of Lane's character, Albert. Albert can be seen as the stereotypically flaming, emotional gay. He screeches, squeals, and cries a lot.

Some lgbts gave Lane's performance a lot of criticism, while others praised the movie in general.

But I say that I saw nothing wrong with Lane's performance. Let me explain. Part of the problem with stereotypical portrayals of lgbts is that they usually represent how we are seen by some heterosexuals - one dimensional and weak.

Albert is not one dimensional and he is not weak. And this is because of Lane's peformance. While Albert is flaming, emotional, and highly paranoid, he is also talented, warm, friendly, and very loving to his partner's son.

You can't help but to love him and his moxie. If I knew someone like Albert, I would love to have him as a friend:




Past Know Your LGBT History posts:
 
Know Your LGBT History - Maude

Know Your LGBT History - That Certain Summer

Know Your LGBT History - Boat Trip

Know Your LGBT History - Staircase

Know Your LGBT History - Beautiful Thing

Know Your LGBT History - Armed and Dangerous

Know Your LGBT History - The Proud Family

Know Your LGBT History - Suddenly Last Summer

Know Your LGBT History - Gay TV Now

Know Your LGBT History - Stewardess School

Know Your LGBT History - Up the Academy

Know Your LGBT History - Don't be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood

Know Your LGBT History - A Different Story

Know Your LGBT History - Victim

Know Your LGBT History - The Color Purple

Know Your LGBT History - Making Love

Know Your LGBT History - A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2: Freddy's Revenge

Know Your LGBT History - Noah's Arc

Know Your LGBT History - Ode to Billy Joe

Know Your LGBT History - Adorable Adrian Adonis

Know Your LGBT History - The Night Strangler

Know Your LGBT History - All in the Family

Know Your LGBT History - Tongues Untied

Know Your LGBT History - The Celluloid Closet

Know Your LGBT History - Querelle

Know Your LGBT History - Theatre of Blood

Know Your LGBT History - Strange Fruit

Know Your LGBT History - Designing Women

Know Your LGBT History - The Children's Hour

Know Your LGBT History - Sylvester

Know Your LGBT History - Once Bitten

Know Your LGBT History - The Boys in the Band

Know Your LGBT History - Christopher Morley, the crossdressing assassin

Know Your LGBT History - Midnight Cowboy

Know Your LGBT History - Dracula's Daughter

Know Your LGBT History - Blacula

Know Your LGBT History - 3 Strikes

Know Your LGBT History - Paris Is Burning

Know Your LGBT History - The Women

Know your LGBT History - Soul Plane

Know Your LGBT History - The Player's Club

Special Know Your LGBT History - Fame

Know Your LGBT History - Welcome Home, Bobby

Know Your LGBT History - Barney Miller

Know your lgbt history - The Jerry Springer Show

Know your lgbt history - Martin Lawrence and that 'gay guy' on his show

Know your lgbt history - The Ricki Lake Show

Know your lgbt history - Which Way Is Up

Know your lgbt history - Gays in Primetime Soaps

Know your lgbt history - Boys Beware

Know your lgbt history - The Boondocks

Know your lgbt history - Mannequin

Know your lgbt history - The Warriors

Know Your LGBT History - New York Undercover

Know Your LGBT History - Low Down Dirty Shame

Know Your LGBT History - Fortune and Men's Eyes

Know your lgbt history - California Suite

Know your lgbt history - Taxi (Elaine's Strange Triangle)

Know your lgbt history - Come Back Charleston Blue

Know your lgbt history - James Bond goes gay

Know your lgbt history - Windows

Know your lgbt history - To Wong Foo and Priscilla

Know your lgbt history - Blazing Saddles

Know your lgbt history - Sanford and Son

Know your lgbt history - In Living Color

Know your lgbt history - Cleopatra Jones and her lesbian drug lords

Know your lgbt history - Norman, Is That You?

Know your lgbt history - The 'Exotic' Adrian Street

Know your lgbt history - The Choirboys

Know your lgbt history - Eddie Murphy

Know your lgbt history - The Killing of Sister George

Know your lgbt history - Hanna-Barbera cartoons pushes the 'gay agenda

'Know your lgbt history - Cruising

Know your lgbt history - Foxy Brown and Cleopatra Jones

Know your lgbt history - I Got Da Hook Up

Know your lgbt history - Fright Night

Know your lgbt history - Flowers of Evil

The Jeffersons and the transgender community     

Pete LaBarbera returns to posting porn and other Friday midday news briefs

My son is gay - I wish a lot more mothers was this awesome.

Anti-gay Message Found on Edcouch-Elsa High School Marquee - Clearly there needs to be more work done.

Right-Wing Lays Out Agenda for GOP Leaders, Calls For "Restoring Traditional Moral Values" - And its on! Good. It was getting pretty damn dull around here. I've been waiting for this.

Peter LaBarbera’s Posting Porn Again - Ah yes. The Porno Pete I know and despise is back. All is normal in the world.

World Net Daily’s magazine: for folks who are astonishingly stupid - Apparently America has a "gay obsession."

When will we address THIS reason why the Democrats lost the mid terms?

Per usual, Rachel Maddow destroys conservative lies. It bothers me just a bit that while all these reasons why the Democrats got swamped in the mid terms are floating around, very few are calling attention to the right-wing echo chamber which ratcheted up the lies against Obama and the Democrats, thereby scaring Americans and exploiting covert prejudices against Obama.

Saying "that's just how politics is" is a cop-out. Strangely enough, the same people who always claim about how sick they are with Washington or how Washington is broken seems to always be silent when it comes to calling lies out. You can't defeat a disease without naming it.

And don't even get me started on Fox News. The fact that for the first time in history, a political party has an entire "news" network - the number one news network at that - in its back pocket and pushing its agenda seems to escape everyone. This is a shame because it's significant. And ironic. The clarion call against Obama seems to be that he is a dictator and runs a regime.

Who's more of a product of a "regime?" President Obama or a network fueling a political party?

Lastly, the lgbt community really needs to pay attention to this because there is a case to be made - which I will get into later - in how the campaign of lies against Obama and the Democrats are similar to the campaign of lies the religious right wages against us.

How sad is it that those who market in lies can borrow from one another, but those engaged in truth and progressive ideas can't. Or rather don't.


Hat tip to Joe.My.God.

Tea partier challenges me and gets smacked down . . HARD

A certain anonymous member of the tea party didn't like my post, Message to the Tea Party - What took you so long to get angry?, so the person took it upon him or herself to give answers to what was written.

If this person had meant to refute me, that person failed miserably. What this person did show was the nasty callousness and selfishness that defines the tea party.

Below are the original lines, the tea party member's answer and then my answer (which are in red):

You didn't get mad when the Supreme Court stopped a legal recount and appointed a President.

Bush won. Multiple independent recounts completed in the years since have confirmed that fact. Get over it

Let's see those multiple recounts.

You didn't get mad when Cheney allowed Energy company officials to dictate Energy policy and push us to invade Iraq .

Democrats voted unanimously to send us to war. Twice. And Democrats have approved every spending bill to keep our troops there since.

Everyone, including the Democrats were lied to about weapons of mass destruction. And come on, who in their right mind will turn down spending bills for troops in war?

You didn't get mad when a covert CIA operative got outed.

Plame lied. Journalism died.

You are gonna have to do better than that. How did Plane lie? And if there wasn't any wrongdoing by the Bush Administration, then perhaps you should set up the "Scooter Libby went to jail for nothing" fund.

You didn't get mad when the Patriot Act got passed.

Of course we didn't. We wrote it.

The Patriot Act was definitely a demonstration what Beck always accuses Obama of doing - taking away our freedoms. How ironic that you don't have any problems with it.

You didn't get mad when we illegally invaded a country that posed no threat to us.

We invaded Canada?

How was Iraq a threat to us? It had no link to Osama Bin Laden or Al Qeda.

You didn't get mad when we spent over 800 billion (and counting) on said illegal war.

Shame to have all those really cool weapons and not use them.

Cool weapons? That remark was both callous and cruel. You wanna repeat that line to the families of those who died? How about Pat Tillman's family?

You didn't get mad when Bush borrowed more money from foreign sources than the previous 42 Presidents combined.

Actually, that's kind of what started our getting mad.

I missed the protests, marches, and tea party expresses to Washington.

You didn't get mad when over 10 billion dollars in cash just disappeared in Iraq.

Yes we did.

Again I missed the protests, marches, and tea party expresses to Washington.

You didn't get mad when you found out we were torturing people.

Yes we did.

Once again I missed the protests, marches, and tea party expresses to Washington.

You didn't get mad when Bush embraced trade and outsourcing policies that shipped 6 million American jobs out of the country.

Yes we did.

Nope. Again no protests, marches, and tea party expresses to Washington. I think this would have been a perfect time for some of those "I want my country back" primal screams. Those seemed not to have taken place either.

You didn't get mad when the government was illegally wiretapping Americans.

Yes we did.

You all were using the Jedi mind trick to show your anger, weren't you?

You didn't get mad when we didn't catch Bin Laden.

Yes we did.

You must have been communicating your anger to each other by a huge mind meld, like the Borg on Star Trek.

You didn't get mad when Bush rang up 10 trillion dollars in combined budget and current account deficits.

Yes we did.

That must have been when you all started writing ugly letters to each other rather than protesting and marching in Washington.

You didn't get mad when you saw the horrible conditions at Walter Reed.

Yes we did.

Let me guess. You didn't protest or go to Washington with signs during this time or any of the other times? You sure you all got angry?

You didn't get mad when we let a major US city, New Orleans drown.

Yes we did get mad -- at the Democrats that ignored 30 years of warnings that the levies were inadequate. We got mad at the useless governor who blocked Federal assistance at every level. We got mad at the useless mayor who refused to evacuate his city. We got mad at the useless Democrat emergency management officials who didn't HAVE an emergency evacuation plan. We got mad at the useless Democrat citizens who sat around waiting for their useless Democrat officials to save their useless Democrat butts. We got mad at those same useless Democrat citizens who re-elected the same useless Democrat mayor. And we're still mad that the same useless Democrat emergency management department STILL HASN'T WRITTEN AN EVACUATION PLAN!

Yes it was the Democrats who told Michael Brown, "you are doing one heckuva job, Brownie." And a lot of those people were either unable to move because they had no transportation or was in the hospital or in nursing homes. But those "stupid people" deserved to die, right?

You didn't get mad when we gave people who had more money than they could spend, the filthy rich, over a trillion dollars in taxbreaks.

No, because those rich folks are our employers. The money they don't send to the government in taxes is what we call "pay checks".

Standard silly line about rich people. You sound like you live in a feudal society. I love the world you live in where rich people should get big tax breaks but people in nursing homes should be left to die in a flood because they are too stupid to get out.

You didn't get mad with the worst 8 years of job creations in several decades.

Because we don't live in the Democrat-controlled states where all those jobs were lost.

So only states controlled by Democrats had high unemployment? South Carolina had an unemployment rate of of 11.5 in August. Didn't know the Republican governor Mark Sanford was a Democrat. Georgia at the same time had an unemployment rate of 10.3. Who knew the Republican governor at the time, Sonny Perdue was a secret Democrat. Need I say more?

You didn't get mad when over 200,000 US Citizens lost their lives because they had no health insurance.

Red herring. Every hospital in the United States is required to administer life-saving health care to all patients, regardless of ability to pay. Look it up.

So you don't refute this fact, you just call it a red herring. And imply the notion that if these people die, it's their stupidity. According to a 2002 study -

* Uninsured people with colon or breast cancer face a 50% higher risk of death.

* Uninsured trauma victims are less likely to be admitted to the hospital, receive the full range of needed services, and are 37% more likely to die of their injuries.

* About 25% of adult diabetics without insurance for a year or more went without a checkup for two years. That boosts their risk of death, blindness and amputations resulting from poor circulation.

But it's okay as long as those tax breaks for the rich keep coming, huh.

You didn't get mad when lack of oversight and regulations from the Bush Administration caused US Citizens to lose 12 trillion dollars in investments, retirement, and home values.

Oh we got mad -- mad at the Democrats who have been in control of the institutions that CAUSED the financial meltdown. We also got mad at Bush for not taking action when the fraud was uncovered. 

Bush was President at the time, but it was the Democrats' fault. That makes sense. Whatever happened to the "buck stops here?"

My friend, you really shouldn't have bothered to answer. If your aim was to defend the tea party, you failed. Your comments, especially the ones about the "cool weapons" demonstrate the real tea party - a group created by resentment and so cowardly that they can't even admit their own prejudices so they wrap it up in jingoism and phony patriotism. Sad.

Belgian Catholic church head says gays deserve AIDS and other Thursday midday news briefs

Head of Belgian Catholic church says AIDS is ‘justice’ for gays - I'm starting to think that some members of the Catholic church just plain don't like us.

Florida Ends Drug Assistance for 350 with HIV/AIDS - This ain't good at all.

Video: Rudy on #DADT repeal: 'You could probably accomplish it now. ' - Rudy Guliani is all for a repeal of DADT. Is it time for the primaries yet, Rudy? Talk about positioning yourself.

Guest column by David Mixner - LGBT Community: What Now? - We do what we always do. Pick ourselves up. Dust ourselves off. And fight like hell.

Alameda County voters elect country's first transgender judge - Congratulations Victoria Kolakowski !

'That's Gay' takes on Eddie Long

Maybe I'm wrong for doing this but I think the mood should be lightened a bit. Yes the Republicans have taken over the House of Representatives and in Iowa, three judges who ruled for marriage equality were voted out. But we will overcome this setbacks. Remember, a record number of lgbt candidates were also voted in AND we have a fourth lgbt member of Congress.

So take a chill pill and watch Infomania's take on the Eddie Long controversy:




Past Infomania posts:

A funny look at lgbt villains

A funny look at 'gay' commercials

An interesting and thought-provoking take on lgbt pride

Elena Kagan 'plays softball like a lesbian'

Conversion Therapy - a video with George Rekers in mind

Advice to closeted politicans - How to keep from being exposed

Why the phrase 'No Homo' is highly needed

Reasons why the 'sanctity' of proms MUST be preserved from Constance McMillen

Why gay marriage is 'wrong'  

Video games are SO gay

Making fun of anti-gay liars is always good therapy

  

The Daily Show focuses on homophobic cyber bully Andrew Shrivell

We all know the story of assistant attorney general for the state of Michigan Andrew Shrivell and his vendetta against Chris Armstrong, the student body president at the University of Michigan.

Now the Daily Show weighs in and words cannot describe how the show tears Shrivell apart. Actually the show lets Shrivell tear himself apart. As such with bullies and homophobes. Give them a platform and sooner or later, they destroy themselves:

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Look Who's Stalking
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Rally to Restore Sanity