Matt Barber's homophobic dilemma or . . . is Liberty University in league with 'Satan?'

Matt Barber

Liberty University Dean and arch-homophobe Matt Barber was interviewed today by the equally vile Cliff Kincaid. Naturally with those two together, one can easily guess the subject - those "evil homosexuals."

From Right Wing Watch:

During the program, Kincaid asked Barber about his new BarbWire website and why he felt the need to start this new project, to which Barber replied that it was built because "we are at war" with Satan and so the website was designed to play a key role in waging "spiritual warfare." "We are going to take a firm position," Barber explained, "we're not going to take even an inch step backward in this culture war. We recognize that we are at war here with the radical progressive left in the United States of America and so we are going to cut through all of their nonsense, all of their propaganda, the lies of the enemy; you know, as a Christian site, the enemy being the Prince of the Earth, Satan himself, that's what we're up against here. And this is very much spiritual warfare":

Hyperbole is nothing new for Barber. But this time, I think it's safe to say that he is now in the middle of the largest contradiction of homophobia thus far in 2014. You see, it's ironic that Barber implies that fighting the lgbt community is like fighting against Satan when his employer, Liberty University is presently in the middle of a controversy involving a gay man it hired to choreograph a play.

'Teacher suspended for merely being transgender' and other Thursday midday news briefs

WATCH: Texas Teacher Suspended for Being Transgender - This is a load of junk. Parents complained because they didn't want to explain to their children the subject of being transgender. It's been my experience that children generally handle discussions like these better than parents. 

Breitbart Texas Smears Teacher Suspended For Being Transgender - And crap like this doesn't help anyone.

Dayton Approves Tougher Anti-Bullying Law - Minnesota passes and its governor signs a very strict anti-bullying bill after "some folks" tried to filibuster it. 

Utah Distances Itself From Mark Regnerus’ Anti-Gay Study It Previously Cited - I am so not gloating here but "he he he he!" 

 Mike Huckabee Denies History Of Anti-LGBT Vitriol - Mike Huckabee likes to swear up and down that he is not homophobic when it comes to his anti-gay statements. He claims he is simply "defending his faith." Mike Huckabee is that rare breed of person who will lie in your face with the hope that you have a short memory. We don't and neither does Equality Matters.

SC legislator Garry Smith - gays were plotting to 'recruit' children until he stopped them

SC Rep. Garry Smith

If this blog had a "tacky shit-o-meter," the following item would be number one this week. One of the South Carolina legislators attacking state colleges for assigning books with gay-themes actually sent out a fundraising letter with claim so nauseating that Anita Bryant would tell him to tone it down.

I hope you haven't eaten before reading this snippet from Rep. Garry Smith:

Dear Friend,

Radical leftists constantly try to assert that political conservatives, cultural traditionalists, people of faith — basically anyone who doesn't agree with their agenda — are "intolerant." But let's step back and take a good look at who's being intolerant.

I'm Rep. Garry Smith, and I've recently taken a bold stand that has put me squarely in the crosshairs of some of the most intolerant people in American today — the far-left militant homosexual community...

There is a concerted effort to push anti-American, anti-Christian, and non-traditional values onto our children at their most intellectually vulnerable stages — as they're learning in our public schools and universities. I've been watching this phenomenon unfold for years and, finally, a recent event pushed me to the breaking point.

When the College of Charleston and the University of South Carolina-Upstate required that college students read blatantly pro-homosexual and pornographic propaganda without any alternative or counter-balancing view being offered, I said, "Enough is enough!"

As legislators, we have limited power to stop this nation's cultural slide, but one thing we do control are the purse strings of our public schools. That includes our K-12 schools and our public colleges and universities. I will not stand idly by and allow our tax dollars to be used to fund radical leftists' and militant homosexuals' propaganda machine.

I led the charge in the South Carolina legislature to strip funding from the public institutions of learning that are pushing this garbage on our students — and that's what it is, GARBAGE!

You can imagine the reaction that is now sweeping our part of this great nation. For taking a stand and saying, "You're not spending my tax dollars and those of my constituents to push this garbage on our children," and now, I'm being threatened and called every name in the book.

It's the usual bullying routine you see whenever someone who holds to traditional values takes a stand against the radical left. The true hatred, bigotry, and intolerance that exists in this country comes out and the individual carrying the flag for traditional values is targeted with vicious verbal attacks, smears, threats, and intimidation.

You can read the rest at Charleston City Paper. By the way, Smith is so full of crap that you can smell him with both nostrils closed. He is running unopposed.

Now ain't THAT scary?

For SC State Senator Mike Fair, it's all about 'gay sex'

SC Sen Mike Fair

The situation involving South Carolina legislators' attack on two state colleges over lgbt issues has just gone nationwide.

And it doesn't bode well for the state.

Originally, the controversy was about the SC State House taking away $70,000 collectively from the College of Charleston and the University of South Carolina Upstate. The amount adds up to the how much the two colleges spent on the gay-themed books which they assigned students. The legislators claimed that the books, Fun Home and Out Loud: The Best of Rainbow Radio doesn't represent SC community value and were pornographic.

But now the situation is centering around a now canceled lecture at the University of South Carolina Upstate.  The lecture titled, “How to be a lesbian in 10 days or less" is a satirical and comedic one-woman show by Leigh Hendrix which dealt with coming out.

However, lawmakers raised a fuss about the lecture, claiming that it was "recruiting" students to be gay.  One lawmaker in particular, Sen. Mike Fair of Greenville, had this to say:

“That's not an explanation of 'I was born this way.’  It's recruiting.”

So now, thanks to Sen. Fair, various nationwide media have picked up the story and few, including the Huffington Post, are tongue-in-cheek with their coverage. The majority of them are focusing on the ridiculous notion that a lecture could actually make someone gay.

And Sen. Fair, not unlike the main character in the fable The Mischievous Dog, continues to publicly comment about the lecture and homosexuality, totally oblivious as to how ridiculous South Carolina looks every time he opens his mouth.

Recently, he was interviewed by a local independent newspaper, The Free Times. During the interview, Sen. Fair had some very interesting things to say about lgbt South Carolinians:

Fair — a staunch religious conservative who believes homosexuality is morally wrong — says that while Americans have inalienable rights, glorifying homosexuality at taxpayers’ expense is not one of them. When Free Times pointed out that homosexuals pay taxes, too, as do the families of gay college students, Fair suggested they are also lawbreakers. He pointed to an antiquated state law against “the abominable act of buggery.” While the law is not enforced and homosexuality is not exactly illegal, Fair admits, he says it is still immoral and unhealthy.

Believe it or not, Fair continues:

Doesn’t morality extend to teaching tolerance of homosexuality in a free society? Isn’t that what USC Upstate and the College of Charleston were trying to accomplish? “I don’t believe that,” he says. Actually, he said, homosexuals “lack security in their conviction that what they’re doing is okay.” 

When Sen. Fair talks about "what homosexuals are doing," he is talking about sex. Or more specifically, what he imagines sexual intercourse is between two men because usually when folks like Sen. Fair start hinting about "gay sex," men having sex with each other seems to always be the direction they head to. Apparently to them, lesbians never have sex.

'College basketball star comes out, Scott Lively stumped on gay sex' & other Wednesday midday news briefs

Derrick Gordon

 Derrick Gordon Comes Out As Gay - Derrick Gordon is a sophomore starter for the University of Massachusetts men's basketball team, and just became the first openly gay male NCAA Division 1 basketball player. How ya like us now?!  

Scott Lively: 'Science Says' Gays 'Using Parts Of The Body In Ways They're Not Supposed To Be Used' - For all of the crap stirring he has done against the lgbt community, when Scott Lively is asked specific questions with regards to his claims about our supposed sex habits, he is stumped.

NOM's Thomas Peters called us 'forces of evil' (and much more)—but we're the ones damaging discourse? - What a load. If lgbts were true "forces of evil," I would be able to dress better, like a male Alexis from 'Dynasty.'  

Mike Huckabee: Opposing LGBT Equality Is ‘On The Right Side Of The Bible’ - Please run for President, Mike Huckabee. I've got a bunch of stuff I've been ITCHING to post about your more "gentle" type of homophobia.  

Anti-Gay Activists Can’t Decide Whether LGBT People Are Nazis Or Stalinists - To them, we are both. AND we have stinky feet.

GLSEN's Day of Silence: Lies vs. Truth

 Friday is GLSEN's Day of Silence. For those who still aren't aware of this annual event, the above video (featuring lies about GLSEN's Day of Silence vs. the truth) says it all.

Anti-gay hate group leader launches false attack on homeless lgbt youth

Linda Harvey

Anti-gay hate group leader Linda Harvey (Mission America) made these comments last week. However in light of the upcoming GLSEN's Day of Silence which highlights the problems faced by lgbt youth, they deserve more attention.

They underscore the deliberate obliviousness of the anti-gay industry when it comes to our lgbt children and also why I personally wouldn't allow Harvey around any children, much less lgbt children:



Transcript: 

 ‘Kids are kicked out of their homes just for being who they are,’ is how the saying goes, well let me offer another possibility that I’ve heard far too often: a parent learns that a son or daughter is claiming to be gay but an underage child still lives at home, so the now-heartbroken parent puts new restrictions on some of the activities like for instance, the teen is no longer going to be having sleepovers with that same-sex friend, or if the friend is a college student or has an apartment, visits over there will not be permitted. What does the teen do? It may become a fight where the teen storms out by choice and leaves voluntarily because the homosexual relationship is more important than that of his or her parents. And when that all-important relationship ends, the teen is too stubborn or already too-involved in alcohol or drugs or the premature independence of the homosexual life and he or she would rather drift than return home. It’s not always the case of course but personal decisions are at the heart of these issues. 

Hat tip to Right Wing Watch.

'Shattering the myth of the 'Gay Mafia'' and other Tuesday midday news briefs

Who’s Afraid Of The Gay Mafia? - This post effectively exposes the myth of a supposed 'Gay Mafia.'

Fox News again pretends something other than animus brings Tony Perkins on-air - Fox News runs interference for the anti-gay hate group the Family Research Council (again.) 

 Fox News Goes Right Back To Advocating For Anti-Gay Business Discrimination - More perspective on the above from Equality Matters.  

U.S. Suspends Ugandan HIV Research Project - Uganda will destroy its own future with its homophobia.  

Transgender Sexual Violence Survivors Are Slipping Through the System - This is not good. 

 Linda Harvey To Gay Teens: Stay In The Closet! - GLSEN's Day of Silence is Friday. Meet the woman who could be  probably the best example why such a day is necessary.

SC senator doubles down on homophobia, adds a little Obama bashing

Lee Bright

SC State Sen (and Lindsey Graham's primary opponent for US Senate) Lee Bright isn't backing away from the crazy which has caused him to be embroiled in a war over state colleges and universities over lgbt issues.

He seems to be embracing it, with a little Obama bashing on the side. According to Right Wing Watch:

Speaking on Washington Watch with Josh Duggar, the TLC reality TV star who also serves as executive director of the Family Research Council’s campaign arm, Bright said GOP leaders like Speaker John Boehner should have the “courage” of al-Assad and Russian president Vladimir Putin. He also promised to fight to “take back” the “educational establishment” from the “homosexual agenda” before it “indoctrinates” the “next generation.” 

Transcript: 

 Republicans need to learn to start playing offense and quit playing so much defense. You look at, of course I hate to use examples, you look at Assad and you look at Putin, when people stand up to Obama, you see that he backs up and his lines in the sand become erased. If [Speaker] Boehner had the courage that Putin and Assad had, we’d be living in a different America, but we don’t have the leadership and we’ve got to continue to try to get folks to Washington that are going to take the fight to the liberal agenda. One thing I didn’t mention earlier, you were talking about things going around the state, we’ve got the homosexual agenda on the full march in our institutions of higher ed and we’ve gone from education to indoctrination, so we are in a fight — they have seized the educational establishment and we’ve got to take that back and we’ve got to get folks involved in that or otherwise that’s our next generation.

I never thought that there would be a candidate for Senate who would make me actually root for Lindsey Graham.

Former Congressman Barney Frank likes his copy of 'How They See Us'

On Monday night, former Massachusetts Congressman Barney Frank was in Columbia, SC attending a fundraiser for SC Equality. I was able to give him a copy of my booklet, How They See Us: Unmasking the Religious Right War on Gay America. He enjoyed reading it and took a copy with him when he departed.

How They See Us: Unmasking the Religious Right War on Gay America has reached over 900,000 readers (direct and embedded). To read it or get your free copy, go here.

If that site is giving you problems, you can read or download it here directly from adobe acrobat.

Let's go for one million!

'What does today's victory at the Supreme Court mean for the lgbt community?' & other Monday midday news briefs

BREAKING: Supreme Court won’t hear anti-gay photographer case - By now, a vast majority of the lgbt community knows of and is celebrating this critical victory but I figure what the heck. Still post it. 

What To Make Of The Supreme Court’s Decision Not To Hear That Anti-Gay Photographer’s Case - Extensive commentary and details about today's victory by Think Progress.

 SC lawmaker accuses college of 'recruiting' students to be gay - I know what you are thinking. Why am I featuring this post again when it was the featured story on my blog this morning. Because I don't want you to miss it. It's THAT important.  

Elaine Donnelly, professional military discrimination advocate: Trans soldiers want to serve so military can pay for surgery - Oh good grief. Give it up, Elaine and show some dignity in defeat.  

Dear Andrew Sullivan, 'Left-Liberal Intolerance' Did Not Bring Down Mozilla's CEO - A very important post because of the next one.  

BarbWire: 'Al-'Gay'Da' And 'Lezbollah' Terrorists Brought Down Mozilla CEO - Don't you just love the way homophobes think of the cutest insulting names for the lgbt community and then cry foul when they are called homophobes?

SC lawmaker accuses college of 'recruiting' students to be gay

Sen. Mike Fair

The controversy over South Carolina colleges, gay issues, and the ire of state legislators at colleges for even talking about gays issues show no sign of slowing down.

Earlier this year the House took away $70,000 collectively from the College of Charleston and the University of South Carolina Upstate. The amount adds up to the how much the two colleges spent on the gay-themed books. The legislators claimed that the books, Fun Home and Out Loud: The Best of Rainbow Radio doesn't represent SC community value and were pornographic.

Then it was announced that USC Upstate could face further cuts because the school is hosting a symposium on gay topics that at one point included a lecture titled, “How to be a lesbian in 10 days or less.”

This lecture is a one-woman show by Leigh Hendrix which dealt with coming out. It is considered to be a comical and satirical lecture, but due to the provocative title, some right-wing and anti-gay blogs got a hold of the story and made various inaccurate comments about students "being taught how to be gay."

USC Upstate canceled the lecture because of the controversy this was causing.

However, some lawmakers are still furious over the books and lecture and took it upon themselves to castigate not only USC Upstate but also the lgbt community. One in particular, Sen. Mike Fair, claimed that university students are being "recruited" to be gay:

"It's just not normal and then you glorify, or it seems to me, that the promotion at USC is glorification of same sex orientation,” said Republican state Sen. Mike Fair.

Fair said the school took what he calls questionable behavior even further when it booked the show "How to Become a Lesbian in 10 Days or Less."

“That's not an explanation of 'I was born this way.’  It's recruiting,” said Fair.

So there it is. I wondered how long this controversy would go on before one of our legislators would play the "gays are trying to recruit" card.

Seriously though, I don't think it takes a genius to tell that, in spite of all of his negative comments, Fair has seen the lecture. I also doubt he read any of the books he is all up in arms about. And that goes double for other legislators (in particular Rep. Garry Smith, Sen. Lee Bright, and Sen. Kelvin Bryant) who have run to the media voicing negative comments and making threats.

And to me, the above asinine comment he made about recruiting isn't the worse remark made about this controversy. Fair and many of the other legislators I mentioned complained  on several occasions that the universities are wasting the taxpayer's money by focusing on lgbt issues.

Perhaps a group of SC lgbts should write these legislators asking just where is the "lgbt-exempt" line on our state tax forms.

The legislators represent a sad mindset which is the crux of this entire nonsense.

Lgbts are in loving relationships, we pay taxes, we raise children, we are the important linchpin of many South Carolina families.

But when folks like Fair are pressed to talk about us, they seem to be compelled to perform an insulting psychological dissection on who we are.

 To folks like him, the other legislators making a fuss about the colleges, and the right-wing blogs, our sexual orientations disqualify us from being treated fair and equally. Our sexual orientations also frees them to lie about us, bear false witness against us, or treat us like less than taxpaying citizens of this state. Instead, they treat lgbt South Carolinians like clay by molding us into the false images they conjure up about us in accordance to their so-called religious beliefs.

Our families, loving relationships, our close friendships, and even the respect due to us because we also pay taxes are replaced with images of pathetic sinners out to cause chaos and "recruit"  because we supposedly hate values and morality.

And God forbid that we want to talk about issues which affect us like every other group in South Carolina does. God forbid colleges and universities have classes and assignments which acknowledge us. To these holier-than-thou folks, that's akin children playing the Bloody Mary game in front of a bathroom mirror. To them, that's akin to us supposedly shoving our lifestyles down their throats.

It's what I've been saying throughout this mess from the start. Folks like Fair, Bright, Smith, etc want to erase our lives. They don't want to be reminded of who we actually are as people because they seem to think that their inaccurate images should be the beginning or ending of the matter.

But they should remember two things.

Some of those zeros in their legislative paychecks came from us.

And we know how to vote.

Related posts:

South Carolina legislators declare war on state colleges over gay issues 

Are SC legislators harming state universities on behalf on anti-gay groups?

South Carolina legislators declare war on state colleges over gay issues

Sen. Lee Bright

First my state legislators  in SC "penalize" colleges over gay-themed books. Now comes this.

From The State:

The University of South Carolina Upstate could have its budget cut again for another gay-themed program on the Spartanburg campus.

The school is hosting a symposium on gay topics that at one point included a lecture titled, “How to be a lesbian in 10 days or less.” The event comes a month after the House of Representatives cut $17,142 from USC Upstate’s budget for assigning freshmen to read an essay book on coming out gay in the South.

At least three state senators said Friday they are upset about USC Upstate’s gay-themed programming. They vow to not only keep the House’s cut but also slash more from the school’s budget next year.

“If they’ve got extra money sitting around to promote perversion, obviously they’ve got more money than they really need,” said S.C. Sen. Kevin Bryant, an Anderson Republican who sits on the Senate budget-writing committee.

That's danger with some people. They tend to talk before they know all of the facts . . . or even after they are aware of all of the facts. The State also says:

USC Upstate’s Bodies of Knowledge Symposium, slated for next Thursday and Friday, focuses on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and other sexual orientation issues and has stirred a typically conservative section of the state.

The college – which hosts a national conference on child abuse and an undergraduate research symposium highlighting students’ work – did not intend to stir controversy with the symposium, school officials said.

The theme is “an optional opportunity (for students) to explore some of these topics which they probably would not get to in a class or in another type of organized workshop,” Toth said.

Much of the outcry was over the planned performance by Leigh Hendrix of “How to be a lesbian in 10 days or less,” a comical story about coming out as gay.

But some people took it as an instructive performance, instead of a comedy, USC Upstate spokeswoman Tammy Whaley said.

 The event was cut after community and political uproar.

Read more here: http://www.thestate.com/2014/04/04/3368501/usc-upstate-facing-more-cuts-over.html#storylink=cpy

This nonsense is the latest salvo against state universities by SC legislators over lgbt issues. Recently, the House took away $70,000 collectively from the College of Charleston and the University of South Carolina Upstate. The amount adds up to the how much the two colleges spent on the gay-themed books. The legislators claimed that the books, Fun Home and Out Loud: The Best of Rainbow Radio doesn't represent SC community value and were pornographic.

But there is something else in particular you should know about the latest attack on the University of South Carolina Upstate. One of the main legislators running to the press voicing so-called outrage about this and issuing threats is Sen. Lee Bright of Spartanburg. He is also running for the U.S. Senate in a primary against Sen. Lindsey Graham. I guess Obamacare is out as a hot button issue for Bright, seeing that Graham just unveiled his "I'm going to stop Obamacare commercial." As nauseating as it is, it certainly beats the "I tried to find out the truth in Benghazi" commercials Sen. Graham was running.

So obviously with no other recourse, Bright seems to be going for the time-honored tradition of attacking the lgbt community in an election year. I think I liked him better when he was raffling off an AR-15 as a part of his campaign.

How nice it is that, in spite of all of the changes going on with regards to the acceptance of the lgbt community, there is still a place in this country where legislators seeking public office can still use us as scapegoats. I guess to Bright it definitely beats voicing concern over genuine issues.

A good friend of mine put it best:

"Election year. Yep, time to censor books, attack gay people, and foam at the mouth."

Read more here: http://www.thestate.com/2014/04/04/3368501/usc-upstate-facing-more-cuts-over.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.thestate.com/2014/04/04/3368501/usc-upstate-facing-more-cuts-over.html#storylink=cpy

'South Carolina gay community makes history' and other Friday midday news briefs

House Sub-committee hears testimony on (H.4025) The Workplace Fairness Act - Not bad! For the first time in history, the South Carolina legislature heard testimony in favor of protecting lgbts from workplace discrimination. It will NOT be the last time. 

 
Right-Wing Pundits Call Gay Rights Advocates 'Rainbowshirts,' 'Terrorists' And 'The New Nazis' - Meanwhile, anti-gay groups and spokespeople are acting the fool. For folks obsessed with how supposedly nasty sodomy is, they tend to show their collective asses a lot.  

Was the gay community right to target Mozilla’s Brendan Eich? - No doubt, you have heard of this controversy involving the former head of Mozilla. I say hell yes. Now the opposition says we didn't show tolerance. I say we showed the same tolerance they showed when they demanded that the head of World Vision be fired for the decision of hiring married gays.  

Robert Oscar Lopez is angry that GLAAD gives a spotlight to his words - Why that's awful! Poor Robert! (WE NEED A BIGGER SPOTLIGHT!)  

Pat Buchanan: God Is On Putin's Side, While "The West Is Gomorrah" - Pat Buchanan. A racist who doesn't like lgbts. THAT'S original.

Mississippi Gov signs 'religious liberty' bill, FRC shows up at signing ceremony

When I say that the anti-gay right is like a monster in one of those horror movies, I was not kidding. If lgbts defeat them in one area - in this case, Arizona - they just spring up in another.

From Talking Points Memo:

Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant signed a bill Thursday that supporters say will assure unfettered practice of religion without government interference but that opponents worry could lead to state-sanctioned discrimination against gays and lesbians.

The bill, called the Mississippi Religious Freedom Restoration Act, will become law July 1. It also will add "In God We Trust" to the state seal.

An early version of the bill, considered weeks ago, was similar to one Arizona's Republican governor, Jan Brewer, vetoed after business groups said it could hurt that state's economy. Supporters say the finalMississippi bill bears little resemblance to the failed Arizona measure.

Outside the state Capitol on Thursday, more than 75 gay-rights supporters protested against the bill. Jeff White of Waveland, a founder of the Mississippi Gulf Coast Lesbian and Gay Community Center, said as someone who is gay and Jewish, he worries such a new law could make him more vulnerable to unfair treatment.

"It's the first time in my life that I've actually considered moving out of Mississippi," said White, 32. "It made me physically ill the past few days, realizing what they're trying to do."

It gets worse.  Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council was present when Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant signed that awful bill. In fact he was invited to the signing ceremony. Thanks to Jeremy Hooper at Goodasyou.org for the awesome graphic below. It serves to remind folks just who supports this awful bill so we are not fooled as to what it's actually about:

Family Research Council mistaking God for a Fox News viewer

Either the Family Research Council is obsessed with attacking the credibility of the Southern Poverty Law Center . . .

 . . . or the group is secretly working to increase my hit count.

The latest attack on SPLC from FRC comes in the form of the prayer to God (link courtesy of Right Wing Watch):

"May God intervene to stop the systematic defamation of those who honorably defend Biblical values. May believers everywhere pray and stand with all such. May they know spiritual and physical safety and God's protection from every scheme formed against them!"

FRC is obviously making a public show of praying because surely the organization can't have the audacity to pray to God on this matter.

God's not stupid and He doesn't fall for lies. He knows all of the deceptions and lies of the Family Research Council.

 But for the benefit of those who don't, the following video is a definition of how the Family Research Council supposedly "honorably defends Biblical values:"



Apparently the Family Research Council has mistaken God for a gullible Fox News viewer if  the organization is truly praying to Him to defend this tripe.

Related post - 16 reasons why the Family Research Council is a hate group

'They can't blame gays for THAT! Yes they can' and other Thursday midday news briefs

Matt Barber's BarbWire will blame gays for EVERYTHING

BarbWire Blames Gays For Child Rapist’s Light Sentence - A fiendish man admits to sexually assaulting his infant daughter and Matt Barber's rag, Barbwire, knows exactly who is to blame for it - gay folks. Why? I DON'T KNOW!! (said in an exasperated sigh). 

Wash. Times Editor Emily Miller: Transgender Equality "Endangers Every Single Female" - Have you ever noticed how many times an anti-gay meme (which I call "headless monsters') gets debunked, it means nothing to the parties repeating them? We need another Edward R. Murrow to just tear these liars to shreds like the original did to Sen. Joseph McCarthy.  

Federal Judge: Sexual Orientation Can Be Protected Under Existing Sex Nondiscrimination Law - This is great news!

Arizona State Senator Tells Gay Colleague To 'Act More Gay' - You mean we can act "more gay" now? 

Activists Say U.S. Isn’t Sending A Strong Enough Message On Uganda’s Anti-Gay Law - Just putting it out there. It needs to be said.

Family Research Council's sad war on SPLC is simply embarrassing

Tony Perkins of FRC

Poor Family Research Council.

As far as I can tell, the group's attacks against the Southern Poverty Law Center in Hawaii have been failing.

However, the FRC remains under the illusion that SPLC is being disgraced and embarrassed and not just in Hawaii.

From FRC's webpage:

It hasn't exactly been a banner week for the Southern Poverty Law Center, which not only lost the support of the FBI but just yesterday, lost a federal court case as well. The defeat, combined with all the negative press over the government's growing wariness of the organization, is complicating matters for the once-prominent "civil rights" group. SPLC's most recent blow came at the hands of District Judge Wiley Daniel, who found no compelling evidence that the Public Advocate had acted improperly in using a photograph of two homosexuals in a mailing about candidates for state office. So ridiculous was the suit, Daniel found, that he dismissed it, insisting that it was well within Public Advocate's First Amendment rights to speak freely about same-sex "marriage."

"Public Advocate['s] actions are evidence that same-sex marriage can -- at the very least -- be considered as relating to political concerns of the community. Therefore," the court ruled, "I find that the mailers reasonably relate to a matter of public concern." For SPLC, which has been grasping at credibility since being linked in federal court to domestic terrorism, this was just another desperate attempt to cripple conservative organizations with expensive and frivolous legal suits that distract from their core mission. Fortunately for the Public Advocate, this latest victory only compounds SPLC's PR problems. If the group thought it was difficult to maintain government partners before, that task is becoming more complicated by the day.

Now those who read this blog should already know that when I focus a post on the Family Research Council, it's usually because I have caught the group in a lie. This time,  I've caught the group in two.

First of all, SPLC has not lost the support of the FBI. FRC links to a piss poor article in the Washington Examiner making this claim, just like many conservative and anti-gay sites did . . . last week. The claim was also debunked last week.

According to Equality Matters:

While right-wing media gleefully pounced on the FBI's decision to remove non-government organizations from a list of "resource" groups on a civil rights page, that decision applied to all non-government organizations, including groups like the Anti-Defamation League, equally. The bureau's website still lists the SPLC as a "public outreach" partner in the fight against hate crimes.  Days before the Times published its editorial, the FBI contradicted the right-wing media narrative that by telling the Daily Caller that the bureau continues to receive support "from a variety of organizations," but had simply "elected not to identify those groups on the civil rights page."

FRC's second claim is another lie. Judge Wiley Daniel did not totally dismiss the suit. He dismissed only a part of it.  He agreed that the defendants had a First Amendment right to use the picture of the gay couple.

But:

 . . . Daniel did not dismiss the claim of copyright infringement, rejecting the defendants’ argument that lifting a photo off the Internet and superimposing it onto a new background falls under the doctrine of fair use. Fair use arguments can be upheld if original works are used for educational purposes or if it’s “highly transformative,” meaning that it had been altered so much that it takes on “new expression, meaning or message,” according to Daniel’s order. The judge found that neither was the case in this instance and refused to dismiss the copyright claim.

So basically,  FRC is continuing its vendetta against SPLC for being called out as an anti-gay hate group and is looking mighty ridiculous.

Keep it up, Family Research Council. The only person you are helping with your pathetic vendetta is me. Every time I am able to expose your lies,  my hit counts grow astronomically. And more people become aware of how phony you are.

'Mark Regnerus is a glutton for punishment' and other Wednesday midday news briefs

Mark Regnerus

Mark Regnerus will never learn - Standard anti-gay practice; when discredited by the courts, blame the judge. Mark Regnerus definitely has sadomasochistic tendencies. I say we accommodate him in that respect. 

The Amazing Coincidence Behind Todd Starnes' Latest Christian Victimization Column - Uh oh. Todd Starnes may be in trouble (and it's about time, too.) There are rumblings that his latest lie of anti-Christian persecution is tied into generating sales for his upcoming book which is about . . . anti-Christian persecution. 

 Mississippi Legislature Passes ‘Religious Liberty’ Bill That Legalizes Discrimination Against Gay People - Well shit. You really didn't it would be over because of Arizona, did you 

 ‘Day Of Dialogue’: Focus On The Family’s Sugarcoated Attempt To Promote Ex-Gay Therapy In Schools - Almost time for this mess again.

 Pastor Rick Warren Still Hasn’t Owned Up To His Role In Creating Anti-Gay Climate In Uganda - Just sad.

Harvey Milk postage stamp unveiled and it looks awesome

This postage stamp of Harvey Milk is, in the words of Vice President Joseph Biden, a BFD.

And it's a start. In the future, I hope that the U.S. Post Office will honor more lgbt leaders and heroes with postage stamps.

Hat tip to GLAAD.