Eight seconds in the echo chamber
Yesterday, I didn't post an entry because I was sidetracked with a touch of the flu.
That doesn't mean that things weren't taking place.
The readers of this blog are aware of my keen interest in a situation in Maryland regarding an anti-discrimination law protecting members of the transgender community.
An organization seeking a referendum against the law apparently got enough signatures to force the vote. They accomplished this by claiming that the law would make it easy for men and pedophiles to enter women's restrooms and locker rooms.
They did this despite the fact that they were told the law would not allow such things to take place.
Almost immediately after they turned in petitions, their credibility came under a huge amount of scrutiny. Local council members went on record saying that the group was misleading people in order to get them to sign the petition.
So the group has now made a claim that they were harrassed by a council member's aide. They even have the alleged event on youtube.
You can see it here.
So was it harrassment? I doubt it. But judge for yourself.
The interesting thing about the entire situation is the echo chamber in which it played. The group's version of events played on World Net Daily, One News Now, and a press release by the Traditional Values Coalition - not necessarily gay friendly places.
And the Traditional Values Coalition was rather ugly in describing the alleged harrasser:
Hillary Clinton She-Male Advisor Harasses Maryland Signature Gatherers
These folks just gotta sneak Hilary Clinton in the situation. Talk about obsession.
And it gets more interesting. Apparently there is a chance that the signatures may be invalid if the petitioners misled potential signers.
It is too early to tell but that lie that bites you in the ass if you tell it long enough sounds like its beginning to sharpen its teeth.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Dawn Stefanowicz again?
It always amazes me how the anti-gay industry constantly complain that they are unfairly called bigots because they "merely oppose homosexuality on a Biblical basis" and then proceed to act out in ways that prove correct all arguments about their bigotry.
Case in point: This thing about Dawn Stefanowicz.
I have talked about this woman a few times here and here but her "story" bears repeating.
Stefanowicz claims that she suffered psychological abuse because of being raised in a same-sex household. She has not only written a book about it but also has a webpage.
The problem is that she (and many people who use her story) blame the gay orientation of her father for her abuse rather than the fact that he was a bad parent.
And it continues today with this link from our friend Peter.
Goodasyou.org breaks down this lie with its usual awesome candor, but I want everyone to check something out. It's something I noticed a while back and wrote concerning Stefanowicz's testimony:
In this article in Agape Press (editor's note -Thanks for the link, Emproph!), she recounts her tale, but using the verbage the anti-gay industry uses against us:
“According to Stefanowicz, the liberal media in Canada has done a ‘very poor job’ of presenting evidence on the influence the homosexual lifestyle has on children. ‘Scientific data and negative personal experiences related to this issue that are obviously relevant — they’re ignored, they’re not discussed,’ she says.”
And what studies are these? I noticed that on her personal webpage, she recounts her life. It is pretty much the same story she repeated in the August 2005 American Family Association Journal.
But there is one difference.
Her American Family Association story contains endnotes and references to studies and columns by various so-called “pro family” groups and spokespeople including Family Research Council’s Timothy Dailey (debunked on this and other sites), Stephen Bennett, and our friend Paul Cameron.
The version of her personal story present on her webpage have the endnotes and references conveniently omitted.
I used to give Stefanowicz the benefit of the doubt, but the more I hear about this woman, the more I am beginning to doubt the veracity of her story.
And constantly repeating her story as a correct indication of life for children in same-sex households says more about the homophobia of Peter LaBarbera and others like him more than we ever can.
It always amazes me how the anti-gay industry constantly complain that they are unfairly called bigots because they "merely oppose homosexuality on a Biblical basis" and then proceed to act out in ways that prove correct all arguments about their bigotry.
Case in point: This thing about Dawn Stefanowicz.
I have talked about this woman a few times here and here but her "story" bears repeating.
Stefanowicz claims that she suffered psychological abuse because of being raised in a same-sex household. She has not only written a book about it but also has a webpage.
The problem is that she (and many people who use her story) blame the gay orientation of her father for her abuse rather than the fact that he was a bad parent.
And it continues today with this link from our friend Peter.
Goodasyou.org breaks down this lie with its usual awesome candor, but I want everyone to check something out. It's something I noticed a while back and wrote concerning Stefanowicz's testimony:
In this article in Agape Press (editor's note -Thanks for the link, Emproph!), she recounts her tale, but using the verbage the anti-gay industry uses against us:
“According to Stefanowicz, the liberal media in Canada has done a ‘very poor job’ of presenting evidence on the influence the homosexual lifestyle has on children. ‘Scientific data and negative personal experiences related to this issue that are obviously relevant — they’re ignored, they’re not discussed,’ she says.”
And what studies are these? I noticed that on her personal webpage, she recounts her life. It is pretty much the same story she repeated in the August 2005 American Family Association Journal.
But there is one difference.
Her American Family Association story contains endnotes and references to studies and columns by various so-called “pro family” groups and spokespeople including Family Research Council’s Timothy Dailey (debunked on this and other sites), Stephen Bennett, and our friend Paul Cameron.
The version of her personal story present on her webpage have the endnotes and references conveniently omitted.
I used to give Stefanowicz the benefit of the doubt, but the more I hear about this woman, the more I am beginning to doubt the veracity of her story.
And constantly repeating her story as a correct indication of life for children in same-sex households says more about the homophobia of Peter LaBarbera and others like him more than we ever can.
Monday, February 25, 2008
The day after the Oscars
Sorry y'all but the Monday blaaaahs have a hold on me and it's the day after the Oscars so I am going to desist from talking about the anti-gay industry (just for today) and focus on what I saw last night:
John Stewart rocked as host and I don't care what anyone says. Of course I say this because a good friend of mine (and a writer on the Daily Show) helped write his jokes.
Jonah Hill is hot. Seth Rogen is hot. So is Philip Seymour Hoffman. You boys can have Colin Farrell. I know what I like.
I love that Tilda Swinton won. She should have been nominated for The Deep End a couple of years ago. Of course it's obvious that she didn't think she was going to win. Geez girl, put on a better dress and make up.
Cate Blanchette seems to be having a fun time even though she has lost her last three nominations. Last year, she was looking at Jennifer Hudson with a smile on her face when her name was called. This year, she practically leaped out of her chair when Marion Collitard won. Now that's an Oscar fan.
So the best picture is about a guy pursued by a psychopath with a bad haircut. Hell that's my life when I used to go to the clubs.
If you look closely at the mass of bling that Nicole Kidman wore around her neck, you can almost make out the phrase, "who the hell is Tom Cruise anyway?"
This message is to Jennifer Garner: Girlfriend, mace is a good friend to have. Gary Busey scares even me. And I'm the one who thinks Jonah Hill is hot.
Where the hell are my Edith Piaf records!
How could they snub Whoopi Goldberg during the montage of Oscar hosts!!!!
If you all think of any others, let me know
Sorry y'all but the Monday blaaaahs have a hold on me and it's the day after the Oscars so I am going to desist from talking about the anti-gay industry (just for today) and focus on what I saw last night:
John Stewart rocked as host and I don't care what anyone says. Of course I say this because a good friend of mine (and a writer on the Daily Show) helped write his jokes.
Jonah Hill is hot. Seth Rogen is hot. So is Philip Seymour Hoffman. You boys can have Colin Farrell. I know what I like.
I love that Tilda Swinton won. She should have been nominated for The Deep End a couple of years ago. Of course it's obvious that she didn't think she was going to win. Geez girl, put on a better dress and make up.
Cate Blanchette seems to be having a fun time even though she has lost her last three nominations. Last year, she was looking at Jennifer Hudson with a smile on her face when her name was called. This year, she practically leaped out of her chair when Marion Collitard won. Now that's an Oscar fan.
So the best picture is about a guy pursued by a psychopath with a bad haircut. Hell that's my life when I used to go to the clubs.
If you look closely at the mass of bling that Nicole Kidman wore around her neck, you can almost make out the phrase, "who the hell is Tom Cruise anyway?"
This message is to Jennifer Garner: Girlfriend, mace is a good friend to have. Gary Busey scares even me. And I'm the one who thinks Jonah Hill is hot.
Where the hell are my Edith Piaf records!
How could they snub Whoopi Goldberg during the montage of Oscar hosts!!!!
If you all think of any others, let me know
Friday, February 22, 2008
Situation in Maryland is nothing new
Peter LaBarbera's exploitation of African-American history (see below) was something I just had to comment on. But the following is the post I wanted to do for today:
The situation regarding the anti-discrimination law in Maryland is nothing new. Those seeking a referendum of the law got enough signatures on their petition because they made the false claim that the law created a loophole for men and pedophiles to invade women's restrooms and locker rooms.
This is an old tactic by the anti-gay industry known as dire consequences, or claiming that a pro-gay law would lead to all sorts of negative consequences. Usually the anti-gay industry relies on hypothetical sitautions and relie mostly on the fears and prejudices of their audience. I thought for today, I would print an excerpt from my book, Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters, that talks in detail about this tactic:
One of the most effective tactics of the anti-gay industry is to claim that pro-gay laws will lead to “dire consequences.” They claim that laws created to protect gays and lesbians would either a: cause homosexuality to be “forced” on everyone, particularly children or b: cause those who supposedly speak out against homosexuality to be jailed. Possible coercion by an “aggressive homosexual lobby” is a constant theme in anti-gay industry data.
. . . so-called “pro-family” groups create the same illogical leap to form the same incorrect conclusions. They claim that pro-gay laws would lead to all sorts of bad consequences. Then they list some of the most extreme examples of what could happen while not giving any evidence as to how the hypothetical events would take place.
For example:
“Few public officials and businessmen realize that when they allow the addition of ‘sexual orientation’ to their nondiscrimination codes, they are tying their own hands when it comes to objecting to:
A man in a highly visible sales job coming to work in a dress and high heels;
A woman in a highly visible position coming to work in men’s clothes;
A person of indeterminate sex who insists on using either the men’s room or the women’s room;
A person of either sex who indulges a taste for extreme sexual promiscuity and pornography during working hours despite being charged with representing the company’s tone and character;
A man who frequents prostitutes while on business trips and claims that it is none of the company’s business, regardless of the company’s public image.”—Why Nashville Should Reject the ‘Sexual Orientation’ Law, Robert Knight, Concerned Women for America, March 4, 2003
Knights’ replacement in Concerned Women for America, Matt Barber, made the same claims about the Employee Non-Discrimination Act in 2007:
“Imagine, if you will, a 280 lb linebacker who likes to wear a dress and high heels and lipstick, you know comes to church wanting a job at the front desk as a receptionist and they turn him away because they don’t feel that that represents their values or the image that they’re trying to hold at that church, under ENDA they could be held accountable for discrimination against that individual.”
The anti-gay industry also use the “dire consequences” claim in efforts to kill hate crimes legislation.
Hate crimes legislation already exists. It covers crimes based on race and religion. So-called “pro-family” groups have not expressed disagreements with these laws. They only have a problem with sexual orientation being added to the categories.
In December 2005, 20 so-called “pro-family” groups ran an ad in major newspapers claiming that hate crimes legislation places more importance on gays than those who call themselves “ex-gay.”
Playing up the slavery angle
Our friend Peter LaBarbera continues to attempt to milk the Creating Change conference:
Pastor Ken Hutcherson Calls on DNC to ‘Demand Its Money Back’ from ‘Gay’ Group that Honored S&M Slavery Advocate
“This is Dr. Kenneth Hutcherson responding to a donation made by the Democratic National Committee to the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. I first heard from my good friend and fellow conservative, Rush Limbaugh that this had taken place. This has been confirmed by Peter LaBarbera of Americans for Truth. These are two sources that I trust and believe.
“The DNC gave at least $2,500 to the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force so they could award Guy Baldwin, an advocate of sadomasochism and “consensual slavery.”
“As an African American leader and Pastor, I insist the DNC demand its money back. How can the DNC say they stand for African Americans and at the same time support a perversion that belittles and makes a mockery of our suffering under slavery?
“We must make sure we stand against all forms of tyranny and call out anyone who supports this agenda.”
So Peter is trying to push a "how dare the DNC promote something about slavery during Black History Month" angle.
Since when did Peter care about African-Americans. I know he doesn't give a care for African-American lgbts.
Now Hutcherson may be a black pastor but he has a reputation for egotism. This trait leads him to go off half cocked and make outrageous comments, many of which have been chronicled (with much amusement) here.
It was cute at first but his act is wearing thin.
And the inanity of this attempt by Peter doesn't exactly give Hutcherson any credibility. Nor does it help Peter.
Peter LaBarbera's exploitation of African-American history (see below) was something I just had to comment on. But the following is the post I wanted to do for today:
The situation regarding the anti-discrimination law in Maryland is nothing new. Those seeking a referendum of the law got enough signatures on their petition because they made the false claim that the law created a loophole for men and pedophiles to invade women's restrooms and locker rooms.
This is an old tactic by the anti-gay industry known as dire consequences, or claiming that a pro-gay law would lead to all sorts of negative consequences. Usually the anti-gay industry relies on hypothetical sitautions and relie mostly on the fears and prejudices of their audience. I thought for today, I would print an excerpt from my book, Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters, that talks in detail about this tactic:
One of the most effective tactics of the anti-gay industry is to claim that pro-gay laws will lead to “dire consequences.” They claim that laws created to protect gays and lesbians would either a: cause homosexuality to be “forced” on everyone, particularly children or b: cause those who supposedly speak out against homosexuality to be jailed. Possible coercion by an “aggressive homosexual lobby” is a constant theme in anti-gay industry data.
. . . so-called “pro-family” groups create the same illogical leap to form the same incorrect conclusions. They claim that pro-gay laws would lead to all sorts of bad consequences. Then they list some of the most extreme examples of what could happen while not giving any evidence as to how the hypothetical events would take place.
For example:
“Few public officials and businessmen realize that when they allow the addition of ‘sexual orientation’ to their nondiscrimination codes, they are tying their own hands when it comes to objecting to:
A man in a highly visible sales job coming to work in a dress and high heels;
A woman in a highly visible position coming to work in men’s clothes;
A person of indeterminate sex who insists on using either the men’s room or the women’s room;
A person of either sex who indulges a taste for extreme sexual promiscuity and pornography during working hours despite being charged with representing the company’s tone and character;
A man who frequents prostitutes while on business trips and claims that it is none of the company’s business, regardless of the company’s public image.”—Why Nashville Should Reject the ‘Sexual Orientation’ Law, Robert Knight, Concerned Women for America, March 4, 2003
Knights’ replacement in Concerned Women for America, Matt Barber, made the same claims about the Employee Non-Discrimination Act in 2007:
“Imagine, if you will, a 280 lb linebacker who likes to wear a dress and high heels and lipstick, you know comes to church wanting a job at the front desk as a receptionist and they turn him away because they don’t feel that that represents their values or the image that they’re trying to hold at that church, under ENDA they could be held accountable for discrimination against that individual.”
The anti-gay industry also use the “dire consequences” claim in efforts to kill hate crimes legislation.
Hate crimes legislation already exists. It covers crimes based on race and religion. So-called “pro-family” groups have not expressed disagreements with these laws. They only have a problem with sexual orientation being added to the categories.
In December 2005, 20 so-called “pro-family” groups ran an ad in major newspapers claiming that hate crimes legislation places more importance on gays than those who call themselves “ex-gay.”
Playing up the slavery angle
Our friend Peter LaBarbera continues to attempt to milk the Creating Change conference:
Pastor Ken Hutcherson Calls on DNC to ‘Demand Its Money Back’ from ‘Gay’ Group that Honored S&M Slavery Advocate
“This is Dr. Kenneth Hutcherson responding to a donation made by the Democratic National Committee to the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. I first heard from my good friend and fellow conservative, Rush Limbaugh that this had taken place. This has been confirmed by Peter LaBarbera of Americans for Truth. These are two sources that I trust and believe.
“The DNC gave at least $2,500 to the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force so they could award Guy Baldwin, an advocate of sadomasochism and “consensual slavery.”
“As an African American leader and Pastor, I insist the DNC demand its money back. How can the DNC say they stand for African Americans and at the same time support a perversion that belittles and makes a mockery of our suffering under slavery?
“We must make sure we stand against all forms of tyranny and call out anyone who supports this agenda.”
So Peter is trying to push a "how dare the DNC promote something about slavery during Black History Month" angle.
Since when did Peter care about African-Americans. I know he doesn't give a care for African-American lgbts.
Now Hutcherson may be a black pastor but he has a reputation for egotism. This trait leads him to go off half cocked and make outrageous comments, many of which have been chronicled (with much amusement) here.
It was cute at first but his act is wearing thin.
And the inanity of this attempt by Peter doesn't exactly give Hutcherson any credibility. Nor does it help Peter.
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Double standard? You got that right
I like to read One News Now because it is one of the best examples of anti-gay propaganda.
It pretends to be a Christian new source, but under the cover of religion, it prints biased and one-sided articles that generally portrays lgbts as predators and such.
But today, something caught my eye:
Attorney: Legal system favors female sexual predators
The lenient sentence handed down to a female teacher who sexually abused five male students is proof of a double standard in America's legal system, says prominent pro-family attorney Pat Trueman.
Allena Ward, 24, of Laurens, South Carolina, was sentenced this week to six years in prison after she admitted to having sex with five of her teenage students. "I wish healing for each person affected by my carelessness. And I offer my deepest and most sincere apologies to these young men," Ward apologizes.
But Pat Trueman, special counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund, says Ward's crimes were not the result of "carelessness" but the conscious choices of a sexual predator. Her victims were children, he says, not "young men." And, he adds, things would have been different if Ward had been male and her victims had been girls . . .
What was interesting about this article was what it did not contain. There were no quotes from Peter LaBarbera or Matt Barber or any of the so-called critics of culture.
If the situation had something to do with a man molesting a male child or a female molesting a female child, the article would have been filled with junk science about how gays are most likely to molest children.
I even suspect our friend, Paul Cameron would be cited.
Really, anyone molesting a child is a criminal. But apparently in the eyes of One News Now, a person molesting a same-sex child deserves a special designation as a "homosexual" (even though such is generally not the case). And the article must be an inference as to how "evil" homosexuality is.
But if a woman molests a male child, then attention must be paid to the individual criminal rather than the orientation of the criminal.
How very "fair." (yes that is sarcasm)
I like to read One News Now because it is one of the best examples of anti-gay propaganda.
It pretends to be a Christian new source, but under the cover of religion, it prints biased and one-sided articles that generally portrays lgbts as predators and such.
But today, something caught my eye:
Attorney: Legal system favors female sexual predators
The lenient sentence handed down to a female teacher who sexually abused five male students is proof of a double standard in America's legal system, says prominent pro-family attorney Pat Trueman.
Allena Ward, 24, of Laurens, South Carolina, was sentenced this week to six years in prison after she admitted to having sex with five of her teenage students. "I wish healing for each person affected by my carelessness. And I offer my deepest and most sincere apologies to these young men," Ward apologizes.
But Pat Trueman, special counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund, says Ward's crimes were not the result of "carelessness" but the conscious choices of a sexual predator. Her victims were children, he says, not "young men." And, he adds, things would have been different if Ward had been male and her victims had been girls . . .
What was interesting about this article was what it did not contain. There were no quotes from Peter LaBarbera or Matt Barber or any of the so-called critics of culture.
If the situation had something to do with a man molesting a male child or a female molesting a female child, the article would have been filled with junk science about how gays are most likely to molest children.
I even suspect our friend, Paul Cameron would be cited.
Really, anyone molesting a child is a criminal. But apparently in the eyes of One News Now, a person molesting a same-sex child deserves a special designation as a "homosexual" (even though such is generally not the case). And the article must be an inference as to how "evil" homosexuality is.
But if a woman molests a male child, then attention must be paid to the individual criminal rather than the orientation of the criminal.
How very "fair." (yes that is sarcasm)
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
The success of a lie
They say that a lie can travel around the world before the truth has time to put its shoes on.
This is very true in Maryland at the moment.
Apparently fear stories of men invading women's restrooms and hoaxes involving men in women's gym locker rooms have their uses.
Opponents of allowing the county's an anti-discrimination law to include transgendered people have turned more than 28,000 signatures into the Board of Elections to bring the legislation up to a vote by county residents.
The group, Citizens for Responsible Government, formed after the County Council passed the legislation last year, needed 5 percent, or 25,001 valid signatures for the referendum in the November balloting.
So if enough signatures are valid, there will be a referendum this November regarding the appeal of the anti-discrimination laws.
Now the way Citizens for Responsible Government went about gathering signatures was just wrong.
I talked about it before and it bears repeating. They told people the law actually allows men to invade women's locker rooms and rest rooms.
I am not kidding. I saw a news program where Lisa Gundling, woman gathering signatures, was interviewed. She actually told the interviewer that the law would allow men to enter women's rest rooms. She even actually said that the men don't have to go to any trouble of dressing up like women.
Don't believe me? Check out this link.
Also, from what I understand, the group was allegedly helped by pastors who told their congregations that the new law would lead to men invading women's restrooms. And to top it all off, it is possible that they staged a hoax involving a man dressed in women's attire going into a local gym's ladies locker room.
Talk about pulling out all of the stops. Very Machiavellian but not very Christian.
I really don't think that any of the people collecting signatures actually believe their own hogwash. Bear in mind that this group began with challenging the area schools' sex education curriculum.
They won at first but then proceeded to be stymied with every attempt to stop the new curriculum from being taught. And with every attempt, the group gave a new and faulty reasoning why the curriculum shouldn't be taught.
With their fight against the anti-discrimination law, they relied on the classic but still effective "this law endangers us all, especially children."
That's right. In many of their pleas, they actually said that the law endangers children.
What they did was to read the law, looking for a loophole. And when they found one, small one that it was, they distorted its implications as much as they could:
The County Council and County Executive Isiah Leggett (D) approved the law after removing a contentious amendment that would have also regulated areas like bathrooms and locker rooms. Without the amendment, operators of those facilities would retain authority on who uses them.
But opponents, such as CRG - which initially argued against the bathroom provision - still argue that the law is too vague.
Without question, this group has received help from national anti-gay industry groups. I recognize the anti-gay industry tactic of "dire consequences," i.e. claiming that a law protecting lgbts will lead to negative consequences for the entire community without giving proof as to how.
There is one group fighting their nonsense. And I wish them all of the luck.
One thing about truth: when it finally arrives, it takes care of the situation.
CRG and its supporters would do well to remember that.
You can only lie for so long before it bites you in the ass.
They say that a lie can travel around the world before the truth has time to put its shoes on.
This is very true in Maryland at the moment.
Apparently fear stories of men invading women's restrooms and hoaxes involving men in women's gym locker rooms have their uses.
Opponents of allowing the county's an anti-discrimination law to include transgendered people have turned more than 28,000 signatures into the Board of Elections to bring the legislation up to a vote by county residents.
The group, Citizens for Responsible Government, formed after the County Council passed the legislation last year, needed 5 percent, or 25,001 valid signatures for the referendum in the November balloting.
So if enough signatures are valid, there will be a referendum this November regarding the appeal of the anti-discrimination laws.
Now the way Citizens for Responsible Government went about gathering signatures was just wrong.
I talked about it before and it bears repeating. They told people the law actually allows men to invade women's locker rooms and rest rooms.
I am not kidding. I saw a news program where Lisa Gundling, woman gathering signatures, was interviewed. She actually told the interviewer that the law would allow men to enter women's rest rooms. She even actually said that the men don't have to go to any trouble of dressing up like women.
Don't believe me? Check out this link.
Also, from what I understand, the group was allegedly helped by pastors who told their congregations that the new law would lead to men invading women's restrooms. And to top it all off, it is possible that they staged a hoax involving a man dressed in women's attire going into a local gym's ladies locker room.
Talk about pulling out all of the stops. Very Machiavellian but not very Christian.
I really don't think that any of the people collecting signatures actually believe their own hogwash. Bear in mind that this group began with challenging the area schools' sex education curriculum.
They won at first but then proceeded to be stymied with every attempt to stop the new curriculum from being taught. And with every attempt, the group gave a new and faulty reasoning why the curriculum shouldn't be taught.
With their fight against the anti-discrimination law, they relied on the classic but still effective "this law endangers us all, especially children."
That's right. In many of their pleas, they actually said that the law endangers children.
What they did was to read the law, looking for a loophole. And when they found one, small one that it was, they distorted its implications as much as they could:
The County Council and County Executive Isiah Leggett (D) approved the law after removing a contentious amendment that would have also regulated areas like bathrooms and locker rooms. Without the amendment, operators of those facilities would retain authority on who uses them.
But opponents, such as CRG - which initially argued against the bathroom provision - still argue that the law is too vague.
Without question, this group has received help from national anti-gay industry groups. I recognize the anti-gay industry tactic of "dire consequences," i.e. claiming that a law protecting lgbts will lead to negative consequences for the entire community without giving proof as to how.
There is one group fighting their nonsense. And I wish them all of the luck.
One thing about truth: when it finally arrives, it takes care of the situation.
CRG and its supporters would do well to remember that.
You can only lie for so long before it bites you in the ass.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Tuesday blaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahs
I hate the Tuesday after a three-day weekend holiday.
They always feel like Mondays.
A couple of things today:
Connecticut state legislator comes out, becomes nation’s first LGBT African American state legislator
Connecticut State Rep. Jason Bartlett publicly came out today during a meeting with The News-Times. The announcement makes Bartlett the nation’s first and only openly LGBT African American state legislator.
Bartlett, a Democrat, claims that he has been open about his sexuality with his family, but decided that now was the right time to make it public.
“For me the decision came down to why not now,” he told the paper. “To me this is about having a conversation with my larger family - the people of Greater Danbury who voted for me.”
Bartlett said rumors about his sexual orientation had circulated during past political campaigns.
That is the good news. The bad news? Watch how the mainstream African-American media and possibly members of the mainstream gay community fall over themselves to ignore him.
I guess Flava Flav and Bobby Trendy are so much more better role models.
I told you I hated the Tuesday after three-day weekend holidays.
Ken Hutcherson, who never met a self-aggrandizement he didn't like is attacking a high school GSA.
This is resulting from and incident that took place when he was invited to his daughter's high school to speak on Black History Month. Now one teacher may have acted irresponsibly (by booing him), but I am totally in the corner of another teacher who questioned him on his statements about lgbts.
The teacher was totally in the right to do this. Some may disagree but that is how I stand on the issue.
Long story short, this has blown over into a huge incident, exacerbated by a poster advertising the school's GSA.
Hutcherson has gone on record calling the GSA a "sex club."
And naturally, that "fair and objective news source," One News Now has gone out of its way to not only defend his nonsense but give him a platform (that naturally does not include questions and statements from folks who disagree) to spout his nonsense.
But all is not lost. A group of concerned parents have gotten together and formed this site (you can read the One News Now article (biased editorial) there.
I wish them all of the luck. And I think Hutcherson may help them. He tends to shoot from the hip.
And shots from the hip tend to miss their target but cause a whole lot of trouble.
Meanwhile, how many more of our lgbt children are going to suffer.
I don't want to go into detail about what happened in California because I don't think that I can add more to what others have been saying.
All I am going to do is pray for guidance, control, and intelligence for us all.
I hate the Tuesday after a three-day weekend holiday.
They always feel like Mondays.
A couple of things today:
Connecticut state legislator comes out, becomes nation’s first LGBT African American state legislator
Connecticut State Rep. Jason Bartlett publicly came out today during a meeting with The News-Times. The announcement makes Bartlett the nation’s first and only openly LGBT African American state legislator.
Bartlett, a Democrat, claims that he has been open about his sexuality with his family, but decided that now was the right time to make it public.
“For me the decision came down to why not now,” he told the paper. “To me this is about having a conversation with my larger family - the people of Greater Danbury who voted for me.”
Bartlett said rumors about his sexual orientation had circulated during past political campaigns.
That is the good news. The bad news? Watch how the mainstream African-American media and possibly members of the mainstream gay community fall over themselves to ignore him.
I guess Flava Flav and Bobby Trendy are so much more better role models.
I told you I hated the Tuesday after three-day weekend holidays.
Ken Hutcherson, who never met a self-aggrandizement he didn't like is attacking a high school GSA.
This is resulting from and incident that took place when he was invited to his daughter's high school to speak on Black History Month. Now one teacher may have acted irresponsibly (by booing him), but I am totally in the corner of another teacher who questioned him on his statements about lgbts.
The teacher was totally in the right to do this. Some may disagree but that is how I stand on the issue.
Long story short, this has blown over into a huge incident, exacerbated by a poster advertising the school's GSA.
Hutcherson has gone on record calling the GSA a "sex club."
And naturally, that "fair and objective news source," One News Now has gone out of its way to not only defend his nonsense but give him a platform (that naturally does not include questions and statements from folks who disagree) to spout his nonsense.
But all is not lost. A group of concerned parents have gotten together and formed this site (you can read the One News Now article (biased editorial) there.
I wish them all of the luck. And I think Hutcherson may help them. He tends to shoot from the hip.
And shots from the hip tend to miss their target but cause a whole lot of trouble.
Meanwhile, how many more of our lgbt children are going to suffer.
I don't want to go into detail about what happened in California because I don't think that I can add more to what others have been saying.
All I am going to do is pray for guidance, control, and intelligence for us all.
Monday, February 18, 2008
An adendum to the Foreman Barber nonsense
Other than to their own choirs, the claim the Foreman "admitted" that HIV was a gay disease is really not a blessed news item for the anti-gay industry.
But there was something that I wanted to briefly mention about it.
I noticed how all of the right-wing press releases are saying that Foreman's statements "left people in shock" or "stunned gay activists."
That is not true. Please notice how these folks are using hyperbole to further their agenda.
As far as I know, no one was left stunned or speechless by Foreman's comments.
I guess to Barber and company, hyperbole beats out truth. And I am sure that they will knowingly use the same deceptive language when mistating Foreman's comments in the future.
Just wanted to make that short comment there.
Other than to their own choirs, the claim the Foreman "admitted" that HIV was a gay disease is really not a blessed news item for the anti-gay industry.
But there was something that I wanted to briefly mention about it.
I noticed how all of the right-wing press releases are saying that Foreman's statements "left people in shock" or "stunned gay activists."
That is not true. Please notice how these folks are using hyperbole to further their agenda.
As far as I know, no one was left stunned or speechless by Foreman's comments.
I guess to Barber and company, hyperbole beats out truth. And I am sure that they will knowingly use the same deceptive language when mistating Foreman's comments in the future.
Just wanted to make that short comment there.
Friday, February 15, 2008
Same nonsense, same desperation - stigmatizing a community
"Today, right now, more than 45 percent of African-American gay and bi men in key urban areas are infected with HIV, with a 33 percent increase in new diagnoses among our brothers under age 30 over the past six years. Today, right now, African Americans are nearly 10 times more likely than white people to be diagnosed with AIDS.
The response — internal to our community and external — is appallingly racist. Internally, when these numbers come out, the “established” gay community seems to have a collective shrug as if this isn’t our problem. Folks, with 70 percent of the people in this country living with HIV being gay or bi, we cannot deny that HIV is a gay disease. We have to own that and face up to that.
Even more disgusting is the response of our government. Of the 129 interventions developed and approved by the CDC to address HIV in the African-American community, only one has been designed for gay black men. Twenty-six years into the epidemic and only one out of 129 addresses the group of people most affected by HIV. And, on top of that, funding for meaningful and honest prevention programs has been systematically excised from the federal budget. If these things don’t prove that our government considers the lives of gay black men utterly expendable, I don’t know what does." - Matt Foreman, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force
I don't have to tell anyone what happened next. It's an old script and I have seen it continuously:
WASHINGTON: Top 'Gay' Organization Comes Clean: 'HIV is a Gay Disease'
AFA-Michigan, AFTAH Welcome Gay Task Force Admission: ‘HIV Is a Gay Disease’
Amazingly, neither article bothered to ask Foreman to clarify what he meant. They just took his comments and ran with them, as are some folks cited in the articles:
Matt Barber addressed Foreman's admission: "It's extremely encouraging to see Matt Foreman, a homosexual activist who has for so long been in denial about the dangers of the lifestyle he has promoted, publicly coming to terms with the undeniable perils of that lifestyle."I only hope he will now stop promoting homosexual conduct and push for other liberal elites, especially those running our public schools, to do the same. Educators must truthfully address the 'gay' lifestyle's potentially deadly consequences.
And I see that Barber continues to push the MRSA infection line, even though he has been proven wrong by the authors of the study and the CDC.
There is a difference between what Foreman said and what his words are being twisted to mean.
Yes the lgbt community must take responsibility to fight HIV and AIDS. We must view it as a "gay disease" just as other communities affected by it (i.e. the African-American community) must also own the disease. When there is a problem addressing a disease in a community, the community must take steps to fight it, including admitting there is a problem.
What Foreman said is no different than what Phil Wilson, executive director of the Black AIDS Institute, wrote in this brilliant piece, part of which reads:
There are many reasons why we are so disproportionately impacted by AIDS. But, chief among them is that we've not taken ownership of the AIDS epidemic and responsibility for ending it. Many of us continue to believe that AIDS is someone else's problem. Even as our brothers and sisters, sons and daughters, get infected with HIV, develop AIDS and die.
I get the sister from the Black Philanthropy conference's concern about stigma and image. But we can't be more concerned about 'our image' than we are about our lives. Having a raging epidemic run through our community unchecked is actually the last thing we need.
Wanting something to not be so is not the same as it really not being so or doing something about it. AIDS in America today is a Black disease ... unless we do something about it.
Or when Julian Bond said the following:
It is time for the African-American community "to face the fact that AIDS has become a black disease" and find ways to defeat it, the chairman of the NAACP said at the international AIDS summit.
The difference is no one thinks that it is allowable to use the words of Wilson and Bond to attack the African-American community as "unclean:"
Matt Barber addressed (Wilson and Bond's) admission: "It's extremely encouraging to see (Wilson and Bond), two black activists who has for so long been in denial about the dangers of the lifestyle they have promoted, publicly coming to terms with the undeniable perils of that lifestyle."I only hope they will now stop promoting black conduct and push for other liberal elites, especially those running our public schools, to do the same. Educators must truthfully address the 'black' lifestyle's potentially deadly consequences.
Gets you angry, don't it? It should. Stigmatizing communities for the spread of disease is wrong, no matter what community it is.
However, when Foreman made his statement, the prejudices came out in full blaze. There is one main reason why lgbts are affected by HIV and that is because of stigma. And when a gay leader's words on how the community can fight HIV is twisted in order to declare war on the very things that can stop the disease (i.e. more education in our nation's schools regarding sex education and sexual orientation) is creating stigma with a capital "S."
When a gay leader's words are twisted to infer that the lgbt community are "unclean," the stigma which plays a huge role into increasing HIV rates continues.
The bottom line is that HIV affects us all. And as with all negative things affecting the human condition, the communities which do not have as much access to information is affected. And it does not help matters to exploit statements to push forth propaganda and distortions.
To use what Foreman said do this is irresponsible and ugly.
But it is what I have come to expect from members of the anti-gay industry.
"Today, right now, more than 45 percent of African-American gay and bi men in key urban areas are infected with HIV, with a 33 percent increase in new diagnoses among our brothers under age 30 over the past six years. Today, right now, African Americans are nearly 10 times more likely than white people to be diagnosed with AIDS.
The response — internal to our community and external — is appallingly racist. Internally, when these numbers come out, the “established” gay community seems to have a collective shrug as if this isn’t our problem. Folks, with 70 percent of the people in this country living with HIV being gay or bi, we cannot deny that HIV is a gay disease. We have to own that and face up to that.
Even more disgusting is the response of our government. Of the 129 interventions developed and approved by the CDC to address HIV in the African-American community, only one has been designed for gay black men. Twenty-six years into the epidemic and only one out of 129 addresses the group of people most affected by HIV. And, on top of that, funding for meaningful and honest prevention programs has been systematically excised from the federal budget. If these things don’t prove that our government considers the lives of gay black men utterly expendable, I don’t know what does." - Matt Foreman, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force
I don't have to tell anyone what happened next. It's an old script and I have seen it continuously:
WASHINGTON: Top 'Gay' Organization Comes Clean: 'HIV is a Gay Disease'
AFA-Michigan, AFTAH Welcome Gay Task Force Admission: ‘HIV Is a Gay Disease’
Amazingly, neither article bothered to ask Foreman to clarify what he meant. They just took his comments and ran with them, as are some folks cited in the articles:
Matt Barber addressed Foreman's admission: "It's extremely encouraging to see Matt Foreman, a homosexual activist who has for so long been in denial about the dangers of the lifestyle he has promoted, publicly coming to terms with the undeniable perils of that lifestyle."I only hope he will now stop promoting homosexual conduct and push for other liberal elites, especially those running our public schools, to do the same. Educators must truthfully address the 'gay' lifestyle's potentially deadly consequences.
And I see that Barber continues to push the MRSA infection line, even though he has been proven wrong by the authors of the study and the CDC.
There is a difference between what Foreman said and what his words are being twisted to mean.
Yes the lgbt community must take responsibility to fight HIV and AIDS. We must view it as a "gay disease" just as other communities affected by it (i.e. the African-American community) must also own the disease. When there is a problem addressing a disease in a community, the community must take steps to fight it, including admitting there is a problem.
What Foreman said is no different than what Phil Wilson, executive director of the Black AIDS Institute, wrote in this brilliant piece, part of which reads:
There are many reasons why we are so disproportionately impacted by AIDS. But, chief among them is that we've not taken ownership of the AIDS epidemic and responsibility for ending it. Many of us continue to believe that AIDS is someone else's problem. Even as our brothers and sisters, sons and daughters, get infected with HIV, develop AIDS and die.
I get the sister from the Black Philanthropy conference's concern about stigma and image. But we can't be more concerned about 'our image' than we are about our lives. Having a raging epidemic run through our community unchecked is actually the last thing we need.
Wanting something to not be so is not the same as it really not being so or doing something about it. AIDS in America today is a Black disease ... unless we do something about it.
Or when Julian Bond said the following:
It is time for the African-American community "to face the fact that AIDS has become a black disease" and find ways to defeat it, the chairman of the NAACP said at the international AIDS summit.
The difference is no one thinks that it is allowable to use the words of Wilson and Bond to attack the African-American community as "unclean:"
Matt Barber addressed (Wilson and Bond's) admission: "It's extremely encouraging to see (Wilson and Bond), two black activists who has for so long been in denial about the dangers of the lifestyle they have promoted, publicly coming to terms with the undeniable perils of that lifestyle."I only hope they will now stop promoting black conduct and push for other liberal elites, especially those running our public schools, to do the same. Educators must truthfully address the 'black' lifestyle's potentially deadly consequences.
Gets you angry, don't it? It should. Stigmatizing communities for the spread of disease is wrong, no matter what community it is.
However, when Foreman made his statement, the prejudices came out in full blaze. There is one main reason why lgbts are affected by HIV and that is because of stigma. And when a gay leader's words on how the community can fight HIV is twisted in order to declare war on the very things that can stop the disease (i.e. more education in our nation's schools regarding sex education and sexual orientation) is creating stigma with a capital "S."
When a gay leader's words are twisted to infer that the lgbt community are "unclean," the stigma which plays a huge role into increasing HIV rates continues.
The bottom line is that HIV affects us all. And as with all negative things affecting the human condition, the communities which do not have as much access to information is affected. And it does not help matters to exploit statements to push forth propaganda and distortions.
To use what Foreman said do this is irresponsible and ugly.
But it is what I have come to expect from members of the anti-gay industry.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
A little ranting and raving never hurt anyone
Nothing specific to report on today. Of course there are a lot of things happening and my fellow bloggers are covering them.
I am in a ranting mood today.
It's nothing you haven't heard before but I want to put things in perspective yet again.
It always amazes me how the anti-gay industry omits the fact that lgbts are raising children and that lgbt children exist. Sometimes this intentional omission gets downright infuriating.
Yes, I said intentional.
I am of the belief that when folks like Peter LaBarbera, Matt Barber, Janet Folger, and the rest sit down to write their press releases and work on their verbal talking points, they aren't looking to relate truth.
They are looking to relate fear and ignorance. And what better way than to consistently push the lie that lgbts are outside the mainstream of America and that we have no love of the simple things like decency and family.
Through their words and deeds, these folks push the lie that the lgbt orientation is not indigent of who we are, but what dirty, filthy, irresponsible sex acts they claim that we partake of.
In pursuit of this lie, they won't even acknowledge our families. And if we even dared to seek acknowledgement for our families (i.e. participating in the annual White House Easter Egg Hunt) then we accused of exploiting our children.
Personally I feel that the anti-gay industry and whomever supports them can have whatever opinion they want about lgbts, our children, and our families. But the facts don't bear those opinions out.
The truth is that there are many lgbt led homes and these homes are doing very well.
And more to the point, for every one person (i.e. Michael Glatze, Charlene Cothran, Stephen Bennett) that Dobson and company can claim "freely walked away from homosexuality," we can produce at least 10 (Barney Frank, Mandy Carter, Lance Bass, Melissa Etheridge, Ellen DeGeneres, Matt Foreman, Bayard Rustin, Barbara Jordan, Keith Boykin, Pam Spaulding, Nadine Smith, etc. etc.) who not only embrace their lgbt orientation, but have been instrumental in changing the world for the better.
This "cultural battle" goes beyond laws and personal opinion. The anti-gay industry deals in lies and deception masked behind religious beliefs in order to semantically force lgbts into spiritual bondage.
To them, we the self-hating disease ridden hedonist seeking physical release in our nation's bathrooms, we are the gender confused man wearing a mini skirt and five o'clock shadow, we are the lonely man-hating overweight lesbian with a roll of socks stuffed down her pants.
And to them, we don't have a right to seek a better and more truthful personification of ourselves.
As they attempt to covertly push this image, they simultaneously try to stop laws that would allow us to thrive beyond these stereotypes while claiming that they don't "hate us, but what we do."
Well I don't like the anti-gay industry because of what they do. It's one thing to believe that homosexuality is a sin and that the lgbt orientation brings nothing but sadness, but to try and quantify this lie through deception and propaganda is not only wrong . . .
But very anti-Christian.
Nothing specific to report on today. Of course there are a lot of things happening and my fellow bloggers are covering them.
I am in a ranting mood today.
It's nothing you haven't heard before but I want to put things in perspective yet again.
It always amazes me how the anti-gay industry omits the fact that lgbts are raising children and that lgbt children exist. Sometimes this intentional omission gets downright infuriating.
Yes, I said intentional.
I am of the belief that when folks like Peter LaBarbera, Matt Barber, Janet Folger, and the rest sit down to write their press releases and work on their verbal talking points, they aren't looking to relate truth.
They are looking to relate fear and ignorance. And what better way than to consistently push the lie that lgbts are outside the mainstream of America and that we have no love of the simple things like decency and family.
Through their words and deeds, these folks push the lie that the lgbt orientation is not indigent of who we are, but what dirty, filthy, irresponsible sex acts they claim that we partake of.
In pursuit of this lie, they won't even acknowledge our families. And if we even dared to seek acknowledgement for our families (i.e. participating in the annual White House Easter Egg Hunt) then we accused of exploiting our children.
Personally I feel that the anti-gay industry and whomever supports them can have whatever opinion they want about lgbts, our children, and our families. But the facts don't bear those opinions out.
The truth is that there are many lgbt led homes and these homes are doing very well.
And more to the point, for every one person (i.e. Michael Glatze, Charlene Cothran, Stephen Bennett) that Dobson and company can claim "freely walked away from homosexuality," we can produce at least 10 (Barney Frank, Mandy Carter, Lance Bass, Melissa Etheridge, Ellen DeGeneres, Matt Foreman, Bayard Rustin, Barbara Jordan, Keith Boykin, Pam Spaulding, Nadine Smith, etc. etc.) who not only embrace their lgbt orientation, but have been instrumental in changing the world for the better.
This "cultural battle" goes beyond laws and personal opinion. The anti-gay industry deals in lies and deception masked behind religious beliefs in order to semantically force lgbts into spiritual bondage.
To them, we the self-hating disease ridden hedonist seeking physical release in our nation's bathrooms, we are the gender confused man wearing a mini skirt and five o'clock shadow, we are the lonely man-hating overweight lesbian with a roll of socks stuffed down her pants.
And to them, we don't have a right to seek a better and more truthful personification of ourselves.
As they attempt to covertly push this image, they simultaneously try to stop laws that would allow us to thrive beyond these stereotypes while claiming that they don't "hate us, but what we do."
Well I don't like the anti-gay industry because of what they do. It's one thing to believe that homosexuality is a sin and that the lgbt orientation brings nothing but sadness, but to try and quantify this lie through deception and propaganda is not only wrong . . .
But very anti-Christian.
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Liars and hypocrites don't fade away . . . they just wrap themselves up in religion
I know I shouldn't mention you know who, but what can one do when he makes it so easy almost every day.
Our friend Peter LaBarbera is back attacking the so-called transgender menace:
WATCH IT: Tranny Insanity at CNN — No Other Side on 8-Year-old Boy Gender Confusion Story
It is simply mind-boggling that CNN chose not to include another viewpoint on this story about the Colorado elementary school encouraging gender-confusion in an eight-year-old (biological) male student who thinks he’s really a girl. (Click HERE for the One News Now story citing AFTAH on this.) You will note that CNN interviews only the parent of another gender-confused child — a girl whom the mother refers to as “he” on the CNN video.
Now the thing that stands out in this piece is Peter's hypocrisy.
Apparently he is okay with being able to appear on Hannity and Colmes by his lonesome while attacking the lgbt community
But now he is calling for fairness.
Talk about your hypocrites.
And unfortunately, Matt Barber has not left Concerned Women for America.
But he is getting pathetic. On the conservative Town Hall site, he has published a ridiculous tome, Unmasking the Gay Agenda.
I don't think I need to tell you all what he says. It's the usual "gays are planning to take over" nonsense backed up the usual suspects of distortions employed by the anti-gay industry:
1. In Their Own Words
What you are about to read is just a quick, though disturbing, glance behind the homosexual lobby’s lavender curtain.
Below are two of the central demands put forth by homosexual activists in their “1972 Gay Rights Platform”:
I am not even going to repeat these so-called list of demands. But the fact that Barber mentioned them is lunacy on his part. I have never heard of these list of demands, except on anti-gay industry sites. I think that it is farfetched to claim that lgbt organizations, activists, and bloggers are using these list of demands, especially seeing that they are over 30 years old.
Wait a minute . . .
I do remember that in a recreation of what Hamilcar Barca did to his son, the famous Carthiginian Hannibal (look it up), I was forced in 1973 to lay my one-year-old hand on a copy of Joan Crawford poster and swear that I would do all I can to promote the 1972 platform.
Then it was repressed in my mind until I could become of age.
That was sarcasm, folks. And based on how the anti-gay industry jumps on almost every word that lgbts say to smear us, I feel that it was necessary to say that.
Otherwise the headline to tomorrow's edition of World Net Daily would read:
HOMOSEXUALS PUT REPRESSED SUGGESTIONS IN THE MIND OF THEIR YOUTH
Of course Barber does not provide proof that lgbt organizations, activists, and bloggers are pushing the demands of the 1972 platform. What he does is distort actual events (i.e. schools teaching correct information regarding sex education) to claim that this platform is being pushed.
2. In their manuscript, After the Ball: How America Will Conquer Its Fear and Hatred of Gays in the 90’s (1989, Doubleday/Bantam), Harvard educated marketing experts Marshall Kirk and Hunter Madsen meticulously laid out the homosexual lobby’s blueprint for success in what is widely regarded as the handbook for the “gay” agenda.
Here we go again with that book. In 1989, Kirk and Madsen published a book giving their opinions on how lgbts can achieve equality. Since that time, anti-gay industry groups have inferred that almost lgbt activist carry a copy of this book in our hip pockets.
This is a blatant lie. While the book does present excellent ideas, there have never been any meetings or planning sessions around making the ideas of the book a reality.
This is in total contrast as to what happens when the anti-gay industry develops talking points on lgbt issues. The following nonsense do have roots in planning sessions:
Children have a right to a mother and father,
We must protect the union of marriage from unelected judges,
People with "deeply held religious beliefs" will be forced to compromise these beliefs if ENDA is passed.
In mentioning the so-called 1972 Gay Platform and the book by Kirk and Madsen, Barber is employing a very effective anti-gay industry tactic - Conspiracy Theory,
The Conspiracy Theory tactic is taking unrelated events and weaving them together as proof of a conspiracy. The idea of a conspiracy is not based upon any actual proof but by the fears and the prejudices of the audience one is addressing.
If Barber is looking for insidious plotting, he is best served in taking good notes in a future planning session of his group, Concerned Women for America.
3. The push for federal “hate crimes” legislation is another activist tool intended to silence traditional views on human sexuality and sexual morality. Similar laws have already been used around the world, and even right here at home, to persecute Christians and other traditionalists. For example, in 2004, 11 Christians were arrested in Philadelphia and charged with a “hate crime” for merely preaching the Bible at a public homosexual street festival. They could have served up to 47 years in prison.
Talk about your blatant lies. As my post from yesterday clearly said, these 11 "Christians" were not just "merely preaching the Bible at a public homosexual street festival." And the sad thing is that I'm sure that Barber was fully aware of the truth when he sat down to write his column.
Yesterday, I called Matt Barber the William Hung of the anti-gay industry.
Today, I only have two words:
She-bang! She-bang!
I know I shouldn't mention you know who, but what can one do when he makes it so easy almost every day.
Our friend Peter LaBarbera is back attacking the so-called transgender menace:
WATCH IT: Tranny Insanity at CNN — No Other Side on 8-Year-old Boy Gender Confusion Story
It is simply mind-boggling that CNN chose not to include another viewpoint on this story about the Colorado elementary school encouraging gender-confusion in an eight-year-old (biological) male student who thinks he’s really a girl. (Click HERE for the One News Now story citing AFTAH on this.) You will note that CNN interviews only the parent of another gender-confused child — a girl whom the mother refers to as “he” on the CNN video.
Now the thing that stands out in this piece is Peter's hypocrisy.
Apparently he is okay with being able to appear on Hannity and Colmes by his lonesome while attacking the lgbt community
But now he is calling for fairness.
Talk about your hypocrites.
And unfortunately, Matt Barber has not left Concerned Women for America.
But he is getting pathetic. On the conservative Town Hall site, he has published a ridiculous tome, Unmasking the Gay Agenda.
I don't think I need to tell you all what he says. It's the usual "gays are planning to take over" nonsense backed up the usual suspects of distortions employed by the anti-gay industry:
1. In Their Own Words
What you are about to read is just a quick, though disturbing, glance behind the homosexual lobby’s lavender curtain.
Below are two of the central demands put forth by homosexual activists in their “1972 Gay Rights Platform”:
I am not even going to repeat these so-called list of demands. But the fact that Barber mentioned them is lunacy on his part. I have never heard of these list of demands, except on anti-gay industry sites. I think that it is farfetched to claim that lgbt organizations, activists, and bloggers are using these list of demands, especially seeing that they are over 30 years old.
Wait a minute . . .
I do remember that in a recreation of what Hamilcar Barca did to his son, the famous Carthiginian Hannibal (look it up), I was forced in 1973 to lay my one-year-old hand on a copy of Joan Crawford poster and swear that I would do all I can to promote the 1972 platform.
Then it was repressed in my mind until I could become of age.
That was sarcasm, folks. And based on how the anti-gay industry jumps on almost every word that lgbts say to smear us, I feel that it was necessary to say that.
Otherwise the headline to tomorrow's edition of World Net Daily would read:
HOMOSEXUALS PUT REPRESSED SUGGESTIONS IN THE MIND OF THEIR YOUTH
Of course Barber does not provide proof that lgbt organizations, activists, and bloggers are pushing the demands of the 1972 platform. What he does is distort actual events (i.e. schools teaching correct information regarding sex education) to claim that this platform is being pushed.
2. In their manuscript, After the Ball: How America Will Conquer Its Fear and Hatred of Gays in the 90’s (1989, Doubleday/Bantam), Harvard educated marketing experts Marshall Kirk and Hunter Madsen meticulously laid out the homosexual lobby’s blueprint for success in what is widely regarded as the handbook for the “gay” agenda.
Here we go again with that book. In 1989, Kirk and Madsen published a book giving their opinions on how lgbts can achieve equality. Since that time, anti-gay industry groups have inferred that almost lgbt activist carry a copy of this book in our hip pockets.
This is a blatant lie. While the book does present excellent ideas, there have never been any meetings or planning sessions around making the ideas of the book a reality.
This is in total contrast as to what happens when the anti-gay industry develops talking points on lgbt issues. The following nonsense do have roots in planning sessions:
Children have a right to a mother and father,
We must protect the union of marriage from unelected judges,
People with "deeply held religious beliefs" will be forced to compromise these beliefs if ENDA is passed.
In mentioning the so-called 1972 Gay Platform and the book by Kirk and Madsen, Barber is employing a very effective anti-gay industry tactic - Conspiracy Theory,
The Conspiracy Theory tactic is taking unrelated events and weaving them together as proof of a conspiracy. The idea of a conspiracy is not based upon any actual proof but by the fears and the prejudices of the audience one is addressing.
If Barber is looking for insidious plotting, he is best served in taking good notes in a future planning session of his group, Concerned Women for America.
3. The push for federal “hate crimes” legislation is another activist tool intended to silence traditional views on human sexuality and sexual morality. Similar laws have already been used around the world, and even right here at home, to persecute Christians and other traditionalists. For example, in 2004, 11 Christians were arrested in Philadelphia and charged with a “hate crime” for merely preaching the Bible at a public homosexual street festival. They could have served up to 47 years in prison.
Talk about your blatant lies. As my post from yesterday clearly said, these 11 "Christians" were not just "merely preaching the Bible at a public homosexual street festival." And the sad thing is that I'm sure that Barber was fully aware of the truth when he sat down to write his column.
Yesterday, I called Matt Barber the William Hung of the anti-gay industry.
Today, I only have two words:
She-bang! She-bang!
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Important - Look what happened today -- we win again!!!!
Please check out today's first post about Repent America. This new post just came in a few minutes ago:
Breaking - Judge OKs limits on student speech in Poway case
By: North County Times
SAN DIEGO ---- A federal judge ruled Tuesday in a lawsuit against the Poway Unified School District that school officials can restrict student speech that expresses "damaging statements about sexual orientation" and can limit students to stating their views "in a positive manner."
U.S. District Judge John Houston reached that conclusion in a 12-page decision that affirmed a similar ruling he made a year ago. In January 2007, Houston granted the school district's request for a judgment in its favor on the legal claims Kelsie Harper, 16 at the time, raised in the lawsuit, and dismissed Tyler Chase Harper, 18 at the time, from the case.
The elder Harper, who goes by his middle name, alleged in the federal lawsuit that the district and school officials violated his constitutional rights in their response to him wearing a T-shirt to school in 2004 that said "Homosexuality is shameful. Romans 1:27."
Kelsie Harper was added to the lawsuit later, alleging that she wanted to express an identical message through her speech or clothing, but was prevented from doing so because of school policies.
Court documents stated Chase Harper was sent to the principal's office after he refused to comply with a teacher's directions to remove the shirt. He had to remain in a conference room at the school office, where he did his homework until the end of the day because he would not remove the shirt, court documents stated.
The district argued in court documents that school officials reasonably believed the T-shirt could cause a disruption among students and violated the rights of students and employees to be free from harassment because of sexual orientation.
Chase Harper was dismissed from the lawsuit because he already has graduated from Poway High School.
Attorneys for the Harpers asked Houston to reconsider his ruling from last year because the U.S. Supreme Court set aside an appeals court decision upon which Houston relied in making the earlier ruling.
The school district's attorneys urged Houston to apply a U.S. Supreme Court decision in an unrelated student speech case to the Harper case. The nation's highest court ruled last year that school officials can restrict student speech that can be interpreted as advocating the use of illegal drugs.
Houston wrote that the legal reasoning from that case supported a conclusion that the Harpers' speech "may properly be restricted by school officials if it is considered harmful."
The district properly restricted the "negative speech" on Harper's T-shirt for the legitimate educational concern of "promoting tolerance and respect for differences among students," Houston wrote.
Please check out today's first post about Repent America. This new post just came in a few minutes ago:
Breaking - Judge OKs limits on student speech in Poway case
By: North County Times
SAN DIEGO ---- A federal judge ruled Tuesday in a lawsuit against the Poway Unified School District that school officials can restrict student speech that expresses "damaging statements about sexual orientation" and can limit students to stating their views "in a positive manner."
U.S. District Judge John Houston reached that conclusion in a 12-page decision that affirmed a similar ruling he made a year ago. In January 2007, Houston granted the school district's request for a judgment in its favor on the legal claims Kelsie Harper, 16 at the time, raised in the lawsuit, and dismissed Tyler Chase Harper, 18 at the time, from the case.
The elder Harper, who goes by his middle name, alleged in the federal lawsuit that the district and school officials violated his constitutional rights in their response to him wearing a T-shirt to school in 2004 that said "Homosexuality is shameful. Romans 1:27."
Kelsie Harper was added to the lawsuit later, alleging that she wanted to express an identical message through her speech or clothing, but was prevented from doing so because of school policies.
Court documents stated Chase Harper was sent to the principal's office after he refused to comply with a teacher's directions to remove the shirt. He had to remain in a conference room at the school office, where he did his homework until the end of the day because he would not remove the shirt, court documents stated.
The district argued in court documents that school officials reasonably believed the T-shirt could cause a disruption among students and violated the rights of students and employees to be free from harassment because of sexual orientation.
Chase Harper was dismissed from the lawsuit because he already has graduated from Poway High School.
Attorneys for the Harpers asked Houston to reconsider his ruling from last year because the U.S. Supreme Court set aside an appeals court decision upon which Houston relied in making the earlier ruling.
The school district's attorneys urged Houston to apply a U.S. Supreme Court decision in an unrelated student speech case to the Harper case. The nation's highest court ruled last year that school officials can restrict student speech that can be interpreted as advocating the use of illegal drugs.
Houston wrote that the legal reasoning from that case supported a conclusion that the Harpers' speech "may properly be restricted by school officials if it is considered harmful."
The district properly restricted the "negative speech" on Harper's T-shirt for the legitimate educational concern of "promoting tolerance and respect for differences among students," Houston wrote.
What ugly day - Repent America needs to disappear
This Tuesday has been a drag.
My mother got her stitches from her broken ankle removed and I woke up to a possibly ear infection.
And damn, one of the most annoying bits of anti-gay industry propaganda makes yet another appearance via that bastion of fairness (eyes rolling) One News Now:
Eleven Christians arrested for expressing their beliefs publicly during a so-called "gay pride" festival in Philadelphia several years ago were in court Monday, seeking to have their lawsuit against the city reinstated.
The 11 individuals were arrested in 2004 at Philadelphia's "OutFest," a pro-homosexual event held on public property. The Christian activists were charged with various crimes for quoting scriptures while walking on a public street set aside for the event. Charges were dropped almost immediately against all but five of the Christians, and those five were later found not guilty of all charges.
According to attorney Joseph Infranco, those actions paved the way for a civil suit against the City of Philadelphia and the OutFest participants, claiming that his clients suffered constitutional harm as a result and arguing no one else should be subjected to such actions. "So this is a civil suit now, to make them accountable for their actions -- and filing those criminal charges was part of that," he adds.
The article goes on to make it seem (yet again) that the Repent America controversy was a case of Christians unfairly arrested for preaching the gospel.
For probably the one millionth time (okay it's an exaggeration), let's show the truth of the controversy via People for the American Way:
The story as told by Repent America and other Religious Right groups – most recently in two videotaped ads by grandmothers who participated in the Repent America protest against the festival – is that people were arrested merely for “sharing the gospel” on public property. The arrest of the protestors and subsequent charges against them on several counts – some under Pennsylvania’s hate crimes law – is, in the mythology of Repent America, proof that the goal of gay rights activists in general, and hate crimes laws in particular, is to outlaw the gospel.
The kernel of truth at the bottom of the propaganda pile is that the two grandmothers and others were in fact arrested while protesting Philadelphia’s OutFest, and a local prosecutor did charge them with violations of several laws, including the state’s hate crimes law.
But none of those charges were for “sharing the gospel.” Repent America doesn’t mention that a federal court later found that the women “insulted individual attendees, blocked access to vendors, and disobeyed direct orders from the police, who were trying to preserve order and keep the peace.” The police arrested the protesters only after “their presence disrupted public order.” Unlike the organizers of OutFest, Repent America leaders failed to obtain a permit from the city. The city and the police gave the women great leeway, but they still overstepped the bounds of peaceful protest.
It gets tiring at times to ask this but why do some people think that it is okay to lie in the name of God?
But it wasn't all a bad day. According to Jeremy via goodasyou.org, Matt Barber may be suffering because of the MRSA situation.
It has not been verified as truth as of yet, but it would be nice to see Barber reprimanded, even if it means a short "vacation" from the public eye.
Let's face facts: the MRSA situation proved that Matt Barber was out of his league. He was and is a religious right version of William Hung.
And his notoriety should have been up about 14 minutes and 30 seconds ago.
This Tuesday has been a drag.
My mother got her stitches from her broken ankle removed and I woke up to a possibly ear infection.
And damn, one of the most annoying bits of anti-gay industry propaganda makes yet another appearance via that bastion of fairness (eyes rolling) One News Now:
Eleven Christians arrested for expressing their beliefs publicly during a so-called "gay pride" festival in Philadelphia several years ago were in court Monday, seeking to have their lawsuit against the city reinstated.
The 11 individuals were arrested in 2004 at Philadelphia's "OutFest," a pro-homosexual event held on public property. The Christian activists were charged with various crimes for quoting scriptures while walking on a public street set aside for the event. Charges were dropped almost immediately against all but five of the Christians, and those five were later found not guilty of all charges.
According to attorney Joseph Infranco, those actions paved the way for a civil suit against the City of Philadelphia and the OutFest participants, claiming that his clients suffered constitutional harm as a result and arguing no one else should be subjected to such actions. "So this is a civil suit now, to make them accountable for their actions -- and filing those criminal charges was part of that," he adds.
The article goes on to make it seem (yet again) that the Repent America controversy was a case of Christians unfairly arrested for preaching the gospel.
For probably the one millionth time (okay it's an exaggeration), let's show the truth of the controversy via People for the American Way:
The story as told by Repent America and other Religious Right groups – most recently in two videotaped ads by grandmothers who participated in the Repent America protest against the festival – is that people were arrested merely for “sharing the gospel” on public property. The arrest of the protestors and subsequent charges against them on several counts – some under Pennsylvania’s hate crimes law – is, in the mythology of Repent America, proof that the goal of gay rights activists in general, and hate crimes laws in particular, is to outlaw the gospel.
The kernel of truth at the bottom of the propaganda pile is that the two grandmothers and others were in fact arrested while protesting Philadelphia’s OutFest, and a local prosecutor did charge them with violations of several laws, including the state’s hate crimes law.
But none of those charges were for “sharing the gospel.” Repent America doesn’t mention that a federal court later found that the women “insulted individual attendees, blocked access to vendors, and disobeyed direct orders from the police, who were trying to preserve order and keep the peace.” The police arrested the protesters only after “their presence disrupted public order.” Unlike the organizers of OutFest, Repent America leaders failed to obtain a permit from the city. The city and the police gave the women great leeway, but they still overstepped the bounds of peaceful protest.
It gets tiring at times to ask this but why do some people think that it is okay to lie in the name of God?
But it wasn't all a bad day. According to Jeremy via goodasyou.org, Matt Barber may be suffering because of the MRSA situation.
It has not been verified as truth as of yet, but it would be nice to see Barber reprimanded, even if it means a short "vacation" from the public eye.
Let's face facts: the MRSA situation proved that Matt Barber was out of his league. He was and is a religious right version of William Hung.
And his notoriety should have been up about 14 minutes and 30 seconds ago.
Monday, February 11, 2008
It's not all about you know who - - Let's not forget our children
So that I don't get Peter LaBarbera'ed out and you all don't get tired me talking about him, I want to direct attention to another subject: our children.
It's no secret that lgbts are coming out at a younger age. Personally, I applaud their boldness. I also applaud the fact that they are not settling for being pushed in the background of their age groups and being seen as loner oddballs.
These children are starting GSAs all over the country and they should be supported. There are a lot of intentional misconceptions regarding GSAs. I know I am preaching to the choir when I say that these are not sex clubs, but places where our lgbt children can get support so that they make intelligent decisions regarding sex and all.
I said all of this to spotlight the following:
DeLand High club 'singularly important' for gay students
By EILEEN ZAFFIRO
Staff Writer
DELAND -- One boy whose hair reaches halfway down his back wore a camouflage tank top, light blue nail polish, blue eye shadow and a thick silver chain around his neck.
Another boy with a hint of a Marilyn Manson look donned bracelets, a ring and jet black nail polish that matched his ebony hair.
A girl sported blue and purple hair, striped leggings, a red plaid skirt and a T-shirt with pastel-colored hearts.
It was the weekly gathering of DeLand High School's Gay Straight Alliance, and a girl that probably would have blended in better playing flute in the band or running laps at track practice was so overcome with emotion she burst into tears.
"This is like the first time I ever felt welcome at anything," she sobbed as she blotted her eyes with a tissue. "I know I look like the redneck or preppie girl. That's just classification. My whole life I've been dealing with this. I always feel like the black sheep, even in my family. You guys just accepted me. You make me feel so welcome."
Another girl in the room sighed, "Oh, group hug," and within seconds teenage arms hugged away the tears and the kids offered a compassionate ear and advice only they knew how to give.
The article goes on and is really good. BUT to me, a crucial part of the story are the comments made about the article.
There are many ignorant people in the world as some of the comments demonstrate. But at the same time, there are many who support our children.
Feel free to read and add your support to the GSA.
So that I don't get Peter LaBarbera'ed out and you all don't get tired me talking about him, I want to direct attention to another subject: our children.
It's no secret that lgbts are coming out at a younger age. Personally, I applaud their boldness. I also applaud the fact that they are not settling for being pushed in the background of their age groups and being seen as loner oddballs.
These children are starting GSAs all over the country and they should be supported. There are a lot of intentional misconceptions regarding GSAs. I know I am preaching to the choir when I say that these are not sex clubs, but places where our lgbt children can get support so that they make intelligent decisions regarding sex and all.
I said all of this to spotlight the following:
DeLand High club 'singularly important' for gay students
By EILEEN ZAFFIRO
Staff Writer
DELAND -- One boy whose hair reaches halfway down his back wore a camouflage tank top, light blue nail polish, blue eye shadow and a thick silver chain around his neck.
Another boy with a hint of a Marilyn Manson look donned bracelets, a ring and jet black nail polish that matched his ebony hair.
A girl sported blue and purple hair, striped leggings, a red plaid skirt and a T-shirt with pastel-colored hearts.
It was the weekly gathering of DeLand High School's Gay Straight Alliance, and a girl that probably would have blended in better playing flute in the band or running laps at track practice was so overcome with emotion she burst into tears.
"This is like the first time I ever felt welcome at anything," she sobbed as she blotted her eyes with a tissue. "I know I look like the redneck or preppie girl. That's just classification. My whole life I've been dealing with this. I always feel like the black sheep, even in my family. You guys just accepted me. You make me feel so welcome."
Another girl in the room sighed, "Oh, group hug," and within seconds teenage arms hugged away the tears and the kids offered a compassionate ear and advice only they knew how to give.
The article goes on and is really good. BUT to me, a crucial part of the story are the comments made about the article.
There are many ignorant people in the world as some of the comments demonstrate. But at the same time, there are many who support our children.
Feel free to read and add your support to the GSA.
Peggy Lee said it best: Is that all there is?
Our friend Peter LaBarbera just won't let it go.
In my last post, I talked (on this site also) about how he (with help from Rush Limbaugh) took an award to be given at the Creating Change conference and exaggerated it to the point of lunacy.
At first, the two tried to link the conference (and the Democratic National Convention) to sadomaschism due to the ties of one of the honorees.
Today it seems, his aspirations have gone down.
Peter is no longer linking sadomaschism to the DNC. He just has a clip of Guy Baldwin accepting his award.
Of course I also noticed that while Peter bragged earlier on the fact that Limbaugh talked about his "discovery," he did not link to Limbaugh's article.
Could it be because Limbaugh straight out lied and said the Creating Change conference was an S&M event sponsored by the DNC?
Who knows. Either, I am unimpressed.
Damn Peter, you must be slipping.
Our friend Peter LaBarbera just won't let it go.
In my last post, I talked (on this site also) about how he (with help from Rush Limbaugh) took an award to be given at the Creating Change conference and exaggerated it to the point of lunacy.
At first, the two tried to link the conference (and the Democratic National Convention) to sadomaschism due to the ties of one of the honorees.
Today it seems, his aspirations have gone down.
Peter is no longer linking sadomaschism to the DNC. He just has a clip of Guy Baldwin accepting his award.
Of course I also noticed that while Peter bragged earlier on the fact that Limbaugh talked about his "discovery," he did not link to Limbaugh's article.
Could it be because Limbaugh straight out lied and said the Creating Change conference was an S&M event sponsored by the DNC?
Who knows. Either, I am unimpressed.
Damn Peter, you must be slipping.
Friday, February 08, 2008
Well that didn't last long - Distorting the Creating Change conference
Truer words were never spoken.
Leave it to the anti-gay industry to wake me up.
Our friend Peter LaBarbera, in attempting to make everyone forget his huge faux pas about the MRSA infection, is on another kick.
This time, he is railing against the Creating Change event put on the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.
And knowing Peter, he is taking the "sadomachistic angle:"
Well, folks, the Party of Perversion is at it again. This time the DNC (Democratic National Committee) — as a member of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force’s(NGLFT) “Leadership Council” (Advocate’s Circle) — gave at least $2,500 to the Task Force, whose “Creating Change” conference in Detroit is presenting its “Leather Leadership Award” to Guy Baldwin, an advocate of “erotic” and “consensual slavery.” How sick is that?
Please note the fact that while Peter whines about being called "Porno Pete," he has no problems throwing out ugly names.
And apparently, he is proud that Rush Limbaugh is talking about "his discovery." Here is what Rush Limbaugh is saying:
DNC Sponsors S&M Event
The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force is holding its annual 'Creating Change' conference in Detroit this week. Its sponsors claim to have trained more than 30,000 activists since 1988. Peter LaBarbera with Americans for Truth About Homosexuality has reported on the event in the past. The event's handbook even addresses 'transgender restroom etiquette.'" The Democrat Party is endorsing this event where they will be presenting an award, this is in Detroit, the Creating Change Conference, they will be presenting an award for sadomasochism. "A sponsorship acknowledgement notes that the Democratic National Committee gave at least $2,500 to help pay for the event. The recipient of the 'Leather Leadership Award' is Guy Baldwin."
Of course this is going to elicit an interesting dialogue about certain facets of the lgbt community and such. Already some is happening here.
But here is the thing I am concerned about:
Rush Limbaugh and Peter is distorting the story. The Democratic National Convention is not hosting an S&M event. The Creating Change conference is NOT a sadomaschistic event.
Creating Change is the one and only time each year that more than 2,000 lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights advocates from every corner of the country converge to strategize, socialize and mobilize for LGBT equality.It features top-level trainings, workshops, networking sessions and action-planning with our movement’s best thinkers and brightest innovators — oh yeah, there’s also tons of opportunities for socializing, meeting up with old friends and making lots of new ones.
In the grand scheme of things, the Creating Change conference is no different than that ridiculous gathering where they booed John McCain yesterday. Nor is it different from "Justice Sunday" or any other event where people gather and strategize.
Peter, Rush Limbaugh, and maybe others are taking one possibly objectionable action (i.e. giving an award to Guy Baldwin) and trying create an ugly controversy
Now whether or not it is advisable to give an award to Guy Baldwin would be an interesting discussion and frankly I would like to hear both sides rather than insane caterwauling by Peter and Rush and hasty reactions to this caterwauling.
After all, other folks are being honored:
Barbara Satin will receive the Allan Morrow Community Service Award, for outstanding leadership and advocacy in aging and elder concerns.
Mandy Carter will receive the Susan J. Hyde Activism Award for longevity in the movement. (And I have a personal happiness over this. I know Mandy Carter and she is one of my mentors. She deserves every honor she receives.)
Mia Mingus, a reproductive rights activist, will also be honored with the Creating Change
Jon Stryker, founder and president of the Arcus Foundation, will receive the Creating Change Award...Arcus is a private foundation that supports groups advancing lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender human rights and groups working globally to promote great ape conservation.
I repeat, whether or not Baldwin deserves an award is a good discussion. But please let's not get so caught up in the discussion that we don't recognize Peter's tactics. They are same ones he used to brand all lgbts via the MRSA infection. Remember in that case, he took a portion of a study and used it try and link the infection to lgbts and HIV:
Is this not an eerie reminder of the initial stories 25 years ago about AIDS -- then called GRID (Gay-Related Immunodeficiency Disease)? It is unfathomable that after that plague, disease specialists and the media are now surprised at the correlation of new infections with homosexual behavior;
In this case, he is taking a debatable award and trying to use it to negatively brand a very good conference and all lgbts in general:
And if he has to backtrack, he will probably create a straw man argument in this case just as he did in the case of the MRSA infection.
I can see it now:
I did not try to say that people would be having sadomachistic sex during the awards banquet, I was merely pointing out that they were giving an award to Guy Baldwin.
Peter's exploits just reinforces my belief that he is a generous person.
The more he opens his mouth, the more he gives away his ignorance.
Truer words were never spoken.
Leave it to the anti-gay industry to wake me up.
Our friend Peter LaBarbera, in attempting to make everyone forget his huge faux pas about the MRSA infection, is on another kick.
This time, he is railing against the Creating Change event put on the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.
And knowing Peter, he is taking the "sadomachistic angle:"
Well, folks, the Party of Perversion is at it again. This time the DNC (Democratic National Committee) — as a member of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force’s(NGLFT) “Leadership Council” (Advocate’s Circle) — gave at least $2,500 to the Task Force, whose “Creating Change” conference in Detroit is presenting its “Leather Leadership Award” to Guy Baldwin, an advocate of “erotic” and “consensual slavery.” How sick is that?
Please note the fact that while Peter whines about being called "Porno Pete," he has no problems throwing out ugly names.
And apparently, he is proud that Rush Limbaugh is talking about "his discovery." Here is what Rush Limbaugh is saying:
DNC Sponsors S&M Event
The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force is holding its annual 'Creating Change' conference in Detroit this week. Its sponsors claim to have trained more than 30,000 activists since 1988. Peter LaBarbera with Americans for Truth About Homosexuality has reported on the event in the past. The event's handbook even addresses 'transgender restroom etiquette.'" The Democrat Party is endorsing this event where they will be presenting an award, this is in Detroit, the Creating Change Conference, they will be presenting an award for sadomasochism. "A sponsorship acknowledgement notes that the Democratic National Committee gave at least $2,500 to help pay for the event. The recipient of the 'Leather Leadership Award' is Guy Baldwin."
Of course this is going to elicit an interesting dialogue about certain facets of the lgbt community and such. Already some is happening here.
But here is the thing I am concerned about:
Rush Limbaugh and Peter is distorting the story. The Democratic National Convention is not hosting an S&M event. The Creating Change conference is NOT a sadomaschistic event.
Creating Change is the one and only time each year that more than 2,000 lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights advocates from every corner of the country converge to strategize, socialize and mobilize for LGBT equality.It features top-level trainings, workshops, networking sessions and action-planning with our movement’s best thinkers and brightest innovators — oh yeah, there’s also tons of opportunities for socializing, meeting up with old friends and making lots of new ones.
In the grand scheme of things, the Creating Change conference is no different than that ridiculous gathering where they booed John McCain yesterday. Nor is it different from "Justice Sunday" or any other event where people gather and strategize.
Peter, Rush Limbaugh, and maybe others are taking one possibly objectionable action (i.e. giving an award to Guy Baldwin) and trying create an ugly controversy
Now whether or not it is advisable to give an award to Guy Baldwin would be an interesting discussion and frankly I would like to hear both sides rather than insane caterwauling by Peter and Rush and hasty reactions to this caterwauling.
After all, other folks are being honored:
Barbara Satin will receive the Allan Morrow Community Service Award, for outstanding leadership and advocacy in aging and elder concerns.
Mandy Carter will receive the Susan J. Hyde Activism Award for longevity in the movement. (And I have a personal happiness over this. I know Mandy Carter and she is one of my mentors. She deserves every honor she receives.)
Mia Mingus, a reproductive rights activist, will also be honored with the Creating Change
Jon Stryker, founder and president of the Arcus Foundation, will receive the Creating Change Award...Arcus is a private foundation that supports groups advancing lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender human rights and groups working globally to promote great ape conservation.
I repeat, whether or not Baldwin deserves an award is a good discussion. But please let's not get so caught up in the discussion that we don't recognize Peter's tactics. They are same ones he used to brand all lgbts via the MRSA infection. Remember in that case, he took a portion of a study and used it try and link the infection to lgbts and HIV:
Is this not an eerie reminder of the initial stories 25 years ago about AIDS -- then called GRID (Gay-Related Immunodeficiency Disease)? It is unfathomable that after that plague, disease specialists and the media are now surprised at the correlation of new infections with homosexual behavior;
In this case, he is taking a debatable award and trying to use it to negatively brand a very good conference and all lgbts in general:
And if he has to backtrack, he will probably create a straw man argument in this case just as he did in the case of the MRSA infection.
I can see it now:
I did not try to say that people would be having sadomachistic sex during the awards banquet, I was merely pointing out that they were giving an award to Guy Baldwin.
Peter's exploits just reinforces my belief that he is a generous person.
The more he opens his mouth, the more he gives away his ignorance.
Bad timing for writer's block
Unbelievable. Or maybe I am just tired.
I was supposed to be posting my black history month column yesterday but I haven't even put it to paper yet.
I am basically tired and it's the worst time for it. This election is promising to be very interesting (i.e. Dobson endorsing Huckabee, "suicide voters?," McCain catching hell) and I am too pooped to do anything.
Bear with my y'all and don't stop reading. I will be over it by this weekend.
Knowing our friends in the anti-gay industry, they will do something extraordinarily stupid that will shake the weariness off of me.
Unbelievable. Or maybe I am just tired.
I was supposed to be posting my black history month column yesterday but I haven't even put it to paper yet.
I am basically tired and it's the worst time for it. This election is promising to be very interesting (i.e. Dobson endorsing Huckabee, "suicide voters?," McCain catching hell) and I am too pooped to do anything.
Bear with my y'all and don't stop reading. I will be over it by this weekend.
Knowing our friends in the anti-gay industry, they will do something extraordinarily stupid that will shake the weariness off of me.
Wednesday, February 06, 2008
The day after Super Tuesday
I apologize for the short post today. Leona, (I mean mother) wants me to cook tonight.
She is doing well and her ankle is healing nicely. I hope it heals very soon.
Anyway, today I got stopped on the street by a co-worker. This child has been pumped up about the 2008 election. Every time she sees me on the streets, she goes into an Obama chant.
I really don't mind. As corny as it seems, I would like to see more African-Americans pumped up about voting.
I'm really hoping that McCain gets the Republican nomination. I want to see Ann Coulter actually campaign for Hilary Clinton, or whoever gets the Democratic nomination.
Anyway, I will post tomorrow. I am working on a huge Black History Month column that I hope to finish by then.
One more thing:
Our worst nightmare: Hucka-VP
Oh God, no.
I apologize for the short post today. Leona, (I mean mother) wants me to cook tonight.
She is doing well and her ankle is healing nicely. I hope it heals very soon.
Anyway, today I got stopped on the street by a co-worker. This child has been pumped up about the 2008 election. Every time she sees me on the streets, she goes into an Obama chant.
I really don't mind. As corny as it seems, I would like to see more African-Americans pumped up about voting.
I'm really hoping that McCain gets the Republican nomination. I want to see Ann Coulter actually campaign for Hilary Clinton, or whoever gets the Democratic nomination.
Anyway, I will post tomorrow. I am working on a huge Black History Month column that I hope to finish by then.
One more thing:
Our worst nightmare: Hucka-VP
Oh God, no.
Tuesday, February 05, 2008
Rumblings on the horizon
It's Super Tuesday, and I know everyone's mind is on the upcoming election.
However since this site is one that believes in pre-planning and strategy, I want to make everyone aware of something to place in the back of their mind . . .
Or as C.S. Lewis once said, "something worth knowing."
ENDA will be coming soon and I have a suspicion that the anti-gay industry is already formulating a battle plan.
And it involves the transgender community, bathrooms, and locker rooms.
Remember a while back when I talked about a group's ridiculous stunt in testing a non-discrimination law. They allegedly sent a man dressed as a woman into a women's locker room at the local gym.
Well I am getting rumblings that this stunt may not have been unsucessful. At press time, it seems that the group may have gotten half the signatures they need to push a referendum of the law. Of course they need to get the other half by next week, but the fact of the matter is that their fear tactics may have been successful.
And (this has not been confirmed) it seems that they were getting help from pastors telling their congregants that the law would lead to men being able to invade ladies' restrooms.
I will be keeping abreast of this situation.
Then there is this from Florida:
A heated and vocal response to a new Gainesville ordinance that extends rights to transgender individuals has garnered national attention.
. . . Business owners say they are concerned about the public accommodation portion of the ordinance, which requires people not be denied access to public facilities based on the fact that they identify with a gender other than what they were born as.
Joe Cirulli, founder of Gainesville Health & Fitness Centers, the city's largest fitness provider, was among those who waited in line to address the City Commission Monday night. His comments were quick and to the point: How would this affect GH&FC, which provides showers and locker rooms for both men and women at all its centers except for its one women's center that has facilities only for women.
Then comes this lovely gem from our friend Peter LaBarbera:
‘T’-Party at Creating Change in Detroit - ‘Each of Us Can Decide for Ourselves in which Bathroom We Belong’
This is not going to be the end of it. I suspect when ENDA comes up again, we are going to be inudated with horror stories of men in ladies bathrooms and locker rooms.
I sincerely hope that I am not the only one who notices this.
It's Super Tuesday, and I know everyone's mind is on the upcoming election.
However since this site is one that believes in pre-planning and strategy, I want to make everyone aware of something to place in the back of their mind . . .
Or as C.S. Lewis once said, "something worth knowing."
ENDA will be coming soon and I have a suspicion that the anti-gay industry is already formulating a battle plan.
And it involves the transgender community, bathrooms, and locker rooms.
Remember a while back when I talked about a group's ridiculous stunt in testing a non-discrimination law. They allegedly sent a man dressed as a woman into a women's locker room at the local gym.
Well I am getting rumblings that this stunt may not have been unsucessful. At press time, it seems that the group may have gotten half the signatures they need to push a referendum of the law. Of course they need to get the other half by next week, but the fact of the matter is that their fear tactics may have been successful.
And (this has not been confirmed) it seems that they were getting help from pastors telling their congregants that the law would lead to men being able to invade ladies' restrooms.
I will be keeping abreast of this situation.
Then there is this from Florida:
A heated and vocal response to a new Gainesville ordinance that extends rights to transgender individuals has garnered national attention.
. . . Business owners say they are concerned about the public accommodation portion of the ordinance, which requires people not be denied access to public facilities based on the fact that they identify with a gender other than what they were born as.
Joe Cirulli, founder of Gainesville Health & Fitness Centers, the city's largest fitness provider, was among those who waited in line to address the City Commission Monday night. His comments were quick and to the point: How would this affect GH&FC, which provides showers and locker rooms for both men and women at all its centers except for its one women's center that has facilities only for women.
Then comes this lovely gem from our friend Peter LaBarbera:
‘T’-Party at Creating Change in Detroit - ‘Each of Us Can Decide for Ourselves in which Bathroom We Belong’
This is not going to be the end of it. I suspect when ENDA comes up again, we are going to be inudated with horror stories of men in ladies bathrooms and locker rooms.
I sincerely hope that I am not the only one who notices this.
Monday, February 04, 2008
Why the David Parkers of the world must continue to lose
First of all, a BIG acknowledgement to my online buddy, Pam Spaulding for her inclusion in the National Black Justice Coalition's LGBT Black History Profiles.
A very deserving honor indeed.
This weekend, a federal appeals court ruled against parent David Parker in his crusade against his son's elementary school.
First, a recap via Box Turtle Bulletin:
In January 2005, Jacob Parker brought home a diversity book bag from his kindergarten. Included in the bag was books about other cultures and traditions, food recipes, and a book called Who’s in a Family. The illustrations included various family constructions: single parents, mom-dad-kids, grandparents, mixed-race families, and same-sex parents.
David Parker, his father, decided that young Jacob was entitled to ignorance of the existence of same-sex headed families. He set out to change school policy so that his child not be exposed to that fact. He extended his demands to include any discussion of same-sex parenting, regardless of the context or setting - including any conversations of children of gay or lesbian parents.
Because the school district has a large number of same-sex families, many with children attending the school, the administration deemed Parker’s request to be nearly impossible.
This resulted in a string of emails and eventually Parker showed up in the administrative offices and refused to leave until his demands were met. At the end of the day, police were called and, when Parker refused the police requests to leave, he was arrested for trespassing.
Dr. Paul Ash, superintendent of Lexington Public Schools, said the school tried to be accommodating.
“The school department said, ‘Look, we’ll work with you, but we cannot assure you what a child is going to say and that we can immediately stop a discussion that you find objectionable,’” said Ash. “One of the central units in kindergarten is the discussion of families and we show families of all different types.” Ash says the discussions “ended up in an irreconcilable difference.”
In June 2006, the Parkers sued the school in federal court for civil right violations.
They were joined by the Joseph and Robin Wirthlin, parents of a second grader in the same district. On a day in which the school discussed marriage, a teacher read King and King, a book in which a prince doesn’t fall for a princess but for another prince instead. Although marriage laws in Massachusetts include same-sex couples, the Wirthlins believe that such marriages should be excluded from discussion about marriages in the classroom.
A few days after filing their suit, David Parker’s credibility came under question. He spread a story that his child, Jacob, was beaten by students for David Parker’s anti-gay stance and suggested that school teachers or the administration were behind the beating.
After much press in the anti-gay conservative Christian media, the facts were released. It turned out to be nothing greater than a schoolyard scuffle over who sat next to whom in the cafeteria.
In February 2007, U.S. District Judge Mark L. Wolf dismissed the lawsuit.
In his 38-page decision, Chief Judge Mark L. Wolf of US District Court said that under the US Constitution, public schools are “entitled to teach anything that is reasonably related to the goals of preparing students to become engaged and productive citizens in our democracy.”
“Diversity is a hallmark of our nation,” he said.
The Parkers and Wirthlins appealed the decision. Yesterday the three judge appeals panel unanimously upheld Judge Wolf’s decision.
The Parker case was one of serious interest to me. It took place when I was writing Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters. In fact, I included the case as an example of how the anti-gay industry distorts current events to fit their agenda.
But something else needs to be said about it. I think that Parker's lawsuit was yet another way that the anti-gay industry will not acknowledge the presence of lgbt families.
Parker was told that children living in same-sex led households attended the same school as his son, but he would not acknowledge this. Nor did Peter LaBarbera, the Traditional Values Coalition, Mass Resistance, or any other group supporting Parker.
Being honest about the situation, their omissions of these families was intentional. Acknowledging the fact the lgbts are raising families would interfere with the anti-gay industry image of lgbts being hedonistic outsiders with no care of family obligations or responsibility.
But the fact of the matter is that there are same-sex led families throughout the United States, these families are raising children rather well, and these families should have the same type of acknowledgement as opposite sex families.
More importantly, we don't need to creating caste systems regarding families. Parker's right as a parent does not supersede the right of a child to not have his family given some sort of Scarlet Letter.
A child shouldn't have to wonder why a teacher is stopping class and taking some classmates out of the room just because he wants to talk about his two mothers or she wants to talk about her two daddies.
Schools should never be in the business of placing mental asteriks on families that tell children, "your family is a good one but since it doesn't fit the definition of a normal family, it will always be second best."
For the sake of all children and all families, the David Parkers, the Peter LaBarberas, and the James Dobsons must lose when they try to impose their defintion of family on us all.
First of all, a BIG acknowledgement to my online buddy, Pam Spaulding for her inclusion in the National Black Justice Coalition's LGBT Black History Profiles.
A very deserving honor indeed.
This weekend, a federal appeals court ruled against parent David Parker in his crusade against his son's elementary school.
First, a recap via Box Turtle Bulletin:
In January 2005, Jacob Parker brought home a diversity book bag from his kindergarten. Included in the bag was books about other cultures and traditions, food recipes, and a book called Who’s in a Family. The illustrations included various family constructions: single parents, mom-dad-kids, grandparents, mixed-race families, and same-sex parents.
David Parker, his father, decided that young Jacob was entitled to ignorance of the existence of same-sex headed families. He set out to change school policy so that his child not be exposed to that fact. He extended his demands to include any discussion of same-sex parenting, regardless of the context or setting - including any conversations of children of gay or lesbian parents.
Because the school district has a large number of same-sex families, many with children attending the school, the administration deemed Parker’s request to be nearly impossible.
This resulted in a string of emails and eventually Parker showed up in the administrative offices and refused to leave until his demands were met. At the end of the day, police were called and, when Parker refused the police requests to leave, he was arrested for trespassing.
Dr. Paul Ash, superintendent of Lexington Public Schools, said the school tried to be accommodating.
“The school department said, ‘Look, we’ll work with you, but we cannot assure you what a child is going to say and that we can immediately stop a discussion that you find objectionable,’” said Ash. “One of the central units in kindergarten is the discussion of families and we show families of all different types.” Ash says the discussions “ended up in an irreconcilable difference.”
In June 2006, the Parkers sued the school in federal court for civil right violations.
They were joined by the Joseph and Robin Wirthlin, parents of a second grader in the same district. On a day in which the school discussed marriage, a teacher read King and King, a book in which a prince doesn’t fall for a princess but for another prince instead. Although marriage laws in Massachusetts include same-sex couples, the Wirthlins believe that such marriages should be excluded from discussion about marriages in the classroom.
A few days after filing their suit, David Parker’s credibility came under question. He spread a story that his child, Jacob, was beaten by students for David Parker’s anti-gay stance and suggested that school teachers or the administration were behind the beating.
After much press in the anti-gay conservative Christian media, the facts were released. It turned out to be nothing greater than a schoolyard scuffle over who sat next to whom in the cafeteria.
In February 2007, U.S. District Judge Mark L. Wolf dismissed the lawsuit.
In his 38-page decision, Chief Judge Mark L. Wolf of US District Court said that under the US Constitution, public schools are “entitled to teach anything that is reasonably related to the goals of preparing students to become engaged and productive citizens in our democracy.”
“Diversity is a hallmark of our nation,” he said.
The Parkers and Wirthlins appealed the decision. Yesterday the three judge appeals panel unanimously upheld Judge Wolf’s decision.
The Parker case was one of serious interest to me. It took place when I was writing Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters. In fact, I included the case as an example of how the anti-gay industry distorts current events to fit their agenda.
But something else needs to be said about it. I think that Parker's lawsuit was yet another way that the anti-gay industry will not acknowledge the presence of lgbt families.
Parker was told that children living in same-sex led households attended the same school as his son, but he would not acknowledge this. Nor did Peter LaBarbera, the Traditional Values Coalition, Mass Resistance, or any other group supporting Parker.
Being honest about the situation, their omissions of these families was intentional. Acknowledging the fact the lgbts are raising families would interfere with the anti-gay industry image of lgbts being hedonistic outsiders with no care of family obligations or responsibility.
But the fact of the matter is that there are same-sex led families throughout the United States, these families are raising children rather well, and these families should have the same type of acknowledgement as opposite sex families.
More importantly, we don't need to creating caste systems regarding families. Parker's right as a parent does not supersede the right of a child to not have his family given some sort of Scarlet Letter.
A child shouldn't have to wonder why a teacher is stopping class and taking some classmates out of the room just because he wants to talk about his two mothers or she wants to talk about her two daddies.
Schools should never be in the business of placing mental asteriks on families that tell children, "your family is a good one but since it doesn't fit the definition of a normal family, it will always be second best."
For the sake of all children and all families, the David Parkers, the Peter LaBarberas, and the James Dobsons must lose when they try to impose their defintion of family on us all.
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