Commentator on Pam's House Blend demonstrates a perfect smack down

I read something today on Pam's House Blend that was so awesome that I just have to spotlight it on this blog.

Apparently former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum wrote some ridiculous screed about Proposition 8 in California. Other than the usual tired "those who support traditional marriage will now be looked at as bigots" whine that Maggie Gallagher uses constantly, Santorum also said the following:

What happens if we permit this tiny minority to reshape marriage? The next step is to use the new law to suppress the liberties of Christians. Already:

* A Christian adoption agency--Catholic Charities!--has been shut down by the government because it will not do adoptions for gay married couples

* A volunteer fireman, who risked his life to rescue friends and neighbors in need, was told his services were no longer wanted--because he signed a petition supporting marriage as the union of husband and wife.

* A father was arrested for trying to prevent a public school from teaching his son that gay marriage is normal.

* In New Jersey, a Methodist organization just lost part of its state tax exemption because it refused to permit civil union ceremonies on church-owned property.

This is an old but effective anti-gay industry tactic: distort current events to demonstrate how the lgbt community wants to silence Christians.

Well a commentator on Pam's House Blend, cindik, took it upon herself to break down these stories. And in doing so, she demonstrates the correct way to fight the anti-gay industry. When they distort, show the truth and back it up. I hope Pam will forgive me but I want to post cindik's comment. It's too awesome for words:

* A Christian adoption agency--Catholic Charities!--has been shut down by the government because it will not do adoptions for gay married couples

At least he's specific about the charity, but which government? And how did they shut it down?

The Boston Archdiocese's Catholic Charities said Friday it would stop providing adoption services because of a state law allowing gays and lesbians to adopt children. - CBS news

That's right, Boston's Catholic Charities decided to end their services because of a state law that required organizations that received state funds to not discriminate against gay and lesbian people.

* A volunteer fireman, who risked his life to rescue friends and neighbors in need, was told his services were no longer wanted--because he signed a petition supporting marriage as the union of husband and wife.

This is very sketchy. Who is this guy? Where was he volunteering?

It turns out that volunteer fireman Leo ''Skip'' Childs was not chosen for a vacancy on the Truro, MA board of fire engineers and they instead chose one of the other candidates they interviewed, Jeff Perry. A former selectman for he town, Paul Asher-Best, apparently was against choosing Childs because Childs had signed a petition against same sex marriage in Massachusetts. Cape Cod Times

So the opinion of the selectmen was to choose another person for the board, perhaps in part due to the fireman's endorsement of a measure to go against the state's Supreme Court ruling on the rights of others.

* A father was arrested for trying to prevent a public school from teaching his son that gay marriage is normal.

Rick, Rick, Rick. Can you be more vague?

Parker and his wife, Tonia, 34, who was also in court yesterday, said the dispute arose because they asked school officials to notify them about classroom discussions about same-sex marriage and what they called other adult themes. They also wanted the option to exclude their boy, now 6, from those talks.

Parker said he met with school officials to gain those assurances and then refused to leave until he got them. Parker stayed at Estabrook School for more than two hours, according to Superintendent William J. Hurley, as officials and Lexington police urged him to leave. Finally, they arrested him for trespassing.- Boston Globe

And incorrect, it turns out. He wasn't arrested for trying to prevent his child from being taught that same-sex marriage is normal, he was arrested for refusing to leave the school.

* In New Jersey, a Methodist organization just lost part of its state tax exemption because it refused to permit civil union ceremonies on church-owned property.

Kudos, Mr. Santorum. You identified the state, the denomination, and the loss (partial tax exemption).

Of course, it wasn't a religious tax exemption, as one might have incorrectly inferred from Mr. Santorum's omission of detail. It was a tax from the New Jersey EPA for having a green space open to the public.

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection on Tuesday denied a Methodist organization's request to continue getting tax breaks for a public pavilion in Ocean Grove, N.J., where it allows weddings but not same-sex civil-union ceremonies.

The state ruled that the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association's space, formerly tax-exempt under New Jersey's Green Acres Program, is not eligible for tax breaks because it is no longer open to all members of the public.- Gay.Com

It also turns out that LGBT-owned businesses were a big part of the revival of the area, which is still owned by a Methodist organization. - New York Times

And the financial impact? About $175/year.

So these aren't outright lies, but they are vague, misleading anecdotes. Hey, I have an idea - what if we start a new trend? We could change "rickrolling" to mean a link to a video of Rick Santorum saying something misleading.

Alright cindik! You better work it, girl!!!