Will it be 'death of a thousand cuts' for Kevin Jennings?

This is 2000, in Iowa, at the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network -- it's an event there. It's audio of Obama's safe schools czar, Kevin Jennings. This is the guy that, the 15-year-old kid approached him, said, "I'm having a -- an older man is forcing his way on me, sex and so forth." And Jennings says, "That's fine, are you using a condom?" and urged the 15-year-old to further the relationship, and then said later, "I saw this kid come back to school and every day had a big smile on his face. I knew I'd done a good thing." That's Obama's safe schools czar" - Rush Limbaugh on Oct. 7th - a week after every aspect of his version of the situation has been discredited.

Bishop E.W. Jackson, president and founder of Staying True to America's National Destiny (STAND), has written a letter to President Obama calling for Jennings' resignation. Jackson says that Jennings, as head of GLSEN, was involved in a cover-up.

The incident, as Jackson explains, involved a 15-year-old boy named "Brewster" who allegedly met an older adult male at a bus stop, went home with the man, and had sexual relations with him. Brewster later told Jennings about the incident. Jackson explains what happened next. - American Family Association's One News Now pushing the same lie as Rush Limbaugh a day later

I can't imagine that President Obama lacked the sensitivity to think that somebody who had said the things that Mr. Jennings had said, had done the things that Mr. Jennings had done, had taken the sort of high-profile, in-your-face advocacy of things like NAMBLA and gay rights and queering elementary school curricula -- that the president of the United States would think this was a person that he ought to put in charge of safe schools, and yet he did. - former Bush Administration official Karl Rove, who offers no proof that Jennings is connected with NAMBLA while he pushes a sly coalition.

It's clear what is happening now.

When faced with the fact that their false claims against Jennings can't bring him down, the right merely increased the volume of the attacks.

It's the principle of the quantity of poor food during a famine. Who cares if it tastes terrible, as long as there is enough of it to satisfy.

By that same token, the mindset of the right seems to be "who cares if the information we push about Jennings is wrong, as long as there is so much of it that it brings him down."

This thing has never been about truth or accuracy. We all knew this.

It's about getting ratings or winning a round in a so-called culture war.

It's about undermining the Obama Administration and the cause of lgbt rights.

It's about throwing all sort of mess on the wall in hopes that some of it will stick and then trumpeting later in a sanctimonious fashion about how "there were too many questions about Jennings," or about how "the Obama Administration does a poor job in vetting officials."

I still think that Jennings will persevere (don't even think about resigning, Kevin), but I've lost the little bit of respect I've had for those who oppose him.

And I don't think that I am alone in this regard.

But I'm hoping that President Obama doesn't succumb to all of this nonsense.

He doesn't have that good of a reputation with the lgbt community. Now I've been willing to cut him some slack because the last person in President's chair screwed things up so badly that I can almost understand the "too many things on the President's plate" argument.

Please bear in mind that I said "almost."

However, if Obama should succumb in any way to these attacks on Jennings he will be sending a message to us all. To the right, he will be seen as a pushover. To the lgbt community, he will be seen as opportunist; willing to betray us "yet again."

How I will view him isn't fit for verbal or print comment.

Related posts:

Religious right continues to attack Kevin Jennings, lgbt community with proven lies

Who knew the American Family Association could moonwalk?

Join the Support Kevin Jennings Facebook group

Fox News corrects inaccurate Jennings article. Politico does the same

Smart answers to lies about Kevin Jennings - a list of talking points

New attack against Kevin Jennings - the 'NAMBLA' connection

Religious right owes Kevin Jennings an apology

New facts vindicate Kevin Jennings - the young man he counseled was of legal age

Let's not be so quick to blame Obama if Kevin Jennings is dismissed

Washington Times publishes ugly hit piece on Kevin Jennings

The new attack on Kevin Jennings - he said something ugly about God

The continuing attacks on Kevin Jennings - now Fox News gets involved

The possible attack on the President's lgbt appointees

The tea party idiots - will they go after the lgbt community next?

Traditional Values Coalition attacks Kevin Jennings and . . . Tom Cruise?

Support Sean's Last Wish and Kevin Jennings

The religious right thinks that character assasination is a Christian virtue

The war against Kevin Jennings - now it's getting pathetic

Attacks on Kevin Jennings sleazy, un-ChristianMore right wing lunacy on Kevin Jennings courtesy of Kevin McCullough

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

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

Marriage equality battles heat up, more lies on Kevin Jennings, and other Thursday midday news briefs

Protect Maine Equality gets kudo points here! They took an anti-gay marriage lie and are attacking it head on.



And in other news:

Those who passed the bar vs. those who hope to pass a bar - The situation in Maine heats up as more than 350 lawyers are calling out the anti-gay marriage folks for misleading campaign ads.

Protect Marriage Washington just keeps the hits coming - Meanwhile, the anti-gay mariage folks in Washington are lying their socks off!

Barney Frank: March is "Useless," Lobby Politicians at Home - This is Barney Frank's opinion. To tell the truth, I am more in the middle than I was when this entire thing began. But hopefully more on that later . . .

Thugs attack two transvestites... who turn out to be cage fighters wearing fancy dress - Words cannot describe this.

AC 360: Dan Choi takes on anti-gay automaton Elaine Donnelly - Elaine Donnelly gets destroyed again.

Group wants Obama pick's resignation - One News Now lies on Kevin Jennings by running the discredited "Jennings counseled an underaged child to have sex with an adult" story. The phony news service says the child was 15, a week after this was proven to be wrong. I've already registered my comments. Feel free to register yours, but be polite.

HRC's goal - silence Christians, normalize sin - In that same vein, remember One News Now as one of the only few places which takes Peter LaBarbera seriously.

Harry Connick, Jr. deals with a 'blackface' controversy

From Queertwocents.com:

Singer/actor, Harry Connick Jr. was asked to be a guest judge on the Aussie variety TV show Hey Hey It's Saturday and was shocked when a group of Jackson 5 impersonators, called the Jackson Jive, appeared on stage in complete blackface! Connick gave the group a zero rating for their performance and was booed by the audience, later, he gives everyone a good talking to about why blackface is so wrong. Believe it or not the group says it was meant to be a tribute to Michael Jackson! It reeks with racism from start to finish. On air, Connick says, "If I knew that was going to be a part of the show, I definitely wouldn't have done it." This incident has created controversy in Australia, especially on talk radio, where listeners feel that Connick was over-reacting!

The video is insulting, period. Interestingly enough, Shane said that someone sent him an email saying that what this group did was no different than Robert Downey Jr's portrayal of a black man in the movie Tropic Thunder.

In addition, some have pointed to Connick's portrayal of a black minister on MadTV and labeling him as a hypocrite.

I'm guessing that soon people like Larry Elder or Thomas Sowell will come out of the woodwork publicly disagreeing with what Connick did.

Things like this only underscores people's ignorance. Certainly, white actors have portrayed people of a different ethnic origin. And black actors have also. I remember a certain skit on Saturday Night Live when Eddie Murphy portrayed a white man.

But these actors (including Downey, Connick, and Murphy) used appropriate theatrical makeup. They didn't take what look liked shoe polish and slathered it on their faces. Nor were their performances ignorant caricatures of people from a different race.


What Connick did was right and highly appropriate. And he should be commended for it.