Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters: 04/01/2010

Friday, April 30, 2010

Know Your LGBT History - Theatre of Blood

One of my favorite horror movies is the 1973 Vincent Price camp classic Theatre of Blood.

In it, Price portrays a actor who murders his critics in the form of scenes from Shakespearean plays. One critic is stabbed to death like in Julius Caesar, another is drown in a vat of wine like the Duke of Clarence in Richard III, and another critic (who happened to be gay) is tricked into eating his pet dogs whom he refers to as his "children" (which is a take off of the play Titus Andronicus where the evil queen Tamora is tricked into eating her two sons baked in a pie).

But for the purpose of this post, it is the scene where Price dispatches critic Chloe Moon (Coral Browne) under the nose of a police guard which stands out. An afro wig, a fey accent, and a name like "Butch" would spook me too. Try as I might to be offended, I can't. The scene starts at 4:00:

LaBarbera wants 'homosexuality' litmus test for public officials and other Friday midday news briefs

Peter LaBarbera's Anti-Gay McCarthyism: We Have A Right To Know Who Is "Practicing Immoral Homosexual Behavior" - The insanity of "Porno" Pete LaBarbera part . . . oh why do I even bother to keep count?

Video: OWN. YOUR. DISRESPECT. FOR. THE. COMMANDER IN CHIEF. TONY! - Don't make the comment if you can't stand the consequences of your words.

Massachusetts Legislature Passes Anti-Bullying Measure - Good news from Massachusetts. Mass Resistance is going to plotz!

Hawaii House approves civil unions for same-sex couples; bill heads to governor - A new reason to visit Hawaii.

Openly gay students in Tennessee fight for their rights - Way to go! And the children shall lead them.

Arizona Expands Its Discrimination: Teachers With Heavy Accents Can’t Teach English, Ethnic Studies Are Banned - Not necessarily an lgbt issue per se but just so shockingly nasty that I have to include it.

Why the phrase 'No Homo' is highly needed

From the folks at infoMAnia, a dissertation on the phrase "No Homo."

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Look out! Here comes a new distortion about changing sexual orientation

Imagine my surprise this afternoon when I read the following from One News Now:

Researchers at Fordham University have released a study showing that homosexual men can change their "orientation" by developing healthy, non-sexual relationships with other men.

The study was published in the Journal of Men's Studies (March 2010). Greg Quinlan, president Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays & Gays (PFOX,) tells OneNewsNow it serves as confirmation to "everything that we've been saying all along."

The One News Now article did not go into detail about the study so I looked elsewhere to find more information.

Lifesite News said the following:

Researchers at Fordham University in New York have published a study in the March edition of the Journal of Men's Studies, showing that positive results can be gained by homosexual men seeking to change their “orientation” by developing healthy non-sexual relationships with other men.

According to the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homoseuxality (NARTH), the study rovides “valuable empirical evidence” from the mainstream of psychological research supporting environmental factors as the cause of homosexuality.

The study, by Dr. Elan Y. Karten and Dr. Jay C. Wade, examined the “social and psychological characteristics” of men who experience unwanted homosexual attractions and who seek “sexual orientation change efforts” (SOCE).

Investigating these characteristics in cases of “self-reported change,” Karten and Wade found that clients reported that they experienced “a decrease in homosexual feelings and behavior, an increase in heterosexual feelings and behavior, and a positive change in psychological functioning” with SOCE.

Don't be fooled by the link that supposedly leads to the study. It actually leads to a NARTH (National Association of Research and Therapy of Homosexuality) summary of the study.

And as many of us know, based on NARTH's history of embracing inaccurate theories about the gay community, it's not a good idea to trust the organization's summary of anything.

So where is the study and why won't these folks lauding it go into detail about it? Are they omitting something?

Dr. Warren Throckmorton of Grove City College, there is some serious misrepresentations going on.

Now I should break in and say that in many cases, Throckmorton and the lgbt community has not seen eye-to-eye on several issues.

But there are times in which Throckmorton calls out the religious right on their lies. He does such a good job at it that "our friend" Peter LaBarbera has directed barbs at him.

And the way I see it, anyone who upsets LaBarbera can't be all bad.

In this particular case, Throckmorton calls out One News Now and NARTH for distorting this study. I bolded the most important part of Throckmorton's statement:

Here is the OneNewsNow title:

‘Orientation’ change efforts effective.
Here is a statement from Karten and Wade (p. 86):

The purpose of the study was not to replicate findings from prior research or establish the efficacy of this treatment.
Now the way NARTH discusses the study, one might think replication of prior change research was the intent, but it was not a study that was designed to “establish the efficacy” of sexual orientation change efforts (SOCE). Rather, the authors surveyed 117 men who were trying to change and asked them what seemed to be working in their quest. It was not an outcome study and there were no follow up interviews with any of the subjects.

OneNewsNow says this:

Researchers at Fordham University have released a study showing that homosexual men can change their “orientation” by developing healthy, non-sexual relationships with other men.
As noted by the article, the study did not demonstrate change via any mechanism nor was the stated intent of the study to establish this finding. The study was not designed in such a way that change could be verified. Karten recruited participants from Journey Into Manhood participants and from therapists who conducted change therapy. The subjects were only required to have some same-sex attraction, meaning that we do not know how many, if any, exclusively homosexual men were in the study. There was only one measurement of sexual attraction via the survey with no follow up measures. Thus, change was not really measured, in that there was no pre-treatment or post-treatment assessments. Participants were asked to rate how helpful various interventions had been and various characteristics relating to masculinity. Nothing causative can be inferred from any of the reported correlations.

One News Now and NARTH distorting a study on sexual orientation? It must be a normal day.

DC Mayor apologizes for honoring ex-gay group leader and other Thursday midday news briefs

TWO Thanks DC Mayor For Explaining That PFOX Honor Was a Mistake - DC mayor accidentally awards PFOX's Regina Griggs a certificate of appreciation and later declares it a clerical error.

NOM's bombing Minnesota -- have we learned enough to care? - National Organization for Marriage strikes again. Again, where are they getting their money?

Mutharika criticises gay movement - Oh great. First Uganda now this.

Exposing the Christian Right's New Racial Playbook - Interesting coalition of venom.

Matt Barber switches from lying about lgbts to just plain lying

Maybe the lgbt community is boring the Liberty Counsel's Matt Barber.

Or maybe maligning us by describing our relationships as “one man violently cramming his penis into another man’s lower intestine and calling it ‘love" or going to bizarre detail about our alleged sex habits just isn't getting him enough hits when he possibly googles his name.

Whatever the case may be, in his latest column, Barber doesn't say hardly a word about lgbts. It's a shame, however that he continues his habit of lies and misdirection.

The column is about how there is a so-called groundswell to President Obama's alleged "neo-Marxist, secular-humanist agenda."

Now Barber lists several dubious examples of this, including one which really caught my eye. It concerns the incident where several tea party members made racist and homophobic statements at Congressional leaders:

And so, the mainstream media hit back, latching like pit-bulls to a poodle on iffy reports that Tea Partiers had shouted racist and "homophobic" slurs at black members of Congress and, well, Barney Frank (claims which, as it turns out, were apparently fabricated whole cloth).

Conservative pundit Andrew Breitbart offered $100,000 reward to anyone able to provide video or audio of the alleged slurs. Despite scores of television cameras in the immediate vicinity, no one has produced a shred of evidence.

I guess I latched on to that part of Barber's unintentionally humorous column because it underscores not only Barber's intentional deception but the deception of entities that would print Barber's mess under the guise that it represents "Christian values."

The fact that homophobic and racial slurs were shouted has been backed up by several other reports, including a very detailed one by Washington Post ombudsman Andrew Alexander. This report includes the fact that there is video footage of a derogatory comment aimed at Frank.

It's also convenient that Barber did not reveal that one of the black legislators in question was John Lewis, an icon who was one of the leaders of African-American civil rights movement of the 50s and 60s. Of course mentioning this would probably ruin Barber's inference that lies were told against the tea party members. After all, who would anyone in their right mind believe - protesters, some carrying signs comparing the African-American president to Hitler or a man who was marched and beaten over civil rights?

One would also question Barber citing Breitbart's challenge of video proof, seeing that for a long time, Breitbart was peddling a video as evidence that the slurs weren't said until the Associated Press pointed out that his proof was inaccurate.

Of course the point is not the slurs or the supposed "neo-Marxist, secular-humanist agenda" (what is that anyway) of President Obama.

The point is just how easy it is to put on the cloth of Christian respectability when one is repeating lying talking points whether it be about President Obama, Congressional leaders, or the lgbt community.

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

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

I'm having the misfortune of being ill today, which means no long expositories on the evils of the religious right.

But just because I'm feeling not so happy today doesn't mean you have to suffer, so from infoMania, here is a new, original take on the Constance McMillen prom controversy:

Related post:

Why gay marriage is 'wrong'

Porno Pete strikes again and other Wednesday midday news briefs

Peter LaBarbera's Sexual Orientation Test - Read if you want a good laugh.

Mississippi Strikes Again (At Another Innocent Young Lesbian Girl) - Just can't stop picking on the children.

Trans People And Jails - an important issue which needs discussion.

Lou Engle Answers Uganda Rally Critics - A lesson in being verbally dishonest.

And here is a larger breakdown of exactly how Engle lies:

Uganda Update: Lou Engle & TheCall Respond to Critics with Lies and Distortions

Undercover at an ex-gay camp

Ted Cox, a writer at AlterNet, spent a weekend undercover at "Journey into Manhood,” a 48-hour weekend retreat designed to help gay men become straight."

What he experienced is a macabre mixture of the bizarre and sad:

I sat on the floor between the outstretched legs of a camp guide, my head leaning back against his shoulder. The guide sat behind me, his arms wrapped around my chest. This hold was called “The Motorcycle.” Five men surrounded the two of us, their hands resting gently on my arms, legs and chest.

There were about ten other groups like this sitting on the floor in the darkened room: one guide giving “healing-touch therapy” while the surrounding men rested their hands on the receiver. Some men were held in the Motorcycle position. Others were turned towards their guide, cradled the way a parent would hold a sobbing child who had just scraped her knee on the sidewalk.

In one corner of the room, a portable stereo played Shaina Noll’s song. At one point, the staff members all sang out in unison, their voices filling the high walls of the camp lodge. Somewhere in the room, a man sobbed over the sound of the music.

It was the first night of “Journey into Manhood,” a 48-hour weekend retreat designed to help gay men become straight. In that room, about fifty men — some thirty “Journeyers” and fifteen staff members — sat on the carpeted floor of a ranch lodge two hours outside of Phoenix, Arizona. Most of the men, except for a few of the staff members, struggled to overcome their attraction to other men.

Sometime during all that holding and touching and singing, while I was cradled in the Motorcycle position, I felt it: the unmistakable bulge pressing through his tight jeans. It was the first time in my life I had a felt another man’s erection.

It's nothing to laugh at. Unfortunately, society has conditioned so many people to be ashamed of their God-given sexual orientation. More here at AlterNet.

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Lgbt employment protection? Absolutely not. Ugly anti-gay comments at work? Sure.

Apparently the idea that lgbts should be afforded decent job protections scares the right-wing Family Research Council.

I recently received an email from the organization about ENDA(the Employment Non-Discrimination Act) which reads in part:

The House Education and Labor Committee will soon begin debate on a bill that could do permanent damage to American liberty as we know it.

Under the so-called "Employment Non-discrimination Act" (ENDA), the government will order businesses -- including faith-based businesses -- to cast aside their personal beliefs and hire homosexuals and cross-dressers, even if the business or organization considers the lifestyle immoral.

Even groups like the Boy Scouts and child care providers aren't exempt from the bill's oppressive provisions.

Followed to its logical conclusion, ENDA is likely to result in reverse discrimination -- against anyone who disapproves of homosexual conduct, especially if they exercise their freedom of speech to say so. Will you add your voice to help stop ENDA?

Essentially, Congress would be establishing a caste system where the "rights" of homosexuals trump the First Amendment freedoms of employers and employees. At the very least, it will force people out of business because owners will be forced to spend huge sums of money on litigation if employees file lawsuits under ENDA.

There are so many inaccuracies in this claim. First of all, ENDA would contain an exemption for religious organizations. Secondly, FRC provides no proof regarding the potential lawsuits which would take place under ENDA. Thirdly, we have seen that cross-dressing claim so many times that it no longer has an impact.

But it's these portions of the email - ENDA is likely to result in reverse discrimination -- against anyone who disapproves of homosexual conduct, especially if they exercise their freedom of speech to say so and ENDA is likely to result in reverse discrimination -- against anyone who disapproves of homosexual conduct, especially if they exercise their freedom of speech to say so - which intrigues me.

Is the organization saying that any verbal statement against gay employees, no matter how rude or how demeaning, should be overlooked because it is simply a "religious objection to homosexuality?"

Is FRC saying that if I was employed in a state which legalized gay marriage and a fellow employee called me "deviant" because of my marriage, then I have no rights to complain?

Is the organization saying that if my fellow Christian employees started an organization and harassed me by placing the organization's anti-gay flyer at my cubicle that I should just take the abuse?

Or how about if I am harassed and called derogatory names by my co-workers simply because my sexual orientation?

These examples are not hypothetical situations. They actually took place and luckily the businesses in question had a policy which would protect their lgbt employees.

All businesses should have policies to protect their employees.

It seems to me that someone is trying to establish a caste system, but it's not Congress. It's the Family Research Council.

Related post:

Giving you $15 lies for free: The one time we *do* wanna use ENDA to put FRC out of business

'Straight pride' event flops miserably and other Tuesday midday news briefs

Former leader of Exodus International denounces ex-gay claims

I haven't been this surprised since I found out that Liberace was gay.

Rural high school students create ’straight pride’ stir - The event was a flop as it should have been. Hat tip to TruthWinsOut.org on this one.

Pelosi plans ‘Don’t Ask’ repeal vote this year - Keep your fingers crossed on this one.

Illinois House Approves Gay, Trans-Inclusive Anti-Bullying Bill - BAM!

Why gay marriage is 'wrong'

A hilarious look at the arguments AGAINST marriage equality:

Monday, April 26, 2010

'Men hand-in-hand skipping down to adoption centers to 'pick out' a little boy for themselves'

A fellow barista at Pam's House Blend sent this to me via email.

It's by Eugene Delgaudio, a District Supervisor in Sterling, Virginia:

Our children...

They’ve been the Radical Homosexuals’ target all along.

Now they’re finally going after what they’ve always wanted.

Just a few weeks ago, radicals in Congress led by openly homosexual Representative Jared Polis introduced H.R. 4530.

It is a bill to turn America’s schools into indoctrination centers ... its classrooms into social laboratories ... its playgrounds into homosexual breeding grounds.

Of course, they’ve disguised the bill’s wicked nature behind the innocent name “The Student Non-Discrimination Act.”

Sound harmless, right? Well, that’s key to their scheme.

Honestly, I can hardly imagine a law more harmful.

More appropriately, this bill should be called “The Homosexual Classrooms Act.”

. . .You see, the Homosexual Classrooms Act contains a laundry list of anti-family provisions that will:

* Require schools to teach sodomy and other appalling homosexual acts so homosexual students don’t feel “singled out” during already explicit sex-ed classes;

* Spin impressionable students in a whirlwind of sexual confusion and misinformation, recruiting and even pressuring vulnerable teens and pre-teens into the homosexual “lifestyle”;

* Effectively outlaw voluntary prayer in schools, and expose students who pray privately to lawsuits and even criminal prosecution for “religious intimidation”;

* Exempt homosexual students from punishment for propositioning, harassing, or even sexually assaulting their classmates, as part of their specially-protected right to “freedom of self-expression”;

* Force parochial schools to secularize and purge any reference to religion because radicals claim it creates a “hostile learning environment” for homosexual students.

Simply put, The Homosexual Classrooms Act will use schools as weapons to eradicate traditional values in the next generation of American students.

Well damn. Someone call Ernst Stavro Blofeld. Delgaudio certainly has our number, although it would probably serve him better to have the number of a local psychiatrist. The bill Delgaudio is all up in arms about is one that would simply curb school bullying. Nothing more. No "indoctrination centers." No Clockwork Orange type torture techniques. No lesson plans on gay sex.

It's just a bill to ensure the safety of America's children, but apparently Delgaudio decided to forgo the truth for the time honored right-wing technique of lying through the teeth.

And it isn't the first time he has scapegoated the lgbt community. At a January meeting, he called transgender men and women "freaky."

And then there a portion of this recent fundraising letter, which further demonstrates that he doesn't particularly like lgbts. It's as if he took the most hysterical fears of all of the top religious right groups and combined them into one hot mess:

. . . the Radical Homosexuals are storming through Washington demanding passage of their agenda.

And with the passage of Thought Control last year, they say NOW is the time to push their perverse "life-style" on every man, women and child in America.

And they insist YOU actually support them.

The Homosexual Lobby played a major role in electing Obama and the majorities he enjoys in both houses of Congress.

I can only begin to imagine all the damage the Radical Homosexuals will do with their allies controlling the House of Representatives, the Senate and the White House.

As the President of Public Advocate of the U.S., I've devoted twenty-seven years to battling the radical homosexuals in Washington.

Backed by Hollywood celebrities, the media and millions of your tax dollars, the Radical Homosexuals have many Congressmen quivering with fear -- and they have a Radical Homosexual-friendly majority in control of Congress.

That is why pro-family Senators and Congressmen are counting on me to find out if you really support the Gay Bill of Special Rights and homosexual marriage as the radical homosexuals claim.

Please click here to complete the American Morality survey and prove to Congress that Americans oppose homosexual marriage and the Gay Bill of Special Rights today.

Frankly if you really do support the radical Homosexual Agenda -- or if you just no longer care enough to stand up for the family -- insiders in Congress say the entire Homosexual Agenda could pass in a matter of months.

*** Special job rights for homosexuals and lesbians. Businesses may have to adopt hiring quotas to protect themselves from lawsuits. Every homosexual fired or not hired becomes a potential federal civil rights lawsuit.

Radical homosexuals will terrorize day care centers, hospitals, churches and private schools. Traditional moral values will be shattered by federal law.

*** Same-sex marriages and adoptions. Wedding-gown clad men smooching before some left-wing clergy or state official is just the beginning.

You'll see men hand-in-hand skipping down to adoption centers to "pick out" a little boy for themselves.

*** Homosexual advocacy in schools. Your children or grandchildren will be taught homosexuality is moral, natural and good. High school children will learn perverted sex acts as part of "safe sex" education.

With condoms already handed out in many schools, Radical Homosexuals will have little trouble adopting today's "if it feels good do it" sex-ed curriculum to their agenda.

And to add insult to injury, lobbyists for the Homosexual Agenda are paid off with your tax dollars!

That's right, radical homosexual groups like the Gay-Lesbian Task Force and ACT-UP receive millions from the government.

Now that letter was so hardcore that I hear Anita Bryant got angry over it.

Naturally in Delgaudio's letters are solicitations for money. And personally, I would happily give Delgaudio any funds he desires so long as he invests them in a good long stay at a local mental hospital.

I don't know what disturbs me me more - Delgaudio's blatant homophobia or the fact that someone was dumb enough to elect him to public office.

Interestingly enough, Delgaudio's words are no different from what the lgbt community have heard from such so-called moral "leaders" like Andrea Lafferty, Matt Barber, and yes even Mike Huckabee.

The only difference is that Delgaudio decided to omit the "we love you but we hate what you do" lie in lieu of comparing us to the aliens who blew up the White House in Independence Day.

It certainly doesn't make his homophobic comments sound any better but it's nice to know exactly where we stand with Delgaudio.

Even if it is in a pool of quicksand.

What if the tea party movement was black? and other Monday midday news briefs

SLDN launches 'Stories from the Frontlines: Letters to President Barack Obama' - An excellent idea and not just to President Obama but to all Americans. The stories need to be told over and over again to as many folks as possible.

What If the Tea Party Were Black? - Black folks already know the answer to THAT question and it's a good question.

Pro-Gay Article Sparks Smear Campaign in Yemen - THIS is persecution.

Ugandan LGBT Activists Denounce The Call Uganda, Call for Protests in Kansas City - This is good!

Study: Bullies 'love' lgbt youngsters

Something to remember the next time someone on the right talks about how anti-bullying laws are a covert way to push the so-called homosexual agenda:

A groundbreaking new Harvard study has found that gay people are far more likely to be tormented as youngsters, often leading to years of post-traumatic stress disorder.

Researchers at Harvard School of Public Health and Children’s Hospital found that gays, bisexuals and heterosexuals who have had a same-sex partner are 1 to two times as likely to experience violence, especially in childhood, and have double the risk of experiencing PTSD as a result.

. . . Using data from a nationally representative sample of more than 34,000 adults, the researchers found that 45 percent of sexual minority women and 28 percent of sexual minority men had experienced violence or abuse in childhood, compared to 21 percent of women and 20 percent of men in the general population.

“I think people know there’s discrimination, but they don’t know the breadth or severity of it - or how lasting the impact is,” Roberts said.

The researchers hope the study, which will be published in the American Journal of Public Health, will raise the awareness of parents, teachers and health-care providers, as well as state lawmakers who are hammering out the final details of an anti-bullying bill in the wake of two high-profile suicides.

Saturday, April 24, 2010

When defending anti-gay lunacy, personal attacks are the order of the day

In my post earlier this week regarding the Traditional Values Coalition's Andrea Lafferty expressing pride with TVC being designated as an anti-gay hate group, I failed to detail what precipitated Lafferty's bizarre joy.

Earlier in the week, she penned a piece for Washington D.C.'s Roll Call about ENDA (the Employment Non-Discrimination Act), including mentioning negative anecdotes about transgender teachers in the school system- anecdotes which were fully refuted.

Lafferty's piece caught the attention of Dr. Jillian T. Weiss, an associate professor of law and society at Ramapo College of New Jersey and associate editor at the Bilerico Project, an LGBT political blog.

Weiss wrote Roll Call and was invited to pen a response, which she did. And it was an excellent response:

The Traditional Values Coalition is an anti-gay hate group on the watch list of the Southern Poverty Law Center. TVC raises money by scaring people about gruesome but unlikely events that will result from prohibiting discrimination. Its claims demean gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people and our lives and do nothing to help this Congress address the high level of job discrimination that puts many of us in the unemployment line.

ENDA is designed to redress the persistent job discrimination levied against people in this country based on their sexual orientation and gender identity, problems demonstrated by the many studies cited by experts in their fields at Congressional hearings on ENDA. Further, both the American Federation of Teachers and the National Education Association support passage of ENDA because ending discrimination is such an important goal.

So with the ball in Lafferty's court, so to speak, what do you think she would do - write a detailed refutation of Dr. Weiss's piece or attack her personally?

Let the headline of her answer piece on the TVC web page be your guide:

'Transgender' Man Attacks TVC

That's right. Lafferty chose to make a personal attack on Dr. Weiss instead of refuting her piece on ENDA:

Dr. Jillian Weiss is a man who has lived as a woman since 1997. This is a truly troubled individual. Whether he has actually gone through a complete surgical procedure to remove his genitals is a mystery. He may be living as a she-male hybrid. However, readers would never know he is a transgender based on his published bio.

Lafferty's piece continues the offensive attack, making special note to use the incorrect pronoun of "he" when referring to Dr. Weiss.

So the irony is that in the same piece where Lafferty expresses pride in being called an anti-gay hate group, she demonstrates why the designation is right on the mark. Her comments were filthy, immature, and totally un-Christian.

I've never met Dr Weiss but her credentials and writing speak for themselves and frankly if she is the example that Lafferty wants to push as to why parents should be afraid of ENDA, then Lafferty should be careful.

Folks on her side of the argument are going to think that she is working for the lgbt community.

Video: Gays are too promiscuous and disease-ridden to be 'worthy' of marriage

A Facebook buddy of mine brought this video to my attention.

The video is homophobia under the guise of "being scientific" in reasoning why gays and lesbians are not deserving of marriage. To summarize, it says gays and lesbians are not worthy to be allowed to legally married because we are too concentrated on promiscuity and are therefore consistently disease-afflicted.

Watch if you want but here are the major problems with it:

The statistics are cited in it are irrelevant because none of the gays mentioned are married.

Also, many of the statistics are highly outdated, some coming from the 1970s. The most recent statistic seems to come from 2001.

And a major problem with this video: much of the research is taken from statistics about gay men afflicted with AIDS/HIV. This means that a huge segment of gays (those who don't AIDS) and lesbian are omitted.

The video is cherry picking at its worse and is the equivalent of racists using FBI crime statistics to denigrate African-Americans.

Now some have reported this video but I say let's not just do that just yet. The underhanded use of statistics is a tactic employed by a myriad of religious right groups and spokespeople.

Instead of allowing our anger or need to ridicule ignorance to rule, let's study and remember.

Chinese general Sun Tzu said in his book, The Art of War:

It is said that if you know your enemies and know yourself, you will not be imperiled in a hundred battles; if you do not know your enemies but do know yourself, you will win one and lose one; if you do not know your enemies nor yourself, you will be imperiled in every single battle.

And if anyone thinks that the cause for lgbt equality isn't a war, they need to think again.

Friday, April 23, 2010

Know Your LGBT History - Strange Fruit

Andrea Lafferty takes time out to pick on Muslims, and other Friday midday news briefs

Kentucky Supreme Court Nixes Public Aid To Religious School - Discriminate against gays all you want, but don't expect to get lgbt tax money for the courtesy.

DADT protesters are 'starved for attention', says he who only has attention b/c of his war on gays - Pot, meet kettle. I bet Matt Barber googles his name every night to see who is talking about him.

Graham's Disinvitation Proof That Our Military Is Run By "Fundamentalist Muslims and Homosexual Activists" - Say what you want but if you disrespect ANY our fighting men and women, you are not being persecuted for facing the consequences. Andrea Lafferty adds her two cents in this piece. I guess one can't pick on lgbts all of the time.

Kevin Keller debuts as first openly gay character in Archie's Veronica Comics - And silly me thought they would explore the Moose/Dilton friendship.

Karen Ocamb Offers Good Background on The Kooky Traditional Values Coalition - More info on the hate group the Traditional Values Coalition.

South Carolina Black Pride celebrates its fifth anniversary with ‘Nothing But Love’

South Carolina’s gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender of color community will be out and proud when SC Black Pride celebrate its fifth anniversary on June 24-27.

According to Sheila R. Hudson SC Black Pride Assistant Pride Director & Program Coordinator, the theme, “Nothing But Love” is very appropriate.

‘The broad motivation for this year’s South Carolina Black Pride is summed up by our theme, “Nothing But Love,” she said. “Despite those who claim Black LGBT citizens are ‘not natural,’ we stand up for and are driven by ‘nothing but love’ in all that we do. We deserve ‘nothing but love’ for being who we are and for the enormous contributions we make to South Carolina and American society.”

“Today is a life that we as a people have awakened to a new century, new ideas, new hope and new beginnings,” said Niece Brooks, SC Black Pride Vice President & Pride Director.

This year brings new faces to the SC Black Pride Board as well as new ideas to unite the community, including fundraisers, a film festival, and a family fun day.

The Family Fun Day, to be held on June 12th at Woodland Park, is a new idea that addresses the needs of an under served segment of South Carolina’s lgbt of color community - same gender loving households with children.

According to a report co-created by the National Black Justice Coalition and the Gay and Lesbian Task Force:

• many African-American same-sex couples are raising children, including biological and nonbiological children,

• black female same-sex households are as likely as black married opposite-sex households to live with a least one child of an adult parent, and

• Sumter, SC is one of the top 10 cities in the country for black same-sex households raising children.

Organizers feel that the Family Fun Day is crucial to show support to these families.

Pride Week in June will culminate with a Community Expo at the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center and this will be a kind of a return to home for SC Black Pride because the organization held its first expo at the convention center. There will be food and entertainment, including a special observance of the late author E. Lynn Harris. Harris, who passed away last year, was the best selling author of many book dealing with the lives of the lgbt community of color, including Invisible Life, Just As I Am, and This Too Will Pass.

“Our purpose is to celebrate the often subjugated creativity, beauty, dignity, and brilliance of South Carolina’s Black LGBT community,” says Dr. Todd Shaw, Chair, of the SC Black Pride Committee. “The double whammies of racism and homophobia attack we same-gender loving sisters and brothers. And now’s the time the Black community understand how much we contribute to the larger freedom struggle and the larger society understand how much we contribute as loving mothers, fathers, teachers, preachers, and young leaders.”

Organizers anticipate a record 5,000 attendees to this year’s events.

All are welcomed and SC Black Pride is looking for more volunteers. To learn more about this Pride’s many empowering events (including becoming a vendor or a volunteer and advertising in the Pride Guide), refer to:

South Carolina Black Pride
P.O. Box 8191
Columbia, SC 29202

or contact info@southcarolinablackpride.com

or Niece Brooks at (803) 608-5652

2010 SC Black Pride Events
(All events are in Columbia, South Carolina and are subject to change)

*** Pre-Pride Events ***

Saturday, April 24
A Sexy Evening of Elegance: For the Ladies and Their Friends,
$10 Admission
Clarion Hotel Downtown, 1615 Gervais Street, Columbia, SC, 29201; Music by D.J. Kelley-Kel, cash bar and Hor d’ourves, among many other surprises! 9 p.m. – 2 a.m.; $10 at the door.

Saturday, May 22nd
Young, Gifted, and Black: A Mini Film Festival 7 - 9 pm.,
Free Admission
University of South Carolina Campus, room 112, Sloan College, 911 Pickens Street, 29201, Free Admission but donations accepted.

Saturday, June 5th
“A Beautiful People Party (Co-Ed), 9 p.m. - 2 a.m.,
$10 admission
Club H2O, 220 State Street, West Columbia, SC, 29619; Music by D.J. Kelley-Kel; 9 p.m. – 2 a.m.; $10 at the door.

Saturday, June 12th
Play Day at the Park, 11 a.m.
Woodland Park, 6500 Olde Knight Parkway, Columbia, SC, 29209; Free Food, Family Fun, Games, & Sports; 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.; Free Admission

*** Pride Week ***
Thursday, June 24th
Welcome Reception, Free Admission
2000 Watermark Place, Columbia, SC 29210; cash bar and live entertainment; 7-9 p.m.;
Free Admission.

Friday, June 25th
MSM (Men who have Sex with Men) HIV Prevention Institute
"Evidence That Demands Action", Banquet and Conference Center, 1066 Sunset Blvd, West Columbia, SC , 8:30 a.m. - 5:00 pm,
$25 registration includes meals and materials but scholarships available. Please make checks or Postal Money Order payable to AID Upstate and mail to the attention of: Matt Jenkins S.C. DHEC, STD/HIV Division 1751 Calhoun St. Columbia, SC 29201 For additional information please contact Ra’Shawn Flournoy at 1-888-232-2310 or Matt Jenkins at (803) 898-0898

5th Anniversary Town Hall Dialogue - “Looking Back to Move Forward: Progress and the Black LGBT Community in South Carolina
University of South Carolina, Law School Auditorium, 701 Main Street, Columbia, SC, 29208; short film/presentation and panel discussion; 6 – 8:30 p.m.; Free Admission.

Saturday, June 26th
Community Expo! Free Admission
Vendors, Entertainment, Door Prizes
Columbia Metropolitan Community Convention Center, 1101 Lincoln St
Presidential Ballroom, Family entertainment, food, vendors; 11 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.; Free Admission.

(Featuring an observance of the 55th Birthday of E.Lynn Harris by Terreance Dean, Stanley Bennett Clay, and James Earl Hardy, co-authors of Visible Lives: Three Short Stories in Tribute to E. Lynn Harris. Panel moderated by Clarence Nero, author of The Temptation of Desire)

Sunday, June 27th
Community Worship Service, Free Admission, 3 p.m.
Presided by
Pastor Rashawn Flournoy, Freedom Worship Church of Columbia in conjunction with other affirming congregations of South Carolina. 7900 Nell Street, Columbia, SC, 29223 (Iglesia Luterana Manantial De); Free Admission.

Those wanting information on vendor rates at the Expo as well as ad rates for the 2010 Pride Guide can go here to the 2010_SC Black Pride Sponsorship package

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Andrea Lafferty - I'm proud to be a member of a hate group

From my online buddy Jeremy Hooper comes an interesting comment from the Traditional Values Coalition's Andrea Lafferty.

She was commenting on the fact that the Southern Poverty Law Center designated her group as one of 12 anti-gay hate groups:

The SPLC is the group that wrote a memo used by Obama’s Homeland Security Department claiming that veterans and pro-lifers were dangerous to national security.

Actually, it is a badge of honor for TVC to be listed by the SPLC as a “hate group.” It proves we’re effective in challenging liberalism, socialism, and the LGBT agenda.

That comment about SPLC writing memo a for the Obama Administration is a lie. But since when do you expect a hate group to be truthful. Now it's important to establish what SPLC constitutes as an anti-gay hate group:

Opposition to equal rights for homosexuals has been a central theme of Christian Right organizing and fundraising for the past three decades – a period that parallels the fundamentalist movement's rise to political power.

For Christian Right leaders, the gay rights movement and its so-called "homosexual agenda" are the prime culprits in the destruction of American society and culture. In the words of Focus on the Family founder James Dobson, the battle against gay rights is essentially a "second civil war" to put control of the U.S. government in the right hands, meaning those who reject gay rights.

The religious right in America has employed a variety of strategies in its efforts to beat back the increasingly confident gay rights movement. One of those has been defamation. Many of its leaders have engaged in the crudest type of name-calling, describing homosexuals as "perverts" with "filthy habits" who seek to snatch the children of straight parents and "convert" them to gay sex. They have disseminated disparaging "facts" about gays that are simply untrue — assertions that are remarkably reminiscent of the way white intellectuals and scientists once wrote about the "bestial" black man and his supposedly threatening sexuality.

Would this comment from TVC head Lou Sheldon at a 2006 religious right conference do?:

Sheldon demanded laws that treat homosexuality as "a social disorder." Decrying the term "homosexual" as the brainchild of a 20th-century German psychologist obviously sympathetic to gays, Sheldon implored the conferees to return to the 18th century's superior diction. "The word used in America [then] was 'perverted'," he noted. When Sheldon was asked by an audience member what to call homosexuals, he shot out of his chair and shouted, "Call them what they are -- sodomites!"

Of course Lafferty conveniently didn't mention her father's outburst in her screed. Jeremy lists a couple of other things that Lafferty neglected to mention:

Andrea and her father (TVC prez Lou Sheldon) have willingly set up shot atop this contentious volcano. If Andrea wants to get TVC off of it, then Andrea can vow to be better. She can vow to stop saying that being gay is equivalent to schtooping a toaster. She can stop calling an important piece of legislation the "Barney Frank She-Male Shower Bill." She can stop referring to a collection of transgender people as a "freak show." She can stop putting Jesus on Wanted posters as a way to pit that particular religious figure against gays who support hate crime protections. She can stop directing her worker bees to Photoshop a smiling Barack Obama in front of the burning WTC towers or onto a Nazi propaganda poster. TVC can stop flipping Congressional exchanges so that they are made more convenient for their self-serving purposes. She can stop being untruthful.

And let's not forget TVC's tasteless need to attack the transgender community (amongst other things, call them "she-males"), which I have talked about on several occasions via their fight against ENDA (Employment Non-Discrimination Act) but best be illustrated by this awful graphic:

In addition, there was the time when the Traditional Values Coalition:

claimed that the passage of ENDA would lead to the sexual abuse of disabled veterans,

continued to intentionally mix the term "sexual orientation" with "paraphilias" in another attempt to lie about ENDA,

used bad research in YET another attempt to lie about ENDA, including distorting marketing statistics,

made a tacky attack on Obama appointee Kevin Jennings and actor Tom Cruise,

claimed that a repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell is a bad idea by asking, amongst other silly questions, how would the military " handle sodomy in battlefield situations,"

kept a bad study regarding gays and pedophilia on its web page even after a researcher complained about his work being distorted in the study AND telling an outright lie about testimony during Congressional hearings regarding hate crimes legislation. The lie was so bad, it was easily refuted via transcript, which Jeremy Hooper did when he broke the story.

Bottom line - Andrea Lafferty saying that she is proud to be a member of a hate group is a like a cannibal bragging about his table manners.

Big hat tip to Goodasyou.org

Barney Frank, GetEqual, and other interesting Thursday midday news briefs

Shocker: Rep. Frank has contrarian opinions which he's not afraid to share - Naturally Frank totally disagrees with GetEqual's actions. I recently wrote a piece about those actions garnering some ugly comments (a few racially insensitive), but the point of my post was to ask is GetEqual's actions simply venting or will it lead to positive action in the community in other fights for lgbt equality.
And now I pose a new question. Say that GetEqual's actions do cause there to be an immediacy with ENDA hearings. What happens next? We all know the religious right's game plan of exploiting ignorance of the transgender community to kill ENDA. Will direction action tactics be successful during the hearings or can they be seen as counterproductive? I am not devaluing anyone's actions to garner lgbt equality but critical questions need to be asked, period.

Govt softens anti-homosexuality Bill - Not bad. But I'm a cynic. Until this bil is totally killed, I ain't popping any champagne yet.

Hate Group MassResistance Wigging Out Over Massachusetts Governor’s Race - Massachusetts hate group Mass Resistance is asking conservatives to stay home on election day. Promises, promises.

Second Attempt to Recall Adams Fails - Y'all ain't getting rid of this gay mayor. Deal with it.

Senate confirms openly lesbian judge - Ass kickingly awesome!

Black pastor declares war on Democractic party over gay rights while I laugh my ass off

According to the right-wing One News Now, a black pastor is starting a new political action group because he says the Democratic party doesn't really represent black Americans:

Bishop E.W. Jackson, Sr., has set up the Stand America PAC to challenge members of the Congressional Black Caucus. Jackson tells OneNewsNow that that contingent of lawmakers does not represent black Americans.

"They are pro-abortion, they are pro-homosexuality, they are pro-gay marriage -- and the black community doesn't agree with any of these things...and it is time [those lawmakers] were challenged," he vows. "[O]ur PAC is going to challenge them, recruit candidates, and ultimately see to it that they are defeated, and that the black community has an alternative leadership to look to."

In other words, E.W. Jackson is aiming to be another Harry Jackson, i.e. a black leader claiming to speak for black folks against the Democratic party while surreptitiously propped up by right-wing (i.e. white) money.

Which will probably be the reason that other in his own head and the press releases on the right, this announcement will go over like a burp of an infant - cute and funny but ultimately meaningless.

Granted, I'm sure he will catch attention with the remark about abortion and homosexuality. Folks in the anti-abortion movement have been trying to gain a strong foothold in the black community.

But it's the comment about homosexuality where Jackson fails. He should have just stuck to gay marriage. You see, usually when a black leader of Jackson's, shall we say ilk, talks about homosexuality in the black community, they usually confine the argument to gay marriage.

And that is because they know that the issue of what the African-American community on the whole feels about homosexuality is complex.

Oh sure, you hear voices telling you how black folks don't agree with homosexuality and how blacks "resent gays," but allow me to let you in on a secret that I'm beginning to discover:

What has been said and believed about blacks and gays isn't necessarily the entire story.

Unfortunately this hasn't been explored as much as it should have and it speaks to how the black community has been shortchanged in regards to media coverage of our issues. Folk on both sides of the spectrum seem to be content with offering inaccurate generalizations of the black community on the whole rather than exploring the intricacies behind the feelings of the black community regarding homosexuality.

But back to Jackson - another reason why he will probably fail is because he doesn't provide any adequate solutions. It's not that the black community are beholden to the Democratic party. Like any other sensible group in the country, we align ourselves with those who we feel can get us to where we need to be.

And frankly I don't see the GOP being that party with its covert support of birthers, tea baggers, Dittoheads and Beckites.

So long story short, Jackson's announcement is cute and amusing but personally, I prefer the baby burp.

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

How to scare the bejesus out of Christians with a failed game plan

When I saw this Family Research Council graphic about the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA - which would simply provide workplace protection for lgbts), it reminded me of something that I couldn't put my finger on.

Then, thanks to People for the American Way, it hit me. Remember this:

That graphic was featured during a Congressional debate over hate crimes legislation (although not the last one) and it claimed that if sexual orientation was added to existing hate crimes legislation, pastors would be arrested in the pulpits for declaring homosexuality to be a sin.

As we all know, sexual orientation was added to hate crimes legislation last year and since that time, guess how many pastors have been arrested?

None. Nada. Zip. Not even that zany preacher on the corner in my neighborhood who gives sermons to the rush of traffic.

In other words, religious right groups told an outright lie when they claimed that hate crimes legislation would lead to the arrest of pastors.

Now usually when someone tells a tale which turns out to be false, they have the good taste not to use the same lie in a different battle.

But good taste has never been the religious right's forte.

According to People for the American Way:

You really have to marvel at the Religious Right's strategy in opposing ENDA as they seem intent on using the exact same playbook they used against hate crimes legislation despite the fact that their anti-hate crimes strategy failed and their dire predictions about hate crimes spelling the end of religious liberty have been proven demonstrably false.

How long will it be before legitimate Christians realize that the Family Research Council and other religious right groups are running a game on them with their constant cries of wolf?

Related posts:

Family Research Council getting extremely 'scary' about ENDA