Our efforts to expose the religious right lies needs a lot of work

From Faith in Public Life:

On Feb. 14th in New York, Faithful America members and faith leaders including Bishop Gene Robinson, Episcopal Bishop of New Hampshire, gathered at MSNBC studios to deliver 20,000 signatures calling on the network to stop inviting hate group leader Tony Perkins onto their news programming.

MSNBC sent down representatives to accept the petitions but remained non-committal about their willingness to change their policy.

The above video is of their delivery combined with footage of Perkins on MSNBC.

 I like what these folks did and I salute their efforts.

But I'm also going to be honest.

I feel a little reticent about news networks banning Tony Perkins on their shows. I hate for him to play the martyr. "Oh they are banning me because they don't want any discussion on homosexuality," Perkins would say. "Oh those intolerant homosexuals."

It is a sad truth that the news media treats Perkins like a legitimate source, regardless of the myriad of things his organization, the Family Research Council, has done to denigrate the lgbtq community. FRC has relied on junk science, cherry-picked studies, or out-and-out lies to demonize us. It is also a sad truth that very few in the media have questioned him on these things

When they do address it, they ask him general questions and allow him to go on a monologue about his supposed Christian values.

What we need is a 60 Minutes type investigation or a huge magazine expose on the Family Research Council and other groups like it. There needs to be a huge amount of detail as to  how these groups pick their so-called experts, how they cherry-pick studies, and their tendency to rely on junk science. There also needs to be some exposure as to how deeply affiliated some members of Congress are to these groups.

And I have said this more than once - I can't believe that the lgbtq community have several magazines and our own network, but none of these entities, at least to my knowledge, have decided to undertake this initiative.

No matter how many petitions we hand in or how loud we gripe, FRC and groups like it will continue to get away with their phony veneer or respectability until WE rip it away.

And frankly we have not begun to do it yet.

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

'NOM lies about Maggie Gallagher's disastrous MSNBC interview' and other Wednesday middday news briefs

 Video: Maggie Gallagher Debates Entire MSNBC Panel! - So NOM finally posts the clip of Maggie Gallagher's disastrous interview on MSNBC and naturally declares her the winner. Apparently NOM was watching an interview from an alternate universe. Those who aren't barred from posting should feel free to remind the organization of this.
 
EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: NOM's Maggie Gallagher Discusses "Ex-Gay" Therapy At CPAC - Despite her insistence that she doesn't support reparative (ex-gay) therapy, a recent interview at CPAC, NOM's Maggie Gallagher seems to be slyly endorsing the inaccurate tenets behind reparative therapy. Draw your own conclusions.

Dangerous game: Vander Plaats says protecting LGBT kids from bullying is like playing in street - They certainly love the hyperbolic language.

EXCLUSIVE: Nancy Pelosi Supports 2012 Democratic Party Platform Including Marriage Equality - Way to go, Nancy Pelosi!

Oklahoma elects first openly gay state senator - Kick ass!

First Gay Group Forms On U.S. Military Base - Awesome!

Victoria Jackson embarrasses herself in debate with lesbian author

Former Saturday Night Live member Victoria Jackson has made a name for herself these days by being a controversial conservative Christian who is very public about her beliefs that President Obama is a communist, Glenn Beck is the greatest thing since sliced bread, and that the television show Glee is part of a plot to "indoctrinate" children into homosexuality.

But that damn voice of hers is annoying. She reminds me of the legendary comedian Gracie Allen on helium with cramps and an eternal bad attitude.

But to some folks, she is a hero for her stances and her willingness to engage those who disagree with her point of view (in an attempt to refute their arguments and make them look foolish, no doubt.)

In the video above, Jackson was at the conservative CPAC and she takes on Ellen Ratkin, lesbian and author of  The Other Side of the Family: A Book for Recovery from Abuse, Incest and Neglect (1990). The two were debating the nature of God.

Personally, I thought Jackson was way out of her league. But you decide who came out on top.