Tuesday, June 21, 2011

White supremacist praises David Tyree on anti-gay marriage stance

David Tyree
David Tyree can count on one person to support his negative stance on gay marriage - a man by the name of James Edwards.

For those who don't know, Edwards is a white supremacist. According to the Southern Poverty Law Center:

Edwards, 27, is the host of "The Political Cesspool," a shamelessly white nationalist radio talk show that's broadcast for two hours every weeknight from a studio near Memphis, Tenn., where Edwards grew up and still lives.

White supremacist James Edwards
"The Political Cesspool" in the past two years has become the primary radio nexus of hate in America. Its sponsors include the CCC and the Institute for Historical Review, a leading Holocaust denial organization. Its guest roster for 2007 reads like a "Who's Who" of the radical racist right. CCC leader Gordon Lee Baum, Holocaust denier Mark Weber, Canadian white supremacist Paul Fromm, American Renaissance editor Jared Taylor, neo-Nazi activist April Gaede, anti-Semitic professor Kevin MacDonald, Stormfront webmaster Jamie Kelso and League of the South president Michael Hill have all been favorably interviewed on the "Political Cesspool" this year, along with former Klan leader and neo-Nazi David Duke, the show's most frequent celebrity racist guest, who has logged three appearances.

And the following are his own words, courtesy of SPLC:

On the Jews (Feb. 20, 2007):
"A lot of their motivation is that they hate Christianity. They hate what we call the WASP establishment … and they're using pornography as a subversive tool against us. Jews are by and large dominant in the porn industry. I don't need to spend time convincing people the sky is blue. You know, connect the dots and look at the names of people controlling our media, and you find out what the common denominator is. … These Zionist Jews are more interested in subverting the dominant culture, which would be the European culture here in America, than they are in helping us and assimilating into our culture."

On immigration (May 18, 2007):
"The reason why America was a First World nation was because we had a First World population, and as we continue to be inundated with people from Third World nations we are going to become a Third World nation… . America is on the verge of collapse, as is Europe, as is the rest of the First World. We have to answer the question of whether white Americans and Europeans are going to survive to see another generation. … Desperate situations call for rash action.
On Christianity (May 18, 2007):
"The Christian church used to be the foundation and bedrock of this country, all the way up to the 1950s, and now the Christian church, just like any other institution that we founded, has been infiltrated by Zionist influence and by perverse leftist ideology.""

Concerning the situation with Tyree and marriage equality, Edwards says the following:

Even a blind hog finds an acorn every now and then. While I might not agree with David Tyree on anything else, on this single issue, he is absolutely right. 

How fascinating. If the issue was about African-Americans, Edwards would be saying things like:

"Crime and violence follow African-Americans wherever they go. And if you think that is racist, then spend some time on the mean streets of south Memphis."
"Whites are in for the fight of their lives. America is becoming balkanized. We are being robbed of having a future in the very nation our ancestors carved from the wilderness."
“If millions of white people moved to Nigeria for some unfathomable reason, and the government of Nigeria began establishing quotas and other policies to force black business owners to hire white people, and began giving out massive welfare subsidies that whites received far out of proportion to their percentage of the population, and passed law after law requiring Nigerian blacks to treat white people as privileged citizens who must never be criticized or insulted, and started turning every altercation between a white and a black into an ‘anti-white hate crime’ while downplaying every white-on-black crime no matter how violent...well, how many white people in Nigeria would vote to change things? Not very many. So why would blacks in America react any differently?”

But since he is maligning the gay community, using the same "God is telling me to" template  that Tyree is using to malign the gay community, then I guess Edwards comparing Tyree to a "blind hog"  is okay. 

Of course the supreme irony of the entire situation will be lost upon Tyree and those rallying on his behalf.

A little tip for Tyree. If you want to know just how noble your beliefs are (or aren't), check out those seeking to speak in your defense.

But in general, I'd like to ask a question:

If the African-American movement for equality and the gay movement for equality aren't similar, then how come we both have the same fools trying to put a boot on our necks?


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Awesome video supports NY marriage equality

Awesome video!



Republican NY Senator Won’t Commit To Vote For Marriage Equality, Even If Dems Meet His Demands - Not surprising if he doesn't. The religious protections exemption is merely a poison pill to confuse the issue.

History in NY? Watch live all day - I'm going to be at work and won't put it on my blog so as not to jinx it (I'm very strange in my superstitions) but if you are interested in viewing the possibility that the NY Senate will vote on marriage equality, this link will give you video footage.

WI Judge Upholds Domestic Partners - Meanwhile, we win a BIG one in Wisconsin.

Will Rick Perry's Prayer Rally Feature Spiritual Warfare? - No comment.

There is going to be a rally today in NY for marriage equality. Go to goodasyou.org or Joe.My.God for footage because I know they will have it.

Lastly, if in New York, call these Senators and tell them to support marriage equality:

Senator Gregory R. Ball of Putnam County (845) 279-3773, gball@nysenate.gov

Senator Charles J. Fuschillo Jr. of Suffolk County (516) 882-0630, fuschill@senate.state.ny.us

Senator J. Kemp Hannon of Nassau County (516) 739-1700, hannon@nysenate.gov

Senator Andrew J. Lanza of Staten Island (718) 984-4073, lanza@senate.state.ny.us

Senator Betty Little of Glens Falls (518) 743-0968, little@nysenate.gov

Senator Mark Grisanti of Erie County (518) 455-3240, grisanti@nysenate.gov

Senator Stephen M. Saland of Poughkeepsie (845) 463-0840, saland@nysenate.gov

Senator John Flanagan of Long Island (518) 455-2071, flanagan@senate.state.ny.us

Senator Joseph Addabbo, Jr. of Howard Beach (518) 455-2322, addabbo@senate.state.ny.us

Senator Shirley Huntley of Jamaica (518) 455-3531, shuntley@nysenate.gov




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The hatred which NOM feeds upon

I sincerely hope that regardless of how the NY vote goes, we don't see more scenes like the one below:



At .50 where it starts to get out of hand.

According to Capitol Confidential, this is what happened:

The arrival of Sen. Ruben Diaz Sr. prompted a mini-parade despite the tight quarters and the presence of numerous marriage advocates — such as Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum of Congregation Beit Simchat Torah, who prompted a heated reaction from one of the Orthodox protesters by throwing an arm over his shoulder as she attempted to insert herself between Diaz and the cameras.

“You’re not a Jew! You’re not a Jew!,” he responded, just before a trooper moved in to ease the loose procession down the stairway.

So Rabbi Kleinbaum was trying to get into the picture. Big deal. She didn't push and shove herself in the way. And what if she throw her arm around the other rabbi? I've been in situations where folks opposing issues have done just that - posed for pictures together with their arms around each other in a show of basic civility.

The point here is that I don't totally blame the other rabbis for their nasty behavior.

I blame the National Organization for Marriage. The organization causes incidents like this. It feeds upon them.

Look, marriage equality is not an easy issue to deal with. There are folks with strong opinions on both sides. But it's not like any other argument where they can agree to disagree and treat each other at least with a modicum of civility.

That is unless there is an interloper which comes in and exploits people's differences of opinions, fears, and ignorance for its own purposes, making sure to exacerbate the anger and rage to a fever pitch.

And that's what NOM does. It's like a virus, interjecting itself into communities claiming the noblest of intentions while fostering resentment and fear. We see how NOM plays the African-American community against the lgbt community or the Hispanic community against the lgbt community, neighbor against neighbor, lawmaker against lawmaker, not to mention spreading phony stories about gays "recruiting children" - the end result being that the community becomes an angry psychological wreck while NOM (and its leaders Brian Brown and Maggie Gallagher) go to another community to begin the process all over again.

Say what you will, this is not a way to defend morality. It's simply setting up a powder keg.


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Monday, June 20, 2011

David Tyree's Superbowl statement is ignorant, self-righteous

 Today, news has come down from New York that during an anti-marriage equality news conference, Superbowl hero and new NOM spokesman David Tyree said the following:
Asked if he’d give up the Super Bowl to stop gay marriage, Tyree said: “Honestly, I probably would.”
“Nothing means more to me than that my God would be honored,” he said. “Being the fact that I firmly believe that God created and ordained marriage between a man and a woman, I believe that that’s something that should be fought for at all costs.”
“So I’ll lay down everything I am to preserve the honor and integrity of the God that I serve.”

That's all well and good except for one fact.

David Tyree did not singlehandedly win the Superbowl for the New York Giants that year. Granted, he caught a pass brilliantly, but remember that the thrower of that pass, Eli Manning, did receive the Superbowl MVP award for that game.

And let's not forget Tyree's other teammates who also played just as hard as he to not only get to the Superbowl, but also win it.

But one must not hold it against Tyree. When you get caught up in a situation where your ego gets puffed up, it's difficult to remember the folks who got you there.

But still, Tyree has no business saying that he would give up the Superbowl win because it doesn't belong to him solely. It's something he has to share.

In that same respect, the definition of marriage is not something that  folks like Tyree have a right to dictate. They aren't the only tax-paying citizens in New York, therefore they should not have final say over the matter, regardless of their religious beliefs or otherwise.

What Tyree's statement perfectly captures is the self-righteous audacity of those who would deny lgbtqs the right to marriage equality. They seem to think that they have a divine right to it, even though their arguments as to the reasons why are either outright lies (marriage equality will force kindergartners to learn about gay intimacy) or just downright stupid (marriage equality will lead to anarchy).

It's a sad commentary about a selfish mindset. Tyree, NOM and others like them think that they are the only important components in this argument of marriage equality. They seem to think that their opinions are the only ones which matter. What about the same-sex couple together for a number of years with no legal protection (and no money to afford to jump through the financial hoops to gain that legal protection) should something tragic happen to one of them?

Or what about the thousands upon thousand of same-sex households with children? Why should they be considered as anonymous bothers? Why should children in these households feel that there is something wrong with their families?

No matter how closely Tyree clings to the cross, no matter how tightly he grips his Bible, these families aren't going away. And their needs should be addressed.

Just like Tyree has absolutely no right to give up his Superbowl victory because it's not something he earned on his own, he and others who are against marriage equality have no right to decide whether or not lgbtqs should be legally married.

Because the definition of marriage does not belong solely to them


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NOM lies by taking credit for slow process of NY marriage vote

As New York slowly but steadily push the way for marriage equality, the National Organization for Marriage is spinning the situation to pat its own back. On its blog:

Breaking News: Growing Rallies Halt Gay Marriage Push in NY

 No news is good news for our side -- time to keep up the momentum! This update from the AP:
Hundreds of protesters for and against gay marriage in New York chanted, sang and sought out TV cameras Monday while the state Senate again came to no resolution on the issue in a closed-door session that barely touched on the nationally divisive topic.

... On Monday, groups led by clergy opposed to same-sex marriage sang hymns such as "Victory is Mine" and prayed in small circles while pro-same-sex marriage advocates countered with "God Bless America" and "This Little Light of Mine" and lined the halls and parlor outside the Senate chamber.

... New York's vote is pivotal in the national question over same-sex marriage, an effort that largely stalled in the same room two years ago when the Senate voted it down. Since then, efforts have failed in New Jersey, Rhode Island and Maryland.

And that's pretty much the crux of the NOM blog post - claiming that it is leading a groundswell of opinion against the bill.

However, the organization is lying.

Are the anti-marriage equality forces in NY stalling for a reaction?

Just something short which came to my mind about the situation in New York.

A small part of me gets the impression that there is stalling going in hopes of getting the lgbtq community so frustrated in NY that they begin acting out in frustration. Could it be that on the other side, there is a hope that the longer this thing bears out, NY lgbtqs and their allies demonstrate their frustration in demonstratively angry ways?

And if that happens, count on the following to happen next:

NOM spreads the message about violent homosexuals on its blogs and to its partners,

the Catholic Church, particularly Archbishop Dolan, begins to pressure the issue,

David Tyree pushes talking points about "see I told you how this situation will lead to anarchy,"

There is announcement that several Republican senators begin changing their minds on their pro-equality votes in an attempt to "distance" themselves from the angry lgbtq community,

Internally amongst NY lgbtqs and our allies, the cohesion disappears,

and if by magic, suddenly Sen. Skelos calls for a vote to settle the question of marriage equality.

One guess what the ending is going to be.

If this is the case, then it is a sad, filthy tactic which proves that in spite of all of their prayers and talk of upholding God's will, those who oppose marriage equality don't have any suitable arguments to defend their cause and therefore have to exploit the righteous indignation of those oppressed by their lies.

So my lgbtq brothers and sisters in NY, as well as our allies, PLEASE don't give in to it. Don't give in to anger and frustration. You are so close to getting what should have been yours in the first place. This stalling tactic may be a desperate ploy - a way to make you forget the nobility of your argument, of your struggle for basic decency.

Don't fall for it.

Keep your heads up and keep pushing with respect. Don't let lawmakers forget that you are tax-paying citizens deserving of basic rights. And don't give them excuses to strip you of your dignity and humanity.




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Republican stall continues in NY and other Monday midday news briefs