Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters

Sunday, July 25, 2010

Shirley Sherrod and the Circle of Bigotry

A commentator on Pam's House Blend, Rebecca Morn, broke down the Shirley Sherrod debacle in such an awesome way that I simply have to repeat her words:

Breitbart: This woman is a racist! See! I have a heavily doctored video! She used her position as a fed in the USDA to discriminate against white people!

Wingnut Noise Machine: ALERT! ALERT! UPPITY BLACK PERSON ADMITS TO HATING WHITEY!

The Media: Ooooh! Quick, let's panic like a pack of four year olds upon seeing their first big spider. She is! She is! She weally is a wacist! Fire her ass.

The Administration: Aaaaaaaaaah! Fire her! Fire her now! Quickly! She's toxic and Glenn Beck is gonna do a story on her. Panic!

Responsible people: Like hell. Look at the rest of the video. First of all, this was like 30 years ago; secondly, she was working for a non-profit organization, not the government, and thirdly, Sherrod's anecdote was all about her realizing she had the wrong attitude, that she should stand for ALL poor people, regardless of their color or origin.

The Media: Er, um... No way we were snookered that badly. Must be something wrong with her.

The Administration: Uh oh. Activate ostrich mode!

Wingnut Noise Machine: ALERT! Those white people she helped -- they're fakes! They don't exist!

Responsible people: Afraid she's not a racist, and those farmers are totally legit. Oh, and by the way -- her father was murdered by racist bigots during the civil rights era.

The Media and the Administration: Oh crap. We gotta make this right.

Breitbart: No no -- it wasn't about HER. I was pointing out the racism of the entire NAACP. See, they were hooting and hollering at her anecdote like a bunch of... well, you know.

Wingnut Noise Machine: ALERT! NAACP -- are they total racists? Also, did they collude with the Obama Administration to destroy this woman's career? It would be irresponsible not to speculate...for hours and hours.

Responsible people: Give Sherrod her damned job back. Better still, make it a promotion. And we want to hear some apologies. After this ridiculous lynching, there better be a POTUS call, too.

The Media and the Administration (scuffing the dirt): All right... Sorry.

Sherrod is interviewed. She's kinda p.o'd at having been railroaded like she was, and for no good reason than the perfidy of the bigots and the cowardice of her supposed employers and friends. She rightly calls Breitbart on his shit, calls him a racist and someone who'd probably like to see African Americans reduced to slavery again.

Wingnut Noise Machine: ALERT! Sherrod must apologize abjectly to Breitbart! She's evil again! Black woman disrespecting white guy who nearly got away with ruining her career! Release the hounds!

Repost: The religious right and the power of transference

reprinted from February 3, 2009:

A few minutes ago, I had a say what moment.

A say what moment is when someone says something so unbelievable that it renders you silent for a few minutes with your mouth open in shock.

Who was the culprit of this say what moment? Why my and your favorite anti-gay spokesperson, Peter LaBarbera. In a piece he wrote about the recent Creating Change conference, LaBarbera complains about a speech by Rea Carey of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.

One of his points:

. . . thousands of left-wing, grassroots activists attend these annual “Creating Change” conferences; there is no parallel on the social Right for this scale of people and groups working closely together toward common goals. There are precious few organizing and political “how-to” conferences for pro-family conservatives. The Left eats and breathes politics; the Right is more distrustful of government, worse at politics, but more oriented toward God, family and church (the latter is obviously a good thing).

And thus, my say what moment.

Did LaBarbera actually say that there is no parallel on the social Right in terms of conferences and groups working together for their own agenda and the like?

Then what the hell were the Justice Sunday events in which religious right organizations whined about the courts?

Or Vision America, where pastors are "organized" to fight supposed "Godlessness,"

or those unbelievable Values Voters summits.

It's nice that LaBarbera seems to be fearful of lgbt power but his whining about organizations on his side of the so-cultural battle having no power is patently false, or to be less polite about it, a blatant lie.

At any rate, its a perfect segueway to what I wanted to write about today.

It always amazes me when I hear religious right spokespeople and organizations claim that lgbts are following some type of pragmatic plan to take over the country.

We should be so fortunate to be that organized.

I've come to the conclusion that whenever they accuse us of playing James Bond villian games, it's only to cover up just how skillful they plan and organize.

Follow me now:

The Supreme Court rules favorably for lgbts in a certain case.

One News Now, owned by the American Family Association, prints an article (biased, of course) against the ruling and quoting only so-called “pro-family” leaders such as Gary Bauer who claim that the ruling is a travesty on the country.

Other talking heads such as Michelle Malkin write columns falsely claiming that the Supreme Court ruled against them because of alleged biases of the justices. These columns are filtered
to other right-wing publications and blogs.

James Dobson (Focus on the Family) criticizes the ruling on his radio program, as does Tony Perkins (Family Research Council). Other articles are written trying to prove how the ruling will hurt America. More articles are written digging up speeches that the judges made, hinting on flimsy correlations between their ruling and so-called personal biases.

The blogs begin smear the reputations of the judges. Religious right code words (i.e. "activist judges") is repeated in columns, articles, and books.

The Traditional Values Coalition, the Family Research Council, and other so-called “pro-family” groups solicit donations making the claim that either the ruling will doom Christians and will lead to homosexuality being taught “as normal” to children or it will lead to criticizing homosexuality as being designated as a hate crime. They get people of faith who are gullible enough to believe their lies to write letters to their local newspapers (using a script of anti-gay industry talking points.)

Backdoor meetings are held and suddenly, Congressmen friendly to religious right causes begin to cite religious right talking points in speeches and on the floor of Congress.

So-called news programs (Fox News) begin debating whether or not judges have a bias against people of faith.

Talk show hosts such as Mike Huckabee have religious right spokespeople as the sole guests on their shows where they spew talking points unchallenged.

Events such as Justice Sunday fill the airwaves, scaring people of faith about a supposed plot to take away their liberties and their ability to worship.

And then they really begin to organize.

That, ladies and gentlemen, is how planning and organizing is done. And folks like Peter have cornered the market on it.

Saturday, July 24, 2010

360 degree turn - Now the right is attacking Shirley Sherrod for calling Breitbart a racist

As fast as they issued mea culpas because of the treatment of Shirley Sherrod, some members of the right are now seemingly taking back those mea culpas and are attempting to make Sherrod into Madame Defarge while at the same time trying to make Andrew Breitbart into a victim.

My guess is that in the next few days you will be hearing about this interview with Anderson Cooper in right-wing circles:

The portion of the interview which will probably be focused on is at 2:30 when Sherrod says she thinks Breitbart would like to get African-Americans "stuck back in the times of slavery." She later says that she thinks he is a racist. Both of these statements came from her responding to a comment Breitbart made in Politico, another online site.

Did I say will be focused on? I meant to say is now being focused on.

BigGovernment.com, one of Breitbart's websites, now contains a listing of links from conservatives who on Friday said that Sherrod owes Breitbart an apology:

Goldberg: Sherrod Owes Breitbart an Apology

Riehl: Sherrod owes Breitbart an apology

Ponnuru: Sherrod owes Breitbart an apology

This also includes a listing of other right-wing pieces demonizing Sherrod:

Human Events: Shirley Sherrod Falsely Sainted by Propagandist Media

Powerline: Sherrod acted racially irresponsible

'the Obama admin now owns Shirley Sherrod'

Now in all fairness, there are pieces listed praising Sherrod or focusing objectively on her story.

I say don't you dare apologize, Ms. Sherrod. I fail to see how anyone can make Breitbart the victim in this situation when he was the one who tried to ruin your career and name as part of a vindictive attack on the NAACP, which he has YET to apologize for.

And don't be fooled by the "we were in Ms. Sherrod's corner until she started spouting nonsense" that's most likely sure to come.

According to Media Matters, members of the right were making this turn as early as Thursday when some were claiming that the White House orchestrated the entire situation.

I guess we will know by Monday whether or not the right will return to their regularly scheduled program of the "Obama Administration don't like white people" but this time featuring Ms. Sherrod as the star.

Related post:

Circling the wagons: Right-wing media figures rush to defend Breitbart

Andrew Breitbart - the NAACP's best friend and the Tea Party Movement's worst enemy

Andrew Breitbart - the NAACP's best friend and the Tea Party Movement's worst enemy

In the midst of the Shirley Sherrod hoopla, an interesting situation involving the Tea Party Movement seems to have gone unnoticed:

One of the most prominent men in the tea party movement, Tea Party Express spokesperson and former chair Mark Williams, is abandoning the group he helped propel into the role of the tea party's public face.

. . . In his resignation letter to the TPE, Williams says he left the group after the past week's public battle with the NAACP made him too hot to handle.

"I feel compelled to separate myself from any further involvement with the Tea Party Express so that I can pursue other interests," Williams wrote, "and to free the tea party movement from any more distraction based on my personal comments or blogs."

It’s interesting that when Van Jones resigned, folks were commenting about how Glenn Beck - who orchestrated opposition to Jones - "got a scalp.” When ACORN was taken down thanks to the videos of James O’Keefe which were pushed by Andrew Breitbart, both were given the dubious honor of “getting a scalp.”

Shouldn’t the same be said for the NAACP regarding Williams?

After all, it was their resolution denouncing racism in the tea party which fueled the entire controversy causing Williams to make a complete ass of himself and thereby proving the NAACP’s point.

Probably not and for two reasons. No one likes to think of the NAACP as out to “take scalps” and wreck careers. It wouldn’t fit into the image of a venerable civil rights groups, although it couldn’t hurt if it did.

Secondly there is this awful idea propagated that no one on the left in general knows how to fight hard and asks questions later. The image of Breitbart and many on the right is that of warriors who figuratively dance on the graves of their enemies and gloat even before the bodies have gotten cold.

Meanwhile those of us on the left are seen as wimps, unable to be decisive because we are constantly fretting over the repercussions of our actions even before we take them.

So no, I don’t think anyone will be awarding the NAACP with “scalps” anytime soon.

But the organization does have a victory here because one of the head warriors, Breitbart, seems to have tripped and fallen on his own spear.

Right now, the NAACP is dealing with the embarrassment of having to apologize to Sherrod after throwing her under the bus. But we must all remember that in controversies like this one, there are long term repercussions that go with the short term ones and sometimes the two run diametrically opposite to each other.

We saw this with the Bill Clinton/Monica Lewinsky situation. While the Republican Party ended up with a huge amount of egg on its face because of the controversy, the scandal made it difficult for Al Gore to embrace Clinton’s administrative successes when he ran for president in 2000. Gore shied away from comparing himself to Clinton, which did hurt his campaign.

That added with a few other situations, including what some on my side still call chicanery, ensured the election of George W. Bush.

In that same vein, we should recognize what effect the Shirley Sherrod situation has on the Tea Party Movement.

If Breitbart had meant to deflect cries of racism from the Tea Party Movement, he failed miserably. If anything, his actions only ensured that the Tea Party Movement will be forever yoked to the image of racism and oppression. And this image will only worsen should Breitbart make an appearance at tea party functions, which I know he will. And I am betting that he will receive thunderous applause too.

In the long run, it doesn’t matter how many African-Americans tea party leaders can pull out of the woodwork or how many shows they appear on to decry the idea that they are racist, the one thing people will take from the Sherrod case is that one of their leaders, a white man, helped to railroad an innocent black woman with a doctored videotape and a false claim of racism.

And that image isn't going away anytime soon.

Friday, July 23, 2010

Know Your LGBT History - Victim

I have never seen Victim (1961) but I've heard of it so many times. It was a landmark in lgbt cinema.

From Wikipedia:

Victim is a 1961 British film directed by Basil Dearden, starring Dirk Bogarde and Sylvia Syms. It is notable in film history for being the first English language film to use the word "homosexual". The world premier was at the Odeon Cinema in Leicester Square on 31 August 1961. On its release in the United Kingdom it proved highly controversial and in the United States it was initially banned.

. . . Until the 1967 Sexual Offences Act, which implemented the recommendations of the Wolfenden report, homosexual acts between consenting adults were illegal in England and Wales. There were prosecutions and Sunday newspapers gave space to the court reports. Yet, by 1960, the police were as relaxed as possible over the old laws. There was a feeling that the code violated decent liberty. But police restraint did not deter the menace of blackmail.

When the team of producer Michael Relph and director Basil Dearden first approached Bogarde, they warned him that a lot of people had already turned down the script because the material might be considered dangerous or unwholesome. In 1960, Bogarde was 39 and just about the most popular actor in British films. He had proven himself playing war heroes (The Sea Shall Not Have Them; Ill Met by Moonlight); he was the star of the hugely successful Doctor film series; and he was a reliable romantic lead in movies like A Tale of Two Cities. He was flirting with a larger, Hollywood career—playing Liszt in Song Without End. Bogarde was suspected to be homosexual, living in the same house as his business manager, Anthony Forwood, and was compelled every now and then to be seen in public with attractive young women. He seems not to have hesitated over the role of Farr. Similarly, Sylvia Syms never flinched from the part of his wife, though apparently several actresses had turned it down.

Other gay cast members included Dennis Price and Hilton Edwards. Though it mostly treats homosexuality in a non-sensationalized manner, there is one rather catty aspect to the film-- Price's character (a prominent gay theater star) would have been fairly easy for contemporary audiences to identify with Noel Coward.

Did gay marriage 'kill' the penguins? and other Friday midday news briefs

In Memphis, Greatest Opposition to Non-Discrimination Ordinance From Pedophile-Protecting Pastor - Definition of an ugly irony: a pastor who kept quiet when he knew a child was being molested now opposing an lgbt-positive ordinance on the grounds that it may harm children.

Avoiding NOM's Trap - Pay attention, folks.

New Zealand researcher reports correlation between sexual behavior and childhood abuse - Another study we need to get ahead of before the religious right has a chance to exploit it.

Gay Marriage Killed The Penguins - There are no words.

Right-wing conspiracy: Sherrod controversy "orchestrated" by the White House to "smear Breitbart" - If the White House is that diabolical, I would rather have them for a friend rather than an enemy (sarcasm alert).

Andrew Breitbart 's smear of Sherrod resembles his attack on Kevin Jennings

The lgbt community would do well to remember that what Andrew Breitbart tried to do to Shirley Sherrod is the same smear job he attempted on Obama appointee Kevin Jennings. Through his websites and via writer Jim Hoft, Breitbart pushed a disturbingly large amount of lies on Jennings. From Media Matters comes this listing:

Blogger Hoft's smear campaign against Jennings. Writing for the website Gateway Pundit, Jim Hoft has authored a series of factually dubious attacks on Department of Education staffer Kevin Jennings and the organization Jennings founded and previously led, the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN). Hoft's Jennings posts -- which he has labeled "Fistgate," even though many of those allegations have little or nothing to do with the sexual practice of fisting -- often draw upon the work of MassResistance, a Massachusetts based anti-gay organization that has been labeled a "hate group" by the Southern Poverty Law Center. Even conservative commentator Dean Barnett has stated that the organization "verges on being a hate group."

Breitbart eagerly embraced and promoted Hoft's false attacks on Jennings. Hoft's "Fistgate" attacks on Jennings and the GLSEN have been faithfully cross-posted on BigGovernment.com, and Breitbart himself has used Twitter to promote Hoft's work. Among the smears and distortions Breitbart has embraced:

Hoft deceptively linked Jennings to "fisting" workshop he criticized. Hoft claimed that a 2000 conference sponsored by the Boston branch of GLSEN included "a workshop where GLSEN activists promoted 'fisting' to 14 year olds," citing a recorded exchange that occurred during a "Queer Sex and Sexuality" workshop at that conference. In fact, Jennings reportedly criticized some of the workshop's content when the recordings were first released in 2000, and the people involved in conducting the controversial discussion were state employees and contractors, not GLSEN employees.

Hoft falsely claimed high-school students received "fisting kits" at 2001 GLSEN conference. Hoft falsely claimed that "fisting kits" -- which he placed in quotes -- were distributed at the 2001 GLSEN/Boston conference. But Hoft has presented no evidence that the kits distributed by Planned Parenthood of Massachusetts were actually intended for fisting. Indeed, while the conservative newspaper Massachusetts News -- cited by Hoft -- reported in 2001 that the kits were "intended for 'fisting' or oral sex," the paper described the kit's contents as "a single plastic glove, a package of K-Y lubricant and instructions on how to make a 'dental dam' out of the material" and offered no support for the claim that the kits were "intended for 'fisting.' " Even FoxNews.com has reported that Hoft "alleged that Jennings and GLSEN were involved in Planned Parenthood's purported distribution of 'fisting kits,' " but that the kit "was actually for making a 'dental dam' -- designed to prevent STD transmission during oral sex."

Hoft falsely suggested Jennings' organization handed out explicit safe-sex booklet to children. Hoft falsely suggested that that GLSEN had distributed to children an explicit safe-sex booklet that included "a list of the local gay bars" and "Pushed Anal S*x in Parks With Strangers." In fact, a community health group -- not GLSEN itself -- reportedly said that it had mistakenly "left about 10 copies" of the booklet on an informational table it rented at a 2005 GLSEN conference at Brookline High School in Massachusetts; the group reportedly apologized for doing so; GLSEN stated that if it had known the booklets had been at the conference, it would have demanded they be removed; and the Brookline school superintendent reportedly said he believed no students had actually taken the booklet.

Hoft falsely claimed Jennings "Pushed Books That Encouraged Children to Meet Adults at Gay Bars For Sex." Hoft falsely claimed that Jennings "Personally Pushed Books That Encouraged Children to Meet Adults at Gay Bars For Sex," citing MassResistance's falsehood that a book Jennings recommended to high school and college students, One Teenager in 10, "encourage[s] teens to, among other things, go to gay bars and have sex with adults to see if they like it." Media Matters for America has reviewed the book, compiled all references to gay bars, and determined that the book at no point encourages teens to "go to gay bars and have sex with adults." In fact, a majority of the youth testimonials included in the book that mention gay bars refer to them negatively.

Breitbart.tv also smeared Jennings. An October 6, 2009, Breitbart.tv post grossly distorted comments Jennings made to a GLSEN audience in 2000 to claim he "criticize[d] schools for promoting heterosexuality." In fact, in the audio files posted at Breitbart.tv, Jennings promoted a curriculum that demands "respect [for] every human being regardless of sexual orientation, regardless of gender identity, regardless of race or religion or any of the arbitrary distinctions we make among people," and said that efforts to promote a specific sexual orientation through schools were ineffective.

The irony is that in this particular case, the Obama Administration did not capitulate to the right-wing hatchet job. Jennings still has his job and the faux controversy faded away.

Editor's note - Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters covered the entire smear campaign on Kevin Jennings and has an extensive listing of all the attacks - The War on Kevin Jennings - Chronology of a Failed Smear Campaign Hoft and Breitbart's lies are in section 2 of that piece.

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Rachel Maddow nails Fox News on tactics

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

When someone says it all, there is nothing left to be said.

Timeline of Sherrod debacle reveals disturbing coordination between Fox News and bloggers

The Shirley Sherrod debacle was bound to happen sooner or later. With the 24-hour-media constantly buzzing and "senior analysts" of thinktanks constantly tossing out inaccurate talking points to fit their positions rather than educating the public, someone was bound to get stung.

The only thing that kept this situation from becoming worse was Sherrod's will to stand up herself rather than crumble under the glare of negative media attention.

Now despite the need to constantly harp on the White House and NAACP for the Sherrod debacle (and some of the harping is very legitimate), one cannot deny that the two entities got overcome by a coordinated right-wing swarm that made their heads spin before they even had time to assess the situation.

A timeline by the group Media Matters details how quickly the Sherrod story moved through right-wing circles. A brief excerpt is as follows:

Monday

11:18 a.m.*: Breitbart posts Sherrod video, calls her "racist," claims "Context is everything."

Fox News amplifies Breitbart's deceptively edited video

12:13 p.m.: Hoft runs with Breitbart video.

12:55 p.m.: HotAir's Morrissey: "Breitbart hits NAACP with promised video of racism."

1:40 p.m. (approximately): Fox Nation accuses Sherrod of "discrimination caught on tape" before she resigned.

1:49 p.m.: Ace of Spades picks up Sherrod story, calls it an example of "your government, working for you."

3:31 p.m.: Elizabeth Scalia of the blog The Anchoress raises questions about the editing of Breitbart's video.

4:01 p.m. Ace of Spades reports that CBS' NYC affiliate picked up Sherrod story, declares, "Breitbart gets results."

4:28 p.m. (approximately): Sherrod story hits Drudge.

4:50 p.m.: Breitbart tweets to Media Matters: "Tomorrow's gonna be a long day."

7:51 p.m.*: Big Government links to a FoxNews.com article reporting that Sherrod had resigned and USDA repudiated her remarks.

8:21 p.m.: Allahpundit questions the video's editing, but says he will "assume Breitbart's edit is fair to the spirit of her remarks."

8:50 p.m.: O'Reilly airs Breitbart's Sherrod video

9:04 p.m.: "Fox News Alert": Hannity reports that Sherrod has resigned and discusses the incident with Gingrich.

Say what you will about the right-wing, they know how to coordinate. And I don't think a "we have to investigate this further" explanation would have stood up under the constant, coordinated buzzsaw of innuendo from talking heads and bloggers eager to take revenge for so-called left-wing abuses.

This wasn't an attempt to get a story - it was deliberate move to score points and the facts be damned.
And yet the rest of the media seems to be intentionally sidestepping any conversations about this interlocking of dubious bloggers and supposedly legitimate newsmen and women to the point of absurdity. Talking Points Memo had this to say today:

It's much easier to focus on Obama or Vilsack or 'what it says about race in America' or whatever other nonsense. Because most reporters are simply cowed by Fox and Breitbart and Beck and the rest of the organized forces of bamboozlement -- too afraid, too bewildered, too hapless to apply anything remotely approaching standards in analyzing the fourth estate of which they are the nominal custodians. So what we get is this 'see no evil, hear no evil, speak not at all' routine from reporters and journalists who should know better.

It shouldn't be a surprise. These same people who are sanctimoniously calling out the White House for falling for the conservative blog/Fox News coordinated blitz were some of the same ones who actually defended the so-called news organization last year when the White House took it to task.

Still irregardless of the how this entire thing ends, progressives would be wise to not miss the forest for the trees.

The right-wing blitz consumed the White House and the NAACP with the skill of an army of fire ants consuming a grasshopper. And if those two entities fell so easily, imagine who else can be put in a harsh spotlight of lies and innuendo. Who else will fall under the right-wing buzzsaw before they have time to gather up a defense?

There is a small silver lining to the situation. My guess is that this incident will be Breitbart's signature moment, forever scarring his already highly questionable reputation. That link is severed.

But like some monster out of Greek mythology, the right-wing noise machine remains strong because for every one Breitbart, there are probably two or three others willing to stoop even lower to take his place.

Attack on lgbt parenting ignores the bigger issue

I've talked about Dawn Stefanowicz several times before. She is the woman who was raised in a family with a gay father. According to her, this caused several problems for her in her childhood. She travels to different areas of the world to speak out against lgbt parenting.

There have been times when I have said I felt sorry for her and then there are times when I said I didn't believe her. But I think her own words in this video say it all because it proves a point I had been trying to make.

While her story is sad and compelling, it contradicts the theme of her message. Stefanowicz didn't have a bad childhood because her father was gay. She had a bad childhood because she came from a dysfunctional home, period.

And those who exploit her words never seem to be able to address the problems with dysfuctional homes rather than to give the false impression that destroying lgbt households will somehow make things better.

Here are two of the families that Stefanowicz and those like her want to hinder:

Whether or not Stefanowicz's story is true, to hurt families these would be a real travesty.

Related posts:

Argentina legalizes same sex marriage and an old enemy resurfaces

Dawn Stefanowicz again?

Dawn Stefanowicz's book: Homophobia defined

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

A funny look at lgbt villains

Maybe it's just me but I want to tone things down a bit with this piece from Infomania on lgbt villains.

Past Infomania posts:

A funny look at 'gay' commercials

An interesting and thought-provoking take on lgbt pride

Elena Kagan 'plays softball like a lesbian'

Conversion Therapy - a video with George Rekers in mind

Advice to closeted politicans - How to keep from being exposed

Why the phrase 'No Homo' is highly needed

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

Why gay marriage is 'wrong'

LaBarbera releases 'Truth Academy' schedule and other Wednesday midday news briefs

Behold The Instructors and Curriculum for LaBarbera's 3 Days of Hate Conference - It's more the same -blah, blah, blah, the radical homosexuals are evil.

Gay rights group gets U.N. role - excellent news.

Poverty-stricken U.S. cities have HIV epidemics - A story which needs more attention.

Media across the board reject Breitbart's race-baiting lies - The COMPLETE case on how they smeared Shirley Sherrod.

Breitbart’s New Conspiracy Theory: The ‘Purported’ Farmer’s Wife Is A Plant - I put this up because I want don't want folks to forget how much of a sleazeball Andrew Breitbart is.

There are no winners in the Shirley Sherrod case

In the case of Shirley Sherrod, the USDA official forced to resign because of a doctored tape that made her unfairly look like a racist, there are no winners regardless of the outcome:

The Obama Administration - no matter how the Obama Administration reacted, it would have been a loss. If Sherrod didn't resign, the conservative media would have made Sherrod's case another notch in "the Obama Administration is racist against white people" narrative. Because she was quickly forced to resign, now those same folks are saying that the Obama Administration "acted too quickly."

NAACP - a huge embarrassment for the organization in terms of trust. What happened to Sherrod will be the talk in black churches and barbershops for months to come.

The American media - in 1980 when former Washington Post writer Janet Cooke was discovered to have created a phony story about an eight-year-old drug addict, she was blacklisted. In 2010 when Andrew Breitbart pushes a doctored tape, he is featured on media shows from coast to coast. There is something wrong with that equation. While the Obama Administration and the NAACP should be condemned for their rush to judgment, to ignore Breitbart's and Fox News's hand in hyping this controversy is a serious error that will continue to hurt the credibility of the American media. They shouldn't be allowed to walk back from what they did.

And the biggest loser in this case:

Shirley Sherrod - Sherrod is an innocent woman who became a pawn in an ugly game to discredit the Obama Administration. She has become the symbol of what's wrong with Washington, i.e. the inability to get anything done because the pursuit of immature playground games. As her case proves, playground games may be good for children, but when adults play them, people tend to get hurt.

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Upcoming documentary features chilling look at Ugandan homophobia

In light of Accuracy in Media's (and supporter of Uganda's anti-gay bill) Cliff Kincaid being chosen as an "instructor" in Peter LaBarbera's phony "Truth Academy," the above video is a preview of a soon-to-be released documentary on Uganda's homophobia.

From Box Turtle Bulletin:

French filmmaker Dominique Mesminsent this trailer for an upcoming documentary he’s working on. The people speaking are unidentified, but one of the speakers appears to be pastor Julius Oyet, who has emerged as a close confidant to the Anti-Homosexuality Bill’s sponsor MP David Bahati. Oyet was in the visitor’s gallery and recognized by the Speaker when the bill was introduced into Parliament last October. This video captures Oyet defending the death penalty for gay people.

Constance McMillen wins huge victory, Breitbart's revenge, and other Tuesday midday news briefs

Won Mississippi: Constance's limo rental budget gets a bump - Constance McMillen wins a HUGE victory for herself and other lgbt youths.

NOM’s followers are so full of “love” that it oozes right out of them - Now that's nicer than I would have put it.

Why won't Breitbart release the full Shirley Sherrod/NAACP video? - And for those interested in the ongoing NAACP vs. Tea Party feud, the sleaziest man in journalism, Andrew Breitbart, has weighed in with a tape of a (former) USDA official Shirley Sherrod allegedly being extremely racist during an NAACP speech. Only a few things though - the incident was over 20 years ago, and the part of the speech shown (Breitbart's tape ends abruptly) is a part of a larger anecdote that Sherrod was telling the audience. But we know how this works. The tea party folks, with the help of Fox News, is suddenly slightly re-energized after a disastrous week. I say "slightly" because from what I understand, the mainstream media and some conservative bloggers are asking questions as to what does the full tape show. And we all know Breitbart's "truthiness" when it comes to taped footage. LOL

Supporter of Uganda's anti-gay bill joins LaBarbera 'Truth Academy'

Anti-gay activist Peter LaBarbera has a new "instructor" for his upcoming anti-gay training conference - Cliff Kincaid

From People for the American Way:

. . . Accuracy in Media's Cliff Kincaid, who shares a LaBarbera-level hatred for gays, has now been added to the list of instructors, which explains why he is now writing glowing columns about the conference warning that it is our only hope of save America from its "moral suicide" as gays seek to kill themselves and everyone else:

LaBarbera is one of those brave few taking a leadership role in the effort to preserve traditional American social and religious values. Fighting off the predictable smears of “hater” and “homophobe” from the gay-run Media Matters group and the Southern Poverty Law Center, he and his associates will be gathering near Chicago from August 5-7 to educate the next generation—and their parents—about the consequences if homosexuality is promoted in the schools and by the federal government. This is when AFTAH is launching a Truth Academy on how to fight the “gay agenda.” I am honored to be invited to be a part of this effort. I will be discussing gay influence on the media and the homosexual drive for the “right” to donate possibly infected and contaminated blood to the nation’s blood supply.

LaBarbera, head of the anti-gay group Americans for Truth, announced plans for his "Truth Academy" in June. He claimed that it is to instruct the next generation (between the ages of 14 to 25) lessons in "combatting the gay agenda" and supposed homosexual "misinformation" at a cost of $99 a head.

His list of instructors are dubious enough, but the selection of Kincaid adds more of a sinister air to the mix.

Kincaid openly supported Uganda's "Kill The Gays" bill even when it was facing a backlash.

In February he said the following:

"Uganda's people and government deserve support, not criticism, from the United States. They are up against the international homosexual lobby, the money of George Soros, and the Obama Administration. They are trying to create a Christian culture that is protective of families and children."

As far as it is known, Kincaid continues to support the bill.

One can only imagine what he will be telling young folks about the lgbt community.

Related posts:

'Porno Pete' LaBarbera wants to instruct the next generation

Protest Planned Against ’Americans for Truth’ Anti-Gay Workshop

'Porno' Pete LaBarbera for your listening pleasure

Cliff Kincaid's International Gay-Bashing

Cliff Kincaid: Outcry against Ugandan bill a conspiracy to save Kevin Jennings

Cliff Kincaid, Britt Hume, and the descent of Christianity

Anti-Gay “Truth Academy” curriculum released

Peter LaBarbera's Warped Understanding of Civility

Monday, July 19, 2010

Concerned Women for America outdoes itself with vile anti-gay campaign

This graphic is a perfect example of how low some so-called "family values" groups will stoop.

In this particular case the organization is the Concerned Women for America, no stranger to anti-lgbt graphics and cartoons no matter how vile.

But this one is especially vile:

Concerned Women for America (CWA) values the sacrifice of the millions of men and women who serve in the armed forces. Those service men and women and their families deserve our complete support in carrying out their mission. But today, many senators and representatives in Washington, D.C., have lost this simple focus, opting to support policies that make their jobs harder and, in many cases, actually harm their efforts to succeed in keeping America safe. The purpose of CWA's S.H.O.T. campaign is to send a clear message to our policy makers to "Stop Harming Our Troops!" Let them focus. And let them win!

Below are some CWA resources that highlight some of the problems we are facing and give you some great talking points so you can call your senator and let your voice be heard.

Also, make sure you CLICK HERE to check out the t-shirts, coffee mugs, stickers and many other materials you can get with our S.H.O.T. logo. Make a splash at the next townhall or tea party meeting with these great items that make a BIG statement in a very simple way.

Of course the number one problem according to Concerned Women for America is allowing lgbts to openly serve in the military:

Liberals have spent decades targeting the United States military with their demands for radical social restructuring in favor of homosexuality. As it applies to the military, their social policy agenda trumps all other considerations: the goal is not a stronger or better-prepared military. This paper seeks to clear up the confusion which exists on this topic. It will summarize the issues at stake so you will be equipped to understand the ongoing policy debates

Where do I start with this one? It's one thing to openly push homophobia, but it's another to market it on t-shirts and coffee mugs. T-shirts and coffee mugs? It's like selling charcoal black lawn jockeys.

And that's not even saying about what the graphic represents. Lgbts want to serve openly in the military because we love our country too. We are not the enemy here and to imply us as such is just plain nasty.

Concerned Women for America hints about the sacrifices of the millions of men and women who served in the Armed Forces. If the organization had any respect for those men and women (many of whom were lgbts) and their sacrifices, they wouldn't trivialize them with a such cynical ploy for money steeped in bad taste.

Hat tip to Goodasyou.org

Truth Wins Out breaks major ex-gay group scandal and other Monday midday news briefs

Breaking News: Major ‘Ex-Gay’ Life Coach Accused of Sexual Misconduct By Former Clients - Truth Wins Out does it again!

Knight's attempt to blame left for instigating "racial animosity" falls flat - Robert Knight sucks at demonizing the NAACP just as much as he sucks at demonizing lgbts.

Gay Georgia Teen Starts Group to Help LGBT Youth - This young man should be applauded.

Another bad day for the National Organization for Marriage’s Giant Flop tour - This is hilarious!

National Organization for Marriage needs to address hate in its own ranks

The above photo is a scene from the National Organization for Marriage's "Summer for Marriage" Tour which you will probably be seeing a little more of.

This tour has been a failure because in many places, the protestors have outnumbered NOM supporters.

Protests have varied from silent but effective like in New York to a bit unruly but equally effective like in Rhode Island, where this picture was taken.

No doubt Brian Brown, head of NOM and the guy with the microphone, meant for the picture to show how supposedly intolerant lgbt activists are.

Before this talking point even takes root, Brown needs to address the situation regarding a participant of his tour, Louis J. Marinelli.

At one stop, Brown claimed that his group supports the "dignity of all persons."

But amongst other things, Marinelli once remarked in a video that:

. the homosexual agenda is really about the 3 Ps: prostitution, pedophilia, and polygamy.

And on that note, before taking pictures of people to cast negative images of them, maybe Brown should police the nasty rhetoric of other NOM allies instead of attempting to dance around them.

Seems to me that before Brown and NOM attacks the so-called intolerant angry lgbt activists, he would be better served to examine why they are angry.

Related posts:

National Organization for Marriage tries to cover up ugly comments with pitiful lies

National Organization for Marriage - gays were never hunted down and murdered like 'Jews, Christians, and blacks'

Message to Maggie Gallagher: associating with bigots does make you a bigot

Sunday, July 18, 2010

So much for NO tea party racism - Mark Williams expelled from National Tea Party Federation

This is an excellent exchange between the NAACP's Bejamin Jealous and African-American tea party leader David Webb.

I apologize for not having the transcript, but here are the main points:

Jealous makes a good point about the New National Black Panther Party at 2:46. It is an excellent comparison between the NNPPA and the NAACP as opposed to the racist elements in the tea party movement.

But a better point is made before than by Webb at 1:22. He says that Mark Williams (the author of "the Abraham Lincoln Letter") and his group Tea Party Express have been expelled from the National Tea Party Federation specifically because of "the Abraham Lincoln Letter."

But wouldn't that be an admittance of racist elements in the tea party movement?

And I thought Sarah Palin, Michael Steele, AND Fox News said that there were no racist elements in the tea party movement.

So much for truth in politics.

Editor's Note - I apologize to those who feel that I am deviating from lgbt issues to address this situation. But to me, it's all connected.