CA Gov signs pro-gay bill and other Thursday afternoon news briefs

What a drag. My modem is shot so I am here in McDonalds trying to download AOL so i will have access to dial-up until I get to Time Warner. And my patience is low. God help those two black men next to me criticizing the gay community. Anyway, please enjoy these news briefs and I hope to have things fixed by tomorrow morning:

California Governor Signs FAIR Education Act - Religious right head explosion imminent.

Surprise, Surprise: NOM Endorses Ex-Gay Therapy - Apparently NOM is getting really deep into anti-gay territory. Like I'm actually surprised.

Why Does The Right Still Insist Being Gay Is A Choice? - Because they live in a parallel universe of EXTREME stupidity.

Gay, lesbian households increase in Okla. - We only did it to piss off Sally Kern. lol

NEW YORK: Another Town Clerk Quits - Bye, bye, bye.

Michele Bachmann, This Gay Man Thanks You - I couldn't have said it better myself.

Daily Show destroys Bachmanns' ex-gay nonsense and other Thursday midday news briefs

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Field of Dongs
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The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Comedy Repression Therapy
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Hilarious! I'm all for this!

And in other news . . .


Rick Perry Ally Bickle Says Marriage Equality Is "Rooted In The Depths Of Hell" - Imagine having Rick Perry in the White House.

Oakland A's suspend minor league prospect for gay slur - Good

Governor Brown To Veto CA's SB 48 Education Bill? - Don't do it, Gov. Brown.

GOP Senators Who Voted For Marriage Equality In New York See Fundraising Spike - Excellent news out of New York.

Bachmann controversy exposes religious right liars

The controversy about Michele Bachmann's husband, Marcus, and his clinic is sad on so many levels.

There is the sadness at the thought of the men and women exposed to the fraudulent idea that somehow their God-given sexual orientation is evil and therefore should be eliminated.

And then there is just how low those on the right will stoop to cover for the Bachmanns.

Witness the Family Research Council's Peter Sprigg during an interview espousing the view that the controversy is not a big deal:



And then there is this madness by the National Organization for Marriage giving cover to "professional ex-gay" and known deception artist Greg Quinlan:

That theme - that the Bachmanns are the "victims of a conspiracy" is recurrent throughout religious right talking points about this controversy.

Yet none of these so-called "moral folks" have addressed the question that if Bachmann's clinic is providing such a good service then why did he feel the need to lie about it.

Indeed more than anything I could ever say, the Bachmann controversy underscores how broken the moral compass is for those in the religious right.

I've said it before and I will say it again:

Lies in the name of God are still lies.

Phony victimization ruining American Christianity

According to Religious Right Watch, the Family Research Council is asking for folks to pray for Marcus Bachmann's clinic because supposedly it's "under siege" by the gay community because of its use of the faulty practice of reparative ("ex-gay") therapy"

Christian Counseling under Assault – This week a homosexual activist group reported findings from their undercover “sting” operation at Minnesota Christian counseling clinic owned by Republican Presidential candidate Michelle Bachman and her husband, Marcus. Sympathetic national media seemed shocked that the Christian counseling center offered help for homosexuals to break free from addiction to homosexuality through faith in Jesus Christ. Where will the homosexual assault on religious liberty stop?

Meanwhile, the right-wing website Lifesite News is sounding the alarm simply because NY Gov Andrew Cuomo has told the state's marriage clerks that they must comply with the law and sign their names on same-sex marriage licenses.

In these two stories is a theme which is recurrent throughout many religious right Christian and evangelical circles - the idea that someone's religious beliefs trumps the fact that they are not honest or that they have a job to do.

Both stories are really simple.

Bachmann lied and was caught in his deception. He initially said that his clinic does not engage in ex-gay therapy. And he was proven to be a liar by the undercover video.

But some folks who call themselves Christians aren't questioning the fact that Bachmann lied because they are too busy spinning conspiracy theories as to how the entire controversy is a "plot against Marcus and Michele Bachmann and evangelicals."

What's more, these folks actually embrace the fraudulent therapy done by Bachmann's clinic while conveniently omitting the fact that he lied about it.

And to top it all off, they do all of this while talking about "morals" and "values" and "upholding God's truth."

It's a bizarre gymnastic conundrum which should alarm anyone who really do care about morals and values.

The case in NY is even easier to figure out.

As shown by Lifesite News, some folks actually believe that someone working for state government should be absolved from following the rules of their job simply because they are Christian.

The question of where the line should be drawn is a serious one. It should not be taken lightly.

If state workers can use the Biblical verses as an excuse to not sign same-sex marriage licenses, then what's the justification of them not using Biblical verses to deny interracial couples their licenses  (i.e. the Tower of Babel story) or refusing to sign licenses because the woman in the potential marriage may have signed it before the man (in defiance to what some say about the supposed subservient position of a woman in a relationship in accordance to Scripture).

Just when was the Biblical verse "render to Caesar what is Caesar's"  replaced by "I'm a Christian so I deserve more rights than you?"

It's ironic that the same evangelicals and Christians who support all of this mess are constantly complaining about how Christianity has a bad name in this country.

Maybe these "Christians" should stop acting like a bunch of self-righteous, spoiled brats who want their way all of the time.

NY anti-gay activists throwing tantrums and other Wednesday midday news briefs

Don't you just hate people who name-drop? Well too bad because I am going to be one of those people. Witness my online buddy Evan Hurst of Truth Wins Out on Hardball as he expertly eviscerates Marcus and Michele Bachmann for the ex-gay mess both are embroiled in.

And in other news . . .

NYT profiles homophobes who lost, but are still fighting marriage in NY - Disappointing one-sided article by The New York Times. But still the law is the law.

California Board Accepts Credits From NARTH for Licensing Renewal - So apparently being a bogus group trafficking junk science means nothing against your credibility as long as you beat up on the gays.

Audio: Bachmann in '04: 'It’s part of Satan, I think, to say this is gay' - It's never a dull moment with Michele Bachmann.

Illinois Judge Reinstates Catholic Adoption Contracts - For the time being that is.

Religious right circling the wagons around Michele Bachmann

Michele Bachmann

The controversy over presidential candidate Michele Bachmann's husband (Marcus Bachmann) and his clinic engaging in the dangerous practice of reparative therapy (attempting to convert gay men into heterosexuals) has gained an added dimension.

While Bachmann herself refuses to comment about it, several religious right figures have come out in support of not only her but her husband's practice.

However, rather than address the issue of the dangers of reparative therapy, these folks are whining that Bachmann is the "victim" of a "scorched earth" media campaign out to destroy her:

Marcus Bachmann

 Matt Barber of the Liberty Counsel - "Marcus Bachmann is providing a therapeutic service to those who struggle with same-sex attractions and who seek to get their minds around those same-sex attractions," Barber notes. "So this is nothing short of yellow journalism, and we have come to expect this kind of stuff from the left."

Peter LaBarbera of Americans for Truth - "Incredibly, ABC even went so far as to title its piece “Pray Away the Gay at Bachmann Clinic?” — recycling TWO founder Wayne Besen’s mocking and bigoted attack-slogan for the idea that people can overcome homosexual desires through faith in God."


Cliff Kincaid of Accuracy in Media - "Once a greatly feared investigative reporter, Brian Ross has been reduced to recycling left-wing material from the homosexual lobby. But the pathetic hit job he narrated on Monday’s ABC Nightline show on GOP presidential candidate Michele Bachmann has backfired in a big way. The charge was that the Bachmann family counseling service engages in terrible things by teaching homosexuals how to leave their disease-ridden lifestyle."

The Family Research Council - "The Bachmanns are unapologetic for their views on homosexuality--views that are rooted in the faith that a majority of Americans share. Apart from Washington, D.C. and homosexual interest groups, the majority of the country will view Marcus's work for what it is--a ministry of hope. Pointing men and women who struggle with same-sex attractions to God isn't "a discredited form of therapy," it's the path to sexual healing."

The irony is that none of these statements are helping Bachmann or her husband. The initial undercover investigation - done very excellently by the group Truth Wins Out - took place because Bachmann's husband was denying that his clinic engaged in reparative therapy.

If what Marcus Bachmann is doing is so beneficial, then why would he lie about it?  Apparently members of the religious right are so caught up in fighting the supposed sin of homosexuality that they give the actual sin of lying a free pass.

Perhaps Michele Bachmann advise these folks to keep their mouths shut. If they are trying to help her, they aren't succeeding.

'Interfaith' website lies about SPLC and its hate group designations

An "interfaith" site, Beliefnet, has weighed in on the controversy regarding the Southern Poverty Law Center and its labeling of several religious right groups as anti-gay hate groups.

But the site is very deceptive in terms of what it chooses to highlight . . . and omit.

Rob Kerby, Beliefnet's Senior Editor, said the following in an article:

Why would anybody accuse 13 Christian organizations, including the American Family Association and Tony Perkins’ Family Research Council, of practicing “hate?”

. . . Could the intent be to smear and silence some of the most effective Christian ministries in America? To blacken their names because they have dared to speak out in the political battle over same-sex marriage?

When a smear campaign against the Family Research Council began last year, it was immediately denounced by Speaker of the House John Boehner and 150 other national leaders, including 24 members of Congress.

 . . . That time the smear was led by the Southern Poverty Law Center, which for years has pursued anti-discrimination cases. It received considerable well-deserved publicity for suing the Ku Klux Klan and other white supremacist groups.

However, the SPLC in recent years has taken up the same-sex marriage cause and the battle against “don’t ask, don’t tell” in the military.

In late December 2010, the center advised the national press to shun 13 Christian groups because they were hate groups. Among the groups smeared were the American Family Association, the Family Research Council and the Traditional Values Coalition. The smaller groups included Abiding Truth Ministries of Springfield, Massachusetts; the Chalcedon Foundation of Vallecito, California; and the Faithful Word Baptist Church of Tempe, Arizona.

That's the tone of the article - i.e. SPLC is trying to "silence these groups because they are standing up against the supposed "gay agenda."

Kerby's article omitted several important facts about SPLC's designation of these organizations as hate groups.

Homophobe Sally Kern displays her ignorance to Alan Colmes

Sally Kern

A couple of years ago, Oklahoma legislator Sally Kern said that the supposed "gay agenda" was as bad as terrorism and caused a media firestorm.

Unfortunately, very few on our side handled the controversy in a way which I felt was beneficial to the community. First folks made awful personal comments about her, then some of us waited until Ellen DeGeneres had something to say before we weighed on. Lastly, a lot of us focused on whether or not her son was gay.

And Kern stood above it all in false piety while repeating some of the most ridiculous lies about our community, which no one called her on.

The culmination was a huge astroturfed event held by those on the right - especially Peter LaBarbera - calling her a hero for "standing up to the supposed radical gay activists."

As stated before, I was not happy at how many of us acted during that time. The point we should have made was the danger in the fact that a legislator with voting power in state government could be so ignorant.

However, we missed the boat in making that point.

Thank goodness, however, for Kern's ego because it has given us a second chance. She took the liberty to write a book with a ridiculous title (The Stoning of Sally Kern) which revisited the controversy, thus presenting another chance to demonstrate to folks just how clueless she is.

And thanks to Alan Colmes, we now see this cluelessness on full display.

In an interview with him, Kern reveals herself to be not a Christian woman, but a very dim individual whose religious beliefs consistently leads her down a path of noble stupidity - an oxymoron if there ever was one.

Listen to the entire interview if you like or fast forward to 11:00 for some very hilarious stuff about gays and the closet.

It just goes to show how quickly false piety disappears when confronted with logic.

Hall of Fame football player defends marriage equality

Former Dallas Cowboy football player and Hall of Famer Michael Irvin is on the recent cover of the gay magazine Out. In the magazine,  he talks about his late gay brother and defends marriage equality.

As an African-American, Irvin has a special message to his community:

"I don't see how any African-American, with any inkling of history, can say that you don't have the right to live your life how you want to live your life," he said, according to the magazine. "No one should be telling you who you should love, no one should be telling you who you should be spending the rest of your life with. When we start talking about equality, and everybody being treated equally, I don't want to know an African-American who will say everybody doesn't deserve equality."

Kudos to Mr. Irvin. Now I will wait to see if anyone bends over backwards to mention how Irvin's words are "free speech" like some did when David Tyree spoke against marriage equality.

Bachmann tried to protect ex-gay therapists and other Tuesday midday news briefs

If you haven't seen this video, then you should. Excellent job by one of my mentors Wayne Besen and the folks at Truth Wins Out for their excellent work on Michele Bachmann!

Bachmann Tried To Pass State Law Protecting Ex-Gay Therapists - And the plot thickens, which is a real shame to a degree. I was kinda hoping that Bachmann would get the Republican presidential nomination.

Yes, We Exist. And So Does Our Past - An awesome piece which explains why it is so necessary for lgbtq history to be taught and remembered.

Catholic Charities in Court Over Ill. Adoptions - Forget it guys. If you can't follow state rules, you don't need state monies.

NY Broome County Clerk Resigns Over Same-Sex Marriage, Cites Biblical Law - She did the right thing. If she can't perform her duties, she should resign.

Guess who's coming to Rick Perry's prayer event

Kyle Mantyla of Right Wing Watch put together a nice video of various religious right leaders who are coming to TX Governor Rick Perry's August prayer rally:



I think it's safe to say that a wearing a crucifix would be very apropo when coming anywhere close to this bunch.


Related post: 

Perry's prayer event will put Christianity's worst on display

Shocker! A child meets his first gay couple . . . and nothing happens!

The talk of the National Organization for Marriage, the Family Research Council, and the rest of that bunch about how the subject of marriage equality will " either confuse children or turn them gay" is a bunch of nonsense which is geared to exploiting people's fears.

I could say this all day until I am red in the face, but I think I will let the following video speak for itself. In it, a young boy meets a gay couple for the first time. Just watch what happens:



There are times when children are more intelligent than adults.

Hat tip to the Huffington Post.

Rick Perry, sex with demons, and other Monday midday news briefs

Opponents Of CA LGBT History Bill: Learning About Gay People Will Turn Kindergarteners Gay - That did it for me. When I learned that Alexander the Great was gay, I began doing my Diana Ross impersonations.

The Company That Rick Perry Keeps: Peter Wagner On Sex With Demons - I'm speechless. Really I am.

Focus staffer tweets about 'noise and nonsense; so here, have some calm clarity - Focus on the Family staffer defends her organization. Good luck on that.

Nobody Pays Attention To Preambles Anyway - About that thing about slavery, Michele Bachmann . . .

New York DA: Clerks Who Refuse To Issue Marriage Licenses To Gay Couples Will Be ‘Subject To Criminal Prosecution’ - I'm all for it. Either do your job or quit. You are representing the state, not yourself. And the state says yea marriage equality.

NOM's declaration against violence rings hollow

Here is an interesting item coming from the National Organization for Marriage's blog:

Some creative minds came up with a poster comparing NOM to the KKK. It's outrageous of course. We wouldn't normally bother to notice such stuff, which is par for the course, but even on the gay blogs circulating it a lot of fair minded people are questioning that kind of over the top rhetoric.

So we point out once again, for the fair minded on either side of this debate: When a man came to a NOM rally with a hateful sign, he was immediately told he wasn't welcome. This is why the photo of the hateful sign is not of a sign being held up at a NOM rally but a sign discarded across the street.

Just to make it crystal clear, we then issued a statement denouncing violence, harassment or threats of violence against any one on any side of the marriage debate, including against gay people and gay marriage supporters.

Which we are happy to reiterate again for our gay readers--we know we have many: We stand with you abhorring any threat to the person and property of gay people, or gay marriage supporters. We hope you do the same for marriage supporters.

But we do it because it's the right thing to do not because anyone demands this of us.

There are good people on both sides of this debate, and we need to have a country where even intense moral disagreements can be aired without violence or threats or incivility.

Forgive me for not being impressed.

Better yet, forgive me for saying that NOM is basically full of it.

We are talking about an organization whose very existence is dependent on making people believe that the gay community (and I speak on a colloquial sense) is a hedonistic army out to supposedly redefine marriage to the detriment of heterosexual relationships.

We are talking about an organization which sends out fliers claiming that gays want to "teach children how to be homosexual," such as the one below:

Or commercials claiming the same thing:



 And I haven't even touched the organization's phony claims of religious persecution.

NOM certainly isn't advocating violence, but with the spreading of these lies, the organization is creating a very hostile atmosphere by exploiting people's fears that their livelihood will be taken away from them, their children will be harmed, and they will be persecuted for their religious beliefs.

Seems to me that if NOM doesn't want people to be violent, the organization should stop giving them a reason to gather up the pitchforks and torches.  

NOM begins astroturfed campaign against marriage equality in NY

NOM president Brian Brown

Under the guise of  "the people have been denied the right to vote," the National Organization for Marriage is launching a campaign to yank marriage equality away from New York.

NOM President Brian Brown sent out this letter:

I've got really exciting news to announce to you this week: a new coalition, a new plan, a rebuilt PAC. And here's the most exciting news: a huge multi-city series of rallies and protest marches taking place across the state of New York to win a vote to protect marriage in New York's constitution!

Let the People Vote!

Save the date: Sunday, July 24, 3 p.m. Go here to get the practical details. And here's the good news: You can show up to let Albany know you've had enough of the corruption, the backroom deals, the lying, the politics as usual. Let the people vote!

Don't forget to send this link to Let the People Vote to your five best friends, the folks you know who are mad enough not to take this from Republicans and other pols lying down!

We at NOM have promised to raise $2 million to help defeat the politicians who've betrayed marriage in 2012.

The good news is that in our first week alone, hundreds of you sent donations adding up to $40,000 to NOM's NY PAC. 

Interesting thing about Brown's letter. While it was extremely sketchy on details of just what NOM's plan will be, he asked for donations at least five times. Talk about your hard sells.

It's always extremely fascinating to me how NOM throws around the hyperbole. In the same letter, Brown labels lone anti-gay marriage Democrat Ruben Diaz as virtuous and heroic in spite of the fact that Diaz acted like a damn fool before the final vote.

But this is what he says about the legislators who voted for marriage equality:

On Sunday July 24 evangelicals, Orthodox Christians, Catholics, and Jews will come together in love all across the state to take back marriage from the politicians who betrayed it.

NOM claims to speak for New Yorkers but the majority of them actually support marriage equality. One would have to ask just who is NOM speaking for. It would seem to me by passing the marriage equality bill, NY legislators did follow the will of the people. 

Yet Brown makes them seem like the Hun army during a day of wanton pillaging.

Granted, Brown will say that "opinion polls don't matter,"   or "the only opinion poll is at the voting booth," or "31 states have voted against gay marriage."

Of course Brown and his fellow NOMbies will omit mentioning the mailers, the robocalls, and  the commercials linking marriage equality to the "indoctrination of children" and the deep pockets NOM uses to filter this mess throughout whichever state they are working at time.

Proving yet again that you can scare people to vote anyway you want, provided you have the money.

However, I really question NOM's intelligence here. NY will start issuing licenses on July 24.  And I am suspecting that a lot of people are going to be getting them.

I don't think that anything resembling an attempt at a referendum would be smart or politically advantageous to anyone pushing it.

Once people get a taste of ambrosia, they don't go back to scraps so easily.

And starting on July 24, there is going to be a lot of ambrosia eaters in NY.

Know Your LGBT History - Rebecca

Rebecca (1940) was a classic film directed by Alfred Hitchcock and is remembered for several reasons.

For one, it was the only one of Hitchcock's movies to win Best Picture (although he didn't win statuette because he didn't produce the movie). For another, it cemented actress Joan Fontaine as mega star actress (between her turns in The Women in 1939 and another Hitchcock movie, Suspicion in 1941 for which she won the Oscar, Fontaine was definitely having some couple of good years).

Lastly, it is remembered for its lesbian subtext of possible unrequited love.

Rebecca tells the the story of the second bride (Fontaine) of a wealthy man (Laurence Olivier) who finds that she has to compete with the memory of his first wife, the deceased Rebecca.

Pushing that competition hard is the maid of the house, Mrs. Danvers (Dame Judith Anderson in absolutely diabolical performance) who seemed to have had a serious cruch on Rebecca.

Although the movie never comes out and says this, it leaves it to audience interpretation throughout many scenes as Mrs. Danvers plays tricks on Fontaine to slowly drive her mad or get her to commit suicide.

But the one scene which stands out is where she shows Fontaine the bedroom of the deceased Rebecca. It's eerie and pitiful at both the same time:



Then things take an ugly turn when we find out that Rebecca was murdered. By whom is not a shock (it wasn't Mrs. Danvers) but the reason why is tells us just what type of person Rebecca was.

Past Know Your LGBT History Posts:

NOM issues statement about anti-gay violence? and other Friday midday news briefs

 Hate Rhetoric? - I NEVER put items from the NOM Blog on my news briefs but this is just weird not to repeat. NOM is issuing a bizarre mea culpa about anti-gay violence. Great. Now if you would only cool it with the homophobic rhetoric (children being "forced" to learn about homosexuality) then I would actually buy what you say.

Fox News’ Obsession With The “Gay Indoctrination” Bogeyman - Pay attention, folks. One-sided attacks featuring members of anti-gay hate groups repeating lies without challenge will definitely be in the lgbtq community's future as long as Fox News has something to say about it.

We don't need LGBT-inclusive education, says person who pushes 'ex-gay'-inclusive 'education' - Candi Cushman, another phony expert.


Texas Gov. (& potential GOP Clown Car occupant) Rick Perry runs with a really batsh*t fundie crowd - And they REALLY want him to run, too.


Archbishop Timothy Dolan: Now That New York Passed Marriage Equality, Polygamy Is Next - Give it up, Mr. Dolan.

CNN spotlights Minnesota parents of gay soldier and their fight for marriage equality

This is a sad and, at the same time, awesome video. It's a tribute to the soldier that his parents are standing up for the rights he gave his life to protect.

There is nothing wrong with teaching gay history

According to Equality Matters, Fox News seems to be waging a war of misinformation against a recently passed California bill which will require public schools to teach students about the contributions of gay, lesbian, and transgender Americans.

I personally don't see anything wrong with mentioning the contributions of lgbtqs throughout history, especially in this environment when our gay youth don't have the sense of their own history. Lgbtq history goes way beyond the Stonewall riots. We built up kingdoms, we organized marches, and we saved the world on many occasions through our ingenuity. What's wrong with learning about these things?

But leave it to Fox News to basically lie about this bill:

Since April, Fox has had a field day misinforming viewers about California’s SB 48 -- also known as the FAIR Education Act -- a bill that would require public schools to teach students about the contributions of gay, lesbian, and transgender Americans. The bill is aimed at reducing anti-LGBT bullying and promoting respect for members of the LGBT community. Fox consistently misinformed viewers about the bill, calling it a “shocking lesson plan” that would present students with “propaganda” and force them to learn that people “can have more than one gender or no gender at all.” Brian Kilmeade, co-host of Fox News’ Fox & Friends, spoke volumes about Fox’s view of LGBT people when he wondered “should public school teachers be ordered to tell their students why it’s okay to be gay?

Typical Fox News crap. It's bad enough when folks think that your life consists of only empty sexual encounters, shame, and basic unhappiness. But it's even worse when they try to prevent education which would dispel these false notions.

Here is the real story about the bill, according to MSNBC:

Video issues nasty attack on same-sex parenting and other Thursday midday news briefs

The religious right constantly whines that the gay community doesn't show "tolerance" for their views. But I ask you, could you tolerate this madness:



In other news:

Is Bradlee Dean Michele Bachmann’s Rev. Wright? - Look who is sharing the stage with Michele Bachmann.

All the views are fit to print? Not in the marriage debate. Not in the MSM. Not yet. - A PERFECT example of why us lgbtq bloggers need to step up when the mainstream media won't do their job.

Gay marriage, bishops and the crisis of leadership - FINALLY! An article which takes the Catholic Church leadership to task over their fight to harm marriage equality.