Me and 'gay bowel syndrome'

Yeah, I know that everyone is talking about last night's Snickers commercial and I have certain opinions on it too.

But forgive me if I focus on something else.

I am moving back the deadline for turning in my manuscript to my publisher until March 1. One reason is a good one. The other reason is interesting.

The good reason being that for the first time in two years, I will be able to take a vacation from my job. Long story, fast ending - I have a week to tie up loose ends and compile my book's index. The vacation begins next week, so naturally I am happy about that.

Now for the very interesting reason and thus the title of my post. Ever since I began my book, I have been trying to find concrete proof that the term "gay bowel syndrome" does not exist. The good news is that in legitimate media sources, I have found very little on it. This is the most complete thing I found:

According to the "Free Online Dictionary and Thesaurus," http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com:

"Gay bowel syndrome was a term first used in 1976 prior to the discovery of AIDS, to describe a series of parasitic disorders caused by oral/anal contact and allegedly related to gay male sexual activity. The term was abandoned by the medical community in the 1980s because the problems that attributed to it were not specific to homosexuals, not confined to just the bowels, nor did it meet the medical definition of a syndrome."

The bad news - a: the term is practically everywhere on anti-gay industry sites and b: my digging in credible medical sources sometimes found me accidentally glancing at interesting, albeit, disgusting images of the human body.

Yet another thing to "thank" the anti-gay industry for.

I also found where the term was stricken from a medical textbook in 2001. But I want to really nail down the fact that the "gay bowel syndrome" is obsolete. In other words, I want more proof . Therefore, in the final weeks before I turn my manuscript in to my publisher, I have to gird my stomach from nausea and keep looking until I find what I need.

So you will forgive me for not focusing on the Snickers commercial. I have a feeling that I won't want food for a while.

Hate crimes legislation and Dire Consequences

It gets frustrating to seek the depths that the anti-gay industry will stoop to in its quest to demonize the gay community and deny us any protection under law.

Case in point: Americans for Truth About Homosexuality's latest batch of lies about hate crimes legislation.

The piece claims that adding homosexuality to hate crimes legislation will ultimately lead to a curtailing of some Chrisitians' first amendment right to free speech.

This is a lie.

Even sadder than the fact that we need hate crimes legislation at all is the constant distortion tactics used by members of the anti-gay industry when they speak out against it.

Hate crimes protection already exists for certain groups but you never hear the religious right whining about it. They only sound the alarm when someone thinks of adding the gay community the groups protected by hate crimes legislation.

Then they use what I like to call the Dire Consequences tactic in order to scare Christians. The anti-gay industry constantly raises the notion that creating laws protecting the interests of gays and lesbians will lead to negative consequences, but they hardly ever provide actual proof as to the validity of these charges

In this particular case, Peter LaBarbera uses incidents that took place in foreign countries to make the claim that hate crimes legislation for the gay community will eventually lead to Christians going to jail for speaking out against homosexuality.

Hate crimes legislation do not cover speech. They cover motivation behind violent crimes. Christians who declare in that homosexuality is a sin are in no danger of going to jail if homosexuality is added in hate crimes legislation.

Americans For Truth About Homosexuality is clearly trying to motivate their troops based on fear - a most un-Christian tactic.

A dangerous change of heart underscores community problems

Venus Magazine, a publication that for 13 years targeted the Black gay and lesbian community, is now a voice for the ex-gay movement.

Its publisher, Charlene Cothran, recently announced that she has been “redeemed”; is no longer a lesbian; and is changing the mission and direction of the magazine. On the Web site she writes, “As the publisher of a 13-year-old periodical [ that ] targets Black gays and lesbians, I have had the opportunity to publicly address thousands, influencing closeted people to ‘come out’ and stand up for them selves, which is particularly difficult in the African-American community.

This is not a joke. It is for real and it is sad. From reading the article, I can tell that Ms. Cothran isn't one of the usual "ex-gay for pay" who are employed by the anti-gay industry. She genuinely believes that God spoke to her heart and made her change her orientation and her magazine's focus.

I sincerely hope that anyone reading this won't be forming any thoughts to send Ms. Cothran negative emails. It is the last thing she needs.

Her changing the direction of her magazine covers so many issues our community tends to ignore.

It has been my experience that so many African-Americans lgbts have a problem reconciling our cultural ideas of faith and God to our orientation. We view our orientation as lgbts as separate to our identities as African-Americans.

And may be this is because of the second issue the article brings up.

If this story was about a predominantly white gay magazine, it would get a lot of attention. I strongly suspect that since this is an predominantly African-American magazine, it will not get the attention it deserves.

This is indicative of how the mainstream gay community tends to ignore lgbts of color. In the recent conversations we have all had about the "down low" no one has ever said that African-American gays and lesbians feel that we have to pick which community we will invest ourselves in. Both communities tell us that we must sacrifice a part of ourselves. The African-American community tells us to be closeted, while the gay community tells us to be silent, remain in the background, and be constantly reminded about how we don't "fit" someone's idea of a perfect gay, be it due to income, racial heritage, or social background.

And take it from me; an African-American in the closet tends to get more support from the Black community than an out African-American gets from the gay community.

The gay community needs to address the idea that our identities as lgbts is multi-faceted and sometimes dependent on sociological and cultural factors. The attempt to homogenize the gay and lesbian community into one single entity dependent on a single fight for equality (i.e. gay marriage) or a single gathering (i.e. gay pride rallies), or single images (i.e. middle class white gays) harms us more than anything the anti-gay industry can do.

The ironic thing about this situation is that I read in another article that some gays interrupted a Senate hearing in Indiana when a bill banning same-sex marriage made it out of committee. Apparently they began to sing "We Shall Overcome."

They should have changed the lyrics to "Some of Us Shall Overcome."

Ignore and repeat, ignore and repeat

The Fox News Channel is in trouble dealing with a pro-Republican bias.

By now, you are rolling your eyes and saying "so what else is new" just as I did when I first read about the situation.

On several different programs, the channel repeated a discredited story about Senator Barrack Obama's schooling. According to Fox, Obama was trained in the art of anti-Americanism when he was a six-year old child.

Okay that is too severe but it's not off the mark as to what Fox News's inferences are about Senator Obama. Apparently "swiftboating" (I know its a jaded word but I couldn't resist) is something that can be to do someone besides John Kerry.

What makes this story relevant to me is that when it was discovered that the story about Senator Obama was not true, some pundits on Fox News continued to repeat it as truth.

Kind of reminds me of the anti-gay industry.

There is a constant drumbeat with the ant-gay industry about us. According to them, the gay and lesbian identity is indigenous with disease, irresponsible behavior, and general sadness. On almost every so-called "pro-family" web page, one will find this lie.

That is the thing we have to combat. Our identities as gay and lesbian people is not related to how we have sex but who we love.

But we have been dancing around this issue too much. The anti-gay industry has been lying about us from day one and we need to bring attention to this fact. As long as we focus on "winning hearts and minds" and ignore people like Pete LaBarbera, Lou Sheldon, and Matt Barber when they go for the jugular. we deserve to be "swiftboated."

When the lies about Senator Obama's schooling began, his people jumped on them before they had a chance to develop.

We should start taking that hint.

Quantifying discrimination

I see Pastor Ken Hutcherson is on the loose again.

Hutcherson, who obviously never met a microphone or self-aggrandizing adjective he didn't like, is getting help from Washington's Slavic community in his attempt to overturn the state law that bans discrimination against the state's gay and lesbian community. Hutcherson believes that if the law isn't overturned, it could lead to gay marriage.

Oh gasp and swoon!

Actually, of all the members of the anti-gay industry, I find Hutcherson the most refreshing. Unlike our friend Peter LaBarbera, James Dobson, et. al., Hutcherson does not hide behind patronizing rhetoric and lies.

He straight up don't like us gays and lesbians and he will not play games about it.

But Mr. Hutcherson is wrong, plain and simple.

The law Washington passed bans discrimination against the gay community in areas such as housing and employment. As I understand it (and someone please correct me if I am wrong) churches are exempt from this law, meaning Mr. Hutcherson will not be forced to hire anyone who is a gay or lesbian.

So why does Mr. Hutcherson feel that gays and lesbians don't deserve to work and live safe from discrimination? Using the excuse that Washington's anti-discrimination law could lead to gay marriage is a pitiful lie, designed to hide why Mr. Hutcherson wants to do away with these laws.

Apparently I should take back my earlier statement. Maybe Mr. Hutcherson did learn a bit of subterfuge and deception from LaBarbera and Dobson.

It is obvious he didn't learn it from the God he claims to serve.

An item for the echo chamber

According to news reports, U.S. Representative and wannabe presidential candidate Tom Tancredo wants to get rid of Congressional Black and Hispanic caucuses. He calls them racist because they supposedly focus on race.

Here we go; an item for Sean Hannity, John Gibson, and Bill O'Reilly to beat to death without courtesy of looking deeper at the issue.

Actually Tancredo's ignorance underscores an untalked about problem about race in this country. It used to be that some took the frame of mind of "so and so is from that race therefore he is inferior." Now people seem to be saying "so and so is from that race, but I can overlook it if he doesn't throw it in my face."

Seems to me that ignoring someone's cultural background is just as bad as discriminating against them because of it.

I am sure that sooner or later, the echo chamber of Fox News will focus on Tancredo's comments, conveniently ignoring the fact that story of the white legislator who turned down for membership in the Congressional Black Caucus (the story that started the entire mess) is not true. And I am sure that the guests they call to debate the point of view against Tancredo's comments will be "lukewarm liberals."

Or better yet, if these guests make even a substantial point against Tancredo's point of view, I am sure that O'Reilly, Hannity, Gibson, or whoever will conveniently interrupt them or try to lure them on some ideological tangent having nothing to do with Tancredo's comment.

So allow me to put my two cents in this situation.

If the controversy surrounding the government’s response time to the victims of Hurricane Katrina taught us anything, it’s that the idea that a color-blind society is a lie.

The color-blind society is a myth that ranks right up there with the idea that Columbus discovered America. Furthermore, it has been my experience that when someone talks about a "color-blind society," it is usually code words for "I wish those people would just shut up and take the role we want to give them."

No matter how many times people can talk about Martin Luther King Jr. and bastardize his "I Have A Dream" speech, power in this country is defined by access. I see that in every facet of American society, from politics to even the gay rights movement.

And those of us not in the majority tend to have to be creative (and at times downright rude) to get that access. Having those Congressional caucuses allows minority groups to focus on how we can better serve this government and how it can better serve us.

So I really don't take stock in Mr. Tancredo's complaints.

I am too busy trying to get what every American has a right to: what is mine.


So we don't forget what this is all about

A good friend of mine, Joe Brummer, wrote something today that I felt is worth repeating. I hope he will forgive me for adding a little bit more to it.

Just like Joe, my argument is not against America's Christian community. When I make references to the anti-gay industry, I am not referring to people of faith.

If someone believes according to their religious beliefs that homosexuality is a sin, then that is alright with me. I have friends who believe this, but yet they know of my orientation and show me no disrespect.

Nor do they feel the need to place ridiculous parameters on me in fear that just because I am gay, I am going to launch into an itemized list of my sexual happenings. They know me better than that and they have the presence of mind to know that being honest about my orientation is not the same thing as talking about sexual intercourse.

But there are a bunch of groups in this country who exploit the beliefs and egos of people of faith for political power. Using a standpoint that homosexuality is a sin, they rely on distortions of legitimate scientific work and junk science to influence public policy as it pertains to the gay community.

For that reason, they (i.e. Concerned Women for America, Focus on the Family, Traditional Values Coalition, American Family Association, etc) are the anti-gay industry.

Not only do they distort Christianity, but the common theme for these folks when they are caught in their lies is to claim that those who refute them are trying to "silence Christians."

One does not have to be a rocket scientist to know the difference between silencing someone and refuting someone's lies. No one should be given a free pass to influence public opinion and policy unchallenged. Especially if they:

refer to the studies of a discredited researcher as truth,

misuse the work of the legitimate researchers and physicians and ignore them when they complain, or

sell copies of a tape featuring a man who claimed to have been "freed from the bondage of homosexuality" when he was having sex in hotel rooms with gay men at the time he made the claim.

I personally don't want to shut up the anti-gay industry. By all means, keep talking. It makes the job of those trying to expose you easier.

Every day, I hear all of these strange things

For those who don't know, my title is the title of a gospel song I heard while growing up.

And it is so apropo as to what is going on now. I don't know what's worse: the gay sheep controversy or the Donnie Davies controversy.

That sheep thing is so out of space for me so I think I will talk about the Davies thing. I am guessing that I don't have to rehash it.

When I first saw the video, I was speechless.

If it was satire, then I think it's brilliant. If it was real, I felt sorry for the guy.

To tell the truth, I kinda felt sorry for myself. I'm ashamed to admit it, but the rhythm of his song was catchy. I guess I have seen too many of those I Can Only Imagine: Songs of Faith commericals.

But I would rather focus on something less controversial but more important:

We won another case.

Today, a federal judge sided with a school that suspended a student for wearing an anti-gay t-shirt to class.

If I am not incorrect, the Allied Defense Fund is handling the case so my guess is that it's not going to die yet. But still, after the Repent America victory, the judge ruling against the student is nice.

Now I know that some may have a problem because the first amendment, etc. etc., but I am rooting for the school in this matter.

Meanwhile, those "beloved" ex-gays from PFOX are taking advantage of the first amendment and getting schools to distribute their literature.

This has gotten some folks angry but others are saying it is their first amendment right to be able to distribute their mess.

I am on the fence a bit with this. Personally, I think that there is no first amendment right to pass on lies. No credible physician or medical board has ever said someone can change his or her orientation.

But no one really ever presents the fact that allowing PFOX to push their lies is like the school nurse advocating lobotomies for mentally troubled students.

On the other hand, I think that allowing PFOX to distribute their lies makes it more difficult for school districts to invent ways to not allow gay/straight alliances.

Also, from what I understand, the actions of PFOX are actually turning students against their message.

Well if your enemy cuts his own throat, don't try to stop him.

And this just in: Wayne Besen is filing a complaint with the Mississippi Attorney General against the American Family Association. The complaint stems from the organization selling copies of the video, "It's Not Gay."

As covered by this site and others, "It's Not Gay" features several individuals claiming that they are ex-gays, including Michael Johnston. However, after the creation of "It's Not Gay," it was discovered that Johnson was allegedly having unprotected sex with other gay men in hotel rooms, despite the fact that he is HIV positive.

Way to go Wayne!!!!!

Closer to the end and it feels so damned good!

I see that our friend Peter LaBarbera is complaining about yesterday's decision against Repent America. I also noticed that in his rehashing of the situation, he omitted several facts. If you want to know the true story, check my post yesterday and hit the link for the article.

But on a happier note, hopefully by this time next month, my manuscript will be at the publisher. To say that I am happy is an understatement. It's been a long, complicated process and I still have so much left to do before this book is finished to my satisfaction.

Through my book, I intend to answer the following questions:

Why does the Traditional Values Coalition continue to plagiarize incorrect studies?

Why did Concerned Women for American distort a Dutch study to make the case against same-sex marriage when the study had nothing to do with marriage?

Why does the Family Research Council simultaneously claim that Alfred Kinsey is not a credible research and use his work against the gay community?

Why have several physicians and researchers gone on record claiming that the religious right distorts their work? (and if you think I am only talking about the recent cases involving Carol Gilligan and Kyle Pruett, think again.)

What is the relationship between the religious right and a discredited researcher who once allegedly advocated the “extermination” of the gay community in 1983 and 1985?

How do the religious right distort credible sexual health information in order to demonize the gay community?

What were the facts behind the Repent America and David Parker controversies and how did the religious right manipulate both to make a case against gay equality?

I hope you all are excited about this as I am.

Where is Agape Press?

I don't know what's going on. First Robert Knight leaves Concerned Women for America and now this.

Agape Press, the American Family Association's tribute to yellow journalism, is gone.

But don't break out the champagne yet because it hasn't totally disappeared.

Agape Press seems to have been swallowed up by a new news service, One News Now.

One News Now claims to "to present the day's news from a Christian perspective." In other words, it's a one-stop shop for all right wing news services from World Net Daily to News Max.

To me, it sounds like what would happen if Freddy Krueger, Jason Voorhees, and Michael Myers decided to pool their efforts.

Take that, Repent America!

The anti-gay industry just lost a reason to denounce hate crimes legislation.

Today, in Pennsylvania, a federal judge ruled that the city of Philadelphia was well within its rights to arrest Repent America protestors who disrupted a gay pride parade in 2004.

I cover the Repent America controversy in my upcoming book as a case of how the anti-gay industry manipulates current events to claim that gays are out to "silence" Christians.

In this case, they claimed that Repent America members were arrested merely because they "preached the gospel" to the gay community. The anti-gay industry also said that this scenario (i.e. Christians arrested for speaking out against homosexuality) would be commonplace if hate crimes legislation was passed.

What Concerned Women for America, Agape Press, and others who cried foul over Repent America's arrest conveniently forgot was that the group was not arrested for preaching the gospel, but doing it in a loud, obnoxious, and threatening manner.

Luckily for us, the judge ruling against Repent America choose not to omit this fact.

Get off the cross, Peter!

It took some time, but our friend Peter LaBarbera has answered back to the charges that his group, Americans for Truth (AFT), had joined the American Family Assocation (AFA) in selling a fradulent video tape, "It's Not Gay."

For those who aren't aware, the video features an HIV positive man, Michael Johnston, who made claims that he was no longer gay. In 2003, after the making of the tape, it was discovered that Johnston was having unprotected gay sex.

This means that Johnston's claims were wrong. Since his discovery, Johnston fled the public eye, retreating to a ministry where he hoped to receive "help."

However, AFA is still selling copies of "It's Not Gay." Also, one can get to the AFA page selling the tape from a link on the AFT site. Neither site acknowledges Johnston's fall, even though both groups were aware of it at the time. Johnston, in fact, is on the cover of the "It's Not Gay" tape.

Gay activist Wayne Besen and others (little ole me included) have been making a stink about this. Wayne even filed a complaint with the state of Illinois, accusing AFT and AFA of selling a fradulent tape.

As to be expected, Peter's letter is a whiny, shrill claim that the "Gay Mafia" is trying to silence his positive message of "freedom from homosexuality."

In other words, Peter is trying to change the subject of the argument. For claritys' sake, I will try to simplify Peter's claims.

Besides his claims of martyrdom, LaBarbera says his group merely linked the tape on the AFA webpage to its webpage. He said Americans for Truth is not getting any money from the sale of the video. He also said:

American Family Association stopped selling “It’s Not Gay” in 2003, when Mike Johnston’s scandal was revealed, but began reselling it when they were convinced after meeting with Mike about the genuineness of his restoration through Pure Life Ministries (I spoke with two top AFA officials yesterday on this point)

First of all, it does not matter whether or not AFT gets any money from the sale of "It's Not Gay." By having a link for that video on its webpage, the organization is complicit with any sale of the video. After all, someone could get on the AFT site, see the video, click the link and purchase it from the AFA site.

Sounds like a sale to me.

And most importantly, Johnston is in the tape making claims that were not true. We know that Johnston claimed to be free from homosexuality. And we know that while he was making those claims, he was engaging in unprotected gay sex. All of that has been documented.

But how do we know if he has, as LaBarbera says, "repented?"

You see, that's the problem: Johnston has no credibility. No matter how many times he claims to have repented and no matter how many times he claims to be free from being gay, his past escapades make him unreliable. His hotel exploits are now the albatross around his neck.

And this also diminishes the credibility of AFA and AFT.

The selling of "It's Not Gay" was wrong. At the very least, it is highly unethical. AFA and AFT had a responsibility to inform any potential buyer of the tape about Johnston's fall. But they didn't. Claiming that it is okay to sell the tape because he "repented" just doesn't cut it.

Nor does it take away the fact that these two groups, by selling the tape as it was, pretended like nothing had happened. Something did happen. While claiming that he was not gay, Johnston was having gay sex and potentially sharing his HIV positive status to other men.

Peter's letter omitted any mention of those men. I guess to him, they don't matter.

But rest assured, Peter. I don't wish to shut down your voice or that of your organization. In fact, I encourage you to be even more generous with your opinions and claims.

After all, every time you open your mouth, you give away more of your ignorance.

Wayne Besen does it again!!

Way to go with the bold move, Wayne:

COMPLAINT FILED WITH ILLINOIS ATTORNEY GENERAL AGAINST RIGHT WING GROUP FOR SELLING FRAUDULENT ‘EX-GAY’ VIDEO

So-Called Miracle ‘Cure’ Did Not Endure, Yet Consumers Intentionally Kept In The Dark About ‘Ex-Gay’ Leader’s Failed Sexual Conversion

CHICAGO – Truth Wins Out filed a complaint today with Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan against the Naperville, Illinois-based non-profit organization Americans For Truth and its president Peter LaBarbera for selling a misleading video on its web-site titled, “It’s Not Gay.” In a letter to Madigan, Truth Wins Out urged her to expeditiously pull this fraudulent video from the marketplace, require a written apology from LaBarbera and that refunds be offered to dissatisfied consumers.

“Nowhere does Americans for Truth inform potential viewers that Johnston’s ‘cure’ did not endure,” wrote Truth Wins Out’s Executive Director Wayne Besen in the letter to Madigan. “This organization is undeniably peddling false hope to vulnerable and desperate people and bilking them out of their hard earned money. In doing so, Americans for Truth is unscrupulously capitalizing on the sincere and heartfelt religious convictions of its followers and exploiting them for the organization’s financial gain.”

The primary spokesperson featured in “It’s Not Gay” is Michael Johnston, an HIV+ so-called “ex-gay” leader who offers testimony claiming he became heterosexual in 1998 “through the power of Jesus Christ.” He went on to collaborate with The American Family Association, Coral Ridge Ministries and Rev. Jerry Falwell.

In August 2003, Johnston’s claims at sexual conversion collapsed in an embarrassing scandal. Michael Hamar, a Virginia attorney, called Besen to say he had a client who had been having an affair with Johnston, not realizing, at first, Johnston’s true identity as a prominent ex-gay figure. Besen was also introduced to another young man who claimed to have had unprotected sex with the ex-gay leader. While in Virginia, Besen was shown a video of a man that looked eerily similar to Johnston having unprotected sex with several men. Hamar’s client signed an affidavit swearing the man was Michael Johnston.

The news broke in Southern Voice, a respected gay publication in Atlanta. Johnston resigned his ministry in disgrace and fled to a sex addiction facility in Kentucky, Pure Life Ministries, where he sought counseling. In reaction to Johnston’s fall, LaBarbera told Southern Voice, “He obviously had a moral failing, that’s true.”

Despite publicly admitting that Johnston had failed in his efforts at heterosexuality, Labarbera is now selling the specious “It’s Not Gay” video and portraying Johnston to unsuspecting viewers as a “former homosexual.”

Truth Wins OUT is a non-profit organization that counters right wing propaganda, exposes the “ex-gay” myth and educates America about gay life. For more information, visit www.TruthWinsOut.org.

- 30 -
________________________________

January 18, 2007

Attorney General Lisa Madigan
Attn: CONSUMER FRAUD
100 West Randolph Street, 12th Floor
Chicago, IL 60601

Dear Ms. Madigan:

I am writing to file a complaint against the Naperville, Illinois-based non-profit organization Americans For Truth and its president Peter LaBarbera. This organization is selling a misleading video on its web-site, titled “It’s Not Gay.” The primary spokesperson featured in this video is Michael Johnston, an HIV+ so-called “ex-gay” leader who offers testimony claiming he became heterosexual in 1998 “through the power of Jesus Christ.”

In August 2003, Johnston’s claims at sexual conversion collapsed in an embarrassing scandal. Michael Hamar, a Virginia attorney, called me to say he had a client who had been having an affair with Johnston, not realizing, at first, Johnston’s true identity as a prominent ex-gay figure. I was also introduced to another young man who claimed to have had unprotected sex with the ex-gay leader. While in Virginia, I was shown a video of a man that looked eerily similar to Johnston having unprotected sex with several men. Hamar’s client signed an affidavit swearing the man was Michael Johnston.

The news broke in Southern Voice, a respected gay publication in Atlanta. Johnston resigned his ministry in disgrace and fled to a sex addiction facility in Kentucky, Pure Life Ministries, where he sought counseling. In reaction to Johnston’s fall, LaBarbera told Southern Voice, “He obviously had a moral failing, that’s true.”

Despite publicly admitting that Johnston had failed in his efforts at heterosexuality, Labarbera is now selling the specious “It’s Not Gay” video and portraying Johnston to unsuspecting viewers as a “former homosexual.” Indeed, on the front of the box under a picture of Johnston it says, “Former homosexuals tell a story few have heard.”

How can Johnston continue to be presented as a “former homosexual”? The word “former” clearly implies that he has ceased all homosexual activity prior to filming “It’s Not Gay.” However, abundant homosexual activity on the part of Johnston had occurred after the video was released. This makes LaBarbera guilty of deceptive advertising and duping unsuspecting consumers who are led to believe that Johnston had miraculously changed sexual orientations.

Nowhere does Americans for Truth inform potential viewers that Johnston’s “cure” did not endure. This organization is undeniably peddling false hope to vulnerable and desperate people and bilking them out of their hard earned money. In doing so, Americans for Truth is unscrupulously capitalizing on the sincere and heartfelt religious convictions of its followers and exploiting them for the organization’s financial gain.

It is in the state’s best interest to expeditiously pull this fraudulent video replete with bogus claims and outright fabrications from the marketplace. Truth Wins Out also urges the state to require a written apology from LaBarbera that he must post prominently on his website and that refunds be offered to dissatisfied consumers.

Thank you for reviewing the enclosed information and I look forward to hearing back from Ms. Madigan after the investigation is complete. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me. I am happy to assist you and provide you with additional information that will help ensure consumers in Illinois and nationwide will not be taken advantage of by a dishonest and unprincipled organization.

Sincerely,

Wayne Besen
Executive Director
Truth Wins Out

Hate Crimes Legislation and Isaiah Washington

Let's get this out of the way first: Isaiah Washington is a dumb ass. And his derogatory comments about T.R. Knight are very disappointing; especially seeing that he once played a gay man in the Spike Lee movie "Get on the Bus."

And do you know how hard it is to find a good representation of a gay black man in movies these days?

But having said that, I refuse to get caught up in the hoopla about making him apologize. Why? Because this gay black man is still reeling over the lack of comments when that awful movie Soul Plane came out.

You know Soul Plane don't you? The movie featuring the chubby black gay "stewardess" named Flame complete with purple lip gloss whose every appearance in the movie was either to make fun of gay black men or emphasize the point that some consider us outsiders in the African-American community; unwanted and unloved.

Now where was these folks pushing for "positive portrayals of gays and lesbians" when this movie came out a few years ago?

I don't like to fit the stereotype of the jaded, cynical gay male, but in this case, please don't get offended when I say I don't really give a shit about Isaiah Washington or his big mouth.

What does concern me is the push for hate crimes protection. Apparently, the anti-gay industry are alarmed that Congress is going to make sure that the gay and lesbian community will be protected under these laws.

Now correct me if I am wrong, but doesn't this country already have hate crimes laws that punish people for crimes committed because of religious or racial hatred?

This being the case, why is it such a problem to include us? Apparently the anti-gay industry seems to think that if we are included, pastors will be arrested in their churches for speaking out against homosexuality.

This is just subterfuge backed by lies backed by distortions backed by . . . well you get the picture.

As the days go by, I expect this battle to heat up.

Good cause I am in an ass kicking mood.

Put me back in, coach! It's just a scratch!

I have some of the most rotten luck with computers. This Saturday, my internal modem died. Subsequently, I have been offline until now.

I am able to get online, because like the Bionic Woman, I have been given better equipment, i.e. DSL. (I know you all are thinking that I should compare myself to the Six Million Dollar Man, but the Bionic Woman had the better villains, i.e. fembots.)

While offline, I was able to prepare the index of my upcoming book as well as assess where I am with the project. I was pleased with the results, but like a football player who just made it to the Superbowl, I was anxious to get back into the game.

I was mainly worried that some huge revelation would take place involving the anti-gay industry and no one would be there to cover it.

I didn't have anything to worry. Wayne Besen (www.waynebesen.com), Joe Brummer (www.joebrummer.com), and www.goodasyou.org, as well as many others had things covered.

I did notice that Wayne Besen has given an update on where Michael Johnston is. In one of my last entries before my modem died, I covered the fact that Americans for Truth was selling a video featuring Johnston's claim that he was "delivered from homosexuality" when such was not the case. While Johnston was traveling the country making this claim, he was allegedly having unprotected sex in hotel rooms with gay men.

In all honesty, I entered the controversy rather late. Wayne Besen was at the forefront of exposing Johnston's escapades in 2003 and was also there to make sure that people knew the anti-gay industry was still peddling his lies last year.

According to Besen, Johnston is now on the staff of Pure Life Ministries as a member of the speaking team, He is still peddling his story of "deliverance from homosexuality," complete with an admission of his fall from grace in 2003.

But neither him nor Pure Life Ministries is forthcoming as to the depth of his fall. Johnston said that he was HIV positive and was no longer gay. If the stories are true, while he was making this claim, he was having unprotected sex with gay men.

This portion of the story regarding his "fall" is conveniently omitted from his Pure Life Ministries biography.

My heart goes out to Johnston and I don't mean him any malice but I have to ask just where is his integrity. He should not be speaking to anyone but those men he could have infected due to his carelessness.

He has no business presenting himself as a speaker or any type of leader until he makes restitution with those men. And as far as I know, he has not.

Score one for the good guys

Almost every time the anti-gay industry tries to keep children from forming gay/straight alliances in high schools, it gets its hand smacked.

The most recent incident is yet another pleasurable bitch slap to those who try and keep our lgbt children in the closet:

A settlement has been reached between the American Civil Liberties Union--representing students in a gay-straight alliance--and officials in White County, Ga., who had refused to permit the club to meet at White County High School, the ACLU announced Wednesday.
Local media reported December 26 that a settlement had been tentatively reached, but Wednesday's announcement makes it official.

“I’m just so happy this is all over and that our school is doing the right thing,” Charlene Hammersen, one of the founders of the alliance, called Peers Rising in Diverse Education (PRIDE), told the ACLU. “It’s taken almost two years to get here, but we’re as determined as we’ve always been to promote diversity and fight harassment against gay students at our school. This is really great for every student that goes to White County High.”

The future of the lgbt community is in good hands.


Unbelievable nonsense

From the web page of my friend Joe Brummer comes some outrageous nonsense from our friend Peter LaBarbera and his ironically named group Americans for Truth About Homosexuality. If the report is true, LaBarbera's group is listed in GuideStar (a source of information about non-profit organizations) as a lesbian and gay civil rights group:

Somebody has been asleep on the job


$60,000? Maybe I am on the wrong side of the argument

Arkansas is paying for its opposition to gay adoption in a way it probably did not expect.

According to this article:

Arkansas taxpayers will pay $60,000 for the testimony of a university professor who testified for the state that gays and lesbians are unfit to serve as foster parents.

But it is a far cry from the $200,000 George Rekers had sought.

The Arkansas the Department of Health and Human Services hired George Rekers as an expert witness in the case, brought by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of four couples who wanted to foster parents.

Rekers's original $200,00 bill included "research" and "late fees." What makes matters worse is that Arkansas lost the case.

Rekers is not as well known as Paul Cameron but according to the ACLU, he is cut from the same cloth:

Rekers is one of the founders of the Family Research Council, a notoriously anti-gay group.

Rekers relies on the discredited research of Paul Cameron, an anti-gay "researcher" who was kicked out of the American Psychological Association for misrepresenting the research regarding homosexuality.

Rekers has suggested that gays are unsuitable to serve as foster parents because they're at higher risk for AIDS and other sexually-transmitted disease, ignoring the fact that there is a physical examination required of all foster parent applicants in Arkansas that would weed out any applicants with health conditions that could jeopardize a foster child.

Rekers says that children are best served when raised by both a mother and a father, but doesn't favor excluding single heterosexual single women from fostering.

That's it! I am switching sides. Who needs integrity when you can get $60,000.

Americans for Truth, American Family Association team up to sell fraudulent video (Another one for my book)

I almost missed this one.

Americans for Truth (our friend Peter LaBarbera's group) is helping the American Family Association pull a big fraud.

On the Americans for Truth web page is a solicitation for the video "It's Not Gay." According to the group, the video:

" . . . presents a story that few have heard, allowing former homosexuals the opportunity to tell their own story in their own words. Along with medical and mental health experts, these individuals express a clear warning that the sanitized version of homosexuality being presented to students is not the whole truth."

Those who click on the video link is directed to the American Family Association site where they can order the video.

Besides the usual bit of misrepresentation (i.e. the claim that those in the video have been "freed from homosexuality") is something a bit more sinister and blatant.

Notice how the cover of the video on both links seem to be blurred.

I can't help wondering if this is intentional. Why you ask? Because of the person it features.

This link from Ex-Gay Watch plainly shows who this person is: Michael Johnston.

For a while, Johnston was one of the anti-gay industry's "golden boys." He traveled across the country telling his story of how he was "delivered" from homosexuality after testing HIV positive. He was even the leader of his own ministry, Kerusso Ministries. In addition, he helped to start "National Coming Out of Homosexuality" Day in order to counter "National Coming Out" Day.

However, Johnston's star crashed in 2003 when it was discovered that while he was doing all of these things, he was also engaging in unprotected sex with men.

So why in 2007 is the American Family Association and Americans for Truth trying to sell a video featuring him making his claim that he was "delivered" from homosexuality when it was obvious that he wasn't.

And it's obvious that LaBarbera knows what his group is doing. He is quoted in the above link about Johnston's transgressions.

This is not the first time this subject has come up. Last year, Wayne Besen of www.truthwinsout.org asked the same question about "It's Not Gay."

What AFA and Americans for Truth are doing is like selling a hammer with a broken handle. One can always take back the hammer.

But who will seek recompensement for the lives of the lgbts who are going to be attacked by churches and others who will probably buy this tape and believe its claims?

The fact that the American Family Association and Americans for Truth are encouraging people to buy this tape speaks to both groups' lack of integrity. God does not like ugly, even when it's done in his name.

The AFA of Pennsylvania tries to scare people

It seems that the anti-gay industry has depleted their anti-gay marriage equality hysteria.

So whither where they fly? Or rather what's the next target for these folks.

A Pennsylvania incident may give an indication of where they are going. However, I don't envision them having as much success as they had scaring everyone about gay marriage:

According to Agape Press, the American Family Association of Pennsylvania is up in arms with school districts for working with the organization GLSEN.

GLSEN is an organization that works to make school climates better for our lgbt youth. Subsequently, that makes them public enemy number one in the eyes of the anti-gay industry:

According to (Diane) Gramley (President of the AFA of PA), many public school officials simply do not realize the danger of partnering with GLSEN or other groups like it whose primary goals, she insists, are to normalize homosexuality and to encourage students to experiment with same-sex partners. "That's what they want," she asserts. "They want the kids to believe that 'gay is okay,' and that if you feel that you are homosexual -- if you feel you're tugged in that direction -- [you should] go ahead and try it."

Gramley is partly right. We do want children to know that gay is okay because being lgbt is perfectly fine, regardless of the climate folks like her attempt to create. However, this idea that we want children to have sex is just "ignant."

That's right, I said "ignant." It's a new word describing an idea so stupid that it doesn't deserve three syllables to declare it dumb.

In her next statement, we get the gist of what Gramley is going for:

Gramley believes groups pushing the acceptance of homosexuality will eventually target the First Amendment rights of Christians who understand the Bible to prohibit sexual activity between people of the same sex. Therefore, she suggests, the homosexual agenda is a direct threat to the free speech and religious liberty of those who believe homosexual activity is sinful.

There they go again with the "dire consequences" propaganda technique. In the absence of truth, some members of the anti-gay industry spin the theory that gay people want to curtail the rights of those who think that homosexuality is a sin.

The "dire consequences" tactic is usually effective because it simultaneously appeals to the ego and the fears of the audience. Its usage is also a sign of desperation. Scaring people is the way to go for those who have depleted their logic.

Now it is here that I would make a joke that lgbts don't want to arrest Christians for believing that homosexuality is a sin because we want to send them to re-education camps where they will be strapped down and forced to watch 24 hours of Bette Davis movies or Larry Kramer speeches.

However, I have a feeling that our friends Peter LaBarbera and Matt Barber would take me seriously and make my joke the subject of a new action alert/call to arms.

But I will say to Ms. Gramley, we don't want to cause you all trouble because some of us are enjoying watching you self-destruct.

Manufactured martyr gets a promotion - CWA hires Matt Barber

Concerned Women for America has hired a replacement for the departing Robert Knight. And if this man's past history is any indication of his future at the organization, he may provide me with more fun than Knight ever did.

Matt Barber is the new hiree and if he sounds familiar, it's because he was a cause celebre in 2005. At that time, he was an employee at AllState Insurance who was fired because of a column he wrote. The column in question gave the usual anti-gay nonsense about how diseased we are, like the following Cameroneque excerpt:

As a result of the concerted effort by liberals to mask the devastating effects of the gay lifestyle, many people are shocked to learn that the average life expectancy of a homosexual male is only about 45 years old - 30 years younger than that of a heterosexual male.

Barber was fired because he involved AllState in his nonsense. He claimed that he wrote the column on his own time. Now the bio on the column said the following:

J. Matt Barber is a non-practicing attorney, an undefeated heavyweight professional boxer (Matt "Bam Bam" Barber), and a professional jazz drummer in the Chicago Land (IL) area. In addition to his Law Degree, Barber holds a Master of Arts in Public Policy. Matt Works for Allstate Insurance Company as a Territorial Senior Manager in Allstate's Law and Regulation Corporate Security (Internal Fraud Investigations) Department.

Or if you want to see the column with the bio, this is the link

Barber sued AllState for violating his religious beliefs because he was not allowed to receive unemployment benefits as a employee who was fired for willfull misconduct. The Illinois Department for Employment Security said this was not the case, so Barber was able to get unemployment benefits.

Barber continued with a lawsuit against AllState. He was aided by religious right lawyers, anti-gay industry figures such as Donald Wildmon and the American Family Association, and blogs like Free Republic who claimed that he was the newest victim of the "gay Mafia."

Barber settled with AllState and the settlement was not made public. However, I did notice two things.

I find it interesting that Concerned Women for America did not milk Barber's firing for its own purposes. The organization doesn't even mention it. An article speaking of his settlement clearly says, "no mention of a dollar figure was revealed, according to a WorldNetDaily report."

But go to AllState's web page and you will find the insurance company is talking about it:

The company has stated its position to the court in our answer to Mr. Barber’s lawsuit, and the following statement is included in those papers: “Plaintiff, James Matthew Barber, was not discharged from his employment with Allstate Insurance Company because of his religious beliefs or practices, but because he used the company’s information technology systems and other resources for his personal journalism activities, many of which took place on company time, and which identified Plaintiff as an employee of the Allstate Insurance Company.”

The article references a determination made by the Illinois Department of Employment Security. The role of the Illinois Department of Employment Security is to implement the Illinois Unemployment Insurance Act, which provides unemployment compensation to residents of the state who meet the eligibility requirements provided in the act. The Department determines whether anyone is eligible for unemployment compensation. Apart from this role, the Department does not rule on the reason for terminations.

To reiterate, Allstate would not terminate an employee for expressing personal religious or lifestyle views on his or her own time.

Seems to me that Barber and his cohorts aren't telling the entire story. He was not fired for "willful misconduct," but apparently his firing was very justified.

Barber should fit in very well with Concerned Women for America. After all, liars generally like each others' company.

Needing your help with information

There is so much going on today and I intend to comment on it on future dates.

But first thing's first.

I have just finished a marathon session of editing and correcting my book. Now I get to do it all over again. At least one more time, then I will wrap things up.

I need your help on something.

One of my goals in writing this book is to spotlight attention on those of us who are working to expose the lies of the anti-gay industry piece by piece. In doing this, I want to give out a list of sites where people can go when the anti-gay industry comes out with a lying press release and the like.

If any of you know of any sites, please send them to me via this blog or my email address, CharleKenghis@aol.com

I know of the official sites (i.e. HRC and Lambda Legal) but the sites I want are of bloggers and web pages who are doing good work without getting the right type of notoriety.

I will check out the site and include it in my book.

I already have a few but more wouldn't hurt.

This is highly important. It seems that unofficially, we have a network of (I am paraphrasing your words, Wayne Besen) "truth-tellers." I just want all of us to be better connected.

Does anyone actually care what Gary Bauer thinks?

I see that Gary Bauer is pushing hackneyed "gay agenda" line yet again:

" . . .A conservative spokesman and former U.S. presidential candidate warns that efforts to advance the homosexual agenda will intensify when the new Democrat-led Congress convenes Thursday. Gary Bauer of American Values believes the homosexual rights movement sees the new Congress as a vehicle to make further progress in getting homosexuality to be considered a protected civil rights category."


Oooh I'm so scared (those who are familiar with ghetto girl dialect can slur their vowels now).

I'm going to fight my first impulse of insulting Mr. Bauer by referring to him as Skeletor (come on, you know he looks like the villain from Masters of the Universe) because I really don't care about him.

When Bauer was the head of the Family Research Council, he did have some degree of power. But since resigning to run for President in the 2000 election, he has become as irrelevant as an 80's hair band.

I do sincerely hope, however, that is new Congress do their duty and work to pass laws that will make life better for the gay and lesbian community.

After all, we are Americans, too.

Can we stop the flow of lies?

I like to go online and check out sites that are anti-gay. I find it empowering to know what the other side is thinking. Reading their lies reminds me of the work I need to do by writing my book.

It can get depressing too. Today, I located a South African web page that spoke against gay adoption. No doubt the creators of the page considers themselves Christian and it is for this reason that they oppose gay adoption. I have no problems with this. What I have a problem with is the information the page contained, like the following:

A study of 4340 adults in five metropolitan areas of the USA showed that bisexuals and homosexuals (about 4% of the sample) compared to heterosexuals:

· exposed themselves sexually to more different bodies (more frequently admitting to participating in orgies and reported larger numbers of sexual partners);

· more frequently participated in socially disruptive sex (e.g., deliberate infection of others, cheating in marriage, making obscene phone calls);

· more frequently reported engaging in socially disruptive activities (e.g., criminality, shoplifting, tax cheating); and

· more frequently exposed themselves to biological hazards (e.g. fisting, bestiality, ingestion of faeces and sadomasochism).

That is Paul Cameron's infamous ISIS study of the early 1980s. Bear in mind that the citation does not mention Cameron as the author of the study nor does it talk about how Cameron conducted the study.

It does not mention:

That only 41 gay men and 25 lesbians took part in this study,

the study consisted of over 500 questions, given to the first person answering the door, and was picked up a week later, and

the study has been discredited over and over again.

The South African web page piece contains other distortions.

Which leads me to ask this question: can we ever stop the lies?

That web page is just one of a myriad of web pages that repeat Cameronesque lies about the gay and lesbian community.

When people seek to do evil, they are usually successful. Mopping up the mess they make tends to take a long time. And it is tiresome work. And it does get discouraging at times.

I guess I should be reminded of the title of a song Shawn Colvin sings:

Steady On!

Book stuff and history

Yaaaayyyy! I've finished making the copy editing changes in my book and it only took two days.

Now I get to do it all over again.

Seriously though, I have given myself a deadline of February 1 for my manuscript to be fully ready to be published.

I would like to give huge props to Joe Brummer for his excellent recap of last year's events. I didn't realize that so much good was done for our community. I encourage everyone to read it.

Lastly, I received an interesting package in the mail from my copy editor. It was a book he wrote entitled We're So Glad You Asked: 52 quizzes for the Whole Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, and Heterosexual Family.

It is an excellent book that challenges readers to become knowledgeable on gay history.

We need more of that.

I am an African-American and the proud history of black people has been drilled in me on many occasions. My schools celebrated Dr. King's birthday long before it became a national holiday. We celebrated Black History Month when it was originally Black History Week with a schoolwide assembly in which we all participated.

The sense of urgency had by those who taught me to love my African-American heritage is something the gay and lesbian community needs.

There has been so much discussion on the similarities and differences between the African-American and gay rights movement. I have sat on the fence because I believe that both groups want to disavow or acknowledge the similiarities based on selfish reasons.

I will acknowledge that both groups are similar in one way: we have been miseducated and taught to hate ourselves.

Just as some folks want to push the idea that African-Americans and black people in general did nothing to contribute to the history of the world, some people want to deny the gay and lesbian community our rich heritage.

They want to keep us in the dark, pushing the idea that we are defined by how some of us have sexual relations.

The anti-gay industry wants to hold us back from being celebrating our orientation while they tell the world how nasty and evil we are.

We shouldn't let their ignorance stop us. We need to tell the story of Alexander the Great, who conquered much of the known world before he was 33; of Billy Tipton, who started her own jazz combo; of Bayard Rustin, who organized the 1963 March on Washington, of Egyptian queen Hatshepsut and Swedish queen Christina, both ruling as capable as a man.

The list goes on and on.

We owe to our gay children that they know these people.

And we owe it to ourselves. A refresher course in pride never hurts.

Massachusetts GODDAMN Massachusetts

Well I hope everyone had a good holiday. I spent a good bit of time editing my manuscript while totally ignoring this blog.

And now when I am ready to come back to it, an issue hits me in the face with the urgency of a runaway locomotive.

By now, everyone has heard what has happened in Massachusetts, so there is no need to rehash it. Check out this link if you are not aware of the situation.

What is happening gets me angry on so many levels. The first level, of course, is envisioning the press releases that will surely come from Agape Press and that bunch.

Trust me when I say that there is nothing more annoying than a self-righteous gloater.

On a more important level, I cringe to think about another go-round on the "marriage train fight."

I'm probably in the minority when I say that this fight over marriage equality has revealed a bourgeois element of our community.

This point was driven home to me when I read the article about how difficult it is for gay students to get gay/straight alliances started in high schools, despite the fact that the law is on their side.

Meanwhile us black gay men and lesbian women are still fending for ourselves, invisible to two communities that won't give us any respect or visibility.

I am all for marriage equality but gaining it is not the salve for the ills affecting our community. I know gay men who are out but have a negative view of our community. Some don't even know why we should fight for the rights that should be ours, including the right to take care of our families. Some have drunken the kool-aid of lies and actually believe that being gay condemns them to a life of loneliness and vapid sexual relations. Why? Because while there has been so much work about our legal rights, no one has said a word about our spiritual and psychological well-being.

Legal rights are good things, but having a positive spiritual and psychological foundation is more important. Having pride in ourselves is not something we can get from a clique of friends, going out to a club, our material possessions, or fighting for rights that some of us don't even feel we deserve to have.

We have been forgetting that for too long.

WHEW! My manuscript returns

I know that it's a stupid title but that was the first word that came to mind when I opened the package sent by my copy editor.

I have tons (and that's not an exaggeration) of work to do in applying the corrections he sent. As such, I will be busy for a while. I will cotinue to post but barring something major taking place(and with people like Peter LaBarbera and Lou Sheldon around, it is possible), count on me being less loquacious than I usually am.

Meanwhile, Jim Burroway of Box Turtle Bulletin wrote an excellent piece about the hypocrisy of the anti-gay industry - New Survey: 95% Have Had Premarital Sex

Hypocrisy in the religious right? No way.

More sarcasm on my part; it's starting to look like a trend.

Dancing around the Federal Equal Access Act

In Minnesota, some folks are all upset because while a school district brought in gay groups for voluntary staff workshops, it said no when they wanted to bring a conservative organization, the Minnesota Family Institute, to present "the other point of view."

The school district claimed that it said no on the grounds that the presentation is based "on religious beliefs and that schools avoid religion."

But based on what Abby Ludvigson, coordinator of the Institute's seminar program, is quoted as saying, the school district should base its opinion on the fact that the Minnesota Family Institute is going to tell lies:

"They're putting our children at risk by affirming a lifestyle that is dangerous and unhealthy."

The issue of gay student safety in schools is one that I am very point blank on. Students should be allowed to form gay/straight support groups and legislation that would keep gay students from being bullied should be passed with the utmost fervor. Also school staff should be educated on their gay students.

I personally believe that for the most part, gay children are our responsibility. We older gays and lesbians have a responsibility to make sure they are not only proud of their orientation, but that they also make the right decisions in their lives. We should be at the forefront of pushing for these things.

So I get angry when I hear people like Abby Ludvigson turn the tolerance argument on its head.

This is yet another tactic of the anti-gay industry. In court battles regarding gay/straight clubs in high schools and the like, they have been on the losing end thanks to the Federal Equal Access Act. This act guarantees the right of students to form clubs, including gay/straight alliances. With these alliances come the knowledge that schools have to be educated on the needs of gay pupils.

Seeing that they cannot use the courts to block students from forming these groups, the anti-gay industry has engineered a new tactic. They claim that students should have the "right" to hear the other side of "homosexual argument." They claim that school districts should show "tolerance" for the supposed "ex-gay" side.

They have also banded together and started the "Day of Truth" to combat GLSEN's "Day of Silence."

The "Day of Silence" speaks to the problems that gay students face on a daily basis in schools.

The "Day of Truth" is yet another way for the anti-gay industry to spread their Paul Cameroneque lies, which serves to villify gay youth and make them at risk.

Now I believe in tolerance for people who think that homosexuality is a sin. However, I do not believe in allowing people to come into schools and, in the name of tolerance, spread the lie that homosexuality is some sort of death sentence.

This argument for tolerance has created a stalemate between us and the anti-gay industry. What we need to do is to combat it with truth.

First of all, no study has ever said that homosexuality in itself is a "dangerous lifestyle." No study has ever said that being openly gay will guarantee a short lifespan or disease.

Studies do say that negative outside influences can lead to gay youth making bad choices. These negative outside influences include being bullied by classmates or not having access to proper information regarding one's sexual orientation. Or maybe being told by a well-meaning but ignorant wannabe authority figure that being gay is some sort of death sentence.

When gay children are given proper support, they grow up to be contributing members of society. However, what the Minnesota Family Institute wants to give are lies.

What's next? Saying that gay children need a lobotomy?

Who cares if its dangerous. After all, shouldn't one show tolerance for all opinions, even if some opinions are lies?

In case you couldn' t tell, that was sarcasm.

Careening towards the new year

A couple of things are happening.

First from Massachusetts, a victory for our side.

The Massachusetts Supreme Court said that it cannot force lawmakers to vote on a proposed constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage. The court rebuked the legislature for not voting, but regardless, Massachusetts is still the only state that allows gay marriage and that won't change for a while.

However, the only joy I can take from this decision is that it will drive James Dobson and company out of their minds with anger.

I really don't like this new tendency to base the success or failure of our movement on whether or not we get marriage equality. The success of the gay rights movement will not be decided on whether or not we can walk down the aisle, but whether or not many of us feel that we deserve to walk down the aisle.

Meanwhile, former President Ford passed away yesterday and it got me thinking about Oliver Sipple, the man who prevented Ford from being assassinated in 1975.

What happened to him was a negative in the history of gay America. Sipple was a closeted gay man and because of his diligence, he found himself to be a "poster child" for gay rights, even though he didn't want to be. Sipple was outed by those who claimed to be on his side and slowly his life was ruined because of it.

This is not to blame anyone for what happened. If anything, it should serve as a reminder to those of us who are leaders in this struggle for equality to never forget the individuals they are trying to help.

Behind the movement are individual people with different lives and different circumstances. Some may be able to come out quickly, but others will take time; that is an unfortunate fact of life.

If it becomes okay to sacrifice the life of one person for the greater good (i.e. visibility), then we have lost our souls.

Remember that the next time a new controversy about a "closeted" movie, television, or singing star takes place.

Holiday over, back to the battlefield

I hope that everyone had a very Merry Christmas. Mine was nice and quiet - my favorite type of holiday. And I even managed to get some work done.

Which reminds me - I want to marry my copy editor.

Okay maybe not, but over the weekend, he spoke to me about my manuscript and gave me a bunch of excellent ideas for making my prose better. Thanks to him, I took care of a problem that had plagued me since I finished my manuscript.

And speaking of problems, a while back, someone wrote in (in a not very nice way) that our friend Robert Knight of the Concerned Women for America had moved on to the Media Research Center (MRC). The MRC is yet another one of those right winged, the world sucks until everyone does what we think they should do groups.

At the time, I wasn't aware of the move because I didn't see any press release and such. Apparently though, Mr. Knight has moved on.

Robert Knight figures greatly in my book due to his lying exploits with the Concerned Women for America and the Family Research Council. It really doesn't matter where he goes because Mr. Knight has created an interesting paper trail and I have copies of almost all of it.

Lastly, I think our friend Peter LaBarbera is slipping:

Chevron scholarships are available to students in the University of Colorado's School of Engineering who are in the "gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender" community or who support its activities through volunteering. WorldNetDaily reports that CU engineering students received an e-mail recently that offered $1,000 scholarships from Chevron for meeting those qualifications, and writing about their involvement in an essay. It was a move the story quotes a school official as saying is Chevron's attempt to benefit engineering field minorities that are "under-represented." Peter LaBarbera is president of Americans for Truth, a group that monitors homosexual activity in the culture. LaBarbera thinks the scholarship symbolizes a society that increasingly rewards people for sinful behavior. "It's a shocking thing when you come to the point where America is going to have affirmative action based on affiliation with homosexual practices," says the activist. According to LaBarbera, the practice of affirming homosexuality is everywhere -- from the educational and corporate worlds to the political realm. "America is becoming a society that is rewarding people for practicing homosexual sin, essentially -- and it's incumbent upon Christians to speak up and say how wrong that is," he adds. The Americans for Truth spokesman says a society cannot be healthy when it rewards people for what he describes as "unhealthy and immoral behavior."

No claims about the "short life span of gay men" or how Chevron is rewarding "dangerous behavior?"

Why Peter, are we getting to you?

First, three items

A victory for our gay and lesbian children - Appeals court backs ruling favoring straight-gay student group.

I wonder how long it will take before Agape Press quotes the Allied Defense Fund as to how much of a shame it is to push children into "dangerous behavior."

Items 2 and 3 don't exactly look good for us. According to the Conservative Voice, a Denmark study has claimed that "provides interesting and tantalizing evidence that the less stable or traditional a child's home is, the more likely that the child will turn to homosexuality as an adult."

Here we go again. Now I don't know what the study actually says. I do know that the anti-gay industry is notorious for distorting studies from the Netherlands to claim that homosexuality is evil; one of the most infamous being a study they said claimed that gay marriage was not a good idea.

Of course they failed to mention what the study was actually about and also omitted the fact that none of the gay couples in the study were married and that lesbians were excluded.

I chronicle this study and how the anti-gay industry distorted it in my upcoming book.

No doubt before we get the actual truth about the study the Conservative Voice referred to, anti -gay industry pundits will be citing it repeatedly on television and to their followers.

In Britain, a couple has been paid monetary damages for an incident in which the police questioned them regarding their anti-gay beliefs.

I am sure that Robert Knight, our friend Peter LaBarbera, and the rest will attempt to use this unfortunate incident to push the theory of a worldwide gay conspiracy to "harm Christians."

Oh vey!

Boot camp comes to a close

Next week, I should be receiving my manuscript from my copy editor and I am anxious to see what he thought of my book.

Since I am off of work until Wednesday, I should be working on the appendix and acknowledgements, but u know the old saying - the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.

Not too weak though because I had to talk myself out of adding new chapters to my book. No sense in overwhelming anyone. Keep it simple and sweet.

So keeping that spirit, I thank everyone (even my wannabe spammers) for supporting my blog and keeping up with how my book is progressing.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Something I forgot to mention

Democrats are also supported by homosexual advocacy groups that routinely give organizations like NAMBLA, the North American Man-Boy Love Association, positions in “gay rights” parades, where they proclaim such slogans as “sex by eight or it’s too late.” - Gary Bauer, National Review, December 20, 2006

Yesterday, I neglected to mention another tirade from a right winger. An online friend of mine pointed it out to me.

The above comments about NAMBLA and gays is from wannabe "pro family" activist Gary Bauer during a column he wrote for National Review talking about the Mark Foley scandal. For the benefit of those not wanting to read it, he rehashed the "Democrats are hypocrites, blah blah blah, Gerry Studds did the same thing" nonsense that so many others in the anti-gay industry tried to spin when the controversy broke.

Mr. Bauer's comments are so late that they transcend the "who the hell is he and why does he think anyone cares what he says" point. His comments border on "Geez, is that dumbass still around" territory.

Bauer used to be a big wig in the anti-gay industry. He led the Family Research Council for a time until an ill advised move to run for president in 2000. Rumor control has it that his decision pissed off James Dobson. And rumors that Bauer was having an affair with a female co-worker didn't exactly help matters either.

Of course, Bauer was very unsuccessful in his presidential aspirations. He is now president of American Values and chairman of Campaign for Working Families, but in all honesty, Bauer is totally irrelevant; except for when Agape Press or some other right wing and/or anti-gay publication wants a comment.

Hence his very late Mark Foley tirade.

I don't know what is worse about Bauer's comments; the fact that they are extremely late and add nothing new to the situation or the fact that his lies about gays and NAMBLA is such an old headless monster that even the stubborness of a thousand anti-gay activists can't hold it up.

These two weeks have been pitiful for the anti-gay industry. First Mary Cheney becomes pregnant, then James Dobson is caught three times misrepresenting legitimate studies. And now, Gary Bauer repeats lies that have been refuted so many times till it's just sad.

Bear in mind that I am not gloating. I know that there are a few people who follow Bauer religiously and believe every word that comes from his mouth.

But still, it's nice to watch the train wreck.

So many issues going down today

I tell you, the right has gone ape crazy today. I usually make only one post regarding the anti-gay industry, but so many things have gone on, I think I will make several posts.

Dobson answers

James Dobson finally answered charges that he distorted and cherry picked the work of various researchers and professors during his Time magazine tirade last week.

Or something like that.

Another member of Focus on the Family, Bill Maier, attacks the notion that Dobson misrepresented anything.

As usual, the routine anti-gay industry standby excuse is pushed: it's a "liberal conspiracy," or in this case, a "liberal groupthink":

"These are well-respected scientists who probably feel they have no choice but to cry 'foul' because they work in a field that is so dominated by liberal groupthink," Maier explained. "But the fact they aren't happy their data was used to reach a conclusion they disagree with doesn't mean the data was not properly applied. Dr. Dobson never claimed these researchers share his view on this issue -- they clearly do not. But there is no denying that the data they compiled can be appropriately cited to show the unique contributions mothers and fathers make in the lives of their children.

Feel free to go over the past posts about the researchers complaining over Dobson's misuse of their work and see how the answer his subordinate gave is yet another lie.

While I like it when the anti-gay industry shoots itself in the foot, the desire of Dobson to continuously cut his own throat in this matter is just pitiful.

Claiming 'War on Christmas' yields profits

The People for the American Way (an excellent organization) is claiming that the so-called War on Christmas that Dobson and company claim folks like myself declare every year is a fluke that garners them much influence and money:

The conservative Christian groups declined to provide all the numbers behind their Christmas efforts, but some did disclose how many items they had sold and distributed.

Alliance Defense Fund, an Arizona-based Christian legal group, has shipped 20,000 "Christmas packs" this year, said spokesman Greg Scott. The value of the "goods and services" included is $4, receipts show. The rest of the money goes into ADF's general fund, Scott said. A majority of the packs were sold for less than the suggested $29 donation, he added, though he declined to provide details.

To that, I say - no shit!

Obama fears

I will say something for Barack Obama - he may or may not become president, but he certainly has some people showing their true colors, or rather, prejudices:

In a December 18 column headlined "Barack Hussein Obama: Once a Muslim, Always A Muslim" and posted on her website, right-wing pundit Debbie Schlussel argued that because Sen. Barack Obama's (D-IL) middle name is Hussein, his late, estranged father was of Muslim descent, and he has shown interest in his father's Kenyan heritage, Obama's "loyalties" must be called into question as he emerges as a possible Democratic presidential candidate. In the column, Schlussel asked: "So, even if he identifies strongly as a Christian ... is a man who Muslims think is a Muslim, who feels some sort of psychological need to prove himself to his absent Muslim father, and who is now moving in the direction of his father's heritage, a man we want as President when we are fighting the war of our lives against Islam? Where will his loyalties be?" She ended her column by asking if Obama becoming vice president instead would be acceptable. Answering her own question, she wrote: "NO WAY, JOSE ... Or, is that, HUSSEIN?"

Where do they dig these people up and why do they give them their own shows? I was born the wrong gender, color (skin and hair). Although for a brief period in college, I was a blond and yes, they do have more fun.

Finally, penguins in North Carolina

Some people have too much time on their hands. Apparently a school district in North Carolina banned a book because it featured two male penguins who "adopted" a hatchling in order to nurture it and keep it from dying.

Now to some, it looks like a usual move by penguins to make sure baby penguins don't die from neglect.

But to the school district and Mecklenberg Commissioner Bill James, it is another example of the "gay agenda":

"I am opposed to any book that promotes a homosexual lifestyle to elementary school students as normal," he said.

Now this is the same Bill James who has gone very public on many occasions with his disagreement of the supposed "gay lifestyle," as witnessed by a letter he wrote to a constituent:

“You really think that a pool of people (homosexuals) where 45% of them eat feces from the rear end of another male is "normal"? If you do, you are frankly nuts. A lifestyle where one of their past times is buying gerbils and hamsters from the pet store and cramming them up their rears in an activity called feltching? A group of people who like to urinate on their partners and call them "golden showers"? Where one of the honored members of the Gay Alliance is an organization called the "Man-Boy Love Association" that promotes sex with underage boys? That behavior is worthy of protection? That behavior is worthy to be taught in our schools? to our children? You are one sick "Independent, white, married-heterosexual, presbyterian" if you do. . .”

Such a nice fellow. I'm personally rooting for the penguins.

Yet another headless monster!!!!

In the middle of my euphoria of Wayne Besen's consistent smackdown of James Dobson's lies, I received word of yet another lie perpetrated by the anti-gay industry.

I've always believed that citizens speaking out are powerful. If they speak out with no knowledge of what they are talking about, they can be downright dangerous.

Case in point - Bill Wilson, a "news service senior analyst" writing on what he feels are the most dangerous issues pressing America:

"Homosexuality and abortion represent as much a clear and present danger to the national security of America as does terrorism. The public immorality of the United States of America is appalling and the nation is fast heading for massive decline."

Here we go again.

Mr. Wilson goes on an ill informed tangent, specifically about the gay community, especially when he mentions this little canard:

" . . .many studies indicate that the average lifespan of the homosexual is far less than heterosexuals."

For the benefit of those who are not aware of this blog and my upcoming book, Mr. Wilson just repeated what is known as a "headless monster."

A "headless monster" is an opinion that has been refuted continuously but continues to be repeated as truth; either due to the ignorance or the stubborness of the person repeating it.

In Mr. Wilson's case, I will chalk his repeititon of the lie that gay men have shorter life spans than heterosexuals to ignorance.

So I will correct him.

There are no legitimate studies that say that gay men have shorter life spans than heterosexual men. The Centers for Disease Control does not collect statistics on the life spans of gay men:

"[The CDC] does not collect statistics on the life span of gay men. While gay men continue to be severely impacted by HIV and AIDS, AIDS-related death data cannot be used to indicate that homosexual men live shorter lives than heterosexual men overall." - Ronald Valdiserri, deputy director of the CDC’s National Center for HIV, STD, and TB Prevention, Weird anti-gay science, The Washington Blade, June 17, 2005

Now there was a 1997 Oxford study that made a hypothetical claim about the life span of gay men. But in 2001, the six researchers who conducted the study went on record saying that their work was being distorted by the religious right - http://ije.oupjournals.org/cgi/content/full/30/6/1499

The only person who has attempted to make an unadulterated claim about the life span of gay men is our friend Paul Cameron. Cameron is hardly a legitimate researcher, as referenced by this link.

Mr. Wilson's claims would be funny if not for the fact that his nonsense was published on a "Christian" web page. I have to seriously ask how many Christians already believe his lies and how many more will be taken in by his falsehoods?

Wayne Besen strikes again!
Meanwhile, James Dobson is trying to get his followers to do his dirty work for him

Wayne Besen is on the ball.

Not only did his organization, Truth Wins Out, film a video featuring Carol Gilligan rebuking James Dobson for distorting her work (see past posts) but he has also found yet another researcher who claims that Dobson is distorting her work:

JAMES DOBSON REBUKED ON VIDEO FOR DISTORTING RESEARCH OF NYU PROFESSOR CAROL GILLIGAN

Renowned Author/Researcher, England’s Angela Phillips, Condemns Focus on the Family’s Leader For ‘Seriously Misrepresenting’ Her Work'

Miami Beach, FLA. – Truth Wins Out released an exclusive video today featuring celebrated New York University educational psychologist Carol Gilligan, PhD, who upbraided Focus on the Family leader, James C. Dobson, for misrepresenting her research in a guest column he wrote in last week’s issue of Time Magazine.

Additionally, Angela Phillips, the renowned author of “The Trouble With Boys” also sent a pointed letter to Dobson today accusing him of “seriously misrepresenting” her work and asking him to publish her letter “prominently” on Focus on the Family’s website. Last week, Kyle Pruett, M.D. of the Yale School of Medicine, also expressed concerns that the Focus on the Family leader "cherry picked" his work.

“This is a revolt of serious scholars who are revolted by the way James Dobson has unethically incorporated their research to fit his political aims,” said Truth Wins Out’s Executive Director Wayne Besen.

“Three researchers have now come forward in just one week to take Dobson to task. The media should finally realize that Dobson lacks the academic integrity and moral authority to talk credibly on family issues.”

In the video, filmed for Truth Wins Out by videographer Lisa Darden, Dr. Gilligan expressed her extreme displeasure with Dobson and how she was “mortified” by his use of her work.“I was stunned to hear that James Dobson had quoted me in TIME Magazine. I had no idea. I was mortified, frankly,” Dr. Gilligan, author of several books including, In A Different Voice, said in the video.

TO WATCH VIDEO CLICK HERE

“It was a completely distorted and unfounded use of my work…it is such a simplification and caricature of my work…for someone who represents morality and the family it is disrespectful.”

Earlier today, Professor Angela Phillips, author of “The Trouble With Boys,” echoed Drs. Gilligan and Pruett in a letter to Dobson, obtained exclusively by Truth Wins Out. TWO received a tip that Phillips’ work had been misquoted by Ray Foster, a concerned citizen who wanted the truth to be told.

In her letter, Phillips, a journalist and professor at Goldsmiths College in London, asked that Dobson print the following letter “prominently” on his organization’s website.

Dear James Dobson:

It has come to my attention that my book "The Trouble with Boys" has been seriously mis-represented in writings by James Dobson. Having read his newsletter; "How Boys Learn to Become Men" on the Focus on the Family web site I was incensed to find that I have been quoted as a source for suggesting that:

" The high incidence of homosexuality occurring in Western nations is related, at least in part, to the absence of positive male influence when boys are moving through the first crisis of child development."

I certainly agree that boys suffer from a lack of positive men in their lives but I am at pains to point out that positive men are often as much lacking in two parent households as they are in lone mother (or two mother) households. I do not suggest that lack of positive male role models leads to homosexuality (or indeed that it would be problematic if it did). My concern is that boys without positive men around them are more likely to be violent, angry and lacking in self control.

I have never heard that these are characteristics that are associated with homosexuality.

Dobson goes on to say: " One of the primary objectives of parents is to help boys identify their gender assignments and understand what it means to be a man.My concern is that boys are currently learning, either from their fathers, or in the absence of fathers, from the women who rear them, and the men they encounter, that the most important thing about being a man is being: "not gay", "not gentle" and not "girlie".

While adult men are afraid to demonstrate that it’s okay to be gentle and caring how are boys to learn anything positive about what it means to be a man?I would be grateful if you could publish this letter prominently on your website.

I look forward to a swift acknowledgement.

Yours sincerely
Angela Phillips
Author of The Trouble with Boys

“The media is the great enabler that continues to offer a platform to James Dobson to tell his lies, malign gay people and mock science,” says Truth Wins Out’s Executive Director Wayne Besen.

“It is time the media be held accountable for journalistic standards, the same way Dobson is now finally answerable for his misleading propaganda.” Truth Wins OUT is a non-profit organization that counters right wing propaganda, exposes the “ex-gay” myth and educates America about gay life. For more information, visit www.TruthWinsOut.org.

Dobson has given no comment regarding the claims that he distorted legitimate research.

Meanwhile, one of the American Family Association's new rags, Baptist Press News, has featured Dobson's column.

It half heartedly addresses the claims by Pruett and Gilligan that Dobson cherry picked and distorted their work:

"Focus on the Family sent an e-mail to supporters asking them to send a "brief, polite note" to Time editors thanking them for publishing the column. Homosexual activists, Focus said, are asking their supporters to write Time and tell the magazine Dobson's column was inaccurate."

The fact of the matter is that this is not the first time Dobson and company have distorted a legitimate researcher's or professor's work. I have nine examples in my upcoming book and in private conversations with one of my sources, there have been others.

God don't like ugly, Mr. Dobson. Especially if it is done in his name.

Boot camp starts

As of yesterday, a copy of my manuscript, Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters, has been sent to my copy editor.

And I am hoping that he will be as harsh as possible.

I am not one of those writers who think that I am so infalliable that my work can't stand a bit of correction. I value the opinion of a ruthless copy editor.

He should be sending me his thoughts by the end of this year.

I can't wait!

By the way, James Dobson still has not spoken out about the claims of Dr. Kyle Pruett and Carol Gilligan that he cherry picked their work in his Time magazine column.

Just thought I would mention that.