Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters

Friday, August 20, 2010

Know Your LGBT History - Stewardess School

Stewardess School (1986)was one of those tired 1980s ensemble comedy movies where a group of outsiders band together to show the world that they can make something of themselves.

It's a formula that was repeated with Stripes, Hot Dog: The Movie, Hamburger: The Movie, Revenge of the Nerds (which may be an upcoming feature of this blog), etc. etc.

Stewardess School was one of the worst ones. In this particular case, we have a female wrestler (despondent because her meek boyfriend can't handle her occupation), a nearsighted cute guy and his annoying friend (played by Happy Days's Donny Most), a clumsy woman, a ditzy blonde, and overweight oddball (the late Wendy Joe Sperber seemed to specialize in this type of characterization), a sexy, SEXY prostitute trying to reform (how strange is it that va va voom actress Audrey Landers puts in the funniest performance in this movie), and for the purpose of this site, the gay guy:

Fight for lgbt equality has gone global and other Friday midday news briefs

Man this is a slow and dull Friday. But as a self-described "radical gay activist," I shall soldier on:

Shifting attitudes take gay rights fight across globe, experts say - You better believe it!

Fischer: Ann Coulter Is The "Ashley Dupre of the Conservative Movement" - Did he just call Ann Coulter a "ho?"

Obama Appoints Gay Man to HHS - Okay religious right, what's wrong with THIS appointee?

Video: Paper, personal objections, and fear = non-binding anti-equality - Because "standing against gay marriage" is more important than job creation, crime prevention, etc.

Dr. Laura Knows Black Person, Gay Person - Well I guess that makes her no longer a homophobe who freely uses the "n-word."

Lgbts and Muslims are in the same boat, whether we like it or not

Earlier this week, I wrote a piece comparing how the cultural center in New York is being used as a hot button issue by those on the right in the same manner they used gay marriage in 2004.

Some folks didn't agree with me by claiming that the lgbt community shouldn't care what happens to the Muslim community because of its "homophobia."

The lgbt community would be making a huge mistake in doing this. And no one demonstrates this better than right-wing phony news service, the American Family Association's One News Now:

A ministry leader says a high school in Michigan is conforming to President Obama's political correctness and Islamic sentiments by altering its schedule to accommodate its Muslim students.

Fordson High School in Dearborn is holding its football practices in the middle of the night in order to give special accommodation to Muslims on the predominantly Islamic squad. The team feels the nocturnal regimen is a way for players to eat and drink while observing the month of daytime fasting known as Ramadan. The August heat has also played a factor in Coach Fouad Zaban's proposal to reverse the clock for a week of two-a-day practices.

Cutting practice was not an option at football-crazy Fordson, which is coming off a one-loss season, but nobody wanted to lessen the significance of Ramadan in the Detroit suburb that is dominated by Muslims.

Now the only person quoted in the article, Jan Markell, founder and director of Olive Tree Ministries, claims to know why this is taking place:

She believes Muslims have clearly become a specially privileged group in the U.S. and beyond. "There are clearly favors that are done to certain special-interest groups, particularly homosexuals and Muslims," the Messianic Jewish leader observes. "Christians and Jews, we just don't have that kind of privilege."

She doubts a practice would be moved if a group of Christian players objected to training that would interfere with a Christian holiday.

Yeah, I'm sure the players will be practicing on "Christmas."

Seriously, other than a ridiculous linking to President Obama (shades of the "our president is an evil Muslim meme), this article proves the point that there are some entities who see the lgbt and Muslim community as "the other," i.e. communities who seek to change or basically overthrow the so-called "American Way" of life.

Whether the lgbt or the Muslim community likes it or not, we are now all in the same boat. Any sniping should be reserved to those who are trying to place us in the boat and not each other.

And by the way, more credible article about the practices in Fordson High School had this to say:

The response from players has been positive. And we’re told even the non-Muslim players are ok with the overnight sessions.

Thursday, August 19, 2010

David Blankenhorn didn't mess up Prop 8 defense because it was already messed up

It's so interesting to watch members of the religious right try to recreate the Prop 8 trial so as to make themselves look like the victims of the verdict.

The latest attempt is byJennifer Roback Morse of the Ruth Institute in regards to a witness called by the Prop 8 side, David Blankenhorn:

. . . After beginning to read Judge Walker’s opinion this morning, I am even less willing to second guess the Protect Marriage team. In particular, I have a renewed respect for David Blankenhorn, the one witness the Proponents of Prop 8 called to testify on the social purpose of marriage.

To answer one preliminary question that I have been asked many times: yes, the Prop 8 legal team did consider using me as an expert. I talked at some length with one of them, and several of the attorneys for the ADF are friends of mine. They certainly know about me, and respect me. The team decided not to use me when they realized that I had been a spokeswoman for the Prop 8 campaign. They concluded (correctly) that the court would not take my opinion seriously no matter what I had to say, or how credibly I said it. Events proved them to be correct.

Reading the judge’s opinion makes it clear that he defines “expertise” so narrowly that no one but the plaintiffs’ witnesses could meet the definition of expert. The Proponents of Prop 8 called in a political scientist, for instance, to argue that CA gays and lesbians are not politically powerless. Living in CA since 1996, I find it hard to believe that anyone doubts the power of the Gay Lobby. But, the plaintiffs attacked him because he had not studied gay politics in particular, just political parties and initiatives in general. The Judge completely bought the Plaintiffs’ assessment and found the “Miller’s opinions on gay and lesbian political power are entitle to little weight.” (pg 54 of the opinion)

But the Plaintiffs’ abuse of David Blankenhorn, and the Judge’s acquiescence in that abuse, was really something awful. David has mastered an expansive amount of data from a variety of disciplines on the impact of fatherlessness on children, on the significance of family structure, and on the importance of marriage to society. More than any single individual, David brought the issue of fatherless families to the attention of the public. Given academic specialization, no one person could have produced all that material, which is the standard that the Judge seems to require.

I can very easily read between the lines of Walker’s opinion, and see him trying to trap David into admitting things which sound damaging. For the most part, these “damaging” admissions are remarks taken out of context, often a context in which David was trying to be generous to his opponents, and trying not to overstate the applicability of the data before him. The Proponents’ attorneys extracted comparable admissions from the Plaintiffs’ witnesses, but somehow none of those admissions damaged their credibility in Judge Walker’s eyes. He finds that the “opinions of Blankenhorn to be unreliable and entitled to essentially no weight.”

So according to Morse, Walker had the "fix" in and was determined to smear any pro- Prop 8 witnesses and Blankenhorn turned out to be the "sacrifcial lamb."

Poppycock. Of course Morse doesn't go into details as just how Blankenhorn was "trapped" and it doesn't surprise me. Folks on her side of the argument never deal with the concrete, only the idealistic.

As we all know, the case put forth defending Prop 8 was weak. Darla Lithwick from The Slate said the following:

It's hard to read Judge Walker's opinion without sensing that what really won out today was science, methodology, and hard work. Had the proponents of Prop 8 made even a minimal effort to put on a case, to track down real experts, to do more than try to assert their way to legal victory, this would have been a closer case. But faced with one team that mounted a serious effort and another team that did little more than fire up their big, gay boogeyman screensaver for two straight weeks, it wasn't much of a fight. Judge Walker scolds them at the outset for promising in their trial brief to prove that same-sex marriage would "effect some twenty-three harmful consequences" and then putting on almost no case.

Walker notes that the plaintiffs presented eight lay witnesses and nine expert witnesses, including historians, economists, psychologists, and a political scientist. Walker lays out their testimony in detail. Then he turns to the proponents' tactical decision to withdraw several of their witnesses, claiming "extreme concern about their personal safety" and unwillingness to testify if there were to be "recording of any sort." Even when it was determined that there would be no recording, counsel declined to call them. They were left with two trial witnesses, one of whom, David Blankenhorn, founder and president of the Institute for American Values, the judge found "lacks the qualifications to offer opinion testimony and, in any event, failed to provide cogent testimony in support of proponent's factual assertions." Blankenhorn's credentials, methodology, lack of peer-reviewed studies, and general shiftiness on cross examination didn't impress Walker.

Sorry Morse. You can't recreate the truth with a tissue of lies. Blankenhorn was on a sinking ship from the very beginning and all he did was bore more holes into the hull.

Will Homocon feud show us 'the real Ann Coulter?' and other Thursday midday news briefs

Ann Coulter Smacks Back: WorldNetDaily Editor Joseph Farah Is “Swine” and “Publicity Whore” (UPDATED) - The feud with Ann Coulter and the speech at "Homocon" vs. World Net Daily has been fun to watch. And it reminds me of the following from The Boondocks. One wonders is it the "real Ann Coulter:"

And in other news:

NOM borrows two cents from Ohio waitress' tip - Okay it's stuff like this which caused the pro-Prop 8 side to lose.

UK: Adoption charity can't ban gay couples - If a good home can be provided for a child then why prevent it? It's not about an abstract idea of "family" but the reality that we must support all good families.

Anti-Gay Group Sues To Kill Wisconsin Domestic Partnership Registry - This is just meanspirited.

After GOP Rebuke, Jeremy Walters Apologizes For Anti-Gay Comments - Just more proof that there are too many self-appointed secretaries of God running around.

Surprise! Surprise! National Organization for Marriage doesn't like same sex families

Another video from the National Organization for Marriage's failed summer tour. This time, the president of NOM, Brian Brown is interviewed. Or rather not interviewed. It's contentious to say the least. But as I watched the interview, I consoled myself with the fact that Brian's so-called feisty attitude yet again underlines why the Prop 8 folks lost in court. You can't be feisty in front of a judge in lieu of having facts.

But one thing which strikes me is how Brown dances around the question of same-sex families. Apparently they seem to not to count as "regular families" to him.

Past related posts:

Satan is behind gay marriage - gotta love those lovely National Organization for Marriage supporters

' Gay families aren't real families' - a NOM supporter further sinks their phony guise of love

A little ' state-sanctioned sodomy' for your Sunday night

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Lesbian appointee caught in crossfire between Peter LaBarbera and Glenn Beck

Apparently Peter LaBarbera is angry at Glenn Beck.

Recently Beck said he doesn't see gay marriage as a threat to America.

And of course this comment sent LaBarbera into orbit. He posted two pieces that he claims proves Beck to be wrong.

Personally I could care less. You all know how I feel about LaBarbera. And I am totally indifferent to Beck. I see him as a circus clown willing to say or do anything to get the paycheck.

But as it is in arguments like these, innocent parties get smeared. Like the EEOC's Chai Feldblum.

LaBabera evoked her name to prove that somehow if gays get married, the rights of Christians will be up for revoke:

. . . the prospect of State-sanctioned homosexual “marriage” will lead to the systematic, forced imposition of pro-homosexualist ideology on young and old Americans alike — and will engender innumerable lawsuits by homosexual activist attorneys who believe that their “right” to be affirmed and celebrated in the culture supersedes YOUR right to live according to YOUR beliefs.

Who could put it any better than lesbian legal activist Chai Feldblum, former law professor at Georgetown University and President Obama’s recess appointee to the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission (EEOC)? Regarding what she calls the “zero-sum” game that exists between homosexual legal “rights” and the freedom of religious/moral Americans to oppose homosexuality, Feldblum stated: “Gays win. Christians lose.” We hope her prediction is wrong, but the lesbian prof’s secular “rights” formula is clearly advanced every time the noble institution of “marriage” is perverted to legally sanction ignoble, sinful conduct.

There is one problem with LaBarbera's claim. There is no record of Feldblum ever saying this.

Mike Huckabee and Bill McCollum: One homophobe endorses another

How is this for unsurprisingly nauseating? From Mike Huckabee:

Huck PAC and I are proud to endorse Bill McCollum for Governor of Florida. Bill McCollum first served our country and the people of Florida as an officer in the Navy JAG Corps, then as a member of Congress, and most recently as Florida’s Attorney General. A native Floridian, Bill not only understands the issues facing Florida but he has the experience needed to make real positive changes for the state.

Bill’s top priorities reside at the core of true conservatism: creating jobs, strengthening Florida’s economy, cutting spending, lowering taxes and implementing significant tax reform. Bill opposes Obamacare – in fact, he is joined by 19 other states filing a lawsuit declaring penalizing individuals for failing to purchase insurance is unconstitutional.

Bill shares our traditional values and is a pro-life, pro-family conservative that received a 100% rating from the National Right to Life Committee during his time in Congress. Bill is also an advocate for our Constitutional right to bear arms and will work tirelessly to stop any attempt to change that.

Gladly, I’ve already cast my ballot for Bill McCollum and I hope you’ll join me in supporting him. Let’s make sure Bill McCollum is our next Governor.

For the sake of those not up on such matters, that's Mike Huckabee endorsing Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum for the state's gubernatorial seat.

Huckabee has in the past:

aligned himself with Southern Poverty Law Center - identified hate group Mass Resistance whose leader Brian Camenker once made a claim in 2006 that "gays were trying to get legislation passed to allow sex with animals" in Massachusetts,
attacked lgbt families by comparing them to people raising puppies,
bent over backwards to assure Ann Coulter that he wasn't "pro-gay" and "pro-sodomy."

McCollum is the same guy who spent over $100,00 of Florida taxpayers' money on a phony expert (George Rekers) to defend the state's law against gay adoption even after his staff gave him warnings about Rekers's credibility problems.

Rekers's testimony not only hurt the state's case but later it was revealed that Rekers had dubious relationships with a "rentboy" or male escort.

And even after that embarrassment, McCollum still wants to keep gays and lesbians from adopting children.

For two guys who don't exactly care for the lgbt community, McCollum and Huckabee make quite a couple, don't they?

Hat tip to People for the American Way.

Ann Coulter dropped for being pro-gay? and other Tuesday midday news briefs

The Slapfight Continues: World Net Daily Dumps Ann Coulter Over Homocon Gig - I know the world is not total blacks and whites, but still can we eliminate the crazy colors?

Warning of God's Judgment, Hutcherson Wants Promotion of Homosexuality Banned - So Ken Hutcherson is the latest to pull the "homosexuality is a dangerous lifestyle" lie. Been there, done that, got a t-shirt, used the t-shirt to clean my bathroom.

Historic Prop 8 ruling prompts ‘rare’ discussion about gay rights at Dallas Log Cabin meeting - A gay political group rarely discusses gay rights? ONLY the Log Cabin.

Lesbian teen sues Mississippi school district over yearbook photo - And I hope she wins too.

Gay and lesbian college presidents 'plotting evil radical activist agenda,' whatever THAT is

For those who think that fear of American Muslims and fear of the lgbt community are two separate things, check out this from American Family Association's phony news service, One News Now:

News that several "gay" and lesbian-identified college and university presidents met recently to organize a push for the homosexual agenda is drawing the ire of pro-family organizations.

Nine presidents of higher-education entities recently gathered in Chicago and decided to form a new organization called LGBTQ Presidents in Higher Education. The group agreed that a top priority should be "to push higher education to include issues of sexual orientation when talking about diversity."

Matt Barber, director of cultural affairs with Liberty Counsel, calls the meeting "bizarre," but he is not surprised by the strategy.

"This group of higher-ups within academia [is] going to be, from the top down throughout our universities around the country, pushing the political agenda of the radical homosexual activist left; we are going to see that from them," Barber warns.

In the long run, it doesn't matter why these lgbt college and universities presidents (whose names have been supplied generously by the phony news article) are meeting because folks like Matt Barber and entities like One News Now will spin it as a nefarious plan to overturn American values, just like Islamophobes will spin anything those of the Muslim faith will do as some sort of plan either to destroy America or "celebrate 9/11."

Fear doesn't need a reason to exist or rationality, just ignorance and hate as a fertile ground.

It's just as well though. If Barber and company pay too much attention to this meeting, they will miss the important conclave of us radical gay activists to be held in December.

During that time, I will be giving a lecture on how to give homosexual subliminal messages to children via the Smurfs, Popeye, and Bugs Bunny.

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Satan is behind gay marriage - gotta love those lovely National Organization for Marriage supporters

Another video courtesy of the National Organization for Marriage's failed summer tour. Mercy, this is a good one from Washington D.C. Did you know that this fight is about "species" and that Satan is behind gay marriage?

One day, someone has to put all of these lovely videos together in a neat package.

More posts about those "Godly" protectors of marriage:

' Gay families aren't real families' - a NOM supporter further sinks their phony guise of love

A little ' state-sanctioned sodomy' for your Sunday night

The Alliance Defense Fund seeks to 'save marriage' with the help of a perky blond white woman

I'm try to get angry at this video by the right-wing Alliance Defense Fund. I'm trying to get some passion about the phony claim about how the Prop 8 decision will "force" people to accept same-sex marriage. And I'm trying to draw some internal rage over the lie that gays are "intentionally" trying to "deny children of a mother and a father."

But two things stand out.

1. Seems to me if the other side had invested more time with finding more credible witnesses as they did in filming this commercial, they would have won the case.

2. Isn't this blond woman so damned perky?

One more thing - it's a gay thing that I have to say this. Her ensemble has got to go. Didn't they budget for clothing?

Religious right blames victim for his own murder and other Tuesday midday news briefs

Exclusive: 'Pro-family' radio host Penna Dexter blames 15-year-old for his own shooting death - An innocent gay child is shot and who do the religious right blame? The innocent gay child.

The 10 Dumbest Maggie Gallagher Quotes - Is NOM's Maggie Gallagher a secret mole agent working for our side?

Moral Scolds Freaking Out As Conservatives Increasingly Abandon Gay Issue - Gives new meaning to the phrase "rats deserting a sinking ship."

Deranged: American Family Radio's Bryan Fischer: 'No More Mosques, Period.' - and speaking of ships, lgbts and the Muslim community may be in different ships in terms of beliefs but we are all in the same boat now when it comes to the religious right.

Innocent picture sparks nasty homophobic reaction

According to one of my blogger buddies, Rod 2.0, this nondescript picture is causing a nasty reaction online and demonstrates not only basic homophobic but how terrible it is for men, especially black men, to show a little affection:

The image was snapped of two young men apparently on Atlanta's MARTA and the Twitpic is entitled "No Excuse: I Don't Give a F-ck How Sleepy You Are." So far, the image has 12,400+ views and has produced three pages of mostly cruel, homophobic and hateful comments. There are dozens more comments across Twitter and the Twitpic has migrated to gay-baiting black gossip blogs. One perennial gay-baiting blogger has slammed the two young men as "homo-thugs", ranted about HIV/AIDS and complained that "it's become nearly impossible to distinguish heterosexual men from down low thugs." Are "down-low" thugs hugged up on public transit? Probably not ...

It's a very sweet and innocent photo. According to the comments, it seems the young men's primary offense, in addition to seemingly being gay, is that they are "normal looking" and apparently in love. More power to them. It's too bad more people don't have the courage to be themselves.

Amen, Rod. There would be less ignorance and less fear if not only folks chose to be themselves but others didn't give them hell for it.

Monday, August 16, 2010

' Gay families aren't real families' - a NOM supporter further sinks their phony guise of love

One thing that has been deliciously excellent about the National Organization for Marriages' failed marriage tour is it showed NOM supporters in their true homophobic light.

Yesterday, we saw the "state-sanctioned sodomy" guy. Today, its another NOM supporter in Harrisburg.

Watch the entire thing, especially his comparison of gay marriage to pedophilia. But keep a special eye out on his nasty words about gay families and single mother families.

So much for that phony NOM love.

Hat tip to Joe.My.God.

Related post:

A little ' state-sanctioned sodomy' for your Sunday night

National Organization for Marriage lays double goose egg and other Monday midday news briefs

Photo: At his age, my biggest activism involved freeing enslaved princesses - When a child demonstrates more sense and kindness than adults.

A Successful Counterprotest to NOM in Harrisburg, PA (with Photo Gallery) - The National Organization for Marriage bombs in Pennsylvania.

Images From A Sideshow Running Away With The Circus… - The National Organization bombs in Washington, but this time they bring black folks.

Ensign cites harassment in call sign choice - This is a damn shame.

Stop Gay Marriage Or Say Goodbye To Christian Civilization - Shhhhh! Stop giving away our secret plans!

Islamic centers, gay marriages, and the ease of picking electoral scapegoats

Gay marriage has been replaced by the Islamic community as the whipping children of the electorate.

Remember in 2004 when the backlash against gay marriage became a huge election issue galvanizing voters and members of the religious community? That’s nothing compared to what’s happening now.

This controversy over the Islamic center blocks away from Ground Zero has gone into overdrive, which some are hoping will be a huge issue in the fall elections this year.

Never mind that Al Qaeda attacked us and not Muslims in general. Never mind that many Muslims lost their lives during 9-11 due to those awful attacks. Never mind that when Timothy McVeigh blew up the federal building in Oklahoma, no one even thought of blaming Christianity on the whole for his twisted beliefs. Never mind the Islamic center isn’t even going to be located at “Ground Zero.”

Never mind any of that because there is a situation ready made to be exploited. And like in all situations like this, we have so many throwing their worthless two cents into the controversy, from a failed half termed governor (Sarah Palin) trying to be the “voice of America” when no one really asked her, to an insane Congressman (Louis Gohmert) spinning tangents about “terror babies.”

Not to mention that there is a lot of fertile, scared, and ignorant minds to be exploited. New York is not the only place where people are fearing the Islamic community. In Tennessee, some residents not only oppose the building of mosques, but were also hinting about digging up the graves and tracking the “community activities” of other Muslims.

It’s sad really and it makes me wonder if the terrorists who attacked on 9-11 did in fact win.

We have been constantly told that they hate us because of our “freedom.” But that’s not totally true.

Some of them hate us because they think we are hypocrites; that we give big talk about freedom and equality, but with the drop of a hat we abandon both concepts. That one minute, we are waving flags and singing the praises of living in a diverse community and the next, braining people over the heads with flag poles while justifying a fear of those who are different with the least shred of shame.

Someone tell me, what exactly do you call this controversy other than exactly what those terrorists believe?

Osama Bin Laden is in a cave somewhere laughing himself silly.

Sunday, August 15, 2010

A little ' state-sanctioned sodomy' for your Sunday night

This video is from the National Organization for Marriage's abysmal flop of summer tour.

The stop is in Harrisburg, PA. While NOM's Brian Brown is in the background claiming that those on his side of the argument have been "very, very good about the speaking the truth in love," a supporter of his organization and its "summer tour" doesn't mind not hiding behind any pretenses of love. This is just too, too, Freudian in regards to what NOM claims it's trying to do (i.e. "defend marriage") and the mindset of those who support the organization's efforts.

Big hat tip to Matt Algren for bringing this to my attention.

Saturday, August 14, 2010

Pat Robertson's correspondent smears lgbts, won't publish correction post

I have been blogging for four years (this month is my fourth year anniversary) and I have discovered that I have serious pet peeve. I hate it when someone pushes bad studies regarding the lgbt community.

So you can just imagine how I felt yesterday when I read, via Pam's House Blend, that Pat Robertson's Christian Broadcasting Network war correspondent Chuck Holton posted an entry on his blog, "Boots on the Ground" detailing just why gays shouldn't be allowed to serve openly in the military. Specifically, it is this part which caught my attention:

1. The military is, by necessity, an environment where members are encouraged to be strong and healthy. The military strongly discourages smoking these days, because anything that hurts a soldier's health ultimately makes him a liability to his unit. The homosexual lifestyle has been proven to lower a man's life expectancy by as much as 20 years - why would we encourage this, then?

2. The Gay subculture is one of the most violent subcultures out there. Government studies show gays are 20 times more likely to be abusive or abused in their personal relationships. This reflects an inherent emotional instability that is not conducive to good order or discipline.

3. Giving Blood: US FDA regulations exclude "men who have had sex with another man even once since 1977" from giving blood at blood banks. In combat, any one of your buddies might be called upon to donate their blood to keep you alive if you get wounded. Gays should never donate blood. End of story.

4. Suicide: The military is already having problems with troop suicides these days. Gays commit suicide, or attempt it, six times more often than heterosexuals. Is this the kind of American we want to entrust with a weapon?

Bottom line: Homosexuals, by their own choices, disqualify themselves from military service. For the pentagon to be even considering allowing them to serve openly only shows an appalling lack of common sense on the part of our elected leaders and military brass.

How is this piece wrong? Oh let me count the ways.

And I did to, in a response to his post which should have been published on the blog yesterday.

But it wasn't. And my guess is that since comments are "moderated" there, it still won't be published.

But this is what I said:

You made many errors in this piece.

For one, you cited a 1997 study but omitted that in 2001 those same researchers complained about how their work was being distorted to push the false idea that gays have a short lifespan - http://ije.oxfordjournals.org/...

Furthermore, you cited a Netherlands study (about gay suicide) without giving more details. Dr. (Theo) Sandfort, who conducted the study, said more work needs to be done and that he was not aware his conclusions was indicative of the gay community in other countries.

On your claim about "the gay subculture," you take a 12 page study - published 10 years ago - which talked about violence against women (in general) - and made a poor singular statement which encompassed all gays and lesbians. The way you do this is no different than racists using the study to make the same judgment about African-Americans.

It's apparently that Holton and by extension Roberston has learned nothing from the Prop 8 verdict because they continue to push the same lies about the lgbt community.

But as long as folks like them keep pushing these lies up, the lgbt community needs to continue knocking them down.

Friday, August 13, 2010

Know Your LGBT History - Up the Academy

Up the Academy (1980) is probably one of the most offensive movies ever made and that's not in a good way.

Don't get me wrong. I love blue comedy and I also think that we all need to make fun of ourselves. However there is a fine line between good comedy and things that rob folks of their dignity.

Up the Academy crosses the line and does its best to erase it.

Many of you probably never heard of it so allow me to give a brief plotline. Four young men enter a military academy and have "madcap hijinks" there.

And there are a few more bits of trivia about this movie. It was one of Ralph Macchio's first movies and it was so bad that both one of the producers - Mad Magazine - and the actor who played the villain - Ron Leibman - demanded their names removed from it.

Up The Academy is just bad. It insults African-American, Italians (apparently all of them belong to the Mafia), the elderly (old soldiers don't die, they just get very, very flatulent), pedophilia (who knew scenes showing preteens and teens masturbating in classrooms would be "hilarious"), people from the Middle East (apparently they like to eat pig testicles), etc. etc.

The less said about the bowel movement in the punch bowl scene the better.

And, I am getting there, the crowning achievement of all offensiveness is the portrayal of late actor Tom Poston as Master Sgt. Sisson.

Poston, who was an excellent comedian, really should have known better, even in the early 80s.

His portrayal of a gay man can be best described as someone plugging "Porno Peter" LaBarbera to a virtual reality machine.

I mean really when this guy isn't pushing the stereotype of a gay man being overly feminine, he is pushing the pedophilia lie pretty hard.

But the following clip best describes what I am talking about. Poston's character is peppered throughout and you can't miss him. TRUST ME when I say you can't miss him:

Prop 8 judge compared to Perez Hilton and other Friday midday news briefs

Opinion on Same-Sex Marriage Appears to Shift at Accelerated Pace - Uh oh. Don't tell Maggie Gallagher or Brian Brown. Then again . . .

So *that's* why we saw white penises drawn on the Summary Of Testimony! - Judge Vaughn Walker = Perez Hilton? Now see that's why they lost. Pathetic.

The Ann Coulter/GOProud/Porno Pete Slapfight - This feud continues to entertain.

Pawlenty OK with move to oust judges - Say what you will about President Obama, if this guy gets into the White House, the lgbt community had better learn to be flexible so that we can easily kiss our rights goodbye.

Is the religious right after another gay Obama appointee?

I'm not aware of who David Hansell is but apparently some folks aren't exactly in his corner:

Conservative groups are expressing concern that David Hansell, an openly homosexual man and former AIDS activist, is currently serving as the acting head – the assistant secretary – of the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

Hansell is the former director of legal services and deputy director for government and public affairs at the Gay Men’s Health Crisis, a homosexual activist group that has lobbied the federal government on HIV/AIDS.

“It is very troubling that someone with his background has such a high position in this particular agency,” Peter Sprigg, senior fellow for policy studies at the Family Research Council (FRC), told CNSNews.com.

. . . Sprigg claims that Hansell has already used the power of the position to cut funding to states that do not permit homosexual couples to adopt children.

In January, the Family Research Council learned that Hansell had conducted a series of meetings aimed at forcing Florida to lift its ban on same-sex adoption, Sprigg said.

Now, as acting assistant secretary, Hansell is lobbying to cut HHS financial assistance for all Florida adoptions if the state doesn't change its policy, Sprigg told CNSNews.com.

“We have heard from private sources,” Sprigg said, “that he has been pushing for a cutoff for funding to states like Florida, which have a ban on adoption by homosexuals. Now we have defended the Florida law -- their right to have that law -- both because of the legitimate preference for placing children with a married mother and father and because of the risks of placing children with people who engage in a lifestyle that is harmful to them as individuals and to society as a whole.

. . . Sprigg told CNSNews.com that he is not at liberty to divulge the identities of the private sources who informed him of the alleged meetings.

The funny thing about this story is you can see by this link that I pulled it from Free Republic. It originally came from the right-wing CNSNews.com but if you go there, you can see that the story was pulled.

Far be it from me to spin conspiracy theories. However it is nice to think that maybe CNSNEWS.com felt that the article was in poor taste.

It definitely has a problem with truth. For one thing, I question anything that comes out the mouth of Peter Sprigg when it comes to the lgbt community. For the record, that's Peter (we should export gays when we are not criminalizing homosexuality) Sprigg.

Sprigg is also the same guy who created and is now pushing the Top Ten Myths About Homosexuality, a fraudulent pamphlet in which he distorts credible health information to demonize the lgbt community.

Based on his other lies about the lgbt community, I'm not buying his claim about private sources.

And then the article contained this lovely misinformation:

Peter LaBarbera, president of Americans for Truth about Homosexuality, compared Hansell to Kevin Jennings, a former homosexual activist whom President Obama appointed as assistant deputy secretary for the Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools at the U.S. Department of Education.

Jennings came under public scrutiny last year for how he handled a situation as a teacher in a private boarding school when a 15-year-old boy informed him about a sexual relationship with an older man. Jennings, who has written and spoken of the incident, claims he told the boy “I hope you knew to use a condom,” but did not report the information to authorities.

As we all know, the young man, "Brewster," was 16, which was legal age in the state of Massachusetts at the time. Also, "Brewster" later released a statement saying that Jennings gave him helpful advice during that time.

Perhaps if CNSNews.com would take as much time in getting the story right rather than spinning another tired narrative of the "spooky gays coming to get children," the site would have included these crucial bits of information.

Not that it matters because the story is pulled for now anyway, so it really doesn't do any damage. But it gets the wolves at Free Republic jumping:

From what I can see, our government has been infiltrated from top to bottom by a bunch of pervert butt plumbers and carpet cleaners.

In the old days, this guy would have been the one everyone wanted their kids to stay away from. Now, he's in CHARGE of the kids' welfare!!

When I saw the headline: “Homosexual Activist Serves as Acting Head of HHS Agency for Children and Families” I immediately though of Willie Sutton’s reply to the question: “why do you rob banks?” - “Because that’s where the money is!”

They are a minority with speical rights to sexually dominate the adults and children society now. We thought feme-nazi Dykes were bad. Just wait. Hetersexual men and boys are going to suffer even more.

Thursday, August 12, 2010

No matter how the battle goes, the lgbt community is winning the war

Well we all know Judge Walker's decision:

A federal judge today declined to lift his stay on same-sex marriages in California, ruling that such unions may not occur until Aug. 18, at the earliest. Judge Vaughn Walker's decision gives opponents time to appeal to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Supporters of same-sex marriage were pleased with the decision. Courage Campaign’s Rick Jacobs said: “"Today's ruling means that in less than one week, equality under the law will be restored for millions of loving families across California. Lifting the stay is ultimately consistent with both legal precedent and the findings in this case.”

But opponents expressed outrage and condemned Walker as an "activist. “When a lower judge makes an unprecedented ruling that totally overturns existing Supreme Court precedent, the normal thing for that judge to do is to stay his decision, and let the higher courts decide," the National Organization for Marriage said in a statement. "Judge Walker's ruling is more evidence he is not a neutral referee, he's an activist on this issue." The statement added that the group expects the ruling to be appealed to Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy.

I'm not angry over this. The lgbt community has had to wait for a long time for this moment, so what's a couple of more days.

But in the words of Greek playwright, Euripides, "the world has turned and turned sharp, too."

I'm hopeful that eventually we will win this but I am happier over the fact that this shows the strength of our community.

Just think - in 2004, the religious right were galvanized like never before and we were like innocent lambs awaiting the onslaught of hungry wolves.

And they tore us up. In every state which there was a vote over marriage equality, we lost.

But things are a bit different now because we kept to the grindstone, never stopping to use every opportunity we could to talk about our families and never giving up hope that the momentum would shift our way.

And it has. So while the opposition are assembling themselves in laughably useless "Truth Academies" and embarrassingly empty "marriage tours" peddling the same homophobic lies, the lgbt community is growing and progressing.

Peter O'Toole say it best in The Lion In Winter:

THIS is what winning looks like.

A Report inside Porno Pete's 'Truth Academy' and other Thursday midday news briefs

The AFTAH Anti-Gay-Rights Academy: From the Perspective of Two Who Attended, Day 1 of 3 - Nothing I can say will prepare you for what you are about to read. A blogger, the Friendly Atheist, had two people secretly infiltrate Peter LaBarbera's anti-gay "Truth Academy. What they report is just . . . a big ole bowl of hot funky anti-gay mess. All of that zaniness in one place and lightning didn't strike? It's a miracle.

Video: Maggie. Again. Yes, again. I know, I know -- and I'm sorry. But she's relevant. So deal. - Maggie Gallagher continues to be sad over the Prop 8 decision . . . GOOD!

Washington Post reports: "Gay and lesbian gangs" add to fights, theft at Verizon Center, Metro mayhem - I'm interested to see how the religious right will spin this one.

Camenker and MassResistance Push Scott Lively For Governor - Why not? Massachusetts needs that lovely anti-gay push that Lively gave Uganda. (that was sarcasm, folks)

House wingnuts offer resolution condemning Prop 8 ruling - but they're not bigots - Of course not. They are just a bunch of @#*^!@. Whew, that was nice. I need a cigarette.

National Organization for Marriage don't like lgbt families

While we are awaiting Judge Vaughn Walker's ruling on that temporary stay on gay marriages in California (and let's keep our fingers crossed that we win that one also), this video by Rob Tisani of the blog Waking Up Now is a reminder as to what it is all about:

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Making fun of anti-gay liars is always good therapy

I want to do something thought provoking and intelligent tonight but I'm not in the mood.

Those who read my blog have been with me through it all, be it fire leading to temporary homelessness to annoying power outages.

So now comes theft. Some unemployed by choice idiots broke into my apartment and stole my laptop and television.

Of course the benefits of having a job and a little bit of mad money is that I was easily able to replace them, albeit I will be paying for them both over over a year thanks to lovely rent-to-own deals.

Oh well, I will take solace in the fact that the idiots who stole my laptop can't make it work. I had no battery and they left the plug.

I hates a thief but I can't stands a dumb one.

Anyway, the following clip is from Infomania making fun of anti-gay "therapist" Richard Cohen and others who push the phony theory of reparative therapy.

Enjoy. Tomorrow morning I should have my mojo back:

National Organization for Marriage gets smacked down in NC and other Wednesday midday news briefs

Pam Spaulding’s Encounter With NOM Volunteer - Man I wish the NOM folks would come down to South Carolina.

Guest column by CD Kirven: Open Letter to Dr. Alveda King from a Black LGBT Rights Activist - An excellent retort to the madness that is Alveda King.

Rep. Lamar Smith: No Impeachment of Judge Vaughan Walker - And sanity reigns. At least just a little bit.

Porno Pete’s Truth Academy Bombs - A lovely point which should be reiterated. By the way, I requested Petey's friendship on Facebook. Bet I have a better chance of kissing Brian Brown than him saying yes. Then again, perish the thought. Gay is not a synonym for desperate.

Why Prop 8 lost - the video evidence speaks for itself

By way of Box Turtle Bulletin, I saw this on LGBT POV:

Most of us were so swept up in anticipation of, then excitement over District Court Judge Vaughn Walker’s ruling last Wednesday, Aug. 4, affirming the constitutional right of same sex couple to marry that we didn’t notice that court also posted videos and documents presented as part of the Prop 8 trial. All of this material – including the actual courtroom testimony (transcripts of which are available on the American Foundation for Equal Rights website – is now part of the record going before the 9th Circuit Court of Appeal.

And needless to say that this video evidence is stunning. It totally belies the claims - especially by folks like Brian Brown from the National Organization for Marriage - that people voted Proposition 8 to specifically "protect marriage."

A lot of lies and fear went into pushing for Proposition 8. Right now, the writer of the piece, Karen Ocamb, is focusing on the testimony, the Executive Director of the San Francisco-based Traditional Family Coalition and a Protect Marriage spokesperson in the Asian community.

Tam tried to leave the case because he claimed he was fearful for the safety of his family. He ended up being a hostile witness for the plantiffs and did more than enough to prove that the Prop 8 vote wasn't just about marriage:

The most striking portion of the deposition, which was shown at trial, is Tam acknowledging the aforementioned letter he had written urging a vote for Prop 8 in which he says that same sex marriage will lead to legal prostitution and legal sex with children:

“This is put forth by the SF city government, which is under the rule of homosexuals. They lose no time in pushing the gay agenda – after legalizing same sex marriage they want to legalize prostitution. What will be next? On their agenda list is: legalizing having sex with children.”

Aside from Tam's videotaped testimony, other video evidence, which comprised mostly of the commercials for the Prop 8 side are stunning in their inaccurate claims about how marriage equality would harm children or how churches could lose their tax-exempt statuses. They would be downright infuriating until one realizes that while it was stuff like this that ensured a victory at the ballot box, it also ensured an embarrassing defeat in court.

Turnabout is fair play indeed.