Gay America, we are being played!!!!!

First there was the nonsense from Ft. Lauderdale Mayor Jim Naugle about "gay public sex."

And now this hot mess about fire fighters being sexually harassed during a pride parade in San Diego.

Call me paranoid is you want but I sense something brewing.

Today from One News Now, comes these lovely articles:

Bulk of homosexual campaign contributions going to Clinton's campaign coffer

San Antonio police chief encouraged to stop promoting homosexual causes

The connotation of the articles being no doubt:

San Antonio supports "nasty gay parades" like the one in San Diego

and

Hilary Clinton supports all gay lewdness

Meanwhile, some of my fellow gay bloggers are pratically spraining their wrists defending the fire fighters in the San Diego incident, even though they are not aware of all of the facts.

So is the Naugle incident and the San Diego fire fighter lawsuit mere coincidences?

Maybe.

But seeing how the anti-gay industry is connected and intertwined, I am suspicious about the proximity of both incidents.

Just how many other "coincidental" incidents and lawsuits are on the horizon?

How long will it be before Fox News manufactures a special entitled Has Gay Rights Gone Too Far?

Here are the facts as I see them:

We know that Jim Naugle is a grandstanding liar

We do not know the entire story behind the San Diego lawsuit

But here is what we should be aware of.

There is now a cloud the size of a man's hand above the lgbt community.

While we bitch over details, the anti-gay industry is yet again making us out to be sex fiends who, when not trolling for sex in public restrooms, go about sexually abusing fire fighters.

The anti-gay industry is crafting a new ignorant image of us just in time for the national election. And by all means do not think that their lies won't be used on a local level.

And the truth usually does not matter when it should. If you kick up enough smoke, you can obscure the truth until the time that revelation is futile.

The question is are we going recognize what the anti-gay industry and do something about it?

Or are we going to sit on our butts after it's all over and complain yet again about being lied on?

Cause that commotion, make that money

Apparently Jim Naugle is old news because the anti-gay industry has found another cause celebre.

Four firefighters in the city of San Diego are suing because of alleged harrassment they suffered during a gay pride parade from both pro-gays and those speaking out against homosexuality.

They also claim that they were "forced" to participate.

The only thing that is known for sure in this case is that these firefighters have filed a lawsuit and are aided by the Thomas More Law Center, another arm of the anti-gay industry just like the Allied Defense Fund.

But not having all of the facts is a relatively minor annoyance to the anti-gay industry and one that that they can ignore.

Concerned Women for America is already demanding that the fire chief (who just happens to be a lesbian - how conveeeniet) resign or stop her alleged "on-the-job activism."

And of course other press releases read in their headlines that these firefighters were "forced to participate" in the pride rally.

No doubt this is the story that will play up to rightwing blogs and phony "pro-family" sites like One News Now, despite the fact that all of the facts are not known.

Actor Gene Hackman once said in a movie that people aren't interested in truth, only headlines.

How very true. And very sad.

Lying and Misrepresenting in the name of God is still a sin

Apparently the anti-gay industry just won't let go of this Jim Naugle thing.

A group of them (the usual suspects) have began a coalition, Healthy Public Places, in which they will spin more propaganda about the lgbt community.

They even have a webpage. However the only thing on it is a press release.

Stay tuned for "studies" that will show that lgbts are more likely to want to have sex in public places.

Paging Paul Cameron!

I have an idea. How about including a statement from area police who have said repeatedly that "gay public sex" is a nonexistent issue in Ft. Lauderdale.

Meanwhile, I ran across something interesting and disturbing.

In 2006, the group Operation Save America began this huge effort to stop Charlotte NC lgbts from having their annual pride event.

This group claimed that all sorts of lewd things were happening during the event.

They tried, unsuccessfully, to get the local government to do away with the event.

I should add that since that time, Charlotte Gay Pride, had suffered from member burnout and it looked like there wouldn't be an event.

Naturally Operation Save America took credit. But they took it too soon. Charlotte Gay Pride went on as scheduled.

But back to my original point. There is a video online from Operation Save America from the 2006 fight. Apparently they and other groups with the same endeavors wanted to show the so-called "nasty gay agenda" they were fighting against.

The video shows members of various "Christian" groups making speeches in front of a committee. This is undercut with footage from the Charlotte Pride.

Pastor Flip Benham of Operation Save America accused drag performers of having sex acts with children, some as young as three and four years old.

However, the footage from the event does not show that. It shows children coming up and giving money to performers. There is nothing lewd about that.

And it does show a drag performer holding a baby in her arms. The performer is not doing anything lewd.

And there is a picture, not video, but picture of a drag performer and a child. But don't get alarmed. The child looks as if he is about the give the performer money.

However, add a little ominous music, it probably looks like the performer is about to eat the child.

I might point out that some of the footage looks edited. We do not see the beginning and ending of events in sequence. And much of the footage from the event are pictures (such as the drag performer and the child).

There was this quick montage of a man looking like he was wearing just a t-shirt. It is not known if whether or not he was wearing shorts. Apparently he may have been manning a table from a "nudist" group.

Then there was something interesting.

Someone puts up a book to the camera and this book shows nude men as the unidentified person turns the page.

However, it is not known whether or not the book came from the table, and the person turning the pages is never identified.

And they also show different books and pictures but nothing as lewd as they made things out to be.

But here is something I found troubling.

Former Mecklenberg County Commissioner Hoyle Martin is shown at the meeting
reading something that he said came from "gay activist Steve Warren."

It reads in part:

If all these things come to pass quickly, we will subject orthodox Jews and Christians to the most sustained hatred and Vilification in recent memory. We have captured the liberal establishment and the press. We have already beaten you on a number of battlefields. And we have the spirit of age on our side. You have neither the strength to fight us nor the will, so you might as well surrender now.

Martin paraphrased the last part of the statment but that’s pretty much word for word what he said.

But in the video, Martin omitted something crucial about the piece

It was published in 1987.

Apparently Warren was a member of Act-Up and as many of us know, 1987 was the year that marked the beginning of gay groups beginning direct action campaign to protest homophobia and the inaction regarding AIDS and HIV in the gay community.

Act-Up was heavily involved in these tactics.

The question I have is just what in the hell does Warren who, as far as I know, is neither a native of North Carolina nor a member of the Charlotte Pride planning committee, have to do with Charlotte Gay Pride?

What does his piece, written over 15 years ago, have to do with Charlotte Gay Pride?

Nothing unless you want to scare ignorant people of faith about an alleged "gay agenda."
It is relatively easy to take the writings of one person and generalize about an entire community.

You are not just appealing to the person's fear but also their egos. Some folks who believe that homosexuality is a sin unfortunately also believe other nasty things about lgbts and these things have nothing to do with Biblical interpretation.

Like gays want to have sex with children.

After all to them, God says homosexuality is bad. And that means lgbts are bad people. Why would God speak against them if they weren't "evil?"

Their God never lies.

I suppose with that mode of thinking, Oprah Winfrey words and life doesn’t mean a thing. And neither does Vernon Jordan or Martin Luther King, Jr.

After all, why not take the actions someone like Willie Horton and demonize the African-American for that?

And who cares about people like Cesar Chavez? Augusto Pinochet and Manuel Noriega will suffice to brand all Latino folks.

And since we are going waaay back, let forget Pinochet and Noriega. Let's talk Santa Ana.

The sad thing is that through out the entire video, Benham and the rest used words like religion, faith, and family.

So I suppose using out-of-date pieces and distorting Pride footage is okay if you are trying to "protect" religion, faith, and family.

And I suppose that continuing to highlight a nonexistent problem in order to create a moral panic is okay also.

I am confused. Just where did Jesus say doing these things are okay?

Finis

A short post today.

The final galleys for my book have been finished and approved. All there is to do now is wait for my author's review copy.

If all goes well (and I think it will) then my book, Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters: Exposing the Lies of the Anti-Gay Industry, should be out by mid to late September.

Janet Folger puts her foot in her mouth but it's nothing new to see here folks

In her zeal to brand lgbts as purveyors of public sex, the Weeping Willow of the Anti-Gay Industry, Janet Folger seems to have stepped in it.

In that recent column of hers which I have talked about, News flash! Sex in public still illegal, Folger said the following:

Dr. E. Fields, in his book "Is Homosexual Activity Normal?", reveals "41 percent of homosexuals say they have had sex with strangers in public restrooms."

Now just who in the heck is Dr. E. Fields? Well according to this blog:

Edward Fields is a chiropractor who has spent the last 55 years involved with various neo-Nazi organizations in the United States. The ADL has a few interesting details on "Dr" Edward Fields:

In 1952, still shy of twenty, he met the flamboyant racist J.B. Stoner while the two were attending law school in Atlanta, and joined Stoner's Christian Anti-Jewish Party (formerly the Stoner Anti-Jewish Party), a very small mass-mailing outfit in Atlanta. Stoner said he founded the organization to "out-Hitler Hitler," whom he called a "moderate"; his aim was "to make being Jewish a crime, punishable by death."

Fields eventually dropped out of law school, choosing instead to attend Palmer School of Chiropractic in Davenport, Iowa, in 1953.

The following year he and another student allegedly posted signs on storefronts in Davenport and two other towns reading, "This store owned by Jews" and "Anti-Jewish Week, Feb. 21-28" (in fact, the end of February had been designated National Brotherhood Week).

No charges were filed, but Fields was placed on probation. He remained undaunted, apparently; his schooldays continued to be marked by anti-Semitic and racist pickets, meetings and mailings. During this time he built networks across the American far-right underground. He attended Palmer until 1956, and thereafter referred to himself as "Dr. Fields" - a title that conferred prestige among hardcore racists.

To her credit, Folger acknowledged what she did:

Special note: In the original version of this column, there was a sentence where I referred to some research conducted by a Dr. E. Fields.

It has come to our attention that Dr. Fields subscribes to a number of racist views of which our Faith2Action ministry was unaware. The research had been previously cited by some seemingly unchallenged sources, which I'm sure were also unaware of his racist views and writings.

We sincerely apologize for this mistake. As Christians, we disavow all racism as sinful and would never knowingly promote an advocate of racism.

Faith2Action maintains that the problem of sex in public restrooms is a very serious one that Fort Lauderdale and other cities have every right and duty to confront. In the future, however, we will not refer to any research by Dr. Fields.

Now if only she would get others to do the same regarding Paul Cameron.

Really though I am not surprised by Folger's citing racist sources. Others in the anti-gay industry have done the same.

In April 2007, professional "ex-gay" Stephen Bennett was promoting a video from YouTube that talked about the supposed homosexual menace.

Thing is, however, the video was made by a person who created other videos such as:

The Black Death (about how Asians nearly killed Europeans by giving them the plague)

Keep America white- Hitler- Blacks are racist-

Mexican druglords and human sacrifice-

White Europeans are the first Americans (parts I, II and III)

Black Crime

Black Intelligence - which purports to be a discussion of how white people are smarter than black people, and which shows a bunch of dark Hollywood-stereotype African natives jumping up and down like monkeys. The video is one of the most racist things you have ever seen. I thought about not even posting it, but the lesson will not be learned until we call the religious right on their bigotry publicly.

Please bear in mind that I am not calling Folger or Bennett racist. I am merely pointing out how so strident members of the anti-gay industry are that they will use anything to demonize the lgbt community.

Their egos seem to tell them that in the long run, what they are doing is right in the eyes of God. That being the case, who needs to do things such as research and checking one's sources.

The real question is Harry Jackson paying attention.

Something worth knowing about the Jim Naugle controversy

By now the controversy over anti-gay Florida Mayor Jim Naugle is probably wearing thin, except for in anti-gay industry circles.

But today, something came out that needs to be said yet again.

As I stated before, an effective anti-gay industry tactic is to distort something about the lgbt community and repeat it ad naseum.

With that in mind, I saw an article today that yet again clearly shows that Naugle and his supporters are attempting to create a moral panic about "public sex" to yet again demonize the gay community:

When Fort Lauderdale Mayor Jim Naugle linked the purchase of new toilets for beach parks to gay sex in public places, he uncorked a torrent of protest. But just how prevalent is public sex?

No one keeps detailed statistics on sex in public restrooms and parks. South Florida law enforcement agencies say they receive occasional complaints and make a few arrests, but they don't spend much time cracking down on it. Since 2005, Fort Lauderdale has reported two arrests for sexual activity in a public restroom.

''I don't know whether it's the perception or the reality, but it doesn't seem like it's that much of a problem,'' Broward Sheriff's Office spokesman Jim Leljedal said.

Miami-Dade Police cracked down on public sex at Tropical Park, 7900 SW 40th St., in August 2001 and made 17 arrests. Police spokesman Juan Villalba said he knows of no current sting operations.

And check out this quote from Anthony Verdugo, executive director of the Christian Family Coalition of South Florida:

''The majority of homosexuals and heterosexuals don't engage in public sex, and if you poll them they would say it's wrong,'' Verdugo said. ``But the issue is a valid issue that the mayor brought up in terms of public sex and listings on the website.''

No matter how valid the issue seems to be, it is not an issue that should be used to demonize an entire community for alleged actions of a few.

Someone alert Janet Folger!!

It's Monday so it's time for another lie courtesy of Minister Harry Jackson

A popular and effective distortion technique of the anti-gay industry is to misrepresent something about the lgbt community and repeat that misrepresentation irregardless of the correction of said fact.

A perfect case in point is the latest column by Minister Harry Jackson. Jackson is railing yet again about adding lgbts to hate crimes legislation.

In this column, he is upset because U.S. Representative Jim Clyburn sent him a letter asking him to stop distorting the issue. Jackson said he sent a letter back to Clyburn detailing for him the following exchange:

In the congressional subcommittee, Republican Congressman Louis Gohmert of Texas moved to remove "sexual orientation" and "gender identity" from the bill. It failed on a recorded vote of 19 to 13. Next, Congressman Mike Pence from Indiana offered an important amendment on Freedom of Religion.

A number of Republicans spoke in support of it. But the Democrats, Jerrold Nadler, Tammy Baldwin and Chairman John Conyers kept evading the issue.

Finally Congressman Gohmert asked, "If a minister was giving a sermon, a Bible Study or any kind of written or spoken message saying that homosexuality was a serious sin and a person in the congregation went out and committed a crime against a homosexual would the minister be charged with the crime of incitement?"

Gohmert was attempting to clarify and emphasize that the legislation would have an effect on the constitutional right to religious freedom and thus the Pence amendment was needed to protect religious speech. The Democrats continued to explain why they could not accept the amendment.

Lundgren continuously shot down their answers. He said, "What is your answer? Would there be incitement charges again the pastor?"

And finally Democrat Congressman Artur Davis of Alabama spoke up and said, ‘Yes.’ ”

Jackson's version this exchange is a lie. And it has been refuted repeatedly.

The following is the actual exchange (courtesy of the webpage Good As You):

GOHERT: ...If a minister preaches that sexual relations outside of marriage of a man and woman is wrong, and somebody within that congregation goes out and does an act of violence, and that person says that that minister counseled or induced him through the sermon to commit that act, are you saying under your amendment that in no way could that ever be introduced against the minister?

DAVIS: No.

You see how Jackson distorted the exchange?

And I should point out the fact that in matters of violent crime, if the alleged perpetrator claims that certain individuals were involved, then it is the duty of the police to question that person.

This goes for ministers or anyone else and it happens irregardless of hate crimes legislation.

Rep. Clyburn asked Jackson to stop distorting the issue.

Apparently he didn't pay attention to the request.


New webpage, same old lies

Unassuming people alarmed that gay/straight alliances are in their children's schools generally fall victim to the lies of the anti-gay industry.

And it's usually their fault.

Rather than attempting to try to educate themselves on the lives of lgbt children and their needs, these parents go trolling online for sources that enhance their negative point of view about homosexuality. And there are many out there.

Unfortunately, there is now a new one.

Linda Harvey of the so-called "pro-family" group Mission America has started another group, Truthatschool.org, that seeks to "stop the promotion of homosexuality" in schools.

This webpage follows the same lying anti-gay industry mantra, particularly in the section that gives parents warnings of how "homosexuality has infiltrated schools:"

3. A homosexual club for students - Students are trained to be activists who will pressure school boards, be very "out" and visible to other students, and become the darlings of their sympathizers in the media. Club meetings feature "X" rated topics and dwell on rejection of traditional values, particularly religious beliefs that don’t accept homosexuality. “Straight” supporters also attend and may be encouraged to explore alternate sexuality. Students with same sex attractions will be cheered on by club members if they begin this behavior.

8. AIDS speakers, “safe sex” health education classes - This was the first avenue into the schools. Validity of alternate “families” and homosexual practices are often basic assumptions of today's health ed, and graphic instruction in condom use is typical as a method for AIDS "prevention." Actually, such lessons encourage promiscuous sex among teens, including experimentation with homosexuality.

10. Openly homosexual teachers and staff - These teachers then become role models, in-house activists, and possible confidants for students who want to start homosexual behavior. Student molestation becomes a real risk.

Harvey, who by the way is featured slightly in my book as an anti-gay industry propaganda technique (i.e. the phony expert) is a former ad executive who transformed herself to a sounding board for the usual anti-gay industry lies:

Homosexuality is associated with destructive outcomes, including AIDS, a much higher risk of STDs, roughly three times the rate of alcoholism and drug abuse, much more promiscuity and domestic abuse, and a shortened life span. The staggering health consequences observed for decades among homosexuals are referenced in much more detail in our Resources

And just what are these "resources?" Here are two:

The Negative Health Effects of Homosexuality - Timothy Dailey, Family Research Council

The Health Risks of Gay Sex - Dr. John R. Diggs

As luck would have it, I talk about both studies in my book. The studies are slanderous diatribes full of distortions and cherry-picked studies.

You know. The ones that's keeping James Holsinger from becoming surgeon general.

But let me elucidate further:

The Negative Effects of Gay Sex

Twice, John R. Diggs includes the study done by Alan Bell and Martin Weinberg in their book, Homosexualities: A Study of Diversity Among Men and Women, as indicative of the entire gay population. In one passage, he even refers to it as “a far ranging study of homosexual men . . .” But Bell and Weinberg never said that their findings were indicative of all gay men. They actually said “. . . given the variety of circumstances which discourage homosexuals from participating in research studies, it is unlikely that any investigator willever be in a position to say that this or that is true of a given percentage of all homosexuals.”

Diggs cites a Canadian study twice in order to claim that gays have a shorter lifespan than heterosexuals. But his citation of the study is a mischaracterization. In 2001, the six original researchers (Robert S. Hogg, Stefan A. Strathdee, Kevin J.P. Craib, Michael V. O’Shaughnessy, Julion Montaner, and Martin T. Schechter) who conducted that study have gone on record saying that religious conservatives (like Diggs) was distorting their work.

In another section entitled Physical Health, Diggs claims that gays are victims of “gay bowel syndrome.” The term is an obsolete medical term. exist and even the CDC does not use it. In fact, if one was to look at the endnotes of Diggs’ study, he would find that two of the sources he quoted concerning “gay bowel syndrome” were from articles in published in 1976 and 1983, which is consistent with the years that the term existed. One last source was a letter to the editor printed in 1994 but Diggs does not make it clear as to whatwere the circumstances surrounding it.

He generalizes convenience sample studies as indicative of the gay population at large. Diggs takes studies done in foreign countries and claims that they are indicative of the gay population at large.

Diggs claims that there are five distinctions between heterosexual and homosexual populations including levels of promiscuity, physical health, mental health, lifespan, and monogamy. However, he spends very little time comparing the two dynamics. He uses all of his time castigating gay populations.

He uses an out of date book, The Gay Report (published in 1979) to claim that gays are engaging in deviant sexual practices. Only once does he attempt to tie the alleged deviant practices of gays in 1979 to present day; and to do so, he cites two events that took place regarding bondage workshops. However, there is a strong indication that heterosexuals took part in these events as well as gays. Diggs ignores this dynamic.

The Negative Effects of Homosexuality

Timothy Dailey use a 1985 survey of lesbians at a Michigan music festival to claim that lesbians have a high rate of domestic violence. However, according to the reviewer of the study, Suzana Rose, Ph.D., of the 1099 lesbians participants, most were white and between the ages of 20-45. She also said: “Questions concerning perpetrating abuse need to distinguish between actions taken in self-defense and actions initiated by the aggressor. This point was not assessed here. Findings are limited by the selective recruiting of participants.”

Dailey also uses the Weinberg and Bell book to claim that all gay men are promiscuous despite the fact that both authors said their work was not indicative of all gay men.

Dailey uses the term “gay bowel syndrome”

Dailey cites a study that says young gay men are in danger of catching disease at a high rate. He omits the part of the study that said they need places to build their self esteem as homosexuals. In addition, he performs mathematical manipulation on percentages gauged in legitimate studies in order to push forth a higher image of gay men catching diseases.

He generalizes convenience sample studies as indicative of the gay population at large.

The sad thing is that guillible parents are going to read Linda Harvey's mess complete with her bad sources and think of it as credible.

Truly an ignorant person can cause more damage than a learned fool.