Forgive me Lord, but your 'followers' are nuts

Apparently someone left the cage open because members of the anti-gay industry are figuratively "showing their asses" today.

Let's break down the top three stories:

Holsinger may become surgeon general

Rumour control has it that President Bush may just go ahead and recess appoint James Holsinger as our Surgeon General. I have covered the Holsinger situation in detail so I am not going to rehash the entire sordid affair. If you want to a recap, check out this link.

But if Bush does recess appoint Holsinger, I would not be surprised. It would be symbolic of our president's legacy as a self-righteous wannabe John Waynish type of figure who, despite all of his lies and deceptions, is never wrong; at least in his eyes.

Bottom line - I wouldn't trust Bush to be in charge of a dog pound much less a nation. But he has served two terms; two long, long, loooooong terms.

He makes me almost miss Reagan. At least Regan could make his bullshit sound like a symphony.

Homo-naseuous but lies are okay with me?

Dave Daubenmire today wrote a column talking about how he is "homo-nauseous."

His column is a scream. The beginning warns readers that his words aren't going to be "politically correct."

He should have said his words weren't going to be correct. That would have been more to the point because it is apparent that while Daubenmire claims to be "hom-nauseous," he has no problems with lying.

His column is filled with the standard anti-gay industry straw men arguments. He also peppers the column with links to sites that supposedly proves his point:

But I thought "homosexuals" were just like everyone else and that all they wanted was to be free to "live their lives" in peace. If that is the case, why won't they stop identifying themselves by what the do in the privacy of their bedroom? Why are they so intent on making me accept their deviancy? Why are they trying to indoctrinate 6-year olds into their perversion?

I took a look at the link he used there.

It is from a Massachusetts anti-gay industry group, Mass Resistance. Dauberman and the link in question was talking about a situation that took place a few years ago involving David Parker, a man who claimed that he was arrested for keeping the "homosexual agenda" from "indoctrinating" his six-year-old son.

This, of course, is a blatant lie. I talk about the Parker controversy in detail through my book. I used it as an example of how the anti-gay industry sometimes creates and distorts controversies to further their agenda.

I emailed Mr. Daubenmire the following letter:

i am sorry but your references are wrong. the sites you linked to do not tell the entire story of each controversy.

for exampe, i noticed that you linked much to the mass resistance site and especially the david parker situation.

in the first place, no one was trying to indoctrinate parker's son. he simply brought home a book that included a same sex family.

david parker kept complaining to the school, even though he was told that homosexuality was not a part of his child's curriculum. It culminated with parker getting arrested as a publicity stunt. he claimed that the school did not comply with his request to exclude his child out of discussions of same sex families, even if such discussions were to happen spontaneously (apparently a few of his son's classmates came from same sex households).

the school told him that discussions about same sex households are not included in the district opt out policy because discussions of families are not the same as discussions of sex. The school told him this after seeking the advice of district office. they also him that they could not keep students from talking about their families.

Parker refused to leave the school after the meeting and was arrested. conveniently mass resistance "just happened" to be there to take pictures of the incident.

a year after his arrest, parker and mass resistance told the lie that his son was attacked because of his father's stance. the school investigated, the area police investigated, the area social services agency investigate. all found that the claim was a lie.

just wanted you to know the type of folks you are taking info from. you claim to be "homo-naseuous." it is apparent that you do not feel the same way about lies.

I also posted it to his site. How much you want to bet that it probably won't appear there?

Peter done gone cuckoo

Peter LaBarbera never ceases to amaze me. Check out the following from his site:

When did Chicago become a worldwide Mecca for perversion enthusiasts? Every year it hosts “International Mr. Leather” with its accompany “pig sex” parties (somebody call the Swine Defamation League). The Windy City is home to a ”museum” for sadistic sex practitioners called the “Leather Archives & Museum” – no joke; here’s the link to this tax-exempt, non-profit institution.

And now, Sodom-by-the-Lake welcomes International Mr. Rubber, an international contest for, well, rubber fetishists. Don’t ask. The picture above from their website should tell you all you need to know.

Partnering with the rubber enthusiasts was the Center on Halsted, a brand new “GLBT” community center in Chicago’s homosexual Boystown neighborhood (which is officially demarcated with rainbow kiosks). Center on Halsted’s construction was financed with the help of Illinois taxpayers through a $10 million “link deposit” by the Treasurer’s office— then run by a Republican, Judy Baar Topinka — that helped them get access to low interest-rate loans.

If you want to see pictures, check out the link I posted. What can I say about a man whose stridency makes him a mockery?

Usually nothing.

But last week, I sent Peter the galleys of my book.

I understand now that he probably didn't have enough time to read them. Probably preparing for the rubber trip.

After all, why bother to explain your lies when you can create some new ones?

Breaking down ENDA opposition

Now there may be some who say that I pay too much attention to Peter LaBarbera and Americans for Truth (in name only.)

But sometimes they make things so easy that I can't help but to indulge. Case in point, the lastest entry by Peter about ENDA.

If anything, it underscores that sometimes Peter is so fanatical in his "crusade" against the lgbt community that he undermines his efforts while making our side look good.

This time, he posted a debate that took place on CNN regarding ENDA between Concerned Women for America's Matt Barber and African-American activist Keith Boykin.

Just watch it. Is it just me or did Boykin totally destroy Barber?

Watching the debate got me thinking about the lies put out by Barber and some of those who oppose ENDA.

It allowed me to place their opposition in a true perspective.

Barber and company seem to think that a person's personal religious beliefs should trump the ability to be free from discrimination in any environment, even in secular situations.

It may sound admirable but answer my questions regarding the possible scenarios:

Should a manager of a restaurant who has a religious objection to homosexuality be allowed to fire an employee if said employee is gay?

Should a landlord with a religious objection to homosexuality retain the right not to rent to a person if said person is gay?

Should the manager or owner of a supermarket with a religious objection to homosexuality be allowed to kick out a potential buyer if said person is gay?

And if these things are allowed, where could we draw the line?

Will a physician who has an objection to homosexuality be allowed to not treat a patient if said patient is gay?

Or what about a pharmacist?

Again where do we draw the line?

Worse case scenarios from hell

One thing made clear in the fight over ENDA is how the anti-gay industry have shifted their lies from the gay and lesbian community to the transgender community.

And apparently they don't believe in being subtle. Some of the things I have heard coming from Matt Barber, Lou Sheldon, Peter LaBarbera, and the rest have been absolutely unbelievable in the areas of audacity and idiocy.

My "favorites" are the following:

ENDA will lead to

- men with five o'clock shadow and evening gowns demanding jobs at nurseries and churches,

- drag queens sharing swimming pool changing room with little girls,

- men arbitrarily claiming that they are transgender in order to sneak a peek at women using the toilet.

Some may chalk up these claims to desperation. I say it is more than that. The sickness of these claims reveal the rotting moral center of so-called "family groups." I mean what type of people actually thinks of these things about "drag queens" and "men in five o'clock shadow and evening gowns."

Probably the same type related to those who claimed that integration would lead to black men raping white women.

Those folks claimed that they were Christians too.

Book update - Guess who I sent a copy to

Apparently my book is doing well on amazon.com

For the second time, only one copy of the paperback is left. And more are on the way.

I chalk it up to the fact that my book seems to be selling well in Canada via amazon.ca

I really won't know how many I have sold until probably two weeks from now when my publisher gets the wholesellers' figures.

Meanwhile . . .

I think that you all remember the brouhaha last week between me and our friend Peter LaBarbera of Americans for Truth (in name only).

To rehash it - he kept asking for a review copy and I kept telling him to buy one.

Well that struggle is over.

I said last week that my decision not to email him a review copy of my book was not set in stone.

Well I meant it because I emailed him a copy of the galleys last night.

At first, I was defiant that Peter should buy a copy of my book. Part of the reason why I felt this way was because he had asked for a review copy before anyone else really had access to my book.

Now, over two months and a bunch of good sales later, that has changed. More people have access to my book.

Also, I am curious as to how folks on the other side of this argument would react to my book. After all, I accuse them of distorting science and relying on junk studies to demonize the lgbt community.

I couldn't help but to be curious as to how they would respond when they read my exact charges.

In the end, I guess that little bit of curiousity convinced me to go ahead and email Peter a copy of my galleys.

So now Peter, the ball is now in your court. You have my book.

Can you refute my claims?

ENDA battle a bitter victory

As many of you are aware, this fight over ENDA has divided the lgbt community.

I won't rehash the arguments but to be honest, I can see both sides of the issue.

The passage of ENDA through the House is a great victory. It demonstrates that lgbts have come a long way. It also demonstrates that slowly but surely, the battle for our self-determination is going our way.

On the other hand,

The exclusion of transgendered individuals shows that while we are getting close to victory, we have a long way to go before we can place our feet on the welcome mat of success. As an African-American gay male, I know a little of what it feels like to be omitted for the sake of expediency.

So while my mind is for the passage of ENDA, my heart is with my transgendered brothers and sisters

So what's the solution?

I don't know. I can only offer my opinion of what we need to do next.

Which is we do what we can to resolve the friendships online and otherwise that some of us lost due to this disagreement over ENDA.

And we continue to move forward, educating each other and ourselves over this fight for self determination.

ENDA Stuff - History in the making

I advise everyone to check out this site or this one if you want to listen or see the hearings on ENDA.

We are on the crux of history, folks. Regardless of how things turn out, the door is open and it will NOT be closed.

UPDATE - The House just passed ENDA!!!!!!!!!!!


PFOX member wins award and boy does he deserve it

Box Turtle Bulletin has just announced a new winner of its LaBarbera Award.

First, a little background. According to Jim Burroway, editor of Box Turtle Bulletin, the LaBarbera award (named after our friend Porno Petey):

will be awarded on an as-earned basis for the most outrageous, offensive, malevolent, crazy, excessive — you get the picture — statement or claim. (Paul Cameron is ineligible; otherwise nobody else would ever get a chance to win.) I thought about naming it for Fred Phelps, but he’s in a class all by himself.

Past recipients of the award have been such "luminaries" as Regina Griggs of PFOX and Rick Scarborough of Vision America.

Not to be undone, another member of PFOX, Gabriel Espinosa, has been chosen as the recent recipient.

And it couldn't have happened to a nicer guy. According to Box Turtle Bulletin:

The Montgomery County (Maryland) Council is considering a new gender identity nondiscrimination bill, which has generated a lot of heated debate. JimK at TeachTheFacts.org has published a couple of letters from the far-right fringe in opposition to the proposed measure. The sticking point is over men’s and women’s restrooms — who should be allowed to go into which one. Gabriel joined in with her cahrming little note, reportedly done up in about a 40-point font. Please excuse the French:

Bill 23-07

Allowing men who think they’re women into women’s bathrooms and locker rooms?

ARE YOU PEOPLE OUT OF YOUR FUCKING MINDS?

Hopefully, it will be one of your daughters who gets raped first!

Sincerely Yours,
Gabriel Espinosa
President
Furryllama Media Productions

Lawd, lawd, lawd

I love God, but his "followers" are a drag.

The resurrection of the Matt Barber/AllState lie

In fighting against ENDA, some members of the anti-gay industry is resurrecting the Matt Barber lie.

For the benefit of those who do not know, Matt Barber is the policy director for Cultural Studies for Concerned Women for America. Before that time, he worked at AllState Insurance.

He was fired from that job, subsequently making himself a new cause celebre for the anti-gay industry. You see, Barber claimed (and still claims) that he was fired for being Christian.

What caused the entire fuss was a column Barber wrote against marriage equality. It's funny because the column said nothing about his religious beliefs. It did include a lot of bad information, including some Cameronesque studies. Apparently Barber did not research his topic.

However, it did identify him as an employee of AllState. Barber claims this was added accidentally by another party.

AllState fired Barber, claiming that he used company resources for his personal use. Barber contended that he wrote the column on his own time.

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 and AllState settled, even though no dollar amount was mentioned.

Barber was not fired for his religious beliefs. As it turns out, AllState could have had a justifiable reason for firing him, which is why he was not rehired:

In court documents, Allstate said Barber was not fired for his beliefs, but for using company resources for his personal activities.

Company spokesman Michael Trevino said that Allstate has never terminated an employee for expressing his or her personal views away from the office. Barber said he wrote the articles at home but admitted that he sometimes sent personal e-mails, including some related to his writing, from his company laptop. Barber also stated that he made no more personal use of his laptop than his co-workers did.

Barber's situation had nothing to do with religion or ENDA. But in the eyes of the anti-gay industry, a lie can become the truth if it is repeated long enough.

Damn, Peter. You must be slipping

What is with our friend Peter LaBarbera.

I think he may be phoning it in.

Case in point - A recent posting on his American for Truth (in name only) webpage:

Study Finds Extensive Partner Abuse among Homosexual, Bisexual Men

From that headline, it sounds like Peter, as a card carrying member of the anti-gay industry, is up to his usual tricks of distorting legitimate studies in order to demonize the lgbt community.

Until the rest of the post is read. I put the important piece in bold:

A new study in the Journal of Urban Health: Bulletin of The New York Academy of Medicine found that 32 percent of gay and bisexual men - nearly one in three - are victims of intimate partner abuse.

Little has previously been researched and documented about the patterns of intimate partner abuse in same-sex male couples. This study’s results provide an important addition to the body of knowledge on this subject, and a call to action for health providers treating men who have sex with men (MSM).

“Men in same-sex relationships experience abuse rates similar to those faced by women in heterosexual pairings,” said lead author Eric Houston of the Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Chicago. “Intimate partner abuse among MSM does not receive the same attention as it does among heterosexual couples. As a result of the lack of attention, many MSM who need help may not be recognized unless the healthcare provider is appropriately trained and takes time to assess for abuse.”

So Peter, how does this information make same-sex relationships seem worse than heterosexual relationships?

You must be slipping my friend.

One News Now and the tale of the poll

We have been inudated with lies that ENDA will lead to discrimination against Christians and such.

But how do some of these same so-called Christians feel about considering sexual orientation or gender identity in employment?

Do they view it as an issue that should be considered?

According to a recent poll on the anti-gay industry site One News Now, 43.9 percent of poll respondees said factors such as an individual's sexual orientation or gender identity should always be taken into consideration when a person is hired or fired.

And you just know that the 43.9 percent aren't necessarily pro-gay.

Something to think about.