Peter LaBarbera exploits Weber murder case

An ugly murder took place recently. Unfortunately it's nothing new - murders take place all the time and all of them are ugly in their own fashion.

But this one was especially ugly. A former newsman, George Weber, was stabbed 50 times allegedly by a teenager he met on Craigslist.

According to reports, Weber had been looking for someone to choke him and engage in oral sex. He didn't know that the young man was a Satanist with a propensity for violence.

Peter LaBarbera has been exploiting the situation for his own purposes.

So far he has featured two consecutive posts about the crime spouting his usual unproven nonsense:

Folks, the greatest threat of violence to homosexual men comes from … other homosexual men. The stabbing murder of WABC reporter George Weber in New York is a terrible tragedy and yet it is instructive about the perils of promiscuous “gay” life. There is simply nothing that approaches the deviance of male homosexuality — especially at its sexual fringes — as other victims of gay-on-gay violence over the decades testify from the grave.

The second post featured an absolutely ridiculous comment by another so-called former gay, D.L. Foster (the interesting part put in bold by me):

“I probably will get hate mail for saying this but this type of hookup culture is common in the homosexual world. Another guy in NY who did the same thing was murdered. And yes heterosexuals do it too, but no matter what type of sexual proclivity it is, SIN leads to death. The best course of action is to get out of the deadly sin business and live for Christ.“

Let's be honest.

Had Weber been a heterosexual and his murderer been a teenaged girl, neither Foster nor LaBarbera would have given a damn.

In LaBarbera's posts, I saw the usual stuff - the lie that the lgbt orientation is indicative of hedonism, the lie that "you can walk away from homosexuality," the ugly innuendoes that lgbts aren't capable of having health relationships or families.

But one thing I did not see, and this bothers me, is concern for Weber and his family. No words of condolescences, no comments of concern, no words of encouragement. Nothing.

It's almost if LaBarbera went through reports of the crime drooling while he thought up the ways he could indict the lgbt community for Weber's murder rather than young man who possibly committed the crime.

LaBarbera's vile behavior is no different than a racist who will count how many black men were arrested for crimes on the evening news so that he can talk about it the next day on whatever white supremacist forum he is a member of.

I could easily say that the heterosexual community isn't blameless in this situation because after all, the alleged murderer has a girlfriend.

But I won't play that game.

Nine years ago I lost my father, Alvin S. Glenn, to violence.

Trust me when I say that for the family of the victim, the anger and feelings of helplessness never completely go away.

I pray that justice is served for Weber and his family can find some sort of peace after this awful incident.

I also wish that LaBarbera, for once, would have shown some taste and discernment.

Or at least acted like he gave a damn about the person rather than his "cause."

Beware of the 'yeah, but' Christian

Say what you will about the religious right, their behavior is a boon for people who like to create new words and phrases.

Sometimes the only way you can describe their actions is to invent new words and phrases.

Take my favorite phrase for example - headless monsters. A headless monster is a story or an idea that consistently gets refuted but continues to be repeated as truth due to the ignorance or the blind persistence of those repeating it.

Like the notion that "homosexuality takes decades off of your life," or "gay men molest children at a very high level."

Recent events have led me to create another new phrase to describe the religious right - the "yeah, but" Christian.

The "yeah, but" Christian is someone who, when caught in a contradiction or hypocrisy, pulls an addendum out of the air supposedly justifing his or her behavior even if he or she rails against someone else for behaving in the same manner and if said behavior contradicts all that he or she claims to stand for.

Take this case for example courtesy of One News Now:

Opposition is mounting to the University of Notre Dame's invitation to President Obama to be a commencement speaker in May.

Inviting the most pro-abortion president in history to speak at a Catholic school is not the only issue, according to David Castanzo is a spokesman for the Cardinal Newman Society.

"For a Catholic institution to make a clear and decisive move to award a doctoral degree to an individual who is so opposed to the pro-life movement, that is where the primary conflict comes into play," he explains.

The Catholic League is taking no official position, believing it is a matter for the church to resolve internally. But spokeswoman Susan Fani does encourage people to go to NotreDameScandal.com to sign a petition drive launched by the Cardinal Newman Society.

By reading many of the comments on this article, a lot of folks aren't exactly happy with Notre Dame for inviting President Obama.

But weren't some these folks the same people who gave the lgbt community hell during the Rick Warren situation. Weren't we accused of being intolerant and not wanting to "start a dialogue" with folks who think that homosexuality is a sin?

Aren't some of these individuals guilty of the same bit of "intolerance?"

"Yeah, but abortion is murder. No middle ground."

Then there is this situation:

A self-proclaimed bisexual male teacher in New York has invited his seventh-grade students and their parents to witness his commitment ceremony to another man.

The New York Times reports 32-year-old Chance Nalley gave slips of paper to his entire seventh-grade class at Columbia Secondary School, inviting them to the upcoming ceremony to be held at St. Paul's Chapel on the campus of Columbia University on April 4.

Nalley teaches math, science, and engineering at the school -- "whose mission statement includes a commitment to diversity," notes the Times. Nalley reportedly obtained his principal's support before coming out to his students in the fall of 2007, when the school opened.

And of course some of the comments from this article is screaming bloody murder.

But aren't some of these the same folks who believe that parents should be the final word when it comes to the raising of children? If the parents allow their children to attend, then what's the problem?

"Yeah, but homosexuality is a sin."

Yet another addendum.

If this sort of thing keeps up, then my next book will be a religious right-to-English dictionary.

Thursday mid day news briefs

Barney clariifies remarks on Scalia - Don't back down, Barney!

NC: lobbying black legislators during the Day of Action was an eye-opening experience - An excellent post giving a good reason why more needs to be done to not allow folks to divide the lgbt and African-American experience. People like myself shouldn't have to "choose" to be either gay or black.

Ugandan Gov’t Poised to Take “Stern Action” Against Gays - This shit is getting waaay past scary.

Ugly situation in Uganda intensifies

Anti-gay spokespeople from the United States went to Uganda for a "conference" and the next thing you know, villification of the lgbt community in that country intensified:

Two newspaper (so far) and three television stations in Uganda have reported on a sensationalistic press conference organized by Stephen Langa, director of Kampala-based Family Life Networks, which appears to be the start of a fresh public anti-gay vigilante campaign.

The Ugandan media is continuing to take notice of the recent anti-gay conferences and meetings which have been taking place in Kampala the past few weeks. The most recent meeting was held on March 22. These series of meetings were instigated by a three-day conference organized by Langa and featured talks by three American anti-gay activists, including Exodus board member Don Schmierer, Holocaust revisionist Scott Lively, and Richard Cohen protegé Caleb Lee Brundidge.

The lie of recruiting children has been (and continues to be) a staple in anti-gay hysteria, especially in this country. But imagine, if you will, having the full brunt of the media and the government behind these lies:

Ugandan news media have been issuing regular reports of that conference and two follow-up meetings which have been held on successive Sundays since then. The latest one from Uganda Pulse reported on a press conference held today:

Parents in Uganda have expressed concern over the increasing levels of homosexuality, defilement and sexual harassments of children. The parents under the Family Life Network (FLN) says that information revealed from several reliable sources indicates that many children in schools are facing horror, frustration, mental and psychological torture for being cajoled into homosexuality.

FLN’s Executive Director, Langa Steven say [sic] that there are agents involved in recruiting children into homosexuality and lesbianism. Langa says that these suspected groups take advantages children by using deception, manipulation and coercion.

Pastor Joseph Male who addressed a press conference in Kampala with Langa also says that findings show that immorality groups are recruiting children into homosexuality. He says these homosexual promoters hide behind human rights organization and claim to be protecting sex minorities Uganda.

Pastor Male claims that these groups spend about 2,000,000 per week to recruit university students into homosexuality and lesbianism.

And this only scratches the surface of what they are doing over there. My prayers go out to my lgbt brothers and sisters in Uganda.

Big props to Box Turtle Bulletin which has published a brilliant report on anti-gay activities in Uganda:

Complete BTB Coverage:

Mar 26: The “Ex-Gay” Star of the Uganda Anti-Gay Campaign

Mar 25: More on Uganda Anti-Gay Vigilante Incitement

Mar 25: Another Anti-Gay Vigilante Campaign May Have Begun In Uganda

Mar 23: Schmierer’s & Lively’s Uganda Talks Continue to Reverberate

Mar 17: Lively Defends Forced Therapy Proposal

Mar 16: Commentary: When Good Men Do Nothing

Mar 13: Sanctimony Alert

Mar 13: Scott Lively and Alan Chambers Respond to Questions About Uganda Conference

Mar 13: Exodus Applauds Schmierer’s Part in Uganda Conference

Mar 12: South African LGBT Advocates Condemn Exodus

Mar 12: Ex-Exodus Minister Condemns Uganda Conference

Mar 12: Ugandan Conference Leaders Call For Another Meeting While Pushing Pedophilia Theme; Exodus Continues Silence

Mar 11: Open Letter To the Exodus International Board of Directors

Mar 10: Scott Lively: The Gay Agenda Is “To Turn The Whole World Gay”

Mar 9: Exodus Removes Link To Scott Lively From Its Web Site

Mar 9: EU Group Condemns Ugandan Conference

Mar 8: Uganda Anti-Gay Conference: Day Three — Gays Blamed For Rwandan Genocide & Pedophilia; More Exodus Ties To Holocaust Revisionism

Mar 6: Uganda Anti-Gay Conference: Day Two

Mar 6: Exodus’ Silence About Uganda: Day Five

Mar 6: Exodus Board Member Participates In Uganda Conference Calling For Forcing Gays Into Conversion Therapy

Mar 5: Anti-Gay Conference Kicks Off In Kampala

Mar 5: Warren Throckmorton Speaks Out Against Uganda Conference

Mar 5: International LGBT Group Expresses Concern About Uganda Conference

Mar 2: Anonymous Ugandan Blogger Wants Answers From American Anti-Gay Activists

Feb 24: Exodus Board Member Joins Nazi Revisionist At Uganda Conference

Did Concerned Women for America commit a 'super distortion?'

Sometimes we get so caught up in calling religious right groups liars and bigots that we sometimes neglect giving specific proof of our claims.

With that in mind, I want to focus on an interesting item I discovered on the Concerned Women for America's (CWA) webpage.

In the 2005 piece which remains on the webpage, Several Reasons to Oppose Same-Sex Marriage, CWA outlines several reasons why Americans should oppose same-sex marriage.

Like the majority of information put out by religious right groups, this list is full of distortions and studies taken out of context. However, there is one thing I want to zero in on:

One epidemiological study found that “gay” men lose 8-20 years off their lifespan. (Source: Hogg RS, Strathdee SA, Craib KJP, O'Shaughnessy MV, Montaner JSG, Schechter MT. Modelling the impact of HIV disease on mortality in gay and bisexual men. Int J Epidemiol 1997;26(3):657-61)

In Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver AIDS has been the leading cause of early death among men since 1989. (Source: Hogg RS, Heath KV, Strathdee SA, Montaner JSG, O'Shaughnessy MV, Schechter MT. HIV/AIDS mortality in Canada: evidence of gender, regional and local area differentials. AIDS 1996;10:889-94)

Now those who are familiar with my work on religious right distortions know that the first citation I showed is a distortion of a 1997 Canadian study. We know this because in 2001, the six researchers listed complained about how their work was being distorted.

The fact that CWA cited this study four years after the authors' clarification says a lot about the organization's dishonest.

However, CWA has "proof" that its citation of the 1997 study is accurate:

The above confirmed in other studies as well. Studies in Omega: The Journal of Death and Dying and the International Journal of Epidemiology indicate that homosexuality can take decades off men's lives.

Please note that CWA did not name the authors of these two studies. And I think I know why.

The first study from Omega: The Journal of Death and Dying was co-authored by our friend, the discredited Paul Cameron.

That's another mark on CWA's dishonesty.

The second study is even more interesting - the study from the International Journal of Epidemiology.

I think that it is the 1997 study - the same study CWA claims is proof of the alleged short life span of gay men.

So breaking it down:

CWA says that a 1997 study in the International Journal of Epidemiology proves that gay men have short life span.

It also says other studies prove this point. One of the studies CWA lists as proof is the original 1997 study.

If you doubt me, then I invite you to search the International Journal of Epidemiology's archives like I did.

When I looked for information, I couldn't find anything talking about the "gay life span" except for the 1997 study and the 2001 clarification.

But just in case I am in error, I emailed CWA asking for more information.

I was polite but I doubt that I will receive an answer.

Continuing to distort a study even after it's been clarified as well as relying on a discredited researcher is bad enough.

But if the CWA actually has the cojones to commit such a bold act as distorting the same study in two different contexts, then I'm simply speechless.

Because I have officially seen it all.

Wednesday mid-day news briefs

Gainesville votes to keep open washroom policy for transgenders - And now, the One News Now version of the article, which is really the Associated Press article with hilarious reader comments added below.

Incidentally, drinking Pepsi makes foxes pee - As this post from Goodasyou.org and my recent run-in with James MacDonald proves, the ex-gay movement is a sham. The spokespeople claim that they just want to be left alone. But by their actions, they intentionally work to undermine lgbt progression and rights.

The Peter doesn't like being called a bigot (or Satan's Lover) - LaBarbera makes it his life's work to attack the lgbt community and then wonders why we consider him a bigot. By the way, his version of the events surrounding his "speech" conveniently omits the man calling protesters the "f" word.

Haggard suggested divorce after scandal - Ted Haggard keeps staying in the spotlight. Geez!

Good news out of Gainesville, FL!!!

This came out last night but I wanted to wait and post it this morning - nothing like good news to start the day:

Gainesville, Fla.’s Amendment 1 -- which, if passed, would have repealed a number of antidiscrimination protections for LGBT residents in the college town -- failed at the polls Tuesday. With the majority of precincts reporting, results have the amendment failing with 61% voting no and 39% voting yes.

The repeal movement began last year after the city commission revised the antidiscrimination law to include protections for transgender people in employment, housing, and public accommodations -- including restrooms.

Opponents using scare tactics about mixed-sex public bathrooms gathered enough signatures to place a referendum of the protections on the ballot. Charter Amendment 1 would have eliminated not only transgender protections but also protections for gays and lesbians in the North Florida city. It also would have forbade the city to add protected categories that are not included in the Florida Civil Rights Act, which does not recognize sexual orientation or gender identity.

If I know the religious right (and I do), this isn't the end of the "bathroom" lies. As some of the voters in this link clearly demonstrates, you can fool some of the people some of the time.

But it's still nice to see such a smackdown at the ballot box.