Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters

Monday, March 29, 2010

Religious right smear campaign fail: Chai Feldblum gets her appointment

Who knows? Maybe that huge victory in passing health care legislation gave President Obama some chutzpah because he has recently announced 15 recess appointments of administration nominees held up by Republicans.

And one of these appointments is openly gay Chai Feldblum to be commissioner of the Equal Opportunity Commission. According to SheWired:

Feldblum was key in the drafting and negotiations over the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA). She and three others were appointed using a constitutional provision known as a recess appointment.

Should ENDA pass, a position on the EEOC puts Feldblum in position to be one of five commissioners to develop regulations for its implementation.

Although a Senate committee had approved Feldblum in December, one Senate Republican put their confirmation vote on unspecified hold. Any senator can put any nominee on indefinite hold for a period of time without identifying him or herself.

One has to suspect that there was more than strictly political shenanigans behind the hold up of Feldblum's appointment. The idea that she may hold a position with the EEOC had been causing fits amongst religious right groups.

The Liberty Counsel's Matt Barber said:

Chai Feldblum (pronounced "high" as in "stoned") is a lesbian activist and sexual anarchist attorney who supports legalized polygamy and bisexual polyamory. She has been nominated by President Obama to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). This is like having Michael Moore guard the donuts. In the past, Feldblum – ENDA's chief framer and, if confirmed, one of five commissioners charged with its enforcement – has candidly summed-up the mindset behind the bill.

World Net Daily accused her of saying that "gay sex is morally good."

Earlier, religious right groups accused her of favoring polygamy. Media Matters said the following:

Right-wing media have attacked Feldblum for being a signatory to a July 26, 2006, statement titled, "Beyond Same-Sex Marriage," which states that "marriage is not the only worthy form of family or relationship, and it should not be legally and economically privileged above all others," and cites "Households in which there is more than one conjugal partner" along with "Single parent households" and "Adult children living with and caring for their parents," among others, as people that "stand to gain from alternative forms of household recognition beyond one-size-fits-all marriage." The statement is entirely unrelated to the duties Feldblum would have as an EEOC commissioner, which include enforcement of existing federal laws involving job discrimination and providing oversight of federal equal employment opportunity regulations, practices, and policies.

The irony is that this accusation gained a bit of traction; so much so that Feldblum had to repudiate her signing the statement. But then the issue fizzled away. A lot of this probably had to do with the fact that the right was, at the time, obsessed with smearing another Obama appointee, Kevin Jennings.

As we all know, they failed miserably in that attempt. And thanks to Obama's power of recess appointments, they also failed in their attacks on Feldblum.

It's always nice to know that sometimes, liars don't prosper.

Related posts:

Matt Barber's slur of Chai Feldblum's name was unnecessary but so very indicative

The religious right fears Chai Feldblum because she believes in basic fairness

The religious right attacks another openly gay Obama appointee

With their homophobic smears of Jennings exposed, anti-gay right now targeting EEOC nominee Feldblum

Saturday, March 27, 2010

The true culprit in the so-called destruction of Christianity

Religious right groups are always quick to blame the gay community and the rest of the "secularlists" of what they call a plan to either silence or destroy Christianity.

In reality, Christianity gets worse and worse press because of men like the one in the above video. He is Wayne Sapp, pastor of Dove Ministries (talk about your oxymoron) in Florida. And he isn't happy that Gainesville, FL may elect an openly gay mayor, Craig Lowe.

And he doesn't beat around the bush about his anger either:

Here in Gainesville, they're getting ready to have a run-off election between two candidates, and one of them is openly a homo, gay, fag -- whatever you want to call him. We got one running for mayor of Gainesville, trying to convert Gainesville into Homoville. We can't have it.

Now tell me, would you want to join any group which implies that it encourages such openly blatant hatred?

By the way, click here to donate to Craig Lowe's Campaign.

Related post:

Group overusing the 'men invading women's restrooms' lie in Florida

Friday, March 26, 2010

Know Your LGBT History - Once Bitten

There were portions of this early Jim Carrey movie which I found funny. And I didn't mind the late Cleavon Little's portrayal of a gay man (he played it rather subtlely).

But one very offensive scene keeps me from making this movie a part of my video library.

First some background. Once Bitten (1985) is a comedy about a female vampire (Lauren Hutton) who must bite a virgin three times in order to keep her eternal youth. Carrey portrays the "lucky youth" because his girlfriend won't give him any play.

By the way, the virgin must be bitten on the thigh, which is very important to the ugly scene you are about to see.

Hutton has already bitten Carrey twice, inducing strange behavior in him which causes his friends to seek answers. They are told that if Carrey has been bitten, there will be a mark on the inside of the thigh.

Of course this means that they will have to look for the mark and they do - while they are taking a shower after gym class.

I suppose someone would think what happens next is funny but it isn't, particularly the response of the other guys in the shower.

Man, look what gay and lesbians have had to deal with when it comes to movie portrayals:

The noose of truth tightens a little more around the Vatican and other Friday midday news briefs

9 reasons for teaching children not to lie - Why is it that these so-called pro-family groups repeat the same anti-gay lies and fear stories repeatedly. Sooner or later it's going to blow up in their faces.

Watch: survivors of abuse point the finger of blame directly at Benedict - The Pope faces more trouble over cover-ups of the abuse of children.

‘Ex-Gay’ Michael Glatze Attracted To Spotlight Like A Mosquito in June - The story of a racist ex-gay spokesperson who said he would stop being an ex-gay spokesperson but then changed his mind.

Matt Barber adds names to Hate Group list - Mark your calendars and check for the Apocalypse. I partially agree with Matt Barber here.

Trans Student Suspended from Same School in Mississippi That Canceled Prom, Later Hounded Out of Town - There is NO excuse for this.

McDonnell - Virginia law protecting gays and lesbians from discrimination not needed

Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell continued his war of schizophrenic subtleties against the state's gay community yesterday by claiming that anti-discrimination laws protecting gay and lesbians in Virginia isn't needed:

“I don’t know that we need it based on the numbers that I’ve seen.“

“There really isn’t any rampant discrimination on any basis in Virginia,“ he said. “If you’re going to have a law, it needs to actually address a real problem.“

Since his election into office last year, McDonnell has had a, shall we say, non-friendly relationship with Virginia's gay and lesbian community. It was discovered that in college, he wrote a thesis slamming gays, unwed mothers, and no-fault divorce. McDonnell attended Regent University, a public institution founded by Pat Robertson, who isn't exactly considered a friend of the lgbt community.

While running for office last year, he said that he wouldn't renew the executive order banning discrimination regarding the sexual orientation of state job applicants.

Earlier this year, he issued an executive order that "specifically prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, sex, color, national origin, religion, age, political affiliation, or against otherwise qualified persons with disabilities."

You will notice that omitted from that list are lgbts.

Then Virginia's attorney general, Ken Cuccinelli, sent a letter to the state's public colleges and universities claiming that state law prevented them from including lgbts in their non-discrimination policies.

The furor over that was so great that McDonnell, according to Time magazine, issued an executive directive that clarified his earlier executive order, contradicting Cuccinelli's previous statement and specifically prohibiting discrimination "based on factors such as one's sexual orientation."

This new statement about non-discrimination laws not being needed ought to make things very interesting for McDonnell. He is definitely playing a balancing act and it will be a short matter of time before he falls off of the wire.

Thursday, March 25, 2010

10 reasons why Americans for Truth is a hate site

Peter LaBarbera has finally responded to the Southern Poverty Law Center declaring his Americans for Truth web site as a hate site. He claims that his site is getting smeared.

He also links to a defense from fellow right-winger Matt Barber. However based on his past statements, Barber defending LaBarbera against charges of being anti-gay is like Idi Amin defending Josef Stalin against charges of being a dictator.

But let's take a critical look at the charge. Now according to Matt Barber (who sits on the board of Americans for Truth - so much for objectivity):

AFTAH is a Christian organization that promotes biblical morality . . .

I guess that "biblical morality" includes:

1. Smearing gays via a CDC report on an increase on HIV while intentionally downplaying the part of the report which clearly places the blame on this increase on homophobia (while at the same time implying that the report "dispels the homophobia causes AIDS propaganda")

2. Defending a bill which would lead to the imprisonment and possible genocide of Ugandans simply for being gay or lesbian.

.3. Going to subcultural leather events and using the "racy" behavior of gays attending to stigmatizing the entire lgbt community while ignoring the behavior of heterosexuals at the same events.

4. Making ugly comments about a "transgender quota" in the Obama Administration simply because the president appoints a (very, very qualified) transgendered woman to an office in his administration.

5. Instigating a highly inappropriate comment about gays, lesbians, and sexual intercourse; a comment so ugly that it led to a feud between three religious right groups. And by the way, Barber was heavily involved in this one too.

6. Continuously citing the work of the discredited researcher Paul Cameron, even when made aware of his dubious history of getting kicked out of medical groups, censures and rebukes.

7. Aiding and abetting Conservapedia spread lies about gay health using the fictional term "gay bowel syndrome."

8. Freely admitting to errors when it comes to claims against the gay and lesbian community but not taking responsibility for them.

9. Falsely accusing the Democratic National Convention and the Gay and Lesbian Task Force of putting on a sadomasochistic event.

10. Attempting to imply that a staph infection was the new HIV and then lying about his implications when caught.

Those are just 10 reasons gleaned from my interactions with LaBarbera and I'm sure they only scratch the surface.

Earlier when talking about this situation, I claimed that LaBarbera's reaction would remind me of the Aesop fable of the dog and the bell. It goes like this:

A DOG used to run up quietly to the heels of everyone he met, and to bite them without notice. His master suspended a bell about his neck so that the Dog might give notice of his presence wherever he went. Thinking it a mark of distinction, the Dog grew proud of his bell and went tinkling it all over the marketplace. One day an old hound said to him: Why do you make such an exhibition of yourself? That bell that you carry is not, believe me, any order of merit, but on the contrary a mark of disgrace, a public notice to all men to avoid you as an ill mannered dog."

Notoriety is often mistaken for fame.

I think that says it all.

Teabaggers vs. Proposition 8 protesters: a change in angry people brings out the hypocrisy in the right

Watch CBS News Videos Online

These are the threats made against Democrat Bart Stupak after Sunday's health care reform vote. They are chilling on their own but the fact that they emanate from folks who claim to be "pro-life" gives an extra batch of ice to the chill.

And of course some on the right have trivialized incidents like these, which is totally the opposite of the aftermath of the 2008 Proposition 8 vote when gays and lesbians protested in anger.

Remember how Michelle Malkin wept and cried with pseudo disgust over us "gay bullies" who supposedly attacked people via protests and boycotts?

Nowadays she is taking to personally attacking a Congressman who dare call attention to the excesses of the anti-healthcare protests. Quite a hypocritical switch but business as usual for Malkin.

Remember how Mike Huckabee told only one side to the Phyllis Burgess incident (i.e. the anti-gay protester who was pushed and her styrofoam cross taken from her after she elbowed her way through crowd of anti-Proposition 8 protesters so that she could get on camera). Remember how the religious right portrayed the lgbt community on the whole as thugs who were allegedly threatening people, vandalizing churches, and shouting people down?

We were inundated with story after story of how gays and lesbians were "beating up" on "innocent" Christians and those stories were connected with earlier phony stories about gays and lesbians supposedly assaulting people. It got so bad that I wrote a post calling for us to get a handle on the lies told.

And remember this comment:

Of course, activists say they are merely utilizing their political freedoms and rights, but, the fact is, I see a lot of sore losers who are intolerant of any outcome but the one they desire. Some are acting like toddlers who throw a temper tantrum until they get their way. Are they fighting for their rights or at last showing true colors of intolerance against anyone who believes contrary to them?

That was actor Chuck Norris speaking about the Proposition 8 protesters. As far as I know, he has been silent about the teabaggers threatening Congressmen and their children.

Meanwhile the publication in which he ran that piece of vile, World Net Daily, is now in a surfeit of stories about "socialism," how Obama is trying to destroy the United States, how he is not a United States citizen etc. etc.

And on other right-wing blogs and such comes even more shallow defenses of the threats and violence we are seeing.

Apparently to some on the right it doesn't matter whether the protests are truly violent or not. It's all about whether the supposedly "true Americans" are protesting rather than the "undesirables."

That conundrum is as annoying as Republicans seeking court aid in overturning health care reform after years of accusing judges of being "unelected" and "activists."

But that is another column for another time.