Ex-gay group disses 'It Gets Better' and other Thursday midday news briefs

Exodus International Attacks Google And Toy Story Over Anti-Suicide Ad - What a load of tripe from Exodus International, especially that part about "thousands of ex-gays." If this is truly the case, then I challenge them to have a march. Show your numbers instead of attacks on those of us comfortable with our orientation.

Photo: Meet the purchased families that'll drive down the L.I.E - Great! Another phony "we have to save marriage" tour.

Guest column by Irene Monroe: Marriage equality film comes to Harlem - Excellent news because despite what has been implied by "some people," marriage equality is not solely a "white" issue.

Fit to Rule on Same-Sex Marriage - Even the New York Times tells Proposition 8 proponents not to blame the judge simply because their case was piss poor.

VIDEO: First gay justice on Supreme Judicial Court confirmed in close vote - Barbara Lenk is confirmed in Massachusetts.

ACLU threatens to sue Clovis schools - Good. There is NOTHING wrong with gay/straight alliance clubs in high schools.

Proposition 8 defenders shouldn't blame the judge because their case was poor

By now, you all have heard the latest from the Proposition 8 proponents. They have filed a suit asking the courts to vacate the decision against Proposition 8 because the judge, Vaughn Walker, is gay.

These folks assert that since Walker was gay, he had a interest in the case and should have recused himself.

Let me just say that if that is the case, then I think the case in which the Supreme Court ruled that gays shouldn't be allowed in the Boy Scouts should be overturned because all of the justices ruling were heterosexual. But that is ridiculous.

And that is the point.

While legal experts agree that this gambit is desperate and will not prevail, it has succeeded in obscuring the fact that Proposition 8 proponents lost because their case was poor.

I mean really, really poor.

In the 13 day trial, lawyers fighting Proposition 8 brought out the experts, academics, and same-sex couples who were affected by the law.

In contrast, proponents only brought two witnesses.

Where was Maggie Gallagher of the National Organization for Marriage or all of those pastors who rallied their congregations against marriage equality, such as Miles McPherson of the Rock Church of San Diego?

All of these "brave defenders of marriage" conveniently didn't not to testify.

It is not known why Gallagher didn't testify but others, like McPherson, claimed that they were fearful of violent reaction by those who supported marriage equality.

Some, like myself, felt that McPherson was worried less about violence and more worried about being questioned on bogus positions he took, such as using discredited research to make a link between pedophilia and homosexuality.

In the words of legal analyst Andrew Cohen, the trial was an "uneven matchup" which led to the foregone conclusion that Walker would rule against Proposition 8:

Judge Walker will so rule, in large part, because he has been left with virtually no other choice as result of the odd tactics and weak case presented to him by opponents of same-sex marriage.

Take, for example, the bizarre courtroom display Wednesday by Charles Cooper, the lead attorney for defenders of Prop 8. His side presented only two witnesses during the long course of the trial, neither of whom was particularly compelling. In fact, one of the defense witnesses, David Blankenhorn, was so hapless during his testimony a while back that Judge Walker on Wednesday questioned his credentials as an expert on marriage. When you have bad facts, you argue the law. When you've presented little evidence, or the evidence you've presented is not so hot, you say that evidence doesn't matter. That's partly why Cooper told Judge Walker during closing arguments, "Your honor, you don't have to have evidence for this."

But you do need evidence. And commercials telling lies about how children will suddenly become gay if  marriage equality becomes law or leaflets featuring phony horror stories about states which did pass gay marriage laws or pastors thundering about morality from the pulpit just ain't going to cut it.

It's easy to persuade voters that way, but in a court, you need logic, you need evidence, and you need witnesses.

Those who defended Proposition 8 had neither of the first two and very little of the last.

And that's why they lost.

Their pathetic maneuver of "gaming the referee" after the fact is just a matter of sour grapes by people who unfortunately have enough money to turn those sour grapes into wine.

But I don't think any court is going to swallow it.

Latest 'It Gets Better' video the best so far

You've probably seen this video, but what the hell. It's so awesome it needs repeated viewing:

NOM accuses gay organization of declaring a 'jihad?' and other Wednesday midday news briefs

A 'jihad,' Maggie? Really?! - Jihad is such a strong word, Maggie Gallagher. For shame. First mingling with birthers and now this. Actually this came before the birther association.


Down to the Wire for Josh & Henry: ICE Refuses to Terminate Deportation Proceedings, Citing DOMA - This ain't good, President Obama. Don't allow this to happen.

Gay Mormon Comes Out on The Voice - You have to admire his moxie.


The Utter Horrors of Gay Parenting - Strap Peter Sprigg down and make him look at this.

Manhattan commissioners to vote on repeal of discrimination ordinance - Oh come on folks! Voting to repeal a non-discrimination ordinance?

National Organization for Marriage refers to birther site in attack on lgbt education

 The National Organization for Marriage is in a good mood because as the organization tells it, a new poll says that a majority of Americans reject "teaching gay subjects in elementary schools:"

Bob Unruh reports:

An overwhelming majority of Americans say elementary school is no place to promote the homosexual lifestyle, and even among liberals there is the strong belief that such lessons should be left outside the door of the classroom, according to a new poll.

The results are from a WND/WENZEL Poll conducted for WND by the public-opinion research and media consulting company Wenzel Strategies.

"Whether they object on moral grounds or simply out of concern that many U.S. schools are failing in their core missions of teaching basics doesn't really matter – the vast majority of American adults want this type of curriculum kept out of the classroom," Wenzel chief Fritz Wenzel said.

There is just one BIG problem with that poll. It comes from the site World Net Daily, or more commonly known by some as WingNut Daily.

It is an extremely homophobic site. Among other things:

• A writer on the site, Les Kinsolving, has in the past referred to the lgbt community as the "sodomy lobby." In October of  last year, he called a judge’s order to stop enforcement of the military’s ban on gay and lesbian troops in the military as a "disease ridden judicial decision."

• At its online superstore (yes World Net Daily has a "superstore"), interested individuals can buy a discounted copy of The Pink Swastika, a discredited book which claims that gay men started the Nazi Party.

• In August of last year, the publication dropped conservative writer Ann Coulter as a keynote speaker from a conference it held because she earlier spoke at a conference held by a gay Republican group.

• And in February of  last year, another writer on World Net Daily, Molotov Mitchell, spoke out in favor of Uganda's "Kill The Gays" bill, even evoking Martin Luther King Jr's name in defense of it.

Even the World Net Daily article, which NOM refers, to repeats lies about Obama appointee Kevin Jennings, such as he supports "teaching children about fisting."

So I think its safe to doubt the credibility of this site's poll.

But vicious homophobia doesn't even scratch the surface in regards to World Net Daily's madness.

World Net Daily has also been the leader of birther nonsense, shamelessly implying that President Obama is ineligible to be president. The site has ran over 100 articles regarding this issue, including the following:

Kagan, Sotomayor blew chance to stop eligibility challenge?
Lawyers say Supremes broke rule, failed to respond to recusal motion

Hawaii official now swears: No Obama birth certificate
Signs affidavit declaring long-form, hospital-generated document absent

Questions raised over Obama birth date
Was claim he was 3 months old during 'Bay of Pigs' a slip?

Promises of Obama birth hospital trip vanish
Authors admit no one given tour of president's 'birthplace' in Hawaii

Oprah's half-sister 'has Obama's birth certificate'
Rush Limbaugh clowns about Winfrey's family secret

The site sells birther bumper stickers, postcards, and videos. World Net Daily also created a national billboard campaign asking "Where is the birth certificate."

Ironically, even now when Obama has made his long-form birth certificate public, World Net Daily is still spinning conspiracy theories. On Sunday, the site ran the following:

Online 'birth certificate' document 'was changed'
Analysis raises possibility content of text was altered

Way to go, NOM. I wonder how the African-Americans allies you made in Maryland and you are now making in New York would feel about your citing World Net Daily, a site working actively to delegitimize Obama's presidency.

Perhaps Brian Brown and Maggie Gallagher, NOM's leaders, should remember before they spout off yet again about "unfairly being labeled as bigots" that you are always known by the company that you keep.

Or in this case, the sources you cite.

Related post:

Eleven examples of NOM's bigotry
 

Ex-gay documentary packs a serious punch

From the release:

In the summer of 2005, Zach, a 16-year-old boy from Memphis, Tennessee wrote on his MySpace blog that he had told his parents he was gay. Within days of his coming out, his mother and father would send him to Love In Action (LIA), a fundamentalist Christian program that refers to homosexuality as an addictive behavior. The depressed and fearful teenager shared his feelings on his blog.

"This Is What Love In Action Looks Like" documents the widely controversial and inspirational story of what The New York Times referred to as "A modern day message in a bottle."

In the documentary, former Love In Action director John Smid as well as former adult and teenage clients share their hearts on these experiences. In addition, local bloggers, community activists and classmates of Zach tell their stories of becoming involved with what would become an international news story.

Concerned people around the world awaited news of how Zach was doing during his eight weeks in Refuge. By the time he emerged in late July 2005, there was a barrage of headlines in the international press, including Good Morning America, CNN, The New York Times, Time Magazine and The Advocate among others.

In the years since it began, with all the media coverage and investigations, Zach had declined to tell his story. Until now. The teenager whose MySpace blogs began it all gives an exclusive interview for the documentary.

"This Is What Love In Action Looks Like," is directed by award winning filmmaker Morgan Jon Fox ("Blue Citrus Hearts," "OMG/HaHaHa").

Arizona newspaper features same-sex couple with 12 children and other Tuesday midday news briefs

This video breaks marriage equality down to the matter of common sense. All of that stuff NOM spouts about marriage being about "two halves uniting to create children" is just junk. What would it really hurt allow couples such as this one to get married?

And in other news:


'Little popular support in RI,' says Maggie; 'Stop stealing my gig,' says Pinocchio - Maggie Gallagher tells a blatant lie about popular support for marriage equality in Rhode Island.

2 gay dads, 12 happy kids - Yes! We need more articles in the media like this one.

Peter LaBarbera Thought Matt Barber’s “Joke” Was Funny - Dumb asses of a feather flock together.