Religious right cause celebre backfires and other Wednesday midday news briefs

Students of Florida’s Barfing Teacher Come Foward - The religious right thought they had the perfect cause celebre when Florida high school teacher Jerry Buell was fired for comments he made about marriage equality and then was reinstated. And now, it is slowly but surely backfiring in their faces.

NC: Republicans hold court at press conference touting anti-gay marriage amendment legislation - Will this madness finally prevail in North Carolina?

Let’s Face it – Homophobia is so Gay- Wayne Besen of Truth Wins Out ruminates over the latest scandal involving an anti-gay politician's questionably gay behavior. Is there like one every week? Warning, this link contains a blurred, yet still graphic picture.

Focus On The Family: Basic LGBT Info Is ‘Sexualizing Our Schools’ - Focus on the Family was one of the few major anti-gay organizations not given hate group status by the Southern Poverty Law Center. Watch how the organization attempts to rectify this.

'Porno Pete' LaBarbera tries to correct me and fails miserably - Sorry but I simply HAVE to include my post from this morning because the entire thing is hilarious. A certain religious right leader publicly calls me out and you know I had to respond with the facts. He besmirched my honor and if my "honor" is going to be besmirched, it will be by a man with a HEAVY bank account. LOL

'Porno Pete' LaBarbera tries to correct me and fails miserably

Peter LaBarbera is angry at me.

The American Family Association's One News Now is probably spooked with me.

It's an interesting controversy which has brewed over a comment I made on One News Now's site.

On the particular piece, the author, Jerry Newcombe, said the following:

I know a man (Matt Barber) who was fired from a job with a Fortune 500 company a few years ago because on his own time, on his own computer, at his own home, he posted a blog expressing his own opinion, opposing same-sex “marriage.” He was confronted by his boss at the office and asked if he was the same Matt Barber as on the blog. He was.

Now those who follow this blog know the story of Matt Barber, who is now affiliated with Liberty University. He was originally employed with AllState Insurance before being fired for writing an anti-gay column while using a company computer and also identifying himself as an employee of the company. Barber was able to become a religious right cause celebre and soon, an active player in this so-called culture war as an employee of Concerned Women for America and now the Liberty Counsel.

I wrote a comment to Newcombe's piece saying the following:

Sorry but Mr. Newcombe is inaccurate about one part. Matt Barber used his company’s computer AND identified himself as an employee of the company [Allstate] in his column. That’s why he was fired.

I should have known that it was strange when not only my comment but the ability to leave any comments was eliminated from the article.

And now I see why. This morning on his site, "Porno Pete" LaBarbera (apparently he hates it when I call him that) put the following comment on his website:

Below is a longer version of an article I posted in Facebook responding to homosexual activist Alvin McEwen, who repeated an oft-used bit of “gay” misinformation about Allstate’s 2005 firing of pro-family advocate Matt Barber. (Barber sits on the Americans For Truth Board, is Associate Dean at Liberty University School of Law, and is Director of Cultural Affairs for the Liberty Counsel.) Alvin is a bitter fellow who — although purporting to factually correct alleged pro-family falsehoods — regularly dishes them out himself (go HERE to see him viciously slander me as “Porno Pete”). In posting a response to an AFA column by pro-family writer Jerry Newcombe (reprinted at bottom), McEwen writes:

Sorry but Mr. Newcombe is inaccurate about one part. Matt Barber used his company’s computer AND identified himself as an employee of the company [Allstate] in his column. That’s why he was fired.

Here is my correction of Alvin’s tendentious “correction”:

Matt Barber is a good friend of mine, a Christian man of high integrity, and a Board Member for my organization, Americans For Truth. As one living in Illinois who was intricately familiar with Matt’s case, I want to set the record “straight” here and correct the lies that homosexual activists like Alvin McEwen repeatedly spew about his unjust firing.

Barber was fired after writing a column (which was published by conservative websites) against the homosexual agenda — on his home computer, on a Saturday. He did NOT identify himself as an employee of Allstate, but a third-party blog publisher did so by mistake. A staffer with the homosexual lobby group Human Rights Campaign then “reported” Barber’s web article to Allstate’s HR depart, and Matt immediately was called in on a Friday afternoon. Ironically, he was told that Allstate “celebrates diversity,” and that his (traditional) values did not reflect those of Allstate. Barber was suspended and informed that he likely would be fired for writing the column. He was then escorted by Allstate security guards off the corporate grounds. Monday morning, Barber was canned over the telephone.

The Illinois Department of Employment Security [see graphic above] investigated the firing and found Barber innocent of misconduct; IDES made this judgment (emphasis theirs): “The claimant was discharged from ALLSTATE INS. CO. because AN OUTSIDE ORGANIZATION HAD COMPLAINED ABOUT AN ARTICLE HE HAD WRITTEN WHILE ON HIS OWN TIME.”

Furthermore, even if Barber had used his company laptop for personal use (which he did not), Allstate policy allowed such personal use — especially for employees who traveled frequently, as did Barber.

Barber sued Allstate and as the trial date approached, Allstate frantically contacted Matt’s attorneys and begged for a cash settlement so that the details of his discriminatory firing would not become public.

Needless to say, Allstate had to pay Barber a very significant sum of money to make the embarrassing scandal go away. Had the case gone forward, Allstate’s blatantly anti-Christian (and anti-conservative, anti-family) employment policies would have been exposed. This would have included Allstate’s self-serving lies designed to discredit Barber, which were disseminated to the media — and which Alvin McEwen cynically regurgitates here. — Peter LaBarbera, Americans For Truth.

First of all, let's look at this charge from LaBarbera:

The Illinois Department of Employment Security [see graphic above] investigated the firing and found Barber innocent of misconduct; IDES made this judgment (emphasis theirs): “The claimant was discharged from ALLSTATE INS. CO. because AN OUTSIDE ORGANIZATION HAD COMPLAINED ABOUT AN ARTICLE HE HAD WRITTEN WHILE ON HIS OWN TIME.”

 
"Porno Pete" even has a copy of the letter on his site, which I won't reprint here. You can go there to read it if you want. However, that letter had to do with Barber receiving unemployment benefits. The Illinois Department of Employment Security found that Barber did not commit willful misconduct, so he was therefore able to receive benefits.

But in relation to whether or not AllState was correct in firing Barber, the letter is irrelevant.

During the controversy, AllState contended that Barber was fired "because he used the company's information technology systems and other resources for his personal journalism activities, many of which took place on company time."

Peter Sprigg's definition of 'love' includes lying, bearing false witness

Peter Sprigg (FRC) routinely publishes misleading studies about gays

Peter Sprigg, a spokesman for the Family Research Council, recently made the following statement on a radio show:

People are afraid of the homosexual activists and they’re particularly afraid of this character assassination that comes in the form of the word ‘hate.’ Nobody wants to be accused of participating in ‘hate’ and so throwing that word ‘hate’ around becomes a trump card even when nothing that we have done can reasonably be called ‘hate.’ On the contrary, everything we do is motivated by love for the people who are hurt by this lifestyle.

Bear in mind that this is the same man who said that he wants to deport gays and lesbians out of the United States:




And also wants to pass laws designed with leading the way to put gays and lesbians in jail:




Right Wing Watch (who provided the transcript and video of Sprigg making his comments) also pointed out several other ways Sprigg has demonstrated his "love" of the gay community:

• Lobbied to make it harder for students to join Gay-Straight Alliances because “homosexuality is harmful to society.”

• Argued that gays and lesbians shouldn’t be judges because a gay judge can’t “be held up as a role model.”

• Linked homosexuality to pedophilia even when scientists rejected their correlation.

• Opposed allowing same-sex partners or their adopted children from collecting their deceased partner or parent’s Social Security benefits.

Now Sprigg has said and done all of these things because he claims that homosexuality is a "dangerous" lifestyle.

This, of course is a lie, but Sprigg's role in furthering this lie needs more examination.

Sprigg, you see, has personally published misleading studies about the gay community

If one took a look at many of these studies (which I have on many occasion and the links are below), you would find a disturbing pattern of a distorting legitimate studies and research and an intentional omission of crucial portions of these studies which would serve destroy Sprigg's thesis of the supposed "dangers of homosexuality."

Sprigg has committed these offenses in studies and papers such as


Getting It Straight: What the Research Shows About Homosexuality ,

The Top Ten Harms of Same Sex Marriage,

Federal Report Confirms 'Nuclear Family' Best for Children's Health

His piece, The Top Ten Myths about Homosexuality demonstrates a specific example of Sprigg's sleight-of-hand behavior. Amongst other egregious errors, Sprigg takes pro-gay health information totally out of context. Check out this passage by Sprigg:

Even the pro-homosexual Gay & Lesbian Medical Association (GLMA) acknowledges:

• “Gay men use substances at a higher rate than the general population . . .”
• “Depression and anxiety appear to affect gay men at a higher rate . . . .”
• “ . . . [G]ay men have higher rates of alcohol dependence and abuse . . . .”
• “ . . . [G]ay men use tobacco at much higher rates than straight men . . . .”
• “Problems with body image are more common among gay men . . . and gay men are much more likely to experience an eating disorder . . . .”

The GLMA also confirms that:

• “ . . . [L]esbians may use tobacco and smoking products more often than heterosexual women use them.”
• “Alcohol use and abuse may be higher among lesbians.”
• “ . . . [L]esbians may use illicit drugs more often than heterosexual women.”

Homosexual activists generally attempt to explain these problems as results of “homophobic discrimination.” However, there is a serious problem with that theory—there is no empirical evidence that such psychological problems are greater in areas where disapproval of homosexuality is more intense.

Now compare what Sprigg said as opposed to what GMLA actually:

Sprigg:

“Depression and anxiety appear to affect gay men at a higher rate . . . .”

GMLA:

Depression and anxiety appear to affect gay men at a higher rate than in the general population. The likelihood of depression or anxiety may be greater, and the problem may be more severe for those men who remain in the closet or who do not have adequate social supports. Adolescents and young adults may be at particularly high risk of suicide because of these concerns.

Sprigg:

“ . . . [L]esbians may use illicit drugs more often than heterosexual women.

GMLA:

Research indicates that lesbians may use illicit drugs more often than heterosexual women. This may be due to added stressors in lesbian lives from discrimination. Lesbians need support from each other and from health care providers to find healthy releases, quality recreation, stress reduction, and coping techniques.

I hear that Sprigg is also a minister, so he should have a better idea than most about lying in God's name and bearing false witness.

And if he truly loved the gay community, he would apologize to us for both offenses.

The anti- marriage equality lies begin in Minnesota and other Tuesday midday news briefs

Flier belier: Debunking MN For Marriage's latest handout - Here we go again. They are beginning their anti-marriage equality campaign in Minnesota with a bunch of lies. Jeremy Hooper debunks every last one.

Marriage Equality - Simple answers to NOM's complicated lies - here is something folks in Minnesota and other places can use, courtesy of Hooper and myself.

El Paso Priest: Calling Gays “Putrid” Constitutes “True Pastoral Care for Homosexuals” - Don't you just love it when folks demonstrate how much they "love" the gay community?

Why Opponents Of Marriage Equality Are Trying To Block The Release Of The Prop 8 Trial Tapes - That's a good question. What are they afraid of?

Fischer: Make Homosexuality "A Criminal Offense" - Somehow I have a feeling that the American Family Association won't lose that hate group status any time soon.

Rick Perry Doesn’t Like Romney Because He’s Too Gay Friendly - Surprising? No.

Unfair attack on Charlotte Pride does not go unanswered

Last Saturday, Charlotte held its Pride event and it was very successful.

Of course, like so many gay pride events, it did have its protestors. An area minister, Michael Brown, sought to interrupt the event with something he called "God Has A Better Way," in which he and a large number of folks wearing red t-shirts infiltrate the pride event, try to preach to the folks there, and generally attempt to disrupt the festivities.

The attendees at Charlotte Pride have learned to take Brown and his nonsense in stride, not allowing his nonsense to interrupt their day of fun and self-awareness.

Needless to say, Brown had some very pointed comments about this year's Charlotte Pride which he published in the American Family Association's One News Now.

Did I say pointed? I meant to say hilarious. The title of the piece, When Drag Queens Lead the Way gives you a clue as to what direction Brown is headed:

. . . At the Wells Fargo Plaza, drag queens lip-synced to pop music for a cheering crowd. One in a hot pink wig and matching knee-high boots danced to Katy Perry's 'California Girls.'" Say what?

How many other community groups feature prominent performances by drag queens at their events? Can you imagine crowds at an Hispanic Pride event, or Black Pride event, or Asian Pride event -- just to name a few -- being entertained by men wearing dresses (or less), hot pink wigs, and matching knee-high boots? And this is part of the LGBT's strategy "to promote acceptance"? How telling. And how telling that, unmentioned by the Observer, there was a large truck stationed next to the festival offering "Free HIV Testing." Yes, just another typical community event.

 . . .  It is also a bit disconcerting to watch young men greet each other with exclamations of "Hey girl!" before exchanging pecks on the cheek. (Does your average child find it confusing to hear men call each other "girls"?). There were also other men who were, quite sadly, all too conspicuous. They walked around Pride Charlotte in various stages of their sex-change journey, with long hair, female breasts, and undeniably male features -- and all this at an event designed to "promote acceptance" in the wider Charlotte community.

To say the least, I am disappointed with two things. I was unable to attend Charlotte Pride and that's a shame because it sounds like they had a very good time.

Secondly, I am uninspired by Brown's prose. In the immortal words of songstress Peggy Lee - "is that all there is?" If it were "Porno Pete" LaBarbera talking, he would have at least added something sexual.

What's wrong with drag queens wearing hot pink wigs and matching thigh high boots? The important thing is that they match. Can't have a drag queen who doesn't know about color coordination.  And what's wrong with lip-synching to Katy Perry? We don't all do Judy Garland impressions (although between me and you, I do a mean Nina Simone).

And while we are on the subject, Charlotte Pride lasted for several hours. I know that there were speeches and other entertainment besides the very talented drag queens. It's interesting that Brown focuses so much of his animus on them. 

Also to answer Brown's question, SC Black Pride had quite a few number of drag queens performing this year and they were all good.

Lastly that comment about young men greeting each other with exclamations of "Hey Girl" before kissing each other on the cheeks simply cannot be true. He forgot to mention that after we kiss each other on the cheek, we  finger snap in Z-formations.

Now those with common sense, after reading Brown's very vapid interpretation of the events at Charlotte Pride, would simply laugh themselves silly. Brown is obviously attempting - rather pitifully - to claim that the Charlotte Gay Pride event - and by extension - the lgbtq community- are somehow dangers to America and especially children.

He packs his piece with almost every anti-gay stereotype imaginable. Even his snark about HIV testing (which is a very good idea to have at any public event) was a backhanded way to infer about the supposed promiscuity of the gay community. I'm surprised he didn't try to push some nonsense about "recruitment." Or is he saving that for next year?

But Brown's piece has its defenders.

Recently, One News Now - in an effort to drum up more hits to the site - has allowed readers to post comments after articles which would then be filtered to Facebook. Some readers of Brown's piece have expressed shock over the supposed absolute chaos and calamity started by people dancing to folks imitating Katy Perry and gay men greeting their friends. Naturally their comments also question the lgbtq identity in general.

And then there are others, like myself, who are being, what I like to call, the ambassadors of common sense and asking "why is this even a big deal" or "If Brown doesn't like gay pride so much, then why did he go?"

It's a fun discussion. Read it or even better - give your opinions of Brown's piece. In a respectful manner of course.

Family Research Council statement needs a little 'editing'

Tony Perkins, FRC

Last year when the Southern Poverty Law Center named several religious right groups as anti-gay hate groups, many of them united (with the Family Research Council - one of the groups named - leading the way) in a campaign with the semi- catchy title of Start Debating/Stop Hating.

Start Debating/Stop Hating was a way in which these groups attempted to deflect the much-deserved criticism given to them by SPLC for their usage of nasty propaganda and junk science against the gay community. They claimed that they were the victims of a "liberal conspiracy."

Central to this campaign was a mission statement which claimed that FRC - and other groups - were under attack for merely defending "Judeo-Christian" values.

The mission statement was concise, to the point, and full of more pathos than an episode of Lassie. Therefore, I decided to print the mission statement with a little bit of tweaking. FRC's statements are in bold. My additions are below each bold statement.:

The surest sign one is losing a debate is to resort to character assassination.

" . . . hatred for men, which is very typical of a lesbian experience" - Kristi Hamrick,  October 16, 1996, Family Research Council web site.

"Homosexuals say they don't want the children, but boy they put a lot of energy into going after them." - Robert Knight of the Family Research Council writing in a Focus on the Family newsletter, quoted by People for the American Way, "Hostile Climate," 1997, p.15

"The homosexual rights movement has tried to distance itself from pedophilia, but only for public relations purposes." - "Homosexual Activists Work to Normalize Sex With Boys," FRC publication, July 1999

The Southern Poverty Law Center, a liberal fundraising machine whose tactics have been condemned by observers across the political spectrum, is doing just that. The group, which was once known for combating racial bigotry, is now attacking several groups that uphold Judeo-Christian moral views, including marriage as the union of a man and a woman. How does the SPLC attack? By labeling its opponents “hate groups.” No discussion. No consideration of the issues. No engagement. No debate.

"Militant homosexuality is fundamentally opposed to religion, family, and anything that presupposes a natural moral order, a transcendent God, or something else higher than ourselves. The activist homosexual agenda and worldview are fundamentally incompatible with Christianity or any form of true religion, because homosexuality is ultimately narcissism" - THE ASSAULT ON CHRISTIANS BY THE MILITANT HOMOSEXUAL MOVEMENT, Steven A. Schwalm, Family Research Council.

"In fact, most mothers are more concerned with protecting their children from homosexual activists, who insist on their supposed 'right' to propagandize young schoolchildren." -  Americans for Truth About Homosexuality  press release, July 12, 1998

"Judge Walker has already decided this issue for himself, and has no business putting himself in a place where his own personal value judgments could be substituted for the express will of the people of California. He is Exhibit A as to why homosexuals should be disqualified from public office. Character is an important qualification for public service, and what an individual does in his private sexual life is a critical component of character. A man who ignores time-honored standards of sexual behavior simply cannot be trusted with the power of public office." - American Family Association's Bryan Fischer, August, 2010

These types of slanderous actions have been used against voters who signed petitions and voted for marriage amendments in all thirty states that have considered them,:

We use a lot of hyperbole and I think that's always dangerous. You know, we say things like 'Teachers will be forced to (teach same-sex marriage in schools)!' " he continues. "Well, that's not a completely accurate statement and we all know it isn't, you know?" - Marc Mutty, who led an effort in one of those states - Maine - to stop marriage equality.

 as well as against the millions of Americans who identify with the Tea Party movement:

"I think fruits are decorative. Hang up where they can be seen and appreciated. Call Wyoming for display instructions." - Tim Ravndal, president of the Montana Tea Party Movement making a "joke" about Matthew Shepard's murder.

According to University of Washington professor Matt Barreto, who directed the poll, the Tea Party's frustration with Washington "is going hand in hand with a frustration and opposition to racial and ethnic minorities and gays and lesbians." - More Than Half Of Tea Party Supporters Say Gays And Lesbians Have Too Much Political Power, The Huffington Post, June 2, 2010

Religious right leader ignores reality and other Monday midday news briefs

I had an awesome, buttkicking post on the Family Research Council all ready for this morning. However thanks yesterday to someone trying to steal my cable, my internet connection got knocked offline and it was bumped in such a way that I couldn't even get hooked up with wireless. But I'm back and not to worry. That post on FRC is upcoming. But now for the news briefs:

SC Pride prepares their 22nd parade on Saturday - That's right. Come Saturday, we will be having our 22nd pride parade in the Palmetto City. And I'm riding on a float. I ain't walking with these feet. By the way, the question posed by this link is kinda dumb, but we are winning.


Concerned Women For America’s Crouse Grows Agitated When Host Contradicts Gay Adoption Claim - Religious right modus operandi - when the proof is shown to their faces, they kick it aside. I would love to see Crouse try that in front of Sen. Al Franken.


'Gee, odd': Another conservative, another misappropriated holy war - Oh Rick Santorum. You are a caution!

GOP Rep Who Promised To Eradicate Homosexuality If He Were God To Challenge Openly-Gay Tammy Baldwin For Senate Seat - Oh this is going to be good!