'NYT dismantles phony Catholic Church victimhood' and other Thursday midday news briefs

Bishops Say Rules on Gay Parents Limit Freedom of Religion - An excellent breakdown of claims from the Catholic Bishops that they are so-called "victims" of the push for lgbtq equality. And the comments section is simply BRUTAL as the readers aren't buying their explanations.

The Canyonwalker Translation Project - An excellent idea to reach lgbtqs in foreign countries. Anyone who can should help.

FRC Hosts Michael Brown to 'Explain the Homosexual Agenda'- Hold on to your hoolahoops. We have YET ANOTHER phony anti-gay expert on the horizon. And he will be making his presence known in North Carolina also. Long story short - Michael Brown is a grandstanding so-and-so who wants his piece of the anti-gay pie of notoriety. Like so many others, he pushes the same lies about our community, including how we are "plotting" to take over America. So many nuts, so many lies.

Watching Jamaica - Thank you Box Turtle Bulletin for reminding us to keep an eye our for our brothers and sisters in Jamaica.

Hate group's publication deliberately distorts Associated Press article

The American Family Association's One News Now is known for being a fraudulent news sources by often creating a story around the erroneous comments of anti-gay leaders or telling only one side of an incident (making sure to make the gay community look at fault).

But the audacity goes even farther. One News Now has on occasion been inaccurately manipulating AP articles to put the gay community in a negative light:

The original AP article:

Girls seeking abortions in New Hampshire must first tell their parents or a judge, some employers in Alabama must verify new workers' U.S. residency, and California students will be the first in the country to receive mandatory lessons about the contributions of gays and lesbians under state laws set to take effect at the start of 2012.

. . . A California law will add gays and lesbians and people with disabilities to the list of social and ethnic groups whose contributions must be taught in history lessons in public schools. The law also bans teaching materials that reflect poorly on gays or particular religions.

One News Now rendition:

Girls seeking abortions in New Hampshire must first tell their parents or a judge, employers in Alabama must verify new workers' U.S. residency, and California students will be the first in the country to receive mandatory pro-homosexual indoctrination under state laws set to take effect at the start of 2012.

. . . Also in California, a new law will add homosexuals to the list of social and ethnic groups whose contributions must be taught in history lessons in public schools.

One News Now - and the AFA in general - does seem to have a goal in mind. But it's obvious that this goal does not entail correctly informing or educating its readers.

Lesbians of color take centerstage in 'Pariah'

I do a lot of talking about the need to focus on issues and interests of the lgbtq community of color.

Now, I want to back up all of my talk by focusing on an outstanding movie, Pariah:

A world premiere at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival, the contemporary drama Pariah is the feature-length expansion of writer/director Dee Rees’ award-winning 2007 short film Pariah. Spike Lee is among the feature’s executive producers. At Sundance, cinematographer Bradford Young was honored with the [U.S. Dramatic Competition] Excellence in Cinematography Award.

Adepero Oduye, who had earlier starred in the short film, portrays Alike (pronounced ah-lee-kay), a 17-year-old African-American woman who lives with her parents Audrey and Arthur (Kim Wayans and Charles Parnell) and younger sister Sharonda (Sahra Mellesse) in Brooklyn’s Fort Greene neighborhood. She has a flair for poetry, and is a good student at her local high school.

Alike is quietly but firmly embracing her identity as a lesbian. With the sometimes boisterous support of her best friend, out lesbian Laura (Pernell Walker), Alike is especially eager to find a girlfriend. At home, her parents’ marriage is strained and there is further tension in the household whenever Alike’s development becomes a topic of discussion. Pressed by her mother into making the acquaintance of a colleague’s daughter, Bina (Aasha Davis), Alike finds Bina to be unexpectedly refreshing to socialize with.

Wondering how much she can confide in her family, Alike strives to get through adolescence with grace, humor, and tenacity – sometimes succeeding, sometimes not, but always moving forward.

For more information to Pariah's main webpage as well as its digital toolkit

'NOM's people are obsessing over gay sex (again)' and other Wednesday midday news briefs

Audio: NOM's Jennifer Roback Morse calls gay sex 'completely shameless activity' - AND we are here again.

Amazon, Barnes & Noble hawking anti-LGBT calendar by self-proclaimed ‘sissy’ - This here is a CONSUMMATE disgrace. An excerpt from this "self-proclaimed sissy" calendar:

The “truth” is that AIDS is an “elective” disease.
It STOPS the day guys quit sticking it to each other.
And for the tragedy of women and children infected…
THAT stops the day their gay husbands and fathers stop cheating on them.
Anyone need MORE education, science or funding to understand THAT?

Rural North Carolina LGBT Rights Group Met by Homophobic Christian Protesters at First Meeting: VIDEO - Please don't give me an crap about "it's to be expected in North Carolina." You defeat ignorance by taking it head on in places where it thrives. These folks should be supported and commended.

Gingrich Intends to Pack Courts with Judges from Regent and Liberty University, Federalist Society - The idea of Mat Staver or Matt Barber as federal judges should scare the hell out of anyone.


It's Official: Gay Is the New Black - I'm not hot on the title but I love this piece written by a black woman, by the way. An excerpt reads:

The civil rights issue of our time is gay marriage, and the key players in our country's most significant civil rights movement are on the wrong side of it. The black church has taken on a new role: oppressor.

One News Now's hypocritical stance on the persecution of Christians and gays

Today, the American Family Association's One News Now is singing the praises of Congress:

The U.S. House has passed a resolution that calls on the government of Turkey to end repression of the remnants of ancient Christian and pre-Christian civilizations and return the property taken from them.

House Resolution 306, spearheaded by Representative Ed Royce (R-California) and Howard Berman (D-California), was recently passed by a huge majority, calling on the State Department to raise the issue. Aram Hamparian of the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) tells OneNewsNow the persecution has been going on for many centuries.

. . . The more serious persecution occurred early last century.

"They were largely seized during the period of the Armenian genocide, which started in 1915, which was an effort to wipe out the entire Christian population of the Ottoman Empire. And it very nearly succeeded in doing that," the ANCA executive director laments. "Armenians and Syrians, Greeks, Pontians and others represented over two million of the citizens of the Ottoman Empire, and today they represent less than one percent."

About a million and a half people were killed, and now only a handful of churches exist, compared to thousands that were in Turkey prior to the alleged genocide. Turkey denies the latter and has lashed out at the House for passing the resolution.

Speaking out against persecution and genocide are good things for any person or any nation to do.

However, One News Now isn't exactly consistent with this stance. Earlier this month, the publication featured an article raising holy hell when Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke out against anti-gay persecution which is presently taking place in foreign countries:

The Obama administration has announced it will begin considering how countries treat homosexual citizens when determining allocations of foreign aid. The Associated Press reports it is the first U.S. government strategy that deals with "human rights abuses against gays and lesbians abroad." Speaking in Geneva, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said "Gay rights are human rights, and human rights are gay rights." Sitting among her audience were representatives from several nations where homosexuality is considered immoral.

The announced policy, according to Matt Barber of Liberty Counsel Action, "displays the arrogance of the Obama administration."

It is "frankly offensive," says the attorney, that President Obama "feels compelled to export American culture's decline in morality, and export that immorality to other nations that are trying to adhere to traditional principles relative to human sexuality."

Barber also notes that the administration is apparently ignoring the fact that foreign nations -- like the United States -- are sovereign countries. He adds that the U.S. is "using essentially blackmail and the purse strings" of the nation to force countries to change their moral principles.

Someone should ask One News Now - and the author of both articles, Charlie Butts - just what is the difference between anti-Christian and anti-gay persecution.

I'm pretty sure that in the eyes of God, there is no difference.

NC group uses 'sniper crosshair' image to bash marriage equality

According to today's issue of North Carolina's Charlotte Observer, one of the proponents of the upcoming referendum to outlaw marriage equality in the state, Rev. Mark Harris, the head of the state's Baptist Convention, wants a "civil debate" over the issue:

"But I hope we can express our positions - keep the conversation to the facts and our principles - and do it in a civil way," Harris, 45, said. "It doesn't mean I'm going to change someone else's position or they're going to change mine. "But in America, we all ought to be able to express ourselves without things getting out of hand."

Now generally when those against marriage equality claim that they want a "civil debate," the lgbtq community and our allies bristle because we know that in the past when these folks call for "calm" and "rationality," it's usually before they pull out all sorts of sundry claims about the gay community.

But I believe Harris when he says he wants a civil debate. However, I also believe that this issue has gone way past out of hand and a perfect example of this is the image below:

According to Jeremy Hooper of Goodasyou.org:

This is the actual graphic that the North Carolina Family Policy Council, the leading anti-equality group in the Tar Heel State, is running in its quarterly publication in order to scare citizens into voting for the state's proposed constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage.

Maybe it's just me, but civil debates on marriage equality don't necessarily encompass images of an assassin targeting newlyweds.

If Rev. Harris truly wants a rational and civil discussion on the issue, he needs to have a serious talk with his allies.

Editor's note - The image can be clearly seen at this link on page. 13.

'Same-sex kiss generates controversy' and other Tuesday midday news briefs

Hopefully everyone had a happy holiday. I am going to ease myself back into normalcy with a few news briefs to start things off:

Readers react to photo of female sailors’ homecoming kiss - It appears that some people aren't happy with a certain recent iconic kiss. This kiss right here:

NOM’s Christmas Gift: Deepening Desperation - Meanwhile, a certain anti-gay group is getting pitiful. I mean this is simply ridiculous, even for NOM.

Taylor Lautner 'People' Magazine Coming Out Cover A Fake - Who the hell is Taylor Lautner?

Disgruntled Ex-Paul Staffer Says Paul Wouldn’t Use Gay Man’s Bathroom - That's how we "convert" people, you know. We let them use our bathrooms and when they lift the toilet lid, Rip Taylor jumps out and hits them with "gay confetti."

What If Your Child Says, I'm In The Wrong Body? - An issue which speaks for itself.

NC Psych Assoc. Publishes Top 4 Reasons Opposing Gay Marriage is Bonkers - Awesome list.