O'Reilly under fire for defending Ellen DeGeneres

I don't like Bill O'Reilly. He isn't a good journalist but rather a loudmouth bully.

But the one time he makes sense, he gets attacked by members of the religious right.

O'Reilly recent defended popular lesbian celebrity Ellen DeGeneres and the department store JC Penny from attacks by the One Million Moms, a group pushed by the American Family Association. One Million Moms is angry that JC Penny chose DeGeneres as its spokesperson and is demanding that the company reverse the decision.O'Reilly said the following:

“If you remember with the McCarthy era of the 1950s, they were trying to hunt down communist sympathizers and not let them work and put them on a blacklist… What is the difference between the McCarthy era communist blacklist in the ‘50s and the Million Moms saying, ‘Hey, J.C. Penney and all you other stores, don’t you hire any gay people. Don’t you dare.’ What is the difference? . . . The essential question is that a conservative group in this country is asking a private company to fire an American citizen based upon her lifestyle. I don’t think that’s correct.”

Uh oh. He shouldn't have said that. Through its phony news publication One News Now, the American Family Association calls itself striking back via a column by one Michael Brown.

You'll probably be hearing more about Brown in the future, but for now here is the skinny. He is a huckster, a phony, a charlatan. He saw how much press religious right figures are getting by bashing the gay community and decided to join the publicity train to get his piece of the pie.

Anyway, this is part of what he wrote about O'Reilly's comments:

Simply stated, in a media culture where out and proud lesbians like Ellen, Rachel Maddow, and Suzie Orman are as American as apple pie, O'Reilly's reference to the McCarthyism of the 1950s "that banished perceived leftwing job seekers from employment in the entertainment industry" could hardly be more irrelevant.

But that is really secondary to the larger issue -- namely the reason for the Moms' opposition to Ellen as a spokesperson for JC Penney. O'Reilly notes that "DeGeneres is an American citizen," adding that, "She has committed no crime. If she wants to promote equality for gays or gay marriage, that is her constitutional right. She should not be dismissed from anything."

Of course, that is her constitutional right; and of course, she has committed no crime -- but that is not the point. In fact, O'Reilly began his article expressing his sympathies for people who "oppose the in-your-face tactics of some homosexuals" at public events like parades in New York City. "They simply want to be left alone. They don't want to see explicit displays in public that offend their moral or religious point of view."

And that is precisely the issue here. Ellen is the poster-girl par excellence for gay and lesbian causes, and her 2008 "marriage" to Portia DeRossi was celebrated on the front cover of People Magazine. Her 1997 TV announcement that she was gay made television history, and she is an ever-present, always winsome, spokesperson for gay activism.

The gist of Brown's nonsense is that it is perfectly fine to demand that JC Penny fire Ellen because it's not that she is a lesbian, but that she is an out lesbian celebrity who is popular in the public eye.

Perhaps Brown would have wanted JC Penny to find a timid, self-hating in-the-closet lesbians who, in the middle of advertising for JC Penny, would burst into tears and talk about how she hates herself and her life.

I mean how dare DeGeneres conducts herself like she isn't ashamed. Why if that were allowed to happen, people would see lgbtqs as normal. And worse than that, young lgbtqs may feel less isolated and depressed.

And we can't have that happening.

The irony is that Brown makes O'Reilly's point. To target someone not because of any alleged harm they have done, but because who they are is McCarthy-like tactics. And it doesn't matter how you try to pretty up the targeting.  Pouring a ton of sugar on manure doesn't make it edible and disguising a campaign of hate under the guise of family values doesn't make it palpable either.


Editor's note - If you have high blood pressure, avoid the comments section of the Brown's piece. It is filled with idiots citing convenience sample studies on the "so-called dangers of lesbianism." Apparently religious right tactics regarding distorting research have been picked up by their supporters.

Our efforts to expose the religious right lies needs a lot of work

From Faith in Public Life:

On Feb. 14th in New York, Faithful America members and faith leaders including Bishop Gene Robinson, Episcopal Bishop of New Hampshire, gathered at MSNBC studios to deliver 20,000 signatures calling on the network to stop inviting hate group leader Tony Perkins onto their news programming.

MSNBC sent down representatives to accept the petitions but remained non-committal about their willingness to change their policy.

The above video is of their delivery combined with footage of Perkins on MSNBC.

 I like what these folks did and I salute their efforts.

But I'm also going to be honest.

I feel a little reticent about news networks banning Tony Perkins on their shows. I hate for him to play the martyr. "Oh they are banning me because they don't want any discussion on homosexuality," Perkins would say. "Oh those intolerant homosexuals."

It is a sad truth that the news media treats Perkins like a legitimate source, regardless of the myriad of things his organization, the Family Research Council, has done to denigrate the lgbtq community. FRC has relied on junk science, cherry-picked studies, or out-and-out lies to demonize us. It is also a sad truth that very few in the media have questioned him on these things

When they do address it, they ask him general questions and allow him to go on a monologue about his supposed Christian values.

What we need is a 60 Minutes type investigation or a huge magazine expose on the Family Research Council and other groups like it. There needs to be a huge amount of detail as to  how these groups pick their so-called experts, how they cherry-pick studies, and their tendency to rely on junk science. There also needs to be some exposure as to how deeply affiliated some members of Congress are to these groups.

And I have said this more than once - I can't believe that the lgbtq community have several magazines and our own network, but none of these entities, at least to my knowledge, have decided to undertake this initiative.

No matter how many petitions we hand in or how loud we gripe, FRC and groups like it will continue to get away with their phony veneer or respectability until WE rip it away.

And frankly we have not begun to do it yet.

Related post: 16 reasons why the Family Research Council is a hate group

'NOM lies about Maggie Gallagher's disastrous MSNBC interview' and other Wednesday middday news briefs

 Video: Maggie Gallagher Debates Entire MSNBC Panel! - So NOM finally posts the clip of Maggie Gallagher's disastrous interview on MSNBC and naturally declares her the winner. Apparently NOM was watching an interview from an alternate universe. Those who aren't barred from posting should feel free to remind the organization of this.
 
EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: NOM's Maggie Gallagher Discusses "Ex-Gay" Therapy At CPAC - Despite her insistence that she doesn't support reparative (ex-gay) therapy, a recent interview at CPAC, NOM's Maggie Gallagher seems to be slyly endorsing the inaccurate tenets behind reparative therapy. Draw your own conclusions.

Dangerous game: Vander Plaats says protecting LGBT kids from bullying is like playing in street - They certainly love the hyperbolic language.

EXCLUSIVE: Nancy Pelosi Supports 2012 Democratic Party Platform Including Marriage Equality - Way to go, Nancy Pelosi!

Oklahoma elects first openly gay state senator - Kick ass!

First Gay Group Forms On U.S. Military Base - Awesome!

Victoria Jackson embarrasses herself in debate with lesbian author

Former Saturday Night Live member Victoria Jackson has made a name for herself these days by being a controversial conservative Christian who is very public about her beliefs that President Obama is a communist, Glenn Beck is the greatest thing since sliced bread, and that the television show Glee is part of a plot to "indoctrinate" children into homosexuality.

But that damn voice of hers is annoying. She reminds me of the legendary comedian Gracie Allen on helium with cramps and an eternal bad attitude.

But to some folks, she is a hero for her stances and her willingness to engage those who disagree with her point of view (in an attempt to refute their arguments and make them look foolish, no doubt.)

In the video above, Jackson was at the conservative CPAC and she takes on Ellen Ratkin, lesbian and author of  The Other Side of the Family: A Book for Recovery from Abuse, Incest and Neglect (1990). The two were debating the nature of God.

Personally, I thought Jackson was way out of her league. But you decide who came out on top.

Black Love - The Quest for Marriage Equality

In an earlier post, I mentioned that when it comes to marriage equality and the African-American community, there is a tendency to ignore the certain complexities of the issue and paint all blacks with a homophobic brush. One of those complexities is basically simple - those of us in the black community who benefit from marriage equality and support marriage equality can't get a word in edgewise in the discussion because of the loud bleating of the black folk who don't support the issue, the white-dominated religious right eager to exploit these voices, and the media too damn lazy to not allow themselves to be bamboozled by a false narrative.

The following video previews demonstrate my point. From youtube:

"Black Love: The Quest for Marriage Equality" follows four gay and lesbian couples on their quest to marry and demonstrates how their commitment to love impacted their lives. The film examines the special rewards and challenges of same-gender relationships, how marriage equality can be a part of the solution to the structural and economic issues faced by many Black families, and the strategies that are needed to bring full acceptance of gay and lesbian people to the Black community. In this video, Rev. Dr. Christine Wiley and her husband, Rev. Dr. Dennis Wiley, co-pastors of Covenant Baptist United Church of Christ, discuss the risks they took to become an inclusive and affirming church. They were among the first Black clergy in DC to support marriage equality.

And then there is this clip - Ivan Walker and Wymond Satterwhite were married on August 27, 2011. In this clip they discuss the joys of raising their kids and being a family.




There are a LOT of African-Americans who support marriage equality. We just have to elbow our way to the microphones.

'Jon Stewart skewers 'war on religion' lie' and other Tuesday midday news briefs

This Jon Stewart clip about the so-called war on religious liberties have to do with objections to President Obama's compromise on contraception. However, it's so exceptional that you can put it to any situation, particularly when the religious right pulls out the "war on religion" card against the lgbtq community:

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook

In other news:


Anoka-Hennepin Gender-Neutral School Policy: Minnesota School Board Ends Policy Blamed For Bullying - I hope the new policy is much better than that awful one they had before pertaining to our lgbtq kids.

Clause by Clause With Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Bill: Anyone Can Be “Liable To Suffer Death” - That nasty bill still haunts us. It needs to die.

Valentine's Day 2012: Best Gay And Lesbian Kisses From Movies, Stage And Around The World (PHOTOS) - Happy Valentine's Day, folks.

'Porno Pete' LaBarbera oversteps his bounds with attack on NAACP

'Porno' Pete LaBarbera

I apologize in advance if folks get offended by this post.

 Porno Pete LaBarbera (so named for his tendency to attend subcultural gay events such as leather conventions, take pictures and describe actions in lurid details) seems to be "enamored" with interviewing North Carolina "diaper pastor" Patrick Wooden on the so-called "mechanics of gay sex."

As you all know, LaBarbera had that silly failed press conference a while back protesting the Southern Poverty Law Center's designating him and several other religious right organizations as hate groups because of the propaganda they spread about the lgbtq community.

It was there that he and Wooden seems to have "bonded." Since that time, LaBarbera and Wooden have conducted an interview so long that LaBarbera had to break it up into five parts.

It was during one of these this interviews in which Wooden made the false claim that gay men have so much anal sex that they require surgery and diapers and also that they use baseball bats, gerbils and cell phones as sexual instruments. Other tidbits of these interviews had Wooden making all sorts of nasty comments about Chaz Bono, legendary blogger Pam Spaulding (Wooden said she needs to find a man who will rock her world), and of course the transgender community.

'Diaper pastor' Patrick Wooden

I should also note that Wooden is instrumental in helping the National Organization for Marriage push for an anti-marriage equality amendment in North Carolina. NOM has been silent on Wooden's radio commentaries.

As I said before, LaBarbera became infamous for his past activities at subcultural events, such as leather conventions. But now he seems to have abandoned attending these functions. However, based on his interviews with Wooden, he has not abandoned his lurid imagination when it comes to gay sex. He seems to have traded one vice (taking pictures of gay men) for another (regaling his audience about gay sex).

An email LaBarbera sent talking about the fifth part of the interview he conducted with Wooden caused me to momentarily, shall we say, forget that I'm a child of God:

Below is the final installment of my five-part interview with Pastor Wooden -- a bold and courageous Truth Teller who has become a good friend. Please take 45 minutes to listen to this lively discussion and pass it on to your friends. Patrick nails it on how liberal Black leaders like Al Sharpton, Barack Obama, and NAACP President Ben Jealous are utterly out-of-touch with rank-and-file, churchgoing African Americans on the issue of homosexual sin. That's why ever since Patrick's first interview with AFTAH, he has become a huge target for bigoted and often vicious "gay" militants.

Poor Patrick Wooden for being "a target."  Whatever happened to the good old days when you could get away with accusing gays of wearing diapers and stuffing gerbils up their rectums?

I got slightly angry at LaBarbera for his comments regarding Sharpton, Jealous, the NAACP, and President Obama. You see these folks have been attempting to create a much needed conversation in the African-American community regarding lgbtqs of color.

In addition, The North Carolina chapter of the NAACP and a coalition at North Carolina Central University - a historically black college have come out against that awful anti-marriage equality amendment.