'Religious right continues to lie about 'anti-Christian persecution' in military' and other Monday midday news briefs

As false horror story I posted about this morning about "anti-Christian" persecution in the military isn't enough, leave it to Matt Barber and Mat Staver of the Liberty Counsel to create a new one.

 In other news:

  Fox's Erickson Complains That Media Outlets Aren't Anti-LGBT Enough - Poor baby. Heavy on the baby part.  

Pro-LGBT Tech Executives Back Anti-LGBT Candidate For Virginia Governor - With all due respect, Northern Virginia Technology Council’s political action committee , y'all stupid.

Nigerian Student Uses Magnets To 'Prove' Gay Marriage Is Wrong - Say what?

Religious right pushing a false narrative about anti-Christian persecution in the Air Force

Conservatives and the religious right are under the sad impression that they have found of story of anti-Christian discrimination in the military so juicy that the Family Research Council, the Liberty Counsel, entities of Fox News, and even Bryan Fischer of the American Family Association are teaming up to talk about it.

Let me give you the gist of the story via the words of FRC's Peter Sprigg:

Air Force Senior Master Sergeant Phillip Monk told Todd Starnes of Fox News Radio that his openly lesbian commander at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio,Texas had essentially forced him into taking leave rather than completing his assignment. (A Lackland spokesman denied that Monk was punished, insisting to Starnes that he was simply at the end of his assignment.)

Monk was caught in the middle of a situation which involved an instructor who was subjected to an investigation for having told trainees that he opposed homosexual "marriage." Investigators sought to determine whether the unnamed instructor had slandered homosexuals and created a "hostile work environment."

Monk's job was to advise the commander on disciplinary action. According to Monk, however, the commander said from the outset that "we need to lop off the head of this guy." Monk concluded that the instructor's remarks were innocuous, and suggested instead that the incident could teach everyone - on both sides of the debate over homosexuality - about "tolerance" and "diversity."

In the end, the instructor was disciplined with a "letter of counseling" in his official file. The commander, however, demanded to know from Monk "if you can see discrimination if somebody says that they don't agree with homosexual marriage." Monk refused to answer because, "As a matter of conscience I could not answer the question the way the commander wanted me to." Instead, he "said that perhaps it would be best if he went on leave," and the commander agreed.

Monk said to Starnes, "I'm told that members of the Air Force don't have freedom of speech. They don't have the right to say anything that goes against Air Force policy." However, if the homosexual Air Force officer involved in this case thinks that "Air Force policy" requires rejecting the policy choice of three quarters of the States to define marriage as the union of one man and one woman, she should think again.

But according to Equality Matters:

Try as Starnes might to depict the investigation of Monk as an all-out assault on conservative Christians in the military, it's clear that Monk's harsh words for his Air Force superiors may well have breached military regulations on soldiers' conduct. Article 134 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice prohibits soldiers from engaging in speech or actions "of a nature to bring discredit upon the armed forces." Going to the media with unfounded allegations that the Air Force is retaliating against Christians would likely merit an investigation under Article 134.

But Starnes asserted that Monk's case indicates widespread punishment of Christians in the military. Alas, this claim is based on nothing more than hearsay. An attorney for the Liberty Institute - which has a history of pushing trumped-up, unfounded "religious liberty" cases - told Starnes that "there must be some sort of systemic problem in the Air Force," while a local pastor told Starnes that he "hear[s] it every Sunday at church" that life at Lackland is becoming "difficult" for Christians.

And according to Media Matters, who reported on the situation and the fact that the Liberty Counsel is taking up Monk's case:

While Senior Master Sgt. Phillip Monk claims his anti-marriage equality views led him to be relieved of his duties, there's no evidence, besides the sensationalistic coverage of far-right news outlets, that that's actually the case. After devoting four minutes to touting the Liberty Institute's claims, Bream briskly noted that officials at Lackland Air Force Base said Monk was at the end of his assignment. A spokesperson for the base told Fox News Radio's Todd Starnes that while Monk and his lesbian commander did disagree on marriage equality, they "agreed to disagree," adding "the wing commander said there was no punishment."

The one constant in this strange is how the narrative of anti-Christian is being driven by the religious right and conservatives. According to Todd Starnes of Fox News, Monk is now being brought up on charges for repeating his tale.

Of course the irony of Starnes' story is while the headlines pushes the idea that Christians are being persecuted in the military, it doesn't even look like Starnes even tried to get the Air Force's side of the story.

Why should we be surprised at how conservatives and the religious right are pushing this story? It's a formula we have seen before - take a potential controversy, report on it in a half-assed way, bombard the media with the side of  the story you support, and finally take your victory before the truth even has a chance to put on its track shoes.

For folks to engage in this scurrilous propaganda is one thing, but for those who claim to be Christians while engaging in this underhanded tactic is positively nauseating.
 

SC couple sues about gender reassignment surgery performed on son' and other Friday midday news briefs

South Carolina Couple Files Lawsuit For Gender Reassignment Surgery Performed On Their Adopted Son - It's cases like that which blows away that ridiculous "God made men to be men and women to be women" mantra. I hope it ends well for the child. 

Transgender woman, Saskatoon bridal shop reach mediated settlement - And it turns out to be an excellent settlement for all involved.  

National Organization for [Opposition to Reproductive Technology, Gay or Straight] #MoreThanMarriage - So now, NOM wants to weigh in on how children are conceived. Forget it, guys.

 Stemberger: 'Abuse' To Affirm LGBT Youth; Sexual Relations Among Boy Scouts Will Become 'Commonplace' - Ignorant people like this just makes me want to pull my hair out. That's why I deliberately shave my head.

Family Research Council doesn't know meaning of 'irony' and 'hypocrisy'

In the irony to beat all ironies, less than a week after the religious right accused the lgbt community of unfairly causing the closing of a bakery which refused to make a cake for a same-sex wedding, Family Research Council head Tony Perkins is calling for a boycott of baking company Betty Crocker for giving away free cakes to gay couples getting married in Minnesota.


Bear in mind that in the case of the bakery, the lgbt community was accused of using "Mafia-style" tactics even though no one actually gave any description of these so-called evil tactics. At the very least, gays probably arranged a very successful boycott of the business.

Which leads us to this conclusion - when gays conduct a successful boycott, it's the equivalent of leaving a horse's head in someone's bed (Godfather reference). When the religious right attempts a boycott, they are merely "standing up for Christian values."

Someone really needs to send me a decoder book for all of this crap.

New information sheds light on FRC shooter's 'mental capacity'

While I am not one for usually citing the Washington Times, here is something regarding the shooting last year at the Family Research Council headquarters which I doubt FRC will let folks know. It would appear - and it should have really been obvious - that the perpetrator, Floyd Corkins, had mental issues:

A Virginia man who planned to kill employees at the D.C. headquarters of a conservative Christian organization last summer received mental health treatment for hallucinations months before he tried to storm the building and then shot a security guard.

The attorney for 29-year-old Floyd Lee Corkins II noted in court documents that his client had been doing well on prescribed antipsychotic medication but missed a doctor’s appointment for an additional dose the day before the Aug. 15, 2012, shooting at the Family Research Council.

Federal public defender David Bos noted Corkins‘ mental illness as a factor when asking for an 11½-year prison sentence for his client. Prosecutors previously recommended a 45-year prison sentence for Corkins, who is the first person to be found guilty of terrorism under the District’s 2002 Anti-Terrorism Act
.
In court documents filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court for the District, Mr. Bos wrote that if Corkins “were unrepentant and unremorseful for his conduct, and not suffering from a mental illness at the time he committed the offenses, a severe sentence might indeed be warranted in this case.” Corkins is scheduled to be sentenced in federal court on Sept. 19.

I think it was obvious that Corkins wasn't "wrapped too tight" when one discovers what he planned to do after the shooting had he been successful:

In addition to the pistol, Corkins also had with him two fully loaded magazine clips with 15 rounds each, a box of 50 rounds of 9 mm bullets, and 15 Chick-fil-A sandwiches. The sandwiches were bought the day before the shooting, Corkins told investigators, with the purpose of smearing them in the faces of his victims.

In short, Corkins was extremely disturbed.  So I am going to say this right now. It's unfair for anyone to blame the Southern Poverty Law Center (which FRC has attempted to do) or FRC (which I am guilty of) for what Corkins attempted.

He was a young man with mental issues who interjected himself into a controversy the wrong way.

'Russian legislator citing junk science study in attempt to separate gay families' and other Thursday midday news briefs

Russian Lawmaker: Children Are Better Off In Orphanage Than With A Gay Parent - And guess what NOM paid-for-study did this bozo cite? 

 Being ‘Masculine of Center’ While Black - Articles like this need more prominence. 
 

Michigan Republicans Once Again Propose ‘License To Discriminate’ For Adoption Agencies - Lovely. Here we go again.

 Daily Caller Mocks Transgender Students "Running For Homecoming King, Queen, Whatever" - More proof that Daily Caller publisher and former journalist Tucker Carlson has continued to sink in credibility.

 ‘Ex-Gay’ Courage Award To Be Awarded To Former ‘Satanic Drag Queen’ - Oh lawd!

'Porno' Peter LaBarbera exploits lgbt youth to fuel obsession about gay sex

LaBarbera

Our favorite irrational homophobe, 'Porno' Peter LaBabarbera of Americans for Truth is unwittingly teaching a lesson today on how members of the religious right cherry-pick legitimate science to demonize the lgbt community.

On his webpage, LaBarbera posted a muddled mess of a report regarding HIV cases amongst young gays. I can't even begin to make coherence of this mess. He cites the Centers for Disease Control studies to make his case. Then he tries to claim that when the CDC supports the work of the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) and the Gay-Straight Alliance Network (GSAN), they are actually exacerbating the problem. He says:

With HIV rates growing among YMSM (young men who have sex with men), the CDC’s focus on building self-esteem among LGBT youth and creating a “positive school climate” for homosexuals — includes forming “gay”-affirming clubs in schools — seems disconnected from reality.

 The gist of what LaBarbera is trying to say is this:

The chasm between the obvious and extreme health risks associated with “gay” male sex and the CDC’s politically correct, pro-homosexuality mindset reflects public policy malpractice on an Orwellian scale. “Gay” activist ideology and assumptions — including intrinsic (many would claim innate) “gay”/bi/transgender identities — go unquestioned at the CDC. Ironically, the most direct answer to the HIV-youth crisis — teaching young people NOT to practice unhealthy homosexual sex — is the one thing that is essentially forbidden.

All across America, “gay” activists and their straight liberal allies are advocating “gay”-positive lesson plans and strategies in response to anti-homosexual bullying. However, while everyone can agree that all bullying is wrong, many “anti-bullying” programs double as pro-LGBT affirmation programs. This is troubling because:1) bullying can be discouraged with neutral messaging that does not promote “out and proud” homosexuality and transgenderism; and 2) in the name of “safety,” educators and cultural elites are advocating a sexual lifestyle that has continually been shown to be dangerous, particularly for males.

Is LaBarbera's assumptions about the CDC wrong? Yes.

 Is LaBarbera clueless? Always.

Had LaBarbera not been so obsessed with demonizing "gay sex "(yet again), he would have known that the CDC had conducted a study that looked at risk behavior among youth and an excellent part of that study was a paper which looked at the health problems regarding lgbt youth.

The CDC has also said:

LGBT youth are also at increased risk for suicidal thoughts and behaviors, suicide attempts, and suicide. A nationally representative study of adolescents in grades 7–12 found that lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth were more than twice as likely to have attempted suicide as their heterosexual peers More studies are needed to better understand the risks for suicide among transgender youth.
Another survey of more than 7,000 seventh- and eighth-grade students from a large Midwestern county examined the effects of school climate and homophobic bullying on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and questioning (LGBQ) youth and found that

• LGBQ youth were more likely than heterosexual youth to report high levels of bullying and substance use; 
• Students who were questioning their sexual orientation reported more bullying, homophobic victimization, unexcused absences from school, drug use, feelings of depression, and suicidal behaviors than either heterosexual or LGB students;
• LGB students who did not experience homophobic teasing reported the lowest levels of depression and suicidal feelings of all student groups (heterosexual, LGB, and questioning students)

The CDC has also linked negative sexual behaviors to these problems amongst lgbt youth. In addition, the CDC has also listed ways to combat lgbt youth health problems:

For youth to thrive in their schools and communities, they need to feel socially, emotionally, and physically safe and supported. A positive school climate has been associated with decreased depression, suicidal feelings, substance use, and unexcused school absences among LBGT students. School personnel, leaders of community organizations, parents, and youth have a role to play in building positive, supportive, and healthy environments for youth. Such environments promote acceptance and respect and help youth feel valued . Schools can assist by implementing clear policies, procedures, and activities designed to prevent violence. For example, a study, found that, in schools with LGB support groups (such as gay-straight alliances), LGB students were less likely to experience threats of violence, miss school because they felt unsafe, or attempt suicide than those students in schools without LGB support groups.

In other words, by doing all of the things that LaBarbera seems to have a problem with, the CDC is in fact not contributing to the problem but attempting to combat it.

Let's be honest here. LaBarbera could care less about aiding lgbt youth. They are just pawns in his continued obsession about gay sex.