Careening towards the new year
A couple of things are happening.
First from Massachusetts, a victory for our side.
The Massachusetts Supreme Court said that it cannot force lawmakers to vote on a proposed constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage. The court rebuked the legislature for not voting, but regardless, Massachusetts is still the only state that allows gay marriage and that won't change for a while.
However, the only joy I can take from this decision is that it will drive James Dobson and company out of their minds with anger.
I really don't like this new tendency to base the success or failure of our movement on whether or not we get marriage equality. The success of the gay rights movement will not be decided on whether or not we can walk down the aisle, but whether or not many of us feel that we deserve to walk down the aisle.
Meanwhile, former President Ford passed away yesterday and it got me thinking about Oliver Sipple, the man who prevented Ford from being assassinated in 1975.
What happened to him was a negative in the history of gay America. Sipple was a closeted gay man and because of his diligence, he found himself to be a "poster child" for gay rights, even though he didn't want to be. Sipple was outed by those who claimed to be on his side and slowly his life was ruined because of it.
This is not to blame anyone for what happened. If anything, it should serve as a reminder to those of us who are leaders in this struggle for equality to never forget the individuals they are trying to help.
Behind the movement are individual people with different lives and different circumstances. Some may be able to come out quickly, but others will take time; that is an unfortunate fact of life.
If it becomes okay to sacrifice the life of one person for the greater good (i.e. visibility), then we have lost our souls.
Remember that the next time a new controversy about a "closeted" movie, television, or singing star takes place.
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
Tuesday, December 26, 2006
Holiday over, back to the battlefield
I hope that everyone had a very Merry Christmas. Mine was nice and quiet - my favorite type of holiday. And I even managed to get some work done.
Which reminds me - I want to marry my copy editor.
Okay maybe not, but over the weekend, he spoke to me about my manuscript and gave me a bunch of excellent ideas for making my prose better. Thanks to him, I took care of a problem that had plagued me since I finished my manuscript.
And speaking of problems, a while back, someone wrote in (in a not very nice way) that our friend Robert Knight of the Concerned Women for America had moved on to the Media Research Center (MRC). The MRC is yet another one of those right winged, the world sucks until everyone does what we think they should do groups.
At the time, I wasn't aware of the move because I didn't see any press release and such. Apparently though, Mr. Knight has moved on.
Robert Knight figures greatly in my book due to his lying exploits with the Concerned Women for America and the Family Research Council. It really doesn't matter where he goes because Mr. Knight has created an interesting paper trail and I have copies of almost all of it.
Lastly, I think our friend Peter LaBarbera is slipping:
Chevron scholarships are available to students in the University of Colorado's School of Engineering who are in the "gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender" community or who support its activities through volunteering. WorldNetDaily reports that CU engineering students received an e-mail recently that offered $1,000 scholarships from Chevron for meeting those qualifications, and writing about their involvement in an essay. It was a move the story quotes a school official as saying is Chevron's attempt to benefit engineering field minorities that are "under-represented." Peter LaBarbera is president of Americans for Truth, a group that monitors homosexual activity in the culture. LaBarbera thinks the scholarship symbolizes a society that increasingly rewards people for sinful behavior. "It's a shocking thing when you come to the point where America is going to have affirmative action based on affiliation with homosexual practices," says the activist. According to LaBarbera, the practice of affirming homosexuality is everywhere -- from the educational and corporate worlds to the political realm. "America is becoming a society that is rewarding people for practicing homosexual sin, essentially -- and it's incumbent upon Christians to speak up and say how wrong that is," he adds. The Americans for Truth spokesman says a society cannot be healthy when it rewards people for what he describes as "unhealthy and immoral behavior."
No claims about the "short life span of gay men" or how Chevron is rewarding "dangerous behavior?"
Why Peter, are we getting to you?
I hope that everyone had a very Merry Christmas. Mine was nice and quiet - my favorite type of holiday. And I even managed to get some work done.
Which reminds me - I want to marry my copy editor.
Okay maybe not, but over the weekend, he spoke to me about my manuscript and gave me a bunch of excellent ideas for making my prose better. Thanks to him, I took care of a problem that had plagued me since I finished my manuscript.
And speaking of problems, a while back, someone wrote in (in a not very nice way) that our friend Robert Knight of the Concerned Women for America had moved on to the Media Research Center (MRC). The MRC is yet another one of those right winged, the world sucks until everyone does what we think they should do groups.
At the time, I wasn't aware of the move because I didn't see any press release and such. Apparently though, Mr. Knight has moved on.
Robert Knight figures greatly in my book due to his lying exploits with the Concerned Women for America and the Family Research Council. It really doesn't matter where he goes because Mr. Knight has created an interesting paper trail and I have copies of almost all of it.
Lastly, I think our friend Peter LaBarbera is slipping:
Chevron scholarships are available to students in the University of Colorado's School of Engineering who are in the "gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender" community or who support its activities through volunteering. WorldNetDaily reports that CU engineering students received an e-mail recently that offered $1,000 scholarships from Chevron for meeting those qualifications, and writing about their involvement in an essay. It was a move the story quotes a school official as saying is Chevron's attempt to benefit engineering field minorities that are "under-represented." Peter LaBarbera is president of Americans for Truth, a group that monitors homosexual activity in the culture. LaBarbera thinks the scholarship symbolizes a society that increasingly rewards people for sinful behavior. "It's a shocking thing when you come to the point where America is going to have affirmative action based on affiliation with homosexual practices," says the activist. According to LaBarbera, the practice of affirming homosexuality is everywhere -- from the educational and corporate worlds to the political realm. "America is becoming a society that is rewarding people for practicing homosexual sin, essentially -- and it's incumbent upon Christians to speak up and say how wrong that is," he adds. The Americans for Truth spokesman says a society cannot be healthy when it rewards people for what he describes as "unhealthy and immoral behavior."
No claims about the "short life span of gay men" or how Chevron is rewarding "dangerous behavior?"
Why Peter, are we getting to you?
Saturday, December 23, 2006
First, three items
A victory for our gay and lesbian children - Appeals court backs ruling favoring straight-gay student group.
I wonder how long it will take before Agape Press quotes the Allied Defense Fund as to how much of a shame it is to push children into "dangerous behavior."
Items 2 and 3 don't exactly look good for us. According to the Conservative Voice, a Denmark study has claimed that "provides interesting and tantalizing evidence that the less stable or traditional a child's home is, the more likely that the child will turn to homosexuality as an adult."
Here we go again. Now I don't know what the study actually says. I do know that the anti-gay industry is notorious for distorting studies from the Netherlands to claim that homosexuality is evil; one of the most infamous being a study they said claimed that gay marriage was not a good idea.
Of course they failed to mention what the study was actually about and also omitted the fact that none of the gay couples in the study were married and that lesbians were excluded.
I chronicle this study and how the anti-gay industry distorted it in my upcoming book.
No doubt before we get the actual truth about the study the Conservative Voice referred to, anti -gay industry pundits will be citing it repeatedly on television and to their followers.
In Britain, a couple has been paid monetary damages for an incident in which the police questioned them regarding their anti-gay beliefs.
I am sure that Robert Knight, our friend Peter LaBarbera, and the rest will attempt to use this unfortunate incident to push the theory of a worldwide gay conspiracy to "harm Christians."
Oh vey!
Boot camp comes to a close
Next week, I should be receiving my manuscript from my copy editor and I am anxious to see what he thought of my book.
Since I am off of work until Wednesday, I should be working on the appendix and acknowledgements, but u know the old saying - the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.
Not too weak though because I had to talk myself out of adding new chapters to my book. No sense in overwhelming anyone. Keep it simple and sweet.
So keeping that spirit, I thank everyone (even my wannabe spammers) for supporting my blog and keeping up with how my book is progressing.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
A victory for our gay and lesbian children - Appeals court backs ruling favoring straight-gay student group.
I wonder how long it will take before Agape Press quotes the Allied Defense Fund as to how much of a shame it is to push children into "dangerous behavior."
Items 2 and 3 don't exactly look good for us. According to the Conservative Voice, a Denmark study has claimed that "provides interesting and tantalizing evidence that the less stable or traditional a child's home is, the more likely that the child will turn to homosexuality as an adult."
Here we go again. Now I don't know what the study actually says. I do know that the anti-gay industry is notorious for distorting studies from the Netherlands to claim that homosexuality is evil; one of the most infamous being a study they said claimed that gay marriage was not a good idea.
Of course they failed to mention what the study was actually about and also omitted the fact that none of the gay couples in the study were married and that lesbians were excluded.
I chronicle this study and how the anti-gay industry distorted it in my upcoming book.
No doubt before we get the actual truth about the study the Conservative Voice referred to, anti -gay industry pundits will be citing it repeatedly on television and to their followers.
In Britain, a couple has been paid monetary damages for an incident in which the police questioned them regarding their anti-gay beliefs.
I am sure that Robert Knight, our friend Peter LaBarbera, and the rest will attempt to use this unfortunate incident to push the theory of a worldwide gay conspiracy to "harm Christians."
Oh vey!
Boot camp comes to a close
Next week, I should be receiving my manuscript from my copy editor and I am anxious to see what he thought of my book.
Since I am off of work until Wednesday, I should be working on the appendix and acknowledgements, but u know the old saying - the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.
Not too weak though because I had to talk myself out of adding new chapters to my book. No sense in overwhelming anyone. Keep it simple and sweet.
So keeping that spirit, I thank everyone (even my wannabe spammers) for supporting my blog and keeping up with how my book is progressing.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
Thursday, December 21, 2006
Something I forgot to mention
Democrats are also supported by homosexual advocacy groups that routinely give organizations like NAMBLA, the North American Man-Boy Love Association, positions in “gay rights” parades, where they proclaim such slogans as “sex by eight or it’s too late.” - Gary Bauer, National Review, December 20, 2006
Yesterday, I neglected to mention another tirade from a right winger. An online friend of mine pointed it out to me.
The above comments about NAMBLA and gays is from wannabe "pro family" activist Gary Bauer during a column he wrote for National Review talking about the Mark Foley scandal. For the benefit of those not wanting to read it, he rehashed the "Democrats are hypocrites, blah blah blah, Gerry Studds did the same thing" nonsense that so many others in the anti-gay industry tried to spin when the controversy broke.
Mr. Bauer's comments are so late that they transcend the "who the hell is he and why does he think anyone cares what he says" point. His comments border on "Geez, is that dumbass still around" territory.
Bauer used to be a big wig in the anti-gay industry. He led the Family Research Council for a time until an ill advised move to run for president in 2000. Rumor control has it that his decision pissed off James Dobson. And rumors that Bauer was having an affair with a female co-worker didn't exactly help matters either.
Of course, Bauer was very unsuccessful in his presidential aspirations. He is now president of American Values and chairman of Campaign for Working Families, but in all honesty, Bauer is totally irrelevant; except for when Agape Press or some other right wing and/or anti-gay publication wants a comment.
Hence his very late Mark Foley tirade.
I don't know what is worse about Bauer's comments; the fact that they are extremely late and add nothing new to the situation or the fact that his lies about gays and NAMBLA is such an old headless monster that even the stubborness of a thousand anti-gay activists can't hold it up.
These two weeks have been pitiful for the anti-gay industry. First Mary Cheney becomes pregnant, then James Dobson is caught three times misrepresenting legitimate studies. And now, Gary Bauer repeats lies that have been refuted so many times till it's just sad.
Bear in mind that I am not gloating. I know that there are a few people who follow Bauer religiously and believe every word that comes from his mouth.
But still, it's nice to watch the train wreck.
Democrats are also supported by homosexual advocacy groups that routinely give organizations like NAMBLA, the North American Man-Boy Love Association, positions in “gay rights” parades, where they proclaim such slogans as “sex by eight or it’s too late.” - Gary Bauer, National Review, December 20, 2006
Yesterday, I neglected to mention another tirade from a right winger. An online friend of mine pointed it out to me.
The above comments about NAMBLA and gays is from wannabe "pro family" activist Gary Bauer during a column he wrote for National Review talking about the Mark Foley scandal. For the benefit of those not wanting to read it, he rehashed the "Democrats are hypocrites, blah blah blah, Gerry Studds did the same thing" nonsense that so many others in the anti-gay industry tried to spin when the controversy broke.
Mr. Bauer's comments are so late that they transcend the "who the hell is he and why does he think anyone cares what he says" point. His comments border on "Geez, is that dumbass still around" territory.
Bauer used to be a big wig in the anti-gay industry. He led the Family Research Council for a time until an ill advised move to run for president in 2000. Rumor control has it that his decision pissed off James Dobson. And rumors that Bauer was having an affair with a female co-worker didn't exactly help matters either.
Of course, Bauer was very unsuccessful in his presidential aspirations. He is now president of American Values and chairman of Campaign for Working Families, but in all honesty, Bauer is totally irrelevant; except for when Agape Press or some other right wing and/or anti-gay publication wants a comment.
Hence his very late Mark Foley tirade.
I don't know what is worse about Bauer's comments; the fact that they are extremely late and add nothing new to the situation or the fact that his lies about gays and NAMBLA is such an old headless monster that even the stubborness of a thousand anti-gay activists can't hold it up.
These two weeks have been pitiful for the anti-gay industry. First Mary Cheney becomes pregnant, then James Dobson is caught three times misrepresenting legitimate studies. And now, Gary Bauer repeats lies that have been refuted so many times till it's just sad.
Bear in mind that I am not gloating. I know that there are a few people who follow Bauer religiously and believe every word that comes from his mouth.
But still, it's nice to watch the train wreck.
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
So many issues going down today
I tell you, the right has gone ape crazy today. I usually make only one post regarding the anti-gay industry, but so many things have gone on, I think I will make several posts.
Dobson answers
James Dobson finally answered charges that he distorted and cherry picked the work of various researchers and professors during his Time magazine tirade last week.
Or something like that.
Another member of Focus on the Family, Bill Maier, attacks the notion that Dobson misrepresented anything.
As usual, the routine anti-gay industry standby excuse is pushed: it's a "liberal conspiracy," or in this case, a "liberal groupthink":
"These are well-respected scientists who probably feel they have no choice but to cry 'foul' because they work in a field that is so dominated by liberal groupthink," Maier explained. "But the fact they aren't happy their data was used to reach a conclusion they disagree with doesn't mean the data was not properly applied. Dr. Dobson never claimed these researchers share his view on this issue -- they clearly do not. But there is no denying that the data they compiled can be appropriately cited to show the unique contributions mothers and fathers make in the lives of their children.
Feel free to go over the past posts about the researchers complaining over Dobson's misuse of their work and see how the answer his subordinate gave is yet another lie.
While I like it when the anti-gay industry shoots itself in the foot, the desire of Dobson to continuously cut his own throat in this matter is just pitiful.
Claiming 'War on Christmas' yields profits
The People for the American Way (an excellent organization) is claiming that the so-called War on Christmas that Dobson and company claim folks like myself declare every year is a fluke that garners them much influence and money:
The conservative Christian groups declined to provide all the numbers behind their Christmas efforts, but some did disclose how many items they had sold and distributed.
Alliance Defense Fund, an Arizona-based Christian legal group, has shipped 20,000 "Christmas packs" this year, said spokesman Greg Scott. The value of the "goods and services" included is $4, receipts show. The rest of the money goes into ADF's general fund, Scott said. A majority of the packs were sold for less than the suggested $29 donation, he added, though he declined to provide details.
To that, I say - no shit!
Obama fears
I will say something for Barack Obama - he may or may not become president, but he certainly has some people showing their true colors, or rather, prejudices:
In a December 18 column headlined "Barack Hussein Obama: Once a Muslim, Always A Muslim" and posted on her website, right-wing pundit Debbie Schlussel argued that because Sen. Barack Obama's (D-IL) middle name is Hussein, his late, estranged father was of Muslim descent, and he has shown interest in his father's Kenyan heritage, Obama's "loyalties" must be called into question as he emerges as a possible Democratic presidential candidate. In the column, Schlussel asked: "So, even if he identifies strongly as a Christian ... is a man who Muslims think is a Muslim, who feels some sort of psychological need to prove himself to his absent Muslim father, and who is now moving in the direction of his father's heritage, a man we want as President when we are fighting the war of our lives against Islam? Where will his loyalties be?" She ended her column by asking if Obama becoming vice president instead would be acceptable. Answering her own question, she wrote: "NO WAY, JOSE ... Or, is that, HUSSEIN?"
Where do they dig these people up and why do they give them their own shows? I was born the wrong gender, color (skin and hair). Although for a brief period in college, I was a blond and yes, they do have more fun.
Finally, penguins in North Carolina
Some people have too much time on their hands. Apparently a school district in North Carolina banned a book because it featured two male penguins who "adopted" a hatchling in order to nurture it and keep it from dying.
Now to some, it looks like a usual move by penguins to make sure baby penguins don't die from neglect.
But to the school district and Mecklenberg Commissioner Bill James, it is another example of the "gay agenda":
"I am opposed to any book that promotes a homosexual lifestyle to elementary school students as normal," he said.
Now this is the same Bill James who has gone very public on many occasions with his disagreement of the supposed "gay lifestyle," as witnessed by a letter he wrote to a constituent:
“You really think that a pool of people (homosexuals) where 45% of them eat feces from the rear end of another male is "normal"? If you do, you are frankly nuts. A lifestyle where one of their past times is buying gerbils and hamsters from the pet store and cramming them up their rears in an activity called feltching? A group of people who like to urinate on their partners and call them "golden showers"? Where one of the honored members of the Gay Alliance is an organization called the "Man-Boy Love Association" that promotes sex with underage boys? That behavior is worthy of protection? That behavior is worthy to be taught in our schools? to our children? You are one sick "Independent, white, married-heterosexual, presbyterian" if you do. . .”
Such a nice fellow. I'm personally rooting for the penguins.
I tell you, the right has gone ape crazy today. I usually make only one post regarding the anti-gay industry, but so many things have gone on, I think I will make several posts.
Dobson answers
James Dobson finally answered charges that he distorted and cherry picked the work of various researchers and professors during his Time magazine tirade last week.
Or something like that.
Another member of Focus on the Family, Bill Maier, attacks the notion that Dobson misrepresented anything.
As usual, the routine anti-gay industry standby excuse is pushed: it's a "liberal conspiracy," or in this case, a "liberal groupthink":
"These are well-respected scientists who probably feel they have no choice but to cry 'foul' because they work in a field that is so dominated by liberal groupthink," Maier explained. "But the fact they aren't happy their data was used to reach a conclusion they disagree with doesn't mean the data was not properly applied. Dr. Dobson never claimed these researchers share his view on this issue -- they clearly do not. But there is no denying that the data they compiled can be appropriately cited to show the unique contributions mothers and fathers make in the lives of their children.
Feel free to go over the past posts about the researchers complaining over Dobson's misuse of their work and see how the answer his subordinate gave is yet another lie.
While I like it when the anti-gay industry shoots itself in the foot, the desire of Dobson to continuously cut his own throat in this matter is just pitiful.
Claiming 'War on Christmas' yields profits
The People for the American Way (an excellent organization) is claiming that the so-called War on Christmas that Dobson and company claim folks like myself declare every year is a fluke that garners them much influence and money:
The conservative Christian groups declined to provide all the numbers behind their Christmas efforts, but some did disclose how many items they had sold and distributed.
Alliance Defense Fund, an Arizona-based Christian legal group, has shipped 20,000 "Christmas packs" this year, said spokesman Greg Scott. The value of the "goods and services" included is $4, receipts show. The rest of the money goes into ADF's general fund, Scott said. A majority of the packs were sold for less than the suggested $29 donation, he added, though he declined to provide details.
To that, I say - no shit!
Obama fears
I will say something for Barack Obama - he may or may not become president, but he certainly has some people showing their true colors, or rather, prejudices:
In a December 18 column headlined "Barack Hussein Obama: Once a Muslim, Always A Muslim" and posted on her website, right-wing pundit Debbie Schlussel argued that because Sen. Barack Obama's (D-IL) middle name is Hussein, his late, estranged father was of Muslim descent, and he has shown interest in his father's Kenyan heritage, Obama's "loyalties" must be called into question as he emerges as a possible Democratic presidential candidate. In the column, Schlussel asked: "So, even if he identifies strongly as a Christian ... is a man who Muslims think is a Muslim, who feels some sort of psychological need to prove himself to his absent Muslim father, and who is now moving in the direction of his father's heritage, a man we want as President when we are fighting the war of our lives against Islam? Where will his loyalties be?" She ended her column by asking if Obama becoming vice president instead would be acceptable. Answering her own question, she wrote: "NO WAY, JOSE ... Or, is that, HUSSEIN?"
Where do they dig these people up and why do they give them their own shows? I was born the wrong gender, color (skin and hair). Although for a brief period in college, I was a blond and yes, they do have more fun.
Finally, penguins in North Carolina
Some people have too much time on their hands. Apparently a school district in North Carolina banned a book because it featured two male penguins who "adopted" a hatchling in order to nurture it and keep it from dying.
Now to some, it looks like a usual move by penguins to make sure baby penguins don't die from neglect.
But to the school district and Mecklenberg Commissioner Bill James, it is another example of the "gay agenda":
"I am opposed to any book that promotes a homosexual lifestyle to elementary school students as normal," he said.
Now this is the same Bill James who has gone very public on many occasions with his disagreement of the supposed "gay lifestyle," as witnessed by a letter he wrote to a constituent:
“You really think that a pool of people (homosexuals) where 45% of them eat feces from the rear end of another male is "normal"? If you do, you are frankly nuts. A lifestyle where one of their past times is buying gerbils and hamsters from the pet store and cramming them up their rears in an activity called feltching? A group of people who like to urinate on their partners and call them "golden showers"? Where one of the honored members of the Gay Alliance is an organization called the "Man-Boy Love Association" that promotes sex with underage boys? That behavior is worthy of protection? That behavior is worthy to be taught in our schools? to our children? You are one sick "Independent, white, married-heterosexual, presbyterian" if you do. . .”
Such a nice fellow. I'm personally rooting for the penguins.
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
Yet another headless monster!!!!
In the middle of my euphoria of Wayne Besen's consistent smackdown of James Dobson's lies, I received word of yet another lie perpetrated by the anti-gay industry.
I've always believed that citizens speaking out are powerful. If they speak out with no knowledge of what they are talking about, they can be downright dangerous.
Case in point - Bill Wilson, a "news service senior analyst" writing on what he feels are the most dangerous issues pressing America:
"Homosexuality and abortion represent as much a clear and present danger to the national security of America as does terrorism. The public immorality of the United States of America is appalling and the nation is fast heading for massive decline."
Here we go again.
Mr. Wilson goes on an ill informed tangent, specifically about the gay community, especially when he mentions this little canard:
" . . .many studies indicate that the average lifespan of the homosexual is far less than heterosexuals."
For the benefit of those who are not aware of this blog and my upcoming book, Mr. Wilson just repeated what is known as a "headless monster."
A "headless monster" is an opinion that has been refuted continuously but continues to be repeated as truth; either due to the ignorance or the stubborness of the person repeating it.
In Mr. Wilson's case, I will chalk his repeititon of the lie that gay men have shorter life spans than heterosexuals to ignorance.
So I will correct him.
There are no legitimate studies that say that gay men have shorter life spans than heterosexual men. The Centers for Disease Control does not collect statistics on the life spans of gay men:
"[The CDC] does not collect statistics on the life span of gay men. While gay men continue to be severely impacted by HIV and AIDS, AIDS-related death data cannot be used to indicate that homosexual men live shorter lives than heterosexual men overall." - Ronald Valdiserri, deputy director of the CDC’s National Center for HIV, STD, and TB Prevention, Weird anti-gay science, The Washington Blade, June 17, 2005
Now there was a 1997 Oxford study that made a hypothetical claim about the life span of gay men. But in 2001, the six researchers who conducted the study went on record saying that their work was being distorted by the religious right - http://ije.oupjournals.org/cgi/content/full/30/6/1499
The only person who has attempted to make an unadulterated claim about the life span of gay men is our friend Paul Cameron. Cameron is hardly a legitimate researcher, as referenced by this link.
Mr. Wilson's claims would be funny if not for the fact that his nonsense was published on a "Christian" web page. I have to seriously ask how many Christians already believe his lies and how many more will be taken in by his falsehoods?
In the middle of my euphoria of Wayne Besen's consistent smackdown of James Dobson's lies, I received word of yet another lie perpetrated by the anti-gay industry.
I've always believed that citizens speaking out are powerful. If they speak out with no knowledge of what they are talking about, they can be downright dangerous.
Case in point - Bill Wilson, a "news service senior analyst" writing on what he feels are the most dangerous issues pressing America:
"Homosexuality and abortion represent as much a clear and present danger to the national security of America as does terrorism. The public immorality of the United States of America is appalling and the nation is fast heading for massive decline."
Here we go again.
Mr. Wilson goes on an ill informed tangent, specifically about the gay community, especially when he mentions this little canard:
" . . .many studies indicate that the average lifespan of the homosexual is far less than heterosexuals."
For the benefit of those who are not aware of this blog and my upcoming book, Mr. Wilson just repeated what is known as a "headless monster."
A "headless monster" is an opinion that has been refuted continuously but continues to be repeated as truth; either due to the ignorance or the stubborness of the person repeating it.
In Mr. Wilson's case, I will chalk his repeititon of the lie that gay men have shorter life spans than heterosexuals to ignorance.
So I will correct him.
There are no legitimate studies that say that gay men have shorter life spans than heterosexual men. The Centers for Disease Control does not collect statistics on the life spans of gay men:
"[The CDC] does not collect statistics on the life span of gay men. While gay men continue to be severely impacted by HIV and AIDS, AIDS-related death data cannot be used to indicate that homosexual men live shorter lives than heterosexual men overall." - Ronald Valdiserri, deputy director of the CDC’s National Center for HIV, STD, and TB Prevention, Weird anti-gay science, The Washington Blade, June 17, 2005
Now there was a 1997 Oxford study that made a hypothetical claim about the life span of gay men. But in 2001, the six researchers who conducted the study went on record saying that their work was being distorted by the religious right - http://ije.oupjournals.org/cgi/content/full/30/6/1499
The only person who has attempted to make an unadulterated claim about the life span of gay men is our friend Paul Cameron. Cameron is hardly a legitimate researcher, as referenced by this link.
Mr. Wilson's claims would be funny if not for the fact that his nonsense was published on a "Christian" web page. I have to seriously ask how many Christians already believe his lies and how many more will be taken in by his falsehoods?
Monday, December 18, 2006
Wayne Besen strikes again!
Meanwhile, James Dobson is trying to get his followers to do his dirty work for him
Wayne Besen is on the ball.
Not only did his organization, Truth Wins Out, film a video featuring Carol Gilligan rebuking James Dobson for distorting her work (see past posts) but he has also found yet another researcher who claims that Dobson is distorting her work:
JAMES DOBSON REBUKED ON VIDEO FOR DISTORTING RESEARCH OF NYU PROFESSOR CAROL GILLIGAN
Renowned Author/Researcher, England’s Angela Phillips, Condemns Focus on the Family’s Leader For ‘Seriously Misrepresenting’ Her Work'
Miami Beach, FLA. – Truth Wins Out released an exclusive video today featuring celebrated New York University educational psychologist Carol Gilligan, PhD, who upbraided Focus on the Family leader, James C. Dobson, for misrepresenting her research in a guest column he wrote in last week’s issue of Time Magazine.
Additionally, Angela Phillips, the renowned author of “The Trouble With Boys” also sent a pointed letter to Dobson today accusing him of “seriously misrepresenting” her work and asking him to publish her letter “prominently” on Focus on the Family’s website. Last week, Kyle Pruett, M.D. of the Yale School of Medicine, also expressed concerns that the Focus on the Family leader "cherry picked" his work.
“This is a revolt of serious scholars who are revolted by the way James Dobson has unethically incorporated their research to fit his political aims,” said Truth Wins Out’s Executive Director Wayne Besen.
“Three researchers have now come forward in just one week to take Dobson to task. The media should finally realize that Dobson lacks the academic integrity and moral authority to talk credibly on family issues.”
In the video, filmed for Truth Wins Out by videographer Lisa Darden, Dr. Gilligan expressed her extreme displeasure with Dobson and how she was “mortified” by his use of her work.“I was stunned to hear that James Dobson had quoted me in TIME Magazine. I had no idea. I was mortified, frankly,” Dr. Gilligan, author of several books including, In A Different Voice, said in the video.
TO WATCH VIDEO CLICK HERE
“It was a completely distorted and unfounded use of my work…it is such a simplification and caricature of my work…for someone who represents morality and the family it is disrespectful.”
Earlier today, Professor Angela Phillips, author of “The Trouble With Boys,” echoed Drs. Gilligan and Pruett in a letter to Dobson, obtained exclusively by Truth Wins Out. TWO received a tip that Phillips’ work had been misquoted by Ray Foster, a concerned citizen who wanted the truth to be told.
In her letter, Phillips, a journalist and professor at Goldsmiths College in London, asked that Dobson print the following letter “prominently” on his organization’s website.
Dear James Dobson:
It has come to my attention that my book "The Trouble with Boys" has been seriously mis-represented in writings by James Dobson. Having read his newsletter; "How Boys Learn to Become Men" on the Focus on the Family web site I was incensed to find that I have been quoted as a source for suggesting that:
" The high incidence of homosexuality occurring in Western nations is related, at least in part, to the absence of positive male influence when boys are moving through the first crisis of child development."
I certainly agree that boys suffer from a lack of positive men in their lives but I am at pains to point out that positive men are often as much lacking in two parent households as they are in lone mother (or two mother) households. I do not suggest that lack of positive male role models leads to homosexuality (or indeed that it would be problematic if it did). My concern is that boys without positive men around them are more likely to be violent, angry and lacking in self control.
I have never heard that these are characteristics that are associated with homosexuality.
Dobson goes on to say: " One of the primary objectives of parents is to help boys identify their gender assignments and understand what it means to be a man.My concern is that boys are currently learning, either from their fathers, or in the absence of fathers, from the women who rear them, and the men they encounter, that the most important thing about being a man is being: "not gay", "not gentle" and not "girlie".
While adult men are afraid to demonstrate that it’s okay to be gentle and caring how are boys to learn anything positive about what it means to be a man?I would be grateful if you could publish this letter prominently on your website.
I look forward to a swift acknowledgement.
Yours sincerely
Angela Phillips
Author of The Trouble with Boys
“The media is the great enabler that continues to offer a platform to James Dobson to tell his lies, malign gay people and mock science,” says Truth Wins Out’s Executive Director Wayne Besen.
“It is time the media be held accountable for journalistic standards, the same way Dobson is now finally answerable for his misleading propaganda.” Truth Wins OUT is a non-profit organization that counters right wing propaganda, exposes the “ex-gay” myth and educates America about gay life. For more information, visit www.TruthWinsOut.org.
Dobson has given no comment regarding the claims that he distorted legitimate research.
Meanwhile, one of the American Family Association's new rags, Baptist Press News, has featured Dobson's column.
It half heartedly addresses the claims by Pruett and Gilligan that Dobson cherry picked and distorted their work:
"Focus on the Family sent an e-mail to supporters asking them to send a "brief, polite note" to Time editors thanking them for publishing the column. Homosexual activists, Focus said, are asking their supporters to write Time and tell the magazine Dobson's column was inaccurate."
The fact of the matter is that this is not the first time Dobson and company have distorted a legitimate researcher's or professor's work. I have nine examples in my upcoming book and in private conversations with one of my sources, there have been others.
God don't like ugly, Mr. Dobson. Especially if it is done in his name.
Meanwhile, James Dobson is trying to get his followers to do his dirty work for him
Wayne Besen is on the ball.
Not only did his organization, Truth Wins Out, film a video featuring Carol Gilligan rebuking James Dobson for distorting her work (see past posts) but he has also found yet another researcher who claims that Dobson is distorting her work:
JAMES DOBSON REBUKED ON VIDEO FOR DISTORTING RESEARCH OF NYU PROFESSOR CAROL GILLIGAN
Renowned Author/Researcher, England’s Angela Phillips, Condemns Focus on the Family’s Leader For ‘Seriously Misrepresenting’ Her Work'
Miami Beach, FLA. – Truth Wins Out released an exclusive video today featuring celebrated New York University educational psychologist Carol Gilligan, PhD, who upbraided Focus on the Family leader, James C. Dobson, for misrepresenting her research in a guest column he wrote in last week’s issue of Time Magazine.
Additionally, Angela Phillips, the renowned author of “The Trouble With Boys” also sent a pointed letter to Dobson today accusing him of “seriously misrepresenting” her work and asking him to publish her letter “prominently” on Focus on the Family’s website. Last week, Kyle Pruett, M.D. of the Yale School of Medicine, also expressed concerns that the Focus on the Family leader "cherry picked" his work.
“This is a revolt of serious scholars who are revolted by the way James Dobson has unethically incorporated their research to fit his political aims,” said Truth Wins Out’s Executive Director Wayne Besen.
“Three researchers have now come forward in just one week to take Dobson to task. The media should finally realize that Dobson lacks the academic integrity and moral authority to talk credibly on family issues.”
In the video, filmed for Truth Wins Out by videographer Lisa Darden, Dr. Gilligan expressed her extreme displeasure with Dobson and how she was “mortified” by his use of her work.“I was stunned to hear that James Dobson had quoted me in TIME Magazine. I had no idea. I was mortified, frankly,” Dr. Gilligan, author of several books including, In A Different Voice, said in the video.
TO WATCH VIDEO CLICK HERE
“It was a completely distorted and unfounded use of my work…it is such a simplification and caricature of my work…for someone who represents morality and the family it is disrespectful.”
Earlier today, Professor Angela Phillips, author of “The Trouble With Boys,” echoed Drs. Gilligan and Pruett in a letter to Dobson, obtained exclusively by Truth Wins Out. TWO received a tip that Phillips’ work had been misquoted by Ray Foster, a concerned citizen who wanted the truth to be told.
In her letter, Phillips, a journalist and professor at Goldsmiths College in London, asked that Dobson print the following letter “prominently” on his organization’s website.
Dear James Dobson:
It has come to my attention that my book "The Trouble with Boys" has been seriously mis-represented in writings by James Dobson. Having read his newsletter; "How Boys Learn to Become Men" on the Focus on the Family web site I was incensed to find that I have been quoted as a source for suggesting that:
" The high incidence of homosexuality occurring in Western nations is related, at least in part, to the absence of positive male influence when boys are moving through the first crisis of child development."
I certainly agree that boys suffer from a lack of positive men in their lives but I am at pains to point out that positive men are often as much lacking in two parent households as they are in lone mother (or two mother) households. I do not suggest that lack of positive male role models leads to homosexuality (or indeed that it would be problematic if it did). My concern is that boys without positive men around them are more likely to be violent, angry and lacking in self control.
I have never heard that these are characteristics that are associated with homosexuality.
Dobson goes on to say: " One of the primary objectives of parents is to help boys identify their gender assignments and understand what it means to be a man.My concern is that boys are currently learning, either from their fathers, or in the absence of fathers, from the women who rear them, and the men they encounter, that the most important thing about being a man is being: "not gay", "not gentle" and not "girlie".
While adult men are afraid to demonstrate that it’s okay to be gentle and caring how are boys to learn anything positive about what it means to be a man?I would be grateful if you could publish this letter prominently on your website.
I look forward to a swift acknowledgement.
Yours sincerely
Angela Phillips
Author of The Trouble with Boys
“The media is the great enabler that continues to offer a platform to James Dobson to tell his lies, malign gay people and mock science,” says Truth Wins Out’s Executive Director Wayne Besen.
“It is time the media be held accountable for journalistic standards, the same way Dobson is now finally answerable for his misleading propaganda.” Truth Wins OUT is a non-profit organization that counters right wing propaganda, exposes the “ex-gay” myth and educates America about gay life. For more information, visit www.TruthWinsOut.org.
Dobson has given no comment regarding the claims that he distorted legitimate research.
Meanwhile, one of the American Family Association's new rags, Baptist Press News, has featured Dobson's column.
It half heartedly addresses the claims by Pruett and Gilligan that Dobson cherry picked and distorted their work:
"Focus on the Family sent an e-mail to supporters asking them to send a "brief, polite note" to Time editors thanking them for publishing the column. Homosexual activists, Focus said, are asking their supporters to write Time and tell the magazine Dobson's column was inaccurate."
The fact of the matter is that this is not the first time Dobson and company have distorted a legitimate researcher's or professor's work. I have nine examples in my upcoming book and in private conversations with one of my sources, there have been others.
God don't like ugly, Mr. Dobson. Especially if it is done in his name.
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