Don't start nothing and there won't be nothing
Tomorrow is Day Without Gay, in which members of the lgbt community are encouraged to take a day off from work (call in "gay") and donate time to service.
Unfortunately, certain circumstances preclude me from being able to "call in gay" at my job and donate time to service.
But I will make contributions to the cause in my own way; especially the part about trying not to spend money during the day. Although that will be partly because of necessity.
Despite it all though, I hope that tomorrow will be successful and the beginning of an annual tradition.
Speaking of which, it seems that the religious right and their cohorts are doing their best to make our protests seem like rampant acts of violence.
The scuttlebutt today is a column by singer and "Christian" Pat Boone (published in World Net Daily) in which he sounds the same familiar lies that Michelle Malkin, Chuck Norris, and Newt Gingrich alluded to; that lgbts are engaging in wild acts of violence against Mormons and Christians.
Boone's claims follows a full-page ad printed in the New York Times that I talked about last week. The ad, by the Beckett Fund for Religious Liberty, tries to take the high road while inferring yet again that gays are a violent lot who can't abide by the due process of law.
What a crock of shit.
But I have to say something. I love the way the community has jumped on these lies and those who push them. We didn't wait to voice our opinion and demonstrate how full of it these folks are. And we are doing it in positive manners.
Wayne Besen puts it best:
In a breathtaking display of lies and hypocrisy, a group of anti-gay culture warriors and long-time Mormon bashers placed a full page ad in the New York Times pretending to be both victims of alleged homosexual “mobs” and staunch defenders of the Latter Day Saints (Mormons). Both claims are absurd and a cruel attempt for the victimizers to claim the mantle of the victimhood - which is a manipulative and cynical political ploy.
The dishonest Times ad essentially claimed that violent mobs of gay protesters were attacking the Mormon Church and its followers in the aftermath of California voters narrowly approving Proposition 8, which banned gay marriage in that state. They even launched a website www.NoMobVeto.org. (It seems they forget that they put basic human rights up for a vote, which is essentially mob rule)
This Times ad is full of blatant lies - much like the immoral television ads attacking same-sex families during the Prop. 8 campaign. The fact is, the vast majority of the rallies across America were peaceful. Considering gay families just got stripped of their basic rights by deception and deceit, the protests were remarkably tame. If any other group had been subject to such humiliation through a multi-million dollar smear operation, there would likely have been riots in the streets - not the fake “violence” conjured in the bogus Times ad.
Besen especially points out the hypocrisy of the signers of the ad who are all of the sudden "defending" the Mormon church:
“Hollywood is controlled by secular Jews who hate Christianity in general and Catholicism in particular.” – Bill Donohue, Catholic League
“Mormonism either affirms historic Christianity, or it doesn’t. Since it doesn’t, it can’t call itself Christianity – a fact that all the good will and public relations in Utah can’t change…“While Mormons share some beliefs with Christians, they are not Christians.” –Chuck Colson, Prison Fellowship Ministries
“Most evangelicals still regard Mormonism as a cult.“ — Rich Cizik, National Association of Evangelicals
I really do hope this group shines a light of shame on those who promote religious bigotry - but they better be wearing very dark sun glasses when this occurs, as the glare from the light may be quite blinding. It appears that the only thing these men have in common with Mormons, or any other religion that they don’t agree with, is an uncommon passion for anti-gay discrimination. To watch these hypocrites act as the great defenders of the LDS church, and religion in general, is beyond laughable.
Box Turtle Bulletin also breaks down other comments these "peaceful folks" have said:
Ronald J. Sider - Evangelicals for Social Action
We cannot ignore this general truth when we come to the issue of AIDS. If the Bible teaches that homosexual practice is wrong, as I think it does, then it is right to suppose that violating God’s law in this area will have negative consequences.
This is not to say that the AIDS virus is some supernatural divine creation to punish homosexual practice; have emphasized that I reject that view. But I refuse to bow to today’s widespread relativism and deny and ignore the clear biblical teaching that some actions are wrong no matter what Hollywood or Greenwich Village says. Ignoring the moral order of the universe has consequences.
As a citizen. I insist on the right to say that and to seek to shape public policy in ways consistent with that belief without being called a bigot. [Emphasis added]
Chuck Colson - Prison Fellowship
It’s these attitudes, and the worldview that produces them, that have fueled the gay-rights movement. It rolls on because it resonates with what many Americans believe. And that means that the only way to slow it down is to change the terms of the debate: to once again establish that we are not lower than the animal species, that sex is not for recreation-it is for procreation.
This is why, for example, we need to pass a federal marriage amendment. If we do nothing, we are going to be facing the same future that Christians in the UK are facing: a future in which preaching the truths of the Gospel is against the law.
Dr. Alveda King - civil rights activist
God hates racism and God hates homosexuality.
Add to this Mr. Obama’s unprecedented support for homosexual rights and anti-procreative marriage legislation, which includes his promise to overturn the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and which would unleash a storm of sexual immorality such as America has never seen: then we can see which way the wind is blowing.
That’s what we’re facing today in the debate over homosexual rights. Homosexuals can either choose to be victims, or choose to make a change.
William J. Donohue - Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights
Who really cares what Hollywood thinks? All these hacks come out there. Hollywood is controlled by secular Jews who hate Christianity in general and Catholicism in particular. It‘s not a secret, OK? And I‘m not afraid to say it. That‘s why they hate this movie. It‘s about Jesus Christ, and it‘s about truth. It‘s about the messiah.
Hollywood likes anal sex. They like to see the public square without nativity scenes. I like families. I like children. They like abortions. I believe in traditional values and restraint. They believe in libertinism. We have nothing in common. But you know what? The culture war has been ongoing for a long time. Their side has lost.
Name for me a book publishing company in this country, particularly in New York, which would allow you to publish a book which would tell the truth about the gay death style. There are certain things that the left won’t tolerate. They are censorial at heart.
As for Pat Boone, I say we sic Little Richard on him. That is unless he has given Little Richard rightful recompensement for the songs he and racist record companies stole.
After all stealing is a sin, unlike homosexuality.
Tuesday, December 09, 2008
Monday, December 08, 2008
They don't hate us - they just want to treat us
Who would have thought that anyone associated with Sally Kern would become the lgbt's best spokespeople in demonstrating the basic dishonesty of the religious right
Kern (who was re-elected in the November elections) began a firestorm earlier this year when she called lgbts "terrorists" in a speech.
Her comments initiated a groundswell of anger in the lgbt community and a rallying cry of support from the religious right.
The main thing I remember from it all was the guise that Kern took. She claimed to be a simple politician, mother, and Christian who said what she said not because she hates lgbts, but because she loves them.
That old Anita Bryant defense never goes away. Well if Kern loves us gays, then she needs to have a talk with her husband, Steve:
A special investigation has revealed Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett has his eyes on the state executive office and is working closely with religious extremists to fill the Metropolitan Library Commission of Oklahoma County with anti-gay members in order to court the fundamentalist vote.
Cornett and Steve Kern, pastor of the Olivet Baptist Church and husband to State Rep. Sally Kern, are being accused of teaming up to rid the library system of all gay and lesbian materials, as well as those their church-based philosophies find objectionable. A source close to Cornett alleges, “The Mayor is looking to become Oklahoma’s next governor in 2010. With the conservatism rampant in the state, he feels now is the time to fully side with fundamentalist Christians in order to get their backing. He believes one way of doing that is going on an all-out assault on gay citizens. Even if things are done that would later be overturned in court at a great cost to the City, he will walk away a hero to certain people.”
The insider also stated, “The Mayor is aware that Ernest Istook is returning to Oklahoma to join the governor’s race again. Istook has the conservative base locked in, so the Mayor must shake loose Istook supporters if he is to get past the Republican primary. Gays are easy targets for him. He tried to use them in 2006, but it backfired. This round he wants to make it clear he is without a doubt against gay rights.”
Gossip Boy received other tips regarding Cornett’s ambitions and the scheme to appease Christian extremists, who sided against him in the 2006 race for 5th District Congress, and began a covert ploy to expose it. A reporter posed as a citizen working with the Mayor to push gay and lesbian literature out of city libraries and contacted Steve Kern.
According to this transcript, Kern said the following regarding gays during the conversation:
"We have to get rid of that and start curing those sinners. It’s past time that this nation stopped placating sin and start putting them in education programs. Courts can force drug offenders into treatment centers and violent people into anger management. There’s no reason our courts can’t do that with homos."
Treatment centers? Isn't that special.
If this story pans out to be true then the fact that we seem to be used as a campaign issue yet again gets me upset.
We have been used so many times as campaign issues by the religious right that we should sue for our cut of their donations.
At least leave the money on the dresser, boys.
Seriously though, I don't the idea of treatment centers for gays is high on the list of religious right priorities but it does speak to their activities.
I refer to it as the Native Son philosophy.
In 1940, African-American novelist Richard Wright wrote Native Son, an excellent novel in which he declared that if black men were violent, it is because racist American society was taking every option away from them to be anything but violent.
In that same sense, the religious right likes to point to the HIV rate and studies that allegedly show lgbts suffering from a high rate of depression and the like as proof that lgbts have no sense of morality or values or that homosexuality is a "dangerous lifestyle."
But in many cases, it is religious right actions that can lead lgbts to behave in ways that are not necessarily conducive to their survival.
These actions - whether it be attempting to keep lgbt children from forming gay/straight alliances, keeping lgbts from getting married and adopting children, and very vocally complaining about any and every thing that gives a positive look at the lgbt community via libraries, movies, or municipalities - go a long way in sending a message to lgbts that we don't count as humans.
When you tell a group of people that they are diseased (physically, mentally, socially, or spiritually) and then take every option away from them that will prove you wrong, sooner or later, you will have diseased people.
So I guess that means folks like Steve Kern have been trying to "treat" us already.
Who would have thought that anyone associated with Sally Kern would become the lgbt's best spokespeople in demonstrating the basic dishonesty of the religious right
Kern (who was re-elected in the November elections) began a firestorm earlier this year when she called lgbts "terrorists" in a speech.
Her comments initiated a groundswell of anger in the lgbt community and a rallying cry of support from the religious right.
The main thing I remember from it all was the guise that Kern took. She claimed to be a simple politician, mother, and Christian who said what she said not because she hates lgbts, but because she loves them.
That old Anita Bryant defense never goes away. Well if Kern loves us gays, then she needs to have a talk with her husband, Steve:
A special investigation has revealed Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett has his eyes on the state executive office and is working closely with religious extremists to fill the Metropolitan Library Commission of Oklahoma County with anti-gay members in order to court the fundamentalist vote.
Cornett and Steve Kern, pastor of the Olivet Baptist Church and husband to State Rep. Sally Kern, are being accused of teaming up to rid the library system of all gay and lesbian materials, as well as those their church-based philosophies find objectionable. A source close to Cornett alleges, “The Mayor is looking to become Oklahoma’s next governor in 2010. With the conservatism rampant in the state, he feels now is the time to fully side with fundamentalist Christians in order to get their backing. He believes one way of doing that is going on an all-out assault on gay citizens. Even if things are done that would later be overturned in court at a great cost to the City, he will walk away a hero to certain people.”
The insider also stated, “The Mayor is aware that Ernest Istook is returning to Oklahoma to join the governor’s race again. Istook has the conservative base locked in, so the Mayor must shake loose Istook supporters if he is to get past the Republican primary. Gays are easy targets for him. He tried to use them in 2006, but it backfired. This round he wants to make it clear he is without a doubt against gay rights.”
Gossip Boy received other tips regarding Cornett’s ambitions and the scheme to appease Christian extremists, who sided against him in the 2006 race for 5th District Congress, and began a covert ploy to expose it. A reporter posed as a citizen working with the Mayor to push gay and lesbian literature out of city libraries and contacted Steve Kern.
According to this transcript, Kern said the following regarding gays during the conversation:
"We have to get rid of that and start curing those sinners. It’s past time that this nation stopped placating sin and start putting them in education programs. Courts can force drug offenders into treatment centers and violent people into anger management. There’s no reason our courts can’t do that with homos."
Treatment centers? Isn't that special.
If this story pans out to be true then the fact that we seem to be used as a campaign issue yet again gets me upset.
We have been used so many times as campaign issues by the religious right that we should sue for our cut of their donations.
At least leave the money on the dresser, boys.
Seriously though, I don't the idea of treatment centers for gays is high on the list of religious right priorities but it does speak to their activities.
I refer to it as the Native Son philosophy.
In 1940, African-American novelist Richard Wright wrote Native Son, an excellent novel in which he declared that if black men were violent, it is because racist American society was taking every option away from them to be anything but violent.
In that same sense, the religious right likes to point to the HIV rate and studies that allegedly show lgbts suffering from a high rate of depression and the like as proof that lgbts have no sense of morality or values or that homosexuality is a "dangerous lifestyle."
But in many cases, it is religious right actions that can lead lgbts to behave in ways that are not necessarily conducive to their survival.
These actions - whether it be attempting to keep lgbt children from forming gay/straight alliances, keeping lgbts from getting married and adopting children, and very vocally complaining about any and every thing that gives a positive look at the lgbt community via libraries, movies, or municipalities - go a long way in sending a message to lgbts that we don't count as humans.
When you tell a group of people that they are diseased (physically, mentally, socially, or spiritually) and then take every option away from them that will prove you wrong, sooner or later, you will have diseased people.
So I guess that means folks like Steve Kern have been trying to "treat" us already.
Friday, December 05, 2008
Grandstanding Principal Wants To Return
Irmo Principal Eddie Walker doesn't want to resign after all.
You will remember that Walker is the South Carolina principal who announced rather publicly earlier this year that he would resign before permitting a gay/straight alliance to be formed at Irmo High School.
The controversy his stance created pitted members of the community against one another. Some said that Walker stood up for morality while others said he should be fired.
Now apparently, Walker has changed his mind about resigning:
Irmo High School principal Eddie Walker, who planned to resign at the end of the school year because his values conflicted with a proposed Gay-Straight Alliance at the school, has changed his mind and wants to stay, school officials said.
Lexington-Richland 5 interim superintendent Herbert Berg received a letter from Walker this week “indicating his desire to remain at Irmo High School,” district spokesman Buddy Price said Thursday.
Before the new controversy erupts over Walker, I still have a question.
Obviously Walker is a popular principal. From what I have seen and heard, parents and students alike respect him.
But there is nothing wrong with gay/straight alliances in high schools. Despite all of the conjecture, they are not dating clubs nor are they sex clubs. Gay/straight alliances are a welcomed refuge for lgbt students who are still in the closet or are out and intimidated by other classmates.
So my question is why couldn't Walker have had a meeting with the students who wanted to start this organization? I think he would have gotten a better understanding as to why a group like this is needed. I constantly hear that Walker's door was always open and he made himself accessible to students. Well this was a time where such accessibility would have been the difference between reaching a quiet understanding and escalating the situation.
And Walker's objective as a leader should not have been escalating the situation. Perhaps had this meeting taken place, Walker wouldn't have felt the need to subject himself and his school to being public spectacles.
The way Walker handled this situation (and the way he continues to do so) is largely responsible for the criticism he is receiving.
At first, he made this huge unneccessary grandstanding gesture of quitting in order to "stand up for his values and beliefs." But now he is avoiding the grandstand and instead has taken to crawling back like an immature child who realizes that his threat to run away from home did not allow him to get his way.
So should Walker be allowed to return? As long as the gay/straight alliance is allowed to exist and thrive at Irmo, the school board can appoint Walker to any position they deem necessary.
But they should remember (as well as Walker) that the Irmo community suffered a needless controversy; something that wouldn't have taken place had Walker been the leader that so many have claimed him to be.
Irmo Principal Eddie Walker doesn't want to resign after all.
You will remember that Walker is the South Carolina principal who announced rather publicly earlier this year that he would resign before permitting a gay/straight alliance to be formed at Irmo High School.
The controversy his stance created pitted members of the community against one another. Some said that Walker stood up for morality while others said he should be fired.
Now apparently, Walker has changed his mind about resigning:
Irmo High School principal Eddie Walker, who planned to resign at the end of the school year because his values conflicted with a proposed Gay-Straight Alliance at the school, has changed his mind and wants to stay, school officials said.
Lexington-Richland 5 interim superintendent Herbert Berg received a letter from Walker this week “indicating his desire to remain at Irmo High School,” district spokesman Buddy Price said Thursday.
Before the new controversy erupts over Walker, I still have a question.
Obviously Walker is a popular principal. From what I have seen and heard, parents and students alike respect him.
But there is nothing wrong with gay/straight alliances in high schools. Despite all of the conjecture, they are not dating clubs nor are they sex clubs. Gay/straight alliances are a welcomed refuge for lgbt students who are still in the closet or are out and intimidated by other classmates.
So my question is why couldn't Walker have had a meeting with the students who wanted to start this organization? I think he would have gotten a better understanding as to why a group like this is needed. I constantly hear that Walker's door was always open and he made himself accessible to students. Well this was a time where such accessibility would have been the difference between reaching a quiet understanding and escalating the situation.
And Walker's objective as a leader should not have been escalating the situation. Perhaps had this meeting taken place, Walker wouldn't have felt the need to subject himself and his school to being public spectacles.
The way Walker handled this situation (and the way he continues to do so) is largely responsible for the criticism he is receiving.
At first, he made this huge unneccessary grandstanding gesture of quitting in order to "stand up for his values and beliefs." But now he is avoiding the grandstand and instead has taken to crawling back like an immature child who realizes that his threat to run away from home did not allow him to get his way.
So should Walker be allowed to return? As long as the gay/straight alliance is allowed to exist and thrive at Irmo, the school board can appoint Walker to any position they deem necessary.
But they should remember (as well as Walker) that the Irmo community suffered a needless controversy; something that wouldn't have taken place had Walker been the leader that so many have claimed him to be.
Thursday, December 04, 2008
Columbia shows how it should be done
South Carolina, being a Southern state, gets a bad reputation for ignorance.
But it is places like my home city of Columbia that shows this reputation to be partly undeserved:
People are having consensual sex in Columbia’s parks — but primarily in Granby Park along the river — and a loophole in the city’s ordinance has kept the city from prosecuting them.
But City Council members approved an ordinance Wednesday that is expected to clear up any misunderstandings about what conduct is not allowed in city parks — spelling out in explicit language what is unlawful.
It is now unlawful for anyone to “knowingly or intentionally” have sex on any “streets, sidewalks, bridges, alleys, plazas, parks, driveways, parking lots, automobiles (whether moving or not), and those portions of buildings open to the general public.”
People are having consensual sex in Columbia’s parks — but primarily in Granby Park along the river — and a loophole in the city’s ordinance has kept the city from prosecuting them.
“We are not going to tolerate criminal behavior in our public places and parks,” Columbia Mayor Bob Coble said. “This gives law enforcement and the parks the tools to enforce it.”
Please that Mayor Bob Coble did not denigrate the entire gay community. The article does mention cases of men having sex in parks, but neither Coble nor anyone else cited in it takes the opportunity to grandstand or play up stereotypes.
I am reminded of the situation in Florida with Mayor Jim Naugle. He used the problem with public sex to denigrate the entire lgbt community as a whole and then had the temerity to act as if he wanted to reach across the aisle to them to combat the problem.
Then he feigned shock when he received negative comments.
Mayor Bob and the Columbia City Council shows how one takes care of a problem like this. Naugle should pay attention.
South Carolina, being a Southern state, gets a bad reputation for ignorance.
But it is places like my home city of Columbia that shows this reputation to be partly undeserved:
People are having consensual sex in Columbia’s parks — but primarily in Granby Park along the river — and a loophole in the city’s ordinance has kept the city from prosecuting them.
But City Council members approved an ordinance Wednesday that is expected to clear up any misunderstandings about what conduct is not allowed in city parks — spelling out in explicit language what is unlawful.
It is now unlawful for anyone to “knowingly or intentionally” have sex on any “streets, sidewalks, bridges, alleys, plazas, parks, driveways, parking lots, automobiles (whether moving or not), and those portions of buildings open to the general public.”
People are having consensual sex in Columbia’s parks — but primarily in Granby Park along the river — and a loophole in the city’s ordinance has kept the city from prosecuting them.
“We are not going to tolerate criminal behavior in our public places and parks,” Columbia Mayor Bob Coble said. “This gives law enforcement and the parks the tools to enforce it.”
Please that Mayor Bob Coble did not denigrate the entire gay community. The article does mention cases of men having sex in parks, but neither Coble nor anyone else cited in it takes the opportunity to grandstand or play up stereotypes.
I am reminded of the situation in Florida with Mayor Jim Naugle. He used the problem with public sex to denigrate the entire lgbt community as a whole and then had the temerity to act as if he wanted to reach across the aisle to them to combat the problem.
Then he feigned shock when he received negative comments.
Mayor Bob and the Columbia City Council shows how one takes care of a problem like this. Naugle should pay attention.
Wednesday, December 03, 2008
Gay adoption, a tale of two families, and the groups behind the word 'pro-family'
In light of last week's excellent decision in Florida striking down the ban on gay adoption, I want to make you aware of something that I found very interesting.
The family in the middle of the case includes Martin Gill and his partner of 10 years. Four years ago, they took in two brothers as foster children. One was four and other was four months old. Both had been horribly abused. Since that time, things have gone considerably well for the boys. This is just a snippet of their home life via court documents:
On weekdays, the household wakes up at about 6:30 a.m. Petitioner usually prepares
breakfast, permitting each child to assist with an assigned kitchen duty. Each morning, the family eats together without distraction from the television. As each child finishes his breakfast,he puts his dish in the sink and proceeds to the bathroom to brush his teeth and hair. Petitioner and Roe purchased a Ford minivan, which Petitioner jokes was not his dream car, however, to accommodate the family size, is the most feasible. Tom Roe, Jr. is dropped off at school first.
Afterwards, Petitioner takes John and James to school, walking them into their classrooms and usually speaking to their respective teachers. In the afternoon, after Petitioner picks the boys up from school, they generally go to the park for tennis lessons. At the conclusion of their lessons, the family heads home for dinner. At mealtime, the family blesses the food together and takes turns sharing the highlights of their day. Phones are not answered and the television is off during dinner. After the children are excused from the table, the older children load the dishwasher.
A scene out of Ozzie and Harriet or in this case, Ozzie and Harold.
Now compare this to an incident that took place recently:
A Girl Scout leader and her husband were arrested after an emaciated, terrified and nearly naked 17-year-old showed up at a gym with a chain locked to his ankle, saying he had just fled his captors, authorities said Tuesday.
Police were also seeking the boy’s aunt and had an outstanding felony warrant against her for an earlier alleged assault against the teen.
The boy, who authorities said ran away from a Sacramento foster home last year, came into the In-Shape Sports Club in Tracy on Monday wearing only boxer briefs and covered in what appeared to be soot, gym manager Chuck Ellis said. Tracy is about 70 miles south of Sacramento.
Ellis said the teen was scared someone was going to come after him and asked to be hidden.
“He said, ’Don’t let them get me, don’t let them get me,”’ Ellis said. “He was totally terrified.”
The boy said he had been held captive for nearly a year, said Ellis, adding that he looked as if he were only 10 to 12 years old.
So who do you think the religious right and other conservatives are attacking?
I will give you one guess:
Free Republic:
The gay advocates of the Lawrence v. Texas decision said it was about consenting adults in private. When does a child consent to be raised in a same sex household by non-birth parents under an alternative lifestyle?
Daddy, why is there a brown stain on the FRONT of your undershorts?
so imagine a child being adopted by a homo , and for their life they will see mostly homo’s coming and going, they will be took to freak parades they have, they will be used a a trophy, the poor child will see two men sleeping in the same bed
It’s disturbing that our broken justice system puts young impressionable minds in the hands of sick and perverted individuals that have little or no regard for their own safety let alone the safety of the innocent. Their trying to make the homosexual lifestyle normal, it’s anything butt! (ò¿ó)
The Liberty Counsel:
Most states ban homosexual adoption through legislation, regulation, or court precedent. These states ban adoption by homosexuals because the best interest of children is served by placing them in homes with a mom and a dad or where there is a likelihood of a mom and a dad. A homosexual home automatically excludes one gender, either the mom or the dad. Only a handful of states actually permit homosexual adoption.
Culture Campaign:
Judge places young boys with homosexual men
(Editor's note - The headline is a vile attempt to exploit stereotypes about men molesting boys. In addition, the site also prints a highly misleading version of the case. According to Culture Campaign - "The attorney general's office had argued that gay men and lesbians are disproportionately more likely to suffer from mental illness or a substance abuse problem than straight people, rendering them less fit to parent -- especially children in foster care who already are under tremendous stress."
This is technically accurate but ethically false. Culture Campaign conveniently omits that it was the state's hired "expert" George A. Rekers who said this. It also omits Rekers saying that based on this reasoning, Native Americans should be kept from adopting children. Lastly, Culture Campaign also omits the fact that the judge in the case discredited Rekers' testimony.)
Please do not think that I am attacking heterosexual families. There are good two-parent mom and dad families out there and there are bad ones.
The point of this piece is to show the inanity of those who oppose gay adoption.
To say that lgbt households are not good places to raise children and to continue to push an empty talking point that "the best family for a child is one with a mom and dad" despite events happening in the time frame that prove both notions to be false is not only pointless but yet again, homophobia defined.
But if the other side of the argument is intent on bashing their heads against a brick wall, who am I to stop them?
In light of last week's excellent decision in Florida striking down the ban on gay adoption, I want to make you aware of something that I found very interesting.
The family in the middle of the case includes Martin Gill and his partner of 10 years. Four years ago, they took in two brothers as foster children. One was four and other was four months old. Both had been horribly abused. Since that time, things have gone considerably well for the boys. This is just a snippet of their home life via court documents:
On weekdays, the household wakes up at about 6:30 a.m. Petitioner usually prepares
breakfast, permitting each child to assist with an assigned kitchen duty. Each morning, the family eats together without distraction from the television. As each child finishes his breakfast,he puts his dish in the sink and proceeds to the bathroom to brush his teeth and hair. Petitioner and Roe purchased a Ford minivan, which Petitioner jokes was not his dream car, however, to accommodate the family size, is the most feasible. Tom Roe, Jr. is dropped off at school first.
Afterwards, Petitioner takes John and James to school, walking them into their classrooms and usually speaking to their respective teachers. In the afternoon, after Petitioner picks the boys up from school, they generally go to the park for tennis lessons. At the conclusion of their lessons, the family heads home for dinner. At mealtime, the family blesses the food together and takes turns sharing the highlights of their day. Phones are not answered and the television is off during dinner. After the children are excused from the table, the older children load the dishwasher.
A scene out of Ozzie and Harriet or in this case, Ozzie and Harold.
Now compare this to an incident that took place recently:
A Girl Scout leader and her husband were arrested after an emaciated, terrified and nearly naked 17-year-old showed up at a gym with a chain locked to his ankle, saying he had just fled his captors, authorities said Tuesday.
Police were also seeking the boy’s aunt and had an outstanding felony warrant against her for an earlier alleged assault against the teen.
The boy, who authorities said ran away from a Sacramento foster home last year, came into the In-Shape Sports Club in Tracy on Monday wearing only boxer briefs and covered in what appeared to be soot, gym manager Chuck Ellis said. Tracy is about 70 miles south of Sacramento.
Ellis said the teen was scared someone was going to come after him and asked to be hidden.
“He said, ’Don’t let them get me, don’t let them get me,”’ Ellis said. “He was totally terrified.”
The boy said he had been held captive for nearly a year, said Ellis, adding that he looked as if he were only 10 to 12 years old.
So who do you think the religious right and other conservatives are attacking?
I will give you one guess:
Free Republic:
The gay advocates of the Lawrence v. Texas decision said it was about consenting adults in private. When does a child consent to be raised in a same sex household by non-birth parents under an alternative lifestyle?
Daddy, why is there a brown stain on the FRONT of your undershorts?
so imagine a child being adopted by a homo , and for their life they will see mostly homo’s coming and going, they will be took to freak parades they have, they will be used a a trophy, the poor child will see two men sleeping in the same bed
It’s disturbing that our broken justice system puts young impressionable minds in the hands of sick and perverted individuals that have little or no regard for their own safety let alone the safety of the innocent. Their trying to make the homosexual lifestyle normal, it’s anything butt! (ò¿ó)
The Liberty Counsel:
Most states ban homosexual adoption through legislation, regulation, or court precedent. These states ban adoption by homosexuals because the best interest of children is served by placing them in homes with a mom and a dad or where there is a likelihood of a mom and a dad. A homosexual home automatically excludes one gender, either the mom or the dad. Only a handful of states actually permit homosexual adoption.
Culture Campaign:
Judge places young boys with homosexual men
(Editor's note - The headline is a vile attempt to exploit stereotypes about men molesting boys. In addition, the site also prints a highly misleading version of the case. According to Culture Campaign - "The attorney general's office had argued that gay men and lesbians are disproportionately more likely to suffer from mental illness or a substance abuse problem than straight people, rendering them less fit to parent -- especially children in foster care who already are under tremendous stress."
This is technically accurate but ethically false. Culture Campaign conveniently omits that it was the state's hired "expert" George A. Rekers who said this. It also omits Rekers saying that based on this reasoning, Native Americans should be kept from adopting children. Lastly, Culture Campaign also omits the fact that the judge in the case discredited Rekers' testimony.)
Please do not think that I am attacking heterosexual families. There are good two-parent mom and dad families out there and there are bad ones.
The point of this piece is to show the inanity of those who oppose gay adoption.
To say that lgbt households are not good places to raise children and to continue to push an empty talking point that "the best family for a child is one with a mom and dad" despite events happening in the time frame that prove both notions to be false is not only pointless but yet again, homophobia defined.
But if the other side of the argument is intent on bashing their heads against a brick wall, who am I to stop them?
Tuesday, December 02, 2008
Religious right tries to use Proposition 8 protests for advantage in Obama Administration
The following item from Pam's House Blend gave me pause today:
The Blend has received word that the The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty is pulling together a full page ad to run in the NY Times within the next few days, charging the LGBT community's response to Prop 8 is a "Campaign of Violence."
According to our source, the ad will cite an incident where a white powder was sent to a church, and "document" disruptions of services at houses of worship. The Becket Fund is also allegedly contacting like-minded anti-gay organizations to request that they sign on to the ad.
Here we go again - the time honored religious right tradition of using anecdotal information as a way to stigmatize the gay community.
It's highly ironic that this group is doing this given the number of times the gay community has been accused of trying to "use the emotional argument" to sway the so-called cultural war.
In this ad, we'll probably hear:
about the 69-year-old woman, Phyllis Burgess, who had a styrofoam crossed ripped from her hand during an anti-Proposition 8 protest (but not about how she allegedly pushed her way through the crowd of protestors in order to be on camera, knocking down a disabled man in the progress).
about the white powder that was mailed to several places of worship (which is totally uncalled for. However it has not been determined who sent the powder. At any rate, to blame the lgbt community for it really isn't fair).
about the Bash Back incident in a Michigan church (but not about how this group had nothing to do with the Join the Impact protests or about how police say the church exaggerated the incident).
And we will probably be made privy to every negative comment posted about Proposition 8 on pro-gay blogs (without the admonitions by the blog owners that said comments were wrong and uncalled for. And we won't be made privy to the equally vile and nasty comments posted about lgbts from places such Free Republic).
The Becket Fund is obviously going to push the notion that lgbts are engaging in a coordinated campaign of intimidation and wildcat violence. No doubt this group will be aided by One News Now, Peter LaBarbera and other religious right members of the echo chamber. And let's not forget Sean Hannity, Michelle Malkin, Rush Limbaugh, and Bill O'Reilly who be complicit to this public relations campaign with a wink, a nudge, and nary a peep from an opposing side.
The Becket Fund's ad is a cynical grab for position by groups who have rightfully guessed that the era of dominance given to them by the Bush Administration is over. Thus they seek to gain advantage and thereby control the argument over gay rights in an Obama Administration by unfairly painting the lgbt community as a mindless violent horde via anecdotal or exaggerated urban legends.
The Becket Fund is like so many religious right and conservative groups - heavy in the purse string department but short on integrity. If they had any, they would recognize the nasty game they are playing.
One News Now today features an article regarding a gay man who has been convicted and sentenced for murdering a heterosexual man. In the formulaic lament that I have come to expect from the religious right, One News Now talks to one source who complains about the "silence of gay activists" about this murder.
To me, that doesn't make any sense.
Is it expected for women's groups to make a statement every time a woman is convicted of a violent crime? Is it expected for a pro-Jewish group to make a statement every time an individual Jewish person is convicted of a violent crime? Or how about the African-American groups when an individual black man or woman is convicted of a violent crime?
Now if someone would argue in the affirmative in the case of women's groups, Jewish groups, or African-American groups, he would be blasted as either a sexist, an Anti-Semite or a racist.
And with good reason.
So how is it that someone could stigmatize the gay community on the allleged crimes of individual gays and not wear the mantel of homophobia?
Any incident of wildcat violence regarding Proposition 8 should be condemned by those for and against the amendment. Emotions and tensions ran high. But for the large majority, protests against Propostion 8 have been peaceful.
This consistent attempt by conservatives and the religious right to use sparse incidents to somehow condemn the entire lgbt community is wrong and exploitative.
More than that, it's homophobia defined.
But apparently so many people have a problem with saying so.
The following item from Pam's House Blend gave me pause today:
The Blend has received word that the The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty is pulling together a full page ad to run in the NY Times within the next few days, charging the LGBT community's response to Prop 8 is a "Campaign of Violence."
According to our source, the ad will cite an incident where a white powder was sent to a church, and "document" disruptions of services at houses of worship. The Becket Fund is also allegedly contacting like-minded anti-gay organizations to request that they sign on to the ad.
Here we go again - the time honored religious right tradition of using anecdotal information as a way to stigmatize the gay community.
It's highly ironic that this group is doing this given the number of times the gay community has been accused of trying to "use the emotional argument" to sway the so-called cultural war.
In this ad, we'll probably hear:
about the 69-year-old woman, Phyllis Burgess, who had a styrofoam crossed ripped from her hand during an anti-Proposition 8 protest (but not about how she allegedly pushed her way through the crowd of protestors in order to be on camera, knocking down a disabled man in the progress).
about the white powder that was mailed to several places of worship (which is totally uncalled for. However it has not been determined who sent the powder. At any rate, to blame the lgbt community for it really isn't fair).
about the Bash Back incident in a Michigan church (but not about how this group had nothing to do with the Join the Impact protests or about how police say the church exaggerated the incident).
And we will probably be made privy to every negative comment posted about Proposition 8 on pro-gay blogs (without the admonitions by the blog owners that said comments were wrong and uncalled for. And we won't be made privy to the equally vile and nasty comments posted about lgbts from places such Free Republic).
The Becket Fund is obviously going to push the notion that lgbts are engaging in a coordinated campaign of intimidation and wildcat violence. No doubt this group will be aided by One News Now, Peter LaBarbera and other religious right members of the echo chamber. And let's not forget Sean Hannity, Michelle Malkin, Rush Limbaugh, and Bill O'Reilly who be complicit to this public relations campaign with a wink, a nudge, and nary a peep from an opposing side.
The Becket Fund's ad is a cynical grab for position by groups who have rightfully guessed that the era of dominance given to them by the Bush Administration is over. Thus they seek to gain advantage and thereby control the argument over gay rights in an Obama Administration by unfairly painting the lgbt community as a mindless violent horde via anecdotal or exaggerated urban legends.
The Becket Fund is like so many religious right and conservative groups - heavy in the purse string department but short on integrity. If they had any, they would recognize the nasty game they are playing.
One News Now today features an article regarding a gay man who has been convicted and sentenced for murdering a heterosexual man. In the formulaic lament that I have come to expect from the religious right, One News Now talks to one source who complains about the "silence of gay activists" about this murder.
To me, that doesn't make any sense.
Is it expected for women's groups to make a statement every time a woman is convicted of a violent crime? Is it expected for a pro-Jewish group to make a statement every time an individual Jewish person is convicted of a violent crime? Or how about the African-American groups when an individual black man or woman is convicted of a violent crime?
Now if someone would argue in the affirmative in the case of women's groups, Jewish groups, or African-American groups, he would be blasted as either a sexist, an Anti-Semite or a racist.
And with good reason.
So how is it that someone could stigmatize the gay community on the allleged crimes of individual gays and not wear the mantel of homophobia?
Any incident of wildcat violence regarding Proposition 8 should be condemned by those for and against the amendment. Emotions and tensions ran high. But for the large majority, protests against Propostion 8 have been peaceful.
This consistent attempt by conservatives and the religious right to use sparse incidents to somehow condemn the entire lgbt community is wrong and exploitative.
More than that, it's homophobia defined.
But apparently so many people have a problem with saying so.
Monday, December 01, 2008
World AIDS Day - Good and Bad
(Editor's note - I redid this blog post because I wasn't satisfied with how it was written. It was a busy day and plus, I hate Mondays.)
I just came back from a very moving World AIDS Day ceremony at the South Carolina State House.
This state has unfortunately bore a huge brunt of the AIDS virus and I commend everyone who fight every day to stop this disease.
While there are good things about this day and how the community comes together, there are also bad things.
You know that I speak of our friend Peter LaBarbera and his friend, the phony "gay expert" Linda Harvey.
This is the nonsense LaBarbera has on his page:
SHUT DOWN THESE PERVERSION CENTERS? With 300,000 men dead from AIDS due to homosexual sex, why are homosexual bathhouses and sex clubs flourishing in the United States? At left is an ad in a homosexual newspaper for the Crew Club, a Washington, D.C.-based bathhouse where men go to commit anonymous sodomies with other men (our editorial comment is in red). It’s time for American AIDS policy to stop indulging and encouraging male homosexual behavior, which is one of the main risk factors of HIV/AIDS.
Of course this comes with a huge picture of a gay steamroom ad.
I guess I should be happy that LaBarbera has toned it down and not shown any explicit sex.
And he accompanies that drivel with a piece by Harvey about HIV:
December 1 marks the annual observance of “World AIDS Day.” While we should rightfully mourn the passing of so many victims, let’s get real about what can be done to prevent future death and disability, not to mention the expenditure of billions of dollars.
In short, we need to recognize that HIV/AIDS is largely a male homosexual disease in the U.S., and it is highly preventable.
Okay let's stop there. First of all, Harvey is NOT an expert of anything. She is a former ad executive who feels that God is telling her to stop homosexuality.
George A. Rekers is more of an expert than she is and that is only because he has degrees (if not knowledge) .
And then there is that problem of stigmatization:
It’s time for American AIDS policy to stop indulging and encouraging male homosexual behavior, which is one of the main risk factors of HIV/AIDS.
Notice that LaBarbera doesn't say a word about unsafe sex, but "male homosexual behavior."
LGBT behavior does not cause HIV/AIDS. Unsafe sex does, which means you can catch it regardless of whether you are gay or straight.
Harvey claims that according to the CDC, gay men are the highest at risk group to catch HIV.
Well what she is doing is contributing to the problem.
When HIV/AIDS first came into prominence in the 80s, a lot of gay men took good prevention advice as yet another attempt to stigmatize the gay community. And why? Because of people like Anita Bryant, Jerry Falwell and the rest who constantly dehumanized them in different ways.
Because of how they were persecuted on their jobs, in their families, and neighborhoods for being gay.
So how in the world can LaBarbera and Harvey actually try to claim credibility when they are contributing to this dehumanization and stigma? On her webpage, Harvey repeats every Paul Cameronesque lie about gay men from the short life span to the alleged high level of pedophilia.
And if anti-gay activism is ever included in a museum, LaBarbera should have his own wing.
If LaBarbera and Harvey are serious about fighting HIV/AIDS, might I suggest they look at themselves and their behavior.
Perhaps Harvey should eliminate some of the wild things she has said about gays molesting children from her webpage. Perhaps LaBarbera should start by not taking pictures at street fairs, but actually trying to meet gay families. Perhaps he should eliminate that section of his webpage called "Victims of Homosexual Murderers."
Maybe a total reorganization of his webpage would be in order.
Maybe LaBarbera and Harvey should try to help and stop the problem instead of contributing to it for a change.
Gay Adoption and a Sign of the Apocalypse - Town Hall feature pro-gay column
When I saw this column in the conservative Town Hall yesterday, I looked outside my door. I wanted to see what the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse looked like:
Gay Adoption: The Real Agenda
Don't be alarmed. It's a pro-gay article through and through:
The Florida ban is simple and stark. It says, in effect, that a child may not be adopted by gays even when the adoption is in the best interest of the child . That's the main reason the court overturned it: It violates the rights of children and "causes harm to the children it is meant to protect."
Those who want to keep gays from adopting think that's a small price to pay for blocking the "homosexual agenda." But then, they're not the ones who will be paying it.
Granted, the Freepers are going nuts over this (and not in a good way), but that's okay.
Anything that makes them angry must be a good thing.
(Editor's note - I redid this blog post because I wasn't satisfied with how it was written. It was a busy day and plus, I hate Mondays.)
I just came back from a very moving World AIDS Day ceremony at the South Carolina State House.
This state has unfortunately bore a huge brunt of the AIDS virus and I commend everyone who fight every day to stop this disease.
While there are good things about this day and how the community comes together, there are also bad things.
You know that I speak of our friend Peter LaBarbera and his friend, the phony "gay expert" Linda Harvey.
This is the nonsense LaBarbera has on his page:
SHUT DOWN THESE PERVERSION CENTERS? With 300,000 men dead from AIDS due to homosexual sex, why are homosexual bathhouses and sex clubs flourishing in the United States? At left is an ad in a homosexual newspaper for the Crew Club, a Washington, D.C.-based bathhouse where men go to commit anonymous sodomies with other men (our editorial comment is in red). It’s time for American AIDS policy to stop indulging and encouraging male homosexual behavior, which is one of the main risk factors of HIV/AIDS.
Of course this comes with a huge picture of a gay steamroom ad.
I guess I should be happy that LaBarbera has toned it down and not shown any explicit sex.
And he accompanies that drivel with a piece by Harvey about HIV:
December 1 marks the annual observance of “World AIDS Day.” While we should rightfully mourn the passing of so many victims, let’s get real about what can be done to prevent future death and disability, not to mention the expenditure of billions of dollars.
In short, we need to recognize that HIV/AIDS is largely a male homosexual disease in the U.S., and it is highly preventable.
Okay let's stop there. First of all, Harvey is NOT an expert of anything. She is a former ad executive who feels that God is telling her to stop homosexuality.
George A. Rekers is more of an expert than she is and that is only because he has degrees (if not knowledge) .
And then there is that problem of stigmatization:
It’s time for American AIDS policy to stop indulging and encouraging male homosexual behavior, which is one of the main risk factors of HIV/AIDS.
Notice that LaBarbera doesn't say a word about unsafe sex, but "male homosexual behavior."
LGBT behavior does not cause HIV/AIDS. Unsafe sex does, which means you can catch it regardless of whether you are gay or straight.
Harvey claims that according to the CDC, gay men are the highest at risk group to catch HIV.
Well what she is doing is contributing to the problem.
When HIV/AIDS first came into prominence in the 80s, a lot of gay men took good prevention advice as yet another attempt to stigmatize the gay community. And why? Because of people like Anita Bryant, Jerry Falwell and the rest who constantly dehumanized them in different ways.
Because of how they were persecuted on their jobs, in their families, and neighborhoods for being gay.
So how in the world can LaBarbera and Harvey actually try to claim credibility when they are contributing to this dehumanization and stigma? On her webpage, Harvey repeats every Paul Cameronesque lie about gay men from the short life span to the alleged high level of pedophilia.
And if anti-gay activism is ever included in a museum, LaBarbera should have his own wing.
If LaBarbera and Harvey are serious about fighting HIV/AIDS, might I suggest they look at themselves and their behavior.
Perhaps Harvey should eliminate some of the wild things she has said about gays molesting children from her webpage. Perhaps LaBarbera should start by not taking pictures at street fairs, but actually trying to meet gay families. Perhaps he should eliminate that section of his webpage called "Victims of Homosexual Murderers."
Maybe a total reorganization of his webpage would be in order.
Maybe LaBarbera and Harvey should try to help and stop the problem instead of contributing to it for a change.
Gay Adoption and a Sign of the Apocalypse - Town Hall feature pro-gay column
When I saw this column in the conservative Town Hall yesterday, I looked outside my door. I wanted to see what the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse looked like:
Gay Adoption: The Real Agenda
Don't be alarmed. It's a pro-gay article through and through:
The Florida ban is simple and stark. It says, in effect, that a child may not be adopted by gays even when the adoption is in the best interest of the child . That's the main reason the court overturned it: It violates the rights of children and "causes harm to the children it is meant to protect."
Those who want to keep gays from adopting think that's a small price to pay for blocking the "homosexual agenda." But then, they're not the ones who will be paying it.
Granted, the Freepers are going nuts over this (and not in a good way), but that's okay.
Anything that makes them angry must be a good thing.
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