Perez Hilton and Peter LaBarbera - two different sides of the same idiot coin

Oh please make this situation go away. I will do penance, I will go to church every Sunday, anything.

But make this nonsense about the Miss America pageant go away.

Who am I kidding? This situation is juicy and it's not going away any time soon.

And it's just as I figured yesterday - Perez Hilton is now front and center on Peter LaBarbera's Americans for Truth webpage.

Peter is trying to link Hilton to all of us:

You see, it’s all about holding the “right” position — that is, the “gay” position — and shutting up or overriding your beliefs, or risk being smeared as a hateful “homophobe” if you dare to disagree. This is the emboldened Queer Lobby’s and their Amen Corner’s M.O. — whether it’s forcing a New Mexico Christian photographer to shoot a lesbian “wedding” against her convictions; trying to get Prop 8 thrown out and declared “unconstitutional” because you lost at the ballot box; equating opposition to “gay marriage” with rank bigotry, or moral opposition to homosexual behavior with “bullying gays”; or pressuring the media into rejecting ads featuring successful ex-”gays” (as GLAAD, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, has done).

Not all of us like Hilton and not all of us agree with his actions. To link his stupid behavior with lgbts trying to gain our God-given right of self determination is homophobia defined.

It's no different than linking the behavior of black gang members to the African-American male in general or the behavior of a black woman you see on the Maury Povich show testing four men for the paternity of her child to all black women.

Really though, you can't blame Peter for trying to take advantage of this situation any more than you can fault a vampire bat for sucking blood. Both parties need to feed off of others to survive.

But I want to know something.

Am I being too hard on Perez Hilton?

I mean I don't think so. He asked a question. Miss California answered it. It may not have been the answer he liked but that should have been the end of the story. Of course it probably wouldn't have been but Hilton didn't make things better by getting on youtube and calling her a b*(#&& and a c*^$!

Whether we like it or not (and I hate it), Hilton is in the public eye and yes he has a responsibility to act as if his mother gave him good sense. But he didn't.

He called Miss California out of her name. She in return got on the Today show and took the position of Joan of Arc on the stake while at the same time talking about how she will pray for Hilton.

Who looks better? The pushy gay or the beauty queen?

Or a better question is who looks better? The lgbt community or the religious right?

It's too depressing to think about. One more question though:

African-Americans have Julian Bond, Cornel West, and a host of black intellectuals gaining attention. Women have Gloria Steinhem and, to an extent, Phyllis Schafly espousing their point of view about the role of women.

Just who in the hell does the gay community have to speak for us besides an immature gossip columnist whose claim to fame is outing a few celebrities and drawing ridiculous doodles on the pictures of other celebrities?

I know. We have many others who are far more intelligent and mature to espouse our community's values.

Okay, but then why is Hilton gaining all of the attention?

Tuesday midday news briefs

Video: Poignant - THIS is what we should be focused on. Forget beauty pageants.

Autumn Sandeen writes from from Angie Zapata murder trial - Another issue we should focus on

Suicide Vicitm's FamilyBlames School - This has to stop!!

NARTH To Export Ex-Gay Message To London - Super. The road show from hell.

I love my beautiful black people but sometimes I think they have lost their minds

And IT begins.

Miss California and Perez Hilton are now doing the morning news show circuits, no doubt sparring with each other over her answer to his question and whether or not it cost her the Miss America crown.

Why Lord, why? I still think it's a dumb controversy.

And in another "Why Lord, why" moment, I ran into an interesting gossip site yesterday and it put made me think about what lgbts of color have to deal with in the black community.

There is this belief that black folks are more homophobic than other Americans. I don't believe this is the case. What I do believe is that there needs to be some serious discussion in the black community regarding homosexuality. Sometimes those who are in leadership positions in the black community shirk their duties when they don't encourage (and in some cases try to hinder) this conversation.

I also think that trepidation about gays and lesbians in the black community goes beyond that of a religious issue. We are a threat to the ideas of gender roles.

And as these items (and comments) prove, there is a salacious aspect that many want to throw at the lgbt community; an aspect that wouldn't exist if lgbts of color would have more support in the black community:

EXPLOSIVE!!!! RADIO SHOW CLAIMS TO HAVE EVIDENCE OF RAPPER CHINGY'S SECRET LIFESTYLE!!!

HMMMMM!!! R&B Singer Brandy Spotted LEAVING THE CLUB With A VERY BUTCH Looking Gal Pal!!!

LMAO!!!! Vivica Fox Is Trying To Date THAT GAY LOOKING BOY From High School Musical!!!

ON BLAST!!! Gay Community ANGERED By Rapper Bow Wow's HOMOPHOBIC Comments!!!

Why the Miss USA controversy is a STUPID issue

Oh God no.

There is a dumb controversy brewing over the Miss USA pageant that took place last weekend.

Apparently in the question and answer segment, Miss California stated her opinion that marriage should be between a man and a woman.

So batten down the hatches because here comes a whole lot of nonsense.

I should have known it couldn't last. For the past weeks, the lgbt community was on a unparalleled streak of good fortune. Iowa, Vermont, the mocking of NOM - we were hot.

Then this happens.

Now we are going to be distracted by a non-issue that only has the potential for us to look like bad guys.

You know what? I don't care what this woman said. It was her opinion. She expressed it. She didn't win the crown. Big whoop.

She will probably benefit from the controversy by becoming the newest religious right cause celebre. I can just see the spin now - "She was denied the crown because she stood up for the American family."

The optimist in me (I ate an optimist for dinner last week - you know us gays are also cannibals. Paul Cameron said so) sees a silver lining to this potential cloud.

If anything, maybe this controversy will teach my lgbt community not to canonize lgbt celebrities.

Gossip columnist Perez Hilton was a judge during the competition and since the controversy took place, he has been consistently rude to Ms. California and basically acted like a damn fool.

Way to go, Perez. Expect to see your vapid self in One News Now or on the Americans for Truth webpage as indicative of the entire lgbt community.

For the record, Hilton is simply a gossip columnist and a very immature one at that. I don't give a crap how many interviews he does or how many youtube videos he presents on the issue, or how often he is in the public eyes in general, Hilton does not represent the entire lgbt community.

And while some of us may be distracted and momentarily angry at Miss California, it's not a good thing to take crucial time away from the big picture of lgbt equality to talk about a single incident in a beauty pageant that will most likely be forgotten in a year.

Let this be a lesson to us all. Just because someone is an actor, singer, or gossip columnist and just happens to be gay does not mean that person shoud be taken as a sort of a spokesperson for the lgbt community.

We owe it to ourselves to adhere to a higher standard than that.

Monday midday news briefs

There has been a very interesting update in my last post. Check it out

Mormon Scion Matthew S. Holland Quits the NOM Board - And the hits keep coming to NOM.

David Mixner: Rick Warren Badly Needs A Private Retreat - Ya think?

Uganda’s Anti-Gay Vigilante Campaign Is Now In Full Swing - This ain't good AT ALL!

Too young to vote. Old enough to be publicly condemned by LaBarbera - Peter is now picking on children. Big man he is!

Mocking "Gathering Storm" from start to finish - Go ahead. You know you want to check out the link.

Anti-Day of Silence video creator alleges gay conspiracy

(Editor's note - This post has been updated. See below)

The Day of Silence has come and gone. Now it's time for the so-called counterpart - The Allied Defense Fund's Day of Truth.

Haven't heard anything about it? My point exactly.

On Saturday, I talked about a video put out about it by Capitol Resource Institute which claimed that Day of Silence supporters were "threatening" pro-family groups.

The video uses negative phone messages, alleged emails of a threatening nature, and footage of Proposition 8 protests in an attempt to twist the argument of lgbt teen safety into a semantic one about tolerance (i.e. claiming that while Day of Silence supporters want tolerance and safety for gay teens but they aren't capable of showing tolerance themselves.)

All in all, the video does a poor job of connecting the Day of Silence to any acts of violence.

This weekend, I spoke to the self-described creator of the video (on youtube, he calls himself the Dark Lord of Debate). I asked him specifically about the inaccuracies of the video, most specifically its attempt to link the Day of Silence with the Proposition 8 protests. This is what he said:

Regardless of the exact connection of each event in the video to the Day of Silence, I believe the video is illustrative of the intolerance of those advocating the gay agenda to silence all who disagree with them--of which the Day of Silence is only a small part. The message was that those of us who believe in traditional marriage and sexuality are not going to allow our voices to be silenced the way they have been in other countries where the gay agenda has been more successful than in the US. In Canada, Australia, and several Scandinavian countries pastors have been imprisoned for merely preaching that homosexuality is immoral. We won't stand for that, and if you are as tolerant as your side claims I hope you won't either.

My answer to him was short but to the point:

You speak of anecdotes taken out of context. Also whatever the case is, these situations happened in foreign countries - countries that do not possess the same laws or constitutions as America. The error in your statement lies in the belief that there is some worldwide conspiracy on the part of gays and lesbians. And that notion simply isn't true. The situations that you allege happened in Canada, etc. have nothing to do with the situations in the United States because they do not have the same "cast of characters," so to speak.

All in all, your statements are extremely debatable but what is not a debatable point is:

1. You unfairly generalized about all of those who support the Day of Silence - not to mention all gays and lesbian in general

2. Your video is so over the top that its credibility is questioned - the footage of alleged violence has nothing to do with the Day of Silence. And the phone calls and emails are equally questionable.

The semantical argument you put forth regarding "tolerance" is merely a dodge. And it's a sad one.

The "Dark Lord" didn't answer me back as of yet, but his first message is interesting.

To him, the video was not about truth or accuracy but about fighting the "alleged gay agenda."

I personally fail to see what the Day of Silence has to do with alleged incidents in foreign countries. And anyone with good sense would fail to see the connection also.

But those on Dark Lord's side of the argument aren't necessarily known for their good sense.

UPDATE - Dark Lord answered me back and admits to a degree of exaggeration:

To a certain extent I agree with you. I know full well that not all gay activists are like those portrayed in the video, and to that extent the video is somewhat of an exaggeration, though no more than any typical political attack ad, which is basically what this video was intended as. The video is however accurate in exposing the fact that not all gay activists are as tolerant as they claim, and are fully capable of engaging in hateful behavior themselves, which is important to counteract the common view of conservatives as hateful bigots and liberals as paragons of tolerance.

I also disagree that there is no connection between the Day of Silence and prop 8. CRI is a Californian organization which also worked for the passage of prop 8, and you can bet many of the people making those calls and sending those emails (which were all authentic, btw) were the same people protesting prop 8. The Day of Silence and the response to prop 8 are very much connected the way I see it.

As far as the idea of a gay conspiracy, I fully recognize that there is no organized conspiracy of gays against Christians, but the gay lobby worldwide does have a fairly unified political agenda and both in other countries and the US that has included silencing any dissenting voices which object to homosexuality as normal. These other countries were also western democracies, and their laws started out as "hate crimes" legislation like we have in the US. Sure we have a constitution that protects free speech, but that only works as long as the courts are willing to follow it, which is why I'm not convinced the same thing can't happen here, and why I will continue to oppose all efforts to silence our voice.

At any rate, I know I'm not going to convince you, but maybe that will at least help you understand my perspective in making this video. I'm sorry you disagree with it, but that is your right. See you around.

Now I could go on a tangent like he did but I want to zero in on something that bothers me. This is my return message to Dark Lord's newest email:

You are going all over the place with these tangents regarding hate crimes and the alleged worldwide gay conspiracy. But I won't follow you up on it.

What bothers me basically is your admittance that the video is exaggerated. Don't you think it's bizarre to accuse gay activists of being hypocritical because some don't practice the tolerance that they claim to espouse when you aren't practicing the Christian tenet about truth that you want to portray yourself standing for?

Aren't you guilty of the same hypocrisy you have accused them of?

How can you defend Christian beliefs through a video which you have admitted makes exaggerated claims? Just when did it become appropriate for those who follow Christ to get their point across via cynical attack ads?

Jesus says "I am the way, the truth, and the light." He didn't say "I am the way, the truth and the light but feel free to exaggerate in my name when you are trying to talk to sinners."

Day of Silence a huge success again while the opposition tries to pull a fast one

Early reports are saying that yesterday's Day of Silence was a huge success despite the efforts of several religious right groups who advised parents to keep their children out of school during this day. This was the view from the Seattle Times which looked at the high school where area pastor Ken Hutcherson held an anti-Day of Silence protest last year:

No protesters disrupted classes at Mount Si High School, and about 21 percent of students called in absent Friday — more students than usual, but less than last year, when almost half of all students didn't come to school.

Mount Si was the focus last year of a protest over the "Day of Silence," a national movement to represent the silence many gay and lesbian students feel they must maintain at school to avoid harassment.

Again this year, Rev. Ken Hutcherson, of Antioch Bible Church in Redmond, urged parents to keep students out of school Friday but did not hold a protest.

About 150 of the school's 1,400 students signed up to participate in the Day of Silence, spokeswoman Carolyn Malcolm said, and there were no disruptions during the school day.

Nice try, Kenny boy but you lose again.

And there is a plethora of positive coverage from other areas in the country:

Teens speak volumes during Day of Silence

Students protest oppression during Day of Silence

Students stay mum to honor GLBT peers

March supports gay rights

Local students take a stand against harassment during national Day of Silence

ISU students ‘Break Silence’ in fight against prejudice

But those organizations who oppose the Day of Silence are not "going gentle into that good night," so to speak.

One group, Capitol Resource Institute, has put a video highlighting the alleged threats, "intolerance," and also other incidents of violence that it claims are indicative of Day of Silence supporters.

I looked at the video and listened to the comments, even the choppy ones.

Some of the comments are rude with one person saying that he wishes that members of the anti-Day of Silence groups would kill themselves (that's the one played repeatedly).

But these messages sound like they are coming from adults and not teenagers (the ones who mostly participate in the Day of Silence.)

The emails were equally rude, even though we don't know anything about these them - whether they are coming from folks mad at the anti-Day of Silence stance or folks mad at these groups in general.

Or even if they are authentic.

Capitol Resource Institute claimed that one email inferred a death threat even to the extent of sending a picture of a funeral to emphasize detail. But no where in the article does its spokesperson, Karen England, talk about alerting the authorities. (Editor's note - The article has now been updated to say that England has in fact filed a police report.)

And let's talk about the acts of violence the video shows.

These "acts" took place from various Proposition 8 protests, including the Phyllis Burgess incident which was debunked on this site as well as many others.

Why is this important?

Because the Proposition 8 protests had absolutely nothing to do with the Day of Silence.

All in all, the video is a pathetic attempt to get a visceral reaction rather than a logical one.

That's not to say that I agree with what was allegedly sent to these groups. Rude comments and threats should not be the way we fight our battles.

But the attempt by Capitol Resource Institute to connect the dots between the Day of Silence and the alleged negativity expressed to the groups opposing the Day of Silence is highly, highly suspect.

It just goes to show that some people just can't take a loss.

Friday midday news briefs

Getting to the Roots of Hate Crime - An excellent article courtesy of Huffington Post.

Yea, Tony? That figure's honest? See nothing false about the witness you've borne? Interesting - Gasp! You mean the Family Research Council is actually misrepresenting a poll on gay marriage in New York? And in other "shocking" news, the sky tends to be blue on bright and sunny days

Gates says axing DADT 'complex' - Some folks may disagree but I don't. I remember what happened during the Clinton years. Let's proceed slowly but not stop the progress.

Ex-McCain aide to call for gay marriage support - Uh oh. I can just see the headlines courtesy of One News Now.

Laurie Higgins Endorses the Bullying of Gay Kids - Why am I not surprised.

Anderson Cooper’s Vulgar ‘Tea-Bagging’ Joke Epitomizes Media’s Hatred of Conservatives- And now some comedy courtesy of our friend Peter LaBarbera. Apparently lgbts had something to do with the mocking of teabaggers. We just got our fingers in everything (Don't you dare make a joke out of that.)

The Day of Silence will be successful

Today is when thousands of high school students will show their support for their lgbt classmates via the Day of Silence.

I personally wish this idea had been around when I was in high school. Back then (the 80s is such a long time ago) just a rumor that a person was gay would elicit an automatic beatdown.

Some may argue that things may be pretty much the same, but I would have to disagree. The level of support that our lgbt children are receiving now is much better than it was when I was a child.

And of course the usual cast of characters are opposing the Day of Silence. In fact, pro-Paul Cameron group Illinois Family Institute is leading a charge to tells parents to keep their children out of schools during this day.

No doubt this plan will fail like the so-called Day of Truth these groups have been trying to push in direct opposite to Day of Silence.

Not that it will stop them from distributing a "we were successful" press release which I'm sure they worked on the same day they decided to announce the walk out.

Liberty Counsel and One News Now has even gotten into the act with a phony news article listing the supposed times that people have been threatened over opposing or not participating in the Day of Silence.

The article is a bunch of substantiated anecdotes and whinings put together by folks who fail to realize that they are losing this fight.

No matter though because this day is not about them.

It's about our children - the next generation of Americans. According to the Day of Silence webpage:

In 2008, hundreds of thousands of students from more than 8,000 K-12 schools, colleges and universities organized Day of Silence events. These numbers make the Day of Silence one of the largest student-led actions in the United States.

I feel confident that the level of participation this year will exceed that.

Slowly but sure we are winning this war.

Thursday evening news briefs

Washington state passes DP rights - Good news out of Washington.

ACLU asks schools to stop blocking gay Web sites - The next time you hear the religious right talk about computer blockers to "shield" children from pornographic sites, keep this article in mind. The devil is always in the details.

NY Senator Ruben Diaz Sr. Calls 'Emergency Summit' on Gay Marriage - New York Governor David Patterson makes heads spin.

Why Read It Yourself When You Can Take The Right's Word For It? - Witness how the religious right go apeshit over a report from the Department of Homeland Security. Right Wing Watch breaks down how they lie.

Gathering Storm Spoof - Oh come on. One more won't hurt.

The Illinois Family Institute and Paul Cameron again

The Illinois Family Institute continues to throw humorous tantrums about being designated as an official hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

IFI was given this designation because it apparently uses the discredited work of Paul Cameron.

In the latest screed on Opposing Views, IFI member Laurie Higgins talks about a conversation she had with Mark Potok of the SPLC over this designation:

Mr. Potok stated in his voice message that we, IFI, "publish and promote the work of a man named Paul Cameron." This grossly misrepresents the nature of our involvement with Cameron's work. It suggests that we regularly or continually publish and promote the work of Cameron, when, by Potok and Beirich's own admission, we published only one brief article.

More troubling yet, this one article contained no statements remotely like those that Mr. Potok articulated in his voice message: "gay men are, something like, 20 times more likely to molest children" or that "they're so sickly and, ya know, sorta do such terrible things."

Mr. Potok then digs himself in even deeper when he says on tape that it is the SPLC's view that "the Illinois Family Institute promotes these (emphasis mine) complete falsehoods." "These" is a demonstrative pronoun referring back to the statements he just made. The problem is that he is suggesting that IFI promotes falsehoods that the SPLC's own evidence proves we did not promote. The SPLC's own evidence is the one three-year-old article that did not include any references to "child molestation," or "sickly homosexuals sorta doing terrible things." Mr. Potok was either stunningly careless with his rhetoric or deliberately manipulative.

I also explained to Mr. Potok that the one article from three years ago contained no hate rhetoric, and that it alone cannot possibly justify labeling IFI a hate group. I told him that simply quoting a source once does not mean that an organization supports or endorses everything that a source says or does.

The point is not a specific article by Cameron. The point is that his research tactics are extremely suspect. And while the article may not have had "hate rhetoric" per se, it creates an inaccuracy about lgbts - that we have a short life span.

This inaccuracy is no different than distorting FBI crime statistics to claim that African-Americans on the whole are a violent people.

Regardless of what Higgins says, when an organization cites a source, the organization is supporting that source. The organization is saying that the source is credible.

And an organization that cites Paul Cameron is saying that he is a credible source for information despite the fact that he has been rebuked and censored by several different groups including Exodus International (yeah, I can't believe it either), the American Psychological Association, and the American Sociological Association.

What Higgins is trying to do is have it both ways.

If she and the IFI really care about the SPLC's designation (as well as truth and accuracy), they would take steps to remove the material from IFI's webpage, or at least investigate the claims about Cameron - which, by the way, the group has said it would do.

When you are two-faced, it's best not to speak out of both your mouths. You reveal your duplicity.

And yet, this is the group that is helping to sponsor the Day of Silence Walk out in defense of "Christian values."

Who knew Christian values included lying and evasion?

Illinois Family Institute doesn't have a clue

The Illinois Family Institute, the organization spearheading the supposed Day of Silence walkout, got into trouble recently over an anti- Day of Silence video.

With the way things are going with religious right groups and videos (i.e. NOM), one would think that they wouldn't have pushed it.

But they did and got tremendously embarrassed. The video was originally removed because of a few errors on the part of IFI.

From Box Turtle Bulletin:

JoeMyGod seems to have some of the details leading up to its withdrawal. The IFI originally listed a Baptist Church in Glendale, Arizona as a producer of the video. In fact, the video referenced that church’s DareToStand.org web site. But that church denied having anything to do with the clip. They have posted a note, which reads:

Please note: The Illinois Family Institute posted an article on its site April 15, entitled Dare to Stand regarding a video produced by a church in Illinois. Because the radio ministry of Northwest Valley Baptist Church coincidently [sic] bears the name Dare to Stand, we were mistakenly connected with it.

Neither Dare to Stand radio nor Northwest Valley Baptist Church is in any way involved with the development of this video or with the web site connected with it (www.dare2stand.com). Our website is www.daretostand.org. Please contact the Illinois Family Institute at www.illinoisfamily.org for more information.

The IFI’s web page was then changed to identify the video’s creator as Grace Gospel Center in Bensonville, Illinois. And then sometime after that, the video and the web page both vanished into thin air.

JoeMyGod has kept up with the situation, including the fact that the video is back up.

It's full of outrageous images, including child being threatened by a teacher because he opens a Bible in class. Of course the semantics about the "evils of the tolerance crowd" are played to the hilt. And while the Day of Silence isn't mentioned by name, negative inferences to it are throughout.

The video has the same problem that the NOM video had - it's too intense and in your face with its inaccuracies. Most likely, it will do more to galvanize support for the Day of Silence than against it.

This is becoming a standard mode of behavior - those who are against us are consistently cutting their own throats due to their stridency.

And personally, I'm all for it.

For more about Day of Silence, go here.

From The Vancouver Sun - Tea Parties a HUGE FLOP

Read it first before Michelle Malkin and company accuse the Vancouver Sun of being in on the "Obama Conspiracy." I had to pinch myself when I read this article because I haven't seen any real journalism for so long with this being the age of pundits and soundbites.

Fox News-driven "tea parties" fail to ignite popular uprising among U.S. conservatives

A reportedly corporate-financed grassroots" anti-tax movement, paid for, planned and promoted by right wing think tanks, corporate lobbyists and Fox News Channel, has failed to bring about the "popular uprising" against the Obama administration its creators had hoped for.

The day of "tea parties" were pushed by Republican operatives and partisan advocacy groups such as FreedomWorks, a conservative advocacy group helmed by former Republican House Majority Leader Dick Armey. Organizers sought to encourage protest over the Obama government's tax and stimulus policies by asking people to wave tea bags, but the national event brought about only a few hundred "tea-baggers" in most parts of the U.S., despite relentless promotion by Fox News TV hosts.

Participants had hoped to rally hundreds of thousands of people to begin a grassroots movement that would force Obama to change government policy. But the turn-out was far from what was hoped for, with most rallies looking decidedly on the small side, especially compared to the 2006 immigrants rights rallies or the 2004 pro-choice march on Washington, both of which attracted millions.

More here - you will get a kick about the part regarding the woman who fell in the river when trying to dump tea bags. Okay, maybe not because she is 68-years-old. I'm glad she was saved.

Teabagger calls President Obama a fascist (but doesn't know why he thinks Obama is a fascist)

I didn't catch Columbia, SC's teabagging event like I said I wouldn't. One more reason besides the two I mentioned was that I was afraid that I would have been the only black person there - and one black amongst a big group of whites on an area where the Confederate Flag hangs and where there also exists a statue celebrating the life of an open racist (Ben Tillman) is not necessarily where I want to be.

I'm not saying that the folks there would have been automatically racist or anything like that. I just hate awkward juxtapositions.

Anyway, if you carry anything away from this interesting moment in American history, let it be this video courtesy of Daily Kos.

It's perfect representation of the teabaggers:



I've said it once and I will say it again - sheep looks much better on a dinner plate than they do being led on a leash by Fox News and the rest of the right. No offense to you vegetarians.

By the way, check out that link at Daily Kos for more teabagging fun.

Wednesday midday news briefs

I am enduring this teabagging mess with the consulation that its message is slowly but surely being seen as astroturf nonsense.

And also by view of the cute guy in the library presently walking away from me. Ah yes I love the view.

Seriously though . . .

Anti-gay campaign did not grab Twitter and domain names - I know this has been covered before but a little more fun poking at the expense of NOM can never hurt.

Drag performer found dead in Fayetteville - My prayers go out to her family.

The Advocate interviews mom of 11-year-old who committed suicide over gay taunts - Tell me again why the Day of Silence is a bad idea . . .

Their blind eyes are DEAD wrong - Speaking of which, the organization at the center of this post, Capitol Resources Institute, was behind that hideously inaccurate piece by John R. Diggs, The Health Risks of Gay Sex.

Today is teabag day - be still my intestines

Editor's note - I've added four new entries to my anti-gay lies and liars time line to reflect incidents that have taken place thus far in 2009.

Today is the day where conseratves nationwide will give the wholesome act of teabagging a bad name.

This entire thing has driven me nuts. Let's be clear about it - this is not a protest against an unfair government but an attempt to undermine the Obama Administration before it really has a chance to fix the problems left by the Bush Administration.

The bullshit going around about how this is a spontaneous protest organized by Americans who are tired of an oppressive government is nonsense.

It's more of the same - people who won't admit that their side loss and whose egos are allowing them to be led by the nose by others with ulterior motives i.e. Dick Armey, Fox News, and the American Family Association.

And although I would love to go to the rally today in Columbia and count the signs that have the word "socialist" spelled wrong, I simply can't do it.

For one, I have a day time job and I work for what I want. And secondly, the reason why I won't attend the rally is the same reason why I won't watch Fox News - my mother raised me to have good sense.

Between you and me, however, I would've loved to attend the rally where Alan Keyes is speaking. From what I hear, organizers are letting him say whatever he wants.

That should be good for a few hundred laughs.

A reminder about why we need the Day of Silence

Anti-Gay Bullying Drives 11-Year-Old to Suicide

Relentless taunting resulted in the tragic end of an 11-year-old Massachusetts boy, who hanged himself last week after being teased by his classmates.

As reported by PUBLICNOW.com, Sirdeaner L. Walker discovered her son, Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover, hanging by an extension cord in her Springfield home on April 6. Walker said her sixth-grade student at the New Leadership Charter School, was often the target of gay jokes and was threatened with physical violence on a daily basis. The young football and basketball athlete, who was also a Boy Scout, took his own life when anti-gay bullying and constant harassment became too much for him to endure. Since September, the boy's mother made frequents phone calls to the school's administrative staff and pleaded for them to address the situation but claims to have gotten minimal response.

Walker-Hoover's suicide occurred just two weeks before the National Day of Silence. Thousands of students will participate in the annual event by taking a vow of silence to bring attention to anti-LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) bullying and harassment at school. . . .

According to GLESN, this is the fourth suicide of a middle-school aged child linked to anti-gay bullying this year.

More here

No child should be put in a situation where he or she feels that the only way to stop taunts is to commit suicide.

Our opponents are always whining about the alleged "gay agenda," but why is it that they never talk about helping to stop the hurt.

They give offhand comments like "well no child should be picked on," or "everyone gets picked on" and it makes me wonder just where their hearts lie.

And in our sadness over those who commit suicide, let's not forget those who don't necessarily harm themselves in a permanent manner, but whose lives are negatively affected by the taunts they are subjected to.

I knew an intelligent, bright young man who was openly gay - he couldn't hide his mannerisms and such. He was subjected to taunts and constantly picked so much so that he dropped out of school.

With no education to speak of, he continued to make bad choices until one cost him his life.

Now folks could say that he was responsible for his own life and the decisions he made - this is true. But I think we all have a little responsibility in each other's lives.

If we see someone stumble, we should go and help them up.

If we see someone drop some money on the floor, we should make that person aware of his or her potential financial loss.

And if we see someone being picked on or know of someone getting no love or support for any reason, we have a responsibility to do what we can to stop the taunts and provide the love and support.

That's exactly what folks are trying to do during Day of Silence.

How can anyone not support that?

What's the deal with Governor Mark Sanford?

Again, not necessarily an lgbt issue per se, but still important nonetheless.

As I understand it, Governor Mark Sanford will be speaking at one of the tax day tea parties. And recently, he filmed a commercial explaining why he doesn't want to use monies from the stimulus package to help South Carolina's schools.

All in all, not bad for a man who, to my knowledge, has never even visited the "Corridor of Shame."

For those who don't know, the Corridor of Shame is the nickname they give rural schools along South Carolina’s Interstate 95 corridor; schools in which textbooks are torn and fragile, there is no heat, there are problems with sewage, and the buildings are in badly need of repair - schools that would benefit from the $700 million in stimulus money that Sanford doesn't want to give them.

Twice, South Carolina fell for Sanford's phony folkism and what do we have to show for it? A State House full of pig poop, high unemployment, and bearing witness to legislative fights that resemble the worst of an episode of Jerry Springer.

And now Sanford wants to ride that record to the White House with this teabagging party nonsense being the first step.

You know, it used to be that when politicians were aiming for the White House, they would have the good taste not to be so obvious about it.

Tuesday midday news briefs

Forgive me for not adding my usual commentary but this stimulus issue has me majorly teed off.

'True tolerance', except for both the true and tolerant part

Police investigate anti-gay attack at UVa

Washington State House Passes Transgender Hate Crimes Bill

Peter LaBarbera is jealous of Wayne Besen

It's been a while since I've written about our friend Peter LaBarbera.

Today he and ex-gay fact falsifier Greg Quinlan attack Wayne Besen over an alleged incident that took place three years ago:

How fascinating that Wayne Besen (left) is given the opportunity to appear on FOX News, of all places [this YouTube clip features a hilarious Snickers ad that was pulled], to critique alleged “homophobic” attitudes and speech toward homosexuals — when he has such a well-deserved reputation for being one of the nastiest “queer” activists in the business. (Besen is the guy who came up with the deceptive smear “Porno Pete” to demonize yours truly — as if I have some prurient interest in homosexual pornography rather than a desire to expose the hyper-promiscuity celebrated within the homosexual male subculture. Wayne knows this is a lie but he continues to use it–strange conduct for the founder of a group called “Truth Wins Out.”) TAKE ACTION: forward this article by my friend Greg Quinlan to FOX’s Bill O’Reilly (oreilly@foxnews.com) and urge him to reconsider his use of an accomplished anti-Christian bigot (who especially hates public ex-gays like Greg) as a talking-head “expert” on “tolerance.

Allegedly, according to Quinlan, Besen violently accosted him at a National Education Association conference in 2006.

Now I don't know what happened and I could care less.

It seems to me that the only reason why LaBarbera brought this incident up is because he is jealous of Besen. It isn't the first time LaBarbera has asked his readers to write O'Reilly about Besen.

But I really can't blame him for being jealous.

After all, Besen has steadily been gaining more and more credibility.

He continues to be invited on Bill O'Reilly's show to talk about gay issues,

He recently spoke at a star studded event for marriage equality, and

His organization, Truth Wins Out, recently became the recipient of a $5,000 contribution.

In comparison,

LaBarbera couldn't get on O'Reilly even if he took a million pictures of naked gay men,

He hardly gets a mention from anyone except for One News Now and bloggers like Stacy Harp (who is Stacy Harp? My point exactly), and

What was the name of that college which invited LaBarbera to give a talk on the alleged "gay agenda?" The talk where supposedly less than 40 people attended. Again, my point exactly.

Someone should inform LaBarbera that jealousy is not a Christian virtue. And it makes you look petty and foolish.

Not that this would bother LaBarbera any. If he truly cared about looking foolish, he wouldn't started Americans for Truth in the first place.

Monday afternoon news briefs

Ugh - talk about your bad days. I had a huge problem today which kept me from posting my midday news briefs. So without futher adeiu, here they are.

Tomorrow, I should be back to normal. By the way, I have not received an answer from NOM regarding my email.

Opponents to Day of Silence still unhappy - Even after his colossal failure in trying to undermine the Day of Silence last year, Ken Hutcherson comes back to try again.

Anti-gay bait and switch - How ironic that NOM likes to play the black and lgbt communities against one another. And it turns out they might not be so pro-minority community themselves.

Concerned Women for America in debt, losing money - Kismet is a bitch. And I love me some bitches.

Gay, Lesbian Families Headed To W.H. Lawn - Very appropriate when considering today's earlier blog post.

Clergy in the crosshairs - More lies about hate crimes legislation courtesy of One News Now