When it comes to gays and lesbians, children understand more than you think

On the pages of One News Now and other religious right publications, we are taking a backseat as they all combine their "talents" with other conservatives to kill President Obama's plan for health care reform.

So I decided to get on youtube for something appropriately pro-lgbt to end the day.

And I found something good from a Dutch television show in which children are questioned about gays and lesbians.

It's something to remember the next time the religious right goes on about how "children must be protected" in that annoying Helen Lovejoy way that they do. Children aren't stupid:

PFOX wanting school libaries to stock its lies and other Monday midday news briefs

Library asked to stock 'ex-gay' literature - Stock it in the fiction section. I see PFOX has got its dirty mitts all over this

Marriage commission members take dim view of adoptions by same-sex couples - Cause every child has a right to live in a place with NO love.

Hundreds rally in SF against AIDS cuts - This is good. Raise some hell.

Billie Jean King and Harvey Milk to be honoured by Obama - King and Milk get their due this Wednesday. And other than Focus on the Family, the other religious right shoe hasn't dropped yet.

Rhode Island: NOM pollutes the state with its 'Marriage Day' on August 16 - Of course THOSE lgbts aren't invited. I say show up anyway with your families.

PFOX - a conduit of lies and bad studies

One of the greatest hypocrisies of ex-gay groups is how they seek victimhood status against the alleged gay agenda that discriminates them for daring to want to "be free from homosexuality," while simultaneously allowing themselves to be a funnel/conduit for some of the most extreme anti-gay propaganda in existence.

PFOX (Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays and Gays) is a perfect example of the hypocrisies of the ex-gay movement.

On it's webpage, PFOX has this huge section called "Equal Rights," where it posts articles pushing the lie that ex-gays are somehow discriminated against. Such articles include: Are Ex-gays Next?, Ex-Gay Declaration of Independence, Hear our message, then judge, and Ex-Gays Face Double Discrimination.

And a few of these articles have huge errors. Such as the piece Putting Adolescents at Risk.

This article pushes the notion that:

Males who self-identify as “gay” before age 18 are highly likely to have been victims of sexual abuse and/or to suffer from untreated Gender Identity Disorder (GID). This puts them at high risk for a number of negative outcomes. When these problems are untreated, the boys often act out in ways that draw negative attention to themselves. The strict restriction of bullying and other mistreatment by fellow students is, of course, important, but it is equally important to address the underlying problems. Even if an adolescent boy does not suffer from sexual abuse or GID, sexual activity combined with the predictable adolescent irresponsibility carries a high risk.

However one of the sources which PFOX uses to prove this claim is being distorted:

The following is the conclusion of a study of the association of health risk behaviors and sexual orientation: “GLB youth who self-identify during high school report disproportionate risk for a variety of health risk and problem behaviors, including suicide, victimization, sexual risk behaviors, and multiple substance abuse use. In addition, these youth are more likely to report engaging in multiple risk behaviors and initiating risk behaviors at an earlier age than their peers.” (Garofalo 1998)

The study PFOX is referring to is The association between health risk behaviors and sexual orientation among a school-based sample of adolescents, by Massachusetts pediatrician Robert Garofalo.

PFOX is implying that the study says that the lgbt orientation is causing bad behavior in youth.

PFOX was not the first group to use Garofalo's work to make this claim. In 1998, the Family Research Council and 14 other so-called religious right groups, including the Christian Coalition and Focus on the Family, ran a full-page ad in The Washington Post using Garofalo's study to claim that "homosexuality is a dangerous lifestyle."

When Garofalo found out how his research was being used he got angry because you see, his study never faulted the lgbt orientation for bad behavior amongst gay youth.

Garofalo contended that his research was saying that when gay teenagers abuse drugs or contemplate suicide, it is because of the unaccepting culture they face. - Boston doctor says ads distorted his work on gays, Anne E. Kornblutt, The Globe Staff, The Boston Globe, August 4, 1998

Another article in PFOX's Equal Rights section, African Americans: Same Sexuality & Race, cites a study by discredited researcher Paul Cameron:

According to the Omega Journal, a leading publication on death and dying, the median age of death for a homosexual man without AIDS And With a long-term sexual partner is only 41 years of age. The median age of death of heterosexual married men is 75 years. The average age for a married, African American male is 69 years. Given these statistics, this is not only a moral issue, but an emerging public-health crisis. Passing laws that would institutionalize a lifestyle that could cut the lives of our young men by nearly a third is unthinkable.

But the one thing that takes the proverbial cake when it comes to the hypocrisies of PFOX is this link.

For not curious enough to click it, the link is a diagram from that lovely anti-gay group, the Allied Defense Fund, that outlines supposedly how we lgbts are slowly taking over the world in color coordinated splendor.

I don't know what's worse; the fact that someone loony enough to think this up is getting gainfully employed or the fact that I wish lgbts could get as coordinated as we are shown to be in the diagram.

You can't have it both ways, PFOX. If you want "tolerance" from our community, then you don't put ugly and untrue things about us on your webpage.

No one should have to tolerate being kicked in the teeth.

It will stop only AFTER the president has been lynched

Former SC Governor Ben Tillman, March 23, 1900:

We of the South have never recognized the right of the negro to govern white men, and we never will. We have never believed him to be equal to the white man, and we will not submit to his gratifying his lust on our wives and daughters without lynching him. I would to God the last one of them was in Africa and that none of them had ever been brought to our shores. - (Editor's note - Tillman currently has a statue dedicated to him on the grounds of the SC State House)

Rush Limbaugh, March 21, 2009:

"We are being told that we have to hope he succeeds, that we have to bend over, grab the ankles, bend over forward, backward, whichever, because his father was black, because this is the first black president."

Mayor Joseph Smitherman of Selma, Alabama 1965:



Rush Limbaugh, 2009:



Former SC Senator Strom Thurmond, 1948:



Glenn Beck, 2009:


There isn't a thing wrong with disagreeing with President Obama. But there is something inherently ugly with using covert racism and evoking images of Hilter, Nazis and brown-shirted fascism simply because you don't like his policies. And there is something equally wrong with trying to push off the seriousness of these attacks by whining that "liberals did the same thing to George Bush."

When folks say that, I feel like I'm a parent trying to talk down to a child. Common sense dictates that two wrongs never make a right.

Although between you and me, I seem to never hear about the liberal crazies until some folks on the right evoke their presence in order to blunt attention away from the extremities on their side. I'm not saying that liberal crazies aren't out there, but seriously how many people who thought Bush was behind 9-11 was given televised interview time in comparison to the interviews given by Orly Taitz or the other birthers and assorted sufferers of "Obama Derangement Syndrome."

Maybe I'm being overly paranoid but this entire thing is spooking the hell out of me. President Obama is already receiving an average of over 30 threats a day as it is.

All it takes is one spurred-on loony, one weapon, and one opportunity. And then presto, we have the history lesson to end all history lessons - a 21st century lynching.

We already have some of the ingredients for a lynching, i.e. white folks being exploited by the agents of fear filling their ear with nonsense about their rights and "way of life" being taken away.

The only difference is that this isn't a small Southern town in the civil rights movement era and the players aren't a lone black activist and a stubborn white community.

This mess is happening on a grander scale involving the first African-American President of the United States, a small multitude of scared citizens, and talking heads throwing out verbal bombs about FEMA death camps, euthanasia, and snitch patrols while not caring where they land or who they strike.

Or worse, caring very much about where they land and who they strike.

I pray that my fear doesn't become a reality but if it does, are we going to remember those who spurred this mess on. Such as these folks:



"Words can generate deeds and he who verbally incites strife is as guilty as those who physically creates strife." - Aesop

From the Archives: Something ELSE guaranteed to piss you off

Months ago, I wrote a post bringing attention to a repulsive anti-gay comic book that masqueraded as correct information regarding the lgbt community.

It was a 1986 comic was created by a man named Dick Hafer.

Well the site which featured the comic book has found yet another one by Hafer and it's just as nasty, probably more repulsive. It was created just as AIDS came on the scene. Notice how the work of discredited researcher Paul Cameron is cited:







The webpage featuring this comic is not anti-gay. It's a site that looks at "problem-based comics" from the past.

But it is still an excellent look at the past of anti-gay activism and we must ask ourselves (yet again) are the messages we get from the religious right today really any different from the ones Hafer threw out?

Do the male followers of Fred Phelps really have nice butts?

I have rarely if ever featured crazy Fred Phelps and any of his followers on my blog. However, the following clips is HILARIOUS!!!

And it's something to break the monotony of a boring Saturday:

From the Archives: Sorry Conservapedia and Peter LaBarbera, but 'gay bowel syndrome' still does not exist

Editor's note - This is a piece I wrote in 2007. It illustrates just how some homophobes are determined to twist science to suit their lying agendas.

Our friend Peter LaBarbera is practically falling over himself over in his latest post:

Conservapedia, a new online encyclopedia seeking to become a conservative alternative to the very liberal-biased Wikipedia takes a politically incorrect look at the medical phenomenon known as ‘Gay Bowel Syndrome’ — a term that homosexual activists are trying to purge from scientific and popular usage. Gay Bowel Syndrome describes a “clinical pattern of anorectal and colon diseases which occur with unusual frequency in homosexual patients,” according to Conservapedia, which cites mainstream medical sources such as Johns Hopkins’ ‘HIV Guide’ in its article with 93 footnotes.

I talk about "gay bowel syndrome" in my book. I say the following:

According to the “Free Online Dictionary and Thesaurus,” http://encyclopedia.
thefreedictionary.com:

“Gay bowel syndrome was a term fi rst used in 1976 prior to the discovery of AIDS, to describe a series of parasitic disorders caused by oral/anal contact and allegedly related to gay male sexual activity. The term was abandoned by the medical community in the 1980s because the problems that attributed to it were not specific to homosexuals, not confined to just the bowels, nor did it meet the medical definition of a syndrome.”

First of all, Conservapedia is not necessarily an accurate or objective source of information. It was founded by Andrew Schlafly, son of well-known conservative activist Phyllis Schlafly stated that he founded the project because he felt Wikipedia had a liberal, anti-Christian, and anti-American bias.

In other words, Conservapedia is another case of a someone attempting to manufacture his version of the truth when reality does not suit him.

In this particular case, Conservapedia claims the following:

Gay bowel syndrome is a clinical pattern of anorectal and colon diseases which occur with unusual frequency in homosexual patients . . .

Conservapedia uses three sources for this claim and all of them are over 10 years old; two of them are from the 1970s.

Let's break this down some more.

Peter makes a huge point to note that the Conservapedia article contains 93 footnotes that, according to him, proves that "gay bowel syndrome" is a legitimate term.

Let's look at those footnotes:

Footnotes 1, 5, 15, 25, 31, 40, 47, 58 are the same - an article published in 1976 entitled The gay bowel syndrome: clinico-pathologic correlation in 260 cases.

And that is not the only case in which the article uses duplicate footnotes, including the following examples:

Footnotes 2, 7, and 11- Clinical features and diagnosis - Inflammatory Bowel Disease, part 1 American Family Physician, Feb 15, 1993 by Glen E. Hastings, Richard J. Weber

Footnotes 10 and 12 - Dr. Michael Heller, The gay bowel syndrome: a common problem of homosexual patients in the emergency department. Annals of Emergency Medicine 1980

Conservapedia also says:

in 2004 Medscape stated that gay bowel syndrome is a significant issue in regards HIV infection (The Johns Hopkins HIV Guide website also features an article which is essentially a duplicate of the aforementioned article at Medscape).

The Medscape piece and the John Hopkins article says the following:

This is a retrospective review of clinical proctitis in gay men seen at a STD clinic in San Francisco. The review included men with rectal symptoms of pain, itching, tenesmus, rectal bleeding or discharge who underwent clinical evaluation including anoscopy with diagnostic tests for C. trachomatis, N. gonorrhoeae, HSV and syphilis. The results show relatively high rates of gonorrhea, chlamydia, and HSV. No pathogen was found in 46 of the 101 patients studied.

Yes, I bolded that first sentence to make a point. Examples of gay men seen at STD clinics (especially in one city) are not necessarily indicative of the lgbt community at large. It is the same as using examples of African-American men in prison to gauge the habits of African-American men not incarcerated.

The articles also say the studies of those men in STD clinics took place in the years 2000-2001. That is six to seven years ago.

Now the articles do use the phrase "gay bowel syndrome," but they are vague as to the legitimacy of the term. And that does give Peter and Conservapedia a little raft to stake their lies.

But other than those two articles, does Conservapedia have any recent information?

Not necessarily. Conservapedia mentions 2007 articles regarding STDs, but only as an attempt to link those STDs together as an example of "gay bowel syndrome."

As a matter of fact, a good portion of the information Conservapedia has regarding the term "gay bowel syndrome" itself is from the 1970s and 80s; the years that the term was thought to be legitimate.

And Conservapedia even contradicts itself by saying the following:

Gay bowel syndrome is a clinical pattern of anorectal and colon diseases which occur with unusual frequency in homosexual patients (the diseases are not exclusive to male homosexuals).

Doesn't that last statement contradict the entire tone of the Conservapedia article?

Lastly, Conservapedia says the following:

Although the term gay bowel syndrome is not used as frequently as the 1980's, as mentioned previously Medscape has an article on gay bowel syndrome that was published in 2004 that was entitled ''New Look at "Gay Bowel Syndrome". Johns Hopkins HIV Guide website has a duplicate of the aforementioned article by John G. Bartlett, M.D. at Medscape which was entitled New Look at "Gay Bowel Syndrome". In addition, an online medical dictionary has an entry on gay bowel syndrome. Also, the website Biology-Online.org has an article on gay bowel syndrome.

As I said before, John Hopkins and the Medscape articles was talking about data that is close to seven years old and solely dealt with gay men in an STD clinic in San Francisco. And neither article goes into detail regarding the legitimacy of the term "gay bowel syndrome."

Lastly, both online dictionaries mentioned by Conservapedia (particularly Biology-Online.org) looks like online dictionaries in which anyone can add terms.

Basically, Conservapedia is taking advantage of online technology to pass along distortions and untruths as reality. And Peter is just loving it:

We at Americans For Truth believe that it is long past time for federal and state governments (and academia) to study the serious health risks associated with male homosexual sex and promiscuity, just as federally-sponsored studies helped educate the public on the significant dangers of smoking. Allowing homosexual activists a “protester’s veto” over legitimate medical inquiry and research will only cost more men’s lives, as larger society and especially young men are denied clear information on the additional health risks of “gay” sex viz a viz normal, natural straight sex.

Peter, if there should be any investigations, they should focus on why you and folks like yourself obsess over what you think lgbts do in the bedroom.

And let's not forget Conservapedia.

I guess its next goal will be attempting to give Paul Cameron some degree of credibility.

2009 UPDATE - It seems that Conservapedia is trying to give Paul Cameron some degree of credibility. The entry on him says in part:

The APA and ASA have issued statements denouncing Cameron for holding positions contrary to theirs. They have not, however, pointed out any specific flaws in his published peer-reviewed scientific papers. So it is patently obvious that they are trying to suppress his findings for political reasons

Talk about having your fingers in your ears. For prosperity's sake, let's look at the actual story regarding the APA (American Psychological Association) and ASA's (American Sociological Association) position on Paul Cameron:

Homophobic 'researcher' Paul Cameron in all of his repulsive glory

Know your lgbt history - In Living Color

In Living Color was a groundbreaking sketch comedy show that appeared on Fox in the late 1980s. It was the first of its kind because it was an urban show focusing on the African-American community.

Nowadays, it's remembered as the show that launched the careers of actor Jim Carrey and the Wayans family (Shawn, Keenan, Marlon, Kim, and Damon).

It's probably also remembered for its sketch comedy characters such as Homey the Clown and the Men on . . . series.

The Men on . . . series featured two extremely flamboyantly gay black men espousing their opinions on various subjects while making sure to lace their conversation with sexual double entendres.

I will be honest with you. The first sketch segment of the Men On . . . series (Men on Films - seen in the first clip) left me laughing so hard that tears were running down my eyes. Of course I was a freshman in college and years away from admitting my true sexual orientation:



However, like with all sketch comedy shows, when segments become popular, they continue to be shown to the point of being beaten to death. That was a huge problem with the Homey the Clown segment. Yes we know that he is a militant black man forced to debase himself as a clown for "The Man." It was funny the first and second time.

But the tenth time, it got annoying. And so did the Men On . . . series. Especially considering that the show made the two characters so damned broadly stereotypical that they began to be seen as insults to the lgbt community, as this Men on Football segment demonstrates:



Past Know Your LGBT History postings:

Know your lgbt history - Cleopatra Jones and her lesbian drug lords

Know your lgbt history - Norman, Is That You?

Know your lgbt history - The 'Exotic' Adrian Street

Know your lgbt history - The Choirboys

Know your lgbt history - Eddie Murphy

Know your lgbt history - The Killing of Sister George

Know your lgbt history - Hanna-Barbera cartoons pushes the 'gay agenda'

Know your lgbt history - Cruising

Know your lgbt history - Foxy Brown and Cleopatra Jones

Know your lgbt history - I Got Da Hook Up

Know your lgbt history - Fright Night

Know your lgbt history - Flowers of Evil

The Jeffersons and the transgender community

Anti-gay One News Now freaks out over pro-gay news, ENDA support, and other Friday midday news briefs.

Harry Reid "wholeheartedly supports" ENDA - He had better and he had better not be the only one.

AFA vs. AAA: The former is certainly earning its 'F' - What if you announced a boycott and got folks laughing at you because of it?

Ballot prospects for anti-gay rights measure dim - Don't celebrate yet. But keep your fingers crossed.

Texas alcohol board reports violations in gay bar raid - The police are in trooouble.

Signs that the religious right has lost it's mind - Apparently, recent pro-gay news is making One News Now scramble and scramble badly. Read the following three articles. They are so bad I was almost tempted not to write in a comment. Please note I said "almost:"
APA 'ignoring the science' on homosexual reparative therapy - The most comically inane article that One News Now has ever published.

New ENDA bill 'turns private sin into a public right' - Because as we all know, the United States is a theocracy. LOL

ABA meddles in marriage issue, members exit - A suitable completion of One News Now's trio of trash.

And to make it worse, One News Now has yet to announce that Sonia Sotomayor was appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court. Maybe they are still in shock.

Proposition 8 protests vs. Town Hall tyranny - right wing hypocrisy on display

The news about people acting like they have no home training at these health care town hall meetings across the country will backfire against the Republican party. But regardless, I hope no one gets seriously hurt.

To me however, it does show the blatant hypocrisy of the right wing.

Remember in November of last year when Proposition 8 was passed? Remember how angry we lgbts got? Remember how we protested across the country?

While some of us went too far in our anger, the point is that it was a genuine outcry of rage. It was a genuine protest from a group of people who had been stepped on for too long.

Unlike this mess happening now in which the majority are white folks who are programmed by right wing groups with "talking points" or bombthrowers like Glenn Beck or Michelle Malkin (the proverbial child playing matches). And their guilliblity is made easy because they are too afraid to realize that their anger is not with the health care but with their inability to admit that they just don't like "THAT NEEEGROOOO" as president.

Think about it. When they shout and cry at meetings about "how they want their country back," they aren't referring to health care costs or single payer options.

And speaking of Malkin, remember how she wept and cried with pseudo disgust over us "gay bullies" who supposedly attacked people via protests and boycotts? Remember how Mike Huckabee told only one side to the Phyllis Burgess incident (i.e. the anti-gay protester who was pushed and her stryofoam cross taken from her after she elbowed her way through crowd of anti-Proposition 8 protestors so that she could get on camera). Remember how the religious right portrayed the lgbt community on the whole as thugs who were allegedly threatening people, vandalizing churches, and shouting people down?

Well either I am in the Twilight Zone or there has been a shift. Malkin now approves of shouting people down and religious right groups are encouraging folks to show up at these town hall forums.

While Malkin specifically was quick to shine a very bright light on the excesses of the Proposition 8 protests, she is trying to downplay just how nasty these "tea bag" protestors are acting at these health care forums.

Apparently protesting in anger is only wrong when gay folks do it. When lemmings do it at health care forums, it's "democracy in action."

Yet another way us lgbts are looked at as second class citizens.

When the lives of lgbts of color are diminished by melodrama, we all suffer

By no means think that I am trying to advertise this hot mess of a video. But everyone needs to understand why it's so difficult to have a decent dicussion about the lives of lgbts of color in the black community.

When melodramatic bullshit like this is shown, any thoughts of having a concrete discussion goes out of the window.

J.L. King should be ashamed of himself.

PFOX answers my question, Obama and the Advocate, and other Thursday midday news briefs

Regarding my post about Peter Sprigg's award nomination, PFOX has emailed me the name of the award it nominated him for:

The Montgomery County, MD Public School’s Award for Distinguished Service to Public Education

Which brings further accentuates the point of my post. Nominating Sprigg for this award is like giving a Grammy to one of those American Idol rejects. And I mean the really bad ones.

Exodus International Responds to the APA Resolution on Change Therapy - Guess who's not happy with the APA's decision on ex-gay therapy.

There are a lot of phone calls to make about ENDA co-sponsorship - Oh geez. I got DeMint and Graham. Who's got roots on me?

Details Emerge About the Estate of Author E. Lynn Harris - Miracle upon miracle! BET is talking about a possible gay issue. Granted it's about deceased author E. Lynn Harris and his estate but hey, it's better than Soul Plane.

Top gay magazine bemoans Obama - Top gay magazine The Advocate breaks from its schedule of celebrity stoking to criticize President Obama's inaction on lgbt issues. Pot, meet kettle.

Freepers upset over APA repudiation of ex-gay mess

While the folks at the phony news service One News Now have been silent over yesterday's decision by the American Psychological Association that mental health professionals should not tell gay clients they can become straight through therapy or other treatments, the Neanderthals at Free Republic aren't at a loss for words.

I love those morons. Their comments always make very pro-lgbt victory even sweeter:

No one bats an eye when a straight guy goes gay but the thought of a gay guy going straight drives them bonkers.

Yeah. I’m actually in support of this. If we start normalizing therapy to change sexual orientation it’s only a matter of time until people start talking about straight to gay therapy for “repressed” children and adults. Or straight to a “happier, more natural, and well adjusted bi-sexuality” for people. I’d rather leave the lid on this bowl of fish and say that people should work this out for themselves without psychologists poking their brains.

The drive to normalize homosexual sex started with pressuring the APA (American Psychiatric Association) to remove homosexuality from their diagnostic manual. Homosexuality was correctly (in my opinion) described as an abnormality or disorder to be treated. The homosexuals are the ones that pressured the APA into removing it from their DSM.

The APA declaration is totally false and politically motivated.

you shouldn't support anything the APA advocates. It is a corrupt organization that spews out lies and non-science to back the gay mafia, who have taken over control of the agency.

The fact that homosexuals have changed orientation is a fact. Even the homosexualist, and closet homosexual, child abuser, Kinsey, stated that sexuality was fluid. It is all about sexual morality. Most homosexuals are emotionally damaged--either molested or/and mentally abused when a child--or complete pagan hedonists.

Do you honestly think that people who rape babies are "born" with that orientation? APA believes it is NOT a learned behavior..which is bullcr*p.

Primates, when denied their natural mother and a natural environment produce offspring, who not only are super aggressive and antisocial, they become sexually dysfunctional (think sexual deviants Gacy, Keppler, Dahmer, Roelm, Hitler, Manson, Kinsey, --it is endless..... Abusive parenting creates sexual deviancy. By advocating and encouraging homosexuality, you are advocating child abuse.

True, in Greek and Roman societies homosexuality was glorified as in many pagan societies...Plato even mused on the glories of man-boy sex, but without Judeo-Christian influence, that was the norm......and to think it isn't a learned behavior is absurd.

Editor's note - While it's usually my policy not to interrupt Freeper rambling, I must comment. I find it odd that this person mentions amongst examples of "sexual deviants" homosexual serial killers but conveniently says nothing about Ted Bundy, Jack the Ripper, the Yorkshire Ripper, Gary Ridgeway, or Harvey Glatman - heterosexual serial killers. Granted, this person's tangent is enough to suggest that he or she get some type of medication, I felt I just had to add that bit.

If you look below the surface of this report, the implications are outright disturbing. Homo-leftists will run with this proclamation to the max and will literally attempt a push for criminalizing such therapy. This will dovetail perfectly with their ever-earlier indoctrination of young children - effectively brain-washing them into a never-to-return condition. Homosexuality will be effectively mandated by law.

Why would a Christian advocate a pseudo-science that is pressured by political activists to change their labels, without relying on scientific facts or data to back up it statements..The APA lost me when they were taken over by the gay mafia.....by caving into the pressure of the militant homosexuals to take their lifestyle choice off of the mental disorder list proved it was not a scientific organization, but a political propaganda one.

I swear, you just gotta love "dem Freepers."

Senator DeMint will not address the lie he told about hate crimes legislation

So many things happened today that I was almost didn't know what to write about.

First there was this:

Commentary: The APA Says ‘No Evidence’ In Support of Ex-Gay Therapy

then there was this:

BREAKING NEWS: ENDA introduced in Senate

So while "everything was coming up roses" so to speak, it looked like I would have to play "eeney, meeney, miney, mo" to decide what to write about.

Then a certain email hit my box from Sen. Jim DeMint. It reads in part like such:

Dear Mr. McEwen,

Thank you for contacting me to express your support for S.909, the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act. As you may know, this bill would create a new federal crime for willfully causing bodily injury to any person because of their actual or perceived race, color, national origin, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or disability.

Like you, I believe all criminals who commit violent crimes should be severely punished. However, I also believe all crimes are hate crimes, and have concerns that expanding federal hate crimes law would turn almost any crime involving willful bodily injury into a federal felony.

Additionally, the broad language of this hate crimes legislation will unnecessarily extend federal law enforcement beyond its constitutional bounds. Expanding federal involvement in an area that is truly a state and local law enforcement responsibility undermines the authority and effectiveness of those officials, and creates conditions for arbitrary and politicized prosecution of certain cases.

I will spare you the rest of the email because it's as boring as what I have shown you.

And totally off the subject of the email I sent him. My email addressed this letter that Sen. DeMint sent to pastors around the country telling them that hate crimes legislation would lead to them being arrested for preaching that homosexuality is a sin.

I even wrote a post about it.

But Sen. DeMint wouldn't even mention the letter he wrote nor did he continue to tell the lie about pastors being arrested.

Maybe I should be glad that it seems as if DeMint is abandoning that lie. But I'm not.

To me, the thing worser than telling a lie is pretending that you never said it.

LaBarbera launches nasty attack against transgender community, Joe Jervis makes Linda Harvey mad, and other Wednesday midday news briefs

The Autumn of Pete's discontent - One of the main things I don't live about religious right spokespeople is their blatant hypocrisy. They like to say that lgbts are meanspirited while at the same time trying to piss away their own nastiness. Not only is Peter LaBarbera misleading in his latest ramblings, but he also attacks a very intelligent online buddy of mine, Autumn Sandeen. Jeremy from Goodasyou.org doesn't let him get away with it.

Linda Harvey: JMG Is A Liar - Joe Jervis has got Linda Harvey running scared. Damn I'm jealous!

Amsterdam mayor marries U.S. gay couples on canal - This is awesome!

Tempers flare over benefits for gay, unwed city employees - It's ridiculous that certain things are brought up for a vote, like people's benefits for example.

After Third Day of Counting, Washington Signature Fail Rate is 13% - Speaking of which, the Washington petition may have problems. Good!

Religious right spokesperson who wanted to 'export homosexuals' nominated for an award

PFOX (Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays and Gays), that bastion of ex-gay phoniness has just nominated Family Research Council's Peter Sprigg for an award for "distinguished service in public education."

PFOX head Regina Griggs said the following:

For the past four years, Mr. Sprigg has served on the school board's Citizens Advisory Committee on Family Life and Human Development. The 15-member Committee consults with professional educators within the public school system in developing and evaluating the student sex education curriculum.

Mr. Sprigg has spoken out in favor of including former homosexuals in the county's "Respect for Differences in Human Sexuality" school lessons. These lessons promote tolerance of homosexuals, lesbians, bisexuals, transgenders, cross-dressers, and the intersexed, yet failed to include ex-gays, which is the only disfavored group within the public school system. Without Sprigg, the ex-gay community and parents would not have a voice in the public schools.

Mr. Sprigg also enabled public school staff to promote a positive learning environment that holds mutual respect for others by participating in PFOX's flyer distribution program. PFOX distributed flyers to every high school student in the Montgomery County public schools urging the elimination of bias and prejudice against former homosexuals and their supporters. Students also received factual information on sexual orientation and resources on alternatives to homosexuality.

How sweet.

Griggs doesn't give the name of the award but based on his past history, nominating Sprigg for any award having to do with the tolerance and the advancement of education is like nominating one of those really bad American Idol rejects for a Grammy.

Isn't Peter Sprigg the SAME GUY who said the following:

" . . . I would much prefer to export homosexuals from the United States than to import them into the United States because we believe that homosexuality is destructive to society."

And you don't have to take my word for it, isn't that right, Peter:



Also based on some of the papers he has written for the Family Research Council, Sprigg wouldn't know factual information if it came to life and kicked him in the keister.

He helped to write the paper Comparing the Lifestyles of Homosexual Couples to Married Couples and the book Getting It Straight, both of which have a plethora of inaccurate information (including numerous studies taken out context) regarding the lgbt community.

I talk about both the paper and the book and their numerous errors here and here.

At the time in which I wrote the two posts, I inaccurately gave another employee of FRC, Timothy Dailey, sole credit for writing these pieces. As you can see here, Sprigg had a hand in writing these pieces.

The only reason why Sprigg exists on this committee is to undermine anything that would benefit lgbts in a positive manner. He doesn't speak for tolerance and understanding but lies and obstruction.

From what I understand, his appointment was the result of a long and drawn out lawsuit over the school board's sex education program.

Also, there are enough reasonable members of that committee to cancel out any madness he may bring up.

But isn't it alarming that this man who would like to export gays and lesbians from the United States, who has no problem with creating junk science on gays and lesbians is on a committee that is supposed to look after the well-being of children, including those who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender?

I don't know what award PFOX nominated Sprigg for but I've got one for him.

But to say what it's called would cause me to "lose my religion."

Peter Sprigg's "research:"

The Family Research Council continues to use 'outdated' work

Another flawed piece of work courtesy of the Family Research Council


The lies of PFOX:

UPDATE - PFOX answers my question. And someone is still distorting the issue

Another update from yesterday's post: PFOX caught distorting study

UPDATE - The following letter from David S. Fishback, Member, Board of Directors, Metro DC PFLAG and past Chair of the Citizens Advisory Committee (2003-05), gives a very good view of the situation regarding Sprigg's appointment to the committee:

While Peter Sprigg was appointed to the Montgomery County Board of Education's Citizens Advisory Committee on Family Life and Human Development in 2005 as part of the settlement of a court suit seeking to stop the Board from implementing changes in its health education curriculum setting forth accurate information on sexual orientation, the settlement agreement has expired, and the Board was under no further obligation to seat Mr. Sprigg.

Readers should be aware, however, that after the 2005 lawsuit was dropped, the Board started the process over again and, after winning a second lawsuit in 2007-08, implemented curriculum revisions that, in most respects, were even better than the curriculum that was derailed by the temporary restraining order issued by a federal court judge in May 2005. Mr. Sprigg's presence on the Advisory Committee failed to stop the Committee from recommending and the Board from implementing the curriculum improvements.

Mr. Sprigg's presence on the Committee is irrelevant to what PFOX says about the flyers it distributes: "Mr. Sprigg also enabled public school staff to promote a positive learning environment that holds mutual respect for others by participating in PFOX's flyer distribution program. PFOX distributed flyers to every high school student in the Montgomery County public schools urging the elimination of bias and prejudice against former homosexuals and their supporters. Students also received factual information on sexual orientation and resources on alternatives to homosexuality." These flyers are distributed pursuant to a quarterly program by which any non-profit group may distribute flyers in the schools. In fact, most of these flyers -- which assert nonsense that is contradicted in the curriculum and is contradicted by the information provided to the Guidance Offices -- are simply tossed in the trash can by the students. Indeed, Metro DC PFLAG also uses the flyer distribution program to pass out accurate information for students and parents.

It is worth noting that it appears that none of the other 14 members of the Advisory Committee (including members of the Metro DC Chapter of PFLAG and Teachthefacts.org (a grassroots group formed to support comprehensive, accurate sexuality education in Montgomery County), as well as the immediate past and now present Chair and Vice Chair) share Mr. Sprigg's views. Indeed, PFOX conveniently omits from its press release the fact that Mr. Sprigg has been remarkably unsuccessful in convincing his fellow Committee members or the Board of Education or the MCPS staff to follow the fringe views of PFOX and of his employer, the Family Research Council.

The advantage, I suppose, of having Peter Sprigg on the Advisory Committee is that it gives the other members a preview of the right-wing party line. Those members are well aware that they have to examine closely everything he says and examine any "authority" he cites.) Indeed, by having him on the Advisory Committee, the right-wing is deprived of the argument that their views are not even being listened to. What we have done in Montgomery County over the past 6 years is to give Mr. Sprigg and his allies every opportunity to make their case. The rest of us listen, check out their sources, check out what the mainstream medical and mental health professional associations have concluded -- and then roundly reject the PFOX/Family Research Council nonsense.

As long as Mr. Sprigg does not engage in the kind of obstructionist tactics that his allies in Montgomery County sought to use in years past, his presence is not a problem. In dealing with public policy, there is no reason not to listen to many sides -- as long as no one acts like the shouters at the current Congressional recess town hall meetings. I have debated him on a state-wide news program, and I have never seen him behave in such a manner.

Another black celebrity swears that he isn't gay and other Tuesday afternoon news briefs

You will get a kick out of this. Apparently my piece on Bill Maher's birther monologue got a real rise from one birther. You gotta read his comment. After all, he broke out of the insane asylum to post it. Go here and pan down to the comments.

When you stop laughing, check out the following other news briefs.

South Carolina is such an embarrassing place to live - I don't know what's worse - having a hypocritical governor, zany elected officials, a statute at the State House commemorating the life and times of bloodthirsty racist Ben Tillman, or the fact that John Stewart eviscerates the state for only two of those things:

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Thank You, South Carolina!
http://www.thedailyshow.com/
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Spinal Tap Performance

October’s march on Washington leaves some activists perplexed - I've said it once and I will say it again - NO MORE DAMNED MARCHES! No more going to marches where we hold dumbly decorated signs, say silly slogans, and then go home and not know what the hell we need to do next. I say stay home and support your local lgbt communities!

Clinton Portis Does Not Come Out Of The Closet - Oh look; another black celebrity talks about not being gay. Funny thing though - nobody was asking.

Meet Another Maine Couple Affected By SFMM's "People's Veto" - The push to ban gay marriage in Maine is no joke. And it's affecting our brothers and sisters in a negative way.

We’ve Lost: U.S. Census to Count Gay Marriages - How come we overcame and nobody told me? Hat tip to goodasyou.org

Bill Maher's birther monologue speaks to gay community's ego problem

Please forgive me for not including any news briefs today. But a video of a Bill Maher monologue has been on my mind.

He was talking about the birthers but his words leads me to say the following:

Sometimes I feel that any points of progression made by the religious right are in part the fault of the lgbt community.

We have the resources to expose their lies, their reliance on Paul Cameronesque studies and their constant stigmatization of us on a large scale. And we have the numbers of support to back us up when we do.

But many of us don't believe in talking about these things. I think our community on the whole has an ego problem.

There are some of us who have this idea that to focus any attention on organizations like the Family Research Council or Concerned Women for America or wacky religious right talkings heads such as Peter LaBarbera or Linda Harvey is beneath us.

Some of us have this idea to do so would give the religous right more attention than they deserve. And that is part of the problem. That mindset is egotistical and if we don't get our noses out of the air and to the grindstone, the lgbt community will never get to where we need to be.

But Bill Maher says it much better than me. Below the video is the transcript. Again, he is talking about the birthers, but his words can relate to the lgbt community. We have allowed lies about us to grow and spread. And now we need to mow down a shitload of crabgrass:



TRANSCRIPT: Never underestimate the ability of a tiny fringe group of losers to ruin everything. For the past couple of weeks we've been laughing heartily at the wacky antics of the "birthers", the far-right goofballs who claim Obama wasn't really born in Hawaii and therefore the job goes to the runner-up, Miss California Carrie Prejean.

And you know there is nothing you can do to convince these people, you can hand them in person the original birth certificate with the placenta, and have a video of Obama emerging from the womb with Don Ho singing in the background, and they still would not believe it.

"Hey birthers, wanna hear my theory? My theory was that Obama was born in America and you were born with the umbilical cord around your neck. I don't know what his mother was doing when she was pregnant, but I'm pretty sure your mom was drinking."

Oh, I kid the birthers, there's one thing that makes me think they could be right. We're Americans, of course we're gonna hire an illegal alien to clean-up.

I'm joking, of course. And laughing it off has also been the reaction from Democratic leaders so far. Proving that Democrats never learn. But if you don't immediately kill errant bulls**t, no matter how ridiculous it can't grow and thrive like crabgrass or Cirque du Soleil. This birther stuff might be a deluded right-wing obsession, but so was Whitewater and look where that ended up: "What are they gonna do, keep expanding the case until they impeach the President over a blowjob?"

Yes.

I'm telling you that in America there is no idea so patently absurd that it can't catch on. Have you ever met a Mormon?

Or, more recently, we had the Swift Boat allegations against John Kerry, making him, a genuine war hero, a coward in a race against the guy who never left Texas. It was so stupid Kerry refused to even discuss it and we all know how well that worked out.

Well, you may ask, how something as inane as Whitewater or Swift Boats or the birther-thing gains traction? Well I'll tell you how, the same way that the story of Elton John almost dying from ingesting too much of Rod Stewart's sperm gained traction in my high school, dummies talking to other dummies.

It's just easier now because of the internet. And because our mainstream media does such a lousy job of talking truth to stupid.

Lou Dobbs said recently, "People are asking a lot of questions about the birth certificate." Yes, the same people who want to know where the Sun goes at night and where to put the stamp on their e-mail. And Lou, you're their new king.

Which is why it is so important that we, the few, the proud, the reality based, attack this stuff before it has a chance to fester and spread. This is not a case of Democrats versus Republicans. It's sentient beings versus the lizard people.

And it is to the lizard people that I offer this deal, I will show you President Obama's birth certificate when you show me Sarah Palin's high school diploma.

The religious right will not learn from the Tel Aviv tragedy

I have a question for Concerned Women for America, Americans For Truth, the Family Research Council, the Traditional Values Coalition, and all of the other so-called pro-family groups.

For years, you all have looked to foreign countries to supply you with proof that giving lgbts the right to marry, passing hate crimes legislation in our favor, or generally supporting us in any way would lead to the downfall of this country.

You have manipulated incidents in places like Sweden, the Netherlands, and Canada to make the case that we are trying to destroy the goodness of society.

Are you going to learn from this incident in Tel Aviv? Are you going to understand that the constant labeling of lgbts as "the scary other," the "monster under the bed," or the "boogeyman in the closet" has recriminations that aren't necessarily Christian?

Are you going to cool the lying rhetoric?

Who am I kidding? They probably won't. Former ad executive and former lgbt expert Linda Harvey (head of Mission America) just released a statment about the attack in Tel Aviv:

"We are deeply saddened by this violent act and the deaths of these young people, and pray for the perpetrator to be found and brought to justice.

"At the same time, it is deplorable this incident is already being used by the homosexual community to blame this act on those holding a traditional moral viewpoint. Israelis, just as anyone else on earth, should still have the right to oppose homosexuality for religious or other reasons without being called accessories to murder. The motive is still unknown; why engage in slanderous speculation?

. . . "It's tragic that any teens go to these centers, and we remain unequivocally opposed to their purpose, which is to legitimize this behavior and draw young people into claiming a homosexual identity, often without parental involvement or knowledge. " Harvey said . . . "No one needs to be involved in homosexuality, but unfortunately, these two young people can no longer hear that message."

And I have just received an email from the American Family Association. Apparently they are angry at Triple AAA for offering family memberships to lgbt couples:

The American Automobile Association (AAA) has begun offering "Family Memberships" to homosexual couples, recognizing the homosexual couple as being "married," according to a homosexual activist organization in Florida.

Thirty states have overwhelmingly voted to define marriage as being between one man and one woman. Yet AAA is treating homosexual couples as if they are married.

The homosexual couples need only state that they are married to receive the family benefit. In the eyes of AAA two homosexuals living together constitute “marriage” and make a "family." All they have to do to get the "family membership" benefits is to say "we are gay and married."

Then comes this "lovely" article in AFA's One News Now - Congressman consumed with allowing homosexuals in military:

Diane Gramley, president of the American Family Association of Pennsylvania, is unhappy that Murphy, a married father, recently held a news conference in Philadelphia with a radical homosexual group to launch his campaign to push for the passage of H.R. 1283, which would end the ban.

According to Gramley, Murphy is exploiting his Iraq war service to advance that agenda. "He is an Iraqi war veteran, and it almost appears as if he's using that position to drum up the support he thinks he needs to overturn this law," she says.

Gramley admits she sent a letter to Murphy, pointing out the national security risks of changing the policy. "It's a national defense issue, and we mentioned that in the letter. Because if you get homosexuals in the military, you are then putting additional pressure upon our troops because they're being housed in very intimate situations with individuals who are sexually attracted to them," she adds.

Nope, they haven't learned a thing.

What do the lgbt community and President Obama have in common? Those damned 'headless monsters'

This nonsense over whether or not President Obama is an American citizen has made me philosophical.

Most specifically, the new controversy has made me philophical. This one has to do with President Obama's alleged Kenyan birth certificate:

The latest development in the Obama "birther" conspiracy is the emergence of a "Kenyan birth certificate" for the president, put online by movement maven Orly Taitz.

Oddly, the same people who are so skeptical of Obama's Hawaii birth certificate are willing to accept this new document despite many flaws, documented by the Washington Independent's Dave Weigel and Markos Moulitsas.

There are numerous flaws with this birth certificate including:

First, the hospital is Coast Provincial General Hospital (sometimes said to be Coast Province General Hospital), not Coast General Hospital.

Second, Kenya was a Dominion the date this certificate was allegedly issued and would not become a republic for 8 months.

Third, Mombasa belonged to Zanzibar when Obama was born, not Kenya.

Fourth, Obama's father's village would be nearer to Nairobi, not Mombasa.

Fifth, the number 47O44-- 47 is Obama's age when he became president, followed by the letter O (not a zero) followed by 44--he is the 44th president.

Not that it matters of course. As I understand it, those fine fiends at Free Republic are on the case to prove that the birth certificate is not a flaw.

It should make for more comedy, as if this nonsense about President Obama not being a United State citizens hasn't been funny already.

But it becomes less comical when one analyzes the entire situation in relation to the lgbt community.

President Obama has now become afflicted with that lovely thing that many of us in the lgbt community know of too well - the headless monster.

The headless monster is a belief or idea that is passed off as truth even when it has been consistently debunked. The belief's "head" or credibility has been lopped off. However, belief continues to be propped up as truth due to the insistence of a loyal group who will swear to its veracity.

These include beliefs like President Obama is not an American citizen.

Or beliefs like "homosexuality takes 20 years off of your life," or "the majority of child molesters are gay men," or "homosexuality is a dangerous lifestyle."

No matter how many times we have debunked these lies, they continue to be thought of as truth by people either too ignorant or too homophobic to accept the fact that there is nothing wrong with being an lgbt.

But while the birther mess is providing us with a laugh a minute, the constant repeititon of "headless monsters" about lgbts has caused real harm to us and our families.

So what does all of this mean? I don't know. Maybe it's something to think about the next time our community goes off on the President about not moving fast enough on our issues.

Granted, we should never slack up when it comes to getting our issues taken care of, but maybe the realization that we are all in the same boat may give us a bit of levity.

After all, us and the President are in the same boat. Let's rock it when need be but not sink it.