Thursday Male Beauty

PFOX Nominates Christianist Who Wants to Deport Gays for Award

Alvin McEwen at Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters and Jeremy Hooper at Good As You both have somewhat overlapping posts yesterday that address the underlying mindset of the anti-gay Christianists: they want to eliminate gays. In the case of Alvin, his post looks at the nomination by PFOX (Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays and Gays) - the leaders of which must be convulsing and flinging spittle over the APA's new report condemning reparative therapy - of Family Research Council's Peter Sprigg for an award for "distinguished service in public education." Sprigg has no legitimate credentials in mental health care yet has made a career denigrating LGBT citizens and fostering the "choice myth" for both political and monetary reasons. He is truly a nasty piece of work and here's a sampling of what he has had to say about gays in the past:

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Griggs (President of PFOX) 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."

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Right Wing Watch caught Sprigg making this pronouncement:

As for Jeremy, his post looks at the nasty and demeaning manner in which Peter LaBarbera a/k/a Porno Pete attacks fellow LGBT Blogger Summit attendee Autumn Sandeen who writes for Pam's House Blend, as he rants against the pending health care reform legislation which might cover some of the costs of sexual reassignment surgery. As Jeremy notes, what's really startling about Pete's rant is how he's chosen to illustrate the subject: with a picture of Autumn. I agree with this analysis that Jeremy puts forth:

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That picture is of Autumn Sandeen, fantastic activist and writer for Pam's House Blend. It's a perfectly lovely pic. It's unlikely that Autumn will be upset about being used as a public "example." But here's the thing: Neither Matt's piece nor Pete's setup is about Autumn. Not even a little bit. . . . Pete is using Autumn as "Interchangeable Transgender Person #21," with his obvious intent being to enrage his readers with the mere idea that transgender human beings walk this world.

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This is not a Christian response to message: It is a targeted hit on an individual. To use the "pro-family" community's messaging: This is a "stigmatize the 'sinner,' hate the 'sin'" approach to evangelism. And it only further demonstrates how, at the end of the day, our choice to simply get up and breathe every day in our true sexual orientations and gender identities is more than enough to enrage our militant opponents!

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Sprigg and LaBarbera both provide a true glimpse at the nastiness of the self-anointed "godly Christians" as they daily act in horrifically un-Christian ways and market hate and intolerance. It never ceases to amaze me how these folks believe those of us who are gay basically have no right to exist. Nor do we have the right to differing religious beliefs. To the Christo-fascists, either you conform to their rules or you deserve deportation or worse. They have obviously forgotten the Golden Rule not to mention the Commandment against lying and bearing false witness.

More Wednesday Male Beauty

Psychologists Repudiate Ex-Gay Therapy

In a major blow to the liars and demagogues among the Christianists like James Dobson who preach that "change is possible" for gays and their minions who have been making a lucrative living off of peddling snake oil and being "ex-gay for pay," the American Psychological Association issued a report that debunks "reparative therapy." In addition, the report states that mental health professions should not tell their clients that they can change their sexual orientation through therapy or other treatments, thereby likely setting the stage for disciplinary action against therapist that continue to lie to clients and subject them to bogus therapy. Similarly, the new APA position should help Courts to dismiss the claims of Christianists that sexual orientation is not an immutable characteristic worthy of protection. And to be frank, this new report further underscores that Don't Ask, Don't Tell is based purely on RELIGIOUS based discrimination against LGBT citizens.

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The report would also seem to make it easier hence forth for those who are subjected to false ex-gay therapy to sue those who treat them with practices that have now been unequivocally condemned by the APA. Wayne Besen and I have long talked about identifying past victims of "ex-gay" ministries and suing the ministries and therapists on a tort theory based on their use of practices condemned by the APA. The APA stance should also put more pressure on rational religious denominations - rational, that automatically excludes the Roman Catholic Church and the Southern Baptist Convention - to drop the argument that homosexuality is immoral and/or evil. The full 138 page report can be found here. Here are some highlights from Yahoo News:

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The American Psychological Association declared Wednesday that mental health professionals should not tell gay clients they can become straight through therapy or other treatments. Instead, the APA urged therapists to consider multiple options — that could range from celibacy to switching churches — for helping clients whose sexual orientation and religious faith conflict.

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In a resolution adopted on a 125-to-4 vote by the APA's governing council, and in a comprehensive report based on two years of research, the 150,000-member association put itself firmly on record in opposition of so-called "reparative therapy" which seeks to change sexual orientation.

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The APA had criticized reparative therapy in the past, but a six-member task force added weight to this position by examining 83 studies on sexual orientation change conducted since 1960. Its comprehensive report was endorsed by the APA's governing council in Toronto, where the association's annual meeting is being held this weekend.

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The report breaks new ground in its detailed and nuanced assessment of how therapists should deal with gay clients struggling to remain loyal to a religious faith that disapproves of homosexuality.

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In dealing with gay clients from conservative faiths, says the report, therapists should be "very cautious" about suggesting treatments aimed at altering their same-sex attractions. "Practitioners can assist clients through therapies that do not attempt to change sexual orientation, but rather involve acceptance, support and identity exploration and development without imposing a specific identity outcome," the report says.

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"There's no evidence to say that change therapies work, but these vulnerable people are tempted to try them, and when they don't work, they feel doubly terrified," Glassgold said. "You should be honest with people and say, 'This is not likely to change your sexual orientation, but we can help explore what options you have."

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The report also addressed the issue of whether adolescents should be subjected to therapy aimed at altering their sexual orientation. Any such approach should "maximize self-determination" and be undertaken only with the youth's consent, the report said.

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I sincerely hope that the APA will put some teeth into the consequences of licensed mental health practitioners who continue to disseminate the lie that sexual orientation is something that can be changed. HRC released a press release that in part echoed my thoughts:

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"We honor a person's right to believe what they will but that right does not extend to hurting others. And, as this report aptly demonstrates, 'reparative therapy' programs are hurtful," said Harry Knox, Director of HRC's Religion and Faith Program. "It is critical for licensed professionals to understand that one can live a deeply religious life as an openly LGBT person. Many denominations, as well as individual affirming congregations and affinity groups, are leading efforts to create welcoming and safe places for adolescents and young adults to come out within a religious community. Young people need to know that there are diverse faith communities that will accept them just as they are."

Obama's Indifference to LGBT Americans

The Advocate raises the following question: As a candidate Obama promised us a lot; as president he’s delivered very little -- and many gay people are getting impatient. Does the outcry unmask this president’s indifference, or reveal our own impotence as a movement? . . . The hero was a player after all.

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Sadly, at this point I do not believe that Obama meant a single word of his campaign promises to LGBT Americans. We had two things that he wanted: votes and money, and he obtain a lot of both. Many in our community were played for suckers and I confess I was one of the suckers. It will be a cold day in Hell before I support Obama on anything unless and until he delivers on his promises.

Wednesday Male Beauty

Obama's Failed Promises Shape Virginia Race

I have previously commented on the way in which I believe the broken campaign promises of President Obama and Congressional Democrats is threatening the loss of the Virginia governor's office and other offices to the Republicans. Now, the Washington Post has picked up on that story line demonstrating it wasn't just my imagination or that of aides to the Virginia Democrat candidates. I truly believe that Virginia may well return to red state status unless Obama and Congressional Democrats get off their asses and start delivering. I am beyond disgusted and it seems so are more and more Virginians who feel that voting Democrat has brought them nothing (other than not having Bible Spice as Vice President). Here are highlights from the Post story:

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For Cleland [a Northern Virginia realtor], it was another example -- one of many this day -- of the broken promises of a president who she thought would be different. Obama pledged to change a Washington culture that favored corporations and the connected and instead lift families such as the one sitting next to Cleland out of their economic funk. Rather, she said, Obama has backed billions of dollars to banks that continue to "act like they're broke" and started the country down a path that Cleland said she thinks will lead to more grief for the middle class. "He's just not as advertised," she said. "Nothing's changed for the common guy. I feel like I've been punked."

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There is no empirical evidence at this point in Virginia's race for governor showing tObama's policies are nonetheless having immediate consequences in the campaign as the candidates adjust their strategies to account for the president's controversial domestic agenda, which has overshadowed many state issues. hat huge numbers of voters think like Cleland and will respond by sending a message to Washington.

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But Obama's entry into the race presents a challenge for Deeds: How does he continue the momentum created by Obama, the first Democratic presidential candidate in more than four decades to carry Virginia, without being saddled with the baggage the president now carries?

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Supporters of the president say his efforts will pay off for Deeds. But Republicans are gambling that many of Virginia's middle-of-the road voters, who have backed Democrats in recent races, will be up for grabs as people grow more skeptical of Democratic leadership. "The mood is becoming just as lousy for the Democrats as it has been for us the last couple of years," said J. Kenneth Klinge, a longtime Virginia GOP strategist. "It's evening the playing field."

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The most stark evidence of Obama's failure, as Cleland sees it, is at her job at Long & Foster. Her workload consists of short sales, an arduous and often unsuccessful real estate maneuver that makes her feel less like a salesman and more like a social worker or lawyer.

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I echo Cleland's experience in the area of real estate business. As for LGBT Americans, Obama has delivered almost nothing. Obama needs to get his head out of his ass and wake up to what is happening. He is blowing an incredible opportunity and Virginia Democrats are going to be the sacrificial victims.

Ex-Workers Accuse Blackwater Founder of Murder

Erik Prince (pictured at left), founder of the private mercenary firm Blackwater USA and son of major donors to far right anti-gay organizations, is accused in a newly filed lawsuit of murdered one or more people who were planning to provide information to federal authorities about criminal conduct by the company and its operatives in Iraq. If the allegations prove true, it would be all too typical of the far right Christianists who proclaim their religious devotion while trashing the very principles of the Gospel and the ruthless treatment they are willing to dish out against those who do not subscribe to their extremist beliefs. The new allegations by the two anonymous informants were filed late Monday in connection with five consolidated lawsuits in U.S. District Court in Alexandria. Blackwater, now known as Xe because of the negative baggage of the Blackwater name is based in nearby Moyock, North Carolina. Here are some highlights from the Virginian Pilot:

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Two men who worked for Blackwater allege in a federal lawsuit that Blackwater founder Erik Prince or his agents murdered one or more people who were planning to provide information to federal authorities about criminal conduct by the company and its operatives in Iraq. The two are identified in court papers only as “John Doe #1” and “John Doe #2” because, they say, they fear violent retaliation themselves for making the allegations.

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“On several occasions after my departure from Mr. Prince’s employ,” he says, “Mr. Prince’s management has personally threatened me with death and violence. “In addition, based on information provided to me by former colleagues, it appears that Mr. Prince and his employees murdered, or had murdered, one or more persons who have provided information, or who were planning to provide information, to the federal authorities about the ongoing criminal conduct.” In his statement, he says Prince “views himself as a Christian crusader tasked with eliminating Muslims and the Islamic faith from the globe.

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“To that end, Mr. Prince intentionally deployed to Iraq certain men who shared his vision of Christian supremacy, knowing and wanting these men to take every available opportunity to murder Iraqis. Many of these men used call signs based on the Knights of the Templar, the warriors who fought the Crusades.” Going to Iraq to shoot and kill Iraqis was viewed as a sport or game, “John Doe #2” says, adding that Prince’s employees openly used racist terms for Iraqis and other Arabs such as “ragheads” and “hajiis.”

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He also alleges that Prince and his top managers gave orders to destroy incriminating videotapes, e-mails and other documents. Both informants say they previously made the same allegations in grand jury proceedings convened by the Justice Department.

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A Xe spokeswoman did not respond immediately to a request for comment on the latest allegations. In the past, the company has denied other allegations made in the same series of lawsuits.

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Personally, I find it very creepy having Balckwater, k/n/a Xe located only about 25 miles away from Norfolk.

More Tuesday Male Beauty

Gay Marriage vs. Only a Mother and Father Can Raise a Child

The Wall Street Journal has an anti-gay marriage editorial that sounds like it was co-authored by far right Christianist Robert Knight and Pope Benedict XVI. Naturally, the editorial gets into the "bodily parts fitting" dissertation and then moves on to the usual whine that only a heterosexual couple can best raise children. Of course this latter argument utterly ignores all of the unfit straight parents in the world and that same sex couples would frequently be a vast improvement over the what many children find themselves saddle with. First, here are some highlights from the WSJ op-ed:

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Lawyers challenging traditional marriage laws liken their cause to Loving v. Virginia (which invalidated laws against interracial marriages), insinuating that conjugal-marriage supporters are bigots. This is ludicrous and offensive, and no one should hesitate to say so. The definition of marriage was not at stake in Loving. Everyone agreed that interracial marriages were marriages. Racists just wanted to ban them as part of the evil regime of white supremacy that the equal protection clause was designed to destroy.

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Opponents of racist laws in Loving did not question the idea, deeply embodied in our law and its shaping philosophical tradition, of marriage as a union that takes its distinctive character from being founded, unlike other friendships, on bodily unity of the kind that sometimes generates new life. This unity is why marriage, in our legal tradition, is consummated only by acts that are generative in kind. Such acts unite husband and wife at the most fundamental level and thus legally consummate marriage whether or not they are generative in effect, and even when conception is not sought.

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And only this view can explain why the state should regulate marriage (as opposed to ordinary friendships) at all—to make it more likely that, wherever possible, children are reared in the context of the bond between the parents whose sexual union gave them life. If marriage is redefined, its connection to organic bodily union—and thus to procreation—will be undermined.

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The marriage culture, already wounded by widespread divorce, nonmarital cohabitation and out-of-wedlock childbearing will fare no better than it has in those European societies that were in the vanguard of sexual “enlightenment.” And the primary victims of a weakened marriage culture are always children and those in the poorest, most vulnerable sectors of society. Candid and clear-thinking advocates of redefining marriage recognize that doing so entails abandoning norms such as monogamy.

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Pompous assholes like this author make my blood boil because they utterly discount LGBT Americans as equal humans. As a result, I am going to look at a story where a heterosexual marriage failed to protect and raise children. The incident happened a week or so ago, but new toxicology results indicate that this married heterosexual mother was not more fit than a gay or lesbian parent would have been. She was in fact far, far worse. At the risk of sounding mean spirited, here are some highlights from 1010WINS.com:

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NEW YORK (1010 WINS/AP) -- A mother drank vodka and smoked marijuana while taking a vanload of children home from a weekend camping trip that ended in disaster when she went the wrong way on a highway and crashed into an SUV, killing eight people, police said Tuesday.

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Diane Schuler, who died along with her 2-year-old daughter and three nieces in her red minivan, had more than 10 drinks of alcohol in her system and a high level of the main ingredient in marijuana, authorities said. A broken 1.75-liter bottle of Absolut vodka was found in her wrecked minivan, police said.

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The revelations from the 36-year-old Long Island woman's autopsy helped explain how the woman her family called "an accomplished working mother who always put her children before any other priorities'' wound up driving the wrong way for nearly two miles on a suburban parkway before slamming into the SUV. The July 26 crash on the Taconic State Parkway, about 35 miles northwest of New York City, also killed three men in the SUV. Schuler's 5-year-old son, in her minivan, survived.

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Schuler's blood-alcohol level was well above the legal limit, and she still had undigested alcohol in her stomach, State Police Maj. William Carey said Tuesday. Blood tests also showed she had smoked marijuana 15 minutes to an hour before the crash, said Betsy Spratt, chief toxicologist for the Westchester County medical examiner.

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I wish the late Ms. Schuler no ill will. But, PLEASEEEE, stop the bullshit blather that gays cannot make equally good parents.

Bob McDonnell has Opened up a 51-37 Lead Over Creigh Deeds

I realize that it is still only August and that things can change, but the new Public Policy Polling numbers are not at all good - all of the Republican statewide candidates, including absolute Christianist nutcase Ken Cuccinelli, are leading their Democrat opponents. Among other things, the polling results show that Democrats are not as engaged as the GOP base and that significant percentages of voters who turned out for Obama last November are not currently likely to vote. These voters include blacks and the youth vote and I believe - had they been specifically surveyed - LGBT voters. Deeds to date has not developed any compelling message and has rolled over and played dead when it comes to challenging Bob McDonnell's masquerade as a moderate.

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In my opinion, adding to the problem is the failure of President Obama and the Congressional Democrats to deliver on any significant campaign promises. The youth voters, blacks and LGBT Virginians have received nothing for their support of Obama and Virginia Democratic candidates for Congress. Obama talks a good talk, but then leaves to work to Congress while he blathers on about the need for bipartisanship support for legislation. News bulletin: the GOP is not going to join in on anything, so the Democrats need to have the guts and discipline to go it alone. Obama needs to use his pulpit and mount pressure for getting things done, call the GOP lies for what they are, and leave the GOP to be viewed as obstructionists. While he's at it, Obama needs to stop trying to please folks like Rick Warren. Here are some highlights from the PPP survey:

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Bob McDonnell has opened up a 51-37 lead over Creigh Deeds in the race to be Virginia's next Governor, up from a 49-43 advantage four weeks ago.The movement in the race likely has more to do with national trends than anything actually going on in Virginia. As Barack Obama's approval has moved downward in the last month, so have the fortunes of Democratic candidates on the ballot in 2009.

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The biggest problem hampering Deeds right now is a lack of enthusiasm among Democrats for coming out to vote this fall. Although Barack Obama took Virginia 52-46 last November, those planning to vote in this year's election report having voted for John McCain by a margin of 52-41. Put another way, roughly 60% of people who voted for McCain last fall are planning to come out while only 42% of those who voted for Obama are.

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Still it's clear there's a lot of work to do. For instance his lead in northern Virginia is only 51-44 and among all voters describing themselves as suburbanites he trails McDonnell 51-37. By comparison a PPP survey right before the election last year showed Obama winning those folks 58-38, meaning at this point there's basically a 34 point turnaround with those voters.

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The bottom line is that Deeds, Obama and Congressional Democrats have given many Virginia Democrats little reason to vote for Deeds other than because he's not Bob McDonnell who so far has been allowed to campaign as a moderate with no real effort made to expose his real far right track record.

Tuesday Male Beauty

Decorated Airman to Be Sacrificed on Altar of DADT

The Washington Post has a story on Air Force Lt. Col. Victor Fehrenbach who is about to be discharged from the military because of the religious based discriminatory Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy. Fehrenbach's pending discharge shows the idiocy of a policy where qualified members of the military are discharged literally daily at the same time that the military is recruiting gang members, those with felony records, and individuals without a high school education. When the disingenuous arguments of the Christianists and far right are stripped away, the only purpose is to keep LGBT Americans inferior under the law so that our enemies can then point to such inferiority as a justification for their bigotry. DADT needs to be abolished NOW. Here are some story highlights:

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For Air Force Lt. Col. Victor Fehrenbach, time is running out on efforts to overturn restrictions on gays serving in the U.S. military. The weapons system officer -- who during 18 years of service has flown combat missions in F-15E fighters and other aircraft over Afghanistan, Iraq and Bosnia, and now serves as assistant director of operations for an Air Force squadron in Idaho -- faces discharge after a civilian reported to authorities last year that Fehrenbach is gay.

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Fehrenbach, who has nine Air Medals, including one for heroism under fire during an enemy ambush near Baghdad in 2003, intended to resign. But he changed his mind last fall with the prospect of a Barack Obama presidency. As a candidate, Obama promised that the law would be overturned, . . .

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In April, a review board ruled against Fehrenbach, and unless Air Force Secretary Michael Donley rejects the recommendation, he will be dismissed. If he is unable to retire with 20 years of service, Fehrenbach will lose nearly $50,000 a year in retirement pay as well as medical benefits. More disappointing, Fehrenbach said, is being unable to serve the country in a time of war.

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More than 13,000 service members have been discharged from the military since the law was passed, though the number of annual discharges has declined by almost half since 2001. "When we need you, your sexual orientation seems to be less of a factor," Sarvis said. The Servicemembers Legal Defense Network estimates that 326 service members have been discharged since Obama was sworn in.

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No doubt Elaine Donnelly and similar gay-haters are nearly having orgasms over the thought of Fehrenbach being thrown out of the armed forces. Donnelly and those like her are truly sick and vile people.

Sex Offender Priest Allowed Back into Ministry

This story out of Australia is outrageous but unfortunately is all too much the norm as to how sexual predator priests have been delt with by the Roman Catholic Church. Here, priest John Sidney Denham, guilty of 29 sex abuse charges, was handed a suspended sentence, but the Church allowed him back and was maintained on a reserve list for priests. I know of no other institution that would allow a convicted sex offender to basically go unpunished and in a position to molest more victims, yet this has been standard operating procedure for the Church hierarchy. It is outrageous and shows how morally bankrupt the institutional Church has become - and who callous to the abuse of minors. I ask gain, why does the Catholic laity continue to fund such a nasty group of hypocrites? Here are highlights from ABC News out of Australia:

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A Sydney judge is preparing sentencing in the case of John Sidney Denham, who was a priest for decades before his first conviction for abusing children in 2000. One of Denham's victims says that even though the priest was handed a suspended sentence, the church allowed him back. Victims' rights groups say that until a couple of years ago Denham was on a reserve list for priests and on at least one occasion was allowed to deliver a sermon. In 1979, Tim, as he would prefer to be known, was molested by his school teacher Denham. Tim says the assault, at a school in Newcastle, was brushed under the carpet. "Denham was then moved on to another school, which appeared to be the norm for this era," he said. "They basically relocate the problem and allow the abuse to continue elsewhere."

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Last month Denham pleaded guilty to 29 separate sex assault charges dating back to the 1980s. These occurred at a different school. The head of the Newcastle Diocese, Bishop Michael Malone, has denied the church allowed Denham to preach part time after his 2000 conviction.

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Victims' advocate group Broken Rites says the church has been protecting Denham for 30 years. Broken Rites head Dr Bernard Barrett says Denham should have been banned from carrying out any activities at the church and as a librarian at the Sacred Hearts mission he would have been exposed to children.

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"It was only about five years later, around about 2005 I think, when one of his Newcastle victims, or maybe it was a Waverley victim, realised that he was still working as a priest on Sundays." Dr Barrett claims the church has not changed its ways and even now, in the year 2009, it is not prepared to actively expose members of its priesthood. The church denies this.

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The Church has shown no real contrition - it is merely sorry that it's despicable conduct and policies were exposed and that it has lost large amounts of its precious money. Nothing has truly changed despite claims to the contrary.

More Monday Male Beauty

When Will the GOP Condemn Its Extremists?

What with the "birther" insanity still going full tilt - even as the parade of alleged Obama foreign birth certificates all go down in flames as forgeries as shown here and here - I admit I find some humor in the fact that the Republican Party is reaping some of the unhinged seeds it deliberately sowed in its shameless, win at all cost quest to remain in power. Sometimes it is better to lose power than to sacrifice all principal and fraternize with lunatics - a concept the GOP leadership should have contemplated before it drove most thinking and rational people from the Party. E.J. Dionne has a column that looks at the GOP's self-inflicted wounds and raises the question of when, if ever, will the true nut case within the Party be condemned? Personally, I suspect part of the dilemma now is that if the crazies are driven from the Party there will be virtually almost no one left. Here are some column highlights:

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[T]he surveys show Republicans now leading in this year's two major governor's races, in Virginia and New Jersey. There's just one problem: The country still doesn't like Republicans.

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A Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll last week captured the public's mixed verdict. The headlines focused on growing doubts about Obama's health-care plan and the drop in his approval rating, from 60 percent in February to 53 percent now. But the same poll found that while Democrats as a party had a net positive rating of five points (42 percent positive to 37 percent negative), the GOP faced a 13-point deficit. Only 28 percent rated the Republicans positively; 41 percent rated them negatively.

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Perhaps this has something to do with how few positive things Republicans have to say. As a result, the party is being defined by extremist voices who have faced little push-back from its leaders. The extremists include the "birthers" who, against all evidence, insist that Obama was not born in the United States and thus is ineligible to be president. These guys are so out there that party leaders and conservative commentators have started to disown them.

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Race-baiting is no longer off-limits on some of the right-wing talk shows. Fox News's Glenn Beck, for example, declared that Obama "has a deep-seated hatred for white people or the white culture." . . . . Rush Limbaugh was far less subtle when her comment first surfaced. "How do you get promoted in a Barack Obama administration?" he asked. "By hating white people -- or even saying you do, or that they're not good or put 'em down, whatever."

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The harshness of the rhetorical salvos is feeding worries among some Republicans that the GOP is increasingly perceived as a right-wing, Southern regional party. . . . to take advantage of the opportunities that might come their way, Republicans will have to make themselves an acceptable alternative. They have not done this yet. Facing down extremism and breaking out of the party's regional enclave would be good places to start.

The Fear Basis of Fundamentalist Religion

(Above: Victim of the attack on the gay youth center)

Readers of this blog know that I am no fan of Christian fundamentalists who in my opinion not only betray the Gospel message of Christ but also limit God to conform to the mindless, check off the box belief system that they and their fundamentalist forebears have constructed. Contemplating the recent attack on the LGBT teen center in Tel Aviv - which some are blaming on ultra-orthodox Jews and their message of hatred towards gays - and events in Iran what struck me is that all three religious fundamentalist groups, be they Christian, Muslim or Jewish, have the same basis: fear and hatred of those who are differen. Added to that is a contempt for modernity, and in the final analysis very weak faith on the part of the fundamentalists. I say they have weak faith because they cannot tolerate anything or anyone who challenges their fragile belief system construct. They fear people and things - like modern knowledge - that might raise questions in their minds or the minds of their children that just perhaps their fundamentalist beliefs are wrong. Combined with that is a fear/hate of those who live their lives openly as who they are and accepting a God/Allah that is not a limited vengeful being. Indeed, at times I think they want everyone else to be as miserable and unhappy as they are in their own lives so that they can more easily beat back the doubts that subconsciously creep into their minds.

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All three of these religious belief systems base their beliefs on writings that track back to centuries before modern knowledge of the scope and size of the universe, the complexities of the human body and mind, the germ theory of disease and a host of other matters. Yet all three religious groups resist acknowledging the limitations that are therefore inherent in their sacred texts and/or that a literal reading of the same is unwarranted. They are fearful - terrified in fact - that the beliefs they have clung to and in many cases have sacrificed their individual happiness for may not be true. Rather than admit doubt and the failings of the human authors of the sacred texts, they reject knowledge, denigrate others, disseminate blatant untruths, and even commit murder - as may well have been the case in Tel Aviv. And in this process, they become the antithesis of what their alleged religions are intended to represent.

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Fundamentalist Christians, Islamists and ultra-orthodox Jews all hold a similar contempt for freedom of religion for others and ultimately democracy. They all seek theocracies and the subjugation of other citizens to their house of cards religious belief system so that no one can call into question the veracity of their beliefs. Behind all of it is fear. And hatred of those who are different because they fuel the flames of doubt that the religious adherents so desperately seek to beat back. Fear and hatred become their true God/Allah.

Episcopal Church Leaders in Los Angeles Nominate Gay and Lesbian Bishops

Personally, I applaud the nomination yesterday of openly gay and lesbian priests as bishops. It is most refreshing to see a denomination accept modern knowledge and move beyond a few passages in the Bible written by uneducated and by today's standards, extremely ignorant authors. However, it will likely cause the anti-gay Neanderthals within the Anglican Communion to go berserk - you know, godly folks like Nigeria's Archbishop Peter Akinola who may have been involved in the massacre of 600 Muslims. What the spineless Archbishop of Canterbury will do remains to be seen. Here are some highlights from the Los Angeles Times:

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Episcopal Church leaders in Los Angeles today nominated an openly gay priest and an openly lesbian priest as bishops, becoming one of the first dioceses in the national church to test a controversial new policy that lifted a de facto ban on gays and lesbians in the ordained hierarchy.

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The nominations of the Rev. John L. Kirkley of San Francisco and the Rev. Canon Mary Douglas Glasspool of a Baltimore-based diocese are likely to further inflame theological conservatives in the U.S. church and their global partners in the Anglican Communion, who have repeatedly warned about the repercussions of such action.

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The Diocese of Los Angeles, which represents 70,000 Episcopalians in six counties, is widely regarded as one of the most liberal in the U.S. church of 2.1 million members. Its bishop, the Rt. Rev. J. Jon Bruno, is an outspoken advocate of gays rights in the church.

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The action in Los Angeles followed a similar decision Saturday by leaders in the Diocese of Minnesota, who nominated a partnered lesbian as bishop. The Rev. Bonnie Perry is rector of All Saints Episcopal Church in Chicago and an adjunct professor at Seabury-Western Theological Seminary in Evanston, Ill. Her longtime partner is a priest in the church.

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I continue to keep my fingers crossed that the ELCA will show the courage and willingness to do what is right like these Episcopal dioceses when it holds it Churchwide Assembly later this month. If not, the boyfriend and I may seriously consider switching to an Episcopal parish. As much as I like the ECLA, another rejection of full acceptance of LGBT Lutherans at the Churchwide Assembly may make the decision for us.

Monday Male Beauty

Paranoid White Men and "Birther" Madness - Part 2

My post yesterday that looked at Frank Rich's column in the New York Times and the increasing insanity of the far right and what's left of the Republican Party apparently hit some nerves in what, in my opinion, is la la land. While most of the e-mails exchanges that I received ended up on a moderate note - one writer agreed with me on Jefferson's views on freedom of religion - some of the "proof" sent to me illustrates exactly what Frank Rich was talking about. Some of these people cannot stand the fact that the nation is changing and moving on towards a day where there will be much more diversity and where whites will no longer be the all powerful majority. Obama's biggest offence - besides being black - is that he is different and that his values are not their values. In my Republican days when the Christianists were just beginning their drive to take over the party, I was exposed to enough of them to realize that for many of them NOTHING will ever convince them that their views and prejudices are wrong. Christ himself could appear and they still would not accept the message. Here are highlights from one article that feeds the "birther" madness:

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And yet the Obama "birther" debate is important. What's important about it is the feeling a growing number of Americans have in their bones that Obama is foreign -- to our traditions, loyalties and shared understandings about the nature of America. In a way the legal debate matters less than that bone-deep sense that Obama is fundamentally "Other than American."

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Obama is a socialist, which means that his deepest commitment is not to our nation but to the Internationalist Ruling Class. That is why the Left always has to argue that Americans' love of country will kill off the rest of the world -- by global warming, by overpopulation, any excuse will do. The fact that it's all lies proves the point: The Left must lie in order to convince millions of Americans that their normal feelings of patriotism are evil.

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Obama is foreign to America in a way that has little to do with his birth certificate. He could be American-born and still think in this very anti-American way. A lot of people are. But whatever he is legally, there is not a shred of doubt that he is steeped in an Anti-American way of thinking.
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This is what I suspect the birther movement is about. Yes, the legalities are suspect. No, it will never make any practical difference. But most important, the birthers are aware of a deep intuition about Barry Soetoro Barack Hussein Obama: That he is profoundly out of tune with the meaning of America since the Founding. He is out of harmony with this country and this culture, like the dissonant scream of a power-saw biting into steel or concrete. He just grates on the American sensibility.

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Conservatives helped win the Cold War, but did not win the battle for the schools and universities. That is why Barry Soetoro Barack Hussein Obama is now President.

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These people indeed live in a very paranoid world. What I find ironic is that many of these folks likely have had ancestors in this country for a much shorter period that I and many others they label as liberals, yet the accusation is made that liberals do not understand or value the traditions of the country. One of my grandfather's families has as best we can determine been in New England/New York since the 1700's. One of my grandmother's families was in New Orleans as far back as at least the 1850's. I'd say I understand all to well the traditions of the founding fathers who were influenced by the Enlightenment and would likely agree with little put forth today by the Christian Right and far right.

Another Wingnut Coven Coming Up in September

Phyllis Schlafly, founder of the far right Eagle Forum, a shameless self-promoter, and the queen mother of the lunatic far right is promoting a gathering of the unhinged entitled the "How to Take Back America Conference" in St. Louis, Missouri, in September. Her co-chair is Janet Folger Porter who has made a career out of gay bashing and disseminating false information. The remainder of the "host committee" is a who's who of the demented and deranged, including but not limited to Don Wildmon of the American Family Association, Matt Staver of Liberty Counsel, Michael Farris, a home school nut from Northern Virginia, and Joseph Farah of WorldNetDaily, a/k/a Wingnut Daily. Without a doubt LGBT Americans will be one of the boogey men used to incite the Christianists who fall precisely within the group Frank Rich was talking about in my prior post. Here is a sampling of some of the "workshop" topics:

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How to keep ERA permanently dead
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How to deal with the supremacist judiciary

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How to teach criticisms of evolution
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How and why to encourage homeschooling

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How to defend traditional marriage and DOMA
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How to pass effective pro-life bills and avoid pro-life defeats
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How to defend against gay attacks on marriage and religious speech
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How to stop feminist and gay attacks on the military

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These folks are not, in my opinion, dealing with a full deck of cards and I suspect as their ideology becomes more and more non-mainstream, they are likely to attract those willing to engage in violence to protect against what threatens their fabricated reality world.

Paranoid White Men and "Birther" Madness

As the GOP base becomes increasing irrational one thing that seems to becoming to the forefront - besides the outright stupidity of some of these folks - is that they are terrified by the prospect of an America where they are not in the majority and where - perhaps even worse yet - those who are different, be they gays, the foreign born, and religious minorities no longer feel the need to be closeted and to hide their uniqueness. This prospect of a truly multicultural and multi ethnic America flat out scares them sh*tless. The result is ever increasing craziness and bigotry towards those who are not self-annointed white bread, working class, low brow Protestant Americans. This has opened the door wide for demagogues who seek to tape this fear and ignorance. Frank Rich has a column today that looks at this very phenomenon and the irrationality of the birthers and those of their mindset. Here are some highlights:

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Ground zero for this hysteria is Fox News, where Brit Hume last Sunday lamented how insulting it is “to be labeled a racist” in “contemporary” America. . . . What about those far more famous leaders in Hume’s own camp who insistently cry “racist” — and in public forums — without any credible justification whatsoever? These are the “certain people” Hume conspicuously didn’t mention. They include Rush Limbaugh and Newt Gingrich, both of whom labeled Sonia Sotomayor a racist. Their ranks were joined last week by Glenn Beck. . .

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What provokes their angry and nonsensical cries of racism is sheer desperation: an entire country is changing faster than these white guys bargained for. We’ve been reminded repeatedly during Gatesgate that Cambridge’s mayor is a black lesbian. But a more representative window into the country’s transition might be that Dallas County, Tex., elected a Latina lesbian sheriff in 2004 (and re-elected her last year) and that the three serious candidates for mayor of Houston this fall include a black man and a white lesbian. Even Texas may be tinting blue, and as goes Texas, so will all but the dwindling rural minority of the Electoral College.

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It’s against this backdrop that 11 Republican congressmen have now signed on to a bill requiring that presidential candidates produce their birth certificates. This bizarre “birther” movement, out to prove that Obama is not a naturally born citizen, first gained notice in the summer of 2008 when it was being advanced by the author Jerome Corsi, a leader of the Swift boat assault on Kerry. That it revved up again as Gatesgate boiled over and Sotomayor sped toward Senate confirmation is not a coincidence.

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Obama’s election, far from alleviating paranoia in the white fringe, has only compounded it. There is no purer expression of this animus than to claim that Obama is literally not an American — or, as Sarah Palin would have it, not a “real American.” The birth-certificate canard is just the latest version of those campaign-year attempts to strip Obama of his American identity with faux controversies . . .

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One of the loudest birther enablers is not at Fox but CNN: Lou Dobbs, who was heretofore best known for trying to link immigrants, especially Hispanics, to civic havoc. Dobbs is one-stop shopping for the excesses of this seismic period of racial transition. And he is following a traditional, if toxic, American playbook. The escalating white fear of newly empowered ethnic groups and blacks is a naked replay of more than a century ago, when large waves of immigration and the northern migration of emancipated blacks, coupled with a tumultuous modernization of the American work force, unleashed a similar storm of racial and nativist panic.

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Some whites habituated to a monopoly on the upper reaches of American power just can’t adjust to the reality that Obama, Sotomayor, Oprah Winfrey and countless others are now at the very pinnacle, and that they might sometimes side with each other just as their white counterparts do. Threatened white elites try to mask their own anxieties by patronizingly adopting working-class whites as their pet political surrogates — Joe the Plumber, New Haven firemen, a Cambridge police officer.

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America has not transcended race. America is not postracial. So we can all say that again. But it must also be said that we’re just at the start of what may be a 30-year struggle. Beer won’t cool the fury of those who can’t accept the reality that America’s racial profile will no longer reflect their own.

More Sunday Male Beauty

Murdered and Martyred and Show Trials - Part 2

In an update to my post yesterday, Iranian opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi has accused the brutal Islamic dictatorship government of "medieval torture"to force protesters to confess to the litany of crimes that the regime is alleging. The whole situation seems like a flash back to the show trials in the old Soviet Union when Stalin purged those who were in the way of his personal ambition and/or opposed what he was doing to the country. One can only hope such nasty and brutal tactics will only harden the resolve of those seeking democracy in Iran. Those in the USA who fail to heed the insanity of domestic theocrats and the Christian Taliban should take note of how the Islamic equivalents of these people operate. Religious fanaticism combined with a lust for power (e.g., folks like James Dobson, Richard Land at the SBC and Pat Robertson) are a dangerous mix. Here are some updates from the BBC News:

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Defeated Iranian presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi says opposition detainees put on trial have been subjected to "medieval torture". He denounced the trials, which started on Saturday, as fraudulent and said the prisoners had been forced to confess.

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Earlier ex-President Mohammad Khatami criticised the hearings as "show trials" that would damage confidence in Iran's Islamic establishment. More than 100 people have been put on trial on charges including conspiracy. . . . Mr Khatami, in comments on his website, expressed hope that Saturday's trial would not "lead to ignorance of the real crimes", the Associated Press reports.

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The AFP news agency quotes Mr Khatami, who was president from 1997 to 2005, as making more outspoken criticism of the trial. "What was done yesterday is against the constitution, regular laws and rights of the citizens," his office quoted him as saying.

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Mr Mousavi's comments went even further, accusing the authorities of forcing the detainees to confess to the crimes. "The teeth of the torturers and confession-extorters have reached to the bones of the people," he said. "Witnessing such trumped-up trials, the only judgment that the conscience of humanity can make is the moral collapse and discredit of its directors."
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Mohsen Rezai, the only conservative to have challenged Mr Ahmadinejad in the election, also criticised the trial, saying people who had attacked the protesters should also be put on trial.

Terror Attack on Israeli Gay Teen Center

In yet another example of what is likely religious based bigotry - and an example of the fact that anti-gay rhetoric does lead to violence - a gunman attacked a gay youth club center in Tel Aviv, typically considered a non-religiously dogmatic and tolerant city. Two were killed (one of the dead, a 26 year old youth director, is at left) in the attack and 13 or more wounded. It is sad that a place that was to provide a safe haven turned into a place of carnage. But then, religious based bigotry and hate has a many centuries long history of causing death and carnage. Once again it makes me wonder whether a religion free world - or at least a world where everyone was free to believe as they want and live their lives without bigots interfering - might not be a huge improvement. Events like this also are a reminder that LGBT citizens are at risk for random attacks by the religious motivated nutcases. Here are some highlights from the Washington Post:

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Israel's gay community was rocked on Sunday by the killing of two people in a homosexual and lesbian youth center and the possibility they fell victim to a hate crime in the Jewish state's most freewheeling city. "The biggest shock is to think that it happened in Tel Aviv, which is the most tolerant city in the country," said Avi Sofer, a gay rights activist.
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Witnesses said a masked gunman clad in black opened fire on Saturday night in a basement club belonging to the Tel Aviv Gay and Lesbian Association, which was hosting a weekly event for teenage gays. The attacker killed a 26-year-old man and a 16-year-old girl and wounded 13 people before fleeing, hospital officials said. "He simply fired all over the place," Or Gil, 16, told the YNet news website. "At first I thought it was prank, or a toy gun. After the killings, it was quiet, completely silent and then people came to help the wounded."

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Police said they were still searching for the attacker and that the shooting was not an anti-Israeli attack by a Palestinian . . . If the incident proves to be a hate crime, it will mark the most serious attack against the gay community in Israel's history.

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Although coastal, cosmopolitan Tel Aviv has a bustling gay scene, open homosexuality is less welcome in conservative areas. Annual gay pride parades in Jerusalem meet with often violent protests from ultra-Orthodox Jews, who view homosexuality as an abomination against God.

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Four years ago, an ultra-Orthodox Jew stabbed three parade participants in Jerusalem. They survived. The attacker is serving a 12-year prison term. Nitzan Horowitz, an openly gay legislator, said he had no doubt there was a connection between the latest killings and what he termed incitement against the gay community in Israel.

Health Care Realities

I continue to believe that significant health care reform is a necessity if the USA is to come up to the standards of other developed countries in terms of the accessibility of basic preventive care for all Americans as well as coverage for when a catastrophic illness strikes. Currently, those without health care coverage often either receive no care or resort to Emergency Room treatment - the most expensive way to get what would otherwise be routine treatment. In short, inexpensive preventive care is forgone and when otherwise preventable illness sets in then vastly more expensive treatment is needed. The process is not cost effective and drives up overall costs exponentially. Paul Krugman looks at the reality of the the current mess and also the false claims of the GOP and some Blue Dog Democrats who seek to obstruct reform. Here are some highlights:

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The key thing you need to know about health care is that it depends crucially on insurance. You don’t know when or whether you’ll need treatment — but if you do, treatment can be extremely expensive, well beyond what most people can pay out of pocket. Triple coronary bypasses, not routine doctor’s visits, are where the real money is, so insurance is essential.

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Yet private markets for health insurance, left to their own devices, work very badly: insurers deny as many claims as possible, and they also try to avoid covering people who are likely to need care. Horror stories are legion: the insurance company that refused to pay for urgently needed cancer surgery because of questions about the patient’s acne treatment; the healthy young woman denied coverage because she briefly saw a psychologist after breaking up with her boyfriend.

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Which brings us to the current debate over reform. Right-wing opponents of reform would have you believe that President Obama is a wild-eyed socialist, attacking the free market. But unregulated markets don’t work for health care — never have, never will. To the extent we have a working health care system at all right now it’s only because the government covers the elderly, while a combination of regulation and tax subsidies makes it possible for many, but not all, nonelderly Americans to get decent private coverage.
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Now Mr. Obama basically proposes using additional regulation and subsidies to make decent insurance available to all of us. That’s not radical; it’s as American as, well, Medicare.

Sunday Male Beauty

McDonnell's Sorry Record of Hostility Toward Gay People

Perhaps some believe that I talk too much about Virginia politics, but it is important to get as much information out into the blogosphere to halt the GOP's disingenuous campaign this year to depict it's statewide slate as consisting of moderates. Blue Virginia has great piece that looks at Bob McDonnell's heinous record on supporting discrimination against gay Virginians. As bad as McDonnell's record is, his running mate, Ken Cuccinelli, GOP candidate for attorney general, if elected would likely make McDonnell look like a moderate. I would note that the listing in Blue Virginia omits McDonnell's participation in the lynching of Judge Verbena Askew back in early 2003, who was not reappointed to the bench largely because it was rumored that she might - oh the horrors - be a lesbian. Here are highlights from Blue Virginia's latest post:

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The fact is that as Attorney General, Mr. McDonnell repeatedly used his official position and powers to discriminate against gay men and women in Virginia. The volume and circumstances of his involvement as Attorney General in cases involving gay rights issues suggests that Mr. McDonnell harbors hostility against a substantial number of Virginians that calls into question whether he is fit to be Governor. Mr. McDonnell should not be permitted to paper over this record with meaningless, insincere promises.

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This is not about gay rights or one’s attitudes toward gay people – like anyone, Mr. McDonnell is entitled to his personal opinion -- but rather the question is: Do we want leaders who would use our own government as a tool to discriminate, in law or in fact, against a significant portion of the population it represents, whether because they are gay, persons or color, Jewish, or whatever. For me, the answer is, “No.”

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Here is Mr. McDonnell’s sorry record:

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On his web site, under the Orwellian rubric of “protecting families,” Mr. McDonnell touts the fact that while in the GA he was a chief sponsor of the Marshall-Newman Amendment to the Virginia Constitution, which purported to defend the traditional definition of marriage as between a man and a woman, but in fact was clearly designed to legitimize discrimination again people on the basis of sexual orientation. Of no small consequence, nationwide the tide seems to be turning on this issue, and Virginia now runs a risk of being left behind other states in creating a welcoming, tolerant environment for all people that is conducive to economic development and advancement.

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As Attorney General, Mr. McDonnell lost no time issuing an opinion to countermand the executive order by both Governors Warner and Kaine to bar discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. Whatever the legal effect of the ruling, McDonnell’s legal reasoning was shoddy enough that it led the Virginia ACLU to conclude, “It is distressing when clouded judgment and poor lawyering by a high government official leads him to conclusions that are clearly at odds with common sense, common decency and the law.”

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In early 2007, after The Christopher Newport University board banned discrimination in matters of admissions and employment based on sexual orientation, Attorney General Bob McDonnell took the time to write the school to tell them, as the publication Inside Higher Ed put it, “it would not be legal for the university (or other public institutions in the state, which have done the same thing) to bar discrimination based on sexual orientation.” Wow! So, according to Bob McDonnell, even if an institution wants to make discrimination illegal, it cannot do so.

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As Attorney General, Bob McDonnell intervened in a private lawsuit among members of the Episcopal Church in a dispute that had gay rights at its core. In a protest over gay priests, dissident members left the church, but filed suit seeking to retain church property. Mr. McDonnell, needless to say, sought to intervene in the case on the side of the anti-gay dissidents, ostensibly in defense of a state statute. But the dispute was a religious and social one, above all else, not a Constitutional one. A real estate attorney told the Washington Post that McDonnell’s intervention in the case “was a little out of the ordinary.” Perhaps more interesting, was this, as the Post reported:
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McDonnell's office has another connection to this issue -- his deputy, former state senator William C. Mims (R), who has been a member of another Episcopal church that broke away from the national church over the same issues of how to understand Scripture as it pertains to homosexuality. Mims prompted controversy and much debate in 2005 when he -- as a senator -- proposed a bill that would have explicitly allowed congregants who leave their denominations to keep their land. The measure failed, and opponents said it was an inappropriate insertion of government into church affairs.

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So, when Mr. McDonnell vows not to discriminate as Governor, it rings hollow to me. Oh, if Bob McDonnell is elected governor, he probably won’t explicitly discriminate against the gay Virginians he seems to dislike so much – Mr. McDonnell is a lot of things, but stupid isn’t one of them. But then again, he won’t need to. Like the insidious bigotry directed at groups throughout this country’s history, whether black, Asian, Jewish, Muslim, or even Mr. McDonnell’s own Irish ancestral background, Mr. McDonnell has already hung up a sign outside his Richmond office: “Gay people need not apply.”

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For more on McDonnell, check out this video of Taliban Bob with his friend and mentor, Pat Robertson: