More Sunday Male Beauty

Bob McDonnell Again Proves He's a Bigoted Ass

Last night's Legends Gala to benefit Equality Virginia was a wonderful event and attendees seemed to truly have a wonderful time. Folks REALLY got into the masquerade theme as the picture of the individual honorees and a past honoree at left demonstrates. As a member of the Legends committee that put on the event, will confess that I am definitely glad to have the event now successfully behind us. In addition to being a fundraiser for EV, the event honors local "legends" who have worked in the community, both the LGBT community and the wider community, to expand equality and justice for all Virginians. I believe that it is important that those who give of themselves year after year be recognized for their contributions.

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Which brings me to the title of this post. In past years when asked, the Office of the Governor has supplied a signed proclamation congratulating the honorees. In the grand scheme of things, it is an innocuous request and one would think a public office holder would be more than happy to honor outstanding citizens. But sadly, not this year with Bob "Taliban Bob" McDonnell in the Governor's mansion. It seems that in Taliban Bob's mind not only should LGBT Virginians not receive the same legal rights as other citizens, but they don't even merit the courtesy of congratulations routinely dispensed by the Governor's Office to all types of citizens either. Since Taliban Bob refused to honor the Legends honorees this year, I wanted to to highlight them. First, some highlights on our individual honorees, Laurel Quarberg and Sarah Munford:
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Both Laurel and Sarah have been active members and supporters of Equality Virginia since its days as Virginians for Justice in the early 80’s, with Laurel serving on the Board of Directors for several terms.
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They have been strong supporters of Access Aids since its early years, co-hosting several “Dinner is Served” events and serving as ambassadors for “Dining Out for Life.” The New Leaf was a founding member of HRBOR, the Hampton Roads Business Outreach, the only LGBT The Chamber of Commerce in Virginia, and they have been involved with Candii and Access Aides since the late 80’s.
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The two have hosted several fundraisers at their shop, asking area restaurants and retailers to donate food and gifts for a dinner and auction. Among their successful efforts were a “Flamingo Auction” for the SPCA, (raising over $7,000), a dinner for Funds for 9/11 Victims (raising over $12,000) and a 2005 dinner for victims of Hurricane Katrina (raising over $8,000). Recently their home was on the Virginia Garden Tour, with funds raised helping support the maintenance of Virginia Gardens and Historic Sites.
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They donate their time and floral designs to The Virginia Symphony, The Chrysler Museum, The Virginia Stage Company, The Virginia Opera, Horizons, the YWCA, “Dress for Success”, and many other community organizations and educational institutions.
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As you can see, they are amazing women. But in Bob McDonnell's Virginia, no amount of good deeds compensates for one's failure to be straight. Besides these individual honorees, Taliban Bob also slighted an entire church congregation. The community organization honoree this year was St. Mark's Episcopal Church. Here are some highlights on this wonderful and accepting congregation:
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Proudly accepting the very first EV Legends Community Award, lead by Reverend Peggy Buelow is St. Mark’s Episcopal Church of Hampton, Virginia. For more than 20 years, St. Mark’s has opened its doors to everyone, creating a truly inclusive congregation.
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The congregation is involved in the LGBT community and serves as members of Equality Virginia, HRBOR, a regular sponsor for Out in the Park and an active member of ACCESS Aids.

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Taliban Bob, you are truly a bigoted ass.

Bishop Gene Robinson Retiring Due to Death Threats

I'm sure that there will be rejoicing among the modern day Pharisee crowd upon hearing that Episcopal bishop, Eugene Robinson is going to take an early retirement. It seems that the constant death threats from "godly Christians" has finally pushed Robinson to the point of retiring in order to protect his family and those around him. It's a shame that he feels he must take this step, but I can understand Robinson's reasoning. The fact that he has received non-stop death treats is truly an indictment of just how horrible Christianity has become at the hands of fundamentalists and gay-haters. And people wonder why many in the LGBT community have simply walked away from the Christian faith in which they were raised. Why would one want to remain a part of something that now has hatred and intolerance as its principal hallmark? Here are highlights from the New York Times on Robinson's announcement:
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Bishop V. Gene Robinson, whose consecration as the first openly gay bishop in the Episcopal Church set off a historic rift in the global Anglican Communion, announced to his New Hampshire diocese on Saturday that he intended to step down.
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The news took some by surprise because Bishop Robinson is an energetic 63-year-old, and mandatory retirement age for Episcopal bishops is 72. He has led a relatively stable and healthy diocese, despite predictions by some that his election would undermine the Episcopal Church in New Hampshire.
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The reason to depart, he said in a speech delivered at the close of the annual convention of his diocese, is that being at the center of an international uproar has taken a toll on him and on the diocese.
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“Death threats, and the now worldwide controversy surrounding your election of me as bishop, have been a constant strain, not just on me, but on my beloved husband, Mark” and on Episcopalians in the state, he said.
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But those who know Bishop Robinson say he has no intention of retiring from public life. His status as a symbol in the international gay rights movement means that after he steps down, he will have no shortage of platforms from which to preach his message that God blesses gay relationships too.
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In his resignation speech in New Hampshire, Bishop Robinson said: “This is the one place on earth where I am not ‘the gay bishop.’ I believe that you elected me because you believed me to be the right person to lead you at this time. The world has sometimes questioned that, but I hope you never did.”

Obama Throws Gay Under the Bus Againt: Appoints Homophobe to Head Marine Corps

The recently retired head of the U.S. Marine Corps, Gen. James Conway was a raging homophobe who firmly supported DADT. Thus, one would have thought that our "fierce advocate" a/k/a the Liar-in-Chief would have nominated a successor to Conway who would have bought in to Obama's alleged desire to repeal DADT. I say alleged desire because the Liar-in-Chief has done NOTHING so far to end the policy other than mention it in speeches - speeches in which I doubt he means anything he says. So now we have Gen. James Amos heading up the Marine Corps and we're hearing the same old false blathering about "unit cohesion" and "combat readiness." Were we to roll back the clock to the late 1940's I'm sure Amos would be advocating for retaining the segregation of blacks in the military. After all, the Bible was used to support slavery and segregation in the same way the homophobes cling to the religious based discrimination embodied in DADT.

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Personally, I am so over Obama's lies and disingenuous statements on DADT and a host of matters. If you truly support the repeal of DADT, you don't nominate anti-gay bigots to head up a branch of the military. Once again, Obama's actions tell us the real story while his words are obviously lies. Here are highlights from the Los Angeles Times on Amos' verbal diarrhea on DADT:
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With U.S. troops — including 20,000 Marines — locked in a "tough fight" in Afghanistan, now is not the time to lift the "don't ask, don't tell" ban on homosexuals serving openly in the military, the new commandant of the Marine Corps said Saturday.
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Gen. James Amos told reporters in San Diego that he was concerned about a possible loss of unit cohesion and combat readiness if the ban is overturned.
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Combat, Amos said, is an "intimate" experience without parallel in civilian life. "We're talking about our young men — laying out, sleeping alongside of one another and sharing death, fear and loss of brothers," he said.
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Yep, another case of the "fierce advocates" betrayal of LGBT Americans. With a "advocate" like Obama, who needs an enemy? I truly hope a primary challenger or two will appear and keep the Liar-in-Chief from running for a second term. I over and done with him.

Sunday Male Beauty

The Republican Agenda: America the Banana Republic

In a strange twist, Nicholas Kristof, a conservative, looks at the soaring economic disparity in the USA in a column in the New York Times. What makes Kristof's column bizarre is that the phenomenon he laments has been fueled in large part by the policies so loved by his fellow Republicans. As more and more Americans are struggling to survive financially, the wealthiest 1% are sucking up more and more of the nations wealth. Now this 1% of the population holds 24% of the wealth. It is troubling that as much of the world becomes more progressive and supportive of the ideals supposedly set forth in America's founding documents, this nation is sliding backwards. Both in terms of individual liberties, the separation of church and state, and in economic well being. We hear the rich and Republicans whine that we can't mess with health care because it might ruin the best health care system in the world. They omit, of course that it's the best system only if one is wealth and has a Rolls Royce health insurance plan. The rest of us are increasingly f*cked. Here are highlights from Kristof's disturbing column:
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In my reporting, I regularly travel to banana republics notorious for their inequality. In some of these plutocracies, the richest 1 percent of the population gobbles up 20 percent of the national pie. But guess what? You no longer need to travel to distant and dangerous countries to observe such rapacious inequality. We now have it right here at home — and in the aftermath of Tuesday’s election, it may get worse.

The richest 1 percent of Americans now take home almost 24 percent of income . . .
the United States now arguably has a more unequal distribution of wealth than traditional banana republics like Nicaragua, Venezuela and Guyana.
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Perhaps the most astounding statistic is this: From 1980 to 2005, more than four-fifths of the total increase in American incomes went to the richest 1 percent.
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That’s the backdrop for one of the first big postelection fights in Washington — how far to extend the Bush tax cuts to the most affluent 2 percent of Americans. Both parties agree on extending tax cuts on the first $250,000 of incomes, even for billionaires. Republicans would also cut taxes above that. The richest 0.1 percent of taxpayers would get a tax cut of $61,000 from President Obama. They would get $370,000 from Republicans, according to the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center.
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Is our economic priority the jobless, or is it zillionaires? And if Republicans are worried about long-term budget deficits, a reasonable concern, why are they insistent on two steps that nonpartisan economists say would worsen the deficits by more than $800 billion over a decade — cutting taxes for the most opulent, and repealing health care reform? What other programs would they cut to make up the lost $800 billion in revenue?
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Robert H. Frank of Cornell University, Adam Seth Levine of Vanderbilt University, and Oege Dijk of the European University Institute recently wrote a fascinating paper suggesting that inequality leads to more financial distress.
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Economic polarization also shatters our sense of national union and common purpose, fostering political polarization as well. So in this postelection landscape, let’s not aggravate income gaps that already would make a Latin American caudillo proud. To me, we’ve reached a banana republic point where our inequality has become both economically unhealthy and morally repugnant.

Ex-Gay Quackes Destroying Lives Around the World

My first real plunge into activism involved exposing "ex-gay" poster boy Michael Johnston to be a fraud. While Johnston was making a comfortable living peddling the lie that he had been "cured" of homosexuality by accepting Jesus, in reality he was sleeping around with men while using a false identity. His "cure" was bullshit and fortunately his career as a high profile "ex-gay" has pretty much been ended. But the Christianists and their allies continue to find "ex-gays for pay" like Johnston to continue their marketing of the "ex-gay" lie. Over this weekend Wayne Besen's Truth Wins Out and other groups have gathered in Philadelphia to counter the fraudulent "ex-gay" myth cynically promoted by NARTH, Focus n the Family's "Love Wins Out," Exodus International, and ex-convict Arthur Goldberg's "Jews Offering New Alternatives to Homosexuality (Jonah)."
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All of the legitimate medical and mental health associations condemn the reparative therapy snake oil that is the stock and trade of these organizations. So why do these lies continue? Because these slime bags (1) use the "ex-gay" myth to dupe politicians into believing that sexual orientation is a choice and (2) rake in lots of money for themselves. In my view, the most nasty and tawdry whore has more moral integrity than these frauds who wrap themselves in the banner of religion. With the "ex-gay" sales pitch becoming more difficult to peddle in America, the parasites of the "ex-gay" movement are increasingly taking their poisonous message overseas to prey on the ignorant and uneducated. Here are some highlights from The Advocate:
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It’s the modern version of snake-oil, or to put it in a more modern context, those electrodes that promise you six-pack abs with no exercise. And while we may laugh, these folks are not only still taken seriously in some quarters –popping up on cable television with regularity or trotted out as “balance” in coverage of LGBT issues and religion – they are no joke to be taken lightly. They continue to destroy lives here and are taking the show on the road in other countries around the world. As you can see, the pernicious message of these groups cuts across religious denominations and it will take a diverse coalition to stop the suffering they cause.
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And while scientists have utterly discredited the “ex-gay” movement, and these organizations have become laughingstocks for many in our community, much of the harm done by the “ex-gay” movement goes underreported – and it has a far broader reach than one might think.
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Just as we see the “ex-gay’ industry waning in the United States, it is rearing its ugly head in Asia, Africa, Brazil, China, Europe, the Middle East, India, Latin America and Canada. One organization, Homosexuals Anonymous, has chapters in El Salvador, New Zealand and Germany. A horrified French journalist recently asked me how this harmful industry could be growing in the 21st century outside the United States. My answer is simple: Follow the money and follow the fear.
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Satellite broadcasting has made it possible to spread the “ex-gay” message to more countries than ever before, and evangelical TV networks such as Trinity Broadcasting Network and Daystar Television Network have taken up the initiative in doing so. Africa, where many countries criminalize homosexuality, has proven particularly fertile ground – with viciously hateful consequences.
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[Many] religious leaders have no qualms whatsoever about instilling the
message that homosexuality is nothing more than a “lifestyle choice.” Why wouldn’t many of our children and teenagers, having been taught that LGBT kids are choosing to embrace a sinful “lifestyle” that is despised by God, seek to punish their LGBT peers for their “decision” through acts of cruelty? Why wouldn’t they see them as “other” and “less than?” The evidence is clear: the message that homosexuality can be “repaired” does not just ruin lives – it ends them.

Pope Benedict Disingenuously Plays the Victim

On his current visit to Spain - a nation where the Catholic Church's power and influence is plummeting because of the Church's own moral bankruptcy and corruption - the Nazi Pope is whining about "aggressive anti-church" ways. As if the Church, which sided with Franco dictatorship and the abuses went with it, is now somehow being targeted and victimized. It's bullshit, of course, like most of what comes out of Benedict XVI's mouth. The Church is reaping what it has sown for decades, if not centuries, as the population in Spain becomes increasing secular and more and more inclined to ignore the Church's antiquated dogma. The Church's machinations and attempts to interfere with the civil laws has also alienated many Spaniards, and rightfully so. Frankly, instead of making "state visits" Benedict XVI ought to be standing trial for his crimes in the aiding and abetting of priest who raped children and youths. Here are some highlight from Yahoo News:
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Pope Benedict XVI criticized an "aggressive" anti-church sentiment in Spain that he said was reminiscent of the country's bloody civil war era as he began a two-day visit Saturday to rekindle the faith.
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Benedict made clear his distaste for Spain's liberal bent as he arrived in the pilgrimage city of Santiago di Compostela, where the remains of St. James the Apostle are said to be buried.
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Benedict told reporters en route to Santiago that the anticlericalism seen now in Spain is like that of the 1930s, when the church suffered a wave of violence and persecution as the country lurched from an unstable democracy to civil war.
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The reference was striking, given the scale of violence back then, when poverty-stricken and disgruntled Spaniards burned churches and murdered priests and nuns whom they considered obstacles to much-needed change. The church claims 4,184 clergy were killed by the government, or Republican side, which accused the church of backing fascist Gen. Francisco Franco.
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Nowadays, the church finds itself fighting laws supported by Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero's Socialist government that have allowed gay marriage, fast-track divorce and easier abortions. In Spain, a strong, aggressive lay mentality, an anticlericalism and secularization has been born as we experienced in the 1930's," Benedict told reporters.
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The pope said Spain was a particular focus of a new Vatican effort to fight secular trends worldwide since Spain had played such an important role in reviving Christianity in centuries past. He urged Europe as a whole to rediscover its Christian roots.
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[N]ot everyone was excited about the pope's visit. "We want to let him know that he is not well received here because of the church opinion regarding sexual minorities," protester Pilar Estevez said in Santiago.
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With such palpable opposition to the pope's visit, Zapatero is only seeing Benedict as he's leaving on Sunday night, letting Spain's royal family take care of protocol instead. Crown Prince Felipe and Crown Princess Letizia greeted Benedict at Santiago's airport Saturday and welcomed him to the country.

More Saturday Male Beauty

The Hypocrisy of Self-Righteous Homophobes

Have you noticed how so many anti-gay bigots and homophobes want to denigrate LGBT citizens and deprive us of civil legal rights yet at the same time want to remain safely anonymous? These folks range from those who sign anti-gay initiative petitions to place anti-gay legislation on the ballot and then shriek and howl when their names might be made public. Or there are NOM's anonymous donors who want to viciously the rights of gay citizens while hiding from public view themselves. Or their are people like the parents of students who seek to ruin the lives/careers of LGBT teachers but don't want their own names made known. A case in point is what happened to student teacher Seth Stambaugh (more on his case in a moment). All of these individuals want a license to denigrate and demonize LGBT Americans but lack the courage to have their hate and bigotry exposed to the light of day. The fact that these jerks are embarrassed to have their actions made public ought to tell them they were wrong in the first place and need to rethink their bigotry.
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Now back to Seth Stambaugh's situation. Aaron Krikava is the parent who set things in motion to have Stambaugh fired because he took offense at Stambaugh's comment about gay marriage in answering a student's question about his relationship status. Of course, Krikava doesn't bear sole responsibility for Stambaugh's firing. The school district all too typically showed no backbone and fired Stambaugh rather than buck parental bigotry. Ultimately, however, Stambaugh had a public letter of support from 27 Sexton Mountain teachers, 22 Sexton Mountain parents, and nearly 5,000 people who signed an online petition to reinstate him. District officials — worn down by community outrage, legal threats, and embarrassing national headlines — reinstated Stambaugh. They even promised to reform their approach toward LGBT issues. As for Kirkava, he "felt threatened" and has taken his child out of Stambaugh's class, thereby disproving to me at least that he's "not a homophobe." Here are highlights from the Portland Mercury:
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[T]he parent who originally complained about the gay marriage comment Stambaugh made in class sent out a mass email saying he was pulling his son out of Stambaugh's class at Sexton Mountain Elementary.
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"We have been called every name under the sun. We are not bigots, homophobes, or religious fanatics," wrote the parent, Aaron Krikava, in the email that was forwarded to me by one of the numerous parents who received it. "What began as a simple event of a responsible parent expressing a valid concern quickly turned into an opportunity to push a political agenda." Krikava goes on to say that the family felt "threatened" . . . Krikava writes that Perriguey [Stambaugh's attorney] told the mother that if the family did not ask the district to reinstate Stambaugh, "he may not be able to continue to keep our names, and our phone numbers, including our sons, out of the press."
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Krikava describes the classroom as a "compromised situation" and concludes that it would be "irresponsible" to leave his son there. We're printing Krikava's name now because he has given up the expectation of privacy granted any private citizen in this situation by sending out a mass email about the case signed with his full name.

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The message to Krikava and those like him is this: we are NOT going away and we are NOT going to slink away quietly. If you want to be a bigot and hate merchant, then expect your name to be public.

Activism Weekend - And Things to Do to Move Us Forward

The boyfriend and I are definitely in activism and fundraiser mode this weekend. Last night we hosted 60+ folks at our home to raise funds for ACCESS AIDS Care, a local non-profit that provides services to individuals dealing with AIDS/HIV as well as their families. The evening was a success, although I was up until 2:00 AM washing dishes and cleaning up. Tonight we are off to the Equality Virginia Legends Gala fundraiser - EV's second largest fundraiser of the year and always a lot of fun. The individual honorees are good friends of ours, and the first organization to receive the Legends honor is St. Mark's Episcopal Church located in Hampton, Virginia. Getting involved in LGBT organizations has been a huge means to rebuild my social network and social life after coming out and see so many of my supposed friends act as if I was either a leper or just plain invisible. For those embarking on a coming out journey in mid-life, I cannot emphasize enough how important it is to get involved in LGBT community organizations. The years I have been a member of the Legends planning committee have made a huge difference in my circle of friends.

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Of course, there's another reason to become involved besides making friends and building a social network: doing good for others and often at the same time moving LGBT rights and equality forward. As fellow Bilerico contributor Austen Crowder noted, in the wake of Tuesday's elections, we need to take care of our own"
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Volunteer your time and your money to organizations working within your local community - they often get the short end of the stick. You can take your pick of organizations, as not everybody is political. There are youth centers that are always looking for content, HIV charities in need of help, community education centers in need of speakers. The world is not a nice place for queer people and these organizations help us navigate the law, access needed care, and network with friendly businesses and organizations. It's not sexy work by any stretch of the imagination, but giving your time to these places will have a direct effect on your local community.
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Are they going to help the political quest for equality? In most places, no. Just because we are fighting for future political victories doesn't mean we can ignore the needs of our community in the here and now.

Saturday Male Beauty

Is Pending Take Over of MSNBC By Bush Donor Behind Olbermann Suspension?

Personally, I am both disheartened and livid over MSNBC's suspension/firing of Keith Olbermann for what in the grand scheme of things are totally insignificant political donations - especially when compared to Rupert Murdoch's $1 million donation to the GOP. Yes, I will continue to watch Rachel Maddow's show, but the rest of the MSNBC lineup can kiss my ass goodbye. My displeasure is all the stronger inasmuch as it now seems that there may be some skulduggery going on. While it is true that final approval of Comcast's take over of MSNBC is still pending, it seems all too possible that the targeted MSNBC might be trying to please its future masters in advance by whacking one of the best journalists around in my opinion simply because he criticizes the political bedfellows of Comcast. If I were Rachel Maddow, I'd be sweating bullets waiting for the next shoe to drop.
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It is increasingly frightening to me that so much of the MSN seems to be more and more an extension of the conservative political machine. Rather than report facts or - heavens forbid - challenge GOP assertions, the anchors just parrot GOP talking points. Case in point: Diane Sawyer's interview with John Boenher. I thought I'd vomit. It might just as well have been a GOP paid commercial. If Steve Burke (oictured above), a former Bush donor, is going to be at the helm of MSNBC, I suspect we can soon write MSNBC off as a serious news source. Here are highlights from Think Progress:
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We have been notified that Comcast has not yet officially taken over MSNBC/NBC Universal. . . . . once Comcast gains final approval from federal regulators to move forward, Comcast COO Steve Burke, a Bush fundraiser, will be placed at the helm of MSNBC and other NBC companies.
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As many bloggers have noted, conservative MSNBC host Joe Scarborough has donated to Republican candidates for Congress while promoting the same candidate on air, but has never been disciplined. Moreover, Gawker notes that MSNBC has been exempt from the formal NBC ethics rules for years. It is still a mystery why MSNBC selectively applied NBC’s ethics rules to Olbermann.
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Comcast’s latest regulatory battle has been to oppose Net Neutrality — a rule allowing a free and open Internet — because the company would prefer to have customers pay for preferred online content.
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Olbermann has been a strong voice in favor of a free and open Internet. Republicans, on the other hand, have supported the telecommunication industry’s push to radically change the Internet so corporate content producers have the upper hand over start-ups like blogs, independent media, small businesses, etc. As Reuters has reported, the incoming Republican Congress has signaled that it will vigorously side with companies like Comcast against an open Internet.
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Frankly, I don't believe that this action against Olbermann is a coincidence. Also, if we lose a free and open Internet in this country, it will be one more step towards a very scary America where the supposed principles of the nation are increasingly trashed and ignored by the far right and big business.

A Suicide More Complex Than a Slogan

The New York Times has a piece that looks at the suicide of 26 year old Joseph Jefferson (pictured at right) in New York City last month. While there doesn't appear to have been any anti-gay bullying involved, it does seem that Jefferson - like so many of us - suffered emotional/psychological as a result of living in a far too homophobic society. Being black and coming from a black church experience that is often more homophobic than other faith traditions may not have helped matters either. Like many suicides, we will likely never know Jefferson's final thoughts. However, based on my own experience and suicide attempts, I suspect he just felt overwhelmed and too tired to keep swimming against the anti-gay societal current. I use that analogy because at times I have felt that I am struggling against the current and that it would be easier to simply give up the struggle and allow myself to be swept over the waterfall if you will.

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The sad truth is that in this nation (and many others) being LGBT means that one has to deal with a whole additional ration of crap over and above what others must deal with. And too often, those of us brought up in toxic anti-gay religious denominations have a hard time ever fully escaping from the horrific brainwashing of our youth. The years of inculcated self-hate remains a latent poison beneath the surface just waiting for a trigger. Most of us can beat back the internalized homophobia, but sadly, not all us can do so successfully. Meanwhile, the modern day Pharisees of the professional Christian set continue to push their money making anti-gay agenda , never giving a damn as to the lives being damaged and destroyed as they pay themselves nicely on the equivalent of blood money. Yes, Maggie Gallagher and Tony Perkins, I mean you, among others. Here are highlights from the Times article:
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In one of the last updates he posted on his Facebook page, Joseph Jefferson sounded like yet another young gay person succumbing to overwhelming social rejection, if not outright bullying.
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“I could not bear the burden of living as a gay man of color in a world grown cold and hateful towards those of us who live and love differently than the so-called mainstream,” wrote Mr. Jefferson, 26, who killed himself last month.
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Experts say that two main risk factors for suicide are depression and a prior suicide attempt, both of which were in Mr. Jefferson’s past, although few of his friends or family knew of that earlier close call. (In 2008, he attempted an overdose with pills, according to Michael Roberson, a gay activist who considered Mr. Jefferson his godson.) Mr. Jefferson was especially prone to bouts of depression in the fall, the time of year when his mother had unexpectedly died in 2001, a loss from which he never fully recovered, according to friends.
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Mr. Roberson said that for any gay black man, homophobia is “never not part of the conversation.” “The message that we get from the black church is that we are an abomination,” Mr. Roberson said. “I know he felt that.” And that message, he believed, made Mr. Jefferson more vulnerable to a feeling of worthlessness.
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Why, exactly, did Mr. Jefferson decide to end his life? What was at the bottom of his sense of despair? What services might have reached him? In death, as in life, he was complicated, and he left no clear answers.

Mercury News: Obama Needs to Find a Backbone

I've been deriding the spineless wonder in the White House for some time. Those of us who voted for Obama in 2008 wanted a leader, not simpering follower. But the latter is what we got instead of a forceful leader who actually believe the statements and promises that he made on the campaign trail. Some Democrats have been none too happy with my criticism of the Liar-in-Chief, so it was nice to find an e-mail this morning from a reader in California directing me to a San Jose Mercury News editorial that goes after Obama big time for his pathetic lack of leadership. It's nice to know that it's not just me that sees this president as a growing disaster who appears headed to failed president status. Personally, from what we've seen over the last two years, I have little confidence that Obama will/can change. I suspect that by the end of his term, Obama will make Jimmy Carter look like a very forceful president. What a disappointment. What a betrayal. Yes, I hope I'll be proven wrong, by I am surely NOT holding my breath. Here are some editorial highlights:
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Man up, Mr. President. The image of a whimpering, apologetic loser that Barack Obama presented to the world Wednesday after his Election Day shellacking was an embarrassment to those of us who had cheered his own decisive victory two short years ago.
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America elected Obama president, and America needs a strong president -- all the more so when he's under siege. But as Republicans gear up for the fight of their lives, Obama appears to be ironing his white flag. If Obama cannot revive the fiery eloquence and forward-thinking agenda that won America's hearts and minds in 2008, then he's destined to be a one-term president -- perhaps not even his party's nominee in 2012. America saw a different Obama in 2008. We need him back.
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Obama should have learned from the health care debate that attempting to compromise with people who aren't interested is futile; you end up with inferior policies and disappoint your supporters. Yet the president already is caving on extending the Bush tax cuts that help the wealthy at the expense of the middle class and will add $700 billion to the deficit. This even though recent polls show that a strong majority of Americans supports ending those tax breaks -- and, by the way, continuing health care reform.
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[H]ere's the choice. Obama can spend the next year offering up wishy-washy legislation, begging Republicans to help him pass it and seeing them shoot it down anyway. Or he can go to the American people -- taking a page from Franklin D. Roosevelt's playbook -- and summon up the eloquence that moved voters two years ago. He can stand up for ideas they overwhelmingly support and make clear the problem is not him but the opposition party. He can drill in on the Republican "Party of No" strategy and make it an embarrassment, which it should be. He can force the opposition to the negotiating table, where they can forge compromises in the best interests of the country.

Friday Male Beauty

A Mother's Anti-Homophobia Rant Goes Viral

I had read the post "My Son is Gay," on the blog Nerdy Apple Bottom and loved it, having first become aware of it via Good As You. That was before it apparently went viral and was picked up by Salon and other large outlets. The post is written by a self-described "cop's wife" living in the Bible Belt and lets loose against smug, self-satisfied "Christians" who would demonize and torment a five year old boy simply because of his chosen Halloween costume. This wonderful mom goes off like a lioness and takes down her son's petty, hypocritical, Pharisee like critics and in the process condemns those who are a driving force for homophobia and anti-gay bigotry and bullying. And as she does so, she demonstrates wit and humor worthy of a drag queen that has her game full on. Bigotry and homophobia begin at home in families such as those of these "fine Christian women." Here are highlights from Salon's coverage of this enjoyable demonstration of what maternal love should be all about:
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This is how it's done, folks. When the Bible Belt blogger known as Nerdy Apple Bottom's 5-year-old son wanted to be Daphne from Scooby Doo for Halloween this year, she supported his costume choice, orange wig and pink boots and all. Because duh, it's Halloween; the point is to be somebody you're not.
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On Friday, the self-described "cop's wife" hinted about her child's experience at school that day on her blog by saying, "I am so proud of my brave little Daphne…. He had a few moments where he was worked up about people making fun of him, but mustered up the courage to go for it. He held his little orange wig high today," and "for those of you that looked at my sweet boy in disdain this morning, or looked at me funny for 'allowing' my son to be what he wanted to for Halloween, or made those snide and unnecessary comments -- your lives are small, your tact is lacking, and you can SUCK IT!"
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This week she expanded on the experience and the sentiment, with a warm, funny cri de coeur entitled "My son is gay." She went on: "Or he’s not. I don’t care. He is still my son. And he is 5. And I am his mother. And if you have a problem with anything mentioned above, I don’t want to know you." Bada BING.
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It didn't take long for Nerdy Apple Bottom's eloquent, passionate post to start making making the rounds as a refreshing example of great parenting in action – and a sobering reminder that even the youngest boys and girls who stray outside the most rigid of gender expectations scare the crap out of a lot of people. In a pathetic, non Halloween-ish way.
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Though the inevitable handful of trolls has shown up in the blogger's comments, the response has been overwhelmingly supportive, positive and wildly enthusiastic. Think of it as nature's way of refreshing our faith in humanity after Clint McCance's notorious Facebook diatribe last week that "I would disown my kids they were gay. They will not be welcome at my home or in my vicinity. I will absolutely run them off."
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As the blogger herself says it, "If he wants to carry a purse, or marry a man, or paint fingernails with his best girlfriend, then ok. My job as his mother is not to stifle that man that he will be, but to help him along his way. Mine is not to dictate what is 'normal' and what is not, but to help him become a good person."

Obama Could Have Chartered A Very Different Course on LGBT Rights, But We Don't Seem to Matter

In an interview at the Daily Beast, Elliot Spitzer and Kevin Sessums had some very harsh words for Barak Obama on LGBT issues. Spitzer stopped just short of calling Obama a coward. Sessums was not as reticent. Personally, I view Obama as a total liar as well as a coward. Here's a sampling of their interview:
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SESSUMS: On another legal matter, do you agree with Obama that he had no choice as president defending the law of Congress to appeal the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell ruling that said it was unconstitutional? Or do you agree with Ted Olson that he did not have to?
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SPITZER: He didn’t have to. He should have gotten rid of it with an executive order. He is the President! He is the commander-in-chief!
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SESSUMS: And on gay marriage he is to the right of Dick Cheney and Ken Mehlman and Ted Olson. It would be almost poetic if it weren’t so sad and disheartening that on the civil rights issue of our time, our first African-American president will be seen on the wrong side of history. Again, for political reasons he’s playing with people’s lives.
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This dialogue got Jeremy Hooper at Good As You thinking and expressing feelings that I share. Like so many of us, he feels let down and, worse yet, that to our president, our lives simply do not matter. Jeremy usually expends his writing skills exposing the hate, hypocrisy and down right lunancy of the anti-gay forces. So this is a bit of a departure in some ways, but as always he states his case eloquently. Here are highlights:
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But on LGBT issues, it's been all compromise all the time! The principled push forward, a subjective path that those who value equality for all citizens have chosen to take without hesitancy or qualifiers, is typically presented by this administration as a two-footed, equally-merited, completely objective march. There's been little danger in the bold leadership seeming too tough, except with the far-right social conservatives who think watching "Modern Family" without fast forwarding through the Cam/Mitchell scenes is too pro-gay.
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The promises have been there. The speeches and proclamations have been inclusive, which does make a statement and should not be denied. But the White House has expended shockingly minimal capital on true change for LGBT rights, during a time when they should've realized that the window was always destined to close. In turn, the people who've become much more disenchanted, alienated, and/or confused are the ones who put so much hope in a president who they expected to take real world risks to accomplish what's long overdue and undeniably right.
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The mere fact that we LGBT people still have to discuss our basic humanity here in 2010 is appalling: That's a truism that expands well beyond the presidency or even politics. However, there is no person in the world -- NOT. ONE. PERSON. -- who is in a more powerful chair in terms of changing civil rights history. It's past time President Obama risk seeming arrogant on these core values issues, lest he risk seeming worthy of primary challenge in 2012.
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And that's not a threat from a detractor, either. It's a real concern from a frequent defender who still wants to believe.
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Part of me would like to still believe that Obama meant something of what he said during the campaign and in speeches here and there on LGBT rights. But experience to date suggests that desire is merely wishful thinking on my part. Sadly, I believe that LGBT lives and hopes never meant anything to the Liar-in-Chief. He only wanted our votes and our money. Many in the community likely feel like jilted lovers. But as in any failed relationship, at some point one must accept that's its over and move on. I want that worth primary challenge in 2012.

More Thursday Male Beauty

Mid-Term Election Saw Disproportionate Drop in Gay Support of Democrats

While the Log Cabin Republicans are trying to fan what I see as a myth - i.e., that more gays voted for Republicans than ever before on Tuesday - one thing does seem to be certain: LGBT voters did NOT support Democrats ate the rate they have done so in prior elections, including the last midterm election. As for the claimed increase in gays voting for the GOP, I suspect the percentage looked higher simply because fewer gays in total voted. If nothing else, the GOP does know who to turn out the Kool-Aid drinkers (or in this case the self-hating kapos) at election time. While I applaud what the Log Cabin Republicans have accomplished to date in court on DADT, I still see being a rabid Republican and being gay as mutually exclusive unless one has a death wish or enjoys being denigrated. America Blog Gay reported this data:
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2006 US House exit poll:
3% of voters were gay
75% voted Democratic
24% voted Republican
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2008 US House exit poll:
3% of voters were gay
80% voted Democratic
19% voted Republican

2008 Obama vs McCain exit poll:
4% of voters were gay
70% voted Obama
27% voted McCain
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2010 US House exit poll data:
3% of voters were gay
68% voted Democratic
31% voted Republican
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Unfortunately, the exit polling doesn't indicate the relative aggregate number of gay voters in each election year. With more and more people coming out and being willing to identify as gay, without total numbers, it is hard to confirm what was going on for certain. One thing is clear, however: the message to Democrats is that if you don't deliver on promises, the LGBT vote cannot be taken for granted. Ditto for Hispanics, labor, blacks, etc. America Blog Gay also noted as follows:
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After reviewing the full data, Sherrill [the researcher] says there was a disproportionate drop in Democratic support among LGBT voters compared to Hispanic, black, and young voters. Though the sample size is still very small and thus there's a large margin of error, Sherrill now says the drop may be attributed to "dissatisfaction with the pace of change on LGB rights over the past two years."

Ouster of Iowa Judges Reveals NOM's Anti-Constitution Agenda

The New York Times has a lengthy piece that looks at the ouster of the three justices of the Iowa Supreme Court. While the Times doesn't come right out an say it, the goal of NOM and similar Christofascists is to destroy the concept of an independent judiciary and in the process destroy the balance of powers under the U. S. Constitution. The courts have always been part of the design to reign in the legislative branch and executive branches not to mention act as a bulwark to protect the rights of minorities. NOM and other Christianist want nothing less than raw mob majority rule. That was more or less their argument in backing Proposition 8. The majority makes the rules and everyone else can go f*ck themselves. It's all about satisfying and stroking the perverted egos of self-congratulatory bigots like Maggie Gallagher, Brian Brown (who like so many professional gay haters, is probably a closet case), the leaders of the Mormon and Catholic Churches, all of whom are only content when they can look down upon and treat others as inferiors. As I have said many times, these people are a clear and present danger to the U.S. Constitution and must be stopped. Other minorities need to wake up to the danger since the Christianist despise many of them almost as much as gays. The only irony that gives me comfort is that in not too many years, these lily white Christianist will likely be in the minority themselves and their own rhetoric, if successful, is setting the stage for a new majority to revoke the rights and privileges of these bastards. Karma can be a bitch. Here are highlights from the Times article:
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An unprecedented vote to remove three Iowa Supreme Court justices who were part of the unanimous decision that legalized same-sex marriage in the state was celebrated by conservatives as a popular rebuke of judicial overreach, even as it alarmed proponents of an independent judiciary.
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Leaders of the recall campaign said the results should be a warning to judges elsewhere. . . . “It’s we the people, not we the courts.”
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But critics of the campaign, including those who see the courts as a protector of minority rights, said the politicization of uncontested judicial elections represented a danger.
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“What is so disturbing about this is that it really might cause judges in the future to be less willing to protect minorities out of fear that they might be voted out of office,” said Erwin Chemerinsky, the dean of the University of California, Irvine, School of Law. “Something like this really does chill other judges.”
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From its first decision in 1839, the Iowa Supreme Court demonstrated a willingness to push ahead of public opinion on matters of minority rights, ruling against slavery, school segregation and discrimination decades before the national mood shifted toward racial equality.
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National Organization for Marriage and the American Family Association, poured money into the removal campaign. Judges face no opponents in retention elections and simply need to win more yes votes than no votes to go on to another eight-year term.
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The defeat was a bitter disappointment to much of the legal community here, which rallied behind the justices, and it was viewed with particular concern in the gay community, which has found state courts more sympathetic than state legislatures.

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History will probably view these three justices as heroes who risked their careers to do the right thing. Ms. Gallagher, et al, in contrast will probably be looked upon with horror and contempt by future generations and be vilified as champions of hate and bigotry. I hope her descendants and relatives feel the need to hide some day because of her foul and hateful actions denigrating the lives of others.

Thursday Male Beauty

Rudy Giuliani Says GOP Should 'Ease Up' on Gay Rights, Thinks 'DADT' Can Be Repealed Now

Rudy Giuliani told CNN's Wolf Blitzer yesterday that he thinks it would be politically wise for Republicans to stop demonizing gays and says 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' is ready to go, now. No doubt the modern day Pharisees of the Christian Right will have a conniption fit over these remarks (I suspect that Elaine Donnelly wet herself if she happened to be watch this interview). Gays are among the Christofascists' favorite groups to demonize in order to shake down the bigoted, senile and ignorant for money. And GOP politicians are not any better in their bigotry since they further their own agenda with the forces of the lunatic far right by spreading hate against gays, blacks, Hispanics, immigrants and many others. Indeed, these politicians and the Christianists are best defined by who they hate - which is just about everyone other than white conservative Christians. Obviously, Giuliani needs to have a heart to heart with John McCain, a/k/a John McSenile, on this topic since McSenile says he will block any attempt to repeal DADT in the Senate. Here are highlights from Think Progress:
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GIULIANI: I didn’t see [Don't Ask, Don't Tell] as a big issue in this. The social issues were not in this. So maybe that’s an area where Republican can ease up a little bit and not …
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BLITZER: But you support gay rights?
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GIULIANI: I do.

BLITZER: So you would get rid of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell?
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GIULIANI: My feeling about Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell was, in the middle of the height of the Iraq war, not a good time to do it. We’re not in the middle of the height of the Iraq war. Afghanistan is a different kind of thing. You could probably accomplish it now. It’s eventually going to happen and it seems to me that it gets my party out of this anti-gay, feeling that we’re being unfair to people who are gay.

Why Do I Often Write Against Catholicism?

UPDATED: The Catholic Church had another bigotry eruption today as Belgian Archbishop basically made the statement that AIDS is God's punishment to gays. The Mirror has these details:
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The head of Belgium's Catholic church is under fire for saying gay men deserve Aids and paedophile priests should not be punished. Archbishop Andre-Joseph Leonard - who is close to the Pope - is facing legal action from a gay rights lawyer for saying HIV is "justice" for the "travesty" of homosexuality. Leonard's own spokesman has quit over the remarks.
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I often get asked why I write about the Catholic Church so often and in such a negative light. Blogger friend Zack Ford recently got asked the same question and his response? Because the Catholic Church makes him do so. How so? In my view by its constant anti-gay agenda, by its constant hypocrisy, by its contsant anti-knowledge stances, and, of course, by its corruption and constant efforts to cover up its criminal conduct in the world wide sex abuse scandal. I have two search agents on Google. One sends me articles on the Catholic Church and sex abuse. The other sends me articles on the Catholic Church and gay issues. Virtually everyday there is nastiness and batshitery to write about. If the Catholic Church and members of the Catholic laity want less bad commentary, then its simple. Stop the anti-gay activities of the Church and the Knights of Columbus and clean house of the corrupt and morally bankrupt Church hierarchy. And stop the Church's efforts to deprive me and others in the LGBT community of CIVIL LAW rights. Since I see no movement on any of these fronts, it seems I will continue to be writing about the Church's sins often for a long time to come. Here are highlights from Zack's answer to this question:
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After my post last week about the lie-ridden Catholic propaganda being distributed to young people, an acquaintance of mine inquired as to why I feel the need to write anti-Catholic posts so often. Among the comments he made on my Facebook profile were: Could you go a week without bashing -- just let us be who we are?
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Well, I could, except that that is exactly what Catholicism does not do for gay people. It’s amazing how often leaders of the Catholic Church (or its messaging) glibly rail on gay people. (These are the same folks whose salaries are paid by your tithing, by the way.)
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I don’t know if you’ve noticed what the cultural environment is like for gay people right now, but we’ve finally been hearing about the many suicides committed by people who are persecuted for being perceived as gay. Where do all those bullies get their message?
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The Catholic Church is a big source. Take a look at this Catholic Action insight from Cardinal-Designate Raymond L. Burke (hat tip Joe Jervis). You’ll note that commenting on the video has been disabled. Opponents of the gay community thinks this gives their message more power because there is no room for dissent; I think it just shows how insecure they are.



Did you catch that? First he said: There is a discrimination which is perfectly just and good and namely that’s the discrimination between what is right and what is wrong. Then, he goes onto say that “people with same-sex attractions” are people who “suffer” and that this attraction is “not right” that they should “correct in themselves” this attraction. So discrimination between right and wrong is okay. People who are gay are not right. Thus, it’s okay to discriminate against gays. See how obvious the message is?
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Now, to all you folks out there who say, “Those are just beliefs,” you’re wrong. They are fallacies and they are incredibly hurtful. They’re not just different point of view; they are, in fact, wrong.
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So yes, every time religious organizations try to use their beliefs to perpetuate discrimination against gay people, I’m going to call it out and hold the religious organization accountable for the harm it propagates.
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Maybe if Catholic Church leaders stopped demonizing us and spreading the message that we’re sinners and in great need of help I wouldn’t have to keep writing about how archaic and dangerous it is.

More Wednesday Male Beauty

Tomorrow, November 4th Is the Last Day To Buy Legends Tickets

Ticket sales for the 2010 Legends Gala close at 5:00 PM tomorrow. If local readers have not bought your tickets, go to the Equality Virginia website here and do so. It is going to be a wonderful event and the boyfriend and I hope to see you there. P.S. There is a sponsored open bar cocktail hour as well as wonderful food.

November 6th, 2010 Renaissance Hotel, Portsmouth, Virginia
5PM - 6PM - Pre-Event Cocktail Party in private VIP room

6PM - 1AM - Main Masquerade Casino Event

Click here to get your tickets now!
2010 Steering Committee
Felix Borges – Chair

Carlton Hardy – Community Relations & Nomination Chair

Shannon Bowman – Sponsorship & Marketing Chair

Maurice Roebuck – Logistics Chair

Mark Board, Richard Caden, Edward Cassidy, Cynthia Cutler, Michael Hamar, Claus Ihlemann
Barry Kavy, Beedee McMillian, Cheryl Scott ,Ann Vernon, Mike Whitehurst

PFLAG Annouces Chapter In Southwest Virginia

As bad as things often seem in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia, things are wonderful compared to the situation in Southwestern Virginia where, frankly, if I had to live there, suicide might indeed look like a most attractive option. During the course of the Michael Moore v. Virginia Museum of Natural History case (Moore was fired by the Museum for being gay and Tom Kaine, now DNC chair did absolutely nothing to enforce his own executive order) I visited Martinsville, Virginia twice. Yes, the area has great physical beauty, but socially, the place is like something out of Deliverance in terms of the attitudes towards LGBT citizens. Indeed, when I returned to Norfolk, it seem the cosmopolitan center of the gay universe in comparison. Living in southwest Virginia must be most grim if one is LGBT. Thankfully, PFLAG has launched a chapter in this region of backwardness and homophobia. It's a much needed addition to what I view as a very bleak landscape - a landscape that does nothing to encourage progressive and imaginative businesses to want relocate to that part of Virginia. As I have stated before, anti-gay bigotry and the embracing of ignorance in general does carry an economic cost. This is a reality that is lost on Southwest Virginia and the occupants of Virginia's governor's mansion and the office of the Attorney General. Out in Roanoke has the details. Here are some highlights:
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PFLAG-Parents. Family and Friends of Lesbians and Gays have started a chapter in Southwest Virginia, to be located in Abingdon. The name is PFLAG- Abingdon/Washington County Chapter and will hold its first meeting Thursday, November 11, from 6:30 pm until 8:30 pm, and the second Thursday of each month thereafter, founder Dexter Tenney announced today. The Chapter will serve all of Washington and surrounding counties of Southwest Virginia.
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"Our LGBTQ citizens and their parents have been underserved in this area for too long, and now is the time for change".
The recent incidents of gay teenage suicides have been the catalyst for us taking action now. A support group has been in the planning stages for two years. This should serve as a wakeup call to all Americans; especially in rural areas were LGBTQ support is lacking. We have done our homework and the need is here, right in our own back door.
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Our local chapter website is http://www.wix.com/oscar1029/pflag--virginia-highlands.
. . . . For more information contact Dexter Tenney at 276-614-7319

In Virginia the Enthusiasm Gap Was Very Real - Thanks in Large Part to the White House

In 2008, Virginia trended blue on the promise of hope and systemic change which was the hallmark of Barack Obama's in retrospect completely disingenuous campaign. A number of Republican seats in Congress went Democrat and there was much talk that Virginia was now "purple." Not anymore. Virginia is back to strongly red. Some fault lies with the various Democratic Congressional candidates, some of whom tried to be all things to all people and ended up standing for nothing. Many other, however, were swept out of power by the disgust and lack of enthusiasm aimed at national Democrats for their failure to deliver on promises. The result, Democrat turn out was significantly down. In some cases by almost 60%. (a point I will get to shortly) I had feared that the 2010 midterms would be a reprise of the 2009 elections in Virginia and, sadly, I was totally correct. The Democrats need to grow a spine and they need to be planning for a new standard bearer in the 2012 presidential elections or else 2012 will likely be another debacle. Currently, the Democrats' number 1 liability is the occupant of the White House. An op-ed piece in the Los Angles Times looks at how Obama, a/k/a the Liar-in-Chief, set the stage for yesterday's debacle. Here are some highlights:
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President Obama entered office wrapped in a mantle of moral leadership. His call for change was rooted in values that had long been eclipsed in our public life: a sense of mutual responsibility, commitment to equality and belief in inclusive diversity. Those values inspired a new generation of voters, restored faith to the cynical and created a national movement.
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Now, 18 months and an "enthusiasm gap" later, the nation's major challenges remain largely unmet, and a discredited conservative movement has reinvented itself in a more virulent form.
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It is the result, ironically, of poor leadership choices. Abandoning the "transformational" model of his presidential campaign, Obama has tried to govern as a "transactional" leader. These terms were coined by political scientist James MacGregor Burns 30 years ago. "Transformational" leadership engages followers in the risky and often exhilarating work of changing the world, work that often changes the activists themselves.
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Obama and his team made three crucial choices that undermined the president's transformational mission. First, he abandoned the bully pulpit of moral argument and public education. Next, he chose to lead with a politics of compromise rather than advocacy. And finally, he chose to demobilize the movement that elected him president. By shifting focus from a public ready to drive change — as in "yes we can" — he shifted the focus to himself and attempted to negotiate change from the inside, as in "yes I can."
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In his transactional leadership mode, the president chose compromise rather than advocacy. Instead of speaking on behalf of a deeply distressed public, articulating clear positions to lead opinion and inspire public support, Obama seemed to think that by acting as a mediator, he could translate Washington dysfunction into legislative accomplishment. Confusing bipartisanship in the electorate with bipartisanship in Congress, he lost the former by his feckless pursuit of the latter, empowering the very people most committed to bringing down his presidency.
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Out in the hinterland, Obama's leadership failure translated into a betrayal of those who put him and the now lost Democrat majority in office. Gays, labor, Hispanics and everyday working people were thrown under the bus as Obama courted the GOP and gave away important issue after important issue. I wrote about the problem in the lead up to the 2009 Virginia elections and the cancer clearly metastasized over the following year. And what were the enthusiasm gap consequences in Virginia? Blue Virginia has powerful documentation of the drop in Democrat turn out compared to 2008. The Democrats did abysmally on turnout compared to the GOP. Only Rick Boucher's district and the 5th District which includes Charlottesville, Virginia's most liberal and politically engaged city, matched GOP turnout. Even in these districts it was not enough. Here are some highlights:
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Now, let's rank the candidates from lowest to highest drop off, as a way to measure how effectively they got out their votes yesterday compared to the vote for president in 2008. Also, keep in mind that Republicans were more energized this year than in 2008, but obviously that's not the only factor at work here, given Rick Boucher's and Tom Perriello's excellent GOTV numbers.
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1. Rick Boucher: -20%
2. Frank Wolf: -27%
3. Robert Hurt: -28%
4. Randy Forbes: -29%
4. Keith Fimian: -29%
6. Tom Perriello: -30%
6. Rob Wittman: -30%
8. Bob Goodlatte: -31%
9. Eric Cantor: -33%
10. Scott Rigell: -36%
11. Chuck Smith: -38%
12. Morgan Griffith: -40%
13. Gerry Connolly: -47%
14. Bobby Scott: -50%
14. Jim Moran: -50%
16. Glenn Nye: -51%
17. Rick Waugh: -55%
18. Wynne LeGrow: -59%
18. Krystal Ball: -59%
20. Jeff Barnett: -65%

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Turn out was critical and far too many Virginia felt that there was no reason to go out and vote given the Democrats massive failure to deliver on campaign promises and effect change. The root of the problem emanates from the White House and I have zero confidence that the Liar-in-Chief learned anything from yesterday's disaster. The Democrats need to be looking NOW for a new presidential nominee for 2012.

Wednesday Male Beauty

NOM Hate Merchants Take Down Iowa Supreme Court Justices

In a very troubling result, three justices of the Iowa Supreme Court - the court that unanimously ruled in favor of same sex marriage - have not been retained as a result of yesterday's vote. Make no mistake about what this means. NOM and its self-enriching fat cow leader, a/k/a Maggie Gallagher will be working to intimidate judges nationwide from this moment forward since these purveyors of anti-gay hatred know that the courts offer the best opportunity for LGBT Americans to achieve full civil equality. I'm sure Gallagher is thrilled with the results and sees herself with a great meal ticket for years to come as she and her fellow Christofascists work to destroy an independent judiciary and impose the Christian equivalent of sharia law accross the nation. It sickens me and again makes me wonder if long term getting the Hell out of the USA isn't the best goal for LGBT citizens. I tremble at what the older homophobic generation guided by Gallagher and similar whores of hatred may inflict on the country before the old reactionaries and bigots die off. Here are some highlights from the Des Moines Register:
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Three Iowa Supreme Court justices lost their seats Tuesday in a historic upset fueled by their 2009 decision that allowed same-sex couples to marry. Vote totals from 96 percent of Iowa's 1,774 precincts showed Chief Justice Marsha Ternus and Justices David Baker and Michael Streit with less than the simple majority needed to stay on the bench. Their removal marked the first time an Iowa Supreme Court justice has not been retained since 1962, when the merit selection and retention system for judges was adopted.
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The decision is expected to echo to courts throughout the country, as conservative activists had hoped.*
In a statement issued early today, the three justices said: "We hope Iowans will continue to support Iowa's merit selection system for appointing judges. This system helps ensure that judges base their decisions on the law and the Constitution and nothing else. Ultimately, however, the preservation of our state's fair and impartial courts will require more than the integrity and fortitude of individual judges, it will require the steadfast support of the people."
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"In the end, the aggressive campaign to misuse the judicial retention vote, funded by out-of-state special interests, has succeeded," Drake University Law School Dean Allan Vestal said. "The loss of these three justices is most unfortunate, and the damage to our judicial system and the merit selection of judges will take much to repair."
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Groups that wanted the justices ousted poured more than $650,000 into their effort, with heavy support from out-of-state conservative and religious groups. Campaigns that supported the justices and the current state court system spent more than $200,000.
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Two Polk County judges who faced retention challenges survived with more than 60 percent of the vote, as did all of their colleagues at Iowa's largest courthouse. Judge Robert Hanson, who sided with six same-sex couples in the Polk County District Court ruling, was retained with 66 percent support once all precincts were counted. Polk County District Judge Scott Rosenberg, targeted in a last-minute automated phone campaign for signing one gay couple's marriage waiver, kept his seat on the bench with 69 percent.
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The retention challenge triggered a battle never seen in Iowa's judicial history. Television, radio and Internet ads portrayed the justices as both activists and referees. Robo-calls urged a "no" vote. U.S. Rep. Steve King embarked on a statewide bus tour to rally "no" voters.