More Saturday Male Beauty

Roman Catholic Church's Efforts to Influence Election In Spain Could Backfire

The current election in Spain somewhat parallels the upcoming one in this country in that it is in many ways a contest between the intolerant reactionary forces that want to impose religious beliefs via the civil laws and the forces of modernity that want more progress social laws as opposed to a drift towards the past. A good versus evil contest if you will, with the reactionary forces representing evil in my view. One of the major reactionary forces in Spain is, of course, the Roman Catholic Church which has been accused of trying to inluence the election and return the pro-Church conservatives to power. Hopefully the Church's efforts will fail as mentioned in this Washington Post article (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/08/AR2008030801033.html?hpid=topnews) The bottom line is that the Church needs to stop meddling in the secular laws. Here are some brief highlights:

The themes and tenor of the campaign illustrated the intense polarization and distrust between young, modern, secular Spaniards, who lean toward the Socialist Workers' Party, and older, more traditionalist churchgoers, who tend to favor the Popular Party. Many voters believe that if the Popular Party returns to power, it could work to overturn the Socialist legacy of laws legalizing same-sex marriage, making divorce easier and faster, reducing the role of religion in public education and strengthening gender equality.

Catholic leaders [held] a massive rally in Madrid about two months ago that was addressed by Pope Benedict XVI in a video link from the Vatican. During that gathering, several cardinals also launched attacks against the Socialist government for legalizing gay marriages, liberalizing divorce laws and reducing religious instruction in schools. Although the vast majority of Spaniards are Catholic, polls show that the country's 40 million people are increasingly straying from the church's teachings. Abortions and divorce are rising, while church attendance and family size are shrinking. While the Popular Party probably doesn't mind the church's tacit support, some analysts say, the nearly explicit embrace of the party may hurt it more than help it. "When you have such an active church in the state, it mobilizes the left," said Socialist leader Elena Valenciano. "The Socialists are using this to their advantage by painting the PP as a clericalist, ultra-reactionary party, with some success," Powell said.

Hillary's Non-Existent Foreign Policy Experience.

I very much wish that the Democrat nomination race would get settled so that the Democrats could focus on going after John McCain as opposed to bashing each other. It’s no secret that I favor Obama and wish Hillary would give it up. The polls STILL show Obama beating McCain more easily than Hillary, and winning in November is what counts. I also wish Hillary would drop the “experience” argument which she claims favors her. In this regard, John Aravosis has a great post on America Blog (http://www.americablog.com/2008/03/looks-like-hillarys-foreign-policy.html) that pretty much cuts Hillary off at the knees in terms of foreign policy experience. Being First Lady does NOT make you experienced in foreign policy. Therefore, the real issue is who would show better judgment. On the issue of Iraq, Hillary has failed the test TWICE. Here are some highlights:

We're entering into dangerous territory with one of our presidential candidates. And I don't mean dangerous in the sense Hillary claims - that she "risked her life" during multiple secret agent missions while she was juggling planning the White House Christmas party and solving world peace (if she'd only been First Lady during the Cold War think of the billions we could have saved by her single-handedly bringing down the Soviet Union). We're entering the "just because she says it doesn't make it true" territory. It's a category we traditionally reserve for George Bush and Republicans. As we are all very well aware, Hillary Clinton is touting her foreign policy credentials. Noticeably, no mention of her votes on Iraq and Iran. But, let's look at what she said. Let's see if it's true.

John then reviews some of her claims and concludes:

So, it looks like Clinton's foreign policy experience actually is based on one speech she made in 1995. How ironic. I don't mean to belittle Hillary here, but she has a history of inflating her resume in a way that will lead to some pretty laughable and damaging GOP ads come the fall general election. It's "Al Gore created the Internet" all over again. Most Americans aren't going to believe that the First Lady, when not reading to children, was actually knee-capping terrorists a la Jack Bauer.

Saturday Male Beauty

Oklahoma State Rep. Sally Kern’s Anti-gay Speech Made Public

Personally, I love it when wingnut bigots speak their mind to what they believe is a select few only to have their nastiness thrown out for the entire world to see. Such is the case with State Rep. Sally Kern of Oklahoma who went on an anti-gay tirade to what she thought was a small friendly audience, not realizing that her comments were being recorded (highlights are set out below). One of the standard Christianist myths she cites is that “no society that has totally embraced homosexuality has lasted for more than, you know, a few decades.” Obviously, in my opinion she is (1) an ignorant idiot and (2) surely needs to take some refresher courses in history. I guess she’s never heard of classical ancient Greece and Rome or the Hellenistic Period, for example, all of which lasted for far longer than the period of time that the USA has existed. I am not aware that she’s made any apology whatsoever, but at least the world is getting to see what a mean spirited bigot she is. Those who would like to let Ms. Kern know what you think of her can e-mail her here: sallykern@okhouse.gov. Here are some samples of this ignorant twit’s statements about homosexuality and homosexuals:

Studies show, no society that has totally embraced homosexuality has lasted for more than, you know, a few decades. . . I honestly think it’s the biggest threat our nation has, even more so than terrorism or Islam.

They want to get them into the government schools so they can indoctrinate them . . . They are going after our young children, as young as two years of age, to try to teach them that the homosexual lifestyle is an acceptable lifestyle. You know, Gays are infiltrating city councils. . . Did you know that the city council of Eureka Springs is now controlled by gays? . .. They are winning elections.

One of my colleagues said We don’t have a gay problem in our community… well you know what, that is so dumb. If you have cancer in your little toe, do you just say that I’m going to forget about it since the rest of you is fine? It spreads! This stuff is deadly and it is spreading. It will destroy our young people and it will destroy this nation.

Ms. Kern, you are an embarrassment not only to yourself but also to your district, your state and this nation. Shame on you!! Take a few history courses too while you are at it.

Update: Here's a link to a local TV News story provided by a reader: http://www.news9.com/Global/story.asp?S=7983168

Another LGBT Unfriendly Legislative Sesson Comes to an End

Living in Virginia with its legal hostility to LGBT citizens can be down right depressing at times. Bills and legislation that one would consider no big deal in enlightened jurisdictions have a difficult time passing in the Virginia General Assembly. This year was sadly no exception and leave me feeling that Virginia could be a wonderful state but for the hate-filled bigots among the Christianists who believe that any legislation that might offer a shread of dignity or protection to LGBT citizens MUST be defeated. In my view, defeating these bills was just plain mean spirited. Unfortunately, we seem to have more than our share of demented wingnut organizations in this state, not least of which is the Christo-fascist Family Foundation, an affiliate of Daddy Dobson's Focus on the Family [or Anus if you quote Pam Spaulding]. Here is a summary of some bills that dies in this year's legislative session via Equality Virginia.

HB 36 (Jim Scott, D-Merrifield) -- would have prohibited discrimination in housing.

HB 675 (Ken Plum, D-Reston) -- would have allowed Fairfax County to add sexual orientation to its local human rights ordinance.

HB 865 (Adam Ebbin, D-Arlington) -- would have allowed coverage under private group life insurance policies to extended to cover additional people that could be mutually agreed upon by the insurer and the group policy owner.

HB 1493 (Adam Ebbin, D-Arlington) -- would have prohibited workplace discrimination for state employees based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, age, marital status, disability, sexual orientation, or status as a special disabled veteran or other veteran covered by the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Act of 1974.

SB 51/HB 1415 (Mary Margaret Whipple, D-Arlington/Jim Scott, D-Merrifield) -- would have allowed self-insured localities in Virginia to offer expanded health care benefits if they chose to do so.

More Friday Male Beauty

The Buzz About Charlie Crist

I posted the other day about the buzz about Florida Governor Charlie Crist being a possible running mate for John McCain and looked at Crist's past that more or less confirms that he's yet another closeted GOP politician. As David Fiderer at Huffington Post suggests, perhaps the buzz is merely a way to get free media coverage for the GOP in Florida while in reality, there is no way in Hell Crist could ever accept a VP nomination because then his somewhat open secret would be sooner or later discovered (not that I wouls not enjoy watching the process, especially if came out during the election campaign). Here are some highlights from Fiderer's column (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-fiderer/does-the-media-advise-and_b_90014.html):

The GOP has this rule about anyone who aspires to national elected office. Nobody talks about it much these days. But 50 years ago it inspired both a Pulitzer Prize winning novel, Advise and Consent, and a Broadway play, Gore Vidal's The Best Man. The rule is simple. Any serious question about a candidate's sexual orientation is an instant disqualifier. So ignore the phony buzz from Bob Novak and Dick Morris, who once wrote, "To stop Hillary, draft Condi"." John McCain will never pick Condoleezza Rice as his running mate. Her status, as a 53-year-old never married woman, would invite reporters to start asking too many of the wrong questions.

Last April the Florida legislature changed the law to allow the current governor, Charlie Crist to run for president or vice president without resigning his job. Crist is enormously popular among Floridians, and any buzz about his joining the Republican ticket generates favorable free media in a crucial swing state. So it was inevitable that GOP operatives would plant phony stories, like the one in that showed up in Bob Novak's column and elsewhere touting Charlie Crist as McCain's possible running mate.

As if McCain's people never use the internet, where they would have stumbled onto a series of articles in New Times, of Broward-Palm Beach, Florida. They are titled, "Charlie Crist Is NOT Gay, And other things the Republican Party wants you to believe on Election Day," and "Crist Denies Trysts GOP frontrunner: I have never had sex with a man," and "Crist Denies Trysts II: Sworn testimony backs up claims that Bruce Jordan boasted of his affair with Charlie Crist." But the New York Post discredited those rumors last November, when it reported that Charlie Crist was dating Carole Rome, who was in the process getting a divorce from the owner of the Bluestar Jets. It must be serious; they've been together eight months, which is two months longer than Crist's first and only marriage, which ended in divorce in 1975 when Crist was 23.

Like John McCain, Charlie Crist is a traditional values kind of guy. During the 2006 campaign season, he told groups of voters, by way of targeted recorded phone calls, that, "I support a constitutional amendment to protect traditional marriages, and I oppose adoption by gay couples." Crist has backtracked on the constitutional amendment issue; "I'm just a live and let live kind of guy," he now says. But not his party.

Florida Republicans have secured a place on November ballot for a state constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. Of course, Florida Republicans don't want Crist to start campaigning for the amendment, for the same reason that House Republicans didn't want David Drier counting votes for H.J. Res. 88. You think Republican regulars don't recognize what's going on?

American Psychological Association Led Coalition Releases New Booklet Countering Ex-Gay Claims

As the Washington Blade is reporting (http://www.washingtonblade.com/2008/3-7/news/national/12187.cfm), a coalition led by the American Psychological Association ("APA") sent a booklet, "Just the Facts About Sexual Orientation," to all 16,000 U. S. public school superintendants in February, arguing that schools should refrain from teaching high school students about “ex-gay” conversion therapy. "Just the Facts" includes the most recent information from professional health organizations, as well as up-to-date information on the legal responsibility of school officials to protect students from anti-gay harassment.Members of the coalition are:

The American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Counseling Association, the American Association of School Administrators, the American Federation of Teachers, the American Psychological Association, the American School Counselor Association, the American School Health Association, the Interfaith Alliance Foundation, the National Association of School Psychologists, the National Association of Secondary School Principals, the National Association of Social Workers, the National Education Association and the School Social Work Association of America.

A copy of the booklet which can be downloaded and printed is here: http://www.apa.org/pi/lgbc/publications/justthefacts.pdf I have already e-mailed the link to my pastor. Needless to say, the hate mongerers of the Christian Right are having fits that legitimate medical and mental health organizations are by this act opposing the peddling of quack science and other untruths which make up the essence of "ex-gay" and reparative therapy programs. In my view, the APA and state licensing organizations should revoke the licenses of any clinicians that participate in these fraudulent programs. Moreover, the states need to regulate ALL organizations that purport to engage in what are in effect mental health counseling activities so that quacks and religious nut jobs do not escape regulation by pretending to be religious "ministries."

As the Blade article points out, "Just the Facts" correctly states that teaching about “ex-gay” therapy would be unconstitutional since it is in effect teaching religion and imposing religious views, thus violating the separation of church and state because “ex-gay” beliefs are in the final analysis based solely on religious grounds. Teaching about “ex-gay” therapy also violates the 14th Amendment provision for equal treatment because, according to the booklet, such teaching could adversely impact gay students. Here are some highlights from the Blade article that look at the disingenuous hyperventalating by people such as David Duke/Klu Kluck Klan affiliated Tony Perkins at the Family Research Council and ex-gay for pay, Melissa Fryrear of Foucs on the Family:

Melissa Fryrear, a self-identified former homosexual and director of the gender issues department at Focus on the Family, called the publication “gay-affirming, biased [and] unfair.” Fryrear said the booklet is “demoralizing” for youths who do not want to identify as gay and yet experience homosexual feelings. Students, particularly those of faith, should be able to know about other opportunities, she said.

Tony Perkins, president of the über-conservative Family Research Council, had harsh words for the booklet.In an interview with the Christian Post, an online religious news agency, Perkins reiterated his long-held position that the NEA and the APA are “using their influence to transform public schools into incubators for their radical social agendas.”

As if either one of them gives a damn about LGBT students. Melaissa and Tony, let's be honest for a change: It's all about money and the Christianist political agenda.

One other thing to be noted is the credibility of the APA versus the false experts and quacks always cited by the anti-gay organizations, e.g., Melissa Fryrear and Tony Perkins. Despite her title which is intended to impress the unwary, Fryrear has no real credentials in the areas of medicine and/or mental health. Her only cited degree on her biography is a Master of Divinity from Asbury Theological Seminary which offers NO medical or mental health related degrees. As for Perkins, his biographical information on the FRC website reads as follows: A veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps, and a former police officer and television news reporter; he received his undergraduate degree from [Jerry Falwell's] Liberty University and a Master's Degree from Louisiana State University in Public Administration. In May 2006 he received an honorary doctorate in Theology from Liberty University. Once again NO legitimate and/or relevant credentials. Sadly, the mainstream media NEVER EVER asks frauds like Fryrear and Perkins about their total lack of medical/mental health credentials. They are simply given a free pass and allowed to pontificate leaving the uninformed to think they have a legitimacy that they in fact they totally lack. Who do you think is more credible and who cares more about LGBT individuals? Here is a description of the APA:

The American Psychological Association (APA), in Washington, DC, is the largest scientific and professional organization representing psychology in the United States and is the world's largest association of psychologists. APA's membership includes more than 148,000 researchers, educators, clinicians, consultants and students. Through its divisions in 54 subfields of psychology and affiliations with 60 state, territorial and Canadian provincial associations, APA works to advance psychology as a science, as a profession and as a means of promoting human welfare.

Friday Male Beauty

John McCain Continues to Embrace Far Right Anti-Gay Christianists

One would think now that John McCain has locked up the GOP nomination he’d be backing off a bit from the lunatics of the far right so as to not frighten away moderate voters, but just the opposite seems to be the case. First he cuddled up to anti-Catholic, anti-gay crazy John Hagee as I previously reported. Then he called nutcase Rod Parsley his “spiritual advisor.” To say that Parsley is anti-gay is an understatement. He truly strikes me as a Neanderthal who has no concept of a separation of religion from the civil laws. Here are highlights of what Right Wing Watch is reporting (http://www.rightwingwatch.org/2008/02/mccain_brings_p.html):

McCain campaigned . . . in Cincinnati, where he appeared with the Rev. Rod Parsley of World Harvest Church of Columbus. McCain called Parsley a "spiritual guide," while Parsley later labeled McCain a "strong, true, consistent conservative." … Parsley shared the stage with McCain during a rally at Hamilton County Memorial Hall in Cincinnati but didn't speak. In a later interview, Parsley said he supports McCain because the senator will be tough on national security and "protect the unborn."
Thus far, Parsley has kept his distance from the presidential race, while continuing to use his TV show to oppose abortion and hate-crimes protections. But now he’s jumped in to help John McCain lock up the Republican nomination.

A spiritual invasion is taking place!” shouted Rod Parsley at the “War on Christians” conference in 2006. “… Man your battle stations! Ready your weapons! Lock and load!” Parsley, an Ohio megachurch pastor and televangelist, promised to build an army of “Patriot Pastors” to march to the polls, an even bolder political machine than the one he led in 2004 that helped pass an anti-gay amendment in the state and nudge George W. Bush to reelection. Parsley’s 2006 candidate, Ken Blackwell, ultimately lost the governor’s race, but the televangelist remains an outsized political force, and his “Patriot Pastors” machine is still a model for church-based electoral organizing

Here are some examples of Parsley’s views on gays (http://www.alternet.org/story/31942/):

Gay sex is a veritable breeding ground for disease," he said. "Only 1 percent of the homosexual population in America will die of old age. The average life expectancy for a homosexual in the United States of America is 43 years of age. A lesbian can only expect to live to be 45 years of age. Homosexuals represent 2 percent of the population, yet today they're carrying 60 percent of the known cases of syphilis."

Homophobia in Black Churches - Update

I posted yesterday about how in my view the extreme homophobia in black churches causes an increase in self-loathing among gay blacks and also an increase is risky and unsafe sex that then flows back into the wider black community. In addition, the misdirected emergies of black pastors takes attention away from other problems that urgently need to be addressed. Pam Spaulding has a related post today (http://www.pamshouseblend.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=4705#50709) that likewise looks at the wasted time and efforts. Here are some highlights:

This is sad, people, and yet another example of why this hurts the very people hurling the hatred. These ministers are so homo-hate obsessed that they ignored Simmons attempts to tackle serious issues of concern in the black community like crime, education and economic opportunity, and bound together to write a letter about their fixation on gays. Marriage is a done deal in Massachusetts, but here are pastors are wasting precious time and energy trying to heap their disapproval on a mayor reaching out to them. This is a tragic disservice to the black community, and further proves how pathological and deep a problem this is.

National Wingnut Coalition Urges Parents to Keep Kids Home on "Day of Silence"

With the recent murders of Lawrence King and Simmie Williams, one would think that the hate merchants of the Christian Right would at least have the decency to tone down the anti-gay rhetoric for at least a little while. However, decency and the Christianists are clearly mutually exclusive. I increasingly believe that they welcome, indeed seek to encourage, violence against gays. Even a moron should realize that their constant bad mouthing and maligning of gays leads to a dehumanization of LGBT citizens, which is the first step in making it acceptable to kill us. Their tactics are basically little different from what Hitler and the Nazis did to the Jews in the 1930’s in the lead up to the Holocaust (http://www.hatecrime.org/subpages/hitler/hitler.html). Sadly, the MSM never calls these folks what they truly are: dangerous hate-filled bigots. Here are some highlights of the venom being disseminated in advance of the National Day of Silence next month. If you go to the linked web site, note how the coverage is ironically described as “in depth, conservative, honest news and commentary.” I believe “dishonest” is the more apt adjective. I wonder whether Lawrence King and Simmie Williams would consider what happened to them to be “alleged injustice, harassment, prejudice, and discrimination?” These people are truly sick and vicious and, yes, they make me angry, particularly the ones who have made a lucrative career out of the intentional dissemination of anti-gay hatred. (http://www.michnews.com/artman/publish/article_19595.shtml):

COLUMBUS, OH -- A nationwide coalition of Christian and pro-family groups is calling for parents to keep children out of schools on Friday, April 25, 2008 — the day when thousands of middle schools, junior highs, and high schools will observe the 12th annual “National Day of Silence.” The coalition includes: Abiding Truth Ministries, American Family Association, AFA of MI, AFA of PA, Americans for Truth, Christian Information Service, Christian Civic League of Maine, Concerned Women for America, Culture Campaign, Defend the Family International, Exodus Mandate, Illinois Family Institute, Indiana Voice for the Family, Informing Christians, Liberty Counsel, MassResistance, Mission America, New Generation Christian Center, Parents' Rights' Coalition, Right March, Stephen Bennett Ministries, Values USA, Watchmen on the Walls.

Buddy Smith of American Family Association asserts, “It’s outrageous that our neighborhood schools would allow homosexual activism to intrude into the classroom. ‘Day of Silence’ is about coercing students to repudiate traditional morality. It’s time for Christian parents to draw the line — if your children will be exposed to this DOS propaganda in their school, then keep them home for the day.”

“Day of Silence” is promoted by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), a homosexual activist group that targets schools. The event is typically organized by a school’s Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) and is designed to pressure students to regard homosexual, bisexual, and transgender behavior as normal and worthy. Students and even some teachers remain silent throughout the school day, disrupting the teaching environment. Protesters wear t-shirts and hand out “speaking cards” protesting alleged injustice, harassment, prejudice, and discrimination toward “LGBT” people and their “allies.”

Explain to your children why you’re taking a stand: Homosexual behavior is not an innate identity; it is sinful and unnatural. No school should advance a physically, emotionally, and spiritually destructive sexual lifestyle to students. Encourage your church leadership to follow the bold example of Pastor Ken Hutcherson who is vocally opposing “Day of Silence” in his community in Redmond, Washington.

Final Male Beauty

Update - Clinton Tax Retirn Hypocrisy

I have already voiced my views on Hillary Clinton's hypocrisy in terms of continuing to resist releasing her tax returns. Now, hypocrisy is being comingled with out right disingenuousness. We are not talking about just her refusal to release her 2007 returns which she is making people think are not yet completed. No, we are talking about returns 2001 through 2006 as well. John Aravosis at America Blog describes the situation well in these highlights (http://www.americablog.com/2008/03/media-dont-get-bamboozled-over-tax.html):

In addition, Hillary's staff keeps saying that her returns will be released at the "customary" time, around April 15. Well, yes, that's the customary time for THIS year's taxes to be finished. But this April 15 is not the customary time to complete your taxes for 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006, unless you're Leona Helmsley. Hillary's tax returns for those years were completed April 15 years ago, they've never been released, and a simple visit to a Kinkos can get them out to the public right now. Cute answers implying that we're simply talking about this year's returns won't cut it. And it's troublesome that the campaign is trying to confuse the public with their answers. No one can explain why she won't release the papers now.

If one has nothing to hide, they do not act like this. I can only surmise that there is something in the tax returns that she does NOT want primary voters to see.

Homophobia in Black Churches Fuels HIV

I have long thought that the homophobia in black churches fuels HIV and causes countless black men to be on the down low. In this area a large number of the black churches - some within a mile or so from my office, in fact - are the most vocal of any in denoucing gays and are routinely cynically manipulated to to do the bidding of the Virginia GOP and the white Christianists, most of whom are the descendants of those who supported segregation, opposed inter-racial marriage and still are racially bigoted. Why black pastors cannot figure this out is a bit baffling to me. In this area, HIV infection is the highest among blacks as a percentage of the population - in both men and women - yet all too often one hears nothing but hate filled language from pastors that guarantees that many gay blacks will be on the down low. Now, PageOne Q has an article (http://pageoneq.com/news/2008/bishopjohnselders.html) wherein a black Christian says what I have been thinking for a long time. Here are some highlights:

Even more than this vital educational work, however, now is the time for those of us in the Black church to also start having the difficult conversations about the inconsistencies we've witnessed in our churches. For more than two decades, I've found myself in the midst of a continual stream of conversations both private and public regarding sex, sexuality, sexual orientation and the Black church. What all the conversations have taught me (all the weeping with families who lost someone to the disease, all the counseling with those living with an HIV diagnosis) is that we must start preaching a different message. We have to start talking honestly about the gift of our love and our sexuality.

[I]n the multiple ways we perpetuate the "down low." We do this most obviously when we deny our attraction to people of the same sex. We also perpetuate the down low when we turn a blind and hostile eye to our friends, neighbors, family members and ministers who are looking for a place where they can be honest about who they are. We perpetuate the down low yet again when our pastors and church leaders start HIV/AIDS ministries as community outreach services in our churches while simultaneously abusing our same gender loving brothers and sisters in the pews.

The most prevalent way that HIV/AIDS spreads is through secrecy and shame. If all religious people in particular stopped being agents of the closet and started being agents of healing and honesty, we could stop the down low and could make a mighty dent in the spread of HIV/AIDS.

More Thursday Male Beauty

Judge: Money For Anti-Gay Baptist School Wrong

Some time ago I did one or more posts about the controversial appropriation of $11 million in state funding by the GOP controlled legislature in the State of Kentucky to the University of the Cumberlands, an anti-gay Baptist University. The question of the legality of the grant grew out of a 2006 incident in which Jason Johnson, 20, was expelled after posting his sexual orientation on a Web site. The dean's list student received all F's on his transcript when he was expelled. The grant was for a pharmistry school and was alleged to for the betterment of the state's health and welfare.

Fortunately, the court hearing the challenge saw through the pathetic ruse and the grant was ruled unconstitutional - something that should have been obvious to even the dullest of the GOP legislators from the get go. Sadly, the university was represented by a wingnut legal organization based in Virginia where we have more than out share of hate-filled Christianists. Once again, bigotry has a price when Christianist reach out their hand for public taxpayer derived funds. Here are some highlights from 365gay.com (http://www.365gay.com/Newscon08/03/030608uni.htm):

(Frankfort, Kentucky) A judge ruled Thursday that Kentucky GOP lawmakers and former Gov. Ernie Fletcher violated the state constitution by appropriating $11 million in state funding to a Baptist university. The state had argued that the money, to be used to create a pharmacy school at the University of the Cumberlands, was for the betterment of the state's health and welfare and therefore constitutional. The LGBT rights group Kentucky Fairness Alliance filed a lawsuit along with advocates for the separation of church and state and the Jefferson County Teachers Association. Named as defendants were the university, Fletcher and a dozen Republican lawmakers. Kentucky Fairness Alliance executive director Christina Gilgor called the ruling a victory against state-subsidized discrimination.

Although the suit was filed by the Kentucky Fairness Alliance there was scant mention of the Johnson situation in legal arguments. Attorney David Tachau instead argued that the grant did not fall under the heading of "health and welfare" and was instead in support of education at a private, sectarian institution. That, said Tachau, makes it unconstitutional. In his argument he cited a 1983 ruling that said public money could not be used to buy textbooks for private schools. The university, represented by Timothy J. Tracey, of the Virginia-based Center for Law & Religious Freedom, argued that the legislature acted responsibly and legally by seeking to address the state's shortage of pharmacists.

The moral of the case is that if you want to discriminate againstother citizens based on what is basically a matter of religious belief, do not expect the public to have to fund your bigotry. Appropriating the grant was shameless even by GOP standards.

50 Gayest Songs Of All Time

A website in Australia compiled a list of the "50 Gayest Songs Of All Time" to celebrate Sydney's Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade. They received thousands of votes from their readers and revealed the list. You can see it here. Not surprisingly, four singers, Agnetha, Anni-Frid, Benny, Björn Ulvaeus, a/k/ Abba and their song "Dancing Queen" - which I have personally always liked - took the number one spot. :)

You can play the song here: http://www.samesame.com.au/news/local/2051/

Thursday Male Beauty

Reliving The Clinton Fatigue

Andrew Sullivan has a post on his blog that goes a long way to explaining part of my sense of exhaustion and near revulsion at the thought of another Clinton term in the White House. The situation of the country is too dire on a number of fronts to have citical time, effort and political capital - to the entent Hillary would have any - eaten up with the endless drama that is part and parcel with Bill and Hillary Clinton. I can't say it any better. Here are highlights from Andrew's post (http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2008/03/reliving-the-ps.html):

It's Bush-Cheney all over again, but less disciplined, more narcissistic, more cynical. And this campaign, in retrospect, has exhibited all these patterns. The press is marveling at the Clintons' near-death political experiences in this campaign. Doesn't it all feel creepily familiar? It's funny, isn't it, how these two characters, long steeped in politics as a way of life, still manage to create psychodramas on a regular basis.

At the core of this is their totally dysfunctional relationship. We - even those like me who really do believe in the privacy of public figures - learned over eight years that you cannot ignore this dynamic, because they have put it into the center of the public square. That is why you can confidently predict that the marital dramas will not be over either. If you think there is not another sex scandal to drop, to create another psychodrama, you are a more hopeful person than I am. The Clinton pattern is to gain some momentum in the polls or the campaign before triggering such a scandal themselves. As soon as they feel success in their wings, they self-sabotage, because they need that kind of drama to have meaning. And the story is so compelling to by-standers - we are all rubber-neckers in the face of the car wreck that is the Clintons' story - that we will be yanked around indefinitely by this crap. I can't believe we are flirting with going through all this again and again and again.

Hillary's Tax Return Hypocrisy

I am beginning to wonder what Hillary and Bill Clinton have to hide in their tax returns since somehow Hillary just keeps on postponing their release. I have always believed that if one has nothing to hide, then one does not act like they do. As I have previously mentioned, I would very much like to know how Billary increased their 2003 net worth of slightly over $2,000,000 to roughly $34,900,000 by 2006. Moreover, her behavior is more than a little hypocritical sine in 2000 when running for the U.S. Senate in New York, she made a huge deal out of her opponent’s delays in releasing his returns. The longer she withholds releasing the tax returns, the more I and I suspect many others will by default have to believe that the returns must show something she does not want primary voters to know. As Newsday as stated (http://weblogs.newsday.com/news/local/longisland/politics/blog/2008/03/flashback_hrc_once_thought_tax.html):

Eight years ago, when Hillary parachuted into NY to become our Senator, she and Howard Wolfson became completely obsessed with opponent Rick Lazio's tax returns, which he did not release until the end of August.

They talked about them at every opportunity. In early July, Hillary called it "frankly disturbing." A guy in an Uncle Sam outfit was dispatched to be a nuisance at various Lazio events in August. Howard himself showed up once to try to rattle Lazio by offering him a copy of some Chappaqua property tax receipt after Lazio said he'd release his state returns as soon as Hillary released hers (which didn't exist, because she had just moved up here).

Pressed again today by the Obama campaign, Wolfson said: "Their tax returns since they left the White House will be made available on or around April 15." Maybe a reporter could, like, actually risk getting Wolfson mad by trying to pin him down on whether "on or around April 15" will definitely be before the Pennsylvania primary on April 22, and why a 2001 return from a sitting NY senator can't be copied by, say, March 15?

Without being too cute here, the question is why Clinton and Wolfson were so obsessed by Lazio's returns that they were disrupting his events, but they now treat it as an irrelevancy when Hillary's returns are requested.

So the reasoning is apparently this: "We acted like Lazio's tax returns were a big deal in 2000 because it was in our self-interest to do so, and this year we'll act like our returns aren't a big deal because it's in our self interest to do so. We don't act on principle, and we don't care about being consistent, and we don't care about being hypocritical."

Patrick Swayze Has Pancreatic Cancer

I was saddened to hear that Patrick Swayze has pancreatic cancer. I have enjoyed him in many movies and I have always thought he was great as Vida Boheme in To Wong Foo. I guess I have always felt some connection to him as well since we are only six days difference in age (I'm six days older). I truly wish him the best. I know that this form of cancer can often be fast acting, but such is not always the case. I have one relative who has survived more than 10 years with one variant of it. Hopefully, Swayze will be equally lucky (http://movies.msn.com/movies/article.aspx?news=304120&GT1=7701):

Patrick Swayze is being treated for pancreatic cancer but is doing well enough to continue working, his representative said Wednesday. The "Dirty Dancing" actor has a very limited amount of disease and appears to be responding well to treatment, according to Dr. George Fisher, Swayze's physician. Fisher's prognosis was included in a statement released Wednesday by Swayze's representative, Annett Wolf.

"Patrick has a very limited amount of disease and he appears to be responding well to treatment thus far," the statement read. "All of the reports stating the timeframe of his prognosis and his physical side effects are absolutely untrue. We are considerably more optimistic. Patrick is continuing his normal schedule during this time, which includes working on upcoming projects. The outpouring of support and concern he has already received from the public is deeply appreciated by Patrick and his family."

Ex-Gay for Pay and Focus On The Family Teen Magazine Lie About Gays

My blood began to boil when I saw this sick article in Breakaway Magazine, a magazine aimed at teenage boys, put out by Daddy Dobson’s Focus on the Family. Ex-gay for pay Mike Haley (who pretends to be an expert when he’s anything but an expert) serves as the mouth piece in the article. What troubles me the most about this disingenuous article is not so much the fact that the claims are not true (after years of following Dobson’s anti-gay claims, they never are true) , but the fact that neither Haley – who is drawing a nice salary, I suspect – nor Dobson give a rat’s ass about the pain and damage they are doing to impressionable young readers. How many may commit suicide a result of believing this crap?

Just as I have said that the Christian Right and the ex-gay “ministries” care nothing for the hurt and damage done to straight spouses who marry “ex-gays” only to have the marriage fail, they likewise care nothing about the young gays who may end up taking their own lives or living a life of psychological misery. All that matters is making money and keeping the ex-gay myth alive for political purposes. I sometimes think that these “Christians” probably welcome gay teen suicides since then there are fewer "faggots" in the world. I believe that God has a special place in Hell for people like James Dobson.

I would also note that the entire story is disingenuous if for no other reasons than the fact that Dobson has to keep replacing his "ex-gays" - Mike Haley is merely the latest - every time one of them falls off the wagon and reverts back to homosexuality, thereby proving the "cure" was false, e.g., John Paulk who was on the cover of Newsweek back in the late 1980's. A copy of the full Breakaway article can be found here http://www.pageoneq.com/images/eta.jpg and here:http://www.pageoneq.com/images/et1.jpg

Real Anthropologists Disagree With Christianist Definition of Family

Not that any of us in the LGBT community should be surprised, but the disingenuous windbags at Focus on the Family ("FOF") and the National Organization for Marriage ("NOM") have been running their mouths again marking statements to the effect that anthropologists agree on FOF's traditional definition of family: a man, a woman, and their immediate children. The problem is that these statements are not true. Not that the truth has ever gotten in the way such organizations saying what furthers their anti-gay agenda. Particularly their claims that the family has existed per the FOF and NOM definition for the last 5,000 years and in all cultures. As I have noted many times before, few groups lie more than the self-styled pro-family Christian organizations. Box Turtle Bulletin (http://www.boxturtlebulletin.com/) fortunately has statements from real anthropologists that state the REAL truth. I can only ask yet again, why are supposed Christians such deliberate liars? Here are some highlights from Box Turtle Bulletin:

A recent article from Focus on the Family’s CitizenLink suggests that “anthropologists agree on traditional definition of marriage.” This statement is true only if they reference what anthropologists consider traditional, not the Focus on the Family opinion that marriage is solely between one man and one woman.

The article also states “There are two definitions of marriage in today’s culture – one of them has been around for centuries; the other is brand new.” Once again, this statement is true. However, Focus on the Family is confused as to which definition has been around for centuries and which is new. Anthropologists, historians and sociologists all recognize the “one man with one woman” definition of marriage to be very recent and not representative of how marriage is or has been expressed throughout the world.

Anthropologists often define marriage as a social, political, or economic contract between two individuals and their families – this does not imply monogamy, as a man with five wives has five separate marriage contracts. In fact, approximately 75 percent of the world’s cultures view polygamy as the preferred form of marriage. Furthermore, anthropologists document that cultures on every continent, excluding Antarctica, have accepted and recognized same-sex marriages.

In 2004 the American Anthropological Association, the largest association of anthropologists in the United States, issued an official statement opposing the proposed federal marriage amendment, indicating:

The results of more than a century of anthropological research on households, kinship relationships, and families, across cultures and through time, provide no support whatsoever for the view that either civilization or viable social orders depend upon marriage as an exclusively heterosexual institution. Rather, anthropological research supports the conclusion that a vast array of family types, including families built upon same-sex partnerships, can contribute to stable and humane societies.

The Executive Board of the American Anthropological Association strongly opposes a constitutional amendment limiting marriage to heterosexual couples. Suggesting anthropologists support Focus on the Family’s “traditional definition of marriage” is patently, unequivocally wrong.

More Wednesday Male Beauty

The Art of Teaching Hatred

I came across this on Colette Beighley's blog (http://www.chanceofgay.org/) and to me it pretty much sums up what is being done by wingnut so-called Christians in their never ending effort to demonize members of the LBGT community. It is definitely the mentality that leads to a 14 year old boy executing a 15 year old because he's gay. Colette will be doing a series of posts in recognition of the approaching 10 year anniversary of Matthew Shepard's murder:

You've got to be taught To hate and fear,

You've got to be taught From year to year,
It's got to be drummed
In your dear little ear
You've got to be carefully taught.
You've got to be taught
Before it's too late,
Before you are six or seven or eight,
To hate all the people
Your relatives hate,
You've got to be carefully taught

~ Rodgers & Hammerstein, South Pacific (1958)

More Anti-Gay Marriage Efforts to Get Out The November 2008 Vote

In typical form, the GOP is busy trying to get anti-gay marriage initiatives on the ballot for November in order to motivate the bat shit wingnuts to go out an vote for the amendment and GOP candidates while at the polls. The predictability of such totally transparent ploys would be almost humorous in some ways except for the fact that we are talking about adversely impacting many lives solely to win votes based on homophobia. It is sad that the GOP is so bankrupt that it has to appeal to hatred to get out the vote. Fortunately, as 365gay.com reports (http://www.365gay.com/Newscon08/03/030508io.htm), the effort in Iowa has apparently failed. Here are highlights:

(Des Moines, Iowa) Iowa Republicans frustrated with the majority Democrats refusal to hold a vote on a proposed constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage have failed in their last ditch effort to advance the measure. House Minority Leader Christopher Rants attempted on Tuesday to use a procedural motion to move the amendment out of committee where it has been stonewalled and onto the floor of the House for a full vote. On a 50-to-46 vote along party lines Democrats rejected the motion. That means the issue remains in committee where it will likely die by the end of the week. Republicans have been pushing the proposed amendment since last year when Polk County Judge Robert Hanson struck down a state law limiting marriage to opposite-sex couples.

Meanwhile, the gay haters in the GOP base in California as well as out of state Christianists organizations are busy trying to get “The Voters' Right to Protect Marriage Initiative” on the November 2008 ballot. According to Diane Abbitt, the chair of Equality California's political action committee (http://www.eqca.org/site/apps/nlnet/content2.aspx?c=9oINKWMCF&b=40337&ct=5006353), the out-of-state anti-gay Christianist organizations are pouring money into the state for this effort, including Daddy Dobson's Focus on the Family ($650,000), the National Organization for Marriage in Virginia, and the Knights of Columbus ($250,000). I would add a further note that the Knights of Columbus - an allegedly Catholic pro-family organization which I once belonged to – has NEVER demanded accountability from the Catholic Church hierarchy in the sex abuse scandal. Rather than standing up for thousands of sexually abused children and youths, the leadership of the Knights have had their noses so far up the asses of the Pope and offending bishops and cardinals it’s a wonder they haven’t smothered. But I digress. Here’s the wording of the amendment being proposed:

SEC. 1.1. Only marriage between one man and one woman is valid or recognized in California, whether contracted in this state or elsewhere. A man is an adult male human being who possesses at least one inherited Y chromosome, and a woman is an adult female human being who does not possess an inherited Y chromosome. Neither the Legislature nor any court, government institution, government agency, initiative statute, local government, or government official shall abolish the civil institution of marriage between one man and one woman, or decrease statutory rights, incidents, or employee benefits of marriage shared by one man and one woman, or require private entities to offer or provide rights, incidents, or benefits of marriage to unmarried individuals, or bestow statutory rights, incidents, or employee benefits of marriage on unmarried individuals. Any public act, record, or judicial proceeding, from within this state or another jurisdiction, that violates this section is void and unenforceable.

Wednesday Male Beauty

Rush's Dittoheads Likely Carried Texas for Hillary

It may sound crazy, but David Weigel has an analysis that would seem to indicate that anti-Clinton Republicans are the ones that voted her to victory yesterday (http://reason.com/blog/show/125327.html). Why you might ask? Because they see her as the weaker candidate in November. Hillary as the opponent is the best hope for a McCain victory, particularly because she cannot hang Iraq around his neck - BECAUSE she voted for it TWICE. Again, why can't Democrats see what the GOP sees so clearly?

It's a similar story in Texas, where Limbaugh has the most listeners of any of these states. Obama won the Republican vote 52-47, but conservatives (22 percent of all voters, up from 15 percent in the Kerry-Edwards primary) went against Obama. For the first time, they were Clinton's best ideological group: She won them 53-43. And Clinton won 13 percent of the people who said Obama was the most electable candidate.

Ohio didn't wind up being very close, but Clinton won the Texas primary by about 98,000 votes out of 2.8 million cast. If the exits are right, about 252,000 of those voters were Republicans, and about 618,000 were conservatives. Clinton truly might have won the Texas primary on the backs of Rush Limbaugh listeners.

What's this mean? Psychologically it's hilarious: Every joke that's ever been told about how the right needs the Clintons to survive is true. Hillary Hatred is the gas, the ethanol, and the rocket fuel of the staggering GOP. Logistically, it might mean the end of GOP crossover voting if the Democrats get their game together and pass new primary/caucus reforms when this Ragnarok draws to a close. (In the short term I can't decide if it's better for Hillary or Obama, but it's a probably a relief to both campaigns that Pennsylvania will be Democrats-only.)

What the F*CK is Wrong With Ohio - Morning Despair

I suspect some readers are wondering how I am feeling following the results from yesterday’s primaries. I believe much like Andrew Sullivan, although vodka was my beverage of choice last night (http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2008/03/the-clintons-wi.html):

I just had a Jager shot, and hope to get drunk very soon. So this is my last post of the night. Here's what I'll do in the morning: find out who won the most delegates in the March 4 states, and check someone else's math (yes, I'm not going to get it wrong myself) to see who subsequently has the numbers to win. And then take a deep breath. And say what I think. Right now, emotion clouds the mind. Oh, and Jager.

Well, it’s the next morning and my reaction so far is that we just so John McCain not only win the GOP nomination but – I am very much afraid – score a de facto win the White House. I truly believe that (1) Hillary is putting her ego (and Bill’s) ahead of the Democrat Party and the country, (2) she remains unelectable in the general election in November, and (3) in states like Virginia, she will be a significant drag on other Democrat candidates inasmuch as the GOP will come out in droves to vote AGAINST her. She will greatly reduce the chances of candidates line Glenn Nye who I mentioned in a post yesterday. Meanwhile, blacks, the under-thirty voters and disaffected Republicans may well just stay home in disgust. I hope Bill and Hillary will be proud of that result.

Moreover, I also believe that if by some extreme miracle Hillary does get the Democrat nomination and wins in November, we will see little or nothing get done and suffer through one Clinton scandal after another. In my opinion, Bill is - as my New Orleans belle grandmother would put it – white trash - and doesn’t know how to (a) keep his mouth shut, (b) keep his zipper up, and/or (c) keep his hands off of dirty money. True, he got elected president, but he has never lost the white trash character in my view. As I said when I worked the polls AGAINST Bill Clinton in 1996, how can you vote for a man who would molest your teenage daughters if given an opportunity (maybe being a father of two daughters influenced my views). I suspect that the GOP party leaders are already preparing the first Clinton scandal to be unveiled the morning after Hillary is nominated, assuming the country suffers that sad fate.

As the post title indicates, I truly do not understand what is wrong with Ohio voters. As a state that is greatly suffering as a result of the same old politics of division, they cast votes to in effect continue a broken politics that virtually guarantees that the change that is so badly needed in states like Ohio will NOT occur. The fact that the GOP is rejoicing over Hillary’s victories ought to tell the moronic soccer moms, retirees and others who voted for Hillary that they are idiots.

Canadian PM Denies Top Aide Leaked Obama NAFTA Memo

The USA is not the only country where the Democrat primary race is causing political waves. It increasingly appears that Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper may have deliberately tried to help the Clinton Campaign agaist Obama since his reactionary political cousins in the GOP greatly prefer Hillary as their opponent come Novemeber. Things are so hot in Canada that the opposition has demanded that Harper's chief of staff be fired. I for one am fed up with winning at politics by dirty tricks. Obama is no saint, but compared to Billary, he's is definitely Mother Theresa. The quickest way toward a beginning of the lessening this kind of cheap shots is to see Hillary knocked out of the primary race. Here are some highlights from CBCNews (http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2008/03/04/harper-obama.html):

Prime Minister Stephen Harper on Tuesday denied the top official in his office leaked a memo of a meeting between an aide to Barack Obama and a Canadian diplomat over the Democratic presidential hopeful's NAFTA position. "It was not my chief of staff," Harper said during question period while under fire from NDP Leader Jack Layton, who demanded Brodie be fired if it is confirmed he tipped off reporters to the details of the meeting."The leak of this particular document is not only regrettable, as the Canadian Embassy in the United States has already said, it is completely unacceptable to this government and we will do our best to find out who did it."

Liberal foreign affairs critic Bob Rae said it was clear the Tories are trying to help Republican friends at the expense of Canadian interests. "They will do what is necessary to help Republicans. They're a nasty, unprincipled bunch, who are incompetent to boot," Rae wrote in a blog. The controversy could play to the Republicans' advantage in November and hurt the Illinois senator in Ohio, a potential swing state where job losses have made the 15-year-old free-trade deal highly unpopular.

Obama and Clinton have both said they want to reopen the free-trade deal between Canada, the U.S. and Mexico to ensure better environmental and labour standards.Trade Minister David Emerson and Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said U.S. officials should not forget the benefits of the agreement and hinted Canada could respond to a NAFTA pullout by renegotiating U.S. access to Canada's oil.

Glenn Nye Announces Run for Congress Against Thelma Drake

I have known GOP Congresswoman, Thelma Drake for many years and served with her on the GOP City Committee for Virginia Beach for a number od years. I will further admit – as I have mentioned before – that she is the ONLY elected GOP politician who had the grace and decency to apologize to me after I was treated exceedingly shabbily by virtually all of the GOP elected officials that I warned about former Congressman Ed Schrock and the rumors of his advertising for gay sex on a local a local sex phone service. Likewise, to my knowledge she never dragged my name through the mud like others in the GOP did after I came out of the closet. For that I respect her and thank her.

Nevertheless, as much as I like and respect Thelma as a person, many of her policy positions blindly follow those of the Chimperator, particularly on Iraq. Thus it will be interesting to see what happens now that Virginia Democrat Glenn Nye, a former Foreign Service officer who has worked for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), has announced that he will run for the Congressional seat currently held by Drake. Since I live in a different Congressional district, I will only be an observer in this political race.

Nye is touting his background in international affairs in his contest against Republican Rep. Thelma Drake , who is in her second term representing the state's 2nd District, which takes in Virginia Beach, portions of Norfolk and surrounding territory, including Virginia's Eastern Shore. Thelma was narrowly re-elected in 2006, and might have lost had she faced a more disciplined opponent. Word on the street is that Nye could give her a competitive race this year - he has actually served in Baghdad . I have yet to find out Nye’s position on gay rights issues, but I suspect that it will have to be friendlier than Thelma Drake’s unless she breaks ranks with the Chimperator. Glenn Nye’s website can be found here: http://www.glennnye.com/home/

Nye grew up in Norfolk, Virginia and is a graduate of the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University in Washington, DC. He recently returned home to Hampton Roads from Iraq, where he advised a USAID program, working closely with military colleagues to stabilize Iraqi neighborhoods by creating employment for over 70,000 Iraqis. In 2001, Nye received the State Department's Superior Honor Award for organizing the rescue of American citizens caught behind insurgent lines in Macedonia.

Final Tuesday Male Beauty

SNL Shows Poor Judgment with Gay Sketch

With the recent murder of two gay teenagers and the brutal attack on another, one would think that Saturday Night Live might have thought twice before airing a sketch basically making fun of lesbians. With all the hate filled messages being continually disseminated by the Christianists and members of the GOP across the country, a supposed comedy show should not be adding to a mentality where gays are open game for ridicule and off screen much worse. When I first bought my house in a neighborhood of 80 to 100 year old homes that had seen better days but which had started to transition back for the better, I can assure you that hearing punks yell "get out of here faggot or we'll kill you" was not exactly heart warming. This type of crap on SNL does NOT help end that mentality. Here is what QueerTwoCents very correctly had to say on the topic (http://queertwocents.blogspot.com/2008/03/ellen-page-is-lesbian-sketch-snl.html):

Is the Oscar-nominated star of the hit film Juno, Canadian actress Ellen Page (pictured at left), a lesbian? Just the rumour that the 21-year-old Page might be gay provoked Saturday Night Live into action this past weekend. They built an entire sketch around Page's goin'-gay (or not, wink, wink). Her sketch character pokes fun at the pesky lesbian notion when she returns home to her boyfriend after attending a Melissa Etheridge concert. She declares to him (SNL regular, Andy Samberg) that she felt like "...an oil lamp that had never been lit... now I'm finally burning bright with sister fire." She added, "There were so many cute short hair cuts and I didn't care that I didn't have any makeup on..." The boyfriend declares she's "so gone gay", to which she replies, "Why can't I just hug a woman with my legs in friendship?"

Wasn't it only the morning before that the other Ellen, the openly gay one, Ms. DeGeneres, told her vast TV audience that it's "okay to be gay" and that we should "... start paying attention to how often being gay is a punchline . . . Ellen DeGeneres' words were not prophetic, just accurate. Choosing to make fun of someone or maliciously speculate about their 'chosen lifestyle' because of a haircut or "tomboy movie roles", is still a national sport and we are still the targets. Whether Ms. Page is lesbian - or not - it's too bad she felt the need to participate in the hunt.

American Idol Contestant Danced At Gay Strip Club

On a lighter note, Huffington Post is reporting (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/03/04/idol-contestant-danced-_n_89743.html) that American Idol contestant, David Hernandez (pictured abaove) , once worked as a dancer at a gay strip club. Apparently this past employment will not prevent Hernandez from remaining as a show contestant. I suspect this news will boost viewership - which is probably why American Idol wants Hernandez to remain a contestant. Here are highlights from HP:

LOS ANGELES — The Associated Press has learned that David Hernandez will remain on "American Idol," despite his past as a male stripper. Hernandez will perform Tuesday night as planned, said a person close to the show who is not authorized to comment publicly and asked not to be identified.

A strip club manager confirmed to The AP on Monday that the 24-year-old from Glendale, Ariz., was a stripper at Dick's Cabaret in Phoenix for three years before joining the Fox singing competition. Fox has declined to comment on Hernandez or his status.

More Tuesday Male Beauty

Limbaugh Caller Says Obama Reminds Daughter of Cartoon Monkey; Limbaugh Urges Votes for Hillary

This is the mindset that Hillary is apparently pandering to (http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalradar/2008/03/limbaugh-caller.html) if the information referenced in my prior post turns out to be true. It is also telling that Mr. Limbaugh is encouraging Republicans to go out and vote for Hillary in order to help the GOP cause. Here is a brief highlight from ABCNews:

ABC News' Tahman Bradley Reports: Conservative talk radio host Rush Limbaugh issued an on-air apology to Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., today after a caller said her daughter thought the Democratic presidential frontrunner looked like the cartoon character Curious George, a monkey. Limbaugh, who laughed at the caller's comments, later apologized explaining he didn't know anything about Curious George.

Here is what Limbaugh is telling his listeners in Texas and Ohio - again, why don't Hillary's supporters get the message? (http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,334669,00.html):

RUSH LIMBAUGH, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: I don't know if the audience is mobilizing or not. I am urging people — I am using a phrase — the Republicans — our nominee is chosen. It's John McCain. Texas is open. And I want Hillary to stay in this, Laura. This is too good a soap opera. We need Barack Obama bloodied up politically, and it's obvious that the Republicans are not going to do it and don't have the stomach for it.

This is the presidency of the United States you're talking about. I want our party to win. I want the Democrats to lose. They're in the midst of tearing themselves apart right now. It is fascinating to watch, and it's all going to stop if Hillary loses. So yes, I'm asking to cross over and, if they can stomach it — I know it's a difficult thing to do to vote for a Clinton — but it will sustain this soap opera, and it's something I think we need. It would be fun, too.

Clinton Playing The Race Card Again? If So, She Is NOT Worthy to Be President

Both Daily Kos (http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/3/3/14550/75567/858/467989) and America Blog (http://www.americablog.com/2008/03/why-is-obamas-skin-blacker-than-normal.html) are reporting what, if true, has to be the lowest and nastiest stunt used by Hillary's campaign yet: ads that suggest they were intentionally darkened so as to show Barack Obama's skin significantly darker than it has ever appeared in any debate and other video footage I have seen. Having seen Obama in person, I can attest that the skin tone in the new Clinton ad is MUCH darker than his skin in real life. The Clintons have shown that they have utterly NO SHAME other occasions, so it is unfortunately all too easy to assume that once again they are showing themselves to be utter dirt bags. If this stunt is true, obviously, Hillary thinks black voters are so stupid they will vote for her in November even after she has resorted to disgusting tactics like this to try to win the primary. I'm truly beginning to believe she has Karl Rove secretly on her payroll. This stunt has made her even more unelectable against McCain. Here are highlights from Kos:

Call me crazy, but it certainly appears to me that Sen. Obama's skin tone is significantly darker in the Clinton campaign commercial. Watch it again and see if you agree. Now, as most of us know, one of the ways in which to demonize a person of color is to make them appear darker than they are. By this twisted logic, somehow being more black makes you more threatening. One of the first times I distinctly recall this issue being brought to the forefront was the Time Magazine cover picture of O.J. Simpson after his arrest. Time was heavily criticized for darkening the shade of Simpson's skin in the cover photograph. Whether intentional or not, the message was that a darker skinned Mr. Simpson somehow was more threatening or frightening than a lighter skinned Juice. Notwithstanding the ridiculousness of this notion, it attempts to exploit stereotypes concerning race--specifically, to dredge up fear of black men. IF the Clinton campaign has deliberately doctored the footage of Sen. Obama to exploit racist fears, she should be banished from American political life--along with anyone else involved.

Here are John Aravosis' remarks:

I went and got the original footage from the Clinton ad, and then compared it to 3 different video clips of the same debate from 3 different sources. I did this so as to take into account any editing, or quality issues, that might have accounted for Obama having darker skin in any particular video. None of the 3 video sources I found showed Obama nearly as black as the Hillary ad does. Click the image above to see a larger version. Look at his lips. Look at his eyebrows. Look at how the red MSNBC background has turned more purple. Clearly the image was darkened. The question is "why."

It just keeps happening again and again and again. The Clintons keeps doing things, saying things, that sound awfully racist. And we're to believe that this, the - what? 8th, 10th time? - this has happened is again just a coincidence. The first half a dozen times you launch seemingly racist attacks on your black opponent, maybe - maybe - we can write it off as "boy you're really dumb not to get it." But having a seemingly-racist attack from the Clinton folks on Obama every single week, after a while, you don't get to play the "I had no idea!" card anymore. After that many times, you're race-baiting. You're using racism to win. And you're destroying your legacy and your husband's. Enough already.

Tuesday Male Beauty

The $2 Trillion Nightmare

Bob Herbert at the New York Times has a good opinion column in today's paper (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/04/opinion/04herbert.html?em&ex=1204779600&en=c44ca333e64258c9&ei=5087%0A) that focuses on the financial cost of the Iraq War. It does not even get into the costs in terms of lives lost - both American and Iraqi, although obviously the latter mean nothing to the Christianist base of the GOP - and the increased danger to the USA as a result of the Chimperator's ill-conceived and fraudulently marketed war adventure. Sadly, not enough attention has been paid to this financial disaster which John McCain is willing to extend indefinitely and for which Hillary Clinton voted authorization TWICE. Here are some highlights that look at other ways this incedibly vast amount of money might better have been spent:

The war in Iraq will ultimately cost U.S. taxpayers not hundreds of billions of dollars, but an astonishing $2 trillion, and perhaps more. There has been very little in the way of public conversation, even in the presidential campaigns, about the consequences of these costs, which are like a cancer inside the American economy. Mr. Stiglitz and Mr. Hormats both addressed the foolhardiness of waging war at the same time that the government is cutting taxes and sharply increasing non-war-related expenditures.

On Thursday, the Joint Economic Committee, chaired by Senator Chuck Schumer, conducted a public examination of the costs of the war. The witnesses included the Nobel Prize-winning economist, Joseph Stiglitz (who believes the overall costs of the war — not just the cost to taxpayers — will reach $3 trillion), and Robert Hormats, vice chairman of Goldman Sachs International. Both men talked about large opportunities lost because of the money poured into the war. “For a fraction of the cost of this war,” said Mr. Stiglitz, “we could have put Social Security on a sound footing for the next half-century or more.”

Mr. Hormats mentioned Social Security and Medicare, saying that both could have been put “on a more sustainable basis.” And he cited the committee’s own calculations from last fall that showed that the money spent on the war each day is enough to enroll an additional 58,000 children in Head Start for a year, or make a year of college affordable for 160,000 low-income students through Pell Grants, or pay the annual salaries of nearly 11,000 additional border patrol agents or 14,000 more police officers.

What we’re getting instead is the stuff of nightmares. Mr. Stiglitz, a professor at Columbia, has been working with a colleague at Harvard, Linda Bilmes, to document, among other things, some of the less obvious costs of the war. These include the obligation to provide health care and disability benefits for returning veterans. Those costs will be with us for decades. Already we are seeing large numbers of returning veterans showing up at V.A. hospitals for treatment, large numbers applying for disability and large numbers with severe psychological problems.”

The Bush administration has tried its best to conceal the horrendous costs of the war. It has bypassed the normal budgetary process, financing the war almost entirely through “emergency” appropriations that get far less scrutiny.