More Saturday Male Beauty

Through Sickness, Health and Sex Change

The law really does not contemplate what happens when one member of a married heterosexual couple has sex reassignment surgery and legally becomes a member of the opposite sex, thereby suddenly making the marriage a same sex marriage. Virginia certainly does not - even though there are couples that find themselves in that situation as is the case with one of my clients. Does the law ignore the sex change? Does the marriage between what are now a same sex couple violate state constitutional provisions banning same sex marriages? Because Virginia does recognize sex reassignment surgery and will grant amended birth certificates, there truly is no definitive answer since the marriage was legal when the parties entered into it. No doubt in some state somewhere a court decision will be handed down in the future that squarely addresses the situation. Until then, the issue remains clouded and, depending on differing state laws, will probably remain clouded in many states. Of course, situations involving such couples make Christianist hate merchants like Matt Staver of Liberty Counsel, a wingnut "public interest law firm," nearly foam at the mouth. Because of all of this, I found this New York Times story on one such couple interesting. Here are some highlights:
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THERE are ways in which the Brunners are like many other middle-aged married couples. Former high school and college sweethearts, they finish each other’s sentences and order the same food at restaurants. They shuttle their three children to sports practices, and laugh when their 90-pound Labrador retriever jumps onto the sofa to lick guests.

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“We’re one of the few of our friends who are still in our original marriage,” Denise Brunner said. But it is not exactly the same union, as evidenced by their marriage certificate, which they have enlarged to poster size to make the point. The original, from 1980, listed Donald Brunner as the bridegroom and Frances Gottschalk as the bride. But a sex-change operation in 2005 turned Donald into Denise. Fran stood by her spouse, and the couple secured an amended certificate, putting “Denise” next to “bridegroom” for lack of other options.

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Massachusetts is the only state to have legalized same-sex marriage, and the Brunners are two women married to each other in New Jersey. As this state (along with Connecticut, Vermont and New Hampshire) confronts challenges over whether its civil unions fulfill the mandate of providing same-sex couples equal rights and benefits, the Brunners offer themselves as Exhibit A on how the nation’s dizzying patchwork of marriage laws, which include the domestic partnerships of California and other states, may be out of step with people’s lives. The Brunners say they have no interest in obtaining a civil union — they consider it a downgrading of their relationship — but they do worry about their status.

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Julie A. Greenberg, a professor at the Thomas Jefferson School of Law in San Diego, said marriages like that of the Brunners are rarely challenged by government agencies because more conservative states do not recognize sex changes, and more liberal ones (like New Jersey) are loath to seem hostile to transsexuals.

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Legal groups that have fought to preserve traditional marriage are less concerned with couples like the Brunners than those like the Littletons, who seek a heterosexual union after surgery. “What you’re born with is what you are,” said Mathew Staver, the founder of the Liberty Counsel, a nonprofit organization in Florida, who successfully argued the final stages of the 2004 Florida case. “It’s the same as if you go through plastic surgery to look like Marilyn Monroe, but you’re still not Marilyn Monroe.”

Saturday Male Beauty

Southwest Virgina's Mortality Mystery

I noticed a story earlier in the week that looked at the declining life expectacy in various parts of the USA, including Southwest Virginia, but I did not find time to do a post on it. Now, today, the Washington Post has a story that focuses on Southwest Virginia's declining life expectancies, particularly for women. The article looks at a number of factors, but never adequately focuses on what I suspect is a major factor: lack of health insurance coverage that allows preventative treatment and diognostic tests. It is mentioned briefly, but fails to point out that emergency room care in non-profit hospitals does NOT include such medical treatment. Therefore, I believe much of the population lacks decent medical insurance coverage and as a result lacks minimal quality care. In fact, years ago my sister who is a nurse practioner worked in a clinic in that area of the state under a UVA grant and was horrified at the conditions and lack of medical care.

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As backward as the greater Norfolk area seems at times, it is down right cosmopolitan and progressive compared to the southwest part of the Virginia which is the poorest area in the state and also the most backward in terms of social views and education. Other than coal mine operations, there are not many large employers in that area of the state - not anymore that is. Furniture manufacturers, textile mills and other former large manufacturing and industrial employers that once paid a living wage and provided health insurance coverage have largely closed down as jobs have been exported overseas. As the article notes, even Wal-Mart closed a store in that region. The state is making efforts to induce new employers to relocate to that part of the state, but few progressive firms would want to be based in that area. While the area is physically beautiful and has gorgeous mountains (the Appalachian Trail runs throught the area), socially it is like a 1950's time warp in the worse sense and no liberal or gay in their right mind would move there if they had a choice in the matter. In fact, those with brains and ambition leave the area for more progressive parts of the state or country. Thus, the area is in a downward spiral - the more backward and reactionary it becomes, the fewer would be employers want to relocate there. Bigotry, reactionary politics (Southwest Virginia is the GOP's most secure bastion in Virginia) and fundamentalist Christianity which predominate the area have a very high price in terms of driving development and progress away. Here are some story highlights:

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In this corner of southwest Virginia, cow-speckled fields and empty downtown streets tell of a slower, calmer life. It's a place where older men can be found around a table every morning drinking 25-cent coffee with the nearest Starbucks miles away. Residents will tell you little distinguishes the city of Radford and neighboring Pulaski County from elsewhere in rural America. That is what troubles health-care workers here most about a new study that found a sharp drop in life expectancy for women in the two communities.

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According to the study, life expectancy for women dropped in nearly 1,000 counties but fell most in Radford and Pulaski. In 1983, life expectancy for women in the two jurisdictions was about 84 years. By 1999, it had dropped 5.8 years, to 78. No other jurisdiction in the nation had a decrease of more than 3.3 years.

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But in an area struggling economically, where the day's gas prices might determine whether it's worth a drive to the doctor's office, it's not always easy to push preventive measures, he said. "If you are struggling to put food on the table, you don't have time to think about prevention," Hershey said, adding that lack of health insurance is a significant problem in southwest Virginia.

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On Main Street in the town of Pulaski, economic distress is clear. "For Sale" signs hang on several storefronts, and even at lunchtime, few people stroll the streets. It wasn't always like this, business owner David Allen said. That was before popular stores left and major manufacturers, such as Pulaski Furniture, where many residents worked, closed. Now everyone talks about expected layoffs at Volvo, a major employer. "It's going downhill," John Stevens said. "We even lost a Wal-Mart here. Who loses a Wal-Mart?"

Hillary's Gay Problem - Continued

I and others have written about Hillary Clinton's almost choke like reflex when it comes to allowing the word "gay" to come from her lips. It's like the thought of uttering the word frightens her. John Aravosis was among those who have noted this phenomenon. Not surprisingly, gays and the LGBT communit continue to be invisible on Hillary's campaign website. Today at America Blog John has an update on this issue. As I have stated, if Hillary cannot bear to say the word "gay" in public, why do some gays foolishly think she's going to be forceful on gay issues? Here's what John Aravosis found:

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I wrote the other day about how Hillary seems downright afraid of saying the word "gay" (and don't even try to get her to say "lesbian"). I thought it might be interesting to see, in a real-world gay event, just how often Hillary used the words gay, lesbian and lgbt as compared to Obama. Well, what better event to test the candidates than the LOGO gay forum last August where all the Dem candidates were quizzed about gay issues. Here's what we found, in terms of how often Obama and Hillary used the following gay-related words:

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Obama: 7 gay, 5 lgbt, 3 lesbian

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Clinton: 2 gay, 1 lgbt, 0 lesbian

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So that's 15 references for Obama, 3 for Hillary. And notably, no "lesbian" at all for Hillary.

Final Friday Male Beauty

Junk Science - i.e., Ex-Gay Blather - on Stage

Personally, I hope this year the APA will totally ban its members from using ex-gay snake oil to try to "cure" gays. Hence, it is with dismay that I read that Warren Throckmorton - a leading ex-gay proponent and religious fanatic (in my opinion) who has acquired a taste for the money parents will spend when they learn they have a gay child - will be part of a symposium at the APA's 2008 convention in Washington. I base my low opinion of Throckmorton on numerous e-mail exchanges that we have had, reading his APA Journal articles that do not support the "cures" he purports to offer, and personal attacks he has made against me based on my efforts to expose ex-gays as a fraud perpetrated by Christianists for political and financial reasons.

To this day Throckmorton - who lectured me on the need to change my orientation - has never asnwered a question I posed to him: namely, if homosexuality was the norm and being heterosexual was not, could he change his inate attraction to women as opposed to men so as to be "normal." He asks of others what he himself could not do. One can only suggest that someone at the APA needs their head examined for allowing this carnaval to occur. While Throckmorton claims that he is not a practitioner of reparative therapy, merely calling something by a different name doses not change its substance. One only need read Throckmorton's writings on Christianist web sites to see what he is peddling and it is reparative therapy regardless of what he calls it. Here are highlights from Gay City News on the travesty involving Throckmorton:

[A]t the APA's 2008 convention in Washington, the group will host a symposium, at which one of the two mental health practitioner-panelists is Dr. Warren Throckmorton, a psychologist without state board certification and an advocate for "Sexual Identity Therapy," which he says he has successfully applied to help patients "alter homosexual feelings or behaviors" and live their lives "heterosexually" with "only very few weak instances of homosexual attraction."

[W]hat make this story intriguing, and indeed troubling. Instead it is the embrace by a scientifically-based organization, APA, of an unlicensed practitioner who espouses controversial professional opinions about homosexuality but can point to no peer-reviewed findings that his clinical approach has merit.

While calling on practitioners to "do all that is possible to decrease the stigma related to homosexuality," the group, in the face of determined opposition from a small number of psychiatrists, held back from branding conversion therapy "unethical." But three years later, in 2000, APA adopted a position recommending that "ethical practitioners refrain from attempts to change individuals' sexual orientation, keeping in mind the medical dictum, to 'first do no harm.'"

Drescher doesn't buy this benign view of Throckmorton, terming him in his AGLP riposte to Scasta a "spin doctor of the ex-gay myth," and warning of the symposium's "potential harm," particularly if its presentation at an APA convention "becomes a PR tactic to buttress the standing of conversion therapies to the general public."

On his blog, Throckmorton argues that he is not a conversion or reparative therapist, specifically rejecting the traditional focus of such practitioners on gay men's "failure to bond with the father" as the root of their disorder. Instead, without laying out his own therapeutic approach in detail, he claims to meet troubled gay men where they are, as it were, to help them "pursue their objectives." But like reparative therapists, Throckmorton claims success with leading gay men away from homosexuality and is unable to point to any data or research to buttress his assertions.

Wayne Besen, the founder of Truth Wins Out, a non-profit aimed at exposing "the 'ex-gay' myth," argues that Throckmorton's primary goal is to supplant the reparative therapy model championed by Dr. Joseph Nicolosi, who heads up the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality. NARTH's work, which has won wide acclaim in Christian right circles, is rejected by every leading mental health and education association, including APA. According to Besen, Throckmorton and Nicolosi previously worked collaboratively, but have since had a falling-out.

More Friday Male Beauty

Focus on the Family Head Hijacking National Day of Prayer

Like Thomas Jefferson and other founding fathers I believe it is dangerous and contrary to the U. S. Constitution to have one religious group intertwine itself with government and seek to mandate religious beliefs to all citizens. Yet that is precisely what Daddy Dobson and his anti-gay, anti-immigrant, anti-non-Christian, anti-religious freedom Focus on the Family are seeking to do - with no opposition from many government officials, some of whom may not know that Dobson and his religion of hate are endeavoring to hijack the events. Americans United for Separation of Church and State has issued a press release that exposes the Dobson/Christianist agenda. It can be found here. As is all too typical, Dobson and company are using deceit to recruit the participation of others under false pretenses. Here are some highlights:

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The congressionally mandated National Day of Prayer scheduled for May 1 this year has been largely hijacked by the Religious Right and is being used as an opportunity to promote a far-right religious-political agenda. “In many cases, this event is more about politics than prayer,” said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United. “It’s just another excuse for the Religious Right to attack church-state separation.”

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Many events around the country this year are being coordinated by the National Day of Prayer Task Force, a Colorado Springs-based Religious Right organization run by Shirley Dobson, wife of Focus on the Family Chairman James C. Dobson. The NDP Task Force’s Web site claims it is the “National Day of Prayer Official Web Site,” but, in fact, the group has no official status. The Task Force states that its purposes is to “Foster unity within the Christian Church” and “Publicize and preserve America’s Christian heritage.” Non-Christians are usually prohibited from leading or speaking at NDP Task Force events.

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The Dobsons require volunteer prayer coordinators to sign a fundamentalist statement of faith that declares that “the Holy Bible is the inerrant Word of The Living God” and that “Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the only One by which I can obtain salvation.” In addition, the NDP Task Force Web site promotes “Drive-Thru History,” a home-school curriculum produced by pseudo-historian David Barton that promotes the idea that America was founded to be a “Christian nation.”

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“The National Day of Prayer Task Force doesn’t even pretend to acknowledge religious tolerance or our country’s great diversity,” Lynn said. “It’s time for the government to stop working with this group.” Lynn noted that leading Founders such as Thomas Jefferson and James Madison opposed government proclamations of days of prayer. They believed such events constitute improper government intrusion into religious matters.

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Back in November 2003 when I was a workshop panelist at the NGLTF Creating Change Conference, I had an opportunity to meet Barry Lynn and talk with him on a casual one-on-one basis. The man is very knowledgeable and knows his facts - something that sadly too few Americans understand and which makes them vulnerable to the snake oil marketed by Dobson and others of his ilk who seek to disingenuously re-write the nation's true history.

Ass Backwards Thinking - Except Possibly in the Long Run

Chris Wilson at Slate has an utterly ridiculous column on why Obama - not Hillary - should drop out of the race. Long term under his view, Obama wins, although the country gets fu*ked over for four more years under a McCain administration. Basically, his analysis comes to the fact that because Hillary Clinton is such a self-centered, vicious, slash and burn, nasty shrew that is willing to destory the Democrat Party , Obama should drop out. In return, Wilson maintains that Obama would be set to take the Democrats to victory in 2012 after Hillary goes down to defeat against John McCain.

Obama is supposed to take this magnanimous step even though he has won more votes, more delegates, and is more electable than the she-bitch. To me, that kind of thinking is analogous to religious denominations that maintain anti-gay policies for the sake of "unity" rather than mustering the resolve to tell the hate filled element in the pews to get a life and get their heads out of their ass. The reality is that the superdelegates and Party leaders need to get some backbone and tell Hillary it is over NOW. Period. End of discussion. But such a move would take true leadership - something the Democrat Party leaders have not shown to date. Here are some highlights:

If Clinton had the good of the Democratic Party in mind, she would have given up her bid the day after the Mississippi primary, which Obama won by 25 points. The delegate math was as dismal for her campaign then as it is now, even after Pennsylvania, and she was facing down a six-week gulf before the next election. But Hillary Clinton isn’t going to drop out. There simply isn’t a function in her assembly code for throwing in the towel.

Obama, on the other hand, is fully capable of it. And if he’s really serious about representing a new kind of politics, now is the time for him to prove it in the only meaningful way left. Moreover, were he to play it right, dropping out now nearly guarantees that he’ll be elected president in 2012. Here’s the roadmap:

In one stroke, Obama will regain his messiah creds by making the ultimate sacrifice for the good of the party. His followers will be furious. The mere mention of Clinton’s name will provoke unspeakable acts. They will abandon Clinton in numbers sufficient to hand McCain the election in November.

Losing the presidency again after eight years of Bush will ruin the Democratic Party. It will become obvious that Clinton’s decision to stay in the race was the turning point in the election. The base will turn its wrath on party leaders like Howard Dean and Nancy Pelosi, who failed to push Clinton out. Obama, as the de facto head of the party, will broker negotiations to install new leaders loyal to him.

McCain will be eminently more beatable in 2012. Demographics will continue to shift in Obama’s favor as his 14- to 17-year-old supporters come of voting age. Anyone foolish enough to challenge Obama for the nomination—and don’t rule out Clinton—will go nowhere. Obama’s utopian vision for a Democratic party unified around him will be complete.

Friday Male Beauty

Benedict XVI Continues to Coddle Those Who Covered Up Abuse

Hillary is Alienating Black Voters

In her quest to destroy the Democrats if she can not be the nominee, Hillary (with assistance from Slick Willie) is doing immense damage to the loyalty of Black voters to the Democrat Party. I really cannot recall when I have seen a candidate as self-centered and vicious as Hillary has become. I increasingly think both she and Slick Willie completely are amoral. They will do anything and harm anyone they deem necessary to further their own uncontrolable thirst for power. Do we really need individuals like that in the White House? Not in my opinion. This New York Times story demonstrates what blacks are saying. Here are some highlights:
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The third-ranking Democrat in the House of Representatives and one of the country’s most influential African-American leaders sharply criticized former President Bill Clinton this afternoon for what he called Mr. Clinton’s “bizarre” conduct during the Democratic primary campaign. Representative James E. Clyburn, an undeclared superdelegate from South Carolina who is the Democratic whip in the House, said that “black people are incensed over all of this,” referring to statements that Mr. Clinton had made in the course of the heated race between his wife, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, and Senator Barack Obama.

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In an interview with The New York Times late Thursday, Mr. Clyburn said Mr. Clinton’s conduct in this campaign had caused what might be an irreparable breach between Mr. Clinton and an African-American constituency that once revered him. “When he was going through his impeachment problems, it was the black community that bellied up to the bar,” Mr. Clyburn said. “I think black folks feel strongly that that this is a strange way for President Clinton to show his appreciation.”

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Mr. Clyburn added that there appeared to be an almost “unanimous” view among African-Americans that Mr. and Mrs. Clinton were “committed to doing everything they possibly can to damage Obama to a point that he could never win.”

More Thursday Male Beauty

Dedicated to homophobic bigot John Hagee

McCain to Face New Orleans Protest Over Anti-gay Pastor Hagee

Hopefully John McCain will learn that there is a down side to cozying up to a vile gay-hater like maga church pastor John Hagee, who this week told a radio host that he stands by his comments that Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans because sinful gays were planning an event there (i.e., Southern Decadence). As Toweleroad is reporting, the flier shown above, is one that McCain will be greeted by. MoveOn is behind the action, asking people to sign a petition which will be delivered to McCain at his photo-op in a number of hours. The petition reads: "John Hagee continues to blame the people of New Orleans for the catastrophe of Katrina. Senator McCain: If you reject intolerance and bigotry, reject Hagee's political support and stop courting hate-mongers like him." You can sign the petition here.

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It is amazing to me how supposed "men of God" seem to specialize in dishing out hate. What would Jesus say? Here are some more highlights from Think Progress:

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On September 18, 2006, Pastor John Hagee — whose endorsement Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) said this past Sunday he was “glad to have” — told NPR’s Terry Gross that “Hurricane Katrina was, in fact, the judgment of God against the city of New Orleans.” “New Orleans had a level of sin that was offensive to God,” Hagee said, because “there was to be a homosexual parade there on the Monday that the Katrina came.”

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On his radio show yesterday, right-wing talker Dennis Prager asked Hagee to respond to “the various charges made against him” in a fact sheet put out by the Democratic National Committee. Asked about his comments on Hurricane Katrina, Hagee said “the topic of that day was cursing and blessing”:

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HAGEE: Yes. The topic of that day was cursing and blessing. … What happened in New Orleans looked like the curse of God, in time if New Orleans recovers and becomes the pristine city it can become it may in time be called a blessing. But at this time it’s called a curse. Prager followed up by asking if all natural disasters are a result of “the divine hand” and if there is “any natural disaster that is not the result of sin?” Hagee responded by saying “it’s a result of God’s permissible will” and “that there was going to be a massive homosexual rally there the following Monday,” which he said “was sin”:

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PRAGER: Right, but in the case, did NPR get, is this quote correct though that in the case of New Orleans you do feel it was sin?

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HAGEE: In the case of New Orleans, their plan to have that homosexual rally was sin. But it never happened. The rally never happened.

What the Pope [Did Not] Accomplished

With Benedict XVI's trip to the U.S. completed, a number of media outlets are running fluff stories like this one in Newsweek about "what the Pope accomplished." In my cynical view, other than receiving brown nosing from disingenous wingnut politicians (e.g., think of the Chimperator) and tossing out insincere apologies for the massive sex abbuse scandal within the American Catholic Church, Benedict XVI accomplished nothing of substance. Yes, he received cheers from choreographed crowds Catholic school children - who are still not adequately protected from predators within the Church - and aging nuns and employees of Catholic Schools. And he proved that there are still many Kool-Aid drinkers in the Church who refuse to see the Church hierarchy for the bunch of pompous, insincere phonies that they are. But nothing of true importance has changed. No thorough house cleaning of bishops and cardinals who covered up sex abuse was promised nor was any promise made that the Church would stop opposing legitimate claims by abuse victims and engaging in legal manuevers worthy of Maifia Dons. As the saying goes, talk is cheap and all Benedict XVI did was talk. No action. Here are a few highlights:

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"I will do all possible to be a real successor to Peter, who also was a man with all his faults and sins but who remains finally the rock for the church," the pontiff said in his thick German accent, speaking slowly and deliberately. The moment seemed to catch everyone off guard, including the row of journalists seated next to the altar.

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The words were an addendum to the pontiff's homily, in which for the fifth time during his five-day tour of America Benedict addressed the issue most prominent during his trip: the sexual abuse scandals that shook the American church six years ago and have cost it more than $2 billion in settlements, not to mention moral authority in the minds of many.

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But even if Benedict's messages were well received, the fruits of his work in America won't be seen overnight. (Victims of pedophile priests, in particular, are waiting to see if there are changes in church law that deal more harshly with abusive priests and the bishops who may have covered up for them.)

Thursday Male Beauty

Obama vs. Clinton on Gays

Others continue to note the difference between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton when it comes to even being willing to utter the word "gay." As I have said repeatedly, we are totally invisible in the Clinton campaign except for when Hillary does an interview with gay media outlets which I suspects she believes will remain "under the radar" vis-a-vis the main stream media. Or when she is seeking our money. Obama, on the other hand continues to take a far different approach as these highlights from a post by Andrew Sullivan reveal:

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This morning I saw an excerpt from Obama's concession speech in Indiana where he said the following:

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"Or this time, we can build on the movement we've started in this campaign – a movement that's united Democrats, Independents, and Republicans; a movement of young and old, rich and poor; white, black, Hispanic, Asian, and Native American, gay and straight."

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I have two comments about this: First, I cannot recall a politician ever speaking after a loss, proclaiming that he wants to bring together gays and straights. That is amazing. Can you imagine Hillary ever saying anything like that to a national audience, especially after a defeat?

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Second, the "gay and straight" portion is not included in the text of the speech on Obama's website. This means either 1) the campaign removed those words from the edited transcript or 2) (more likely) Obama's inclusion of "gay and straight" was impromptu. It wasn't included by the speech writers, but he included it at the spur of the moment. If this is true, how amazing it is that there is a politician who is willing to stand up for us gay Americans who have been ignored for so long.

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Yet many gays continue to blindly - and in my view very foolishly - support Hillary. If she cannot bring herself to say the word "gay" in a public forum, how can they possible trust her?

Home Sales Continue to Fall

The country's economic picture continues to sour as homes sales - both for new and existing homes - continue to fall with drops in home values accompanying the lower sales levels. In this area, the volume of sales has plummeted. Thankfully, prices have remained relatively stable - especially compared to other parts of the country. Personally, until the housing industry revives and revenues derived from it that have a tremendously wide ripple effect increase, I do not see any hope for an improved overall economy. Around these parts, mortgage lenders, realtors, contractors, title insurance companies and real estate law firms, and many others are really hurting. Naturally, the Chimperator hasn't yet figured out that the country is in a recession (the man is an utter moron). Here are highlights from MSNBC:

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WASHINGTON - Sales of new homes plunged in March to the lowest level in 16½ years as housing slumped further at the start of the spring sales season. The median price of a new home in March compared to a year ago fell by the largest amount in nearly four decades. The median price of a home sold in March dropped by 13.3 percent compared to March 2007, the biggest year-over-year price decline since a 14.6 percent plunge in July 1970.

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The dismal news on new home sales followed earlier reports showing that sales of existing homes fell by 2 percent in March. Housing, which boomed for five years, has been in a prolonged slump for the past two years with sales and home prices falling at especially sharp rates in formerly boom areas of the country. For March, sales were down in all regions of the country, dropping the most in the Northeast, a decline of 19.4 percent. Sales fell by 12.9 percent in the Midwest, 12.5 percent in the Midwest and 4.6 percent in the South.

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President Bush on Tuesday said the economy was not in a recession but a period of slower growth. However, economists who believe the country has fallen into a recession pointed to the string of declines in manufacturing orders to support their view.

More Wednesday Male Beauty

Responses to Comments on Clinton

I have been taken to task by some for stating that I do not know if I could bring myself to vote for Hillary Clinton if by some fluke - or more accurately, stolen nomination - she were to become the Democrat Party nominee. While I very much do not want another Republican administration, especially one that would prolong the disaster in Iraq, I have to seriously question whether or not McCain would be worse than another dose of Bill and Hillary. I am liberal on social issues and an ardent supporter of gays rights, but the thought of 4 or 8 more years of constant scandals and self-serving conduct by the Clintons is hard to stomach. Their tactics to date have shown that they care only for themselves ultimately, regardless of whatever lip service they give to the contrary. Moreover, other than using gays as a source of votes and money, I do not expect Hillary to do anything for gay rights. We will be thrown under the bus the second our uselfulness is over.

The only thing that would perhaps swing me over to vote for her if, God forbid, she is the nominee would be to protect future nominations to the U. S. Supreme Court. Obviously, I'd prefer to avoid the whole situation by seeing Obama get the nomination. While white blue collar racists like those in rural Pennsylvania who voted for Hillary (as a native of Syracuse, New York, I traveled through rural Pennsylvania often and it makes Norfolk, Virginia, look downright progressive and racially tolerant) may be inclined to vote against a black man - they seem to forget he is also half white - I believe the issue of the economy and the Iraq War will make them vote against their racial bias and support Obama. I continue to believe Obama has a far better chance of carrying more states than Hillary, Virginia being one of them.

More Appalachian Trail Photos 4/23/08

My son uploaded a few more photos to his flicker account and I have posted two of them: One is a view from the Trail to the west looking out over Tennessee. The other overlooks Hot Springs, North Carolina, so named for its 100 degree hot springs, whic is roughly 20 miles north of the Great Smokey Mountain National Park.

Hillary's Gay Problem - Why Can't She Even Utter the Word?

I have been complaining for a long time now about the fact that the LGBT community is invisible if one looks at Hillary Clinton's campaign website or listen to her statements to general audiences. We simply do not exist. In contrast, on Obama's website and in his commenets to general audiences we are frequently mentioned. Nonetheless a large segment of the LGBT community acts as if Hillary is some kind of would be savior. Personally, I believe that if she will not mention us now except in interviews with gay media outlets that rarely are viewed by the general public, it is lunacy to expect her to battle for LGBT issues if she becomes the nominee or is ultimately elected. The Clintons sold out the LGBT community with DOMA and DADT and I expect Hillary will do it again - but only after collecting as much money from gays as possible. In short, shes play the LGBT community as a bunch of simpletons. Fortunately, others are starting to echo my concerns, particularly at America Blog that also has a video of Hillary's interview on LOGO where she can barely say the word "gay." Here are some highlights:

Last month, a gay Philadelphian LGBT publisher raised the issue that Senator Obama, though often addressing LGBT issues and including us in his major speeches, was not granting his publication an exclusive interview. Senator Obama quickly addressed the issue and granted an exclusive interview to the national LGBT publication, The Advocate.

Tonight, following the Pennsylvania Primary, Senator Obama once again showed his commitment to our community by including us in his address to the nation. Senator Clinton, speech, once again, did not include us, and it brings up the issue that hers never do.

Obama mentions us in his speeches, a lot. And yes, Hillary will say those are just words. But you know, Obama was willing to chastize his own community for their homophobia in a speech given on Martin Luther King's birthday in MLK's own church to thousands of black leaders. Those are words that matter. Here's to hoping that Hillary can find it in herself to utter the word gay (and even lesbian) in a setting that isn't limited to a gay audience.

[N}otice how repeatedly in the interview Hillary hesitates and stumbles at places where you would naturally expect her to say the word "gay" - she doesn't say it - she kind of stops, doesn't say gay, then moves on. She's not comfortable saying the word. Obama is. I think that tells you something about how they feel about the issue inside.

Wednesday Male Beauty

For MJS

Thoughts on the Pennsylvania Results

T o say I am disappointed is an understatement. I wanted a strong enough showing for Obama to knock the bitch out of the race. I am beyond sick of the Clintons. If Hillary continues the slash and burn tactics of Karl Rove at his worse, I honestly believe she is guaranteeing defeat for the Democrats in November. Of course, she could care less as long as her ego is satisfied. She is engaging in precisely the type of campaign that will make young voters (like my youngest daughter), blacks and former moderate Republicans (the majority of my extended family) stay home or vote for McCain out of disgust. And, yes I got an e-mail from my 80 year mother who had watched the returns and was not happy. There's one older white woman vote Hillary will NEVER get. Andrew Sullivan has a great assessment of Hillary and what is happening here:

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But she won't leave. She will never leave. Ceding to someone younger is unthinkable to her. It's a form of death for her.

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But here's what she does have: total shamelessness, and an absolute belief that she is the rightful nominee. Shamelessness: the appropriation of the message and even the words of her opponent; the portrayal of one of the most privileged and advantaged candidates in memory as an insurgent underdog; the eager embrace of the tactics - and message! - of the Rove right if it could help in any way; the picture of a candidate who saw a 20 - 25 point lead dissipate into single figures as a candidate for momentum. What sustains her is this deep, deep sense of entitlement and an absolute refusal to let the next generation take over. She will take this to the last day of the convention if necessary.

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If Obama thinks he has a right to actually be nominated by the Clinton Democrats because he has won more votes, more states and more delegates, he is sadly mistaken. They will never let such a person win without a death struggle. And that is where the Democrats are now headed.

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I find Hillary utterly loathsome. Lets hope stories break soon on Billary and dirty money or a bimbo erruption with Bill.

Technical Problems

I am not sure what is going on with Blogger today, but it has been very difficult to post photos and even print posts today. If things improve, I may post later if I am not too caught up in the Pennsylvania primaries coverage.

Tuesday Male Beauty

It's All About Me - The Hell With the Party

For some time now I have believed that Hillary Clinton is willing to destroy the Democrat Party if she cannot have her way and be the Perty nominee. If she willing to put her self interest/egomania ahead of the interests of her Party, will she do the same to the country if she were to be elected president. Based on her husband's tenure, I think the safe bet is a resounding "YES." With Bill and Hillary, it is ALWAYS about them. The almost obscene amount of money they have raked in since Bill Clinton left office is but one example. As this Wall Street Journal story indicates, some in the Democrat Part y are waking up to Hillary's true ruthlessness and indifference for the Party's welfare. I truly hope today's primary results will force her from the race. Neither the Party nor the country can afford any more of Hillary self-centered agenda. Here are some highlights:

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Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton unveiled new negative television ads and attacked each other personally from the stump this weekend ahead of Tuesday's Pennsylvania primary, stoking more worries among Democrats that the party's eventual nominee will head into the general election badly damaged. The rising vitriol is prompting more Democrats to demand that party leaders do something to end the battle.

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[S]ome party leaders are quietly planning to try to end the clash, said people familiar with the matter. After the primaries end in June, these influential Democrats -- led by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi -- plan to push the last uncommitted party leaders to endorse a candidate, in hopes of preventing a fight at the August presidential convention, party insiders say.

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While the Clinton camp insisted its volleys are in response to the Obama side's attacks, polls indicate Sen. Clinton comes in for more blame. "I'm really sick of it," says Mary Vilter, a 50-year-old Paoli, Pa., lawyer who initially supported Sen. Clinton but will vote for Sen. Obama.

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The party leaders' aim: To thwart the Clinton campaign's vow to fight all summer long to a final, nationally televised round at the Denver convention, so the party can get on with the battle against the likely Republican candidate, Arizona Sen. John McCain. Convention fights in past decades -- notably in 1968, 1972 and 1980 -- left deep divisions that contributed to the nominees' losses and hurt lesser candidates on the ballots.

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With Democrats protective of the House and Senate majorities just won in 2006, "Do you think for one minute that Nancy Pelosi or Harry Reid will allow this fight to go on and on and on?" says Donna Brazile, an uncommitted superdelegate as an official of the Democratic National Committee, and manager of the 2000 Gore campaign. "There's a group around [Sen. Clinton] that really wants to take the fight to the convention. They don't care about the party. It scares me, and that's what scares a lot of superdelegates."

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But come June 4, Mrs. Pelosi's Capitol suite could become the closest thing Democrats have to the proverbial smoke-filled room as she presses her members to endorse. The 233 House Democrats comprise nearly 30% of the superdelegates, and several scores remain uncommitted. Mrs. Pelosi will remain neutral, aides say, since as Speaker she will preside over the Aug. 25-28 convention. But Clinton advisers say they're convinced she favors Sen. Obama.

GOP Candidate Spends Hitler's birthday with Neo-Nazis

At least one current Republican candidate is not afraid to show his true colors when it comes to being a member of the party of discrimination and intolerance. Would that more members of today's GOP would be honest about their views of those who are not white and preferably Protestants. While Zirkle's opponents outwardly decry Zirkle's comments and actions, the Party as a whole continues to pander to the likes of Don Wildmon, James Dobson, and Tony Perkins (who had dealings with David Duke of KKK fame) who maintain web sites that carry a decidedly intolerant anti-immigrant, anti-gay, Christianist agenda. As I have said before, the GOP that I once knew has largely ceased to exist. Here are some highlights from Raw Story:

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Tony Zirkle is running for the 2nd District GOP nomination, but he has no support from local party officials, and the front-running candidate there refused to even participate in a recent debate with Zirkle.

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Zirkle said he would speak to any group that invites him, and that he admired the American National Socialist Workers Party's concern about "prostitution of young white women," according to WSBT-TV. Overthrow.com, a Web site associated with the "white advocacy" organization, reported that Zirkle "spoke on his history as a state’s attorney in Indiana, prosecuting Jewish and Zionist criminal gangs involved in trafficking prostitutes and pornography from Russia and the Zionist entity."

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Previously, Zirkle has questioned whether racial integration was a good idea, and he's proposed sending sex offenders to the guillotine. The suggestion that pornography "pimps" be subjected to the guillotine came during a 2006 campaign against then-incumbent Chris Chocola. He garnered 30 percent of the vote in that primary.

More Monday Male Beauty

Hillary Clinton - Anti-Feminist

I spoke last night by telephone with my mother and as is the norm in my family, part of the conversation drifted to politics and her wish that Hillary would get out of the campaign for president. In fact, she said she's so sick of hearing about Hillary and/or clips of her speaking that she has cut back on watching TV news programs. She just wishes Hillary would go away and again commented about other former Republicans who would vote for McCain rather than Hillary.

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While never a militant feminist, as the youngest of three daughters, my mother was raised by her dad as if she were the son he never had, for many years had her own career - plus significant assets of her own - and was never the meek house wife completely dominated by "the man of the house." She would and did put my father in his place. Perhaps she should have done it more often, but Tammy Wynette she wasn't. Thus, I think she typifies many older women in the voting pool. And her views are much like those of Camille Paglia based on Paglia's column in today's Daily Telegraph entitled "Why women shouldn't vote for Hillary Clinton."

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In many ways Paglia is right on point. Hillary makes use of the feminist mantra, but in fact acts quite the opposite - particularly in staying married to sleaze boy, Slick Willie. A number of my female friends still back Hillary because "she's one of us." Truth be told, she's not, but they cannot see it and do not want to hear it explained to them. Perhaps coming from another woman, the criticisms will sink in. Here are some column highlights:

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All women, on pain of excommunication from the feminist claque, must now support Hillary. Never mind her spotty record or her naked political expediency. Any woman with the temerity to endorse Barack Obama (as I do) is condemned as a "traitor" to her sex. "Gender is probably the most restricting force in American life," trumpeted Steinem earlier this year in an article promoting Hillary in the New York Times. Barriers of race, class or economics are waved away as mere frippery.

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Hillary's voter base consists of middle-aged to elderly white women who identify with her caustic, stubborn, bulldog resilience. Humiliated and upstaged by her philandering husband, Hillary is the champion of an army of women who were stymied, betrayed or outmanoeuvred by men. Over the past year, whenever her cowed male opponents mildly rebutted Hillary in debate, her campaign jumped into über-feminist mode: male bullies, they screeched, "ganging up" on a helpless damsel.

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Losing ground with other core groups - notably her own cohort of upper-middle-class, baby-boom career woman - Hillary played the gender card to the max. When polling showed she had seemed too harsh to the caucus-goers of Iowa, she rolled out teary eyes for New Hampshire, which handed her a primary victory. Hillary will scratch, claw, and morph through every gender trick if it rakes in votes.

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Whatever her official feminist credo, Hillary's public career has glaringly been a subset to her husband's success. Despite her reputation for brilliance, she failed the Washington, DC bar exam. Thus her migration to Little Rock was not simply a selfless drama for love; she was fleeing the capital where she had hoped to make her mark. In Little Rock, every role that Hillary played was obtained via her husband's influence - from her position at the Rose Law Firm to her seat on the board of Wal-Mart to her advocacy for public education reform.

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The argument, therefore, that Hillary's candidacy marks the zenith of modern feminism is specious. Feminism is not well served by her surrogates' constant tactic of attributing all opposition to her as a function of entrenched sexism. Well into her second term as a US Senator, Hillary lacks a single example of major legislative achievement. Her career has consisted of fundraising, meet-and-greets and speeches around the world expressing support for women's rights.

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She's a crucifix-wearing, Methodist do-gooder who confidently thinks she's God's agent. There's no room for random eroticism in her calendar. . . . Hillary's recent remarks about politics as a "boys' club" resistant to uppity women was sheer demagoguery. By progressing farther than any woman presidential candidate, she has become a role model for future aspirants. But by attaching herself so blatantly to anti-male rhetoric - particularly in view of her debt to her husband - she is espousing a retrograde brand of feminism no longer applicable to the US.

Leading Catholic Homophobe is Dead.

No, I'm not referring to Benedict XVI, although he certainly ranks among the upper tiers of the anti-gay hierachy that predominates the Roman Catholic Church. As 365gay.com reports, not only were Cardinal Alfonso Lopez Trujillo's comments hateful towards gays, they were also at times outright lies. In fact, his disregard for the truth in some ways almost rivaled that of the ex-gay "ministry" crowd that believes itself exempt from application of the Commandment against bearing false witness and lying. I hope Trujillo has a shock when he meets a gay affirming God (a female lesbian God is one fun vision I can picture) and has to answer for his hateful behavior. Here are some highlights:

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Cardinal Alfonso Lopez Trujillo, the man in charge of leading the attack on same-sex marriage and use of condoms to fight HIV/AIDS died Monday in a Rome hospital. He was 72. A hardliner who was president of the Pontifical Council for the Family, Trujillo frequently spoke out against the legalization of same-sex marriage and criticized governments in those countries that passed marriage equality legislation.

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In 2006 under his direction the Pontifical Council issued a 57-page document in which it said the traditional family has never been so threatened as in today's world. It also lashed out against contraception, abortion and in-vitro fertilization. Following the document's release the Cardinal said that if countries continue to liberalize laws on homosexuality Catholic Church leaders could be prosecuted.

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He also made headlines in 2003 when he said condoms did not prevent AIDS and may help spread it by creating a false sense of security. Trujillo said that HIV can easily pass through condoms and using them was "a form of Russian roulette'' in fighting AIDS. The World Health Organization issued an immediate statement saying that condoms were 90 percent effective when used properly.

Monday Male Beauty

Religion is ‘the New Social Evil’

I found this article in the London Times via Bob Felton's blog, Civil Commotion, which has great commentary on politics and its intersection with religion. Like me, Bob routinely takes the Christianist crowd to task. I suspect much of the anti-religion reaction the poll found is due to the Christian Right elements both in this country and the UK. Their counterparts in Australia look to be equally unloving toward their fellow man/woman. The findings also seem consistent with USA polls that show the under 30 generations have a majority negative view of Christianity, particularly due to its intolerance and anti-gay agenda. Obviously, the regular dissemination of hate and intolerance is having an impact, but not the one the Christianist had hoped for. Here are some highlights:

A poll by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation uncovered a widespread belief that faith - not just in its extreme form - was intolerant, irrational and used to justify persecution. Pollsters asked 3,500 people what they considered to be the worst blights on modern society, updating a list drawn up by Rowntree, a Quaker, 104 years ago. The responses may well have dismayed him. The researchers found that the “dominant opinion” was that religion was a “social evil”.

Many participants said religion divided society, fuelled intolerance and spawned “irrational” educational and other policies. “Faith in supernatural phenomena inspires hatred and prejudice throughout the world, and is commonly used as justification for persecution of women, gays and people who do not have faith.”

The findings contrast with Rowntree’s “scourges of humanity”, which included poverty, war, slavery, intemperance, the opium trade, impurity and gambling. Poverty and drugs remain, but are joined by issues such as family breakdown, young people’s behaviour and fears over immigration.

Appalachian Trail - Update

My son has uploaded some more photos as he continues north along the Appalachian Trail. He is currently headed up the section of the Trail that runs along the Tennessee/North Carolina border and has encountered some snow and cold temperatures (18 degrees F in the photo above). Among the places he has traveled through with other through hikers is Clingman's Dome, the highest point along the Appalachian Trail and which provides a 360º view of the surrounding mountains and an average viewing distance of about 22 miles and, on clear pollution free days, maximum views of as far as 100 miles into 7 states. As the photo indicates, viewing conditions were less than perfect, not to mention frigid.
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I am very proud of my son and while I initially had reservations about this adventure (I suspect most parents would), I am very happy that he has undertaken the hike and believe that he will learn and experience a great deal in the process. "Playing by the rules" and doing what's expected of you often leads to a dull and unfulfilled life - I did that for most of my life up until the last few years. I am proud that my son is setting his own course instead of living someone else's life.

Sunday Male Beauty

Media Military Analysts Gave Biased Reports

Personally, I am not the least bit surprised to find - as disclosed in this New York Times article - that the Chimperator's regime and the Pentagon gave mainstream media millitary analysts (who often are NOT disinerested parties) false information so that the media helped sell Chimpy and Cheney's lies. Let's face it, when the Chimperator and Cheney are talking (the same goes for their subordinantes) the safest assumption to be made is that they are lying. I hate to say it, but I believe that is the true bottom line.

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In some ways the bigger surprise is that it took the mainstream media so long to figure out that it was played for a fool and was utilized as a principal means of disseminating false information. No analyst is unbiased if he/she works for military contractors who are in bed with the Pentagon. As such, the mainstream media needs to rethink who is employed as a "military analyst" to insure that an objective view will be provided. Otherwise, the media is acting much like the German press under Hitler or the former communist regimes. It is a truly sad state of affairs. Here are some story highlights:

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To the public, these men are members of a familiar fraternity, presented tens of thousands of times on television and radio as “military analysts” whose long service has equipped them to give authoritative and unfettered judgments about the most pressing issues of the post-Sept. 11 world. Hidden behind that appearance of objectivity, though, is a Pentagon information apparatus that has used those analysts in a campaign to generate favorable news coverage of the administration’s wartime performance, an examination by The New York Times has found.

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The effort, which began with the buildup to the Iraq war and continues to this day, has sought to exploit ideological and military allegiances, and also a powerful financial dynamic: Most of the analysts have ties to military contractors vested in the very war policies they are asked to assess on air. Those business relationships are hardly ever disclosed to the viewers, and sometimes not even to the networks themselves. But collectively, the men on the plane and several dozen other military analysts represent more than 150 military contractors either as lobbyists, senior executives, board members or consultants.

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Records and interviews show how the Bush administration has used its control over access and information in an effort to transform the analysts into a kind of media Trojan horse — an instrument intended to shape terrorism coverage from inside the major TV and radio networks.

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In turn, members of this group have echoed administration talking points, sometimes even when they suspected the information was false or inflated. Some analysts acknowledge they suppressed doubts because they feared jeopardizing their access. A few expressed regret for participating in what they regarded as an effort to dupe the American public with propaganda dressed as independent military analysis. Analysts have been wooed in hundreds of private briefings with senior military leaders, including officials with significant influence over contracting and budget matters, records show.

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Five years into the Iraq war, most details of the architecture and execution of the Pentagon’s campaign have never been disclosed. But The Times successfully sued the Defense Department to gain access to 8,000 pages of e-mail messages, transcripts and records describing years of private briefings, trips to Iraq and Guantánamo and an extensive Pentagon talking points operation. These records reveal a symbiotic relationship where the usual dividing lines between government and journalism have been obliterated. Internal Pentagon documents repeatedly refer to the military analysts as “message force multipliers” or “surrogates” who could be counted on to deliver administration “themes and messages” to millions of Americans “in the form of their own opinions.”

Cease 'Spiritual Violence' Against Gays

This column in the Dallas Morning News authored by the chairman of the church council of University United Methodist Church in Madison, Wisconsin, puts into words what I have often tried to explain to non-gay accepting Christians both in my own denomination, the Evangelical Lurtheran Church in America ("ELCA"), and in other denominations and settings, including as a guest speaker on a few occasions in a college religion class where I spoke as a "gay Christian." This well stated message is especially timely as the ELCA begins to discuss a new statement on human sexuality. There are definintely elements in the ELCA who would rather maintain order and avoid division even at the cost of doing wrong in terms of the treatment and acceptance of LGBT individuals. Here are some highlights:

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Many voices from across The United Methodist Church are suggesting there is no way forward in the 36-year-long dialogue about the role and status of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in the church. Declaring an impasse, these voices call for an end to this dialogue in the name of peace and unity.

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Forty-five years ago, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote a now-famous letter from a jail cell in Birmingham, Ala., to a group of white clergy (including two Methodist bishops) who--in the name of "unity" and "peace"--had publicly called on King and his allies to cease their disturbing nonviolent protests against racial segregation.

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King wrote that the "great stumbling block" in the African-American struggle for equality was not blatant bigotry, "but the white moderate, who is more devoted to 'order' than to justice, who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice."

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I embrace our Wesleyan Christian vision of "making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world" . . . Yet we undercut these same goals when we continue to: 1) reject the gifts and graces of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons and their allies; 2) turn off a younger generation that views the Christian faith as "anti-homosexual;" 3) push LGBT youth into poverty and homelessness as families reject them because church and society stigmatizes LGBT persons; and 4) fail to address the role that ignorance and stigmatization of homosexuality (and other sexualities) play in the global AIDS epidemic.

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The United Methodist Church cannot enjoy true peace and unity while it engages in injustice and spiritual violence against some of its members. Biblical peace does not refer to the apparent absence of conflict, and still less to the suppression of dialogue. In the Bible, "peace" ("shalom" in Hebrew) is a holistic concept that includes justice and total well-being.

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These acts, justified by labeling LGBT people as "unrepentant sinners" inferior to all the "repentant sinners" in the church, are acts of spiritual violence, harming the souls of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons. It is tragic that being from a devout Christian family has been identified as a risk factor for suicide among LGBT youths.