Final Saturday Male Beauty

U.S. Okayed Korean War Massacres

John McCain, most in the GOP and of course the Christianists constantly screech that anyone who questions the USA's actions and/or questions military command decisions is unpatriotic, if not an outright traitor. This "America Right or Wrong" mentality nad the crazy belief that God is always on the USA's side has allowed so many horrors to occur over the years. Yet, time and time again individuals and commanders make the same sort of wrong-headed mistakes. We will probably never know for sure the total lives that have been lost for instance as a result of the Chimperator's delusional launch of the Iraq War. Based on this story from RawStory, would that there had been more unpatriotic individuals on the scene back in the 1950's. In my view, a true patriot does question the decision makers so as to try to keep the country form misdeeds and keep the democratic process alive. In this instance in Korea, one can only wonder as to how many innocent people died. Here are some story highlights:

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SEOUL The American colonel, troubled by what he was hearing, tried to stall at first. But the declassified record shows he finally told his South Korean counterpart it "would be permitted" to machine-gun 3,500 political prisoners, to keep them from joining approaching enemy forces. In the early days of the Korean War, other American officers observed, photographed and confidentially reported on such wholesale executions by their South Korean ally, a secretive slaughter believed to have killed 100,000 or more leftists and supposed sympathizers, usually without charge or trial, in a few weeks in mid-1950.

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Extensive archival research by The Associated Press has found no indication Far East commander Gen. Douglas MacArthur took action to stem the summary mass killing, knowledge of which reached top levels of the Pentagon and State Department in Washington, where it was classified "secret" and filed away.

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The most important thing is that they [US personnel] did not stop the executions," historian Jung Byung-joon, a member of the 2-year-old commission, said of the Americans. "They were at the crime scene, and took pictures and wrote reports." They took pictures in July 1950 at the slaughter of dozens of men at one huge killing field outside the central city of Daejeon. Between 3,000 and 7,000 South Koreans are believed to have been shot there by their own military and police, and dumped into mass graves, said Kim Dong-choon, the commission member overseeing the investigation of these government killings.

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It was the British who took action, according to news reports at the time. On Dec. 7, in occupied North Korea, British officers saved 21 civilians lined up to be shot, by threatening to shoot the South Korean officer responsible. Later that month, British troops seized "Execution Hill," outside Seoul, to block further mass killings there.

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An American historian of the Korean War, the University of Chicago's Bruce Cumings, sees a share of U.S. guilt in what happened in 1950. "After the fact, with thousands murdered, the U.S. not only did nothing, but covered up the Daejeon massacres," he said.

Jefferson Bible Reveals Founding Father's View of God

The Christianists who try to impose a literal application of the Bible to others (but always seem to exempt themselves from this practice) regularly put out the myth that the United States was founded as a Christian nation. True, many of the founding fathers were ostensibly Christians, but they surely were not Christianists and they would not condone the theocratic efforts of the likes of Daddy Dobson, Richard, Land, et al. No more glaring proof of this is readily available than the so-called Jefferson Bible, which Thomas Jefferson created for his own use and contained the portions of the Bible he saw as worthwhile. Notably, the entire Old Testament is omitted as are all of the books of the New Testament other than the four Gospels which Jefferson also edited. Would that more Americans knew their history so that they could not be so easily duped by the likes of Dobson and similar demagogues. Here are some highlights from the Los Angeles Times about the Jefferson Bible (the actual text can be found here):

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Making good on a promise to a friend to summarize his views on Christianity, Thomas Jefferson set to work with scissors, snipping out every miracle and inconsistency he could find in the New Testament Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.Then, relying on a cut-and-paste technique, he reassembled the excerpts into what he believed was a more coherent narrative and pasted them onto blank paper -- alongside translations in French, Greek and Latin.

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He called the book "The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth." Friends dubbed it the Jefferson Bible. It remains perhaps the most comprehensive expression of what the nation's third president and principal author of the Declaration of Independence found ethically interesting about the Gospels and their depiction of Jesus."I have performed the operation for my own use," he continued, "by cutting verse by verse out of the printed book, and arranging the matter, which is evidently his and which is as easily distinguished as diamonds in a dunghill."

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Like many other upper-class, educated citizens of the new republic, including George Washington, Jefferson was a deist.Deists differed from traditional Christians by rejecting miraculous occurrences and prophecies and embracing the notion of a well-ordered universe created by a God who withdrew into detached transcendence.Critics of the time regarded deism as an ill-conceived attempt to reconcile religion with scientific discoveries. For rationalists in the Age of Enlightenment, deism was one of many efforts to liberate humankind from what the deists viewed as superstitious beliefs.

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Discussions and letters between Jefferson and another friend, Philadelphia physician Benjamin Rush, led Jefferson to compile his "wee little book." In a letter to Rush on April 21, 1803, Jefferson said his editing experiment aimed to see whether the ethical teachings of Jesus could be separated from elements he believed were attached to Christianity over the centuries."To the corruption of Christianity I am indeed opposed," he wrote to Rush, "but not to the genuine precepts of Jesus himself."

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The Jefferson Bible remained largely unknown beyond a close circle of relatives and friends until 1904, when its publication was ordered by Congress. About 9,000 copies were issued and distributed in the Senate and the House. . . . It is hard to say whether Jefferson would have objected to publication of the book. "Say nothing of my religion," Jefferson once said. "It is known to myself and my God alone. Its evidence before the world is to be sought in my life; if that has been honest and dutiful to society, the religion which has regulated it cannot be a bad one."

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Would that the Christianists would follow Jefferson's example and keep their perverse religion between themselves and God alone. It sad to realize that the nation has gone from presidents like Jefferson to moronic cretins like the Chimperator.

More Saturday Male Beauty

The Chimperator and the GOP Convention

I find it all too appropriate - Divine justice perhaps - that the GOP is fretting over what to do with the Chimperator as the GOP Convention date gets closer. The same people who blindly rubber stamped and supported the cretinous Chimperator's every move are worried about him being too visible at the Party's August Convention. Heaven forbid that his visibility remind the public that all John McCain is offering is a Bush III regime. As if the first two Bush terms have not caused disaster enough. I sincerely hope that the Chimperator remains out of touch with reality, continues to see himself as a major asset for the Party and refuses to be invisible. The GOP establishment created, supported, and otherwise enabled the monster and it is only fair that they must live with the consequences. The nation is certainly paying a price for their misdeeds. Here are highlights from a New York Times story that looks at the GOP's distress:

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What if your family was planning a big end-of-summer bash (a Grand Old Party, you might call it) but preferred that you not be seen — or heard? That is the question hanging over President Bush, with eight weeks to go until Republicans gather in St. Paul to nominate Senator John McCain as his successor. Convention planners, the White House and the McCain campaign are wrestling with how to choreograph a proper send-off for Mr. Bush — sure, his poll numbers are in the tank, but he is still the party leader and president of the United States — while hustling him out the door in time for Mr. McCain to look like his own man.

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A convention is a pivot point, and the theatrics and imagery are often more important than the words. For Mr. McCain, of Arizona, the convention imagery will be especially important, because he must show that he wants to take the nation in a new direction, away from Mr. Bush, yet he cannot escape Mr. Bush’s dominance of Republican Party politics for the last eight years.

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This year, of course, Mr. McCain is trying to escape from Mr. Bush’s shadow. Most Republicans say Mr. Bush should play whatever role Mr. McCain wants him to. Some, like Representative Dana Rohrabacher of California, simply wish Mr. Bush would keep out of it, though few would say so openly. “I don’t think there are a lot of people who want to see him at the convention,” said Mr. Rohrabacher, who is especially irked with Mr. Bush for his stance on immigration. He said the president “should stay home from the Republican convention, and everybody would be better off.”

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[T]he crux of the Republicans’ 2008 convention quandary: If the imagery coming out of St. Paul looks like a McCain-Bush hug fest, the Arizona senator will turn off voters who are through with Mr. Bush and want to move past him. If the imagery looks like Mr. McCain is trying to file for some kind of Republican divorce, it will turn off party conservatives who are already skeptical of Mr. McCain. So Republicans may just have to grit their teeth.

ABBA Members Make Rare Appearance

Perhaps I am dating myself, maybe it is because I love to dance - a dancing queen if you will - or perhaps it was an early sign that I was gay (that I was slow to pick up on), but I have always liked ABBA and its music. In any event, the group appeared together with the lead cast members of the new movie "Mamma Mia!" at the movie's at the Swedish premiere. I have no idea whether the movie will be any good, but with 22 ABBA hits throughout it, the movie sound track will be good. Here are a few highlights from Reuters:

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STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - All four members of supergroup ABBA appeared together on Friday at the Swedish premiere of the film "Mamma Mia!", delighting fans with their first public showing for years. Benny Andersson, Bjorn Ulvaeus, Anni-Frid Lyngstad -- known as Frida -- and Agnetha Faltskog walked down the red carpet at a Stockholm movie theatre to the cheers of several thousand fans.

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The movie follows "Mamma Mia!" the musical, which toured worldwide and features 22 ABBA songs, including "Dancing Queen," "Take a Chance on Me" and "The Winner Takes It All". The foursome, who shot to fame when they won the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest, last performed together in public in 1986, although there were reports they sang together at a private birthday party for a friend in 1999. They were once reported to have been offered $1 billion to reunite for a concert tour.

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At the film premiere, Agnetha and Frida embraced with actress Meryl Streep, posing for pictures before the three did a dance together. Moments later, all four band members appeared on the theatre balcony. They stood together with Streep, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth and other members of the Mamma Mia! cast.

Saturday Male Beauty

A Candid Look at the Presidential Election and the Christian Right.

My friend Wayne Besen (who I got to know back in 2003 in our joint effort to expose national ex-gay and former Jerry Fallwell puppet, Michael Johnston as a total fraud-I am featured in a video on Wayne's Truth Wins Out website) has a column that looks at the dynamics of the 2008 presidential election and the role the Christianists of the far right will potentially play in the contest. I think Wayne's analysis is on point and it illustrates the way in which John McCain is selling his soul in order to pander to the intolerant, hate merchant demagogues. Candidly, I lose more respect for McCain who I met back in 2000 with every passing day and find it increasingly difficult to understand how some of my LGBT friends can say that they paln to vote for him. I hope that as McCain continues his shameless pandering more moderates and independents will abandon him. On a different note, as I indicated in a prior post, I believe that Obama's faith-based initiative proposal is a very bad idea as believe Wayne's assessment is accurate on that score. Here are some highlights from Wayne's column:

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For a brief moment, it looked as if the GLBT community might escape gratuitous gay baiting in the 2008 presidential campaign. Unlike the past few election cycles where the strategy was to secure the base at all costs, McCain and Obama were vigorously vying for moderate and Independent swing voters.

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Unfortunately, McCain made a strategic decision last week that he could not win without securing the party’s right wing base. My guess is that the campaign’s internal polling suggested that Obama – aided by his bloated bank account - was winning too many Independents, so McCain had no choice but to make peace with social conservatives. . . . Leaders from the Religious Right were reinforcing this reality by making it clear that if McCain did not grovel, they wouldn’t help get out the vote.

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With his divisive new strategy in place, McCain met with prominent social conservatives in Ohio and all but licked their boots. At the meeting, he announced his support for an initiative in California to ban same-sex marriage. In his speech he said that Californians ought to "recognize marriage as a unique institution between a man and a woman, just as we did in my home state of Arizona. I do not believe judges should be making these decisions." (Despite McCain’s anti-gay campaigning, the Arizona amendment failed)

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Obama, for his part, is going after religious voters who are dissatisfied with McCain. He met last month with Rev. Franklin Graham, the son of Billy Graham, and endorsed a sweeping faith based initiative. In my view, the faith-based initiative is a nightmare in practice, if not principle. These programs are useless, a waste of taxpayer money and are nothing more than pork barrel prayer and thinly disguised preacher payoffs. The Obama campaign should lose voters over this stunt, but it won’t, as McCain’s flirtation with the fringe no longer leaves him as a viable option.

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This past week will be remembered for McCain abandoning his efforts to win GLBT votes, but it will also mark the moment the GLBT community lost much of its leverage over the Obama campaign. The only way Obama could now lose significant GLBT support is by selecting an anti-gay Vice Presidential candidate, such as Sam Nunn. A presidential race with the religious right on the sidelines was fun while it lasted, but too good to be true. Now, comes the ugly phase of the campaign, where the GOP lies about our lives and our families become fodder to rile up conservatives in an effort to save John McCain’s sluggish campaign.

Fundie Preachers Caught in Sex Sting

Pam Spaulding beat me to the punch concerning two more "Godly Christian" preachers who got arrested in sweeps to pick up men soliciting for gay sex. In this day and age with the Internet and numerous ways to meet other guys if you are looking for sex, I CANNOT understand why anyone would solicit in a public place. In the wake of Lawrence v. Texas, the cops cannot bust you if you are in a private residence - well, unless you are in Raleigh, North Carolina, that is. Thus, are these preachers and those who look for sex in public places complete idiots or do they subconsciously want to get caught? It is also noteworthy that both men are members of notoriously anti-gay denominations. Why someone will remain active in a denomination that openly and consistently condemns gays is mind boggling. When I was coming out, one of the first things I did was leave the Roman Catholic Church.

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In the case of 48-year-old Jerome Pitchford, he is a long-time deacon of Milwaukee's Holy Redeemer Church of God in Christ. As for James L. Walls, Jr., who is also Mayor of District Heights, Maryland, he is the former Assistant Pastor of Greater Light Missionary Baptist Church and currently serves as the Associate Pastor of Forestville New Redeemer Baptist Church in Forestville, Maryland. I wonder how that pompous anti-gay windbag, Richard Land, of the SBC will try to sweep this incident under the rug?

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For the record, I feel sorry for the families of these men. Having a family member come out can be difficult enough, but having it happen in this manner with media headlines has got to be a nightmare. I truly long for the day when sexual orientation will be understood to an inherent part of a person and gays can just be who God made them to be. Here are some highlights on Deacon Pitchford from WISN 12 News (note how his neighbor thinks "a little therapy" might help):

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MILWAUKEE -- Police have been targeting Estabrook Park for years trying to stop men from soliciting sex from other men there. The latest suspect is 48-year-old Jerome Pitchford, long-time deacon of Milwaukee's Holy Redeemer Church of God in Christ. Police said Pitchford apparently does not practice what he teaches in Sunday School. Police say after church at the Holy Redeemer Church of God in Christ on Sunday afternoon, he was arrested and charged with lewd and lascivious behavior at Milwaukee's Estabrook Park. The criminal complaint says he was looking for sex with another man. He exposed himself, to what turned out to be an undercover police officer.

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“I just couldn't believe it and I was still wondering was it true, because I couldn't believe it cause he's such … a gentleman," said Bernice Sykes, Pitchford’s neighbor. He’s not only a gentleman, but a deacon, a youth counselor and mentor, says one parishioner who wanted to he heard but not seen. "I'm so speechless, i can't believe that," the parishioner said. "I can't believe it, but I hope that he will get … a little therapy and get himself straightened out,” Sykes said.

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As for Mayor Walls, who surprisingly is a Democrat as opposed to the usual GOP politico that gets picked up in these stings, the Washington Post has a story today. Here are some highlights on Mayor Walls' incredibly stupid conduct:

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The mayor of District Heights was arrested early yesterday in the District after allegedly offering an undercover male police officer $40 for sex in a known prostitution area, authorities said. James L. Walls Jr., 30, was arrested at 12:30 a.m. at Sixth and F streets NW, near Verizon Center. He was charged with solicitation for lewd and immoral purposes, police said. He was issued a citation and released.

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Walls, who is single, was known as a rising star among young Democrats in Prince George's County. He was the youngest person elected mayor of District Heights -- a community inside the Beltway with a population of about 6,000. He was elected mayor in May 2006; his term runs until 2010. He also serves as an associate minister at the Forestville New Redeemer Baptist Church and works for Fairmount Heights as town administrator, according to the District Heights Web site.

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The Rev. Nathaniel Thomas, pastor of Forestville New Redeemer Baptist Church, said he was stunned by the news. "I'm very, very shocked," Thomas said. "But we are praying for him. "I hope he will put a call to me so we can pray together. . . . I'm not passing judgment. We are innocent until proven guilty," Thomas said. He's been a delight," the pastor said, referring to the community work Walls has done with senior citizens. "I know this is going to be a shocker to the congregation."

Mature Male Beauty

A number of readers wanted some more mature male beauty photos. Here's one I found.

Chimperator Presides Over Citizenship Ceremony Monticello

In yet another disingenuous act aimed more at a photo op than anything else, George W. Bush, a/k/a on this blog as the Chimperator, disruptted Charlottesville, Virginia, for a citizenship ceremony at Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson. Somehow I suspect Thomas Jefferson would despise the Chimperator and Jefferson was probably turning over in his tomb on the Monticello grounds at the Chimperator's presence at his much loved home. Not only is the Chimperator a veritable cretin compared to Jefferson's intellectual brilliance, but I doubt Jefferson would have anything good to say about Bush's damaging citizens' constitutional rights and his pandering to wingnut Christianists who seek to overturn freedom of religion for all citizens. Speaking to my mother who lives very near to Monticello, the local residents had the pleasure of closed streets and swarms of secuity personnel. She said the main entrance to her own neighborhood was blocked for a couple hours with Secret Service cars and personnel. Charlottesville being the progressive, thinking city that it is, despite security efforts to revove all potential protesters, the Chimperator got called out by some folks in the crowd. It is also interesting that one new citizen is from Iraq. What would Bush's Christianist friends say about letting a non-evangelical Christian become a U.S. citizen? Here are highlights from the Daily Progress:

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Bush is the fourth sitting president to attend Monticello’s July 4 ceremony, after Gerald Ford (1976), Harry S. Truman (1947) and Franklin D. Roosevelt (1936). The visit to Monticello was the first of his presidency. “The Fourth of July will be a part of your Independence Day, and I will be honored to call you a fellow American,” Bush said.

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Naturally, Bush’s presence and remarks did not come without some hostility. Within seconds of the president stepping in front of the podium, cries of “Impeach Bush” and “That man is a fascist” resonated among the crowd. But the president responded to his critics by citing a simple constitutional right. “To my fellow citizens to be, we believe in freedom of speech in the United States of America,” he said amid the crowd’s boos. One protester, Gael Murphy, held up a banner that read “Impeach: It’s Patriotic” and yelled, “Defend the Constitution. Impeach Bush.” “Bush should not go unchallenged wherever he goes,” she said.

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Hataw Saadi Taha, who fled the northern region of Iraq 11 years ago, said she wanted to become an American citizen because the United States was the first country that accepted her after leaving the rule of Saddam Hussein. “I am very proud of my new country,” Taha said. “Especially on the Fourth of July.” Taha told Bush that she wants to see an end to the violence in her homeland. “Mr. President, I need peace to my country.”

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Security was tight for the presidential visit. Every attending person had to go through metal detectors and military commandos patrolled on ATVs. Two police officers surveyed the crowd through binoculars from Monticello’s roof.

Random Thoughts

My 4th of July has been low key so far - some yard work and then an outing to the beach in Ocean View (there were no good waves for surfing) where I ran into some friends on the beach and proceeded to have a pleasant time, including trying a "Georgia martini" comprised of lime juice, vodka, peach schnapps and the juice of a fresh peach. One of the things that we discovered as we chatted for several hours is that one of my friends in the straight phase of her life was a friend of my youngest sister. Moreover, her children and my niece and nephew were friends through middle school. At one point we had a scare when the beach patrol came by and I thought that either (1) they suspected the "martinis" were not Gatorade or (2) that me wearing a speedo on the beach - which I can do again after losing a some weight - constituted public indecency (it probably would in Virginia Beach where it's like a police state in the resort area). Luckily, they were just handing out information sheets to beach goers.

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The rest of my holiday weekend will be relatively low key as well. I have a birthday party to attend tomorrow night (the same hosts as where I went to another one recently for a fellow HRBOR board member) , brunch with my youngest daughter on Sunday and then a pool party at the gorgeous home of a gay couple which backs up to a scenic lake and has a beautiful pool. My tan will definitely be a bit darker by the end of the weekend. In addition, I suspect at some point either tonight or tomorrow night I will go to The Wave for some aerobic exercise, a/k/a dancing.

Still More Friday Male Beauty

Former Senator Jesse Helms is Dead at 86

I know it is not nice to speak ill of the dead, but Jesse Helms, former U. S. Senator from North Carolina, was in many ways NOT a nice man. Among other things he was a racist and a homophobe who did all he could to subvert gay rights and reduce funding for HIV/AIDS. He clearly was of a Christianist mindset and cared nothing for the religious freedom rights of those who held counter religious views. As is all too typical, many of the stories now running on Helms ignore the ugly underbelly of what Helms was all really about - and what conservatism in its current form is all about as well. America Blog has a good post that reminds us of what the true Jesse Helms was all about. It is not a nice picture. Here are highlights:

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Can't even begin to think of anything nice to say about this guy -- but a lot of other people will start praising Helms as if none of the hateful stuff matters. The hateful stuff matters. Let's reminisce on the life of one of America's biggest bigots who ruined the lives of so many.

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Jesse Helms on "negroes": As an aide to the 1950 Senate campaign of North Carolina Republican candidate Willis Smith, Helms reportedly helped create attack ads against Smith's opponent, including one which read: "White people, wake up before it is too late. Do you want Negroes working beside you, your wife and your daughters, in your mills and factories? Frank Graham favors mingling of the races." Another ad featured photographs Helms himself had doctored to illustrate the allegation that Graham's wife had danced with a black man. (The News and Observer, 8/26/01; The New Republic, 6/19/95; The Observer, 5/5/96; Hard Right: The Rise of Jesse Helms, by Ernest B. Furgurson, Norton, 1986)

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The University of North Carolina was "the University of Negroes and Communists." (Capital Times, 11/22/94) Black civil rights activists were "Communists and sex perverts." (Copley News Service, 8/23/01)

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Of civil rights protests Helms wrote, "The Negro cannot count forever on the kind of restraint that's thus far left him free to clog the streets, disrupt traffic, and interfere with other men's rights." (WRAL-TV commentary, 1963) He also wrote, "Crime rates and irresponsibility among Negroes are a fact of life which must be faced." (New York Times, 2/8/81)

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Helms on "degenerate, weak, sick homosexuals": Over the years Helms has declared homosexuality "degenerate," and homosexuals "weak, morally sick wretches." (Newsweek, 12/5/94) In a tirade highlighting his routine opposition to AIDS research funding, Helms lashed out at the Kennedy-Hatch AIDS bill in 1988: "There is not one single case of AIDS in this country that cannot be traced in origin to sodomy." (States News Service, 5/17/88)

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Helms being a racist: And the man ABC News now describes as a "conservative icon" (8/22/01) in 1993 sang "Dixie" in an elevator to Carol Moseley-Braun, the first African-American woman elected to the Senate, bragging, "I'm going to make her cry. I'm going to sing Dixie until she cries." (Chicago Sun-Times, 8/5/93)

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On cutting AIDS funding: Sen. Jesse Helms says the government should spend less money on people with AIDS because they got sick as a result of "deliberate, disgusting, revolting conduct," The New York Times reported Wednesday...."We've got to have some common sense about a disease transmitted by people deliberately engaging in unnatural acts," Helms told the Times.

Florida (Closeted) Governor Crist to Marry Woman

Based on all the past rumors and statements by those who have seen Charlie Crist in gay bars, etc., this announcement looks politically motivated to me (those taking a Sun-Sentinnel poll thought likewise). I mean, the guy's been unmarried fro three decades after a less than one year marriage and now he suddenly is in love and getting married? I hope Carole Rome knows what she is getting into. But then, being Florida's first lady and with a hope of being the Vice President's wife, maybe she is getting what she wants. While Crist probably believes that getting married will end some of the gay rumors and enhance his prospects to be picked as McCain's running mate, Ms. Rome is not exactly a Christianist's dream pick: she's Jewish and is divorced and - Heaven forbid - owns a Halloween costume manufacturing company. The fact that she has two daughters will give Crist an insant family for photo ops. Crist will definitely need to make sure to distance himself from young male campaign aids. Here are some highlights from St. Petersburg Times:

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Gov. Charlie Crist, single for nearly three decades, on Thursday morning became engaged to his girlfriend of nine months, Carole Rome. . . . No date has been set for the wedding, but Crist, 51, said it would be in St. Petersburg, where he is a member of First United Methodist Church. There probably also will be a reception in Tallahassee.

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Rome is a 1991 honors graduate of Georgetown University who became president of her family's 100-year-old Halloween costume business in 2000 when her father died. She has two daughters, ages 11 and 9, with former husband Todd Rome of New York, CEO of Blue Star Jets. She moved to Fisher Island in Miami in 2006.

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And his engagement is likely to reverberate well beyond Florida because the popular governor is widely viewed as a contender to be likely Republican presidential candidate John McCain's running mate. Not since Franklin Pierce picked William King to be his running mate in 1852 has America had a bachelor vice president.

More Friday Male Beauty

Rising Gas Prices Pump up Virginia's Oil Industry

Virginia does not have much of an oil industry to speak of. However, with rising oil prices, exploration becomes more economically viable in areas previously overlooked. The reality is that once before - in the early 1980's before the oil industry crashed - there was a great deal of interest in possible production in Virginia. One of my compatriots in the law department for Union Texas Petroleum Company ("UTPC") with some input from yours truly helped draft Virginia's original oil and gas related statutes since at that time there were none. Moreover, UTPC at one point was the largest leaseholder in Virginia. Of course, after the oil crash of the early 1980's oil and gas exploration languished in Virginia - until now. Unfortunately, increased domestic production will NOT solve the USA's oil dependence on the Middle East no matter how much the Chimperator or John McCain pretend otherwise. Here are some highlights from a story in the Virginian Pilot:

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For decades, companies drilling for natural gas here in the remote mountains of southwest Virginia have known that the wells yield another coveted resource: crude oil. Until recently, though, the quantities were considered too small to matter - a nuisance byproduct of gas production that sometimes was released back into the ground. But that was before market prices for crude soared above $130 a barrel. Now, the state's gas industry, which is experiencing its own boom, is welcoming this "nice bonus" - separating crude at wellheads, storing it and later selling it for refining into fuels, said Jerry Grantham, a top officer with the Virginia Oil and Gas Association, a trade group.

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Coal remains the richest fossil fuel mined in Virginia by far. But the energy resource drawing the most attention these days in the state is coal bed methane, a natural gas that looks, acts and smells like conventional gas. Methane is typically found in gaps within untapped coal seams, often at much shallower depths than conventional gas. Its withdrawal, then, is cheaper and helps to safeguard coal mining, as methane is known to easily explode.

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A record amount of natural gas was generated from Virginia wells in 2006, at more than 102 billion cubic feet - enough to power all residential users in the state. This fact, too, was a first in Virginia, according to government and industry officials. About 80 percent of this total output was coal bed methane, worth more than $660 million.

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The skyrocketing trend, ongoing since the late 1990s, continued last year: The Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy reported last week that 112 billion cubic feet of natural gas were produced in 2007, yet another record. "And there's still a lot of potential out there," said Grantham, who also is vice president of Pine Mountain Oil and Gas Co., based in Abingdon. "We expect the industry to continue growing - more wells and more exploration in the region," he added.

Christianist Angst

Things are not sweetness and light as the leaders of the wingnut Christianists face the upcoming presidential election. While it may not be the Christian thing to do, the pain amongst these folks truly gives me pleasure. Great pleasure, in fact. These folks basically hate everyone who is not just like them and who does not subscribe to their intolerant, fear/hate based form of religious belief. How can anyone feel loved by a God who per their description is a mean, vengeful monster? I mean, according to them, God sits poised to condemn you to Hell at the drop of a hat - ESPECIALLY if one is gay. But I digress. Seems the fundies had a meeting called by Mathew Staver, president of Liberty Counsel and dean of the law school at Liberty University (who bungled the case for the Virginia "former lesbian" who was in a custody battle with her former Vermont civil union partner). The topic of the meeting? The possible loss of power and influence on the part of the Christianist leaders - and we know that their real agenda is power and money. I have to laugh at their whining about blacks and Hispanics not embracing them. Why would they when the Christianist organizations are anti-immigrant and under the surface racist? Here are some highlights from Charisma, a Christian newsblog:

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More than 90 evangelical leaders representing millions of conservative Christians met in Denver on Tuesday to lament the condition of the religious conservative movement and to conclude they should get behind Sen. John McCain even if they didn’t like everything about him as a candidate. The alternative is so bad we must support John McCain,” said Phyllis Schlafly, founder and president of Eagle Forum, . .

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Mostly white and middle-aged, the group was called together by Mathew Staver, president of Liberty Counsel and dean of the law school at Liberty University.

"Our shared conservative evangelical values and our concern about judicial activism compelled us to unite around the presidential candidate who most closely aligns with us,” Staver said. “That candidate is obviously Sen. John McCain. United we will move forward to advance our values in the short- and long-term. Various speakers lamented the lack of a unified strategy that had evangelicals supporting various primary candidates and the fact that their message does not seem to resonate with younger voters, African-Americans or Hispanics in the same way Sen. Barack Obama’s does. More than an hour was spent listening to younger leaders tell the group that religious conservatives must be perceived "to care" about social issues and the environment to appeal to young people who are voting for the first time.

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Obama has reached out to evangelical leaders more than McCain, a fact that irked some at the meeting. But others said they must support McCain regardless because an Obama presidency would mean passage of highly liberal policies that would probably allow "same-sex marriage," severely hurt religious freedom and ensure the appointment of only judges who would keep abortion on demand as the law of the land.

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Others privately said they feared an Obama landslide. One participant said he couldn't imagine anything worse. "Obama has done the impossible," he said. "He's made Hillary Clinton look good to Christian conservatives."

Friday Male Beauty

4th of July - Let Us Regain Liberty

The regime of the Chimperator and the Christianist dominated Republican Party have done much over the last eight years to subvert the principals enunciated in the Declaration of Independence, a portion of which is quoted below, followed by an image of the original document. As Americans spend this holiday weekend at the beach, in the mountains, or in their back yards, I hope that some passing thoughts will be given to these principals and that maybe, just maybe, the citizens of the nation will realize that much must be done to turn back the erosion of liberties that have transpired, often as a result of fear mongering or efforts to pit one group of citizens against another by exploiting their differences instead of our commonality. I truly hope that November 2008 will see the stage set for a return to beliefs and values set forth in this document. Here are some of the powerful words written at a time when Virginia was a beacon of progressive thinking:

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When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

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We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.--Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government.

More Thursday Male Beauty

India's Uneasy Relationship With Gays

I have a number of Indian clients, the vast majority of which are Hindu and strike me as fairly religious, yet very respectful of the religious beliefs of others - in sharp contract to the wingnut Christianists plaguing the country. Would that the fundies would learn some tolerance from Hidus and others that the Christianists look down upon. Some I believe know that I am gay and really seem to have no issue with it whatsoever. They trust my abilities as an attorney and that is why they use my services. I even have one Indian client who is gay, although homosexuality is not something looked upon favorably and one sees very few Indians out at the gay clubs. Thus, I found Newsweek's article on India and Gay Pride interesting given my interation with so many clients from India or of Indian descent. One can hope that in time India and its people will come to recognize that gays were made the way we are by the creator no matter what name he/she is given. As such, we are deserving of respect and equality. Here are some story highlights:

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India may pride itself on being the world's largest democracy, but it still takes a dim view of gay rights. Homosexuality is illegal and deemed an "unnatural sexual offense" under section 377 of the country's penal code, where it is categorized alongside bestiality and punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

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So it was with a mixture of defiance and celebration that several hundred participants in New Delhi's first gay pride parade rallied through the capital on Sunday, beating drums, shouting slogans and waving rainbow-striped pride flags. Simultaneous marches were held in Calcutta and Bangalore, along with dozens of other cities the world over.

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Lesley Esteves, a New Delhi magazine editor who helped organize the parade, dubbed it a "community event" and explained the challenges of pushing the bounds of social acceptability in India: "India functions like this—you have this massive media coverage and people know what the word 'queer' is." But at the same time, "We are still having to go to the courts to convince families against holding their children captiv[e] in their homes because they are homosexuals."

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Indian newspapers are rife with tales of suicides of homosexual men and women pressured into traditional, arranged marriages. And those with the means to leave the country sometimes do so, seeking asylum in more sympathetic climes. . . . This 150-year-old chapter of Indian history may be coming to a close soon. The Delhi High Court is weighing a petition against Article 377, and a ruling is expected in the near future. Brought by the Naz Foundation, an Indian organization that works to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS, the petition is currently pending on appeal and the next hearing is July 2. Perhaps next year, marchers will feel more at ease showing their faces.

Obama and Faith Based Initiatives - A Bad Idea

Democratic presidential nominee apparent, Barack Obama, has announced that he would expand on certain faith based initiatives commenced under the Chimperator. His full sppech can be found here. Admittedly, I am leery of religious organizations, especially those with ties to conservative evangelical Christian denominations which have an utter inability to grasp the simple concepts of (i) separation of church and state and (ii) that others besides themselves have religious freedom rights too. Yes, there are many religious organizations that do very good work and address many ills in society and assist the poor. The issue is whether they can do so without proselytizing to the people they help and do so (A) without discriminating against elements of those they seek to help and (B) without discriminating against the people they hire - on the basis of their religion. I think the conservative organizations that have been aligned with the Chimperator's regime have amply shown that they CANNOT do so. In fact, they often blatantly refuse to do so. Perhaps some of the progressive mainline denominations can do a better job on this front, but I personally believe that absent 100% complinace with non-proselytizing and non-discrimination requirements, no religious organization should receive a penny of taxpayer derived funds. Here are a few highlights from Obama's speech:

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I believe deeply in the separation of church and state, but I don't believe this partnership will endanger that idea - so long as we follow a few basic principles. First, if you get a federal grant, you can't use that grant money to proselytize to the people you help and you can't discriminate against them - or against the people you hire - on the basis of their religion. Second, federal dollars that go directly to churches, temples, and mosques can only be used on secular programs. And we'll also ensure that taxpayer dollars only go to those programs that actually work.

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I will empower the nonprofit religious and community groups that do understand how this process works to train the thousands of groups that don't. We'll "train the trainers" by giving larger faith-based partners like Catholic Charities and Lutheran Services and secular nonprofits like Public/Private Ventures the support they need to help other groups build and run effective programs. Every house of worship that wants to run an effective program and that's willing to abide by our constitution - from the largest mega-churches and synagogues to the smallest store-front churches and mosques - can and will have access to the information and support they need to run that program.

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Again, I understand the concept that Obama is trying to achieve. I just think he is entirely out of touch with reality if he believes most religious based organization would be able to truly meet the requirement of not proselytizing and not discriminating aginst those assisted and/or employees should they noy conform to the organization's religious dogma/agenda. A good explanation of why Obama's idea is wrong is here. If nothing else, policing the program to prevent what I believe would be widespread and often outrageuos abuses would be a mammoth under taking in and of itself.

Thursday Male Beauty

Royal treatment

Priest Is Charged With Child Abuse

The Roman Catholic Church would like church members and the public to believe that all of the sexual abuse of minors by priests occurred many years ago when the Church hierarchy calims to have known less about such abuse. As this Washington Post story demonstrates, the problem is still going on and does not just involve incidents from the 1950's and 1960's. In my opinion, the underlying reasons for the problem - in addition to the conscious cover up by bishops and cardinals - are (i) the Church's demonization of/obsession with all things sexual, and (ii) the priestly celibacy requirement which makes the priesthood attractive to those with sexual maturity/identity disorders. Stated differently, if priests could marry and the Church treated sexuality as a normal part of being human, the priesthood would draw individauls who were far less screwed up emotionally/sexually. Normal individuals, gay or straight, are not attracted to children and youths in puberty. Here are highlighs from the WP:

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A priest accused of abusing an altar boy in 2001 has been charged with child abuse after turning himself in to police Tuesday. The Rev. Aaron Joseph Cote, 56, who was an associate pastor in 2001 and 2002 at Mother Seton parish in Germantown, had been accused of sexual abuse by the former altar boy, Brandon Rains, who filed a lawsuit against him in 2005. Cote, who has been living in New York City, surrendered after learning that police would seek a warrant for his arrest.

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According to Montgomery County police, Cote had been counseling the boy while serving part time as youth minister at Mother Seton. In summer 2001, when the boy was 14 years old, police said, Cote took Rains to an apartment in Germantown and "engaged in inappropriate personal sexual activity in the victim's presence and inappropriate touching of the victim." The abuse allegedly continued for about one year.

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Last year, the Catholic religious order of which Cote is a member, the Dominican Friars, Province of St. Joseph, agreed to pay $1.2 million to Rains to settle the lawsuit he filed against the order and Cote. In it, Rains accused Cote of "harmful sexual conduct and contact" with him that caused him "severe and permanent emotional distress."

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Cote also served in another area church, St. Jane Frances de Chantal Parish in Bethesda. In April, a family in Springfield, Mass., filed a lawsuit against Cote and the Dominicans, alleging that he abused their preschool-age sons after he left Mother Seton.

Equality Virginia's 5th Annual Activist Conference

Equality Virginia is hosting its 5th Annual Activist Conference in Richmond, Virginia, on Saturday, July 12, 2008 from 9:30 am to 5:00pm at the Virginia Commonwealth Unniversity Student Commons. 907 Floyd Ave Richmond, VA 23284. Registration is on a sliding scale of $5-$70. Suggested registration is $35 (includes lunch). Those who cannot afford $35 may pay less. EV asks that those who can afford to pay more do so in order to offset the cost of participation and ensure that financial cost will not be a barrier to anyone who would like to attend. More information can be found here. I will be speaking on the following topics:

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Legal issues in Virginia facing non-traditional families. Learn what you can do to protect your family regarding child custody, same-sex partner inheritance, and more. A Q&A will follow the panel presentation.

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There will be a number of other workshops that will be informative and worthwhile to attend. I hope readers in Virginia can attende the event.

Final Wednesday Male Beauty

Gay Republicans Beginning to Wake Up

Chris Johnson - who I have had the pleasure of talking to before - at the Washington Blade has a story that reveals that apparently some gay Republicans are finally waking up to the fact that trying to change the GOP from the inside is like trying to bail the rising water on the Titanic with a teaspoon. It just will not get one anywhere and other than providing an exercise in masochism it is an utter waste of time and effort. I remain convinced that the ONLY thing that will change the GOP is to have the wingnuts turn out in droves and the Party still go down in horrific electoral defeat (something I hope and pray will happen in November). Only then will the few remaining sane and moderate members of the GOP - and they are definitely few in number - have any chance of mounting a movement to seize the Party back from the Christianists. Again, it is nice to see some of these prominent gays finally figuring out what I figured out years ago after Bush was in the White House. Here are highlight's from Chris' story about his interviews with gay Republicans, past and present:

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Former gay Bush supporters unhappy with GOP, some turning to Obama - Members of the “Austin 12,” the group of prominent gay Republicans who famously met with George W. Bush in 2000, are not exactly rallying around John McCain. Several members of the group told the Blade this week that they are considering voting for Barack Obama in November . . . The “Austin 12” gained notoriety after meeting with Bush in Austin in April 2000, when Bush was still governor of Texas and a candidate for president.

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David Greer, who was appointed to Bush’s AIDS advisory board in 2003, left the Republican Party that same year and has been a registered Democrat since then. He said gay Republicans would never be a strong enough voice to influence the GOP and that the party is more interested in exploiting gay Republicans for political gain. “As long as there’s a far right in the party, gay Republicans are way too small in numbers … to have any effect on the party,” he said. “We actually end up doing greater and lasting harm to the whole GLBT community.”Greer resigned his position on Bush’s AIDS council after the president endorsed the marriage amendment. . . . .The former Bush adviser said supporting the Democratic Party is the best way to achieve gay equality,

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Greer argued that McCain “doesn’t care a lot” about gay issues, and since the GOP candidate is having trouble mustering support from its conservative religious base, McCain will probably let the “far right” control his positions on those issues.David Catania, an at-large City Council member for the District of Columbia, was similarly skeptical that McCain would change GOP policy on gay issues. “I wouldn’t give supporting him a second thought,” he said. “The cards are on the table. I think gays are kind of kidding themselves if they think John McCain is going to be any better for the gay community than George Bush.”

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Protectmarriage.com, the organization leading the campaign for the amendment, announced on June 25 that McCain sent an e-mail to the organization expressing support for the measure.By endorsing the initiative, McCain is “alienating himself from the gay and lesbian population that he had a fairly decent reputation with,” Bennett said.“I think he needlessly injected himself into this race to pander to the [James] Dobsons and others on the right,” Bennett said. “Is he going to take a position on the rest of our ballot initiatives? I don’t think so.”

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Daniel Stewart, head of the New York State Commission of Corrections, said the entire Republican Party has turned him off in the last few years.Stewart was elected to the City Council in Plattsburgh, N.Y., as a Democrat, but former New York Gov. George Pataki convinced him to switch to the Republican Party to run against the city’s mayor in 2000. Stewart won the election.But now Stewart is planning on leaving the Republican Party because the party is not moving where he’d like on issues that affect him personally, such as same-sex marriage. He noted his resentment over having to travel to Canada in 2004 to marry his partner.

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McCain has often been criticized for his lack of support for gay issues in Congress, including his “no” votes on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) and a hate crimes measure.McCain also articulated continued support for the U.S. military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy during GOP presidential primary debates.

Finding Self-Acceptance - Further Thoughts

"Listen to and accept the positive assessments of those people who you love and trust...."

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That is what Justin, a blogger friend, told me is something that I - and I suspect others seeking to find self-acceptance as well - need to do, whether they are transitioning from being in the closet for many years like I was or trying to find self-acceptance in general. Actually, I think I have done that more than may seem apparent at times, although at other times, I am probably harsher in judging myself than anyone else.

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How have I accepted such positive assessments? I think in a number of ways, some of which were perhaps not obvious in my last post on this topic. My therapist, my pastors, and the many friends I have made in my activism activities have given me much affirmation and numerous positive assessments. Even if not always consciously, I think those messages have come through to me and made a huge difference - as has the positive support/energy I receive from other bloggers and so many of my readers. The same holds true for the friendships I have forged since coming out with my friends Martin and Christopher holding a special place of honor in my heart (as do you, Justin).

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I'm still a work in progress, but I am much happier as I am now in terms of self-acceptance than ever before - even if I think too much like a lawyer according to some. :)

More Wednesday Male Beauty

Anti-Gay Marilyn Musgrave Renews Call For Federal Anti-Gay Amendment

In what may be a sign of desperation, anti-gay extremist Congresswoman Marilyn Musgrave has - after months of silence - suddenly renewed her calls for the passage of a federal anti-gay amendment to the United States Constitution. After barely scraping by in a close re-election contest in 2006, Musgrave is facing what may be an even stronger challenge this year from Democrat Betsy Markey. As we all know, when faced with close elections, the GOP always panders to hate and bigotry and using LGBT Americans as their favorite whipping boys. Inasmuch as it is a foregone conclusion that the Democrat controlled Congress will not advance the amendment proposals, Musgrave's move can constitute little else than an effort to secure the votes of died in the wool gay haters. Here are some highlights from 365gay.com:

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(Denver, Colorado) The architect of two failed attempts to amend the US Constitution to bar same-sex marriage is throwing her support behind a new bid to advance the measure. After more than a year of silence on amending the Constitution, and now facing a tough battle for re-election to a third term, Rep. Marilyn Musgrave (R-Colo.) has signed on as a co-sponsor of the latest attempt to gain Congressional approval.

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The spokesperson for Musgrave's Democratic opponent for re-election, Betsy Markey, was quick to attack Musgrave. "Nothing's changed," Markey spokesperson Anne Caprara told The Coloradoan. "She's made this big deal about being this new person, this new image, but we're still back on same old issues when people are paying $4 for gas and wondering how they're going to be paying for their grocery bill."

1 in 10 Virginians Foreign-Born

A new study by the University of Virginia will no doubt be causing great angst among the anti-immigrant Christianists within the Republican Party of Virginia who have a mindset like that of former U. S. Senator George "Maccacca" Allen. Increasingly, except for far right Catholics, the Virginia GOP seems to only welcome white Protestants. Here are details from the Virginian Pilot:

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Demographers at the University of Virginia say that one in 10 Virginians is foreign-born. The latest study by U.Va.'s Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service notes that new arrivals account for one-fourth of Virginia's population growth since 2000.

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In 2006, the top five countries of birth for Virginia's foreign-born were El Salvador, Mexico, Korea, the Philippines and India. Almost three-fourths of the foreign born in Virginia are between the ages of 25 and 64. The center said that suggests that employment is the attraction.

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The Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metropolitan region tops the state in terms of foreign born. One of every five residents in that area is foreign born.

Wednesday Male Beauty

Denver Archdiocese to Pay $5.5 Million in Abuse Suits

UPDATE- Here's what the Denver Post's story says about one of the predator priests:

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An attorney for 14 of the victims, Jeff Anderson of St. Paul, Minn., said White abused 12 of his clients. White was a serial offender who could not control himself, Anderson said, and the archdiocese officials who could have stopped him by reporting allegations to the police lacked the courage to do so for decades. "They covered up and enabled him to be what he was," said Tom Koldeway, now 47, one of three Koldeway siblings abused by White in Minturn. "He had accusations against him before I was even born. They knew."

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Once again a Catholic Church Diocese is paying out significant amounts to settle lawsuits arising from the Church's practice of looking the other way and shuffling sexual predators from parish to parish where they could prey on other unsuspecting minors. As long as nothing happened that negatively impacted the collection plate revenues, apparently it mattered nothing to the prissy, self-righteous members of the Church hierarchy that children were being molested. As long as the Church protected its public image, the shattered lives of children meant nothing. Also, if the Church was truly sorry for the abuse suffered by the victims, one would think that it would not have made the victims go through three years of protracted litigation. Actions speak louder than disingenuous words of apology. Here are some highlights from the New York Times:

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DENVER — After nearly three years of litigation, the Archdiocese of Denver said Tuesday that it would pay $5.5 million to settle more than a dozen lawsuits over sexual abuse by priests. The 16 lawsuits and two additional claims against the archdiocese were filed by people who said that as children, they were abused by priests from 1954 to 1981 and that the archdiocese concealed the crimes.

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The settlements bring to 42 the number of abuse claims the archdiocese has settled since 2005 against two priests, the Rev. Harold Robert White and the Rev. Leonard Abercrombie. A third priest, the Rev. Lawrence St. Peter, was accused in a 43rd case that was also settled. The amount of all the settlements totals more than $8.2 million. Two more abuse lawsuits against the archdiocese have yet to be resolved.

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“It is my hope that these settlements help the victims and their families to heal,” Archbishop Charles J. Chaput said. “I’ve expressed an apology on behalf of myself, our clergy and the whole Catholic community, and I apologize to them again today.”

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The national director of the group Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, David Clohessy, cautioned that sexual abuse settlements did not represent “any fundamental challenge to the church’s longstanding patterns of recklessness and secrecy that got us into this mess to begin with.” Such settlements, he noted, enabled church officials to avoid testifying in open court. Still, Mr. Clohessy said, “any validation that horrific crimes happened, were concealed and could have been prevented can be very, very healing.”