Happy New Year!!!

The annual New Year's Eve fireworks display illuminates the sky over Sydney Harbour on December 31, 2009 in Sydney, Australia.

The boyfriend and I are going to a New Year's Eve party hosted by the "Ocean View Posse," a group of lesbians and their allies, who are using the net proceeds from the affair to benefit Operation Homefront which assists service members of the military overseas. Obviously, in this area with its huge number of military personnel, there are many such families. After that we may finish up at a party at neighbors down the street.

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I will do a retrospective on 2009 tomorrow. However, until then, I want to wish my readers around the world a Happy New Year! I suspect most people do not understand the relationship that develops between a blog author/editor and their readers and other bloggers. It truly becomes a part of you and an emotional lifeline. I want to thank each and every one of you for visiting the blog and becoming such friends even though we have never met in person. Have a wonderful and safe holiday.

Michael

Some Christianists Endorse Lisa Miller’s Kidnapping of Isabella

In yet another example of the contempt that many Christianist hold for the civil laws and for Court rulings, several supporters of Lisa Miller appear to be supporting the apparent kidnapping of her daughter Isabella in defiance of a Vermont court order directing that she turn custody of the child over to Janet Jenkins, Miller's former partner under a Vermont civil union. Miller now claims that she's no longer a lesbian - yes, just like I'm Mona Lisa - and has moved back to Virginia and endeavored to use Virginia's anti-gay marriage constitutional amendment to void the Vermont court rulings. The ploy has not worked and twice the Virginia Supreme Court has upheld the Vermont custody rulings. Meanwhile the U. S. Supreme Court has refused to review the case. As a result, Lisa Miller appears to have resorted to her form of vigilante justice by disappearing with the child. Debbie Thurman (pictured at right), the facilitator of an ex-gay ministry in Lynchburg, Virginia, supports Lisa Miller's move as evidenced by these highlights from Box Turtle Bulletin:

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It was, I suppose, inevitable that Thurman would become interested in Lisa Miller, the woman who is seeking to keep Janet Jenkins, her former partner, from having contact with their child. Thurman’s anti-gay political attitudes, along with their mutual attendance at Thomas Road Baptist Church (the church Jerry Falwell founded), surely drew them together.

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And, indeed, Thurman is an avid advocate for Lisa Miller. Although she pretends some distance and objectivity in some of her comments, it is not coincidence that the “Protect Isabella” website is registered at her business address and that she was their contact person (the site is rife with homophobic smear and insinuation).

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[S]he seems incapable of seeing gay people as equal to herself or, indeed, much other than an enemy to conquer and vanquish. Convinced that a battle is waging between homosexuality and God, she appears incapable of disengaging from her Culture War.

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Responding to Miller’s disappearance with Isabella, Thurman wrote an article titled “This is True Motherhood”, in which she endorses Lisa Miller’s apparent kidnapping of Isabella and compares her to the nation’s founding fathers.

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I cannot answer the burning question on everyone’s lips: Where are Lisa and Isabella? Somewhere safe, I pray. How and when did they get there? Only God knows.

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What happens now? A lot of frustration, recrimination and more lies on one side and a collective sigh of relief on the other. The courts still have a huge task set before them, meanwhile. Lisa and Isabella represent only one of many similar cases waiting to be resolved. We need precedents that honor the prevailing states’ rights, laws and constitutions. The majority of Americans overwhelmingly support traditional marriage. If the tyrannical minority wants to push against that, it can and will be met with civil disobedience. There is no other way.

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Lisa Miller is a mother who would give up her life to save her child. Of that there is no doubt. She apparently has chosen to forfeit a large measure of her liberty, personal property and pursuit of happiness in assuring that child her God-ordained future, much as a group of patriots pledged their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor more than two centuries ago to establish this nation.

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I say God bless and long live Lisa and Isabella Miller. All who have known them are the better for it.

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Kidnapping a child so as to spite a former partner, using religion as an excuse for one’s own selfish desires, and taking advantage of local bigotries to elicit sympathy are not admirable traits. But, in the passion of parental ownership and the emotions of failed relationships, these are not unheard of or unfathomable. But endorsing kidnap as a tactic in a Culture War, that’s just plain evil.

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Thurman's website that seeks to use Lisa Miller and Isabella as a money making device - homophobic diatribes and all - can be found here.

Irish Times Op-Ed Blasts Vatican

As 2009 comes to a close, the Roman Catholic Church in Ireland finds itself in free fall and while the Vatican tries to throw the Irish hierarchy under the bus, it is fortunate that many are not buying it and are looking at the Vatican's gross failures that ultimately are the key to the sex abuse scandal that is virtually a worldwide problem. It is likewise fortunate that people seem to be waking up to the fact that for 20 years Benedict XVI headed up the office once known as the Inquisition within the Church and HAD to know of the abuse that was going on and participated in the cover ups. Indeed, he may well have helped direct them either on his own authority or at the direction of the less than saintly John Paul II. Here are highlights from the Irish Times that rightly takes the Vatican to task:

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Overshadowing everything, and what will define 2009 after all else is forgotten, was the publication of the Ryan and Murphy reports, detailing decades of sexual and physical abuse of children by priests and nuns of the Catholic Church in Ireland. The litany of abuse was horrifying enough, but how far the church went, often in collusion with agencies of the State, to cover up crimes, protect perpetrators and disparage the claims of victims was also truly shocking.
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The church does not learn lessons easily. Except for a few notable individuals, such as Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin, it has continued to behave badly. Damage limitation and eventual re-establishment of the position of the institution remains its prime consideration. Almost every statement issued has contained a line or two about the dire need to restore public faith in the integrity of the church.
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Actually, the dire need is for complete openness and honesty and justice and recompense for victims; and where at all possible for criminal charges to be laid against perpetrators and those who aided and abetted them, either by action or deliberate inaction. If faith in the integrity of the church is restored as a byproduct of that, then so be it, but it shouldn’t be an aim in itself.
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Worse have been the Pontius Pilate-like machinations of the Vatican to try to ensure that ultimate responsibility does not land at its door. Just as in Ireland, it is determined that similar horrific revelations in, among many other countries, the United States, Canada, Australia, the UK, France, Italy, Austria, Poland and Argentina, be faced up to and dealt with by the local church. We are meant to believe that the Catholic Church is an autonomous entity wherever it has a problem. In the United States, the Vatican has sought and been granted diplomatic immunity against numerous legal claims that it be held responsible for incidents of abuse by priests.
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This deliberate distancing of itself by the Vatican has more than monetary concerns at its root – though holding on to its treasures is doubtless of major concern. By insisting on local responsibility the Vatican is engaging in a large-scale damage limitation exercise. . . . If it were even once to admit any measure of responsibility then the focus would immediately shift to Rome. Realisation would follow that the issue of child sex abuse and cover up by agents of the Catholic Church is far from a set of local problems but a worldwide phenomenon that demands fundamental change from the top downwards. The danger for the Vatican is that people may lose faith in the centre, rather than in just a few relatively peripheral individuals.
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The truth is that the focus NEEDS to turn to Rome. Benedict XVI likes to rule like a Roman emperor of old and the down side to that is the rot and corruption traces right back to his feet. He and his minions at the Vatican need to be held accountable too - not just local bishops.

More Thursday Male Beauty - Suggestions Requested

I often get requests that I feature some more mature men in my male beauty posts and I received yet another such message today. I would gladly include such photos, but the artistic/sexy style of photos I prefer to use. Here's my response to the latest writer and the invitation for suggested links holds true for other readers:

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Thanks for your message. You are not the first to send such a message. The big problem is finding sources of photos with older men - all of the model sites (which are where I get the majority of photos) have only young models, be it Major Model Management, Click Models or other agencies. I know, because I have looked and done Google searches. If you have any good links, let me know and I will happily make use of them.

Obama BFF, Rick Warren Asks for Urgent Donations

Between the recession and perhaps some of the sheeple waking up to the fact that they are being fleeced by a bigoted demagogue it seems that Rick Warren's Saddleback Church is running $900,000 in the red. Personally, I surely will not shed any tears for the disingenuous Warren. I still have not forgiven Obama for having the bloated homophobe give the inaugural invocation last January. One can only hope that more people will come to see Warren for what he is - a modern day Pharisee who lives the good life by suckering others. Here are some highlights from the Washington Post:

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Evangelical pastor Rick Warren appealed to parishioners at his Orange County megachurch Wednesday to help fill a $900,000 deficit by the first of the year. Warren made the appeal in a letter posted on the Saddleback Church Web site. It begins "Dear Saddleback Family, THIS IS AN URGENT LETTER."
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Warren said the church managed to stay within its budget, but "the bottom dropped out" when Christmas donations dropped. "On the last weekend of 2009, our total offerings were less than half of what we normally receive - leaving us $900,000 in the red for the year," the letter reads. *
Warren was named the top newsmaker of the year by the Religion Newswriters Association. He gained attention with his invocation at the inauguration of President Barack Obama and comments in the aftermath of California's Proposition 8, which overturned gay marriage.

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Hmm - could it be that God's not happy with Warren's message of division and intolerance?

I believe Love is For Everyone... Homosexual and Heterosexual: Nhojj Wins R&B/Soul Song of the Year

This blog has looked at homophobic singer/song writers, so it more than fair to laud singers who recognize the common humanity of all of us - gay or straight. One such singer is indie recording artist, Nhojj (pictured at left), who made OUTMusic Awards history when his ballad “Love” was voted 2009 Outstanding R&B/Soul Song of the Year by The Alliance of LGBT Recording Artists & Performers. Billboard Publicity Wire has more details. Here are some highlights:
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This marks the first time an African American male has won an OMA. . . . Nhojj is also the first artist to win the OUTStanding R&B/Soul song of the year. OUTMusic added this and other categories to the ceremony this year to more fully reflect the music of the LGBT community. After his win, the singer/songwriter took the stage performing “Love” before an audience including OMA Lifetime Achievement recipient Kevin Aviance, Village Voice columnist Michael Musto, LOGO personalities DeMarco Majors and Julie Goldman among many other notables in the LGBT community. The ceremony was hosted by Noah’s Arc star Rodney Chester and GLAAD Media Award winner Kate Clinton.
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“Love” features keyboardist Carl Evans (Stevie Wonder, Barry White); David Stark on Guitar (Rick James & Teena Marie); Tommy Aros on percussion (Luis Miguel); and is mastered by by Robert Honablue, whose Gold and Platinum credits include Santana, Roberta Flack, Aretha Franklin, Bob Marley, and Miles Davis.
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Director Kirk Shannon-Butts featured "Love" in his highly acclaimed Indie film "Blueprint,” which screened at 2008 Cannes International Film Festival, and also directed the music video “Love.” Unlike many current R&B music videos, it is the sensitive reflection of two male college students who feel a mutual attraction toward each other. "I believe love is for everyone... homosexual and heterosexual" Nhojj says, "One day soon our world will acknowledge this simple truth."
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In addition to his recording and performance schedule, Nhojj regularly donates his gift of music to people living with HIV/AIDS. He performs in hospitals, hospices, residential facilities and treatment centers throughout New York City , as part of the Lifebeat “Hearts and Voices” program.

Thursday Male Beauty

GOP Lies - Equipment to Detect Explosives is Already Available

Members of the Congressional GOP have endeavored to blame the Christmas day security lapse on the Detroit bound flight on the Transportation Safety Administration and the Obama administration. As is all too typical, these members of Congress ignore their own culpability, not to mention the incompetence and malfeasance of six years of the Bush/Cheney administration (versus less than a year for Obama). But, truthfulness and integrity are not exactly hallmarks of today's GOP. Ben Smith has a piece at Politico that looks at the GOP's false posturing. Moreover, a Washington Post story confirms that equipment already exists that would pick up the plastic explosives the Nigerian terrorist attempted to utilize. Unfortunately, the Bush/Cheney administration's failed to utilize it and since the change over in administrations, the Congressional Republicans has been blocking funding and personnel approvals. First some highlights from Politico:

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As Republicans seek to put the blame for the widespread perception of ineptness at the Transportation Security Administration on the Obama administration, Democrats are arguing that Republican legislators bear part of the blame and that they're politically vulnerable on the subject.
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Perhaps the largest impediment to change at the agency: South Carolina Republican Sen. Jim DeMint has a hold on the appointment of a TSA chief, over his concern that the new administration could allow security screeners to unionize.
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Republicans have cast votes against the key TSA funding measure that the 2010 appropriations bill for the Department of Homeland Security contained, which included funding for the TSA, including for explosives detection systems and other aviation security measures. In the June 24 vote in the House, leading Republicans including John Boehner, Pete Hoekstra, Mike Pence and Paul Ryan voted against the bill, amid a procedural dispute over the appropriations process, a Democrat points out. A full 108 Republicans voted against the conference version, including Boehner, Hoekstra, Pence, Michelle Bachmann, Marsha Blackburn, Darrell Issa and Joe Wilson.

The conference bill included more than $4 billion for "screening operations," including $1.1 billion in funding for explosives detection systems, with $778 million for buying and installing the systems.

Today's GOP cares nothing for true security and puts partisanship games ahead of public safety. Added to partisanship the idiocy is Senator DeMint's obsession that any new TSA head NOT be in favor of the unionization of security workers at airports. Personally, I do not see how better paid - and probably more competent - airport personnel is a threat to citizens. As for the existence of equipment that could have revealed the explosives used by the would be Christmas bomber, here are highlights from the Washington Post:

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The explosive allegedly used in the failed bombing plot aboard a transatlantic jetliner over Detroit on Christmas Day could have been detected by existing screening equipment, and the failure to do so reflects significant weaknesses in aviation security and intelligence, former U.S. government officials and international security experts said.
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The compound that Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab allegedly brought aboard Northwest Flight 253 from Amsterdam was PETN, or pentaerythritol tetranitrate, the same plastic explosive used almost exactly eight years ago by would-be shoe bomber Richard Reid, the FBI said. The attack sped the launch of the Transportation Security Administration, which took over and expanded airport security screening.
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But technology and methods that might have detected the explosive have been deployed in airports on a limited basis in the face of concerns about privacy, cost and the potential to slow airport security lines.
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Bruce Hoffman, a terrorism analyst at Georgetown University, called the suspect's ability to smuggle the device on board profoundly disturbing, given that the TSA has spent more than $30 billion on aviation security since 2004, the world's airlines collectively spend an additional $5.9 billion a year, and PETN is well-known as a favored material for terrorist suicide bombers.

Virginia's Statewide Advance Health Care Directive Registry to Go Live on February 17, 2010

It has taken almost two years to become effective, but reportedly Virginia's statewide Advance Health Care Directive Registry will begin to go live after being approved in the 2008 session of the Virginia General Assembly. The Registry will be fully operational by this year’s National Health Care Decisions Day on April 16, 2010. Amazingly, Virginia will be only the tenth state in the nation that offers its residents an Advance Directive Registry. The Registry will provide a means whereby health care providers can access health care directives anywhere in the state regardless of an individual/couple's sexual orientation. Here is how Equality Virginia describes this development:
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Del. Dave Englin and Sen. George Barker introduced legislation to create the statewide Advance Health Care Directive Registry in 2008. With EVA's strong support, this bill passed the General Assembly almost unanimously before being signed by the Governor. The bill mandated creation of a state database where all Virginians can upload their Advance Health Care Directives in order to make them accessible to hospital administrators if the patient is incapacitated or does not have the paper copies readily available.
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The Registry will help ensure that health care providers will have easy access to the documents that make a patient’s health care wishes known, avoiding conflicts that can arise among and between loved ones when such documents are not in the hands of those providing treatment. The Registry law was effective on July 1, 2008, and the process for defining regulations and procedures for implementing this new online database has been moving along since then.
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At a recent meeting, the companies engaged to create the Registry made a presentation outlining how the Registry will work and announced that the registry will be “live” for individuals on February 17, 2010, institutions on March 17, 2010 and will be fully operational by this year’s National Health Care Decisions Day on April 16, 2010.
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The temporary state regulations can be found here as extended here. As soon as final regulations and a website address are available, I will post updated information.

More Northeaster Photos

A neighbor from across the street dropped off some photos from the recent northeaster in November and a scanned on a couple of them since they are from a different perspective than those we took from in the house. Both were taken BEFORE the high tide on the evening of November 12, 2009, which occurred after dark on Thursday evening and was approximately a foot higher than the morning high tide. The first is a photo looking at our house from across the street (at this point water had not come into the first floor) and the second is a view of our neighbor's pier on Hampton Roads harbor proper. The pier is generally a good 7 to 8 feet above the water level, yet in the photo all of the decking of the pier is under water leaving only the piling tops showing (their entire yard was under water).

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Meanwhile, we are still trying to finalize things with the insurance adjuster so that we can start with the repair work - which will take 6 to 8 weeks to complete.

Final Wednesday Male Beauty

Tracking the Legality of Same-Sex Marriage Around the World

Click map for larger image

I came across the world map posted above on World Focus. The map tracks both the countries in which same sex marriage is legal and also the countries in which homosexuality is still criminalized, in some case resulting in the death penalty. I find it interesting that a larger portion of South America in terms of territory provides some type of same sex relationship rights than in the USA - the supposed land of the free and home of religious freedom. It is likewise interesting that the Roman Catholic and Anglican Churches are experiencing the most growth in the most anti-gay nations of the world outside of the Middle East. Here's World Focus' commentary (NOTE: the map and commentary does not appear to include Mexico City where same sex marriage just became legal):

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This week, two men in Argentina became the first same-sex married couple in Latin America. The gay rights activists from Buenos Aires were married in Ushuaia, the capital of Tierra del Fuego state. Argentina’s constitution does not define marriage as strictly between a man and a woman, allowing local officials some flexibility. A bill to legalize gay marriage nationwide is now stalled in Argentina’s Congress.

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Only seven countries in the world permit gay marriage to be performed, although recognition of civil unions exists in some nations. Gay couples still face persecution — and even the death penalty — in many countries.

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The Netherlands, Belgium, Canada, Spain, Norway, Sweden and South Africa recognize same-sex marriage. In the United States, there are four states (Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts and Vermont) where gay couples can currently marry. In 2010, Washington D.C. and New Hampshire will start allowing same-sex marriage.

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Civil unions or registered partnerships offer same-sex couples some of the legal benefits of marriage. Nonetheless, many couples find these insufficient and believe that they are entitled to gender-neutral marriage.

Cousin-Marrying States Versus Gay Marriage States

Click map to enlarge.

With all the Christianist blather about gay marriage leading to incestuous marriages, etc., Queerty has an interesting post that looks at the states that allow first cousins to marry as shown above. It would seem that Maggie Gallagher has bigger things to worry about than gay marriage. Virginia, which bans same sex marriages and domestic partnerships and discriminates against gays in general, would allow me to marry my first cousin as long as my cousin is not male. Pretty creepy in my view. Not surprisingly, seven of the states that allow first cousins to marry are in the Bible Belt.

More Wednesday Male Beauty

Marriage Equality to be Recognized in Dutch Caribbean Islands

With many of the islands in the Caribbean being less than gay friendly - Jamaica takes the top prize in this regard - the islands under Dutch control will be an exception and will even be recognizing same sex marriages. LGBT individuals and couples planning a trip may want to focus their travel dollars at friendly destinations such as these islands as opposed to destinations were homosexuality is illegal or where legalized homophobia is allowed to otherwise exist. Put simply, while support areas/countries that do not afford us equality. Here are some highlights from the Philipsburg Daily Herald on the issue:

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THE HAGUE--Married and registered gay couples will obtain legal protection against discrimination by government agencies in the BES islands Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba after the islands have obtained their new status as public entities in the Dutch Kingdom.
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Articles will be included in the Civil Code for the BES islands stipulating that marriages or registered partnerships contracted in Holland will have the legal rights afforded them by Dutch Civil Law, State Secretary for Internal Affairs and Kingdom Relations Ank Bijleveld-Schouten said in a letter to the Dutch Parliament’s Second Chamber in answer to Labour PvdA party questions.
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“This means that a marriage between persons of the same gender and a registered partnership should also be registered at the civil registries or census offices of the BES islands.” Because this in itself does not establish any legal consequences, it is the intention of the Dutch government to incorporate a new article in the BES Implementation Law stating that weddings and registered partnerships executed in the Netherlands confer the same legal rights as weddings executed in the public entities.
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[I]t is the Netherlands’ position not to deviate from marriage law.
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Meanwhile, here in Virginia, LGBT Virginians remain third (or fourth) class citizens. But then, it's no surprise - it took the Supreme Court ruling in Loving v. Virginia to end Virginia's ban on interracial marriage.

"Ex-Lesbian" Mom on the Run?

The Lisa Miller v. Janet Jenkins saga appears to be taking yet another twist and demonstrating the contempt of the wingnut crowd for the law and the courts. It's all about them and their attitude that they can give the courts the figurative equivalent of flipping the bird and believing that they can get away with it. Speculation is growing that "former lesbian" Lisa Miller may have run off with her daughter in contempt of a Vermont court order transferring custody to Ms. Jenkins. Throughout the legal battle between the former domestic partners in both the Vermont and Virginia courts, Miller has been represented by Christianist lawyers like Matt Staver of Liberty Counsel/Liberty University Law School. The case has been before the Virginia Court of Appeals and the Virginia Supreme Court several times and attempts to invoke Virginia's anti-gay marriage amendment have failed repeatedly. Now, there are fears that Lisa Miller has absconded with the child - some speculate with the help of Exodus International or other anti-gay Christianist organizations (I have seen several groups using Miller's "plight" for fundraising purposes). Here are some highlights from CBS News on Miller's disappearance:

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The birth mother of a 7-year-old Virginia girl must transfer custody of the child to the woman's former lesbian partner, a Vermont judge ruled, adding that it seems the woman has "disappeared" with her daughter. Vermont Family Court Judge William Cohen ordered Lisa Miller of Winchester, Va., to turn over daughter Isabella to Janet Jenkins of Fair Haven at 1 p.m. Friday at the Virginia home of Jenkins' parents.
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But in the Dec. 22 order denying Miller's request to delay the transfer of Isabella, Cohen wrote: "It appears that Ms. Miller has ceased contact with her attorneys and disappeared with the minor child."
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Miller and Jenkins were joined in a Vermont civil union in 2000. Isabella was born to Miller through artificial insemination in 2002. The couple broke up in 2003, and Miller moved to Virginia, renounced homosexuality and became an evangelical Christian. Cohen awarded custody of the girl to Jenkins on Nov. 20 after finding Miller in contempt of court for denying Jenkins access to the girl.
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The judge said the only way to ensure equal access to the child was to switch custody. He also said the benefits to the child of having access to both parents would be worth the difficulties of the change.
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Mathew Staver, Miller's attorney, declined through a spokeswoman to comment on the case. A listing for Lisa Miller in Winchester, Va., says the phone line has been temporarily disconnected at the customer's request.

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The supreme courts of Virginia and Vermont ruled in favor of Jenkins, saying the case was the same was a custody dispute between a heterosexual couple. The case was appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which declined to hear arguments on it.

Wednesday Male Beauty

Count Me Out: Defection from the Roman Catholic Church - Update

I did a post recently about a website named "Count Me Out" which focuses on Catholics seeking to leave the Roman Catholic Church in Ireland. I've received reader comments and e-mails on the post which caused me to do a little research and it turns out that the process described on the website tracks a policy called "ACTUS FORMALIS DEFECTIONIS AB ECCLESIA CATHOLICA" released by the Vatican in 2006. That pronouncement - which seems aimed at making it difficult to be deleted from the Catholic head count - can be found here. Merely, being a so-called lapsed Catholic does not take one off of the Church's membership rolls. Indeed, short of formal, legalistic action, one more or less remains a Catholic on the Church's books until death. One reader from Texas sent me details on his experience in formally getting removed from the Church membership rolls:

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I did this last year and the Dallas Diocese made me jump through hoops to do it. I wrote to them asking for information on the process and was repeatedly told that I should come in for a chat about my decision to formerly leave the church, which I refused to do (I had no desire to be preached at or made to feel guilty for my decision). Finally, after I sent them a formal letter stating my intent to leave the church and why, they gave me the information that I needed. I still haven't heard back from the parish of my baptism regarding the letters I had to send them.
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Basically it's a three step process, or so they told me. 1)You need to send them a letter manifesting your internal decision to leave and directed to a suitable church authority (for me it was a parish I had never, ever, attended); 2) Their formal acknowledgment of the letter; 3) Involves notifying the parish of your baptism (you need a copy of your baptismal certificate) and you should request in writing that the pastor make a notation into the baptismal register which indicates your "departure from the Catholic Church by a formal act." You will need to send a copy of their formal acknowledgment (step 2) to them [the parish] as well.

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Out of curiosity - as well as a desire to make sure that I wasn't being used to falsely inflate Church membership figures, I sent off a letter today to the Bishop of the Diocese of Richmond. I will post an update on whatever response I receive from the Bishop and happily share any forms I receive with any readers that want them. Here's the body of my letter:
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Dear Bishop Lorenzo:
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I ceased attending the Roman Catholic Church in 2001. Since that time I have joined the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Because of (1) the gross failure of the Catholic Church to discipline the bishops, cardinals and –in my opinion Popes – who were involved in the enabling and cover up of sexual abuse against minors and (2) the Church’s activities in limiting the CIVIL law rights of same sex couples (e.g., Proposition 8, Question no.1 in Maine, etc.), I wish to formally severe any and all ties that would allow me to in any manner be considered a Roman Catholic.
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I have in my possession a form that appears to be in the process of being utilized by a web site (http://www.countmeout.ie/how/) for those in Ireland who wish to declare their formal defection from the Catholic Church. I would appreciate it if you could provide me with the requisite form or forms for me to accomplish this goal. I have a number of others who are interested in pursuing this process and I will forward them the copies of the form/forms. If there is a website where the forms are available, please furnish me with the web address. A copy of my Baptismal Certificate is attached for your reference.

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I know a large number of LGBT individuals who have walked away from the Catholic Church. It would be a shame to allow the Church to number us all as still Catholic in order to hide the fact that people are leaving because of the Church's corruption and anti-gay policies.

Karl "Protect Marriage" Rove Granted Divorce

The hypocrisy of the "family values" Republicans literally seems to know no bounds. As Politico is reporting, Karl Rove, who time and time again used gay baiting anti-gay marriage ploys to turn out the Christo-fascists of the GOP base at election time has shown how much he honors the "sanctity of marriage" - he just got a divorce from his wife of 24 years. And, unlike me, he doesn't have a legitimate reasons - such as being gay - for his divorce. He apparently simply got tired of his wife. It's yet another example of Republicans wanting others to do as they say and not as they actually do themselves. I've always found Rove despicable and this news only enhances my sense of disgust. Here are highlights from Politico:

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Karl Rove, former senior adviser to President George W. Bush, has been granted a divorce in Texas after 24 years of marriage, family spokeswoman Dana Perino said.
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“Karl Rove and his wife, Darby, were granted a divorce last week," said Perino. "The couple came to the decision mutually and amicably, and they maintain a close relationship and a strong friendship. There will be no further comment, and the family requests that its privacy be respected.”
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A family friend told POLITICO: “After 24 years of marriage, many of which were spent under incredible stress and strain during the White House years, the Roves came to a mutual decision that they would end the marriage. They did spend Christmas together with their son, and they plan to spend time together in the future. They maintain a strong friendship, and they both feel that that friendship is a source of comfort and inspiration for their friends and family.”
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To me, it all sounds a bit bizarre. Is Karl not telling us something? Glenn Greenwald at Salon has some equally to the point comments on Rove's hypocrisy. Here are some highlights:

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Karl Rove is an outspoken opponent of same-sex marriage, citing "5,000 years of understanding the institution of marriage" as his justification. He also famously engineered multiple referenda to incorporate a ban on same-sex marriage into various states' constitutions in 2004 in order to ensure that so-called ""Christian conservatives" and "value voters" who believe in "traditional marriage laws" would turn out and help re-elect George W. Bush. Yet, like so many of his like-minded pious comrades, Rove seems far better at preaching the virtues of "traditional marriage" to others and exploiting them for political gain than he does adhering to those principles in his own life.
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[T]hose like Rove who have devoted endless efforts to barring gay citizens from marrying on the ground that our laws must enshrine Christian concepts of "traditional marriage" continuously take advantage of laws that enable them to end their own marriages on a whim, and even enter new marriages with their so-called "second, third and fourth wives," which only seems to intensify their "traditional marriage" preaching.
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If Karl Rove, Newt Gingrich, Rush Limbaugh and their friends and followers actually were required by law to stay married to their wives -- the way that "traditional marriage" was generally supposed to work -- the movement to have our secular laws conform to "traditional marriage" principles would almost certainly die a quick, quiet and well-deserved death.

More Tuesday Male Beauty

Karma's a Bitch - Anti-Gay Republican Labeled Gay by Opponent

UPDATED: Fire Dog Lake also has a good piece on this story. Here are some highlights:

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If the DADT policy is being applied fairly, Mark Kirk will now have to endure a discharge hearing, with all sorts of elements of his private life potentially being made public. I find that deplorable and sad. That’s why I no longer support the policy. Why does Kirk?
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U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk, the front-runner in the Republican primary election for the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Barack Obama is suffering some less than pleasant karma. Kirk, who has voted as a homophobic Republican and supported Don't Ask, Don't Tell has been accused by his GOP primary opponent, Andy Martin, of being gay. Kirk's problem - besides the fact that the GOP base is now controlled by knuckle dragging homophobes who stampede based on rumor - is that Kirk is in the Navy Reserves. As such, he could be expelled from the military if members of the military believe the allegations about his sexual orientation. There would obviously be some sweet irony if Kirk were to be impaled by his own petard, if you will, in terms of DADT. The Chicago Sun Times has coverage on the homo-baiting Martin and the outwardly homophobic Kirk. Here are some highlights:
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Andy Martin, once known as Anthony Martin-Trigona, who has run for numerous elective offices over the last three decades in Illinois, Florida and Connecticut, taped a commercial questioning whether Kirk is gay.
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Martin’s source? Statements some conservative Republicans made on a radio show saying they have heard “rumors” that Kirk is gay. “Illinois Republican leader Jack Roeser says there is a ‘solid rumor that Kirk is a homosexual,’ ” Martin says in the ad. “Roeser suggests that Kirk is part of a Republican Party homosexual club. Lake County Illinois Republican leader Ray True says Kirk has surrounded himself with homosexuals. Mark Kirk should tell Republican voters the truth.”
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Kirk, a U.S. Naval Intelligence officer, was unavailable for comment because he is on active duty over the holidays, said spokesman Eric Elk.
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Martin has long argued in his e-mails that Kirk is gay and that it should be a campaign issue. But Martin has been ignored. What changed Monday morning is that Martin started running radio commercials on WBBM-AM and other major stations, who under federal communication and election laws, must run the ads unedited.
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Kirk launched his candidacy with an endorsement from his ex-wife Kimberly, who he had just recently divorced. She stepped to the podium and said, “I support him 100 percent. He'll make a great senator.” Kirk, who speaks confidently on the floor of Congress and on the campaign trail about his deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, faces five opponents in the Feb. 2 Republican primary.
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Given that I have friends and clients expelled from the military under accusers they never knew or were allowed to confront, it seems most appropriate that Mr. Kirk get an opportunity to see what it feels like living in fear of possibly false allegations.

White House Belatedly Tries to Soothe Liberals’ Anger

John Aravosis has a post at America Blog that looks at the pathetic efforts recently being made by the White House to soothe voters who have been kicked in the teeth so far by Obama's failure to deliver on campaign promises. As John notes, some lame boiler plate e-mails have been sent out to the DNC Organizing America data base - I received one myself and asked that I be removed from the address list - but in terms of real, meaningful action, Obama and the Congressional Democrats remain missing in action. The only positive may be that Obama is belatedly waking up to the fact that he might just not be reelected in 2012 if he doesn't start to deliver. And, I'm sorry, but until ENDA is passed and signed into law or DADT and/or DOMA are repealed, I will not feel that Obama has kept his campaign promises. As the saying goes, fool me once, shame on you - fool me twice, shame on me. I personally do not plan on being played for a sucker a second time. In the perhaps unlikely event the GOP doesn't nominate a lunatic opponent to Obama, Mr. Obama could end up a one term president. Here are highlights from John's post:

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There's an article in Roll Call (sub. req.) titled, White House Hopes to Soothe Liberals’ Angst, which begins:
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President Barack Obama is confronting a threat to his re-election as members of his base increasingly voice concern about his policies.
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Obama has faced a mini-rebellion from liberals after he went along with a decision to drop a public insurance option — and then its substitute, a “buy-in” expansion of Medicare — from the Senate health care bill. Liberals are also concerned about the climate change deal that he agreed to in Copenhagen and his decision to inject 30,000 additional troops into Afghanistan.
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But the White House has been taking steps to bandage the wounds.
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It is, however, unclear from this article what exactly those steps are, besides a couple of emails sent to the DNC's Organizing for America list: . . .
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To be clear, the President and his team are worried about the base for his reelection in 2012, not the congressional races in 2010. I think it's safe to say that it's going to take more than email messages from the President and David Plouffe to fire up the base. Words won't be enough. Actions are required. And, the best action the President could take would be to follow through on his campaign promises.

No one is expecting Obama to do more than he promised, but we are expecting him to do what he promised. . . . The base is watching and waiting -- and grumpy.

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John, very well said.

Anti-Gay Irish MP Quits Over Mental Illness

I did several prior posts on Anti-Gay Irish MP, Iris Robinson (pictured at left), who back in 2008 made crazy anti-gay statements - she called homosexuality disgusting, loathsome, nauseating, wicked and vile - and came out supporting reparative therapy for LGBT citizens. Now, Ms. Robinson is resigning from office due to her mental health issues - as if those of us in the LGBT blogosphere didn't already know that she had mental health issues. Here's what PinkNews reported her as saying in June 2008 (a statement she refused to retract):
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"I have a very lovely psychiatrist who works with me in my offices and his Christian background is that he tries to help homosexuals trying to turn away from what they are engaged in. "And I have met people who have turned around to become heterosexual." Mrs Robinson turned down an invitation from gay rights group Rainbow Project to meet with gay and lesbian people and hear about their experiences and concerns.
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Fast forward to December, 2009, and here is what a Dublin news site is reporting relative to Ms. Robinson's resignation:
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DUP MP and MLA Iris Robinson, wife of Northern Ireland First Minister Peter Robinson, is to quit politics after admitting she has suffered serious bouts of depression.

'As many people will be aware, I have recently tried to return to the full-time work of representing my constituents following my latest period of illness. Over the years, I have undergone a long series of operations and though I have never talked about it publicly, I have, against this background, also battled against serious bouts of depression.
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'Only those who have faced similar challenges in life will know the ordeal faced by those who are profoundly depressed and the distress caused to those around them as they grapple with personality changing illness.'
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As one who personally deals with issues of depression, I am not totally unsympathetic to Ms. Robinson. However, nothing excises an elected official for making such vile statements about other citizens. Once in office, one is supposed to represent ALL of their constituents, not just who hold the same religious views.

Tuesday Male Beauty

Washington Post: It's Time to Repeal DADT

In its main editorial yesterday, the Washington Post made the case for why it is time to repeal Don't Ask Don't Tell - in my view an illegal religious based piece of legislation that serves no purpose other than to denigrate gays and keep them stigmatized per the objectives of the Christian Right. I know MANY LGBT veterans and current service members who served or continue to serve with distinction. It is the homophobes rather than the gays who should be expelled from the service if they cannot put aside their religious based bigotry and maintain good order and discipline. Just as an open racist should be disciplined, so should service members who harass or abuse LGBT members of the military. The fact that U.S. allies allow gays to openly serve without difficulties shows the lie of loopy religious nutcases like Elaine Donnelly. Here are some editorial highlights:

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SLOWLY BUT SURELY, the groundwork continues to be laid for the overdue demise of "don't ask, don't tell." The latest move came on Dec. 22 when Rep. Jim Moran (D-Va.) and 95 House colleagues sent a letter to the Pentagon requesting statistics on troops discharged for violating the wrong-headed ban on gays and lesbians serving openly in the military. They want everyone to see the effects of the policy on the military and the national defense. This has the added benefit of reminding Americans of the law's absurdity.
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Since "don't ask, don't tell" was instituted in 1994, more than 13,500 members of the armed forces have been booted. According to the Moran letter, 730 mission-critical soldiers and more than 65 Arabic and Farsi linguists have been kicked out. How can it help U.S. efforts in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan if those with critical skills are removed from service?
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Meanwhile, one of the letter's signatories, Rep. Patrick J. Murphy (D-Pa.), continues the painstaking work of securing sponsors for a bill that would overturn "don't ask, don't tell." When we highlighted his efforts in July, he had 163 co-sponsors. Recently, he was up to 186, approaching the 218 votes needed for passage. Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) last month told the Advocate, a gay and lesbian news magazine, that a measure to overturn the ban is likely to be attached to the must-pass Defense Department budget authorization bill next year. "Military issues are always done as part of the overall authorization bill," he said.
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President Obama has been consistent in public speeches and in Oval Office meetings with Mr. Gates and Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, that he wants to end the ban on gays and lesbians serving openly in the military. So do we and a majority of the American people. Gays and lesbians in the armed services should be able to help protect the country without fear or shame.

Count Me Out - Information for Those Considering Leaving the Roman Catholic Church (RCC).

A reader in Canada sent me a link to a website named "Count Me Out" which focuses on Catholics seeking to leave the Catholic Church in Ireland. The site also has links to similar sites in other countries. To my knowledge, no website yet exists for Catholics seeking to leave the Church in the USA. The concept behind the website is to let the Church hierarchy have outright "declarations of defection" combined with shrinking mass attendance and dwindling collection plate revenues as the reward of its malfeasance. In the larger picture, this site like ChurchOuting.org (which seeks to out closeted gay priests who do not speak out against the Church's anti-gay agenda) is aimed at bringing a real cost to the Catholic Church for its gross moral failings in protecting minors and for its interference with the CIVIL rights of LGBT citizens as recently occurred in Maine and elsewhere. Count Me Out describes the process as follows:

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In order to formally leave the church you need to complete a "Declaration of Defection" form. We have automated this process so that, in 3 steps and with only simple details, we can produce all the required documentation. We also generate an accompanying cover letter that you are free to alter as you see fit. Alternatively, you can download a blank PDF or HTML copy of the form and fill it in yourself.
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As for reasons an Irish Catholic might wish to leave the Church, the site lists the following reasons:

If you were baptised as a Catholic you are still counted among the congregation of the church, regardless of what beliefs you currently hold. Here are some reasons why you may wish to leave:
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***You no longer subscribe to the Catholic ethos, or are a 'lapsed' Catholic and you
***Do not wish to be counted as a member;
***Are appalled by the revelations concerning clerical abuse and wish to formally leave the church as a symbolic action;
***Do not approve of the close relationship between the church and the Irish state and wish to contribute to its dismantling.
***You wish to join another faith/religion.
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For those seeking to make a defection in Ireland, the cite offers diocese contact information and other information to complete one's statement of defection. For those outside of Irelandd, the form if properly completed looks like it would suffice in other countries. I guess I need to make a formal declaration myself and send it in to the Diocese of Richmond.

More Monday Male Beauty

Focus on the Family Condemns Uganda Bill

In a somewhat surprising move, Focus on the Family - until recently the parent organization for the fraudulent ex-gay ministry, Love Won Out" that "claims that gays can change their sexual orientation - released a press statement condemning the proposed "kill gays" bill pending in Uganda's Parliament. Few organizations have done more to demonize LGBT Americans than Focus on the Family which has toxic affiliates such as The Family Foundation in Virginia scattered across the USA. Wayne Besen at Truth Wins Out has the text of the press release:
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"As a Christian organization, Focus on the Family Action encourages pro-family policies. As such, we respect the desire of the Ugandan people to shield their nation from the promotion of homosexuality as morally equivalent to one-man, one-woman marriage. That said, the purpose of laws is to make societies safer, and there is legitimate concern that the legislation being debated in Uganda will incite violence against homosexuals. That is morally unacceptable, as is enacting the death penalty for homosexuals, which some versions of this bill are reported to require."
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-- Jim Daly, President of Focus on the Family
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It would seem that Focus on the Family cynically calculated that a failure to condemn the Uganda bill would be all too indicative of FOTF's real agenda against LGBT citizens. Would that a similar statement would be released admitting that Love Won Out's claims are untrue and were known to be untrue even as the lies were disseminated by James Dobson and his ex-gay for pay minions at FOTF.

Catholic Church Not the Only Denomination with Sexual Abuse Problem

Some snide commenters - who, of course, cowardly remain anonymous - would have readers and others believe that I only tell what I believe to be the truth about the Roman Catholic Church while other denominations go unaddressed. Long time readers know that such is not the case, although I do single the Catholic Church out for special treatment for two reasons: (1) the Church hierarchy is obsessed with condemning all things sexual and gays in particular, and (2) the Church is the only denomination where the cover up efforts and obstruction of justice clearly go all the way to the top of the Church leadership. Another denomination nearly as obsessed with sexual matters and the condemnation of gays is the Baptist Church, especially the Southern Baptists and its lead homophobe, Richard Land (pictured above). I have followed the SBC's refusal to put in place programs to help identify and expel predator pastors as well as posted about Baptist hypocrites. Consistent with these past observations, here are highlights from two recent Baptist pastors' sexual misadventures. First some highlights from the Associated Baptist Press on a former high profile Jacksonville, Florida pastor:

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A former pastor once touted by Southern Baptist leaders as America's next great black preacher has admitted to fathering the child of a woman who claims he raped her during a counseling session in 2004.
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Darrell Gilyard, who is currently serving a three-year prison sentence for molesting a different girl in his church and sending lewd text messages to yet another, signed a consent judgment to resolve a paternity suit the woman filed against him, the Florida Times-Union reported Dec. 11. The admission came after a court-ordered paternity test. Gilyard was not charged with rape.
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Gilyard resigned Jan. 4, 2008, after 15 years as pastor of Shiloh Metropolitan, a 7,000-member predominantly African-American congregation. As a young minister in the 1980s, he was mentored by prominent Southern Baptist Convention leaders including Paige Patterson and Jerry Vines and promoted on Jerry Falwell's Old Time Gospel Hour.
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Gilyard's relationship with SBC leaders soured in 1991, when he resigned under pressure after admitting to several adulterous affairs with women he was counseling while pastor of a multi-racial SBC church in Richardson, Texas. Over the years Gilyard resigned from a total of five churches over charges of sexual misconduct.
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Obviously, the Catholic Church is not the only denomination that likes to shuffle sexual predators off to unsuspecting parishes. Although in no other denomination has a "smoking gun" been found like a 1960's vintage Vatican directive that ordered the cover up sexual abuse allegations world wide. Next are highlights about another Baptist predator in Canada:
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A 57-year-old Baptist pastor accused of sex crimes dating back to the 1970s was arrested Christmas Eve at the Sarnia border crossing by members of the Canada Border Services Agency.

Ontario Provincial Police had issued an arrest warrant earlier in the day for Ronald Burning, pastor of the Johnsfield Baptist Church in Ohsweken, near Brantford.

Acting Sergeant Aaron McPhail said Burning faces eight charges involving three victims, some of which date from the 1970s and others more recently. They include two counts of sexual assault, anal intercourse, sexual exploitation of a child, rape, intercourse with a female under 14, indecent act on a female and forcible confinement.
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The real issue behind all of this discussion is the hypocrisy of denominations that demonize sex and gays - and reject modern knowledge - even as they fail to police their own clergy ranks. Just like with Watergate, it's the cover up and lies and refusal to admit wrongdoing that are the heart of the matter and why church hypocrites of all stripes need to be exposed.

'Nights in Rodanthe' House Sold

While the story has no huge relevance to anything of import, I thought I'd do a post on the sale of the house in Rodanthe, North Carolina, where I once stay - long before it became famous in a move starring the still handsome Richard Gere who grew up in the city where I was born. The house is the sole survivor of what was a small but very upscale subdivision on the north side of the town of Rodanthe in the Outer Banks. The other homes have all either succumbed to the relentless waves of the Atlantic or been moved to safer locations. Here are some brief highlights from the Virginian Pilot:

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The beachfront house featured in the movie "Nights in Rodanthe" will soon have a new home itself, thanks to a bail bondsman who fell in love with the surf-threatened house after his wife bought the movie for him as a Christmas present last year. Ben Huss of Newton said Monday he hopes to close Jan. 4 on the house and have it moved and ready to rent by Easter weekend.
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Huss plans to move the six-bedroom house less than a mile south along N.C. 12 to an oceanside lot that's still in Rodanthe. But it won't have the unobstructed view that it does now as the northernmost house in the village, with only National Park Service land to its north.
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The house itself isn't in immediate danger. With pilings driven 14 feet in the sand and set in concrete, "Serendipity would never go anywhere," Creasy said. But the former 400 feet of beachfront had eroded to almost nothing over time, the victim of Hurricane Isabel and numerous nor'easters. Dare County declared the house a public nuisance for several reasons, including its notoriety that attracted visitors who would wade through water or even ride rafts to the front of the house at high tide to take their picture in front of it, . . .
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When the house was built in 1988, it was a mansion that stood out among the smaller homes on Hatteras Island. Although much larger mansions have been built since then, the house is still special to Huss, who calls it a "junior castle." "It overtook me the way it was built," said Huss, who plans to restore the house to look the way it did in the movie, complete with the open deck and extended porches that were not part of the original construction.
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Despite the fact that the islands of the Outer Banks are slowly but steadily moving towards the mainland, people continue to challenge the power of nature only to eventually lose the battle.

Monday Male Beauty

Christmas Holiday Retrospective

The boyfriend and I returned from visiting my mother and my sister's family in Charlottesville Sunday afternoon. Over all, the long weekend was a good one and it kicked off with us joining family dinners of friends/clients of the boyfriend on Wednesday evening and again on Christmas Eve. We also took out the boyfriend's 80+ year old parents and one of their friends out for a Christmas Eve lunch - something that was both enjoyable and entertaining. Christmas morning, we dropped gifts at other friends' homes on our way to Charlottesville which still had nearly two feet of snow on the ground when we arrived. We had Christmas dinner at my sister's home and stayed the rest of the weekend at my mother's home.

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For the first time in my life that I recall, I did not go to church for Christmas. After dinner on Christmas Eve we simply decided to go home, spend some decompressing and to not go to church as previously planned. Candidly, I did not miss it. Even though I realize that not all Christians are anti-gay bigots, I also know all too well that in the USA the principal persecutors of LGBT citizens are self-described Christians. It makes it very difficult at times to even want to be reminded about religion or Christianity. Moreover, the present day date for Christmas was hijacked by the early Catholic Church from previous pagan celebrations. As the History Channel notes, December 25th had been the date that the birth of Mithras had been celebrated, so truth be told, no one knows the real date of Christ's birth. Here's a bit on the precursors to the celebration of Christmas:

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In Rome, where winters were not as harsh as those in the far north, Saturnalia—a holiday in honor of Saturn, the god of agriculture—was celebrated. Beginning in the week leading up to the winter solstice and continuing for a full month, Saturnalia was a hedonistic time, when food and drink were plentiful and the normal Roman social order was turned upside down.

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Also around the time of the winter solstice, Romans observed Juvenalia, a feast honoring the children of Rome. In addition, members of the upper classes often celebrated the birthday of Mithra, the god of the unconquerable sun, on December 25. It was believed that Mithra, an infant god, was born of a rock. For some Romans, Mithra's birthday was the most sacred day of the year.

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In the early years of Christianity, Easter was the main holiday; the birth of Jesus was not celebrated. In the fourth century, church officials decided to institute the birth of Jesus as a holiday. . . . It is commonly believed that the church chose this date in an effort to adopt and absorb the traditions of the pagan Saturnalia festival. First called the Feast of the Nativity, the custom spread to Egypt by 432 and to England by the end of the sixth century. By the end of the eighth century, the celebration of Christmas had spread all the way to Scandinavia.

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It wasn't until the 19th century that Americans began to embrace Christmas. Americans re-invented Christmas, and changed it from a raucous carnival holiday into a family-centered day of peace and nostalgia.

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One positive development for me on Christmas Eve was that I received a call from my daughter who has not spoken to me since May. Whether or not it will lead to a full reconciliation, only time will tell. That same evening a friend whose son has had nothing to do with him for 18 years called him and the two are planning on getting together some time in the near future. The moral would seem to be that one never knows when children or family will come around and be accepting and/or leave past hurts in the past.