Saturday Male Beauty

EDITOR'S NOTE: Some criticise the "Male Beauty" posts (especially in certain anonymous comments) , but based on a previous reader poll and the comments I receive regularly from readers - including from my numerous straight women readers - the majority of readers like them and want them to continue. The photos are deliberately kept non X-rated with a goal of highlighting the variety of beauty the male form can take. The majority of photos come from modeling websites - Major Model Management is but one - not pornography sites.

Cardinal Mahony Under Federal Investigation

The other day I wrote about a possible federal investigation of the leadership of the Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles, one of the largest dioceses in the USA based on a Wall Street Journal story. Now, the Los Angeles Times has more information and it is clear that Cardinal Roger Mahoney is one of the targets in the probe. Perhaps my views are colored by the fact that I have three children - and was an altar boy myself for 10 years - but in my view, nothing demonstrates more the moral bankruptcy of the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church more than the fact that none of the bishops and cardinals who enabled and/or covered up the sexual abuse of children and youths have been punished. True, Cardinal Law of Boston resigned his position, but then he was rewarded with a plum assignment at the Vatican. Not exactly my idea of punishment. If the Vatican will not take the steps needed to hold bishops and cardinals accountable, then I am all in favor of the civil authorities stepping in a doing the job. Here are some story highlights:

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The U.S. attorney in Los Angeles has launched a federal grand jury investigation into Cardinal Roger M. Mahony in connection with his response to the molestation of children by priests in the Los Angeles Archdiocese, according to two law enforcement sources familiar with the case.

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The probe, in which U.S. Atty. Thomas P. O'Brien is personally involved, is aimed at determining whether Mahony, and possibly other church leaders, committed fraud by failing to adequately deal with priests accused of sexually abusing children, said the sources, who requested anonymity because they are not authorized to speak publicly about the investigation.

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Mahony has repeatedly apologized for the church's sex scandal and asked for forgiveness for not acting sooner to remove priests who abused minors. He has declared that the archdiocese handles abuse allegations seriously, notifying police when complaints are made and removing priests from active ministry when allegations are deemed credible. As the Catholic Church's highest-ranking official in Southern California, Mahony has been dogged for years by allegations of covering up the sexual misconduct of priests.

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The cardinal was accused of transferring priests who molested children to other parishes rather than removing them from the priesthood and alerting authorities. One priest, Michael Stephen Baker, told Mahony in 1986 that he had molested children, but he was allowed to remain in active ministry. Mahony sent Baker to a treatment center in New Mexico and later reassigned him to other parishes, where he allegedly victimized children. Prosecutors later filed criminal charges against Baker. He pleaded guilty to molesting two boys and was sentenced in 2007 to more than 10 years in prison.

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Mahony also came under fire for vigorously fighting attempts by prosecutors, victims and the victims' attorneys to gain access to the church's personnel files, which tracked the problems of accused priests and the church hierarchy's reaction to them.

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I will not be surprised to hear next that William Donohoe of the Catholic League is whining about the persecution of Catholics. Meanwhile, Donohue has been utterly silent in terms of demanding that bishops and cardinals involved in the abuse cover ups be held accountable.

Who's The Hottest Freshman Congressman?

On a humorous/fun note, I noticed that on Huffington Post there is a poll on who is the hottest new freshman member of Congress. Among the top five (5) that one can vote for is Glenn Nye of this area who is pictured above. I've met Glenn in person several times and yes, he is cute. Better yet, he is gay friendly and unlike his predecessor, Thelma Drake, seems open to listening to and likely supporting gay rights issues. Among the other choices are Aaron Shock from Illinois, Jim Himes of Connecticut, Tom Perriello also from Virginia and who like Glenn defeated an anti-gay voting incumbent, and lastly Jared Polis the out gay Congressman from Colorado. Here's some highlights from Huff Po:

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When members of the 111th Congress convened on January 6th, there were 65 fresh faces among them. Naturally, we've spent the last few weeks familiarizing ourselves with them, and after much voting, debating, and in-fighting -- or not -- we've made our picks for the five most adorable representatives. Take a look and cast your vote below. Then let us know if we left anyone out. Whatever the outcome, just remember: they're all winners here.

Gutless Annonymous Comments

UPDATED: One individual apparently hasn't gotten the message and continues to make extremely nasty personal attacks. Hence I am contacting Google and will have his/her IP address identified and then file an appropriate complaint for harrassment. While one can post anonymous comments, there are ways to find out one's copmuter address.

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Internet address and t seems that ever few months I have to readdress this issue: nasty comments posted by those who seek to be "anonymous." Apparently some people still have not gotten the message. Nasty comments attacking me, my opinions, gays in general, how I write this blog and/or other individuals that are submitted by whiny, simpering, self-righteous, gutless wonders who lack the balls and courage to to publicly identify themselves will NOT be posted - so please, once again, do not waste your time or mine.
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The bottom line is that if these malcontents who comment under the name "Anonymous" do not like my "holier than thou attitude," my views on Ted Haggard, my thoughts on gay rights activism, or if the truth as I see it hurts, or if they want to alienate would be allies, then they can set up their own blog and vent. I have no intention of providing a platform for their vitriol and bitchiness.

Friday Male Beauty

On the Road to GOP Extinction?

The Gallup folks have released the results of extensive new polling on political party affiliation and - if the GOP base lived in the real world - it should be very sobering to the GOP members of Congress who are showing that they prefer playing politics over doing what's right for the country. The map posted above speaks volumes. Here are some highlights from the study:

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In 2008, Gallup interviewed more than 350,000 U.S. adults as part of Gallup Poll Daily tracking. That includes interviews with 1,000 or more residents of every U.S. state except Wyoming (885) and North Dakota (953), as well as the District of Columbia (689). There were more than 15,000 interviews conducted with residents of California, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Florida.

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This large data set provides the unique ability to give reliable estimates of state-level characteristics for 2008. Each sample of state residents was weighted by demographic characteristics to ensure it is representative of the state's population.

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The accompanying map shows party strength by state for 2008, ranging from states that can be considered solidly Democratic (a Democratic advantage in party identification of 10 percentage points or more) to those that can be considered solidly Republican (a Republican advantage in party identification of 10 percentage points or more). States in which the partisan advantage is less than 5 points in either direction are considered "competitive." (The full data for all states appear at the end of the article.)

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All told, 29 states and the District of Columbia had Democratic party affiliation advantages of 10 points or greater last year. This includes all of the states in the Northeast, and all but Indiana in the Great Lakes region. There are even several Southern states in this grouping, including Arkansas, North Carolina, and Kentucky.

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In contrast, only five states had solid or leaning Republican orientations in 2008, with Utah, Wyoming, Idaho, and Alaska in the former group, and Nebraska in the latter.

Michael Freedom Fund

Like many other LGBT bloggers, from time to time I receive some pretty nasty e-mails and/or comments (the latter do not get posted) such as one from someone of apparent Muslim extraction who attacked me for the Auschwitz photos I posted the other day before then laying into me for being gay and telling me all about how homosexuality is a sin.

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Yet another writer derided me for the "Michael Freedom Fund" and could not believe an attorney might be in financial distress. Thus, I want to set the record straight as to just what can happen in the Virginia Courts to a gay man who comes out in mid-life after being married. Not only was I basically put on trial for being gay, but I was crucified for it as well. After one horrific day in court, I was so devastated and traumatized that I went home and took a very large quantity of sleeping pills and anti-depressant medication. But for my former partner finding me and getting me to the ER, I would not be here today.

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None of this meant a wit to the judge in my case who in my opinion is a extreme far right homophobe. After my attorney bailed on me - God forbid he play hardball against a judge before whom he might have to appear in the future - I lost more or less everything to the ex-wife, including 100% of my retirement, and was left saddled owing her tens of thousands of dollars that I did not have (and still do not have). I was forced into Chapter 7 bankruptcy and got to keep my house (which is hardly in the best part of town) and my law practice only because they had no equity in them.

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As for my earning ability, since I am principally a real estate attorney and because due to the economic melt down our residential closing work volume is down 75-80% from where it was even in late 2006, one needs only to do the math to figure out that things are not in a good place financially. Yes, I do other things besides residential real estate and I basically market myself 24/7, but residential real estate is what covered the bills and the rest was the profit margin. Many overhead costs are fixed and not easily reduced short of closing the law firm and starting over all over again from scratch - without any start up capital. I have sublet part of my office space and reduced staff, but it remains a struggle. I even rented out part of my home, but just lost that tenant because he lost his job due to the economy. Anyone need a room?

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On the upside, I live my life out and proud and I am one of only two attorneys in this area of 1.6 million people that are brave enough - or crazy enough depending on one's perspective - to not stay in the closet professionally. I hope through this blog and by living openly and honestly I can help other LGBT individuals and maybe be to some small extent a role model for younger LGBT professionals. And yes, there are days when getting up, holding my head up and going on takes a great deal of effort. Oh, and as an added precaution, I don't keep sleeping pills around anymore.

Final Thursday Male Beauty

For Ted Haggard's Enjoyment

Ted Haggard on Larry King Live

Ted Haggard and his wife and his oldest son are on Larry King Live as I type this post and my first reaction is "Get me the vomit bag!" First, Haggard has refused to assure viewers that there are no other men with whom he had relations other than Mike Jones and Grant, the young New Life Church volunteer. I suspect that this refusal means one thing: that we can expect more revelations from other men in the future.

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Second, and most disgusting of all is Haggard's claim that he is "heterosexual with issues" according to his "therapist." Of course, I suspect that his therapist is someone who is an affiliate or protege of NARTH and Exodus International - which means a witch doctor would have the same legitimacy. I was married for 24 years and fathered three children, so I do know how strong the urge is to deny the reality of one's true sexual orientation. But give me a break!! Haggard has had at least two gay affairs that lasted for some time - it wasn't a case of one or even two unplanned slips on Haggard's part.

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Either (1) Haggard is delusional or (2) he and his wife are playing the situation in order to somehow turn it into a money making proposition through book deals or some other ploy. Perhaps it's a case of a little of both. All I can say is that I do NOT buy Haggard's story and I suspect that LEGITIMATE therapists are rolling their eyes at the incredible bull shit that Larry King is allowing to be swilled unchallenged. In my opinion, the truth is that Haggard is gay and he is most sexually/emotionally fulfilled by gay sex. He needs to stop fooling himself, his wife, his children, and stop lying to the rest of the world.

Federal Court Upholds Donor Disclosure requirements in California

The cry babies in the "Yes on 8" camp just got bitch slapped by a federal court judge who rejected their crocodile tears over their alleged mistreatment as a result of their contributions to write discrimination into the California Constitution being publicly disclosed. The Christianists would love nothing more than to be able to operate and seek to undermine the civil laws anonymously in their quest to build a theocracy. It's always all about them and they always want "special rights" that exempt them from the requirements applied to everyone else. Here are some highlights from the San Francisco Chronicle:

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Proposition 8 proponents' complaint that a California campaign-finance disclosure law has led to harassment of same-sex marriage opponents failed to sway a federal judge, who refused Thursday to throw out the law or shield donors' names.

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A lawyer for the Prop. 8 campaign said it would ask an appeals court to modify or overturn the law, which requires disclosure of all contributors of $100 or more. . . . The federal lawsuit, unrelated to the validity of Prop. 8, was filed Jan. 8 by the ballot measure's sponsoring committee, Protect Marriage. The suit said Internet disclosure of donors' names and other identifying information in state-mandated reports has led to consumer boycotts, picketing and even death threats.

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By requiring disclosure, "the government is getting in the middle (of the issue) and saying, 'Here are the people to go after,' " Richard Coleson, a lawyer for the committee, told England. . . . If the Prop. 8 campaign was exempted from disclosure because of reports of harassments of individual donors, said Deputy Attorney General Zackery Morazzini, the same case could be made for any controversial initiative. Courts would have to "keep the entire California electorate in the dark as to who was funding these ballot measures," he said. England agreed.

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He noted that some of the reprisals reported by the Prop. 8 committee involve legal activities such as boycotts and picketing. Other alleged actions, such as death threats, mailings of white powder and vandalism, may constitute "repugnant and despicable acts" but can be reported to law enforcement, the judge said.

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Any desire by donors to remain anonymous is outweighed by the state's authority to require "full and fair disclosure of everyone who's involved in these political campaigns," England said.

Colombia High Court Upholds Same-Sex Partner Rights

The whackos of the far Christian and GOP right like to pontificate that the USA is first in all realms and look with disdain upon foreigners and other cultures. Despite such jingoism, the reality is that the world is moving on and the USA is failing behind in many ways, including in terms of its crumbling infrastructure and its failure to provide equal rights and legal protections to all its citizens. In yet another example that the words "land of the free" apply increasingly to other nations, Colombia’s Constitutional Court has upheld a lower court ruling that the government must provide same-sex partners with all of the rights that opposite-sex couples have. Meanwhile, in this country we do not even have full freedom of religion since Christianists and Mormons get to dictate which couples have legal rights and which ones do not. Here are some highlights from 365gay.com:

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(Bogota) Colombia’s Constitutional Court has upheld a lower court ruling that the government must provide same-sex partners with all of the rights that opposite-sex couples have. Last year, LGBT rights groups went to court seeking health and other government benefits. Last April, a lower court ruled that same-sex couples are implicitly covered under the constitution’s guarantee of equal rights for all citizens.

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The ruling also said that to exclude same-sex partners would violate the principle of non-discrimination and human dignity as the expression of personal autonomy, protected by international law. The Constitutional Court decision means same-sex couples will have pension, survivor and property rights.

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Colombia’s Congress then passed legislation giving same-sex couples most of the same rights as opposite-sex married couples, but the bill died in a procedural move by conservative senators. The reversal came after the powerful Catholic Church in Colombia warned lawmakers they were violating Vatican policy and could be denied the sacraments.

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All legal progress made in the last five years in Colombia has been accomplished through decisions by the Colombian Constitutional Court.

More Thursday Male Beauty

U.S. Investigates Los Angeles Archdiocese Officials

As the Wall Street Journal is reporting, a federal grand jury has issued subpoenas and begun calling witnesses in a probe of whether top officials of the Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles tried to cover up the sexual abuse of minors by priests. Hopefully, the grand jury will ultimately issue indictments against Cardinal Mahoney and others in the Los Angeles Diocese if the findings show a conspiracy to cover up the abuse of minors - which I believe DID occur. But it is important to remember that abuse occurred not only in the Los Angeles Diocese but rather world wide. Having followed the sexual abuse scandal closely for years - I did a guest editorial piece in the Virginian Pilot on the topic back in February, 2002 - the sad reality is that cover up has been the secret official policy of the Church all the way back into the 1960's when John XXIII was Pope. Since the Vatican refuses to do a complete house cleaning of bishops and cardinals who engaged in the cover up of the vile abuse of children and youths, we can only hope that the civil authorities will do what the Church leadership will not do. Here are highlights from the Journal story:

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Federal authorities are investigating the Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles to see whether top church officials tried to cover up the sexual abuse of minors by priests, said a person familiar with the matter. A federal grand jury has issued subpoenas and begun calling witnesses in the probe, which began late last year, said this person. The investigation is still in its early, fact-gathering stage, and it isn't known whether any criminal charges will result.

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Cardinal Roger Mahony, who heads the archdiocese, the largest in the U.S., has been criticized by victims' groups for his past handling of sexual-abuse allegations against priests. The Los Angeles County District Attorney's office has been investigating allegations of such abuses for several years. District Attorney Steve Cooley criticized the archdiocese in 2007 for its "institutional moral failure" to "supervise predatory priests." A spokeswoman for the district attorney's office said their investigation is still open.

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The district attorney's investigation began in 2002, around the same time that internal archdiocese emails about priests accused of abuse surfaced in the media. Over the following two years, dozens of alleged victims stepped forward, with many filing lawsuits. They claimed the archdiocese shielded priests accused of molestation by keeping the allegations secret and allowing them to keep working, sometimes moving them from one parish to another.

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No senior Catholic Church officials have been criminally charged in the national scandal. But representatives of abuse victims alleged that senior officials helped perpetuate the crimes by ignoring or covering up evidence of misdeeds. They have argued that prosecuting senior church officials would help stop future abuse. "Everything else has been tried with minimal impact except charging an individual bishop. That would have to an impact," says David Clohessy, national director for the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, a nonprofit victims-advocacy group based in Chicago.

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The federal investigation in Los Angeles is the latest chapter in government's efforts to grapple with the priest-abuse scandals in the Catholic Church that have struck in waves over the past three decades.

GOP Economic Medicine

From the Washington Post

Reactionary Lutheran School Allowed to Expell Suspected Lesbians

One of the things I did after coming out was to leave the corrupt, hypocrisy filled, and 13th century minded Roman Catholic Church. After first joining the Episcopal Church I ended up joining a parish in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America ("ELCA") which, while not perfect is light years and centuries ahead of the Catholic Church now run by God's Rottweiler who is most definitely locked in a 13th century level of scientific knowledge. There are other variants of the Lutheran Church which have a Neanderthal mentality including the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod ("WELS") which operates California Lutheran High School which expelled two 16-year-old girls for having "a bond of intimacy" that was "characteristic of a lesbian relationship." The hypocrisy of California Lutheran is extreme in its treatment of these girls. The school describes part of its mission to be: "to deal with each student as a redeemed child of God, offering counseling, encouragement, and loving Christian discipline." Well unless the student is perceived to possibly be gay or lesbian in which case the treatment they receive will be akin to that of the Pharisees toward lepers. Here are some highlights from the Los Angeles Times about this travesty:

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An appeals panel finds California Lutheran High School in Riverside County is not a business and therefore doesn't have to comply with a state law barring discrimination based on sexual orientation.

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After a Lutheran school expelled two 16-year-old girls for having "a bond of intimacy" that was "characteristic of a lesbian relationship," the girls sued, contending the school had violated a state anti-discrimination law.In response to that suit, an appeals court decided this week that the private religious school was not a business and therefore did not have to comply with a state law that prohibits businesses from discriminating. A lawyer for the girls said Tuesday that he would ask the California Supreme Court to overturn the unanimous ruling by a three-judge panel of the 4th District Court of Appeal.

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The girls were expelled in their junior year for "conducting themselves in a manner consistent with being lesbians," said [John] McKay [counsel for the school], who added that the girls never disclosed their sexual orientation during the litigation.

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The dispute started when a student at the school told a teacher in 2005 that one of the girls had said she loved the other. The student advised the teacher to look at the girls' MySpace pages. One of the girls was identified as bisexual on her MySpace page, the other's page said she was "not sure" of her sexual orientation.McKay said the website also contained a photograph of the girls hugging.

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The school also did not break the law when it disclosed the girls' "suspected sexual orientation" to their parents, the court said. The parents, "in light of their right to control their children's upbringing and education, had a right to know why" they were being expelled, the court said.Hanson said the entire episode was "very traumatic" and "humiliating" for the girls.

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The school is affiliated with synods that believe homosexuality is a sin, the court said. The school's "Christian conduct" code said students could be expelled for engaging in immoral or scandalous contact, on or off campus.

Thursday Male Beauty

Housing Crash Hits Hampton Roads

I have been saying for at least a year and a half that unless and until something is done to revive the residential housing market, there can be no real improvement in the larger economy. Despite receiving billions of dollars in bail out funds, mortgage lenders are not making mortgages easy to secure. The result is a severe nose dive in all businesses that work within the housing/real estate industries: title insurance companies, real estate agents, attorneys, and builders just for starters even though some folks are blind to that reality - e.g., the ex-wife. While this region is generally somewhat cushioned by the large military personnel presence, the free fall has begum here as evidenced by two recent Virginian Pilot stories. The first looks at the drop on the new construction front:

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New home construction and sales in Hampton Roads last year fell to their lowest point in more than two decades, according to a report released Wednesday by Residential Data Bank, a Suffolk-based housing market research firm. . . . figures are the lowest on record since Residential Data Bank began tracking new home construction in 1984.

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"The No. 1 reason the building permits were down in 2008 and will continue to be down in 2009 was the lack of funding from our banks," said J. Van Rose, president of the new homes division of Rose & Womble Realty Co. "As the economic meltdown has happened in this country, the first to respond were the lending institutions."

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Average prices for new homes in Hampton Roads continued to decline throughout the year, according to the local report. The average price for all new homes was $361,720, down 6.7 percent from 2007. The decline became steeper as the year wore on. The average price during the last three months of 2008 was down nearly 16 percent from the same three-month period a year earlier.

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Besides home builders, many others are being savaged as well, such as real estate agents. The second story looks at the exodus of people from that segment of the real estate industry:

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Two years ago Maurice Watkins' budding career as a real estate agent seemed off to a good start. Listings sold quickly, and buyers were aplenty. Now, the 28-year-old Norfolk resident spends hours each day in his Granby Street apartment trolling career Web sites in search of a job. "At the end of 2007, you saw a real drastic change," he said. "The market transformed. My client base was dwindling; I wasn't making any money."

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Watkins is among nearly 900 Hampton Roads real estate agents who called it quits last year amid the most sluggish housing market in more than a decade. Home sales in South Hampton Roads dropped 22.2 percent in 2008 compared with 2007, according to the local multiple listing service.

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Norfolk resident Sissy Deaton spent four years as a real estate agent before returning in November to work 40 hours a week as a bartender at the Colley Cantina in Ghent. Deaton, 38, now works part time as an agent for Prudential Towne Realty. "I actually rode the wave a little longer than I should have," she said. "I probably should have gone back to bartending six months earlier." . . . "There's a lot of people who have just stepped away, maybe not given their license up, but are doing other things," Deaton said.

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Deaton said that as her sales volume began to fall, she was faced with finding a way to make ends meet. "There was no choice in the matter," she said. "I'm not going to lose my house working in real estate."

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Many others such as myself who have firms heavily involved in the real estate industry continue to try to hang on, but unless and until a stimulus package gets mortgage funds flowing again, I do not see the economy coming back any time soon and the downward spiral will go on.

Cry in the Wilderness of a GOP Moderate

I have commented often on what has happened to the Republican Party over the years since I resigned from the party as it began to fall under Christianist control. It's not a pretty picture and those moderate members of the Party who remain are headed towards extinction unless someone is elected to leadership who can stop the exodus of rational, educated, and non-religious zealots from the GOP. Politico has an interesting column by one of the endangered species GOP moderates calling for a return to rationality in the Party and also reciting statistics that should wake up Republicans - at least whatever non-Kool-Aid drinkers who are still left. Here are some highlights:

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On Friday, the 168 members of the Republican National Committee will vote on a new party chairman. After what can only be described as disastrous outcomes of the past two election cycles, lifelong Republicans like me held hope that we have finally learned that the key to winning is being inclusive and true to our limited government core. I had hoped that the RNC members would focus on the pressing bread-and-butter issues facing our country and our party.

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[T]he debate among the candidates for RNC chairman is more of the same: a call to energize the right wing of the party, despite the fact that this hyper-ideological, so-called base no longer represents the majority of GOP voters. And, as a consequence, vilify anyone who does not pledge 100 percent allegiance to an exclusionary social agenda. . . . The RNC members continue to pander to a small, vocal, fundamentalist faction instead of revamping its message, mission and agenda to appeal to a broader base of voters. All of this bodes ill for the GOP.

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According to national exit polls, the Republican brand lost with the two largest voting blocs in the country: women and moderates. Self-described moderates — who make up 44 percent of the electorate — gave Barack Obama a 21-point advantage over John McCain. Women gave Obama a 13-point advantage (56 percent to 43 percent). The GOP won the male vote only 49 percent to 48 percent, a negligible difference. Voters under 30, the future of both parties, gave Obama a landslide victory (66 percent to 32 percent). . . . These facts seem to be either ignored or not enough for our party leaders to see that the base is changing.

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[T]he reality that the reason the Democratic Party is the majority in Congress and in the White House is that they ran on a platform of inclusiveness and diversity. Our newly elected president took the oath of office sounding like a “big-tent” Republican — calling for common-sense solutions, leaner budgets, a reduction in government waste and greater personal responsibility — because he knew that these are the beliefs of the majority of voters. Meanwhile, the GOP is looking to repair its party by doing just the opposite: excluding voters, ignoring issues of concern and exhibiting an inability to provide common-sense solutions.

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The newly elected chairman must welcome diverse views on heartfelt social issues while remaining true to core Republican principles of limited government, individual responsibility and personal freedom. If the party cannot do this, there will be no Republican Party to fight over in the future.

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Personally, I do not see rationality returning to the GOP any time soon. Not when the lunatic base continues to weld too much power over the leadership. Therefore, perhaps the best solution is for the GOP to cease to be a national party either until it comes to its senses or is replaced by a new moderate conservative party not controlled by religious extremists.

Gay-Rights Push Suffers Setback in Utah

In the wake of the negative backlash over its role in the passage of Proposition 8, the Mormon Church issued a number of mealy mouth statements that it wasn't against gays and did not oppose the extension of certain legal protections to gays. As the saying goes, talk is cheap and it looks like the Mormons basically were telling lies merely to deflect some of the heat they were feeling at the time the disingenuous statements were made. Equality Utah decided to call the Mormons' bluff and helped orchestra the introduction of series of gay-rights bills in the Utah a legislature. Not surprising the lies of the Mormon Church are being confirmed as the first of the bills goes down to defeat at the hands of the largely Mormon controlled legislature. Are the Mormons trying to prove to the Christianists that they are just as big of liars as the Christianists? Here are highlights from the Salt Lake Tribune:

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On day two of the 2009 Legislature, the first in a series of gay-rights bills -- seemingly the least controversial piece in the Common Ground Initiative -- died Tuesday in the Senate judiciary committee. The early setback doesn't bode well for Equality Utah's campaign, possibly the most expansive legislative push for gay rights in state history.

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"The very fact that this didn't even get out of Senate committee . . .is clearly a bad sign for other parts of this initiative," University of Utah political science professor Matthew Burbank said. Equality Utah's drive -- crafted in response to statements the LDS Church has made that it does not oppose some rights for same-sex couples -- includes creating a statewide domestic-partner registry and protecting someone from being fired or evicted for being gay.

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A standing-room-only crowd listened to nearly two hours of testimony before the committee, led by Republican Sen. Chris Buttars, voted 4-2 against sending the measure to the Senate floor. Only McCoy, who is openly gay, and fellow Salt Lake City Democrat Ross Romero voted for the bill. Buttars, who was lobbied by a group of gay and bisexual activists at his West Jordan home earlier this month, didn't comment on McCoy's proposal during the meeting.

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Opponents likened the bill to a "slippery slope" and a "dirty shirt" in a laundry basket of marital rights that could lead courts to justify legalizing same-sex marriage, similar to rulings in Massachusetts, California and Connecticut.

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Equality Utah executive director Mike Thompson stayed upbeat about the remaining three bills in the initiative. "I still believe we are standing on common ground," he said. "The Tribune poll and our poll demonstrate that the average Utahn supports what we're doing. The Legislature just needs to catch up."

More Wednesday Male Beauty

Pope Benedict XVI Rehabilitates Holocaust Denier - Update II

I have posted twice - most recently here - about the Nazi Pope's rehabilitation of extreme far right Bishop Richard Williamson who denies that the Holocaust occurred and claims that there were no Nazi gas chambers. It was on January 27, 1945 that Allied troops liberated Nazi Germany’s Auschwitz concentration camp. For those of us who live in the real world and not some parallel universe like Papa Ratzi and the rest of the Vatican leadership, here are some photographs from Civil Commotion that remind us of what really happened. I guess Williamson thinks these photos were created via photo shop. The Roman Catholic Church leadership has truly become a horrible institution.

Auschwitz corpses

Auschwitz gas chamber

World's First Lesbian Prime Minister?

If things proceed as it appears they will, Iceland is about to install the first openly lesbian prime minister in the world's history. Imagine the angst among the homo-hating set such as Pat Robertson, James Dobson and Pope Benedict XVI (yes, I put them all in the same whacked out category) who will likely believe the world is ending because a lesbian is apparently the most popular politician in Iceland. Here are some highlights from Iceland Review:

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The current Minister for Social Affairs, Jóhanna Sigurdardóttir of the Social Democrats, said she is prepared to assume the position of prime minister as long as she senses that her position is backed by sufficient trust.

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According to an opinion poll undertaken by Capacent Gallup in December 2008, Jóhanna Sigurdardóttir is the most popular minister—73 percent of respondents said they were satisfied with her work. Sigurdardóttir is also the only minister whose popularity had increased compared to a similar poll undertaken in December 2007.

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If Sigurdardóttir does become prime minister, she will be the first woman to serve as prime minister in the country’s history and also the first openly gay prime minister in the world.

Wednesday Male Beauty

The Far Right/Christianists Still Don't Get the Message

Most of the far right fruit loops crowd do not seem to get what ought to be a very simple message: (i) Their team lost and (ii) the majority has rejected their desire to impose a Far Right/Christianist view of morality on everyone. They continue to be unwilling or incapable of grasping the concept that freedom of religion applies to others and not just them. A case in point is the bleating coming from Michael Novak at National Review who accuses President Obama of leading the country into a "relapse into paganism." Sadly, Novak is all too typical of the far right element in the GOP which cannot separate the desire to impose one set of religious beliefs - particularly a hatred of gays - on all citizens from the Founding Father's goal of having no one religion foisted on all. Here are some highlights of his bleating:

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The Obama presidency is only one week old, but it has already limned its main moral outlines: On January 20, President Obama called for the repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act. He also declared his intention to give multiple rights and privileges to homosexual couples. . . . On January 23, President Obama issued an order that authorizes tax dollars for abortions abroad.

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From these announcements we learn that President Obama recognizes no difference between the Jewish-Christian covenant between a woman and a man (a covenant that they will have and nurture children, if they are so blessed), and a civil contract between two persons of any sex, in order to set up a household of affection and sexual favors. This is a relapse into paganism. The point of monogamous family networks is to treat male and female with complementary and mutually cooperative dignity and to tie the power of sexuality (male, especially) to self-sacrificing communities of love.

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The first week did not have to begin this way. These first steps were unworthy of a great nation and unworthy of a serious leader. These decisions humiliated those who voted for President Obama because they had been assured, and assured others, that the new president would take seriously the culture of life.

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It is telling how Novak and the majority of those who remain Republicans continue to believe that the denigration of and hatred towards gays and a ban on abortions no matter what the circumstances are "godly values." Of course, they care nothing for children already born and resist funding for programs that would assist poor children and us gays are somehow less than human.

'Gays' in the Military: A Revival of The Pink Swastika?

The Christian News Wire generally isn't too worried about legitimate credentials when posting the work of authors and self-proclaimed authorities - especially when the author is obsessively anti-gay. However, this alleged 'new site" has out done itself in scraping the bottom of the barrel for material by featuring a column by Scott Lively which claims that the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell would result in a "mass exodus of normal men from a homosexualized military" and "severe morale problems for normal men forced to live as the objects of sexual interest of other men with whom they share close quarters." Worse yet, Lively, author of the thoroughly discredited book "The Pink Swastika" goes on to allege the much bigger, longer-term problem is the threat of a homosexual takeover of the military branches. Here are highlights from Lively's delusional piece:

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"Certainly there would be a mass exodus of normal men from a homosexualized military," said Lively, "probably leading to the reinstatement of compulsory service. . . . And yes there would be severe morale problems for normal men forced to live as the objects of sexual interest of other men with whom they share close quarters. However, the much bigger, longer-term problem is the threat of a homosexual takeover of the military branches.

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Hitler's initial power base when he launched the Nazi Party was a private homosexual military force organized and trained by a notorious pederast named Gerhard Rossbach. Rossbach's homosexual partner Ernst Roehm, who was also Hitler's partner in forming and building the Nazi Party, converted the "gay" Rossbachbund into the dreaded SA Brownshirts."

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Brownshirt leaders in Germany recruited boys from the local high schools for sex. Roehm himself once briefly fled Germany for South America over a scandal involving a young male prostitute. This bodes ill for the young men who will be our future draftees."Every effort should be taken to prevent this policy change," he said.
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Sadly, Lively makes Elaine Donnelly look almost half rational. Of the various Christianist nutcases with whom I have had debates and/or e-mail exchanges, Scott Lively, at one time head of the American Family Association of California and also director of the Abiding Truth Ministries and the Pro-Family Law Center, has to rate as one of the most unhinged in my opinion. Here's some more information on Lively, which shows that Christian News Wire is beyond pathetic itself for featuring him in the first place:

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Mr. Lively, who seems to deem himself an expert on everything, received his Juris Doctor degree from Trinity Law School in Santa Ana, California, a non-ABA accredited law school with less than 100 full time students and a total of 6 full time faculty, affiliated with Trinity International University, a small fundamentalist educational institution that requires its students to concur in a fundamentalist Statement of Faith. On the Abiding Truth Ministries web site, Mr. Lively has previously admitted that he is a former an alcoholic and drug addict from the age of 12 until his “miraculous deliverance during prayer” at age 28.

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In addition to holding a degree from a non-accredited law school (most states will not allow one to sit for the state bar exam unless one has graduated from an ABA accredited law school), Mr. Lively has authored two publications that suggest he has an irrational obsession with certain social issues, particularly homosexuality. In The Pink Swastika: Homosexuality in the Nazi Party, Mr. Lively maintains that homosexuals were responsible for the rise of Nazism and the guiding force behind Nazi atrocities, including the Holocaust. In The Poisoned Stream: "Gay" Influence in Human History, Volume One, Germany 1890 - 1945, Mr. Lively purports to delve into the history of homosexuality in Germany and claims to reveal its “poisonous influence” not just in Second World War, but also World War I as well through the “intrigues of the Homosexual International.”

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Serious, legitimate historians have dismissed Mr. Lively’s theories in these books: Erik N. Jensen of the University of Wisconsin regards the authors' linkage of homosexuality and Nazism as the recurrence of a "pernicious myth", originating in 1930s attacks on Nazism by Socialists and Communists and "long since dispelled" by "serious scholarship. Jensen sees the book as coming about in "the aftermath of an Oregon measure to repeal gay rights". Dorthe Seifert of Humboldt Universitat Berlin cites it as a response to increasing awareness of Nazi persecution of homosexuals. Christine L. Mueller, Professor of History and Humanities, and a specialist in German history, at Reed College in Portland Oregon, argues that the historical record does not support Abrams' assertions. A rebuttal by Christine L. Mueller to the Pink Swastika can be found here.

More Tuesday Male Beauty

More Revelations in the Ted Haggard Gay Sex Scandal

UPDATE: Don't be surprised if even more men come forward about the sexual appetite of Haggard and/or other New Life Church leaders. It never seems to fail that the churches that are the most homophobic are the ones that harbor the predator closet cases. New Life sounds like quite a cesspool. Here are highlights from the Gist:

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Former Denver escort Mike Jones, who blew the whistle on former New Life Church pastor Ted Haggard, came on the show today in the wake of the latest revelations from a young former church member, Grant Haas, who says that Haggard masturbated in front of him -- without his consent -- and sent him over 1000 sexually charged text messages. Haas says he stayed silent about it all for over two years because the New Life Church paid him hush money.

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Jones told me he not only spoke with Haas about his experiences with Haggard about a month about, but that there were two other men who also came to him with similar stories but who are fearful of going public. One of them, Jones says, was sexually harassed/abused by another New Life Church "elder" and Ted Haggard knew all about it. The other one had non-consensual sex with Ted Haggard himself, Jones said. MS: Were these two other men who were connected to the church, or members of the church?MJ: Yes, in fact I know one of them, their parents still go to church, New Life Church, which makes that more difficult for 'em.

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It's amazing how the Ted Haggard/New Life Church gay sex scandal just keeps on going like the Energizer Bunny. More and more surprising and sordid revelations keep springing up. These revelations include but are not limited to the fact that (i) New Life Church agreed to pay nearly $180,000 in apparent hush money to a young church volunteer with whom Haggard had an affair and (ii) Haggard's wife has admitted that she had known about her husband's"struggles" for many, many years. With all the gay sex and hush money, one would almost think that New Life Church was trying to be a mini version of the Roman Catholic Church. It will be interesting to see whether the HBO pulls its "The Trials of Ted Haggard" set to air on Thursday, January 29, 2009, if it turns out that Haggard lied in that documentary. First, here are some highlights from KRDO News Channel 13:

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COLORADO SPRINGS - For more than two years, Grant kept a secret from those he considered his family. "It's a lot of pain, a lot of mistrust with that church," reveals the former New Life volunteer. . . . Back in the summer of 2006, Grant was invited to go to Cripple Creek by the man he trusted and looked up to as a mentor. "He asked me if we were going to be godly or bad that night," Grant says, recalling their trip. The former volunteer says that meant either hanging out as friends, or buying Haggard porn and masturbate.

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"I told him that I didn't want that," says Grant. After a day in the small mountain town, both went back to Haggard's hotel room. Grant says he just wanted Haggard to be his pastor and friend, but according to the young man, as they were lying in bed Haggard asked if he could masturbate. Grant told him no, but says Haggard did it anyway. Grant was fearful to say anything to anyone. "He kind of made me have a guilt trip about it, so I wouldn't say anything about it," Grant remembers.

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Before the encounter in Cripple Creek, Grant came to Colorado Springs after being kicked out of Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, Illinois. The college recommended he come to Colorado Springs to get help with his struggle with homosexuality. Four months into attending New Life Church, Pastor Ted Haggard personally introduced himself. According to Grant, Haggard asked, "What's your story and what are you doing here?" At first, Grant lied about why he was kicked out of Moody Bible, but finally admitted to him that he thought he was gay. "It seemed like at that moment his eyes lit up and his whole attitude toward me changed," says Grant.

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Grant tells NEWSCHANNEL 13 that as their relationship grew, Haggard began text messaging him, sometimes in the middle of the night. "Texting me all kind of weird things, texting me about all the different sexual positions, practices he was engaging in and it was just really weird," says Grant. Over the next several months he would get between 1,000 to 2,000 text messages a month. . . . NEWSCHANNEL 13 obtained a recorded phone conversation between Haggard and Grant. In the conversation, which was recorded in July of 2007, Grant tells Haggard that he deleted those messages.

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I would be happy, happy to find you money for you to move somewhere." Haggard then asks Grant to "forgive." But Grant says he couldn't when the church continually neglected to pay his medical bills - something he says church leaders promised. "I really felt the church staff did what they could to get me to move to a different city, to get me to stop going to the church, to make these promises to do whatever they could to help, but their main focus was to cover it up," says Grant. "They think Ted Haggard is not a harm to this community and I really think they're wrong, they're dead wrong."

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Grant still hasn't seen all the money he was promised. He tells NEWSCHANNEL 13 he is due one more payment check - $46,000. Once all the payments are made, Grant would receive a payout of $179,000. As for the money already paid out, Senior Pastor Brady Boyd says he won't be demanding the money back from Grant for violating the settlement agreement. Boyd also told his congregation on Sunday the money was paid by insurance, not member's tithings.

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Then there is this tidbit about what Haggard's wife has recently admitted as reported by Newsweek:

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Former evangelical pastor Ted Haggard's wife says she knew about his struggles with same-sex attraction for years and felt he was "winning the battle" before a scandal involving a male prostitute triggered his downfall in late 2006.

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Gayle Haggard makes the remarks in an appearance with her husband on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" to air Wednesday. She said she was shocked when Haggard first told her the truth about the allegations against him. "The first words out of my mouth were, 'Who are you?'" she said, according to a publicity release issued Tuesday by Harpo Productions.

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However, Gayle Haggard also said her husband told her early in their 30-year marriage that he "struggled with some thoughts." "I felt it was the thing that could destroy Ted if he gave in to it," she said. "So I prayed for him and I felt as though he was winning the battle."

Letting Go of Your Internalized Homophobia - Revisited

AUTHOR COMMENT: This post is a re-posting of a piece I did several months ago that garnered a large number of e-mail responses and an inquiry from the editor of a "self-help" web site as to whether I would make contributions to the site on this issue. Because of the response at the time, I wanted to re-post the piece for the benefit of newer readers. Having watched Prayers for Bobby over the weekend, it also seemed like a good time to repeat this message which many LGBT individuals need to take to heart:

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The battle over Proposition 8 in California has not surprisingly made me think a great deal about the homophobes who are pushing for the measure's passage so as to deprive LGBT citizens full equality under the civil law. Those who hate us - they disingenuously claim that they don't but let's be honest, they do hate us - have been saying all kinds of hateful and divisive things about gays including how allowing us to marry "threatens western civilization." Or at least so says Tony "Klu Klux Klan" Perkins of the deceptively named Family Research Council.
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With all the hate being disseminated, I've also found myself thinking about the effort it was for me to finally put my internalized homophobia and self-loathing behind me as I made my journey through the coming out process. Suffice it to say, it was not an easy journey and included one nearly successful suicide attempt. But I survived it and now I can rightfully look with disdain/contempt on those who continue to preach hate and loathing against gays. Their goal is to not only make others hate us but to try to make us hate ourselves as well. So, how does one finally let go of the ingrained homophobic baggage accumulated over many years. For me, there were a number of things that I think allowed me to finally let go of my internalized homophobia. I will share them since I know I have many readers still going through the coming out process or living in the closet based on the e-mails I receive.
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1. If you haven't already figured it out on your own, do some reading and get yourself up to date on the fact that sexual orientation is not a choice. If you are religious, accept the fact that God/Allah (or whatever deity you worship) made you gay and it's not going to change. Why did it happen? You'll never know, so move on with your life and make the most of the hand you have been dealt.Most importantly, do NOT let others try to make you feel guilty about your sexual orientation.
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2. If you belong to a strongly anti-gay religious denomination, leave it. The sooner the better. Having been raised a Roman Catholic, other than being a Muslim, Mormon or Evangelical Christian, it would be hard find a less gay friendly denomination - particularly under the current Nazi Pope (not that the less than sainted John Paul II was any better). For me, the concurrent timing of the explosion of the Catholic Church sex abuse scandal made it all the more easy for me since it highlighted the moral bankruptcy and hypocrisy of the Church's leadership. In my case, I found the ELCA to be a much better church home for me. While it's not perfect, it is far better than remaining in a denomination that calls me "inherently disordered."
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3. Related to the second item, if you are from a strong religious background, do your own reading and research. There are many other interpretations of the Bible besides the ones claimed by the anti-gay Christianists. In addition, do some reading on Bible history and you will soon learn that there were all kinds of political and non-religious issues that shaped the Bible. It's not inerrant and it's not the literal word of God, so learn the historical facts to throw back in your detractors' faces (it will have the added bonus of driving them crazy).
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4. Get a good therapist. It's most unlikely that you can make the coming out journey all alone. In my case, I found two great individuals. The first, who is actually an ordained Presbyterian minister with a Ph.D. in psychology helped me deal with the religious guilt issue. The second helped me come to see that there was a future even after a horrific divorce where I was largely put on trial for being gay. Leaving you former life is not easy - especially when you do not know what will ultimately replace it. If you don't like one therapist, then find a different one who can help you with the transition.
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5. Make gay friends - and not just the bar and/or chat room crowd. Better yet, get involved in some gay causes and organizations where - based on my experience - you will meet some amazing people. Getting to know them and observing how at peace they are with themselves and who they are will help you to further let go of the indoctrination you have received in terms of what gays are like. I can honestly say that I have met more truly genuine and decent people in the gay community since I have come out than I knew in my closeted life in my artificial and supposedly perfect former neighborhood and social circles.
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6. If possible, live your life totally out. Remaining semi-closeted be it at work or with family will continue to subconsciously tell you that being gay is bad. After all, the message you receive is that being gay is so bad that your boss/fellow employees will not want you around. Likewise, thinking that "it'll kill my parents" or that "they won't love me anymore" is giving yourself a constant message that it's wrong to be gay. Admittedly, I was lucky in that my entire extended family accepted me and treated my ex-partner as part of the family. They are likewise embracing the new boyfriend. As the father of three children, I cannot understand any parent who would disown their child because they are gay. If your parents were to disown you, remember that it is THEM, not you, who has the problem.
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7. If you feel anger at times, do not direct it at your self. Harness it for constructive purposes whether it be in working on gay rights causes, writing a blog (which I find to be good therapy), or something else.
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8. Always remember that you are a good, decent person entitled to all the rights and respect that others receive and that the fact that you are gay doesn't change that. The goal is to be able to stand in front of a mirror and say to yourself "I'm gay and that's OK and I'm proud of who I am."

Tuesday Male Beauty

More Rotten Fruits of GOP Policies

Even as the members of the Congressional GOP continue to do all they can to delay and undermine Barack Obama's efforts to get an economic stimulus package passed by Congress, the fruits of the GOP's failed economic and deregulation obsession continue to come home to roost in the form of more lost jobs and struggling companies. Despite the deteriorating situation, the GOP's cut taxes mantra seems to be all they know how to parrot. Of course, many in the Christianist base regularly oppose any government programs that would help the unfortunate or down trodden - something I find hard to reconcile with alleged Christian beliefs. As the Washington Post is reporting, yesterday was a blood bath in terms of job cuts and unless something is done quickly to turn the situation around the downward spiral will continue. Also to be considered in this country is the fact that loss of a job also frequently means that one loses health care insurance as well. Here are some highlights on the latest bad news which seems to mean nothing to today's GOP:

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The nation's employers, including some of its largest and most sturdy, announced plans yesterday to slash more than 55,000 jobs, a staggering one-day toll that highlighted how quickly layoffs are accelerating and how widely misery is spreading throughout the labor market.

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The cuts extended to companies that were once considered bright spots in the U.S. economy. Construction equipment maker Caterpillar, whose business last year was bolstered by strong exports, said it would cut 20,000 jobs. Pfizer, one of the giants of a health-care sector that had until recently seemed immune from the downturn, said it would cut 8,000.

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In all, 22 of the 30 companies that are part of the Dow Jones industrial average have announced job cuts since the economy took a nosedive in October. Analysts say they've been surprised by just how quickly those cuts have added up. The number of people receiving unemployment insurance benefits now stands at 4.6 million, the highest level since 1982.

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"These are not just numbers on a page," President Obama told reporters at the White House yesterday, as he urged Congress to pass his economic stimulus package. "These are working men and women whose lives have been disrupted. We owe it to each of them, and to every single American, to act with a sense of urgency and common purpose."

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The job cuts announced yesterday "are the predictable consequence of a quickly unraveling economy affecting all sectors and segments of the workforce," said Lawrence Mishel, the president of EPI. "Unfortunately, the rise in unemployment we've already had may only be halfway to where we're heading."

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While layoffs by big names attracted the most attention yesterday, workers at thousands of smaller firms are losing their jobs as well. Small companies with 1 to 49 employees shed 281,000 jobs in December, according to a report released this month by payroll services firm Automatic Data Processing. Medium-size firms with 50 to 499 employees cut 321,000. Large companies with more than 499 workers lost 91,000.

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For the next six months, many economists do not expect the pace of layoff announcements to let up much. "There is nothing in the economic tea leaves that suggest someone is going to be hiring. This is a broad-based economic slump. From pharma to industrial to housing to telecommunications, every aspect of this economy is in a free-fall," said Richard Yamarone, director of economic research for Argus Research in New York. "There is no safe haven."