Saturday Male Beauty

Today's GOP - A Party of Know-Nothings

Oh how far the Republican Party has fallen. Once viewed as the the party of the educated and socially moderate country club set, the GOP has become the party of religious extremists and, worse yet, racists and the ignorant and down right stupid. Indeed, to be a member of the GOP it is de rigor that one either have had a lobotomy, be a ultra-far right Christian, be a quasi-member of the KKK or some other white supremacist group, or be less educated and less informed than most 6th graders. And unfortunately, things do not seem to be getting any better with demagogues like Sarah Palin, John Boehner, Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh now representing the party's intelligentsia if you will. Indeed, the level of intellect of Republicans is in a virtual downward spiral as those with education and rational thought processes leave the party and take on the mantle of independents if not quite able to bring themselves to being Democrats. Timothy Egan has an op-ed in the New York Times that looks at this phenomenon which is harmful to the nation as a whole. Here are highlights:
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Having shed much of his dignity, core convictions and reputation for straight talk, Senator John McCain won his primary on Tuesday against the flat-earth wing of his party. Now McCain can go search for his lost character, which was last on display late in his 2008 campaign for president.
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Remember the moment: a woman with matted hair and a shaky voice rose to express her doubts about Barack Obama. “I have read about him,” she said, “and he’s not — he’s an Arab.”
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That ill-informed woman — her head stuffed with fabrications that could be disproved by a pre-schooler — now makes up a representative third or more of the Republican party. It’s not just that 46 percent of Republicans believe the lie that Obama is a Muslim, or that 27 percent in the party doubt that the president of the United States is a citizen. But fully half of them believe falsely that the big bailout of banks and insurance companies under TARP was enacted by Obama, and not by President Bush.
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A growing segment of the party poised to take control of Congress has bought into denial of the basic truths of Barack Obama’s life. What’s more, this astonishing level of willful ignorance has come about largely by design, and has been aided by a press afraid to call out the primary architects of the lies.
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In the much-discussed Pew poll reporting the spike in ignorance, those who believe Obama to be Muslim say they got their information from the media. . . . So where is this “media?” Two sources, and they are — no surprise here — the usual suspects. The first, of course, is Rush Limbaugh, who claims the largest radio audience in the land among the microphone demagogues, and his word is Biblical among Republicans.
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Once Limbaugh has planted a lie, a prominent politician can pick it up, with little nuance. So, over the weekend, Kim Lehman, one of Iowa’s two Republican National Committee members, went public with doubts on Obama’s Christianity. Of course, she was not condemned by party leaders.
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Finally, there is Fox News, whose parent company has given $1 million to Republican causes this year but still masquerades as a legitimate source of news. Their chat and opinion programs spread innuendo daily.
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Climate-change denial is a special category all its own. Once on the fringe, dismissal of scientific consensus is now an article of faith among leading Republicans, again taking their cue from Limbaugh and Fox.
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It would be nice to dismiss the stupid things that Americans believe as harmless, . . . But false belief in weapons of mass-destruction led the United States to a trillion-dollar war. And trust in rising home value as a truism as reliable as a sunrise was a major contributor to the catastrophic collapse of the economy.
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It’s one thing to forget the past, with predictable consequences, as the favorite aphorism goes. But what about those who refuse to comprehend the present?

Ocean View White Party

Tonight is the last of the summer's series of white parties at the Ocean View pier - today's featured non-profit is Equality Virginia. The white parties are great fun and an opportunity to see friends not seen in ages. Attendance has run in the 750+ area and today's weather forecast is perfect. I hope local readers will consider coming to the event. The Ocean View pier is conveniently located at the foot of the 4th View exit of Interstate 64. Parking can be challenging, so come early, grab something to eat and dance the evening away under the stars. Hope to see you there.

A Republican Comes Out of the Closet

There have been all kinds of reactions to Ken Mehlman ending the open secret that he's one of us. Mike Rogers and a number of other folks were onto Mehlman six years ago or more - back when Melhman was working hand in glove with Karl Rove and deliberately using anti-gay hysteria and anti-gay state constitutional initiatives to turn out Christianists and homophobes to re-elect Chimperator Bush so that the nation could endure four more years of his disastrous mis-rule. While the GOP candidates and talking heads try strenuously to change the subject or blame the economy on the Democrats, the truth is that it was the eight year of Bush/GOP rule that set the stage for the economic meltdown that is continuing to harm so many. Mehlman bears responsibility for that in addition to the harm he has done to LGBT Americans. On a personal level, Mehlman harmed me and LGBT other Virginians because it was in the second wave of anti-gay constitutional amendments that Virginia passed its own draconian anti-gay amendment. But for the successful anti-gay ploy in 2004, it's conceivable that Virginia might not have moved forward - actually backwards - with its own attack of gay relationships. I for one do not believe that Mehlman should get away with a mere "I'm sorry." He aided and abetted real harm to countless LGBT Americans and any redemption will need to carry an equally high price. Here's an idea for starters: Obviously, Mehlman likely knows where a lot of bodies are buried amongst the anti-gay set in the GOP and a good first step would a "come to Jesus" moment with them where they either cease and desist their anti-gay agenda or have their secrets splashed across the media. Frankly, I doubt Mehlman will do any such thing - he's still too addicted to money and power. Money and power are the reason he betrayed so many to start with and inside or outside the closet, Mehlman isn't going to change. The New York Times has a column that looks at reactions to Mehlman's coming out. Here are some highlights of views that I share:
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[H]e [Mehlman] tells Ambinder: “he wants to become an advocate for gay marriage and anticipated that questions would arise about his participation in a late-September fundraiser for the American Foundation for Equal Rights (AFER), the group that supported the legal challenge to California’s ballot initiative against gay marriage, Proposition 8.”
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Unsurprisingly, for many gay and liberal bloggers, that’s far too little far too late. “While it’s nice that Ken has finally come out of the closet as an advocate, it’s really hard to forgive him for the damage he did to the community by working actively against it for pay for years,” writes Pam Spaulding of Pam’s House Blend. “That he can coast on the gains for our community by supporting AFER’s stellar work on Prop 8 on the backs of many during his tenure at the RNC who bore the brunt of homophobia, those who died as a result of hate crimes, the activists who were assailed professionally is unbelievable.
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No pity at all from Joe. My. God.: During Ken Mehlman’s reign as Dubya’s campaign manager and afterwards during his tenure as chairman of the Republican National Committee, 21 states passed laws that banned same-sex marriage. Some of these laws made same-sex marriage unconstitutional, some made both civil unions and same-sex marriages unconstitutional. All of these anti-gay referenda took place from 2004-2006 and all of them were pushed by the GOP under Ken Mehlman (and with Karl Rove’s strategic advice) as a ploy to ensure conservative turnout at the polls. If you live in any of the 21 states listed below, you can credit your second class citizenship, in part, to fellow homosexual Ken Mehlman. Are you feeling very forgiving right now? ARE YOU?
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FireDogLake thinks Mehlman will never be able to wash the blood off of his hands: In spite of the terror his philosophies inflicted on LGBT citizens and in spite of the decades long scare-fest of anti-gay hatred, gay-baiting and discriminatory laws foisted on us, Ken Mehlman wants us to know that his coming out experience has been just peachy. No apology for all the suicides his party’s stances inevitably brought on. No apology for hate crimes. No apology for the election campaign involving some of the worst anti-gay hatred anyone has ever witnessed. No apology for the terror LGB military people have had to endure. No apology for the forced rapes female soldiers went through to “prove” they are straight. He just wants us to know that he’s been through a whole, whole lot and that he’s a very happy and well-adjusted person.
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I was in the closet for many years. I was even a Republican for many years. The difference is I left the GOP when the Christianists began to seriously take over the party and when the first hint of the coming anti-gay jihad showed itself. Mehlman could have done likewise. He chose not to do so and needs to bear the consequences. Mehlman wants us to be "understanding" even if we cannot forgive him. Personally, I doubt it will be easily forthcoming. The ball really is in Mehlman's court. If he wants forgiveness and understanding, he needs to do something huge - sponsoring a $5,000 per plate fundraiser just doesn't cut it. I for one will not be holding my breath waiting for Mehlman's redemption. He might surprise me, but he strikes me as still too willing to sell his soul for money, power and influence.

More Friday Male Beauty

New Equality Laws in Ireland Could Mean the End of Catholic Adoption

Much like the hypocrites and bigots at Lutheran CORE, the Vatican intends to close all Catholic adoption agencies in Ireland rather than cooperate in any way with the adoption of parentless children by same sex couples. In the eyes of the Vatican growing up in a cold, institutional orphanage or being bounced time and time again from foster home to foster home is better than, God forbid, having a child grow up in a home with two loving same sex parents. My father grew up in an orphanage in some ways like something out of Charles Dickens - and he bore the emotional scars in my view until the day he died. Hence, I view the Vatican as full of sh*t on this issue (and many others). Not all in Ireland agree with the Church's continued anti-gay bigotry and its plan to close Catholic adoption agencies. An op-ed in the Herald takes the Catholic Church to task for its intolerance and short sightedness. Here are some highlights:
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It came as a shock to me when I heard this week that the last of England's 12 adoption societies has been forced to close. A century of good works came to an abrupt halt. They had run foul of England's new equality laws. The Vatican believes no Catholic agency can allow same-sex couples to adopt their children.
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The body that oversees English adoptions says no agency is allowed not to. This government-funded body even refers to those opposed to gay couples adopting as "retarded homophobes".
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Rome insists that a child needs a mother and a father as parents and not same-sex couples. The reality is that many Irish children are being brought up exclusively by single parents -- unmarried mothers. Would not, say, two mothers who love each other be at least as acceptable?
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Not to Pope Benedict. His decision rests on his belief that homosexuality is unnatural, a disorder, polite words for a perversion. He doesn't want to risk two perverts bringing up a Catholic child. Scientific research suggests that homosexuality is natural, if less common than heterosexuality. In any case, gays should have exactly the same civil rights as others.
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Gay couples demand no more rights than heterosexuals, nor any less. They'll obviously be granted full rights in matters like the family home, taxation, inheritance, hospital visits.
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With the hierarchy lobbying hard to prevent an outcome anathema to the Pope, will politicians dare include the right to adopt? If the bishops fail, and adoption by same-sex couples passes into law, the many Catholic adoption agencies in Ireland may have to follow their counterparts in England and shut up shop.

GOP's Scott Rigell to Sign Kool-Ad Drinking Tea Party Pledge

I have been arguing for some time that Scott Rigell (at left in the photo), the GOP candidate for the 2nd District of Virginia seat in Congress is a far right religious extremist - based both on Rigell's own statements, my knowing his involvement in the Christian Right element of the GOP for many years, his involvement in an anti-gay church, and having known him when and his wife when we lived in the same Virginia Beach neighborhood. Now, Rigell is adding additional insanity to his repertoire: he will be signing onto the Tea Party movement madness. Glenn Nye may not be every Democrat or moderate's favorite candidate - LGBT voters need to know that he has supported DADT repeal and has co-sponsored ENDA - but he is not a fire breathing extremist like Rigell who might be described as the "Mini Me" to Ken Cuccinelli, Virginia's lunatic Attorney General. Rigell supports the continuation of DADT, bans on any recognition of same sex couples, and religious based discrimination. He would take the nation and Virginia backwards. Here are highlights from the Virginian Pilot on Rigell's latest of swerve to embrace far right insanity:
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Republican congressional candidate Scott Rigell agreed to sign a seven-part pledge today that was developed by local Tea Party activists and includes promises to vote against any tax or fee increase, to oppose amnesty for illegal immigrants and to work to overturn the recently approved health care overhaul legislation.
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Tea Party leader Karen Hurd said Wednesday that their goal is to boost Rigell's candidacy and limit the chances of independent candidate Kenny Golden, who they believe could split the conservative vote and help reelect U.S. Rep. Glenn Nye, D-Virginia Beach.
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Included in the pledge are promises to support an audit of the Federal Reserve System that would be made public; an amendment to require a balanced federal budget; "any type of legislation that would increase transparency and accountability" in government; and protecting the Internet from taxes, fairness doctrines or efforts to control access. The document also calls for Rigell to "champion American exceptionalism by fighting any measure that subverts U.S. sovereignty" including granting amnesty to illegal immigrants. Not included in the pledge is an endorsement of Tea Party activists' desire to dismantle many of the government entitlement programs of the past century, including Social Security and federal welfare and education programs.
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Hurd said Tea Party members still believe in dramatically scaling back government but know that trimming programs like Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid doesn't have enough popular support.

A Letter By the Sister of Lt. Col. Victor Fehrenbach

Each day this week, Service Members Legal Defense Fund ("SLDN") and bloggers who participated in the "Letters to president Obama" campaign earlier this year such as this blog are publishing a letter from a family member of a service member adversely impacted by DADT in the lead up to the U. S. Senate's consideration of a bill that would potentially begin the process of repealing DADT. DADT serves absolutely no legitimate purpose other than to enshrine religious based discrimination into the law - something that should be abhorrent to all true Americans who support the Constitution. Today's letter is written by Angela Trumbauer, the sister of Lt. Col. Victor Fehrenbach whom the Air Force is seeking to discharge under DADT despite has amazing career and record. Here is the letter:
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August 27, 2010
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Hon. Jeh C. Johnson
General Counsel, U.S. Department of Defense
Co-Chair, Comprehensive Review Working Group
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General Carter F. Ham
Commanding General, U.S. Army Europe
Co-Chair, Comprehensive Review Working Group
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Dear Mr. Johnson and General Ham:
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My name is Angela Trumbauer. I am an Air Force enlisted veteran. I was born and raised in a family of 8 children by my father, a retired Air Force officer (deceased 1979), and my widowed mother, a former Air Force officer, who just turned 78 years young this month. I am married to a retired Air Force Senior Master Sergeant. My stepson is an active-duty Air Force Technical Sergeant. My brother is Lt. Col. Victor Fehrenbach, a highly decorated 19-year Air Force officer. I hail from the “military family” in every sense.
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Over Victor’s military career, our family had limited opportunities to see and spend time with him. He came home to Ohio for visits once or twice a year, usually over the Thanksgiving or Christmas holidays. I took my kids to visit him at his assigned Air Force Bases a few times over the years. We prepared and sent him care packages when he was deployed to Iraq. Vic sent me care packages when I was stationed in Greece years ago, while he was still a high school student. Reflecting back, I never gave much thought to his short 2-3 day trips home or the seemingly strained nature of the visits. All that changed in May, 2009, however, when my brother was forced to reach out and seek our family’s support in the most difficult battle of his life – fighting against his discharge under “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell.”
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The revelations that have come to light and emotions evoked throughout the past year have brought a great sense of loss and heartache to our family, not unlike that experienced in grief and death. It saddened me deeply to realize that my single, younger brother could never enjoy a close personal relationship, free from fear of persecution or harassment, throughout his near 20 years serving. His family back home was free to enjoy wonderful family relationships with their spouses and children, but Vic was never to experience that same freedom and privilege while in uniform. I often wonder how alone or lonely he must have felt all those years, especially when he couldn’t even share his personal struggles with his very own family.
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I recently took the opportunity to ask my brother who he would like us to notify in the event of an emergency or upon his death, after I realized he had no one else to confide in. Most soldiers and airmen have a support system in place, where their spouses or immediate family members are aware of their dying wishes and will share urgent news or handle the appropriate notifications with those closest to their loved one. In my brother’s case, I just figured the military would let us know if something happened to him and that no one else aside from his family members needed to be notified, since he was single and has no children.
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Under “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell,” the Fehrenbach family has been robbed of truly knowing and loving our brother for who he is for nearly two decades. He chose to serve in silence to protect his own family – the only family he can legally call his own – from potential exposure to investigation under DADT. We can never get those years back. Nor can we accept the damage to and destruction of our family’s long-standing military history that will result from Lt. Col. Fehrenbach’s discharge under this discriminatory and unjust law. Our family legacy goes back generations, in which our father, mother, grandfathers, spouses, children, uncles and cousins have all answered the call to serve.
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Despite all the suffering that Don’t Ask Don’t Tell has caused my brother and our family, we have reaped a benefit far greater than words can measure. Since I’ve come to know and understand my brother’s true identity, and because he no longer has to hide any part of himself from me, our relationship has become much closer and deeper, where we laugh and share more than ever before. Vic can now be completely open and honest with me – an element that was clearly missing in our lives and relationship in the past. I can’t express the immense pleasure I’ve experienced in getting to know my baby brother --- “Uncle Baldy” as some of our 17 nieces and nephews call him.
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In light of the infinite family gains that the repeal of “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” will yield, I sincerely believe that allowing open service is necessary, right, and just in every sense. Each and every service member deserves the FULL love and support of their family and friends, without fear of persecution, discrimination and harassment. A strong sense of support and love is essential for our troops at all times. It only stands to reason that overall military performance is enhanced and the resolve to accomplish the mission is strengthened by complete and unhindered family bonds.
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Sincerely,
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Angela Trumbauer

What Women Want: Gay Male Sex - UPDATED

On Tuesday I wrote about the hot new trend in romance novels popular with married straight women - gay male romances written by straight women. Since booksellers like Barnes & Noble allegedly carry such books, I stop by the huge brand new Barnes & Noble in Hampton's totally rebuilt Town Center. Not only did the store not have False Colors or any other books by Alex Becroft, it had NO GLBT section whatsoever. None, Nada, zero. Likewise, not a single gay title that I could think of was in stock. That's right, not a one. In contrast, however, the Hampton Barnes & Noble had a huge Christian section and countless versions of the Bible, that source of so much hate and suffering in the world.

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Since Barnes & Noble seems to believe that I and other LGBT consumes are no-existent in this area, I have vowed that my expenditures at Barnes & Noble will be similarly non-existent. Why give one's hard earned money to those who either out of bigotry or cowardice in the face of local Christianists write off an entire segment of the community.

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While not a huge matter, this situation is yet another reason why - despite occasional bright spots and being blessed with good friends - living in Virginia sucks if one is an LGBT citizen. The state is a Bible thumping backwater. It's symptomatic of why the boyfriend and I have no desire to remain in Virginia long term if we have any choice in the matter.

Friday Male Beauty

Lutheran CORE - Hypocrites and Bigots by Another Name

I have written several times about the elements within the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America that are having a proverbial conniption fit since the national church adopted a policy permitting partnered gay clergy a little more than a year ago. These folks have their panties in a huge knot over the Churchwide Assembly vote which they claim ignored the Bible's condemnation of homosexuality. They demand strict adherence to Biblical provisions - except for all the times when they don't. Times like when they give a wink and a nod to Gospel condemnations of divorce; ignore Gospel condemnations of Pharisee like behavior; close their eyes to Gospel admonitions of treating one's neighbors with love and forgiveness. And that's not even getting into the Old Testament provisions that are ignored wholesale. Indeed, it seems that the only time these break away Lutherans apply the Bible literally is when they seize on provisions that purportedly condemn same sex relationships. Now, these modern day Pharisee elements once affiliated with the ECLA are poised to form a new Lutheran denomination in the USA. I'm sorry, but the motivation for this development is not follow the Scriptures more faithfully. It's about following anti-gay scripture more faithfully and ignoring all those inconvenient Bible passages that interfere with doing whatever else these hypocrites want. Some will call me "mean" or "intolerant,"but when people are homophobic bigots, I believe in calling them out . The Mercury News has details on this development. Here are highlights:
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MINNEAPOLIS—Richard Mahan and Anita Hill are both Lutheran pastors who were inside a Minneapolis convention hall last summer when delegates for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America voted to allow non-celibate gay and lesbian pastors.
Afterward, each cried for different reasons.
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Mahan, lead pastor at St. Timothy in Charleston, W.Va., said he cried because he realized he would likely leave the denomination in which he had invested 42 years of ministry. For Hill, the openly gay lead pastor at St. Paul-Reformation in St. Paul, they were tears of "joy and relief."
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A year later . . . . Mahan and other critics of the decision plan to gather this week in Columbus, Ohio, for another Lutheran convention. Leaders of 18 former ELCA churches are expected to vote Friday to create a brand new Lutheran denomination that they claim will follow the Scriptures more faithfully: the North American Lutheran Church.

"The issue is departure from the word of God," Mahan said. His church has already voted twice to end its longtime identity as a ELCA church, also ending an annual *$36,000 in tithing to the denomination.
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As of early August, 199 congregations had cleared the hurdles to leave the ELCA for good, while another 136 awaited the second vote needed to make it official. In all there are 10,239 ELCA churches with about 4.5 million members, making it still by far the largest Lutheran denomination in the U.S.

And the breakaway members gathering in Ohio will face their own challenges if they vote to start another denomination at a time when attendance at mainline Protestant churches is falling and denominational distinctions appear irrelevant to a growing number of churchgoers.
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Hill, who in her early days at the church helped found a ministry for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people, said she was disheartened by the departing churches. "There are some who feel they must leave the ELCA over that," she said. "I feel sad about that, it's unfortunate. But to feel you have to leave over the inclusion of your brothers and sisters—that diminishes who we are as the body of Christ."
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Unlike Hill, I am not disheartened - I am disgusted and sickened by the hate and hypocrisy that are, in my view, the only reason parishes are leaving the ELCA. If they truly cared about adhering to scripture, they'd jettison divorce and a host of other things that they readily accept. One can only hope that come Judgment Day, these bigots will find that God is a black lesbian.

More Thursday Male Beauty

ODU Post-Doctorate in Gay Cultural Studies Endowment Campaign - Update

The fundraiser/informational event this evening for the GLBT Studies Endowment at the Baron & Ellin Gordon Art Gallery on the Old Dominion University campus was a great success. We had both a great level of attendance and raised considerably more than what had been budgeted as the goal for the evening. In addition, a number of talented and dynamic individuals voiced a desire to join the advisory board.

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Additional events are planned through the fall and I encourage local readers to check us out. Events are open to the public and there is no high pressure sales pitch delivered. To stay on top of future events check this website. As more events are scheduled, I will provide information here on this blog. This is a summary of what we are working to establish:
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ODU Pride Post Doc is an endowment campaign geared towards raising money for the proposed Post-Doctorate position in Gay Cultural Studies at Old Dominion University.
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The position will be administratively housed in the Humanities Institute, but rotated across departments in the College of Arts & Letters according to the scholar’s area of expertise.
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The position would be filled annually, with the possibility of renewal for a second year, and would be subject to a competitive national application process. The selected candidate would be responsible for teaching a 1/1-course load (one class in the Fall semester and one in the Spring semester). One of the courses would be a recurring graduate seminar in sexuality/gender studies while the other course would be an undergraduate offering in the scholar’s area of expertise.

Hidden Gay Cadets Put in Spotlight

I will concede that I focus on DADT and the need for its repeal a great deal. I do so for several reasons. The two main reasons are as follows. The first is that living in Hampton Roads and knowing many, many gays who serve currently in the military, I see first hand the injustice of the law and the strain it puts on honorable and decent people. I know these individuals both as friends and in some cases as clients who need Wills, medical powers of attorney, etc., given Virginia's toxic anti-gay laws. Secondly, along with the denial of same sex marriage rights, I believe that DADT represents one of the Christianists' main tools to make LGBT Americans inferior under the civil laws and then cynically use such manufactured inferiority as justification for their own prejudice and bigotry - and willingness to trample on the religious freedom of other citizens. Recently, a top cadet at West Point resigned because she could no longer sell her soul and remain in the closet in the military. The New York Times has a follow up story on this loss to the military. A loss repeated every time a qualified and honorable member of the military is discharged under the perversion known as DADT. Here are a few story highlights:
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WEST POINT, N.Y. — Code words, secret societies, covert meetings, fake identities: these are tools that a certain set of cadets learn here at the United States Military Academy at West Point. These cadets are not spies or moles. They are gay, and they exist largely in the shadows of this granite institution known for producing presidents and generals, where staying closeted is essential to avoid discharge under the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy.
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“The most important thing I’ve learned here is how to be a good actor,” said one gay male cadet, who grew up in Philadelphia and is in his fourth year at the academy. The resignation this month of Katherine Miller, a top cadet who blogged anonymously about her lesbianism, has turned a spotlight on the hidden gay culture here and revived debate on campus about “don’t ask, don’t tell,” at a time when Washington is also focused on the issue.
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The two lesbian cadets described all this . . . . “Anyone you meet here,” the senior female cadet said, “you have to assess their personality very closely, and see if you can trust them.” . . . . She and others also mask their orientation by using nonchalant greetings with other lesbians and feigning attraction for men. And, inevitably, they stay silent amid slurs and slights.
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The male cadet in his fourth year said he had had sexual relationships with several other men at the academy. Last year, he fell for a guy at a gay bar in Manhattan who, to the surprise of both of them, turned out to be a classmate.
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Back on campus, they enjoyed and suffered through a seven-month relationship on the “down low,” he said. They might share a meal at Grant Hall, but if they passed each other in company, they would simply nod hello or offer a casual back-slap. They did not attend the year-end formal dance together.
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Ms. Kanis, a former Army captain who now lives in Los Angeles and works with a social services organization, Common Ground, said that her own sexual orientation was investigated twice during her years at West Point — friends interrogated, lockbox searched — and that gay cadets often spoke in code, using genderless pronouns, for example, when talking about significant others. “You have to operate in a ‘shush network,’ ” she said.
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Obviously, DADT does nothing to enhance unit cohesion. Instead, it is all about giving special legal preference to one set of religious beliefs and allowing mean spirited scum like Elaine Donnelly feel superior about themselves. It is a disgrace.

Ken Cuccinelli's End Run on Abortion

Since taking office, Virginia Attorney General and GOP Christo-fascist-in-chief Ken Cuccinelli has engaged in a pattern of efforts to subvert the civil laws of Virginia to further his own Opus Dei type of religious views. His companion in this effort is GOP Del. Bob Marshall - a co-author of Virginia's anti-gay marriage amendment to the state's constitution, who sets the stage by submitting what can only be pre-arranged questions to the Attorney General's Office in order that Cuccinelli, a/k/a Kookinelli, can issue an AG opinion that moves Virginia backwards in time, enshrines Christianist religious views, and limits the civil rights of gays, immigrants, and non-whites who are disliked by the Christian Taliban in Virginia and which quite obviously seek to further Cuccinelli's personal religious views which are extreme to say the least. Many of us - this blog included - recognized that Cuccinelli's election would not bode well for those who support civil liberties. Cuccinelli is Exhibit 1 as to why Democrats cannot allow far right candidates to get off emphasizing their alleged pro-business views while hiding their real theocratic agenda. Congressional GOP candidate Scott Rigell is a Cuccinelli clone and so far has been allowed to masquerade as a conservative pro-business candidate.

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One has to wonder when the majority of Virginians (and Americans) are going to wake up to the real agenda of individuals like Cuccinelli and Rigell who care absolutely nothing for the rights of the majority and who hold religious extremist views akin to that of the Taliban. Cuccinelli's latest effort with Del. Marshall is to make a direct attack on abortion providers since Marshall and Cuccinelli's goal is to make abortion illegal in Virginia. The Atlantic has a timely article that looks at Cuccinelli's latest effort to force his religious views on all Virginians. I am not pro-abortion by any means. However, unlike Cuccinelli, I understand that I do not have the right to force my beliefs on all citizens. Here are highlights:
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Virginia abortion rights advocates saw it coming. After Ken Cuccinelli, a rising Republican star known for his hard-line stances on most social issues, was elected state attorney general last year, they knew it was only a matter of time before he zeroed in on abortion.
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Earlier this week, Cuccinelli issued a legal opinion advising the state of Virginia to tighten regulation of abortion clinics, holding them to the same standards as hospitals. Abortion-rights groups believe that these regulations would force the majority of the state's clinics out of business.
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While he was a Virginia state senator, Cuccinelli pushed for the passage of stringent new regulation of abortion clinics. Tarina Keene, the executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia, explained that Cuccinelli's previous efforts were stymied by a slim Democratic majority in the state Senate that blocked his proposals from reaching the floor. She is not surprised that he is using his current post to try to circumvent the legislature to achieve his longstanding goals.
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Cuccinelli's opinion is not binding; it merely advises the Board of Health, the state's medical regulator, that it has the ability to regulate facilities that provide first-term abortions. If the board takes Cuccinelli's cue, it will have to open new regulations to public comment and consult with the governor and secretary of health. Such a process would take up to two years.
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If the board were to follow Cuccinelli's advice, the state's 21 abortion clinics would be subject to the same requirements as hospitals. In order to comply, they would have to undergo structural renovations and obtain staff members with new qualifications. The cost of these requirements would, Virginia abortion rights advocates estimate, put 17 of the state's 21 clinics out of business.
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"We predict it's about $1.5 to $2 million per clinic in extra cost," Keene said. "It's just crazy. And the thing is, it's really just designed to shut these places down. It has nothing to do with medical care."
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She pointed to other outpatient offices performing procedures such as colonoscopies, breast augmentations, and rhinoplasty. "These types of procedures have a much higher complication rate than abortion. [First-trimester abortion] is one of the most common procedures, and it's one of the safest procedures," Keene said. "It's interesting that they are not targeting these other surgeries. It's only abortion clinics -- that's why we call this TRAP."
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He [Cuccinelli] has been hailed as a Tea Party star and champion of social conservatives. "Cuccinelli is a crusader," Keene said. "When it comes to abortion, or gay rights, or any other social issue, he takes up the charge and leads the fight on it. He did it in the House, in the Senate, and now as attorney general. I don't think that this is the last opinion about abortion that we will see coming from this attorney general."
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I don't like to wish something ill on people, but Virginia would be far better off if Cuccinelli were to be removed from office. The sooner, the better. The big question is when will Virginians wake up and demand Cuccinelli be reined in and removed from office. The man is a menace to religious freedom in Virginia.

Thursday Male Beauty

Americans Are Leaving Christianity at Rate Four Times That of Those Joining

There are those who attack me for saying that the Christianists are killing Christianity, but a new survey done by the Barna Group confirms that Americans are leaving Christianity at a rate four times greater than the rate of those converting to Christianity. Not surprisingly, among the driving factors are the perception that religious leaders are hypocrites and disagreement with church positions on specific issues such as homosexuality, abortion or birth control. In other bad news for the Christianists, another Barna study documents the decline in teenagers' involvement in Christian related activities.

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Sooner or later a belief system that rejects knowledge, encourages hatred towards others, and is lead by pompous, money and power mad leaders is going to run into trouble. To be clear, I do not condemn all Christians or all Christian denominations. However, the far right elements of Christianity in the USA leading the so-called culture wars are the ones getting the media coverage and in the process sending out a truly ugly image to the world. This ugly form of Christianity deserves to die and, frankly, the sooner the better. The Barna study results also show that religion/faith are anything but immutable - something that may yet bite the Christianists in the ass when they argue against civil equality for LGBT Americans. Here are highlights from the Barna survey analysis:
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Anne Rice is not alone. She shares a spiritual profile with nearly 60 million other adults nationwide. In the Barna study, the matter of faith switching was explored in several ways. . . . nearly one-quarter of adults (23%) had moved from one faith or faith tradition to another.
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The most common type of spiritual shift was from those who were Christian, Protestant or Catholic in childhood to those who currently report being atheist, agnostic or some other faith. In total, this group represents about one out of every eight adults (12%), a category that might be described as ex-Christians. Converts to Christianity (those converting from another faith or from non-belief as a child to the Christian faith as an adult) represent 3% of the population.
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The most common reasons for moving away from Christianity included life experiences, such as gaining new knowledge or education; feeling disillusioned with church and religion; feeling the church is hypocritical; having negative experiences in churches; being in disagreement with Christianity about specific issues such as homosexuality, abortion or birth control; feeling the church is too authoritarian; wanting to express their faith outside of church; and searching for a new faith or wanting to experience other religions.
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With respect to declining teenager involvement, the Barna Group found among other things as follows:
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Sunday school participation has declined from 35% of all teenagers in 1997 to 30% of teens in the current study; small group attendance was down from 30% to 21%; the proportion of teens who reported donating any of their own money to church has softened from 35% to 26% over the last dozen years; and even the typically ubiquitous practice of prayer has dropped from 81% to 71% among teens since 1997.
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[E]ven when compared to past behavior among self-identified Catholic teens, today’s young Catholics exhibit diminished religious engagement. The current data show that Catholic teens are less likely to attend Sunday school, small groups, and to donate than were Catholic teenagers 12 years ago.
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I hope Benedict XVI, James Dobson, Tony Perkins and others who traffic in intolerance and the denigration of others are pleased with their handiwork. People are watching and the nasty, un-Christian, Pharisee like behavior is not going unnoticed.

Letter to DADT Repeal Committee: Jose J. Rocha, Father of Former Petty Officer Third Class Joseph Rocha, USN

Each day this week, Service Members Legal Defense Fund ("SLDN") and bloggers who participated in the "Letters to president Obama" campaign earlier this year such as this blog are publishing a letter from a family member of a service member adversely impacted by DADT in the lead up to the U. S. Senate's consideration of a bill that would potentially begin the process of repealing DADT. Today's letter is written by Jose Rocha, father of Joseph Roca who was discharged from the Navy after being subjected to extreme anti-gay abuse. DADT is legalized religious based bigotry. As a parent and as noted before, I know that I would be beyond livid if one of my children was subjected to such abuse and bigotry. Here is Mr. Rocha's letter :
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August 26, 2010
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Hon. Jeh C. Johnson
General Counsel, U.S. Department of Defense
Co-Chair, Comprehensive Review Working Group
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General Carter F. Ham
Commanding General, U.S. Army Europe
Co-Chair, Comprehensive Review Working Group
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Dear Mr. Johnson and General Ham:
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I am a heavy machinery truck driver; I have been all of my life. A blue collar American who raised my son, Joseph Rocha, in a Roman Catholic home with strong Spanish values, after his mother lost custody for drug abuse. Throughout school Joseph turned out to be an awarded scholar, athlete and leader. I did my best to provide a good home for him. But, I wasn’t prepared for my only boy to turn out gay.
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Early on in his senior year, at 17, he left the house on one condition: that he never return.
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I learned through my wife that he was excelling quickly in the military. He was promoted twice in his first year and was hand-picked for explosive detection school. We had no idea that during his 28 months in the Middle East, he was being abused by his superiors because he wouldn’t tell them if he was gay or not. He only ever called home to tell my wife he loved working with the dogs and about his aspirations of becoming an officer.
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He sent gifts to his kid siblings for every single holiday and called them religiously. He was a hero to my girls. I struggled through our silence knowing that I was missing out on my son. As it sank in that Joseph might be injured or killed in the service, it became clear how irrelevant who he wants to love is. On a phone call home to congratulate me for my birthday, I told my son for the first time that I was truly proud of him and asked him to live his life for himself, not for me or anyone else.
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After receiving a Naval Marine Corp Achievement Medal for his service overseas and being accepted to Naval Academy Preparatory School to go on to the United States Naval Academy and earn a commission, Joseph was discharged under “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”
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Recently, just after his mother’s death, I asked him what he would be doing this year when he becomes the first in our family to graduate from college. I was surprised when he said that he wants to serve again. I asked him why he would go back after all they did to him. I asked him if he was prepared to go back to the Middle East. He replied that he was never meant to be done serving.
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Joseph contributed to my family and to the families of each of his co-workers: loyalty, respect and service. My son had always lead by example and in coming out he has taught his siblings pride and his favorite value, integrity.
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I am proud of my son and it makes me sick now to read the Navy documents detailing the abuse he stomached in order to try and save his career. He is a brave young man and a patriot. I know now first hand that the old ways are not always right and I ask that you encourage your superiors to end “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” Please allow my son, Joseph C. Rocha, and countless like him, to resume their military careers.
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Sincerely,
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Jose J. Rocha

Conservative Bloggers Paid to Support Partisan Candidates

I am obviously doing something seriously wrong. Why you ask? Because I haven't been getting paid - and often paid very well - to write what politcal candidates and parties want me to write. However, while I - and I suspect most of by LGBT Blogger Summit compatriots - do not hold back in our criticism of the Obama administration, Congressional Democrats, and many others, our counterparts on the right are in many instances raking in the cash to say nice things about GOP primary candidates, etc. For example, it seems that the blog Red County received $20,000 from the Meg Whitman campaign in December, 2009, which has sent the site $15,000 a month since then. I guess if one is willing to sell their soul, then conservative blogging can be quite lucrative. The Daily Caller has details on this faux independent citizen journalists. Here are highlights:
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Katie Couric once described bloggers as journalists who gnaw at new information “like piranhas in a pool.” But increasingly, many bloggers are also secretly feeding on cash from political campaigns, in a form of partisan payola that erases the line between journalism and paid endorsement.
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“It’s standard operating procedure” to pay bloggers for favorable coverage, says one Republican campaign operative. A GOP blogger-for-hire estimates that “at least half the bloggers that are out there” on the Republican side “are getting remuneration in some way beyond ad sales.”
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In California, where former eBay executive Meg Whitman beat businessman Steve Poizner in a bitterly fought primary battle in the campaign for governor, it sometimes seemed as if there was a bidding war for bloggers. One pro-Poizner blogger, Aaron Park, was discovered to be a paid consultant to the Poizner campaign while writing for Red County, a conservative blog about California politics. Red County founder Chip Hanlon threw Park off the site upon discovering his affiliation, which had not been disclosed.
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But while Red County’s Hanlon expressed outrage at Park’s pay-for-blogging scheme, questions arose about his own editorial independence when it emerged that Red County itself had been taking money from the Whitman campaign. In December of 2009, Red County received $20,000 from the Meg Whitman campaign, which has sent the site $15,000 a month since then.
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The money is ostensibly for advertising, yet by conventional measures the numbers don’t add up. According to Quantcast, Red County reaches around 125,000 unique viewers per month. Two new media industry experts confirmed that, given such a readership, Whitman’s ad purchase is “ridiculously” expensive, surpassing the going market rate for such ads by 1,000 percent or more.
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Ad purchases at above market rates are a common means by which some campaigns seek to influence bloggers, according to numerous campaign operatives and bloggers. Bloggers, aware of this, have begun to request improbably high rates on their own.
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Lowell Feld, who writes for the liberal political blog Blue Virginia, has received a considerable amount of money from Democratic campaigns, including $21,000 from Lt. Gov. candidate Jon Bowerback in 2009. Feld discloses his consulting work on his blog.
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Dan Riehl, who writes the Riehl World View blog, is one of Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Michael Steele’s most vocal defenders in the conservative blogosphere. . . . . “Riehl World View” readers might be interested to know that Riehl is not simply a blogger, but also a paid consultant to the RNC.
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If it appears that conservative bloggers are more likely to take campaign money than their liberal counterparts, there may be a reason. According to Dan Riehl, conservatives can’t rely on the infrastructure of foundations and think tanks that supports so many liberal bloggers.
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many of the groups now employing liberal bloggers meet with White House aides for a weekly strategy session on Tuesday afternoons organized by the group Common Purpose. It was here that Obama’s chief of staff Rahm Emanuel famously told independent-minded liberals that they were being “fucking retarded” for straying from the party line.

More Wednesday Male Beauty

Closeted Former RNC Chair Ken Mehlman: I'm Gay

Wow! Talk about being the last one to know. Most of us had RNC hack Ken Mehlman figured out long ago. In fact, Mike Rogers and John Aravosis called Mehlman out as gay as far back as 2004. It is unfortunate that his self-loathing led him to do so much harm to so many LGBT Americans through his support of the gay hating GOP for the better part of a decade and serving as campaign chair for Chimperator Bush who used anti-gay hatred to win himself re-election in 2004. With Mehlman's announcement, part of me believes that there'd be some divine justice if the Republicans and conservatives reject him and that Democrats and everyone else does the same. The pragmatist in me recognizes that IF Mehlman sincerely wants to get on board in the fight for LGBT equality, then his efforts ought to be accepted.

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For the record, I will admit that I spent many years in the closet myself, but at NO TIME did I actively support anyone who sought to denigrate gays or deny LGBT citizens of full civil rights. The same cannot be said for Mehlman, who now, after being a total Judas to gays, claims that he wants to become an advocate for gay rights. Marc Ambinder has more details at the Atlantic. Here are some highlights.
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Ken Mehlman, President Bush's campaign manager in 2004 and a former chairman of the Republican National Committee, has told family and associates that he is gay.
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Mehlman arrived at this conclusion about his identity fairly recently, he said in an interview. He agreed to answer a reporter's questions, he said, because, now in private life, he wants to become an advocate for gay marriage and anticipated that questions would arise about his participation in a late-September fundraiser for the American Foundation for Equal Rights (AFER), the group that supported the legal challenge to California's ballot initiative against gay marriage, Proposition 8.
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Mehlman's leadership positions in the GOP came at a time when the party was stepping up its anti-gay activities -- such as the distribution in West Virginia in 2006 of literature linking homosexuality to atheism, or the less-than-subtle, coded language in the party's platform ("Attempts to redefine marriage in a single state or city could have serious consequences throughout the country..."). Mehlman said at the time that he could not, as an individual Republican, go against the party consensus.
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Mehlman acknowledges that if he had publicly declared his sexuality sooner, he might have played a role in keeping the party from pushing an anti-gay agenda.
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Mehlman is aware that his attempts to justify his past silence will not be adequate for many people. He and his friends say that he is aware that he will no longer control the story about his identity -- which will simultaneously expose old wounds, invite Schadenfruede, and legitimize anger among gay rights activists in both parties who did not hide their sexual orientations.
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He was the subject of an outing campaign by gay rights activist Mike Rogers, starting when Mehlman was Bush's campaign manager. Rogers's crusades against closeted gay Republicans split the organized gay lobby in Washington but were undoubtedly effective: he drove several elected officials, including Virginia Rep. Ed Shrock, from office, pushed out a would-be presidential campaign manager for George Allen well before Allen was set to run, slung rumors about Sen. Larry Craig's sexual orientation well before Craig's incident in a Minneapolis airport bathroom, and even managed to make homosexuality a wedge issue within the party's activist circles.
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Dustin Lance Black, the Academy Award winning writer of "Milk," said, "Ken represents an incredible coup for the American Foundation for Equal Rights. We believe that our mission of equal rights under the law is one that should resonate with every American. As a victorious former presidential campaign manager and head of the Republican Party, Ken has the proven experience and expertise to help us communicate with people across each of the 50 states."

How Sex, Sin and Power Bind Jihadists to the Radical Right

Nothing gets Christo-fascists more ticked off than being accurately compared to Islamic extremists. Yet the comparisons are only too appropriate and the term "Christian Taliban" aptly describes the Christianists in the USA who seek to force compliance with their religious views on all - just like the Taliban in Afghanistan and Islamic fundamentalists elsewhere. Both the Christianists and the Islamic extremists are obsessed with all things sexual, oppose modernity and knowledge, and want a theocracy with themselves in charge. Markos Moulitas, founder of the Daily Kos, has a good piece at Huffington Post that looks at the shared mentality and warped minds of the far right Christians and the Islamic extremists. The average American needs to wake up to the radical danger that religious extremists of all stripes pose to peace and civil democracy. Here are some highlights:
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For the past nine years, I've been told that I want the terrorists to win. That's funny. Why would I want the radical jihadists to win? Indeed, on issue after issue, there is no daylight between the views of radical jihadists and the American radical right. Fact is, I loathe jihadists for the exact same reasons I hate the modern conservative movement -- because whether it's their violent outlook, or their views on women and gays, or their hostility to knowledge and science, or their fear of pop culture, they are essentially cut from the same controlling, ideological cloth.
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[T]o the rational among us, the comparison is incontrovertible:
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1. Theocracy. Mixing missionary zeal with government is always combustible, threatening freedom of thought, of religion, and of association. Such repression is obvious and deplorable in much of the Islamic world, where centuries-old Buddha statutes get razed by the Taliban because it offends their sensibilities. Yet such intolerance is also a hallmark of the American Taliban . .
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2. Violence. . . . [B]oth the American and Islamic Talibans believe they are doing their god's work, thus all means are justified in their mad pursuit of power. . . . . Rather than distance themselves from the violent cranks on their side of the ideological divide, they embraced them.
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3. Sex. There's enough sexual repression here to cover a whole book, with both the American and Islamic Taliban's hang ups over homosexuality, teen sex, premarital sex, extramarital sex, and even birth control . . . . It's not that the American Taliban aren't having gay sex, or teen sex, or premarital sex, or extramarital sex, mind you -- it's that they think it's important to judge you for doing the same things they are doing. . . . In fact, the Bible Belt leads the nation in teen pregnancies, divorces, and gay online subscriptions.
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4. Women. The American Taliban may not slap burkas on our women, but they sure like to tell them how to dress ... and behave. As Jerry Falwell once said, "I listen to feminists and all these radical gals -- most of them are failures.
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5. Culture. . . . . If we were just like the American and Islamic Talibans wanted -- repressed, pious, and unrelentingly sexist, blind to science, then we'd all be friends and get along. Thankfully, the American Taliban isn't in power. And thankfully, the culture is progressing much faster than our political system, from gay and women equality, to greater openness on sexual matters, despite the best efforts from the Right to stifle that progress.
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6. Truth. What's the difference between Islamic madrasas and Jerry Falwell's Liberty University or Pat Robertson's Regent University? What about the Creation Museum, with its statues of people and dinosaurs, side by side? Both types of ideologues are quick to substitute their rigid theology over scientific fact and inquiry -- a tendency that might be merely quaint if they weren't fighting to impose their will on the broader populace. . . . Both Talibans consider learning, universities, and the educated elite as unwelcome challenges to their holy writs.
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Ultimately, the regressive American Taliban are little different in their social beliefs from the Islamic fundamentalists they claim to hate. Any differences between them are a matter of degree -- Islamic jihadists are guilty of far worse abuses, but that's only because just one of those Talibans is in power. Thankfully, the other, for now, is not.

DADT- Letters from Servicemembers' Families - Part 3

With the Pentagon’s family survey now in the field, Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN), a national, legal services and policy organization dedicated to ending "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (DADT), is releasing a letter each day this week from family members and spouses of former service members impacted by DADT. Many blogs that participated in the Letters to President Obama effort launched by SLDN are running these new letters. It is appropriate that as the Pentagon reaches out to 150,000 straight couples on how their lives are impacted, these letters from servicemembers harmed by DADT have the opportunity to share the perspective of those forced to serve under this law alongside their loved ones. SLDN is urging supporters of repeal to call, write, and schedule in-district meetings with both their senators as the defense budget, which contains the repeal amendment, moves to the floor just weeks from now. www.sldn.org/action. Chief Petty Officer Lee Quillian, USN (Ret.):
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August 25, 2010
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Hon. Jeh C. Johnson
General Counsel, U.S. Department of Defense
Co-Chair, Comprehensive Review Working Group
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General Carter F. Ham
Commanding General, U.S. Army Europe
Co-Chair, Comprehensive Review Working Group
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Dear General Ham and Mr. Johnson:
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I am a retired military sailor, living with a wonderful person who was fired because of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT).
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Because of my experience with the military, I understand the life, the duty days, the underway time, the training cycles. Even the simple events of life at sea – how wondrous or disastrous mail call can be, depending on whether or not you get a letter; the whirlwind caused by the simple announcement of liberty call; and the sounds of the Navy - the bells, the whistles, the constant hum and different noises of shipboard living. These are just some of the various events and sometimes intense evolutions that occur around the universe called the United States Ship. I’ve been stationed on five of the best ships in the Navy. I speak the language, I know all the acronyms, and it’s an organization I’ve spent most of my closeted life in.
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If my highly decorated and accomplished spouse had been able to stay in the Navy, her professional life would have included all of those same events mentioned previously, and more. She would have undoubtedly been stationed on board a ship of awesome capabilities. That ship would deploy, do training missions, visit foreign and domestic ports, and represent the world’s finest Navy. She would stand watch, hopefully in something better than a port and starboard rotation. If you don’t know what a port and starboard rotation is, just imagine working at your current job, six hours on, then take six hours off, then go back to work for six hours. Repeat 24/7 for the next 180 days.
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She might even be sent on an Individual Augmentation (IA) to Iraq or Afghanistan while in her current assignment. During an Individual Augmentation, she would literally be loaned out to cover a critical needs job, however long that may be, in addition to her regularly scheduled deployment cycle.
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I, however, would have to adhere to a strict set of rules when dealing with a deployment, whether it be an IA or ship deployment. Here are just some to think about – they reflect what life is like for military families under DADT:
· Set up an alternative e-mail account that wouldn’t show the gender of my name;
· Establish a very generic, genderless form of communications over e-mail;
· Never write “I love you” – or nothing that could indicate anything at all about the nature of our relationship;
· No access to the Ship’s Ombudsman – a point person for military families for all things very, very important relating to the ship and her crew;
· Create a plan for dropping her off at ship – making sure our goodbye or welcome is in secret;
· Never spending the remaining few hours on the ship like with the rest of families before a deployment;
· Worrying about how close to the pier I could be without raising suspicion;
· Before leaving home, be sure to say final goodbyes – no hugs and certainly no kisses allowed on or near the base;
· Not being able to participate in any family video postcards to the ship;
· Still trying to figure out how to deal with those pesky customs forms required when mailing anything to a “Fleet Post Office” – they require a name, so maybe use her parent’s name or the dog’s name;
· Don’t put anything too personal in care packages – those might arrive via barge, waterlogged and falling apart – therefore, they might be opened;
· As a result of the rough handling from a helicopter mail drop, any other boxes I send could be opened if damaged;
· Don’t get sick, seriously sick, and don’t get hurt while spouse is gone;
· Hope she doesn’t get hurt as no one would tell me – I can’t be listed as her next of kin in her service record without raising eyebrows;
· Remember to have her pack her personal cell phone and the charger for use six to nine months later – can’t use any of the ship’s communications, so the cell is the only way to coordinate a pickup upon return home;
· Knowing that when the other families are waiting at the pier, I wouldn’t be able to stand among them anxiously awaiting my sailor’s return.
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This isn’t everything. It’s just a glimpse.
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Sincerely,
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Chief Petty Officer Lee Quillian, USN (Ret.)

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All of this pain and hardship. Just so self-congratulatory Christianists and parasitic professional Christians can feel superior or make a nice buck, respectively. Every day that DADT remains the law of the USA it demonstrates to the world that the USA is a pathetic fraud that does not practice at home what it preaches abroad concerning freedom of religion. DADT makes me truly ashamed to be an American.