More Saturday Male Beauty

Soldier May Testify Against Comrades in Afghan Killings for "Sport"

The New York Times is carrying a story on the trials of five members of the U.S. military who killed Afghan civilians for sport. Sadly, coverage of the atrocities first appeared in the foreign press as opposed to here in the USA. Nevertheless, the coverage likely forced the military command to take action rather than sweep the murders under the rug in the seemingly preferred manner in which the senior brass deals with war crimes and atrocities. Bradley Manning's supposed exposure of the murder of civilians and journalist has lead to his arrest and confinement, yet those committing the crimes have apparently been given a free pass. It's disgusting, but all too symptomatic of the cowboy mentality that pervades some circles of the military. A mentality that is fanned by the dehumanization of Muslims by the far right and Christianists in this country not to mention lunatic evangelical senior military officers who see the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq as a religious crusade. Here are some highlights:
*
The cases against four of the Army soldiers accused of killing three unarmed Afghan civilians for sport last year could hinge on a fifth soldier whose lawyer said he was prepared to plead guilty to the crimes and testify against the others.
*
The fifth soldier, Specialist Jeremy N. Morlock, 22, who is accused in all three deaths, has signed a detailed confession as part of his effort to avoid a life sentence. Specialist Morlock, who is scheduled to face a court-martial on March 3, is seeking a sentence of 24 years. The lawyer, Geoffrey Nathan, said prosecutors had agreed to the deal, though Army officials said Friday that they would not comment on the matter. A military judge would have to approve any plea deal and could alter any sentence in it.
*
“During the entire incident, the Accused knew that the Afghan was unarmed and no threat to himself or any of his fellow Soldiers,” the stipulation says, referring to the killing in May. “There was no lawful justification or excuse for the killing or any of the actions taken by the Accused during the shooting of the Afghan male.”
*
Lawyers in the case say two photographs show Specialist Morlock and Specialist Holmes holding up the heads of dead Afghans as their bodies lie on the ground. But they dispute how effective the photographs would be as evidence. Physical evidence in the case is limited, with investigators admitting they did not do detailed crime scene investigations out of concern that Afghan villagers would become angry if they learned the killings were suspicious.
*
The far right in the GOP and the Christianists go to great lengths to demonize those who are different be they gay, immigrants or non-Christians. These shocking murders are but a fruit of the poison that is being disseminated daily by the falsely pious.

How DADT Repeal Will Change Corporate America

Those of us in the Hampton Roads area are counting down the days until full implementation of DADT repeal. Most importantly so that service members will not have to live in fear of anti-gay witch hunts and accompanying forced discharges (something the DOES happen even though the military claims otherwise). On a wider perspective, DADT repeal will also help push a wider acceptance of LGBT citizens in local businesses and venues as (i) more gays will be willing to be open about themselves in social settings and (ii) businesses realize that the LGBT market component is far larger than they - and especially the local anti-gay Bible beaters - have heretofore realized. Bob Witeck has a piece online at CNBC that reviews these and other likely impacts that will flow from repeal much to the continued hysteria of the professional Christian set and self-loathing closet cases like Robert Knight and Peter LaBarbera who continually transfer their own self-hatred to gays who have accepted their God-given sexuality. Here are some highlights:
*
Once [DADT] repeal takes effect, and American forces adapt to a more welcoming military culture, what will it mean for everyone else? What trends will it shape in the U.S. economy, the jobs market and workforce? Here are six ways:
*
Saving Tax Dollars, Preserving Military Assets. For starters, repeal immediately saves hundreds of millions of federal tax dollars while preserving critical military roles as troops fight overseas. The Government Accountability Office recently reported that over a six-year period (2004-2009), 3,664 service members were separated under DOD’s “homosexual conduct policy” – including four out of ten who held military critical occupations. This cost Americans $193 million to “separate and replace” these uniformed men and women.
*
Opening Jobs for Gay Youths. For young men and women without family resources, loans or scholarships, a college education is often out of reach. That’s why many families today consider military service their best, post-high school chance for their kids’ advancement. With military service options, young gay men and women now face the same choices others do to serve confidently, to acquire specialized training and to develop job-readiness for post-service careers.
*
Career Advancement. In generations past, gay men and lesbians have earned top ranks within the military’s official closet, yet anecdote tells us that this was possible only by denying their true identity to everyone (and often themselves.) Some officer candidates also knowingly sidestepped senior ranks and appointments that could put their lifelong careers at risk. That stressful balancing act of “hiding in plain sight” can now be banished, and allow us to witness more well-qualified gay Americans achieve distinction at Annapolis and West Point, in more command positions, and in post-military careers.
*
Removing Bias on Military Bases, Others Follow. Corporate America has pushed to challenge biases and misconceptions about their own lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) employees. . . . With repeal, more than 2 million Americans serving actively or in reserves now will become part of the largest workforce in the world that is free from discrimination on sexual orientation. Now, quickly consider every defense contractor, vendor and supplier with deep, profitable relationships with the Pentagon. With new hiring and retention policies, these private employers depend on recruiting these experienced professionals. They cannot lag far behind in tapping the best and the brightest veterans including openly gay men and women.
*
Ironically, these ripples will be felt more deeply in my state of Virginia . . . While thousands of uniformed Virginians, by law, will now be free of job discrimination based on sexual orientation, they will work side by side with other civilians and state employees who ironically enjoy no such state law protections. This chasm between workforces, side by side yet unequal, will be felt more keenly each year until the need for a U.S. employment nondiscrimination statute becomes clear.
*
Relationship Recognition and Family Benefits. . . . . Americans recognize sexual orientation has nothing to do with one’s ability to defend and protect our nation, and also that the families of LGBT people matter deeply. In 2009, Gallup found that 2/3rds of Americans agreed that employees with same-sex partners should be treated equally with health insurance and other job-related benefits. With time, this will include gay and lesbian service members and their families too.
*
Recognition of LGBT Families is Permanent Trend in Our Economy. With many more gay men, bisexuals and lesbians now eligible to serve openly, their familial relationships will be spotlighted – and likely to become one of the most visible, powerful arguments for marriage equality which is now legal in five states and Washington, D.C. With civil unions and partnerships too, almost half of all Americans live in jurisdictions where same-sex relationships are legally recognized. With repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, thousands more same-sex couples will visibly transform the American economy, workforce and society in ways that we are only beginning to appreciate.
*
DADT repeal is indeed in many ways the Christianists' worse nightmare. A huge segment of LGBT citizens will soon be free of religious based discrimination in the armed forces and our enemies will have lost a supposed justification for their own bigotry. And as more and more people come to know LGBT individuals and their families, the tide of religious based hate should recede more and more. Sadly, the GOP in its short term myopia hasn't gotten the message that time and younger generations are not on their side. Are you listening Randy Forbes?

Saturday Male Beauty

The Un-Christian Conduct of "Family Values" Republicans and Their Falsely Pious Supporters

I have noted before the glaring disconnect between the actions of conservative Christians and their whore like representatives in Congress who wear their religion on their sleeve and then go about pushing legislation that is diametrically opposed to the Gospel message of love of neighbor and charitable works. Rather than care for the poor, the sick and homeless, these self-congratulatory "Christians" and their minions in Congress who disingenuously gush about family values focus solely on hoarding wealth for themselves and seek to disband and/or defund programs that do precisely what the Gospels says followers of Christ should do in terms of caring for the less fortunate. Jim Wallis has a post on Huffington Post that looks at the toxic nature of the falsely pious and examines the manner in which they have turned the Gospel message totally upside down in the course of the political agenda. Here are highlights:
*
House Republicans announced a plan yesterday to cut $43 billion in domestic spending and international aid, while increasing spending for military and defense by another $8 billion. This proposal comes just months after billions of dollars were added to the deficit with an extension of tax cuts to the wealthiest 2 percent of Americans. House Republicans . . . . targeted things like education, the environment, food safety, law enforcement, infrastructure, and transportation -- programs that benefit or protect most Americans. They also proposed cutting funding for programs that benefit the most vulnerable members of our society, such as nutrition programs for our poorest women and children.
*
Under the proposed budget cuts, deficit reduction will not come from the super-rich; it will come from the rest of us. And the poorer you are, the more vulnerable you become, and the more you will pay for the burdens of deficit reduction.
*
It used to be very popular for Christians to ask, "What Would Jesus Do?" They even wore bracelets with the initials "WWJD." . . . . the moral test of any society is how it treats its poorest and most vulnerable citizens. And that is exactly what the Bible says, over and over again.
*
I believe that vaccines that save children's lives; bed nets that protect them from malaria; and food that keeps their families from starving are more important to Jesus than tax cuts for the rich; bigger subsidies for corporations; and more weapons in a world already filled with conflict.
*
Taking the cutting knife to programs that benefit low-income people, while refusing to scrutinize the much larger blank checks we keep giving to defense contractors and corporate executives, is hypocritical and cruel. I'll go even further and say that such a twisted moral calculus for the nation's fiscal policy is simply not fair, and not right. It is not only bad economics, but also bad religion.
*
Wallis is correct - the GOP/Christianist version of religion IS bad religion. Indeed, it is a moral blight on society and is driven by greed and heartlessness, not true Christian values. Yet our main stream news media lacks the balls to call these folks out for their hypocrisy.

Take Action on Valentine's Day for Gay Marriage

Marriage Equality USA and GetEqual and their partners are planning "Request Marriage" actions at county clerk offices all around the country for Valentine's Day. The goal is to call attention in a personal way to the injustice done to committed same sex couples whose relationships are not recognized at all in states like Virginia even though many have relationships more stable and which have lasted longer than those of Christianists who oppose marriage equality under the civil laws. Locally, there will be an event in Norfolk. Here are details and links to get more information on how to participate. I'm working with Beth Booker , GetEqual's regional coordinator, who is coordinating the Norfolk effort and will be posting photos and a story on how the event comes off. Here are details:
*
Norfolk Valentine's Day Request Marriage - February 14, 2011 from 1pm to 2pm – Norfolk Clerk of Court Office (100 St. Paul's Blvd) - We need LGBT folks to meet at Clerk of Court building and ask for a marriage license. Doesn’t matter if you aren’t a couple, we need same-sex pairs to approach the desk and ask for a marriage license.
*
This is a peaceful protest. Media has been notified and should be on hand. There will be videotaping the event and posting to YouTube.

Congressman Randy Forbes Demonstrates He's Unfit for Office Yet Again

One would think that having attended Thomas Jefferson's University of Virginia (we were classmates) and no doubt having visited Monticello and Jefferson's grave site a number of times Randy Forbes would have learned at least a tiny bit about the concept of religious freedom and the principle that under the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom - not to mention the United States Constitution - no one religious group gets impose its religious belief system on all other citizens. Sadly, such seems to not be the case as Forbes panders and prostitutes himself to the most hate-filled elements of religion in Virginia and the nation. Indeed, Forbes has his nose so far up the ass of The Family Foundation and hated groups like Family Research Council it's nothing short of a miracle that he hasn't suffocated. Forbes' latest shameless pandering to the Christianists involves a tirade against the new U. S. passport application forms that allow for same sex couples with children to apply for passports for their children. Wake up call to Randy: we DO exist and we're not going away, so GET OVER IT and stop acting more shamelessly than a nasty whore. If you want to cavort with the knuckle draggers, that's your option, but stop violating your oath to uphold the U.S. Constitution - including the guarantee of freedom of religion for all, not just Bible beating Neanderthals. Here's highlights from the Virginian Pilot on Forbes' latest pandering to religious extremists:
*
U.S. Rep. Randy Forbes is accusing the State Department of conducting an assault on "traditional American family relationships" by changing how citizens can refer to their parentage on passport applications.
*
Forbes is upset that passport forms that now require applicants to provide information about their mother and father will change so that applicants are asked to list two people as "mother/father/parent."
*
This week he filed a bill, HR635, that would require the forms retain only the "father" and "mother" categories. The Chesapeake Republican said it will only be a matter of time before the mother and father designation are set aside entirely.
*
His bill would "require all federal agencies, contractors, and government-sponsored enterprises to use the words 'mother' and 'father' when describing parents in all official documents and forms," according to a statement by his office.
*
James Parrish, executive director of Equality Virginia, a gay rights advocacy group, said he was happy to hear about the passport changes and strongly disagrees with Forbes. "This passport change is doing nothing more than recognize the families that already exist in this nation," he said.

More Friday Male Beauty

Gay Couple Found Love at "Ex-Gay" Ministry

The lies and deliberately falsified information coming from the mouths of Christianists and professional Christians is nearly endless. As noted before, these people somehow believe that the Commandment against lying and bearing false witness does not apply to them. One of the most insidious lies (and lucrative as well for the snake oil merchants in the "ex-gay" industry) is the myth that gays can "change" and that by "accepting Jesus" one can magically become heterosexual. On a personal level, I tried to "change" for 37 years and guess what - it does NOT work. Something recognized by every legitimate medical and mental health association. Yet the Christianists persist in telling the lie and raking in lots of cash from desperate individuals and/or their parents. The Dallas Voice has a story on two former enrollees of "Love Won Out" - an utterly bullshit program until recently under the umbrella of hatemeister James Dobson's Focus on the Family - who fell in love and married (see photo above) after they met in a "Love Won Out" camp where they were supposed to be "cured" of their homosexuality. It's a story that has happened time and time again - including in the case of the founders of Exodus International. Here are some story very brief highlights (NOTE: the cost of the "cure" program was $10,000 per person):
*
KC Jansson came out to his parents in ninth grade. His parents sent him to counseling. Then he came out to them again as a high school senior. “My dad’s a Southern Baptist pastor in Missouri, in a small southern town.” he said. “They said I was either going to be on the streets or do it their way. They were going to pay $10 grand for me to go to this camp. “I didn’t have a choice but to go there,” he said.
*
Jansson described the camp as a sort of drug rehab center for being gay. He said he was raised to believe that if he was gay he was going to become an alcoholic and a drug addict and get AIDS and never go to college or love anyone.
*
KC and Larry arrived at the facility at the same time. This was KC’s first time away from home and his first time to be around other gay people. . . . Although they weren’t supposed to look at each other, Larry and KC kept making eye contact. There were no doors on the rooms and each room had three beds. Larry and KC were assigned to share a room.
*
KC said his “counselor” was in college but worked at this house unsupervised. Two others were former drug addicts who had gone through 12-step programs themselves. None was a licensed therapist.
*
During the first three months of the program, KC and Larry developed what they both called a genuine friendship. . . . . Over the next five months their friendship developed, but without physical contact between them. “No kiss. No hug. No touch,” Larry said. . . . KC said he told Larry, “I love you. I want to be with you. We’ll do whatever it takes.”
*
Then three months after moving to Dallas, Larry proposed. For KC’s birthday, the two drove to Galveston. After checking into their hotel, they went to the beach and walked out onto a rock pier. Larry got down on one knee, took out a ring and said, “I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?”
*
In September 2009 they legally married in Connecticut and then held a ceremony for friends and family at Cathedral of Hope in December. They had 14 attendants and a lavish reception at the W Hotel. Family members came from all over the country and Larry and KC reveled in being the source of joy after so much sadness in the family.
*
Now, life for the Janssons has settled into a normal routine. In addition to their jobs and school and a happy suburban life in Frisco, both have returned to activities taken away by Love In Action. Larry teaches dance classes. KC plays the piano. And once KC finishes school, they’ll begin seriously looking into adoption.
*
Love Won Out and similar "ex-gay" ministries cause untold misery, perpetuate lies and bogus science and are nothing less that unethical rip offs that enrich the parasites that sponsor the programs. Fortunately Larry and KC had a happy ending. Not everyone does and I hope that someday a damaged victim of these programs will have the wherewith all to sue the "ministry" and its sponsors and wipe it out - causing a chain reaction against other bogus programs in the process.

Hawaiian House Passes Civil Unions

The haters at NOM and the professional Christian set will be whining and spraying spittle all about over today's vote in the Hawaii House of Representatives that passed a bill to legalize civil unions for same sex couples. The bill has to go back to the Senate which has already passed a similar bill. Thus, Hawaii is poised to join the list of states that truly honor the constitutional right to freedom of religion - not to mention equal rights for all citizens. Obviously, I applaud the result - although full blown marriage rights would have been a better result. But I will take an incremental approach as opposed to nothing. The march toward equality, modernity and the acceptance of modern medical and mental health knowledge continues to advance despite the hysterical rear guard efforts of Bible beating Neanderthals and self-enriching professional Christian whores like Maggie Gallagher. Here are some highlights from the Star Advertiser:
*
State House members approved a proposal today to legalize civil unions in Hawaii. Members approved the proposal by a 31-19 vote. One member, Rep. Rida Cabanilla, was absent. The bill now goes back to the Senate, which passed a similar version of the measure last month. If the Senate agrees to changes in the bill made by the House, the measure would go to Gov. Neil Abercrombie, who supports civil unions legislation.
*
Senate Bill 232 would grant same-sex and heterosexual couples the ability to enter into a civil union with all of the rights, protections, benefits and responsibilities of traditional marriage.
*
The House changes — recommended by the state Attorney General's Office — clarify that because civil unions will not be recognized under federal law, certain provisions of the Internal Revenue Code that apply to husbands and wives in Hawaii would apply with the same force and effect to partners in civil unions. Family Court will also have jurisdiction in matters of annulment, divorce and separation in civil unions, as the court does over marriages.
*
Senate Judiciary Chairman Clayton Hee has said the changes appear reasonable and he believes the Senate’s inclination would be to agree to the changes and send the bill to the governor.

*

As more states afford same sex couples legal recognition, the pressure will mount on reactionary backwaters like Virginia to either move into the 21st century or else find themselves increasingly non-competitive in the global labor and business market.

Valentine's Day- Men's Intimates by Down Under Gear

An occasional side benefit of blogging is that from time to time one receives some free stuff from readers and/or marketing firms seeking product exposure. Thus, I have received some free books, and other items ranging from pomegranate juice to most recently some tanks and underwear from a new line called Down Under Gear (there's also a page on Facebook). All of the goods are made in the USA and I particularly liked the cotton stretch semi-square tank tops such as the one at left. I wore one out to a local dance club last weekend and received positive remarks - and the quality is great.

*

Down Under Gear describes it's philosophy as follows :

*

Our philosophy is that men should get dressed before they “get dressed”. Whether worn alone or in a set, each piece in our collection of organic cotton men’s intimate separates gives him a look that’s strong, sexy, and polished . . .

*

Living in a quasi-backwater like Hampton Roads, opportunities for finding new and different products is often limited. If you've looking for something new for yourself or your favorite guy, check out the website and give the products a try. There's still time to place an order and have it arrive in time for Valentine's day.

Friday Male Beauty

Homophobia Rears Its Ugly Head in the Outer Banks

I love the Outer Banks of North Carolina for their desolate natural beauty and generally friendly and pleasant people. I spent many surf weekends there with my son, his friends and some other dads. But like everything there's often an ugly underbelly and in the case of the Outer Banks it is the bigotry, prejudice and message of intolerance being disseminated by Roanoke Island Baptist Church. For a region so heavily dependent on tourism, the local city fathers ought to be concerned by this church's efforts to send a message that LGBT individuals are not welcome. While more and more communities seek to attract LGBT tourism and the pink dollar, the bigots at RIBC - led by Pastor Charles Taylor - would turn away those who do not subscribe to their perverted "Christian" message. Laughably, and like many homophobes, these wing nuts cling to the King James Bible and prove they obviously are ignoramuses when it comes to knowing accurate history. But then again, ignorance is the principal ally of folks like Taylor who preach contempt for others. What set off Taylor's bathitery? A planned event called "OBX Pridefest", that will take place June 24-26, 2011 at First Colony Inn in Nags Head, North Carolina.
*
Here's how the event is described by the sponsors:
*
A 3-day celebration of family, friendship, music and laughter with the picturesque beauty of Old Nags Head as a backdrop. Join us on the festival grounds at the First Colony Inn for a whole afternoon of outdoor concerts with over 20 entertainers/musicians including singer/songwriter Eric Himan, a sunset cruise, late night fun with Britney Spears impersonator, Derrick Barry, who has appeared on NBC's America's Got Talent, Las Vegas puppeteer Jerry Halliday and his "Dangerous Dames", and Michael L. Walters presenting an intimate evening as Dame Edna! And don't worry, there will be plenty of time to have a beach party! Our beaches have been in the top 10 most beautiful beaches in the country! The afternoon festival is a family event, so make your plans now to join us in June and celebrate pride OBX style!
*
Sounds nice and obviously harmless to any one not imbibing large amounts of Christianist Kool-Aid like Pastor Taylor. Here's how Taylor's ranting about the event:
*
I know of no greater threat to the family that exists today than the homosexual agenda. They have for years (even though a small minority of the population) continued to push through a very radical agenda that is neither healthy nor wholesome.
*
Homosexual deviancy in sex is not normal, nor is it hereditary, nor genetic. I do not have the time, nor space to answer all the accusations that have been directed against those of us who oppose this lifestyle,. . .
*
This behavior is a scourge in any society that values decency and morality, law and natural order. The aim is to seduce the most innocent among us to their immoral form of depravity. Do not be taken in. It is not a healthy nor happy lifestyle.
*
Taylor has obviously drunk deeply at the well of false information and anti-gay propaganda disseminated by SPLC registered hate groups. Readers who'd like to give Taylor a piece of their mind can do so via these contacts: Pastor Tyler: 252-241-1802
Email: pastor@ribaptist.com
*
Better yet would be to contact the Outer Banks Visitors Bureau and let them know that while you may visit for the OBX Pridefest, you will make a point of NOT visiting the Outer Banks if they don't rein in folks like Pastor Taylor. Here's the contact info: 877.629.4386; information@outerbanks.org.
*
As for Taylor, one can only wonder when it will turn out he's been embezzling church funds, fondling young girls or more likely, young boys like so many of the loudest homophobes.

More Thursday Male Beauty

HRBOR's February Third Thursday Networking Event

As noted in the post below, a great way to start next Thursday evening would be to attend Hampton Roads Business Outreach's February Third Thursday event sponsored by RBC Bank. The event wll be at 37th & Zen located between Old Dominion University and Ghent. After the HRBOR event, hit the special showing of I Love You Phillip Morris at the Naro. Here are details on the HRBOR event.

February's Third Thursday will be hosted by Kathleen Nicholas of RBC Bank (USA) at 37th and Zen Restaurant and Lounge in Norfolk.

Kathleen Nicholas Banking Center Manager RBC Bank (USA)

Pacific Avenue Office T.

757-892-2261 F. 757-892-2265

3012 Pacific Ave Virginia Beach, VA 23451

Who: Hampton Roads Business Outreach

What: Third Thursday Business Net-working Event

Where: 37th and Zen Restaurant & Lounge

When: Thursday, February 17, 2011 from 6:00 to 8:00 PM

Special Presentation of I Love You Phillip Morris in Support of Out in the Park

Given the generally backwards and reactionary nature of the Hampton Roads area, the new Jim Carrey-Ewan McGregor movie, I Love You Phillip Morris, is totally absent from local theaters. That is except for one - the Naro Expanded Cinema in Norfolk's Ghent neighborhood which is having a special sowing of the movie as a fundraiser for 2011 Out in the Park which is going to be held this year for the first time ever in Town Point Park on the downtown Norfolk waterfront. As Jesse Scaccia, the president of AltDaily, one of the co-sponsors of Out in the Park along with HRBOR, Hampton Roads Pride and Equality Virginia, has noted, "Out in the Park is on June 5th, but until then we've got to do a ton of fund raising to make sure the event is a smashing, gorgeous success."

*

I urge local readers to come to the Naro in Ghent on Thursday, February 17, 2011 at 8:30 PM to join us in this special screening - all of the proceeds of which will go to Out in the Park costs. The movie has received good reviews and it should be a fun audience. As an added plus, HRBOR's February Third Thursday event is earlier the same evening at 37th and Zen, so one can hit the HRBOR event and travel a few blocks and see the movie presentation. I hope to see you there.

Biblical Scholar Shoots Down "Bible Based" Anti-Gay Bigotry

This blogs spends a lot of time focusing on the anti-gay hatred that Christianists and professional Christians direct at LGBT citizens - hatred that constantly spills over into the political realm and which to date keeps LGBT Americans in a second or third class citizenship status. The foes of LGBT equality under the CIVIL laws constantly pick and choose which Bible passages they want to follow (generally ignoring the larger Gospel message in the process) and do all kinds of contortions to ignore historical evidence that undercuts the Bible's alleged inerrant nature - not to mention Bible passages that condemn their Pharisee like behavior towards gays. A piece at CNN by a Biblical scholar, Jennifer Wright Knust , in effect points out that the Bible as a whole does NOT support the anti-gay condemnation of the Christianists Needless to say, the Christo-fascists at AFA, FRC, FOTF, NOM and similar merchants of hatred will not be pleased with Wright Kunst's analysis (which I suspect is supported by much more true scholarship that that of two bit Bible beating pastors). Here are some highlights:
*
We often hears that Christians have no choice but to regard homosexuality as a sin - that Scripture simply demands it. As a Bible scholar and pastor myself, I say that Scripture does no such thing. . . . Truth is, Scripture can be interpreted in any number of ways. And biblical writers held a much more complicated view of human sexuality than contemporary debates have acknowledged.
*
Despite common misperceptions, biblical writers could also imagine same-sex intimacy as a source of blessing. For example, the seemingly intimate relationship between the Old Testament's David and Jonathan, in which Jonathan loved David more than he loved women, may have been intended to justify David’s rise as king.
*
Jonathan, not David, was a king’s son. David was only a shepherd. Yet by becoming David’s “woman,” Jonathan voluntarily gave up his place for his beloved friend. Thus, Jonathan “took great delight in David,” foiling King Saul’s attempts to arrange for David’s death (1 Samuel 19:1). Choosing David over his father, Jonathan makes a formal covenant with his friend, asking David to remain faithful to him and his descendants.
*
Confident claims about the forms of sex rejected by God are also called into question by early Christian interpretations of the story of Sodom. From the perspective of the New Testament, it was the near rape of angels - not sex between men - that led to the demise of the city.
*
Only a little more than a century ago, many of the very same passages now being invoked to argue that the scriptures label homosexuality a sin or that God cannot countenance gay marriage were used to justify not “biblical marriage” but slavery.
*
Yes, the apostle Paul selected same-sex pairings as one among many possible examples of human sin, but he also assumed that slavery was acceptable and then did nothing to protect slaves from sexual use by their masters, a common practice at the time. Letters attributed to him go so far as to command slaves to obey their masters and women to obey their husbands as if they were obeying Christ.
*
These passages served as fundamental proof texts to those who were arguing that slavery was God’s will and accusing abolitionists of failing to obey biblical mandates.
*
It is therefore disturbing to hear some Christian leaders today claim that they have no choice but to regard homosexuality as a sin. They do have a choice and should be held accountable for the ones they are making.

Thursday Male Beauty

More Anti-Gay Nastiness from Iowa Republicans

I continue to be shocked at the level of ignorance and outright anti-gay bigotry coming out of the mouths of Republicans around the country, with Iowa - a state once known for being progressive - currently ranking up with the most hateful. In order to be a Republican today it seems one must be a religious extremist, thinly veiled racist, amazingly ignorant and threatened by anyone and anything that looks even slightly different than one self. Oh, and did I mention a lobotomy might not be a bad idea as a prerequisite for party membership? The mantra coming out of the Iowa GOP is relying heavily on the NAZI model that depicted Jews as a threat to society and a public health risk. Among the moronic haters leading the charge is Iowa State Rep. Dwayne Alons (R) who is pictured at right — a co-sponsor of Iowa’s anti-gay marriage bill - who is depicting gays as a public health risk. I'd suggest that chosen ignorance and threatening the constitutional right of freedom for all citizens, not just Christianists, in the long term poses the largest risk of all to citizens. The Wonk Room at Think Progress looks at Alons' message of hate and ignorance. Here are some highlights:
*
Yesterday, I interviewed Iowa State Rep. Dwayne Alons (R) — a co-sponsor of Iowa’s anti-gay marriage bill — in the state capitol and asked him if he agreed with the Family Leader’s characterizations. Alons did, reciting some bullet points from the Family Leader’s “fact sheet” and suggesting that defining marriage between a man and a woman would reverse these “problems to society”:
*
ALONS: I think that whole lifestyle has brought a lot of problems to society…For the most part when you look at some of the issues that have been brought up by homosexuals’ lifestyle, there are a lot of negatives that have been brought into society and I think government is trying to deal with that and should be dealing with.
*
ALONS: Well, look at all that has been spent, you know, with the AIDS and with the issues related to the dying at an early age. I think life, longevity, of a lot of these folks is below 50, when you know, the normal people that do not enter into that kind of relationship, their either late into their 70s or early 80s for longevity. A lot more actual productive years and contributing to society. [...]
*
I can't help but wonder how anyone becomes as ignorant and bigoted as Alons. The cynic in me also wonders when Alons will get caught toe tapping in some men's room. The louder the homophobe, the more likely they get caught on the down low.

Navy Rules Ensign Punished For Complaining About Anti-gay Harassment

Six months ago the Virginian Pilot covered a story about a U. S. Navy ensign who was punished when he filed a complaint about anti-gay harassment he was enduring. In typical fashion, superior officers had turned a blind eye to the harassment and then subjected ensign Steve Crowston (pictured at left) to punishment for objecting to the ignorant frat boy mentality harassment. Now Navy and Defense Department investigators have found that Crowston was improperly punished. Despite the finding, and in usual idiotic military fashion, Crowston still must petition to have the retaliatory reviews, etc. removed from his personnel records. One would think that such corrections would be automatic, but when the military's involved, one should never expect common sense to be a factor. Comments left by Neanderthal readers on the latest story show that the Navy will have it work cut out for it when it comes to bigots (no doubt those who see themselves as godly church going Christians) who think their personal prejudices trump the rights of other service members and citizens. Here are highlights from the Virginian Pilot:
*
A junior officer who alleged anti-gay harassment at his fighter jet squadron was improperly punished with a bad performance report after he complained, Navy and Defense Department investigators have found.
*
Ensign Steve Crowston was assigned to Strike Fighter Squadron 136 at Oceana Naval Air Station when the alleged harassment took place in the summer of 2009. . . . a group of officers gathered a few months after he arrived to give him and a handful of other personnel honorary call signs - nicknames used by pilots and flight officers. Among the suggested monikers for Crowston, he has said, were "Gayboy" and "Fagmeister." The squadron's commanding and executive officers were both at the meeting, according to Crowston.
*
Crowston complained to the executive officer the next day, but nothing came of it, he has said. A few months later, he reported to his superiors what he has described as additional inappropriate and discriminatory behavior symptomatic of a "poor command climate." Crowston says his bosses responded by opening an investigation into his conduct, stripping him of his duties and putting a letter in his file questioning his fitness as an officer.
*
"Based on our review, we agree that Cmdr. Liam Bruen, Commanding Officer, Strike Fighter Squadron 136, issued Ensign Crowston an unfavorable fitness report in reprisal for his protected communications," the Defense Department letter says.
*
"I've always known it was reprisal," said Crowston, now at Naval Special Warfare Group 2 at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek. "There are rules against reprisal, and they were broken. It was time for the Navy to acknowledge that." The Navy IG letter says Crowston may now petition to have the bad performance report removed from his file.

More Wednesday Male Beauty

Does Ireland Reflect the Catholic Church's Future?

The New York Times has a lengthy article on the state of the Catholic Church in Ireland - full blown free fall isn't off the mark - and speculates whether the downward spiral of the Church's credibility and power is a precursor of the Church's future in other developed and educated nations. And for Catholics who continue to endeavor to keep their heads stuck firmly in the sand (like some in my own family), the article re-emphasize the full extent of the sex abuse scandal and just how systemic it is and how management of the conspiracy to protect sexual predators tracts right to the Vatican. Change is desperately needed, yet given the Church's feudal structure of governance, the likelihood that such change will occur - absent huge declines in membership or large scale governmental investigations and/or criminal prosecutions - seems remote. I recommend a full read of the article - particularly by would be apologists for the morally bankrupt Church hierarchy. The article definitely reinforces my decision that leaving the Church was the only moral thing I could do. Here are some highlights:
*
Of the various crises the Catholic Church is facing around the world, the central one — wave after wave of accounts of systemic sexual abuse of children by priests and other church figures — has affected Ireland more strikingly than anywhere else. And no place has reacted so aggressively. The Irish responded to the publication in 2009 of two lengthy, damning reports — detailing thousands of cases of rape, sexual molestation and lurid beatings, spanning Ireland’s entire history as an independent country, and the efforts of church officials to protect the abusers rather than the victims — with anger, disgust, vocal assaults on priests in public and demands that the government and society disentangle themselves from the church.
*
This past December a fresh bout of fury was touched off by the publication of the investigation into perhaps the worst clergy sex offender: the Rev. Tony Walsh, who raped and molested children while serving as a priest in Dublin and who was shielded by the Vatican even after Irish Church officials wanted him defrocked. Yet another large-scale report will be released shortly. And a 1997 letter — in which the papal nuncio to Ireland told Irish bishops that the Vatican had “serious reservations” about a plan for mandatory reporting of clergy sex-abuse cases to the police — came to light last month, causing further anger.
*
Ireland’s move away from the Catholic Church began before the reports were released. Between 1974 and 2008, regular Mass attendance dropped by some 50 percent. The situation today highlights a problem that is looming for the Vatican, especially in the West, as the global sex-abuse crisis, coupled with the increasingly conservative rule and top-down control that have prevailed since the 1970s, is contributing to the departure of populations the church once considered foundational. “Ireland is a prime example of what the church is facing, . .
*
The changes taking place in Ireland have global ramifications for the Vatican, which has been beset by controversies. Some could be traced back to Pope Benedict XVI himself and his tough conservative style, which has struck many Catholics as insensitive and out of touch, including his suggesting in a speech in 2006 that Islam is inherently violent; his reinstatement of an excommunicated bishop who denied the Holocaust; and his decision to bring back into usage a prayer for the conversion of the Jews.
*
But the global sex-abuse scandal is of a different order entirely. Americans may be inured to the saga; . . . But for other parts of the world, the story is newer, and it is seen as being less about sex than about the church hierarchy’s ideas of holding and wielding power. Last year, the scandal swept across Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands. There have been highly publicized cases in Britain, Italy, France, Malta, Switzerland, Austria, Mexico, New Zealand, Canada, Kenya, the Philippines, Australia and other countries. Nearly all involved systemic efforts to cover up the abuse and protect abusers. Last March, the scandal pointed toward the pope himself, . . .
*
Ireland is the first country to bring the force of its federal government to bear against the church, according to Thomas Doyle, a Dominican priest who was once a canon lawyer for the Vatican embassy in the U.S. and later represented sexual-abuse victims and also served as an expert consultant to the Irish investigations. . . . there is intense interest in what is going on in Ireland. Quebec has now begun an investigation. There are signs of it beginning in the Netherlands, Austria, Belgium, Italy, Spain and France.” Ireland, then, provides a model for investigative legal action on a host of fronts.
*
The Rev. Donald Cozzens, an American priest who is one of the most-respected moderate voices on Catholic issues, outlined the church’s wider problem in these terms: “I’m not aware of any major diocese in the world that has not had a sexual-abuse scandal, and I believe part of the problem lies with the very structures of the church.
*
The interests of church officials “were the maintenance of secrecy, the avoidance of scandal, the protection of the reputation of the church and the preservation of its assets,” the [Murphy] report concluded. “All other considerations, including the welfare of children and justice for victims, were subordinated to these priorities.”
*

"Family Values" Republican Resigns Over Craigslist Ad

Two sources never cease to provide an endless stream of hypocrisy: the Roman Catholic Church and "family values" Republicans. The later just seem to never cease being caught caught trolling for extramarital sex - either with members of the same sex like former Congressman Ed Schrock or in this most recent case Congressman Chris Lee (R-NY) who was seeking sexual hooks ups with women who were not his wife. Sadly, Congressman Lee is all to typical of the "family values" crowd in the GOP who rant against gays, kiss up to Christianist extremists, and then seek illicit sex on the side outside of the marriages. I guess "protecting marriage" translates to keeping the other spouse from discovering the infidelities. Yet the mental midgets and Kool-Aid drinkers of the far right keep falling for the GOP's disingenuous bullshit and putting individuals like Rep. Lee to office. Gawker broke this story and here are some highlights:
*
Three hours after his shirtless Craigslist antics appeared on this site, Rep. Chris Lee (R-NY) announced his resignation from the U.S. House of Representatives. Moments ago his office sent the following press release to the media:
*
For Immediate Release: Wednesday, February 9, 2010. Statement from Congressman Chris Lee (NY-26):
*
"It has been a tremendous honor to serve the people of Western New York. I regret the harm that my actions have caused my family, my staff and my constituents. I deeply and sincerely apologize to them all. I have made profound mistakes and I promise to work as hard as I can to seek their forgiveness.
*
"The challenges we face in Western New York and across the country are too serious for me to allow this distraction to continue, and so I am announcing that I have resigned my seat in Congress effective immediately."
*

Gawker had this previous coverage which blew the lid off of Lee's political career:
*
Rep. Christopher Lee is a married Republican congressman serving the 26th District of New York. But when he trolls Craigslist's "Women Seeking Men" forum, he's Christopher Lee, "divorced" "lobbyist" and "fit fun classy guy." One object of his flirtation told us her story.
*
On the morning of Friday, January 14, a single 34-year-old woman put an ad in the "Women for Men" section of Craigslist personals. "Will someone prove to me not all CL men look like toads?" she asked, inviting "financially & emotionally secure" men to reply.
*
That afternoon, a man named Christopher Lee replied. He used a Gmail account that Rep. Christopher Lee has since confirmed to be his own. (It's the same Gmail account that was associated with Lee's personal Facebook account, which the Congressman deleted when we started asking questions.)
*
Yesterday, we reached out to Rep. Lee, whose support for "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" and vote to reject federal abortion funding suggests a certain comfort with publicly scrutinizing others' sex lives.
*
"The Congressman is happily married," said Lee's spokesman when pressed for answers to our questions. "The only time he or his wife posted something online was to sell old furniture when they changed the apartment they keep in DC."

Wednesday Male Beauty

The Assault on Religious Freedom in Iowa

Nothing currently better reflects the assault on freedom and religious freedom for all in particular better than the effort by Christo-fascists in Iowa - and their financial backers from other states - to roll back same sex marriage rights in that state and in addition grant Christianists the right to basically discriminate against anyone who offends their religious sensibilities (or more accurately bigotry). If these efforts prevail, taken to their logical extension, haters could discriminate against gays, Muslims, Hindus - theoretically even blacks in in interracial marriages in the case of those wingnuts who believe in the Bible's support of separation of the races - basically anyone targeted and the state of civil equality would be rolled back by decades. All so that Christianists can have special rights that trump the rights of everyone else. Yep, Anne Rice was definitely on to something when she condemned Christianity for the vile influence it has become in so many instances. Sponsoring this batshitery is Rep. Richard Anderson, R-Clarinda (pictured above). Here are highlights from the DesMoines Register on this latest threat to civil rights for many:
*
It would be legal for an Iowa business owner who cites religious beliefs to refuse to provide jobs, housing, goods or services to people involved in a marriage that violates his or her religious convictions, according to a bill an Iowa House subcommittee will consider on Wednesday.
*
House Study Bill 50, called the Religious Conscience Protection Act, would allow a person, business or organization such as a charity or fraternal group to deny services without fear of facing a civil claim or lawsuit if they think doing so would validate or recognize same-sex relationships.
*
The same-sex exclusion is by itself constitutionally troubling, several legal scholars and civil rights activists said. However, the bill is so broad that it would legalize a wide spectrum of other discriminatory acts, they said. They raised questions about whether services could be denied if, say, a Christian were married to a Jew or if a woman who is 60 married a man who is half her age and the couple could not procreate.
*
At least three civil rights groups issued statements Monday opposing the bill. "The ACLU recognizes this bill for what it is: an effort to legitimize discrimination under the guise of religious liberty," said Ben Stone, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa.
*
Nan Hunter, a law professor at Georgetown University, said at the forum that such broad exemptions are unprecedented in anti-discrimination law and predicted such a law would open the door to abuses.
*
"What is at issue here is the enforcement of state anti-discrimination laws that prohibit denying jobs or housing or services to people based on sexual orientation," Hunter said in November. " ... What it would change is how much discrimination we as a society will allow against married couples who are gay. It's going to be discrimination based on sexual orientation."

*

I hate to say it but, Christianity cannot become a dead religion soon enough if Anderson and those like him represent what it has become.

Unhappy Valentine's Day - America's Continuing Hostility Towards Same Sex Couples

As noted many times before on this blog, the United States of America likes to depict itself as "the land of the free" and the home of "religious freedom." Of course, based on the country's treatment of same sex couples, both claims are a lie and LGBT citizens receive neither the freedom to pursue life, liberty and happiness as they see it afforded to other citizens nor the religious freedom marry to who they wish. Instead, the nation continues to cater to a Taliban like version of Christianity that belittles religious freedom and strives to make LGBT citizens pay a heavy price for their failure to conform to Christianist religious beliefs. In the pockets within the country where gays have secured marriage rights, the Christo-fascist work diligently to roll back progress. Add the high level of secret surveillance America applies to its citizens under the guise of "homeland security" to the mix and the USA even less resembles the myth that is disseminated by politicians and swallowed by the ignorant and xenophobic. The South Florida Gay News has a column that looks at America;s hollow promise when it comes to its LGBT citizens. True, the USA is not as horrid towards gays as some Middle Eastern and African countries, but it surely is not the beacon of freedom it pretends to be. Here are some column highlights:
*
Valentine's Day holds a very special place in my heart for a couple of reasons. The two milestones that changed my life happened on this very day. First and foremost, on February 14, I met my life partner of eighteen years. Furthermore, 36 Valentines ago I decided to leave my native country because I thought I could never be myself there. There was a siren calling me. History says it was discovered by an Italian from Genoa. Only fitting since I was born a few miles away from that same city.
*
America seemed to me the shiny example, and the beacon, of a true democracy; maybe the last hope for an Italian gay man, stifled in a country run by Church and Mafia. Or so I thought!
*
I embraced my adopted country only to witness the rise of Anita Bryant, the killing of Harvey Milk, the emergence of hate preachers like Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson and their pseudo Moral Majority, a bunch of white, right wing, heterosexual, homophobic, bigoted, intolerant Christians. I discovered that even though the Pledge of Allegiance says "...with Liberty and Justice for ALL", I was not fully included in the "ALL".
*
I read articles about gay men getting set up, busted, and arrested for hanging out in public parks, more often than not entrapped by police officers acting as bait and decoys. What was that all about? How could the greatest country in the world be so oppressive?
*
In "The Home of the Free" I came to we are not only still fighting for equal rights, laws and legislators and voters are still voting against us. Yet, on the continent I left, gay marriage is acceptable, permissible, and even commonplace. It is legal in Belgium, Spain, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway and Portugal. Many other countries like the UK, Denmark, Iceland, Austria, Finland, Greenland, France, Luxembourg, and Switzerland fully recognize same sex unions. So does Slovenia, The Czech Republic, even Germany.
*
By all means enjoy your Valentine’s Day, but think about what YOU can do to bring about change. Speed up the process. Come out. Speak up. Be counted. Get involved. Don't ever forget what this country is supposed to stand for: People being who they are and most importantly: letting other people be, on equal terms and with equal rights.
*
It's a sad state of affairs and as noted before, once the boyfriend's parents pass on (both my parents are gone), we will seriously have to think twice as to whether or not we want to remain in the faux land of the free or instead move to a country that delivers what the USA falsely promises.

More Tuesday Male Beauty

U. S. Navy Preparing Training Instruction for DADT Repeal

While various Republicans try to foment anti-gay bigotry by floating proposals to torpedo the implementation of DADT repeal - either because they are political whores, self loathing closet cases or in rare instances true believing Kool-Aid drinkers - the U.S. Navy is moving forward with instruction programs that will implement the repeal of DADT which wrote religious based discrimination into the law. DADT repeal is a big issue in the Hampton Roads area because - despite what the nutcases in the GOP like to believe - there are LOTS of gays in the military. And that includes all branches of the military in this area: Navy, Army, Marines, Air Force and Coast Guard. The Navy Times has an article that looks at the preparations that will impact this area with its huge number of military personnel. Here are some highlights:
*
Command training — or, in some cases, online instruction — will be required for all hands as the Navy moves to lift an 18-year ban on gays serving openly, the Navy’s top officer said in a message released Friday. The training will be recorded for active-duty sailors and reservists, defense contractors and some Navy civilians, according to NAVADMIN 041/11 released by Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Gary Roughead.
*
“It is important for our sailors to understand what this change means to them, their families and our Navy,” Roughead said in the 1-minute-long video. “This change in the law ensures that qualified citizens can serve based on individual merit, fitness, and capability without regard to sexual orientation. No one is being asked to change their moral or religious beliefs.”
*
Once the training is completed, the Joint Chiefs chairman, defense secretary and president will certify to Congress that repealing “don’t ask, don’t tell” won’t erode readiness or harm recruiting. Sixty days later, the new policy will take effect.
*
In the message, Roughead outlines three levels of training:
*
• Commanders, executive officers and command master chiefs will be trained by “mobile training teams” of experts and fleet representatives. These leaders, in turn, will be expected to train their commands.
*
• All hands will receive instruction on the new policy and expectations for personal behavior. In cases in which sailors are assigned to non-Navy units or are unavailable, they will complete the training with their parent command or online.
*
• Separate training will be provided to those who will enforce or support the new policy, such as recruiters, judge advocates and chaplains.
*
“The path to repeal of [don’t ask, don’t tell] requires informed and proactive leadership at every level,” Roughead said in the NAVADMIN message. “I am counting on each of you.”

*

The Virginian Pilot has additional coveage here.

AFA's Bryan Fischer Attacks Native Americans - and Sarah Palin

One only need to follow the rantings of Bryan Fischer to quickly learn why the American Family Association ("AFA") was registered as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. Indeed, it's a wonder that AFA hasn't been registered in categories in addition to that of being an anti-gay hate group. In his latest batshitery, Fischer attacks Native Americans and lambastes them for not excepting the Gospel message and states that they are "morally disqualified" from controlling American soil. In another rant, Fischer goes on a tirade against gays and Sarah Palin. Fischer certainly helps to connect the dots in my ongoing position that the far right Christianists are not only anti-gay by anti-all racial minorities. Meanwhile, if anyone is morally disqualified, its Fischer himself. He and haters like him will ultimately be the death of Christianity - or at least the foul, toxic version thereof peddled by AFA, CWFA, FRC and similar parasitic groups who prey on the ignorant and gullible. Here's a sampling of Fischer's anti-Native American rantings:
*
In all the discussions about the European settlement of the New World, one feature has been conspicuously absent: the role that the superstition, savagery and sexual immorality of native Americans played in making them morally disqualified from sovereign control of American soil.
*
International legal scholars have always recognized that sovereign control of land is legitimately transferred in at least three ways: settlement, purchase, and conquest. Europeans have to this day a legitimate claim on American soil for all three of those reasons.
*
But another factor has rarely been discussed, and that is the moral factor. In the ancient tradition of the Hebrews, God made it clear to Abraham that the land of Canaan was promised to his descendants. But he told Abraham the transfer of land to his heirs could not happen for 400 years, for one simple reason: “[T]he iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete” (Gen. 15:16). The Amorites, or Canaanite peoples, practiced one moral abomination after another, whether it was incest, adultery, sexual immorality, homosexuality, bestiality or child sacrifice, and God finally said “Enough!”
*
The native American tribes at the time of the European settlement and founding of the United States were, virtually without exception, steeped in the basest forms of superstition, had been guilty of savagery in warfare for hundreds of years, and practiced the most debased forms of sexuality.
*
The native American tribes ultimately resisted the appeal of Christian Europeans to leave behind their superstition and occult practices for the light of Christianity and civilization. . . . . It all came to nought, as one tribe after another rejected the offer of spiritual light and advanced civilization.
*
The continued presence of native American superstition was on full display at the memorial service for the victims of the Tucson shooter, when the “invocation” (such as it was) was offered by a native American who sought inspiration from the “Seven Directions,” including “Father Sky” and “Mother Earth,” rather than the God of the Bible. . . . . Time eventually ran out for the Canaanites, because they filled up the full measure of their iniquity. Time ran out for the native American tribes for the same reason.
*
As noted in a previous post, Sarah Palin - hardly one of my favorite political figures - has caught Hell from the Christo-fascists for her failure to condemn GOProud's involvement in this years CPAC coven of extremists. Fischer likewise takes aim at Palin and here are some snippets:
*
Sarah Palin will not attend this year’s CPAC, but it will not be because CPAC now supports the radical homosexual agenda. . . . She said it’s an example of “conservatives...reach(ing) out to others” and that GOProud’s participation is needed to “provide good information and balance, and...allow for healthy debate.”
*
But unfortunately, GOProud isn’t being invited to participate in a panel discussion over whether homosexual behavior is benign or a menace to human and social health. That would be one thing. They (GOProuders) instead are official participants, and thus granted license by organizers to use CPAC as a venue to promote their dangerous sexual agenda.
*
Perhaps Ms. Palin doesn’t understand GOProud’s role at CPAC. If so, she can walk these comments back when she finds out. Of greater concern is that she may well understand GOProud’s agenda, and its mission of destroying the institution of marriage through redefinition, and may still think it’s a wonderful idea to give them an honored place.
*
That would be alarming, because it would mean she simply does not understand the danger that homosexual activism represents to the family, the institution of marriage, the education of our children, and constitutional freedoms of religion, speech, press and association.
*
Palin has courted the haters of the far right and it's rather fun to see it some of them turn on her like rabid dogs.