More Saturday Male Beauty

Delusional GOP Nutcases and the Run Up to 2012

George Will and I agree on very few things nowadays. But we do agree on one thing - that the lunatics and tawdry prostitute like panderers in the GOP are destroying that once respectable political party and driving more and more sane and even half-way thinking people running away from the GOP screaming. Will is especially harsh with Mike Huckabee - who Rachel Maddow suggested should stick to shilling for weight loss products - and serial adulterer Newt Gingrich. These two men - along with Rick Santorum and others of similar ilk who would prostitute their mothers if they thought it would endear them to ignorant, Bible thumping Christianist - are making the prospects of a viable GOP presidential candidate ever more difficult. Here are highlights from Will's Washington Post slam of the delusional loons who are increasingly the face of the GOP:
*
If pessimism is not creeping on little cat's feet into Republicans' thinking about their 2012 presidential prospects, that is another reason for pessimism. This is because it indicates they do not understand that sensible Americans, who pay scant attention to presidential politics at this point in the electoral cycle, must nevertheless be detecting vibrations of weirdness emanating from people associated with the party.
*
The most recent vibrator is Mike Huckabee, the former governor of Arkansas who won the 2008 Republican caucuses in Iowa and reached that year's national convention with more delegates than Mitt Romney, and who might run again.
*
Republicans should understand that when self-described conservatives such as Malzberg voice question-rants like the one above and Republicans do not recoil from them, the conservative party is indirectly injured. As it is directly when Newt Gingrich, who seems to be theatrically tiptoeing toward a presidential candidacy, speculates about Obama having a "Kenyan, anti-colonial" mentality.
*
Let us not mince words. There are at most five plausible Republican presidents on the horizon - Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, former Utah governor and departing ambassador to China Jon Huntsman, former Massachusetts governor Romney and former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty.

So the Republican winnowing process is far advanced. But the nominee may emerge much diminished by involvement in a process cluttered with careless, delusional, egomaniacal, spotlight-chasing candidates to whom the sensible American majority would never entrust a lemonade stand, much less nuclear weapons.
*
Will the rank and file of the GOP get Will's message? Probably not for the simple reason that most of the GOP base is a least as crazy and untethered from reality as are Huckabee and Gingrich. Today's GOP base embraces ignorance, wild conspiracy theories, and a rejection of objective fact and reality.

A Snap Shot View of Why Same Sex Marriage is Required under the U.S. Constitution

As the debate over same sex marriage continues to rage around the nation with Christianists and their whore like sycophants in the Republican Party doing all in their power to engender anti-gay haired. one member of Congress has expressed why these theocrats and political whores are wrong. He in a relatively short op-ed describes more or less precisely why I believe that the U.S. Constitution requires same sex marriage both as a matter of equal protection under the law and as a matter of freedom of religion. For too long the nation's laws have been skewed to support only one particular set of religious beliefs. This needs to stop NOW. Congressman Jim Langevin's op-ed is in the Providence Journal. Here are some highlights:
*
For many years, I supported civil unions as a reasonable way to achieve consensus on a divisive issue, providing rights and protections to same-sex couples while respecting the deeply held beliefs of those not comfortable with the idea of marriage rights.
*
Then, three years ago, I attended the commitment ceremony of a longtime staff member and his partner of nine years. Before their friends and family, they professed their love, commitment and respect for each other. Their sentiments were just as moving, heartfelt and sincere as any of the vows I had heard at other weddings, yet I realized that their union would not be treated the same under the law. That difference struck me as fundamentally unjust.
*
Based on my own experiences and my firm belief that all Americans should be treated equally under the law, I am now convinced that affording full marriage equality rights to same-sex couples is the only fair and responsible approach for both Rhode Island and the nation. If our nation expects to provide equal protection to all, then our civic institutions must reflect that noble goal.
*
As a U.S. representative, I take seriously my constitutional responsibility to protect the rights and liberties of our citizens. Marriage equality is consistent with that view because it safeguards basic civil rights and provides appropriate legal protections so that all loving and committed couples may care for each other. At the same time, our nation’s fundamental freedom of religion dictates that religious institutions should be allowed to define marriage as they deem appropriate.
*
[I]n the same way racial discrimination became a shameful part of our history, one day our nation would look back in disbelief at a time when we denied our fellow citizens basic civil rights based on their sexual orientation. I now believe that day is within our reach.

The Unconscionable Brutalization Of Bradley Manning

I have written several times about the horrible brutalization being inflicted on Bradley Manning (pictured at left) who allegedly downloaded classified documentation which among other things exposes atrocities committed by U. S. military personnel. As more and more details leak out, the treatment can only be described as sadistic - something that once might have expected under the misrule of Chimperator Bush. But something one would have ceased under our leader in the White House who continues to show many of his campaign promises to have been nothing but lies. Andrew Sullivan looks at the mistreatment and calls it as he sees it. here are some highlights:
*
I find the military's explanation of why they strip Manning naked each night and then require him to stand naked outside his cell every morning ... er, unpersuasive. They've made his bedding suicide proof - why not find some clothing that could do the same - even though there's no evidence he's a real threat to himself. From his lawyer:
*
The decision to strip PFC Manning of his clothing every night for an indefinite period of time is clearly punitive in nature. There is no mental health justification for the decision. There is no basis in logic for this decision. PFC Manning is under 24 hour surveillance, with guards never being more than a few feet away from his cell.
*
There is only one word to describe the treatment of this model prisoner: sadism. Glenn Greenwald has been following the case closely and has two disturbing must-reads here and here. We all hoped that under Obama, brutal treatment of military prisoners and lies about it would end. In this case, they haven't.

*

The likelihood of a rational challenger to Obama next year is remote. If I vote again for Obama, it will be while holding my nose and gagging. I continue to believe he is a slick, disingenuous liar. His only saving factor is that he's not insane and/or a Christo-fascist like most of the GOP front runners.

Saturday Male Beauty

Creator of USS Enterprise Gay Disparaging Videos and Others Face Punishment

In a fairly surprising move (I had expected some small slaps on the wrist), it appears that the U.S. Navy will inflict some serious punishment on Owen Honors and other superior offices after investigating the production of anti-gay and sexually sleazy video aboard the carrier USS Enterprises. The investigation thankfully has also targeted admirals among the 40 sailors and officers who knew of the inappropriate videos and either turned a blind eye or encouraged them. The admirals are Rear Adm. Larry Rice, now at the Norfolk-based Joint Forces Command, and Rear Adm. Ron Horton (pictured at left), until Thursday commander of a Navy logistics group in Singapore. With all the blather about gays harming the "good order" of the military by supporters of DADT, it's sweet to see these folks getting bit in the ass by their tasteless and sometimes homophobic behavior. Here are highlights from the Virginian Pilot:
*
After reviewing findings from the two-month inquiry, Harvey faulted 40 sailors and officers, recommending serious penalties for six of them, including punitive letters of censure - which Carroll called "a career killer" - for four. In addition to Honors, one other officer facing censure has now been removed from command.
*
Besides interviewing dozens of sailors and officers, investigators went to great lengths to collect roughly 55 separate videos, transfer them to one format, and catalogue their air dates as well as detailed descriptions of any objectionable content.

The four officers recommended for punitive letters of censure are Honors; Capt. John Dixon, who succeeded Honors as executive officer and recently returned from a solo overseas assignment; and the two officers who served as the carrier's skipper during Honors' tenure: Rear Adm. Larry Rice, now at the Norfolk-based Joint Forces Command, and Rear Adm. Ron Horton, who was fired Thursday from his position as commander of a Navy logistics group in Singapore.
*
In his endorsement of the investigation's findings, Harvey said he recommended them for censure because their actions were the most egregious.
*
Honors masterminded and starred in the videos and failed to tone down their content despite complaints from crew members and counseling from his superiors. Dixon continued to make videos with objectionable content, though they were notably tamer than Honors' movies. Rice and Horton were aware of the videos, and while they counseled Honors about them, they failed in their duties as his direct superior to see that the movies stopped, the investigation concluded.
*
Harvey has recommended lesser punishment for two flag officers who served as strike group commanders when the videos were being shown, Rear Adm. Ray Spicer and Vice Adm. Daniel Holloway. Besides issuing nonpunitive letters of caution to each, he also has requested that a copy of the investigation be put into their records, which could prevent Holloway from advancing.
*
Included in the investigation's recommendations is the suggestion that "a command climate survey" be carried out to ensure that the culture that existed on the Enterprise under Honors isn't present on other carriers.

Sleazy Opportunists Jump on the Anti-Gay Band Wagon

It seems that several of the would be GOP presidential candidates who have demonstrated their own contempt for the "sanctity of marriage" by their own serial marriages and/or adulteries believe that by jumping on the anti-gay bandwagon they can become acceptable to the Christianist cretins of the GOP base. Newt Gingrich is one such sleazoid and now Donald Trump - an egotistical blow hard if there ever was one - has followed suit. Both obviously believe that GOP simpletons will overlook their own poor marital track records if they beat up on gays sufficiently. If their ploy works, then it will underscore that one needs to either have had a lobotomy or have a trainable retard IQ to belong to today's GOP. Frankly, I find Trumps feigned support of heterosexual marriage about as convincing as his lousy comb over. First these highlight from Showbiz on the Donald's disgusting behavior:
*
After indicating to the Des Moines Register that he will compete in next year's Iowa caucus should he decide to seek office, Trump was questioned on his stance concerning same sex marriages. "They should not be able to marry," the Celebrity Apprentice star asserted.
*
Trump also admitted that he hasn't developed a "fully formed" opinion on extending medical and civil benefits to gay couples, but he added: "As of this moment, I would say no and no."
*
As for Gingrich, the Los Angeles Times takes a look at his disingenuous efforts to act like a champion of "traditional marriage" despite his three marriage and history of adulterous affairs (Lord knows what women see in him since he strikes me as a nasty pig). Suffice it to say, if Gingrich is truly sincere about any of the bullshit he is ladling out, then I'm the Virgin Mary. Here are higlights of Gingrich's efforts to play the simple minded and ignorant Christianists:
*
Newt Gingrich — the twice-divorced former House speaker and recent convert to Roman Catholicism — is courting evangelical Christians as he lays the groundwork for a possible presidential campaign, hoping to find favor among a group that will play a pivotal role in picking the 2012 Republican nominee.
*
In recent years, Gingrich has met privately with pastors best known nationally for their campaigns against same-sex marriage, sharing deeply personal details about his marital history as he expresses contrition for his past actions.
*
Gingrich has also provided financial and strategic support for their causes. Last fall, he played a key behind-the-scenes role in an unprecedented — and successful — campaign to remove three Iowa Supreme Court judges who approved same-sex marriage in the state, helping secure $200,000 in seed money for the effort.
*
Gingrich's moves are meant to allay concerns among influential religious conservatives that his personal history is at odds with their views. . . . his wooing of the evangelical community appears to be paying off. "I think he's just excellent," said Pastor Brad Sherman, who leads Solid Rock Christian Church in Coralville, Iowa. "Everybody brings up his past, but he's very open about that, and God is forgiving," said Sherman, who had lunch with Gingrich last fall.
*
None of Gingrich's meetings with religious leaders is more important or occurs with greater frequency than those in Iowa, the first state to choose delegates to the presidential nominating conventions. Gingrich is expected to travel to Iowa at least twice this month to address religious groups. About 60% of Iowa caucus voters describe themselves as evangelical Christians. Their prominence helped former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, a Baptist minister, win the GOP caucuses there in 2008.
*
In October, more than 40 prominent pastors came to Virginia for a private lunch with Gingrich at Liberty University, the Christian college founded by the late Rev. Jerry Falwell. Last month, Gingrich met with 10 prominent clerics at a gathering organized by Richard G. Lee, founding pastor of First Redeemer Church in the Atlanta area. Lee said Gingrich impressed the group with his leadership proposals and his repentance.
*
Conservative Christians are going to be the downfall of the USA as ignorance and stupidity increasingly drive the GOP. When will the rest of Americans realize the clear and present danger this group of society poses to constitutional government?

More Friday Male Beauty

Banton Fans Continue to Whine and Close Their Etes to Reality

Personally, I thinks it's wonderful that Buju Banton was convicted on drug charges in Florida and may well find himself in prison for many years. Like too many celebrities - many of whom are legends in their own minds - Banton got too arrogant for his own good. His hatred and ridicule of gays in his murder reggae are but a symptom of Banton's over sized ego. Meanwhile, Banton's delusional fans rant and whine that their false idol was framed and/or a victim of some kind of gay conspiracy. Anything rather than face the truth that Banton is anything but a victim. Voice Online has coverage of the ongoing whine fest. Here are some highlights:
*
[M]any thought Buju had it all. Fame, fans and the freedom to make the music he loved. But all of those privileges now hang in the balance as the beloved deejay, devout Rasta and father of several children faces up to 15 years in prison after being convicted on three counts of drugs and weapon charges.
*
Buju, along with two others, was initially arrested in 2009 for an alleged cocaine trafficking deal, after video recordings, reportedly showing the star tasting cocaine, were taken by an informant and by Drug Enforcement Administration personnel.
*
[I]n the second trial, held last week, the 37-year-old – who, last month, won the Grammy award for best reggae album – was convicted of conspiracy to possess five or more kilogrammes of cocaine with the intent to distribute. He was also found guilty of possession of a firearm, and of another drug trafficking offence.
*
[T]here have also been many – particularly in Jamaica – who have condemned the deejay, insisting that he simply got what he deserved. One comment on The Gleaner website read: “This whole idolizing of Buju just shows how our society glorifies wrong doers. So what if he is a said to be a good musician? He did wrong and has embarrassed honest Jamaicans and fellow hard-working musicians, as well as his religion.”
*
[T]here has also been a considerable amount of suspicion. Many believe that Buju was set up and even suspect that it’s the star’s history of homophobia that has landed him in this predicament. Ever since the release of his 1992 hit Boom Bye Bye, Buju has famously been lobbied by gay rights campaigners, who have protested against the deejay’s homophobic lyrics. Many believe that it is Buju’s negative reputation within the gay community that has influenced the outcome of the trial.
*
However, gay rights organisation OutRage!, which has long campaigned against homophobia in reggae music, rubbishes the idea that the gay community has somehow influenced the guilty verdicts in Buju’s case.
*
Let's face it. Banton acted like a thug and exalted violence in some of his music. Gays did not need to do anything to create a bad image for Banton - he did it all by himself.

Colorado Faith Leaders Link Religion to Anti-gay Bigotry

It's always nice to see others affirm one's opinions. As I continually stress, the ONLY real basis for anti-gay legislation and the deprivation of full equality for LGBT citizens is RELIGION. In Colorado where a civil unions bill is pending, a group of faith leaders has come forward to support the legislation and have called out Christians who use faith as a justification for intolerance and bigotry. Indeed, they make it clear that only a perverse version of religious beliefs motivates the anti-gay efforts of the morally bankrupt leaders of the Catholic Church, self-enriching professional Christians at Focus on the Family and similar quasi-hate groups. Here are some highlights from The Colorado Independent on one of the rare occasions nowadays where religious leaders actually support equality under the civil laws (would that more faith leaders would speak out and stop yielding the field to hate):
*
In advance of a committee hearing scheduled for Monday on state Senator Pat Steadman’s civil unions bill, Colorado faith leaders held a press conference at the capitol Thursday expressing support for the bill. Their presence at the capitol was frank acknowledgment of the way opposition to the legal recognition of rights for gay domestic partners has long been made on the basis of religion. In fact, religion stands on both sides of this issue, they said, and the issue, especially as addressed in Steadman’s bill, is about constitutional rights.
*
“This bill is not about morality. It’s not about religion. It’s not about faith. It’s about basic civil rights,” said Rabbi Joseph Black from Temple Emanuel in Denver. He explained that the reason he was speaking out in favor of the bill as a faith leader was, in effect, to set the record straight.

“For too long the loudest voice from the religious community in regard to GLBT community has been that of condemnation and denunciation and that needs to change,” he said. “You’re going to be hearing opposition to this bill from faith communities and we just wanted you to know that that’s not the only voice that’s out there.”
*
The religious leaders described Steadman’s SB 172 as a hard-core civil rights bill, explaining that it extends rights presently denied to gay citizens of the state and it also strengthens the right to religious freedom. . . . . The bill would extend tax breaks as well as adoption, estate-planning, medical decision-making and prison-visitation rights, for example– rights married couples take for granted.
*
Just as important for many faith leaders around Colorado, the bill bolsters the right to religious freedom by granting legal recognition to presently unrecognized domestic unions entered into out of religious motivation and blessed by faith leaders. It also protects the right of religious leaders to refuse to recognize or solemnize unions that fall outside of or challenge their beliefs.
*
The search for non-religious reasons to oppose Steadman’s civil unions bill can end in shadows and fog. Arguments referring to “common sense” and “long tradition” or even the “diminishment of the identity of marriage” offered almost exclusively by religious leaders and spokespeople serve mostly to beg questions. Attorneys, judges and citizens around the country have been led by such arguments to ask why “tradition” or “common sense” or something as vague as “diminishment of the identity of marriage” should ever be enough to deny adult tax-paying Americans rights?
*
[T]here are literally hundreds of legal rights and responsibilities littered throughout the state statutes that accrue to married Coloradans that aren’t presently available to gay couples,

Religion As A Toxic Evil

Throughout recorded history, the death toll from wars of religion and religious based hate is immense. Indeed, other that disease and perhaps Stalin's manufactured famine in the 1930's and World War II, religion is likely the world's largest all time cause of needless deaths. Yet some outlets within the supposedly "liberal media" continues to give a platform for those who advocate hatred based on profesed religious belief. The Washington Post has done so with haters such as Tony Perkins - as has USA Today and now, CNN which ran a story entitled "The Bible really does condemn homosexuality." Never mind that the terrorists who flew airliners into the World Trade Center nearly a decade ago made like minded claims from passages in the Koran to justify their savagery.

*

One can only wonder how many gay hating bigots will now cling to their Bible and a copy of the CNN story and feel fully justified in violence against gays. It's far past time that all legitimate news outlets stop underwriting hate and violence based on selectively parsed passages from a antiquated and ignorance based assemblage of writings that have been cynically manipulated over the centuries. Moreover, IF the views of the author of the CNN op-ed, Robert A. J. Gagnon, against gays are correct, then slavery, polygamy, the murder of women and children and all kinds of horrors lauded in the Old Testament are likewise perfectly fine. Is CNN indirectly endorsing these views as well? Bible inerrancy is an all or nothing proposition.

Friday Male Beauty

More Americans Support than Oppose Same-Sex Marriage

Despite set backs and lost battles, the tide of the culture wars is trending against the Christianists and their allied hate merchants on the battle for civil law recognition of same sex unions. That's not to say the Maggie Gallaghers and similar self-enriching political prostitutes of the far right will not become increasingly shrill in their anti-gay diatribes. But long term, they have lost the battle for the hearts and minds of average Americans as evidence by the chart set out above. Here are some highlights from Religion Dispatches:
*
Sociologist Darren Sherkat of Southern Illinois University has taken a close look at the General Social Survey data and found that in 2010, for the first time, more Americans support than oppose same-sex marriage.
*
When you look at that graph, the shift is dramatic; in 1988, just 22 years ago, only 12% of Americans supported gay marriage. In 2010, it was 46%, with only 40% opposed. And it's even a big shift from 2008 to 2010: support went up seven points, and opposition trended downward seven points.
*
"Our findings suggest that in a little over a decade the majority of Americans will support the legalization of same-sex marriage." While the 2010 data doesn't show an over-50% majority, it does show, far more quickly than Sherkat expected, support outpacing opposition.
*
Overall, attitudes are indeed shifting. But the zealousness of political and religious conservatives to continue to battle LGBT rights, even facing an absence of overall public support, makes it unlikely that they will retreat anytime soon.

Thursday Male Beauty

9 Afghan Boys Killed by NATO Helicopters; Manney Charged on New Counts

The utterly f*cked up priorities of the U.S. military - and Barack Obama who is doing nothing to intervene - has yet again been highlighted. (NOTE: The photo at right is graphic, but it represents what is being done in the name of Americans.) As NBC News is reporting, Bradley Manning has been charged with 22 new charges, some of which arguably could lead to a death sentence even though the military reportedly has not been able to link Manning to information leaked by Wilileaks. Meanwhile, the atrocities in Afghanistan continue and the most one hears is "I'm sorry" from those who murdered civilians - or in this case, nine boys all under the age of 15. I suspect that because the victims were (1) non-Christian and (2) non-white, in the racist mindset of far too many in the military, somehow the deaths are deemed to not really count. Tell that to the boys' families as they deal with lives wrongly snuffed out. First, here are highlights on the increased crusade against Manning:

*
The Army on Wednesday filed 22 new charges against Pfc. Bradley Manning, accused of illegally downloading tens of thousands of classified U.S. military and State Department documents that were then publicly released by WikiLeaks, military officials told NBC News.
*
The charges filed Wednesday include 16 specifications of wrongfully causing classified material to be published on the Internet and knowing that the information would be accessed by the enemy; theft of public property or records; transmitting defense information and computer fraud.
*
Like the earlier charges, the charges made no specific mention of WikiLeaks. Pentagon and military officials also report that investigators have made no direct link between Manning and WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.
*
Anti-war groups, a psychologist group as well as filmmaker Michael Moore and Pentagon Papers whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg have called for Bradley to be released from detention. Amnesty International and other human rights organizations have condemned the Obama administration's imprisonment conditions.
*
I suspect Manning's real crime, if you will, was exposing the wrongs being done by the military and the fools errand nature of the war in Afghanistan. Meanwhile, here are highlights from the New York Times on the murder of the Afghan boys:
*
Nine boys collecting firewood to heat their homes in the eastern Afghanistan mountains were killed by NATO helicopter gunners who mistook them for insurgents, according to a statement on Wednesday by NATO, which apologized for the mistake.
*
The boys, who were 9 to 15 years old, were attacked on Tuesday in what amounted to one of the war’s worst cases of mistaken killings by foreign-led forces. The victims included two sets of brothers. A 10th boy survived.
*
The only survivor, Hemad, 11, said his mother had told him to go out with other boys to collect firewood because “the weather is very cold now.”
*
“We were almost done collecting the wood when suddenly we saw the helicopters come,” said Hemad, who, like many Afghans, has only one name. “There were two of them. The helicopters hovered over us, scanned us and we saw a green flash from the helicopters. Then they flew back high up, and in a second round they hovered over us and started shooting. They fired a rocket which landed on a tree. The tree branches fell over me and shrapnel hit my right hand and my side.”
*
The tree, Hemad said, saved his life by covering him so that he could not be seen by the helicopters, which, he said, “shot the boys one after another.”
*
“As soon as we heard about the attack on the village’s children, all the village men rushed to the mountains to find out what really happened,” said Ashabuddin, a shopkeeper from Manogai, a nearby village, whose nephew Khalid was among those killed. “Finally we found the dead bodies. Some of the dead bodies were really badly chopped up by the rockets,” he said. “The head of a child was missing. Others were missing limbs.”
*
More than 200 people gathered in Nanglam on Wednesday to protest the boys’ deaths, witnesses said. Waving white flags, they shouted “Death, death to America!” and “Death to Obama and his colleagues and associates!”
*
More victims of the cowboy mentality too often encouraged in the U.S. military. There are days that I am ashamed to be an American. Today is one of them. So many atrocities done in the name of national security in a war that cannot be won. We daily give our Islamic extremist enemies new propaganda material.

Why Relying on "Tradition" is Dangerous

Throughout the braying of the anti-gay marriage forces one hears the constant refrain that society should not deviate from the alleged "traditional" structure of marriage. Along side of that whining is the claim that "God ordained marriage to be between one man and one woman." Of course, a review of the Bible shows that polygamy, not monogamy was the true biblical norm. But beyond that, the mere fact that something has been done a certain way for a long period of time or that a certain form of discrimination has long existed does not make it right. Using that analysis, slavery should still be the rule of the day given the centuries that the evil practice was allowed to exist. More recent examples of dangerous and simply wrong headed "tradition" are likewise available. One comes via Good As You where Jeremy looks at "traditional marriage" circa 70+ years ago in Maryland. What was the dangerous change then before the Maryland legislature? Raising the marital age above 12-years for females God forbid, the proposal was to require females to be 16 and males 18 to marry. Today the change is a no brainer and, indeed, anyone trying to marry a 12 year old girl would be deemed a sex offender. But some in the legislature did not want to stray from "traditional marriage."
*
Another recent example of a foul tradition belatedly being laid to rest? That the Jews bore personal responsibility for Christ's death. After all, a passage of two exist in the Bible that would support this bigotry (about as many as allegedly condemn homosexuality). It was only fifty years ago that the Roman Catholic Church threw aside this "tradition" after centuries of violence and discrimination against Jews. As noted in the Washington Post, the Nazi Pope, Herr Ratzinger, has restated the abandonment of this "tradition." Here are highights:
*
Pope Benedict XVI has made a sweeping exoneration of the Jewish people for the death of Jesus Christ, tackling one of the most controversial issues in Christianity in a new book.
*
In "Jesus of Nazareth-Part II" excerpts released Wednesday, Benedict explains biblically and theologically why there is no basis in Scripture for the argument that the Jewish people as a whole were responsible for Jesus' death.
*
Interpretations to the contrary have been used for centuries to justify the persecution of Jews.
*
While the Catholic Church has for five decades taught that Jews weren't collectively responsible, Jewish scholars said Wednesday the argument laid out by the German-born pontiff, who has had his share of mishaps with Jews, was a landmark statement from a pope that would help fight anti-Semitism today.
*
"Holocaust survivors know only too well how the centuries-long charge of 'Christ killer' against the Jews created a poisonous climate of hate that was the foundation of anti-Semitic persecution whose ultimate expression was realized in the Holocaust,"
*
The bottom line? Citing "tradition" or the Bible is the lazy bigots way of justifying evil without having to engage in a serious analysis of one's true motivations and to cloth such bigotry in a cloak of false respectability. As Chritianist demonstrate daily, nothing is more abhorrent to them than having to exercise independent thought and run the risk of upsetting their house of cards faith traditions.

More Wednesday Male Beauty

Bil Browning Exposes Indiana GOP Hypocrite

Setting oneself up as the judge of others' morality can be a risky business - especially if one has a lot of dirt and misconduct in one's past. A case in point: Anti-gay Indiana Republican state representative Judson (Jud) McMillin (pictured at right). It turns out that McMillin has a pretty nasty - and until now largely secret - past. It includes theft allegations, vehicular homicide, and resigning from a job as a after a sex scandal. Not exactly "godly Christian" conduct. Yet McMillian has had the gall and hypocrisy to vilify gay and lesbian relationships and voted to bar any and all recognition of same sex relationships in Indiana. As the saying goes, pay backs can be hell and Bil Browning at The Bilerico Project has just paid McMillin back and exposed McMillian's nasty secrets to the bright light of day. McMillin is a perfect example of why "family values" Republican hypocrites - and Democrat ones as well - need to be exposed. Such exposures will (1) hopefully lead to the hypocrite's electoral defeat, and (2) attach a high risk to embracing the hate peddled by the Christianists and professional Christian set. Pam Spaulding is looking for similar hypocrites in North Carolina and I am looking for them in Virginia. I urge anyone with information to contact us so that we can bring the light of day on hypocrisy. Here are highlights on McMillin from Bil's post:
*
After he graduated high school in 1995, McMillin left to attend Ball State University. You won't find Ball State listed in his official biography though, because McMillin left the school in the spring of 1996 after members of the baseball team accused him of stealing from the parking lot fees. No charges were filed and McMillin was quietly allowed to leave the university.
*
His legislative bio conveniently leaves out his Ball State attendance in favor of his degree in Economics from the University of Cincinnati - a school much closer to home and where his father's influence was stronger. After graduation, McMillin got his law degree at the University of Mississippi and returned to the area to find a job.
*
He eventually became a deputy prosecutor in Dayton, Ohio - a mid-sized city not far from the Indiana border. Luckily for him, his family wasn't too far away; he'd need their help again when he resigned after a sex scandal rocked the burg.
*
According to two sources close to the case, the photos were incredibly graphic. One photo reportedly shows McMillin masturbating and using a dildo on himself while others were simply of McMillin's genitalia. In one exchange, McMillin is alleged to have texted Stapleton that he was heartsick being separated from her and sent photos of himself masturbating with a string tied tightly from his testicles to the wheels of a rolling office chair to illustrate his pain.
*
Since the photos and texts were filed under seal and McMillin refuses to release them, there is no way to confirm or deny the photos' contents beyond what's blatantly spelled out in court filings.
*
After word leaked back to McMillin's boss about the incident in the state park and he confessed to starting a relationship with a victim he was supposed to be protecting, law enforcement sources in Montgomery County say McMillin resigned to prevent being fired. He left his job on September 16, 2005 - days after starting his illicit affair with another man's girlfriend.
*
These days, Jud McMillin is a rising Republican star. He sits on the Courts and Criminal Code committee, the Roads and Transportation committee, and is vice chair of the Judiciary committee that oversaw passage of a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage, civil unions, and domestic partner benefits. McMillin voted in favor of the marriage discrimination amendment twice - once in committee and again on the floor of the House.
*
On his campaign website, he listed marriage discrimination as one of his top issues. "I will protect the integrity of the institution of marriage. I believe that a marriage is a union of a man and a woman before their peers, government, and most importantly, God.
*
If Hoosiers want to learn something from McMillin's example, they should discover that when you want to dictate morality, you'd better have some outstanding morals of your own. McMillin doesn't.

Who are the Donors NOM is Trying to Keep Hidden?

Self-enriching Christianist whore, Maggie Gallagher's NOM has a track record around the country of believing itself above the campaign finance laws applicable to everyone else. Maine and NOM's fund raising effort that sank same sex marriage in that state is a case in point. As the Portland Press Herald is reporting, NOM is appealing the decision that it must disclose its donors - like every other political campaign organization operating in the state. I always operate on the premise that if one has nothing to hide, then one doesn't try to hide things. Thus, I can only conclude that (1) it would discredit NOM if the names of certain donors were revealed or (2) some of the donors may be in violation of campaign finance laws or IRS rules and don't want the proverbial shit to hit the fan if their names come out. Jeremy Hooper at Good As You suspects - and probably correctly so - that NOM might be hiding large contributions made by the Roman Catholic Church. To remain a tax-exempt church, 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code states in part that entities will remain tax exempt only if:

*
operated exclusively for religious, . . . . no substantial part of the activities of which is carrying on propaganda, or otherwise attempting, to influence legislation (except as otherwise provided in subsection (h)), and which does not participate in, or intervene in (including the publishing or distributing of statements), any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for public office.
*
Obviously, everything NOM does is aimed at attempting to influence legislation to deny LGBT Americans equal civil rights and civil marriage rights in particular. Obviously, if it were to turn out that the Catholic Church - or other denominations such as the Mormon Church - has been largely bank rolling NOM, the tax consequences could be huge. Here are some story highlights:
*
A national group that opposes gay marriage is appealing a federal judge's decision to uphold Maine's campaign finance disclosure law that could force it to reveal its list of donors.
*
Lawyers for the National Organization for Marriage filed their notice of appeal with the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston, which already is considering another constitutional challenge of Maine's campaign finance law by the Virginia-based organization.
*
Maine law says groups that raise or spend more than $5,000 to influence elections must register with the state and disclose their donors. NOM donated $1.9 million to Stand for Marriage Maine, a political action committee that helped repeal Maine's same sex marriage law.
*
Jonathan Wayne, executive director of the ethics commission, said he was pleased that the state's disclosure laws pertaining to ballot committees stood up to scrutiny. "It lets the public know who's influencing them when the vote on ballot questions," he said.
*
Already pending before the Boston appeals court is a separate appeal brought by NOM of election law governing political action committees, independent campaign contributions and other attribution and disclaimer elements required by Maine's election laws.

USAToday Give Journalistic Blow Job to Tony Perkins

I can only wonder when USA Today is going to give an op-ed slot to the Imperial Wizard of the Klu Klux Klan or some anti-Semite leader who advocates for violence against of Jews. Why? Because USA Today published an op-ed by Tony Perkins, the Klan loving and gay hating (and probably Jew hating as well) leader of Family Research Council - a registered hate group., who accusing Barack Obama of "pandering" to the LGBT community. Even though Obama isn't making a living disseminating hatred like Perkins.
*
In my view, there really is NO DIFFERENCE between Perkins and racists and anti-Semites who hate classes of people based on the inherent characteristics. Yet again and again, we see allegedly respectable news outlets - the Washington Post likewise has given Perkins the equivalent of a blow job by publishing his poison - providing platforms for hate speech and bigotry. And why does this continue to happen? Because of the special rights granted to those who wrap themselves in the cloak of Christianity (albeit a foul and toxic version) and the gutlessness of editors to stand and say "no" to Christianist hate merchants for fear of being called anti-religion. Here's a sampling of the bullshit USA Today helped to disseminate - which ignores the President's duty to support the U.S. Constitution first and foremost:
*
President Obama has once again proved that he is just a typical politician, with his pandering to the gay rights crowd. His administration announced last week that it will no longer defend the Defense of Marriage Act, which defines marriage as between a man and woman. It is the duty of the president and the Department of Justice to defend federal laws whether or not they support them.
*
Our presidents are not kings who decree which laws they will follow. This is nothing but blatant pandering to a segment of his base, just as he prepares for his re-election bid.
*
If anyone is guilty of pandering, it is Perkins who is little better than a tawdry whore or Mafia "soldier" who harms others for self-reward.

Wednesday Male Beauty

Religion and Modernity: Embrace New Knowledge or Die

Whether it's the Roman Catholic Church clinging to a 13th century version of "natural law" or the Southern Baptist Convention and professional Christians ranting against gays, the real collision course facing a free and educated society is the fact that increasingly modern knowledge simply contradicts what the self-congratulatory and/or fear driven Christians claim to believe. Claims of Bible inerrancy in particular underscores the disconnect from objective reality. And the contradictions range from modern knowledge of sexual orientation, to in vitro fertilization for the childless to the likelihood that Earth is not the only planet in the universe with intelligent life. Generally, the (in my view falsely) pious refuse to face this reality and in the long term - and deservedly so - the result will be the death of Christianity. Or at least the ignorance embracing, inflexible, non-thinking, hate based version that currently seems to still predominate far too many denominations. An op-ed piece in The Lutheran (subscription only - I get it through my parish) looks at this situation and makes a case with which I generally agree: basically, change or die. Here are some highlights:
*
As a result of the skepticism of Reformation-era religious leaders, church polity underwent unsettling and significant changes. This coincided with challenges to church perspectives from science and enlightened thought.

The ELCA needs to engage, once again, in vigorous dialogue about modern thinking and religion. Conversations with church colleagues suggest that, for many of us, postmodern thinking challenges notions of unscientific religious dogma. Specific religious doctrines and practices seem increasingly irrelevant to many of our educationally sophisticated, technologically advanced young people. Declining attendance implies disengagement from the church.

*

Conservative organizations and denominations often cling to outmoded concepts, traditional styles or homophobic ideas that are rejected by many modern critics.

*

A parishioner recently said, "I believe the Bible is God's word, not God's words." But what does God's word say if the words are inaccurate or outside of scientific conceptualization?

The Hidden Victims of Wartime Rape - Men and Boys

The New York Times has an op-ed piece that raises the issue of sexual violence and rape used as a tool of terror and humiliation that typically goes unnoticed - the rape of men and boys in wartime and civil wars. Just as rape against women and girls is a tool of humiliation and punishment, so too it is when utilized against males. And the irony is that it's often in "macho" societies that the abuse is the worse. Indeed, some within the USA's own military is likely guilty of the offense. Once again, our f*cked up societal notions seem to conspire to allow the tragic abuse to continue and sweep the issue conveniently under the rug. It needs to stop. As does the use of sexual violence against all individuals regardless of the gender. Here are some highlights from Lara Stemple's op-ed piece (Ms. Stemple is the director of graduate studies and of the Health and Human Rights Law Project at the University of California, Los Angeles, School of Law):
*
As disturbing new reports of male rape in Congo made clear, wartime sexual violence isn’t limited to women and girls. But in its ongoing effort to eradicate rape during conflict, the United Nations continues to overlook a significant imperative: ending wartime sexual assault of men and boys as well.
*
Sexual violence against men does occasionally make the news: the photographs of the sexual abuse and humiliation of Iraqi men at the Abu Ghraib prison, for example, stunned the world.
*
Yet there are thousands of similar cases, less well publicized but well documented by researchers, in places as varied as Chile, Greece and Iran. The United Nations reported that out of 5,000 male concentration camp detainees held near Sarajevo during the Bosnian conflict, 80 percent acknowledged having been abused sexually. In El Salvador, 76 percent of male political prisoners told researchers they had experienced sexual torture.
*
Rape has long been a way to humiliate, traumatize and silence the enemy. For many of the same reasons that combatants assault women and girls, they also rape men and boys. Nevertheless, international legal documents routinely reflect the assumption that sexual violence happens only to women and girls.
*
[W]hen men have experienced sexual abuse and are treated solely as “torture victims,” we ignore the sexual component of their suffering. Indeed, doctors and emergency aid workers are rarely trained to recognize the physical signs of male rape or to provide counseling to its victims. Our failure to acknowledge male rape leaves it in the shadows, compounding the humiliation that survivors experience.
*
The United Nations has attempted to take wartime rape seriously. In 2000 the Security Council passed Resolution 1325 which, among other things, promotes gender-sensitive training in peacekeeping, encourages hiring more women in peacekeeping roles and calls for better protection of women and girls in conflict zones. This is a crucial undertaking, but the agreement neglects to address sexual violence against men and boys.
*
The United Nations and the White House must likewise move beyond the shortcomings of Resolution 1325 and commit to ending wartime sexual violence against everyone.

California Attorney General Requests Stay of Perry Ruling be Lifted

The plaintiffs' counsel in Perry v. Schwarzenegger have already asked that the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals lift the stay of Judge Walker's ruling. Now, California Attorney General, Kamala Harris, has likewise requested the appeals court to lift the stay. If the stay is lifted, the ban on same sex marriages would be removed pending the outcome of the appeal. Part of Harris' reasoning is that the likelihood of success for the Prop 8 supporter's appeal is questionable - the 9th Circuit itself has indicated that it believes the Prop 8 supporters may lack standing to bring the appeal - and that injustice is being done to LGBT citizens in the interim. Harris' statement to the Court can be found here. I believe that her legal points are correct and that the 9th Circuit needs to lift the stay. Here are highlights from the Advocate:
*
California attorney general Kamala Harris filed a brief with the ninth circuit U.S. court of appeals Tuesday that asked the court to immediately reinstate same-sex marriage in the Golden State.
*
The appeals court has asked the California supreme court to decide whether plaintiffs in the appeal — antigay groups like ProtectMarriage.com — have standing to defend Prop. 8 under state law, since California's governor and attorney general refuse to defend it.
*
The appeal’s likelihood of success has been substantially diminished, Harris said in her statement to the court, “both by the United States Attorney General’s conclusion that classifications based on sexual orientation cannot survive constitutional scrutiny and by this Court’s certification order to the California Supreme Court, which seriously questions the Court’s jurisdiction to decide the merits of the case.”
*
Harris also said in her statement that Prop. 8 proponents will not suffer any harm or injury should gay couples be allowed to marry. She also cited the decision by President Barack Obama and the Justice Department not to defend the Defense of Marriage Act in an appeals court.
*
“For 845 days, Proposition 8 has denied equality under law to gay and lesbian couples,” Harris said in her statement. “Each and every one of those days, same-sex couples have been denied their right to convene loved ones and friends to celebrate marriages sanctioned and protected by California law. Each one of those days, loved ones have been lost, opportunities have been missed, and justice has been denied.”
*
As noted many times on this blog, anti-gay laws exist for two reasons: (1) to punish gays for not conforming to Christianists religious beliefs and (2) to improperly afford one version of Christian belief special rights and status under the law. These objectives are both unconstitutional.

More Tuesday Male Beauty

AFA's [Soon to Be Former?] Lawyer: DOMA Is Unconstitutional

Apparently, Pat Vaughn (pictured at left), an in-house attorney for the American Family Association ("AFA") - a registered anti-gay hate group - did not get the memo telling him that as a paid professional Christian he was exempt from the pesky restrictions of the Commandment against lying and bearing false witness. Why do I say this? Because Vaughn made a statement on AFA Report that basically supported Barack Obama and his Department of Justice's decision that Sec. 3 of DOMA is unconstitutional. Here are highlights from the Advocate and a clip from You Tube (To be added once Blogger ceases it's brain fart]:

*

The American Family Association's in-house attorney says that while he and many members of his organization believe that marriage should be reserved only for heterosexual adults, the Defense of Marriage Act is "probably unconstitutional."

*

Pat Vaughn appeared on the Tuesday edition of the AFA Report to talk about President Barack Obama's recent directive to the Department of Justice to stop defending the 15-year-old law barring federal recognition of state-sanctioned marriages or civil unions for same-sex couples.

*

Vaughn replied, "I think that Newt Gingrich is an astute politician and he is playing this for all it's worth. I think that marriage is defined by God as between a man and a woman. However, the Defense of Marriage Act is probably unconstitutional, particularly ... if you attempt to apply it so that to say that a marriage conducted in one state is not in effect in another. That clearly violates the Constitution."

*

Abandoning Children - Texas and GOP Style

I realize that at times I sound like a broken record, but the the manner in which the Republican Party's economic policies are 180 degrees opposite of the Gospel message GOP claims to honor is breath taking. The GOP controlled budget in Texas is in many ways a mini-version of what the Congressional GOP seeks to implement and it is an indictment of a political approach that trashes the weakest and most vulnerable members of society. Paul Krugman has a column in the New York Times that takes a good look at the "Christian" and "family" values of the GOP. It is beyond disturbing how little the GOP as a party cares about investing in the nation's real future - it's children. Here are some column highlights:

*

Republicans are demanding draconian spending cuts, but we don’t yet know how far they’re willing to go in a showdown with President Obama. At the state and local level, however, there’s no doubt about it: big spending cuts are coming.

*

And who will bear the brunt of these cuts? America’s children. Now, politicians — and especially, in my experience, conservative politicians — always claim to be deeply concerned about the nation’s children. . . . In practice, however, when advocates of lower spending get a chance to put their ideas into practice, the burden always seems to fall disproportionately on those very children they claim to hold so dear.

*

Consider, as a case in point, what’s happening in Texas, which more and more seems to be where America’s political future happens first. . . . . While low spending may sound good in the abstract, what it amounts to in practice is low spending on children, who account directly or indirectly for a large part of government outlays at the state and local level.

*
And in low-tax, low-spending Texas, the kids are not all right. The high school graduation rate, at just 61.3 percent, puts Texas 43rd out of 50 in state rankings. Nationally, the state ranks fifth in child poverty; it leads in the percentage of children without health insurance. And only 78 percent of Texas children are in excellent or very good health, significantly below the national average. It*’s not a pretty picture; compassion aside, you have to wonder — and many business people in Texas do — how the state can prosper in the long run with a future work force blighted by childhood poverty, poor health and lack of education. But things are about to get much worse.
*

Given the already dire condition of Texas children, you might have expected the state’s leaders to focus the pain elsewhere. In particular, you might have expected high-income Texans, who pay much less in state and local taxes than the national average, to be asked to bear at least some of the burden. But you’d be wrong. Tax increases have been ruled out of consideration; the gap will be closed solely through spending cuts.

*

The really striking thing about all this isn’t the cruelty — at this point you expect that — but the shortsightedness. What’s supposed to happen when today’s neglected children become tomorrow’s work force? Anyway, the next time some self-proclaimed deficit hawk tells you how much he worries about the debt we’re leaving our children, remember what’s happening in Texas, a state whose slogan right now might as well be “Lose the future.”

Huckabee Lies and Claims Obama Grew Up in Kenya

Admittedly, I hold great contempt for Christo-fascist Mike Huckabee. In fact, based on his stated desire to subvert the U.S. Constitution to his interpretation of the Bible, I view him as a clear and present danger to constitutional government as laid out by the Founding Fathers. Now, in true Christianist fashion where the Commandment against lying and bearing false witness is viewed as not applicable to themselves, Huckabee has been caught perpetuating the Kool-Aid drinking Tea Party lie that Barack Obama is not really American and that he grew up in Kenya. It's a total lie, but its all too typical of the bigoted, lying and hypocritical ranks of the holier than thou Christian Right. Like so many other Christianists, Huckabee makes the case Anne Rice's position of not wanting to be associated with the term "Christina." Here are highlights from Google News on Huckabee's latest lying:
*
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee suggested in a radio interview that President Barack Obama's childhood in Kenya shaped his worldview — even though Obama did not visit Kenya until he was in his 20s.
*
The potential Republican presidential candidate told New York radio station WOR on Monday that Obama's youth led him to resent the West, which he said explains why, in Huckabee's view, Obama's foreign policy differs so greatly from that of his predecessors.
*
Huckabee said childhood stories of the Mau Mau rebellion would lead President Obama to want to remove from the Oval Office the bust of Churchill, who ordered a crackdown against that uprising. The executive director of Huckabee's political action committee said the former governor misspoke.
*
Obama was born in Hawaii in 1961 to a mother from Kansas, and a father from Kenya whom he would barely know and write in his memoir he had met only once. He spent the first five years of his life in Hawaii and then moved with his since-divorced mother and her new husband to Indonesia. At the age of 10, he returned to Hawaii to live with his maternal grandparents on Oahu until he started his undergraduate degree in Los Angeles and completed it in New York City.
*
And on Monday, just a few moments after he asserted Obama's Kenyan upbringing, Huckabee returned to what had been his standard rhetoric on the question of his birth certificate.
*
"The only reason I'm not as confident that there's something about the birth certificate ... is because I know the Clintons and believe me, they have lots of investigators out on him, and I'm convinced if there was anything that they could have found on that, they would have found it, and I promise they would have used it," Huckabee said.
*
Pardon my "French," but in my opinion Huckabee is a lying sack of shit.