More Saturday Male Beauty

The Faith of the Founding Fathers

The Christianists love to blather ad nausea about America having been founded as a "Christian nation." The only problem, of course, is that the claim is not true and as we have seen before such as in the preamble of Jefferson's Statute for Religious Freedom - which is still a part of the Code of Virginia but which consistently ignored by Christianists and Republicans, including my former classmate, George Allen, who talks of Jeffersonian principles even as he prostitutes himself to the religious right - Jefferson had nothing but contempt for the intermixing of religion and the dispensing of civil legal rights. A post at Right Wing Watch adds to the list of inconvenient facts that show the lie of Christianists like David Barton who try to twist history to fit their theocratic agenda. Here are some post highlights:
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John Adams, on the other hand, is held up as a paragon of what it means to be a true Christian and a statesmen. But, for some reason, the Religious Right never bothers to mention that, like Thomas Jefferson, Adams did not believe that Jesus was God or that he died for the sins of mankind and actually mocked the idea:
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[Adams] could not accept the historic Christian belief that Jesus Christ was God or that his death atoned for the sins of the world: "An incarnate God!!! An eternal, self-existent omnipresent Author of this stupendous Universe suffering on a Cross!!! My Soul starts with horror, at the Idea." Adams thought the notion of "a mere creature, or finite Being," making "Satisfaction to the infinite justice for the sins of the world" was a "convenient Cover for absurdity." These doctrines were not part of the pure and undefiled teachings of Jesus as found in the Gospels, but were rather created by the leaders of the early Christian church who "misunderstood" Jesus' message and thus presented it in "very paradoxical Shapes."
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There is one major problem with Potts's story of Washington praying at Valley Forge - it probably did not happen. While it is likely that Washington prayed while he was with the army at Valley Forge in the winter of 1777-1778, it is unlikely that the story reported by Potts, memorialized in paintings and read to millions of schoolchildren, is anything more than legend. It was first told in the seventeenth edition (1816) of Mason Lock Weem's Life of Washington. Weems claimed to have heard it directly from Potts, his "good old FRIEND." Potts may have owned the house where Washington stayed at Valley Forge, but his aunt Deborah Potts Hewes was living there alone at the time. Indeed, Potts was probably not even residing in Valley Forge during the encampment. And he was definitely not married. It would be another twenty-five years before he wed Sarah, making a conversation with her in the wake of the supposed Washington prayer impossible. Another version of the story, which appeared in the diary of Reverend Nathaniel Randolph Snowden, claims that it was John Potts, Issac's brother, who heard Washington praying. These discrepancies, coupled with the fact that Weems was known for writing stories about Washington based upon scanty evidence, have led historians to discredit it.
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The surest defense to revisionist history is an accurate knowledge of history - something that is given an abysmally low priority in our public schools and which plays directly into the hands of those who would subvert the U. S. Constitution such as Barton.

Anti-Gay New York Democrat "Outed" and Indicted

As regular readers know, I am in 100% support of "outing" closeted politicians who vote against gay rights. And it doesn't matter which political party the closet case(s) belong to in my book. A case in point is New York Democrat Sen. Carl Kruger (pictured), who not only was indicted on federal corruption charges but also "outed" in the process. As was his boyfriend who had helped launder bribery monies. One can only hope that Kruger is convicted on his corruption charges - with some just punishment of his hypocrisy also attaching. The New York Post has a detailed story. Here are some highlights:
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Closeted Brooklyn state Sen. Carl Kruger, a Democratic powerhouse, traded political favors for more than $1 million in bribes over the last five years -- which his live-in boyfriend helped launder, the feds charged yesterday.
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Kruger and his secret longtime companion, Manhattan gynecologist Michael Turano, were among eight men arrested in a sweeping government "pay-to-play" corruption scandal.
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The charges include allegations that Kruger, Brooklyn Assemblyman William Boyland and previously convicted Queens Assemblyman Anthony Seminerio -- who died in prison in January -- received bribes and other largesse to help two competing health-care companies buy hospitals, and direct state funds to those firms.
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Kruger's constant companion, Turano, is accused of using bribe money he deposited in two shell companies for Kruger to pay the lease on a Bentley luxury sedan, credit-card bills and the mortgage on the garish, multimillion-dollar Mill Basin home where the two men for years have shacked up with Turano's mom and brother, authorities and neighbors said.
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The extensive alleged "bribery, money laundering, influence peddling and official misconduct [was] eye-opening even to seasoned investigators," said FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Janice Fedarcyk.

Religious Based Bigotry in Maryland House Kills Marriage Equality Bill for This Year

Sadly, yesterday saw yet another situation where the religious freedom promised under the U. S. Constitution was flushed down the toilet as religious extremists and bigots - and their spineless political whores - once again genuflected to intolerance and gave special rights to a particular toxic form of Christianity. Given the countless number of deaths religious wars caused by and perpetrated by self-righteous Christians have claimed over the centuries, it's beyond disgusting that the same hate-filled mindset triumphed in Annapolis yesterday. What's even more sad is that among those killing passage were black members of the House who continue to allow themselves to be used as tools of the descendants of white Christianists who supported slavery and then the Jim Crow laws and segregation. At the risk of sounding harsh, why don't these delegates wear a sign around their necks stating "I'm an ignorant idiot"? They certainly need to learn some accurate history as to whom they have climbed in bed with politically. Tony Perkins and other KKK loving Christianists must be laughing their asses off. The Washington Post looks at this story and here are brief highlights:
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The Maryland House of Delegates has voted to effectively kill for this year a bill that would have allowed same-sex marriage in the state. The House approved on voice vote a motion to send the bill back to the Judiciary Committee, an acknowledgment by supporters that it did not have sufficient votes to pass on the floor.
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The bill had significant momentum coming out of the Senate but ran into resistance in the Democratic-led House from African-American lawmakers from Prince George's County, who cited religious opposition in their districts, and conservative Democrats in Southern Maryland and the Baltimore suburbs.

Saturday Male Beauty

Out Swedish Footballer

Is Obama Morphing into George Bush?

When many of us voted for Barack Obama in 2008, we thought that we'd see some of the worse abuses of the misrule of Chimperator Bush's reign reversed. While this has happened on some fronts, in other disturbing ways Obama seems to be continuing and reinforcing some of Bush's most questionable moves - such as indefinite detention of alleged enemy combatants, the equivalent of torture in the case of Bradley Manning, and opposition to full gay marriage basted on his personal religious beliefs rather than supporting freedom of religion for all and true equal protection under the U.S. Constitution. Now, Obama has publicly stated that he believes the mistreatment of Manning is just fine:



A piece I bookmarked earlier in the week at Huffington Post looks at the sad manner in which under Obama one is better off committing a war crime than exposing war crimes. Dick Cheney must be smiling somewhere. As for me? I feel dirty being an American. Here are some post highlights:
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Bradley Manning is accused of humiliating the political establishment by revealing the complicity of top U.S. officials in carrying out and covering up war crimes. In return for his act of conscience, the U.S. government is holding him in abusive solitary confinement, humiliating him and trying to keep him behind bars for life.
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The lesson is clear, and soldiers take note: You're better off committing a war crime than exposing one.

An Army intelligence officer stationed in Kuwait, the 23-year-old Manning -- outraged at what he saw -- allegedly leaked tens of thousands of State Department cables to the whistle-blowing website WikiLeaks. These cables show U.S. officials covering up everything from U.S. tax dollars funding child rape in Afghanistan to illegal, unauthorized bombings in Yemen. Manning is also accused of leaking video evidence of U.S. pilots gunning down more than a dozen Iraqis in Baghdad, including two journalists for Reuters, and then killing a father of two who stopped to help them. The father's two young children were also severely wounded.
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None of the soldiers who carried out that war crime have been punished, nor have any of the high-ranking officials who authorized it. Indeed, committing war crimes is more likely to get a solider a medal than a prison term. And authorizing them? Well, that'll get you a book deal and a six-digit speaking fee. Just ask George W. Bush. Or Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld or Condoleezza Rice. Or the inexplicably "respectable" Colin Powell.
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In fact, the record indicates Manning would be far better off today -- possibly on the lecture circuit rather than in solitary confinement -- if he'd killed those men in Baghdad himself.
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Hyperbole? Consider what happened to the U.S. soldiers who, over a period of hours -- not minutes -- went house to house in the Iraqi town of Haditha and executed 24 men, women and children in retaliation for a roadside bombing.
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"I watched them shoot my grandfather, first in the chest and then in the head," said one of the two surviving eyewitnesses to the massacre, nine-year-old Eman Waleed. "Then they killed my granny." Almost five years later, not one of the men involved in the incident is behind bars. And despite an Army investigation revealing that statements made by the chain of command "suggest that Iraqi civilian lives are not as important as U.S. lives," with the murder of brown-skinned innocents considered "just the cost of doing business," none of their superiors are behind bars either.
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Meanwhile, the Obama administration has decided to make Manning's pre-trial existence as torturous as possible, holding him in solitary confinement 23 hours a day since his arrest 10 months ago -- treatment that the group Psychologists for Social Responsibility notes is, "at the very least, a form of cruel, unusual and inhumane treatment in violation of U.S. law."
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Fortunately, the foreign media recognizes the hypocrisy and troubling mindset of Obama and his minions at the Pentagon. One such piece is here in the Guardian.

The Catholic Church Failed to do the Right Thing Until it Had To.

UPDATED: QUOTE OF THE DAY: "You have a dogged district attorney's office that has treated this issue as one involving crime, and therefore has been ... aggressive in trying to unearth the scope of the orchestration of the crime," Ms. Hamilton said. "That is different from any other city. No other city has had law enforcement this dedicated to the issue." New victims are identifying themselves and disclosing new names of perpetrators, according to Hamilton, who said, "We are at the beginning of what I believe will truly be a flood of allegations." - Marci Hamilton, a professor at Yeshiva University's Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law. Ms. Hamilton represents two plaintiffs in cases against the Philadelphia archdiocese.
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With the disaster in Japan, it's easy to be distracted from lesser problems in the world. But, since it has damaged tens of thousands of lives worldwide, focus should not be allowed to wane on the Roman Catholic Church's continued criminal conspiracy to protect and even enable sexual predator priest. Here in the USA, Philadelphia is the current epicenter, but the problem continues around the world as the Catholic Church in Germany and elsewhere continues to be forced to be accountable for its disgusting misdeeds. An editorial piece in the Philadelphia Inquirer looks at the recent suspension of 21 abusive priests from ministry and begs the question as to why this wasn't done long before now. The answer, the only reason the Church belatedly acted was because it had no choice. Otherwise, more children and youths would have remained at risk of molestation. Moral bankruptcy doesn't get much worse in my view. Here are some column highlights:
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This week, Cardinal Justin Rigali suspended 21 priests in the Philadelphia Archdiocese who have been accused of sexual abuse or other improper behavior involving children. The accusations against these priests had been known to the archdiocese under Rigali and his predecessor, Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua, for years and in some cases decades.
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Since the first grand jury report on sexual abuse in the archdiocese, in 2005, Rigali has repeatedly assured his flock that there were no priests in active service "known" to have abused children. He has offered "heartfelt" apologies to victims. And he has touted various programs and strategies to deal with the problem. But all the while, he left 21 priests in active service whom he now considers so dangerous to children as to warrant their immediate suspension.
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So why were the priests suspended - and why now? First, let's look at why not. Rigali did not suspend these priests in the interests of doing the right thing, protecting children, stemming a decline in church attendance and donations, or reacting to credible accusations. Any of those motives would have prompted the suspensions years ago.
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The truth is that the suspensions occurred because of last month's grand jury report, which exposed the fact that the priests were in active service and posing a danger to children. No second grand jury report, no suspensions.
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A second, related reason for the suspensions was the recent arrest of Msgr. William Lynn. This marked the first time that a Catholic Church supervisor in the United States was arrested on charges of sheltering priest abusers by moving them to other, unsuspecting parishes and schools, thereby giving them access to new victims.
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The bishops running Pennsylvania's other dioceses already know who the predators are, just as church officials in Philadelphia have known for years. But until legislators pass laws and prosecutors conduct investigations in other parts of the state, these predators will remain hidden and protected.
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Those who care about the safety of children will demand that the legislature take action. If we rely instead on the promises of a cardinal, God help us and our children.
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Yet again I ask: why does anyone continue to attend and financially support such a wicked and corrupt religious institution? Faith is inherent in oneself and you can carry it with you to less corrupt and vile denominations as I did by leaving the Catholic Church and joining the ELCA, which, while not perfect, certainly is a far cry better than what we continue to see to be the norm among the Catholic Church hierarchy.

Reflections on The Earthquake Disaster in Japan

Watching CNN as I type this post, my heart goes out to those in Japan who have lost family members, their homes, and had their lives turned upside down by the horrific earthquake in Japan. One report indicates that the main island of Japan was moved eight (8) feet by the quake. The devastation is mind boggling and the damage to nuclear power plants especially troubling. Compounding the disaster is the fact that it's winter time and with disrupted utilities and in some areas a demolished infrastructure, the likelihood of more deaths is sadly increased. The Washington Post has these highlights:
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A bulldozing tsunami triggered by an 8.9-magnitude earthquake devastated the northeast coast of Japan on Friday, turning cars into driftwood, washing away neighborhoods and leaving this industrialized country bracing for an epic humanitarian disaster.
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This earthquake, the fifth-largest worldwide since 1900 and the strongest ever to strike Japan, will redefine the challenges facing a country already burdened by debt, economic stagnation and depopulation.
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A grim accounting of lost infrastructure and lives lies ahead. But as of Saturday morning, Japan remained a country reckoning with images, not numbers. Describing what could become one of Japan's deepest traumas since World War II, television broadcasters appeared on camera wearing helmets, fearful of aftershocks. People in Tokyo shared YouTube videos of downtown skyscrapers swaying and witnesses screaming.
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A series of aftershocks Saturday - the strongest measured at a magnitude of 6.8 - only increased the sense of anxiety.
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"It is snowing in Sendai, and blankets and food are not abundant," Tamotsu Watanabe, a staff member for the Sendai city government, said Saturday morning. "We haven't been able to catch up with the magnitude of things."
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It's time for the world to pitch in and recognize our shared humanity with the victims of the terrible disaster. Sadly, the cynic in me wonders how long it will be before Pat Robertson or some other "professional Christian" hate merchants lays the blame for the disaster on the Japanese for their failure to be Christians and/or gays as happened in the aftermath of the recent New Zealand earthquake.
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Friday Male Beauty

America's Growing Polarization and the Insanity of the Far Right

Watching the news some evenings truly makes one as WTF is happening to the USA? The willing embrace of ignorance by so many, the growing willingness to speak of and treat other citizens with contempt, if not open violence, and the efforts to dismantle the supports that created the middle class as are occurring in Wisconsin and elsewhere does not bode well for the USA's future. What happened to a nation where citizens lives are supposedly valued? Increasingly, we do not even see the pretense that such is the case. Instead, we see more and more hatred openly exhibited towards blacks, Hispanics, gays, Muslims - indeed anyone who doesn't fit the white Christianist mold. Yes, much of the blame for this atmosphere of national nastiness falls directly at the feet of self-righteous, self-congratulatory Christians - using that term loosely, of course, because their behavior is anything but truly Christian. I find it scary and admittedly continue to question when the day will come where I may choose to simply leave the USA and watch it self-destruct from some foreign nation where rational thought and the ideals supposedly embodied in the U.S. Constitution are actually put into practice (unlike here in Virginia). David Mixner has a post that while somewhat tongue in cheek looks at the growing divide and offers one proposal that sadly makes sense given what we are seeing in the national discourse. Here are some highlights:
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[T]he nation is polarizing and globalization is almost demanding that nations rethink their borders. Election after election since 2000 we have had cliffhangers between a choice of a theocracy or a progressive democracy. Battles over social issues, immigration issues and how we treat the poor and needy have only increased the divide.
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Why don't the blue states join Canada in a new confederation called the United States of Canada? . . . We'll have our energy located in Alberta which will become our new Texas. With a little practice we can pick up that peculiar accent and maybe make it a little bit more interesting. They already have baseball teams and we like hockey! Canada knows how to do Olympics and has great skiing.
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The Canadians spend near $30 billion for defense and the United States currently spends over $600 Billion. Think of the money we can spend on schools, the environment and high speed rail!
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The newly constituted United States of America (JesusLand) can relocate their capitol to either Atlanta or Dallas. . . . . They can spend all that money fighting useless "Christian Wars" and looking for non-existent nuclear weapons. At last they could have a theocracy with a formal national religion and a nation based on laws from the Bible. They can round up all those homosexuals and send them to that Canada place. "Y'all Pray, You Hear" can be the national motto. They can teach their kids in their homes and no longer have to pay property taxes for schools. Those in need....well, screw them....they should be working.
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Maybe, just maybe....we should consider it.......

Will the White House Anti-Bullying Conference Yield Any Results?

There has been much media hoopla in some quarters over the White House anti--bullying conference which has provided an opportunity for pretty sound bites, but will anything actually come form it? It seems bullying is rampant - aid in part by the Internet which allows bullies to inflict torment on more of a 24/7 basis - yet in most areas efforts to implement anti-bullying policies with real teeth (and which specifically include anti-gay bullying prohibitions) go down to defeat as Republican lawmakers tremble before Christianists who want to be able to denigrate and marginalize LGBT individuals whenever and wherever possible. Virginia is a case in point. Anything that the coven of Christofascists at The Family Foundation perceive to include protections based on sexual orientation will be vigorously oppose regardless of whether or not polls show that a significant majority of Virginians support protections. The GOP controlled House of Delegate's recent killing of a bill to protect state employees is a case in point. The Family Foundation merely sends out messages through its cancer like network of far right churches and the Republicans soon are wetting themselves in fear of the Christianist attacks they will face from religious extremists who have nothing but disdain for the civil liberties of others. The Washington Blade looks at this week's White House conference. Personally, I am not hopeful that we will see hard hitting results. Here are some story highlight:
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President Obama on Thursday opened the doors of the White House to anti-bullying advocates for a conference in which participants discussed harassment of students and devised strategies to curtail bullying.
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In remarks starting off the conference, Obama said if the conference had one goal, it would be dispel the myth that bullying is “a harmless rite of passage or an inevitable part of growing up.” “It’s not,” he said. “Bullying can have destructive consequences for our young people.
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During his remarks, Obama noted that students who are gay are among the types of children who often face bullying at school. “A third of middle school and high school students have reported being bullied during the school year,” Obama said. “Almost 3 million students have said they were pushed, shoved, tripped, even spit on. It’s also more likely to affect kids that are seen as different, whether it’s because of the color of their skin, the clothes they wear, the disability they may have, or sexual orientation.”
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Dan Savage, founder of the “It Gets Better” online video campaign aimed at helping troubled LGBT teens, said the conference was of “tremendous symbolic importance” because it identified bullying as a national problem, but said more could be done with the issue of parents being the bullies of LGBT youth.
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“What was never addressed is when the parents are the bullies,” Savage said. “LGBT kids whose parents reject them are eight times likelier to attempt suicide; kids who are LGBT are four times. It literally doubles the risk of the already quadrupled risk of suicide for LGBT kids when their families reject them.”

More Thursday Male Beauty

The Tragic Consequences of Parental Non-Acceptance

I've focused on bullying and the lies of the "ex-gay" myth a lot lately. The two go hand in hand because the fraudulent "ex-gay" propaganda fuels the animosity of bigots who often like to believe that LGBT individuals have chosen their sexual orientation. Both play a role in gay teen suicide. Another factor that can in some instances be a further catalyst pushing LGBT youth towards suicide is parental rejection and/or refusal to accept their children as God made them. Driving home, I spoke by telephone with Alise Williams, bullycide victim Christian Taylor's mother, who expressed what to me EVERY decent parent should feel towards their child: gay, straight or whatever, I love and will continued loving him/her because he/she is my son/daughter. Sexual orientation should not matter to a loving parent. Sadly, too many LGBT youth are not dealt that hand. A case in point increasingly seems to have been openly gay 18 year-old high school student Lance Lundsten who took his life back in January, 2011. Timothy Kincaid has a post at Box Turtle Bulletin that, while focused on the local media's attempts to cover up Lundsten's suicide, also offers some disturbing commentary on his father, Jon Lundsten. If true, Jon Lundsten may have helped set the stage for his own son's death. I don't know if Kincaid's conjectures are accurate, but if they are, as a parent myself, I cannot comprehend the mindset. Was pleasing the Catholic Church - and likely, worrying about his own embarrassment at having a gay son - worth a his son's life? Here are some post highlights:
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[L]ack of “factual basis” did not limit others from engaging in a public relations effort to deny who Lance was, squelch any talk about issues that could have led to his death, and craft a pretty lie to replace the story that fellow students were presenting. Rather than allow the tragedy to be an opportunity to acknowledge that Alexandria, MN, has a culture of animus and hostility towards gay people, including their own children, those who should have protected Lance instead joined together to bully him after his death.
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Lance had a strained relationship with his parents and was living with his grandparents at the time of his death. After his son killed himself, his father stepped up as spokesman for his estranged and now dead son and declared that it was a medical condition that killed the young man.
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And although the coroner refuted this claim, Jon Lundsten was not interested in considering whether his son had been bullied or whether Jon’s own difficulties with his son had contributed in any way to Lance believing that life was not worth going on. So he stuck with his “enlarged heart” tale.
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Besides diverting any need to talk about any icky gay stuff, this solved a more immediate problem. Declaring Lance’s death not to be a suicide allowed for his memorial and burial to be through the Catholic Church. Rev. Father Steve Binsfeld could officiate.
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And Jon Lundsten had found himself an ally in his campaign of denial and deceit: Al Edenloff, the editor of the local newspaper. . . . . But across town, the television news was not going along with Jon Lundsten’s diversion. Instead, they ran a story on the reports of bullying, talked with the coroner’s office, interviewed a gay former student from Jefferson, and exposed the truth that Jon Lundsten, Al Edenloff, and Terry Quist wanted to keep hidden.
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And fellow students who saw through all the denials began to band together, insisting that if the adults wouldn’t protect gay kids, then they would do what they could to help.
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Not to sound cruel, but I hope Jon Lundsten is haunted the rest of his life with the knowledge that he might have been a cause of his son's suicide. He engaged in a form of child abuse that to me is unconscionable.

Why Not Have Muslim Congressman Investigate the Catholic Church?

For the record, I'm not anti-Irish - in fact, I am 3/8 Irish. That said, it's individuals like House Homeland Security Committee Chairman, Rep. Peter T. King (R-N.Y.), that make it impossible for me to be a Republican no matter how tightly I hold my nose. King, a loud mouthed, bigoted Irish Catholic who has past ties to supporting IRA terrorism, had the audacity to hold so-called hearings "The Extent of Radicalization in the American Muslim Community and That Community's Response." Not that King would know what objectivity was even if it hit him on the side of the head with a 2x4. Before turning to an interesting suggestion in Irish Central, the Washington Post notes in part as follows in respect to King's "hearings":
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King said, reports from law enforcement and the Obama administration indicated that Islamic terrorists were seeking to recruit American Muslims. And he cited a public opinion poll that showed support for suicide bombings among a small fraction of Muslim men.
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But the hearing did not deliver answers on the same scale as its questions. None of the seven witnesses were leaders of large, national Muslim organizations, or national experts on law enforcement.
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Not all in attendance were please with King's demagoguery. Here are highlights:
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"It has already been classified as a way to demonize and castigate," said Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Tex.). She waved a copy of the Constitution and said the hearing might be a violation of laws prohibiting religious discrimination: "This hearing right now is playing into al-Qaeda, around the world."
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The day's most dramatic moment came during testimony from Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), one of two Muslims in Congress. Ellison choked up repeatedly as he told the story of Mohammad Salman Hamdani, 23, a Muslim first responder who died in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
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Ellison described Hamdani's love for his country and for "Star Wars," and testified how rumors had falsely connected him to the terrorists behind the attacks. "It was only when his remains were identified that these lies were exposed," Ellison said, his voice breaking. "Mohammad Salman Hamdani was a fellow American who gave his life for other Americans."
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Now to the suggestion from a column in Irish Central which poses a possibly merit worthy proposal under which Rep. Keith Ellison could investigate domestic criminals also operating under the cloak of a religion. Personally, I like the proposal which has the potenial for great fun and much needed fact finding. Here are some highlights:
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Why not have Muslim congressman Keith Ellison investigate the Catholic Church sex abuse scandals? After all the latest shocking revelations from Philadelphia where 21 priest have now been suspended en masse surely points to something very rotten indeed in the nature of Catholicism.
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While not terrorism it is a uniquely filthy crime nonetheless, the abuse and damage of young defenceless children. There have been 12,000 cases of clerical sex abuse in the United States, a remarkably under reported crime and the real numbers are obviously much higher.

If Congressman Peter King, a devout Irish Catholic, feels certain he can plumb the depths of what is wrong with the Muslim religion perhaps Rep. Ellison can do the same for the Catholic religion.
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It is no easy task. Frank Keating , a prominent Catholic and Oklahoma governor resigned from a Catholic Church oversight committee claiming that bishops were acting like mafia dons covering up evidence of horrific child abuse. He might be a very interesting witness for the Ellison hearings.
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Then there is the possibility that the investigation could go all the way to the top , to the pope himself, who has much to answer for in the realm of child abuse cover-up.

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Can't you just hear the shrieks of religious based bigotry coming from the lips of Peter King and blowhard Bill Donohue of the Catholic League? It would be delicious to watch!!

Thursday Male Beauty

Exposing the "Ex-Gay" Myth - Exodus Head Admits It Isn't True

Yesterday I vented at the idiocy - and underwriting of bigotry - of Apple allowing iPhone and iPad applications for Exodus International. That Christian Right funded organization that deliberately spreads the lie for political purposes (and, of course, the money they shake down from desperate parents and individuals). Well interestingly enough - although it's no real surprise to anyone who has followed the utterly fraudulent "ex-gay" ministries for any period of time - the head of Exodus International has apparently admitted that despite the propaganda he puts out, he's still gay. Lisa Ling, of the Oprah Network, went on the The View yesterday and said that the head of Exodus International, the supposed "ex-gay" ministry that pretends to believe that you can "pray away the gay," admitted to her that even he hasn't changed his sexual orientation. Yep, it's all a lie. A deadly and deliberately deceptive lie. Here some highlights from the clip set out below:
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LISA LING: The truth of the matter is that he, and people who are part of the Exodus movement - we spent a lot of time with them, got exclusive access into the Exodus movement - they say that you can't completely turn it off, you can't change your sexual orientation. But you can try to live a life according to what the Bible says, with help.
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BARBARA WALTERS: You talked to a great many people, as you say all around the country.
Do you think it is possible to change your sexuality, is that what you've come to as a conclusion.
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LISA LING: Even the head of Exodus says he doesn't believe you can change your sexual orientation. He says that he constantly has to fight his attraction for men.
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And what about the straight spouses who get caught up in marriages (marriages that are doomed to fail) with those trying to convince themselves that they are no longer gay? They apparently do not matter to the Christo-fascists who back these programs who apparently view their wrecked lives as acceptable collateral damage in the war to denigrate and marginalize LGBT individuals. These people make the nastiest prostitute look virtuous.

Swedish Footballer Anton Hysen: I'm Gay

Given the still too wide spread homophobia that exists in the realm of professional sports, I salute the decision of Swedish football star, Anton Hysen (pictured), to come out of the closet during an interview with Sweden’s Offside magazine. Hysen is a star in his own right and also the son of of famed Swedish player Glenn Hysen, a former defender for Liverpool FC and Anton’s current coach at Utsiktens BK of the Swedish second division. I believe that by coming out - be one an attorney, police officer, military service member, or some other profession - is the best and quickest way to destroy the anti-gay stereotypes disseminated constantly by the hate merchants of the professional Christian set and similar bigots. With NOM poised to throw $1 million - wouldn't it be nice to know the source of that money? - into anti-gay propaganda in Maryland, the importance of having recognizable out gay role models cannot be stressed enough. Here are highlights from the Good Men Project:
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Hysen told Offside:
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I want to prove that there is no big deal if I’m a footballer and also gay. If I perform as a footballer, then I do not think it matters if I like men or women.
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He continued:
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There will always be people who can’t tolerate gay people, just like there are people who can’t tolerate immigrants. A club might be interested in me and then the coach might change his mind if he finds out I’m gay, but that is his problem not mine.
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There are no openly gay soccer players in any professional divisions across Europe. To this, Hysen added:
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“It’s totally sick when you think about it. It’s so f****d up, everything. Where the hell is everyone else?”
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Homophobia has long been a problem in European soccer. The last professional soccer player to come out while still playing was Justin Fashnaru, who came out in 1991 and tragically took his own life seven years later.
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Where is everyone else? Hiding in the closet - most likely on the advice of their agents and coaches. Living in the closet is so spiritually destructive. I hope Hysen has much success and dispels the lie that one cannot be out and successful in sports.

More Wednesday Male Beauty

Whack Jobs at Focus On The Family Target Lady Gaga

The Christo-fascists at Focus on the Family are now targeting Lady Gaga because - well, because she doesn't subscribe to the intolerant, hate-filled religious beliefs of the Christian Taliban set. Never mind that the U. S. Constitution guarantees that ALL citizens have the right to freedom of religion. That's right, citizens have the right to be Christian, Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim or - gasp - an Atheist. This fact is recognized by Lady Gaga (and other rational Americans) much to the chagrin and constipation of Jim Daly, the head of Focus on the Family, who is demonstrating that FOTF is little changed from when under Daddy Dobson's egomaniacal leadership. I applaud Gaga's outspoken support for LGBT citizens and hope she continues to open the minds of her "little monsters" to embrace LGBT equality. Right Wing Watch looks at Daly's rant against Lady Gaga. Here are some highlights:
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[T]he organization [FOTF] is now taking a stand against Lady Gaga. While Lady Gaga is a leading advocate of LGBT equality, Focus on the Family consistently lobbies against gay rights and is a chief sponsor of “reparative therapy” for gays and lesbians. Jim Daly, the head of Focus on the Family, writes about Lady Gaga’s Born This Way, and unsurprisingly finds her music and message deeply troubling. In his critique, Daly claims that people can be “set free from homosexuality,” and compares homosexuality to adultery.
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[W]hen millions of young people download her music and watch her videos, parents are wise to take note of what the hype and hoopla is all about. In Born This Way, the claim is made that you’re born either heterosexual or homosexual. Don’t fight it - simply accept and embrace it.
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That a song advocating for a genetic determinative for homosexuality sits atop the charts is disconcerting, but not entirely shocking. From the outside looking in, two things strike me.
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First, by Stefani Germanotta’s own admission, she’s built her entire persona and celebrity on a platform that’s anything but typical. She is playing a part, a role, and not living as she would outside the bright lights. Put another way, Lady Gaga was clearly not born this way.
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Second, and more importantly, the message found within the lyrics of Born This Way is in stark contrast to the message of the Gospel. All of us are born into sin, the Bible tells us, with desires and resulting actions that separate us from God and put us at odds with His blueprint for our lives. But the Good News is we’re not hopelessly trapped in our sin and failure. Despite the fact that we were “born this way,” each of us can be set free – from homosexuality, or heterosexual sex outside of marriage, or pornography, or greed, or gossip, or any other human shortcoming – to be the men and women God intended us to be.
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Sadly, Daly confirms that Christianists are incapable of being set free from deliberate, pathological lying. Like many professional Christians, Daly proves the norm that if a "godly Christian's" lips are moving, odds are that he/she is lying.

Apple iPhones, iPads, the "Ex-gay" Lie and Gay Teen Suicides

I began my activism working with Wayne Besen to help expose former "ex-gay" poster by Michael Johnston as a fraud. For those unfamiliar with Michael Johnston, he appeared in a national anti-gay campaign backed by a veritable who's who of the Christian Right. Johnston and his backers pretended that by "accepting Jesus" Johnston became miraculously became straight. The only problem was that back in his native Hampton Roads, Johnston was sleeping around with men and leaving out the important detail that he was HIV+. Given Johnston's example of how fraudulent the "ex-gay" story line is in fact, not to mention the fact that the APA has condemned reparative therapy as unethical, one can only WTF Apple was thinking when it allowed an iPhone application for Exodus International? Are the folks at Apple gearing one up for the KKK as their next offering? John Aravoisis at America Blog sums up mu thoughts fairly accurately:
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Pardon my French, but WTF? Why does Apple require you to click some "yes I'm old enough" button when downloading gay apps on the iPhone, but when downloading "ex-gay" apps - i.e., apps built by hateful anti-gay bigots who falsely tell young impressionable children that they can pray away the gay - Apple has no restrictions at all on that app. In spite of the fact that federal statistics show 1 in 3 gay kids tries to commit suicide. In spite of the fact that the very first thing in the FAQ of the app is focused at kids.
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This is akin to giving children medical advice from a quack. These people are telling children that they can be cured of their homosexuality. That is a medical opinion, and it a completely false one that has been debunked for years. Does Apple allow other apps to give children fake medical advice on the iPhone?
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When the first kid kills himself after downloading this app, what is Apple going to say then? Not very good publicity for the iPhone or the iPad, helping push young impressionable troubled kids over the edge.
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I've never owned an Apple product and, based on this irresponsible involvement with Exodus International, I never will. Apple needs to re-think this pact with the Devil now and drop the Exodus International application.

HRBOR March Third Thursday is March 17 at The Artist Gallery in Virginia Beach

I encourage local readers to join HRBOR for its March Third Thursday on March 17th at The Artist Gallery on Norfolk Avenue near the Oceanfront. Past HRBOR events at the Artist Gallery have been wonderful and this year's visit will be outstanding as well. To help celebrate their current show "It's Raining Cats and Dogs," the Artist Gallery invites our members and guests to email in advance jpeg photos of your favorite pet past and present to vbumatay@gmail.com or martine4art@cox.net. The Artist Gallery will also be collecting no perishable pet items/food and/or monetary donations to the SPCA. Here are more details:

Just off the Virginia Beach Oceanfront lies a hidden treasure of original artwork. The Artists Gallery, established over 20 years ago, boasts an eclectic collection of fine art by award-winning local artists. Pieces range from vibrant seascapes, to detailed still-lifes, to funky and fun contemporary art. Many of these artists regularly participate in the renowned Neptune and Boardwalk Art Festivals.

Who: Hampton Roads Business OutReach

What: Third Thursday Business Networking Event

Where: The Artist Gallery

When: March 17, 2011 from 6:00 to 8:00 PM

608 Norfolk Avenue Virginia Beach VA 23451 757-425-6671

http://www.theartistsgallery.org/

Parking: Parking is available in a large parking lot behind the Gallery.

Attention Members & Guests: The Southeastern Virginia Foodbank is in dire need of Food. Please bring canned food items to help re-stock their empty shelves.

Wednesday Male Beauty

A Last Chance to Stabilize the Housing Market?

Back in the summer of 2007 I began writing about the coming recession/depression that was being triggered by the collapse of the residential housing market. Alas, no one in Washington, D.C., seems to have paid any attention to the looming fiasco. The rest is history and the housing market - and the larger economy - have never recovered from the missed opportunity to create a real solution to the still unfolding problem. For anyone trying to assist distressed homeowners, the process is beyond maddening and despite alleged programs for methods to assist homeowners who have lost jobs or find themselves upside down on their mortgages because of collapsed home prices, typically NOTHING is done and the homes end up in foreclosure. Which only serves to drive prices lower still and add to the number of homes facing foreclosure. Here in the Hampton Roads area, 24% of mortgages are said to be upside down. Now, as Ezra Klein at the Washington Post is reporting there may be a last chance for a meaningful fix to the problem. Personally, I am not holding my breath. Here are highlights (the referenced draft settlement can be found here):
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My colleagues Brady Dennis and Dina El Boghdady got their hands on an early version of the settlement that the country's attorney generals and a few federal agencies are hammering out with the big banks. This is the endgame to the mortgage servicing mess that dominated the news some months ago: the banks, having repeatedly broken the law while handling mortgage paperwork and conducting foreclosures, need to strike some sort of deal with regulatory authorities so they're not nipped to death by thousands and thousands of lawsuits. That means the state AGs and regulators have some leverage: the banks need relief from them, and so the question is how much relief they can get for homeowners in turn.
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The hope is that they can get something capable of stabilizing the housing market. For all that the economy is improving, housing remains a huge drag, with legitimate estimates suggesting we've still got as many as 11 million foreclosures in the pipeline. "The number one reason for nervousness about the economy in the next six to nine months is the foreclosure crisis," Moody's economist Mark Zandi told me last week.
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With Congress no longer interested in acting to ease the foreclosure crisis -- or, it seems, the jobs crisis -- this settlement is perhaps our last shot at stabilizing the housing market. The big thing that advocates are looking for is "principal modification": a process in which borrowers who are underwater on their homes would see the amount they owe to the bank reduced.
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The proposals attempt to address wide-ranging complaints about the servicing process. One would require the servicers to provide a single point of contact for borrowers looking to modify their loans. Another would require them to develop a portal that would allow borrowers to submit and track documents electronically in real time.The document also spells out the conditions under which servicers should consider principal reductions for certain borrowers.
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Currently, if one contacts a lender, expect to be transferred countless times, be told to call other telephone numbers, and after hours of effort to have achieved absolutely nothing. It is a disaster and economically, we are all paying the price. Well, most of us - obviously, not the top income brackets which are getting richer while the rest of us stagnate or lose income.

Army: Fort Eustis Soldiers "Erroneously" Punished Skipping Christian Concert

Back in August, 2010, we looked at the situation of U.S. Army troops who were punished for their refusal to attend the so-called "Commanding General's Spiritual Fitness Concerts." Huffington Post also looked at the outrage here. This Christian rock concert series was paid for with U.S. Army funds at the orders of Christianist wingnut commanding general, Maj. Gen. James E. Chambers (pictured at right), who has said he "was reborn as a Christian" at the age of sixteen." Sadly, the Army has decided to slap the wrist of a junior officer who has been made the scapegoat rather than address the impropriety of the forced concert series itself and to take disciplinary action against General Chambers. The efforts of Christianists in the military to force their religious beliefs on others is wrong and, indeed, a violation of the U. S. Constitution. Officers like General Chambers need to be removed from the military or reduced in rank to t a level where they cannot pull these kinds of outrages. Here are highlights from the Virginian Pilot on the Army's effort to sweep the matter under the rug:

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A staff sergeant erred when he banished dozens of soldiers to their barracks and ordered them to clean up after they refused to attend a Christian concert on a Virginia Army base last year, an investigation concluded.
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The actions of the staff sergeant, who was not named, were referred back to his battalion commander for nonjudicial action, according to Col. Daniel T. Williams, a spokesman for the Army's Document and Training Command, who detailed the findings of the investigation in a telephone interview. He said any punishment, if it occurred, would be kept confidential.
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"The command did not find sufficient evidence to indicate there was any malicious intent and therefore deferred any discipline down to the battalion command," Williams said.
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Mike Weinstein of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, which first reported complaints by the soldiers, described the investigation's conclusion as typical for the military. "Blame some lower-ranking enlisted guy who didn't know any better," he said in an interview. "That is just a completely inappropriate and disgraceful statement." Weinstein called the Christian concerts "an absolute attempt to establish fundamental Christianity in the military."
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About 20 [soldiers] including several Muslims, refused to attend based on religious beliefs, the solder said. Since then, the Army has reinforced the volunteer nature of the concerts through e-mails and training, Williams said.
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Let's be blunt. The concert series needs to end and those who implemented it in the first place need to be disciplined. This resolution is a farce and all too typical of the U.S. military.

More Tuesday Male Beauty

Philadelphia Archdiocese Places 21 Priests on Leave

My apologies for two posts on the Catholic Church in one day, but I felt it note worthy that the Archdiocese has placed 21 priests on leave in recognition of the credible claims of sexual abuse previously lodged against them. It is a sad commentary that it took two damning grand jury reports and a new lawsuit against the archdiocese to get this long over due action implemented by Cardinal Justin Rigali (pictured t left). It is also a strong indictment of the Church leadership that cared so little about the welfare of children and youths that these men were left in positions where they could potentially harm more minors. Welcome to the perverted priorities of the "princes of the Church" who can spend millions of dollars persecuting gays in committed relationships who seek civil law recognition yet leave child rapists where they can continue to prey on children and youths. Here are highlights from the Philadelphia Inquirer:
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The Archdiocese of Philadelphia announced this afternoon that it was putting on administrative leave 21 priests alleged to have behaved inappropriately with minors.
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The archdiocese said it was acting in response to a Feb. 10 Philadelphia grand jury report that found that 37 priests, accused or suspected of misbehavior with children, were serving in ministry. The archdiocese did not identify the priests by name.
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The grand jury said it had learned directly from the archdiocese that least 37 priests remained in ministry despite what the jury called "substantial evidence of abuse," but said it had seen the files of only about 20.
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Of those files it reviewed, it [the grand jury] asserted the archdiocese had dismissed credible abuse allegations on flimsy pretexts, such as a victims misremembering the layout of a rectory, or the year in which the priest served. "We understand that accusations are not proof," the grand jury wrote, "but we just cannot understand the Archdiocese's apparent absence of any sense of urgency."

Safe Schools Act Reintroduced in U. S. Senate With GOP Sponsor

The Safe Schools Improvement Act has been reintroduced in the United States Senate by Senator Bob Casey (D-PA)and lead cosponsor Senator. Mark Kirk (R-IL) - along with 15 other cosponsors. This is the first time that a Senate bill specifically addressing bullying and harassment due to actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity has been introduced with bipartisan support. I applaud Senator Kirk and members of the GOP supporting the bill's introduction. While legislation of this type should be a non-issue to sentient, rational individuals, the forces of the Christianist dark side of the Force, if you will, consistently oppose any legislation that might impede the ability of Christo-fascists to make life a living Hell for LGBT Teens. It's certainly not something that I believe Christ would support, but its indicative of the foul and perverse poison Christianity has become under the harlots of the professional Christian set and hate groups such as Family Research Council and the American Family Association. Here are highlights from the Windy City Times:
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The Safe Schools Improvement Act, which is endorsed by the over 80 members of the GLSEN-led National Safe Schools Partnership, would require schools to implement comprehensive anti-bullying policies that address bullying and harassment and ensure the safety and well-being of all their students. In the last Congress, the Senate and House versions finished the Congress with, respectively, 17 and 131 bipartisan cosponsors. A bipartisan House bill is also expected to be introduced in the coming weeks by Rep. Linda Sanchez.
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"Anti-LGBT harassment hurts the children of both Democrats and Republicans, as do all of the forms of bullying and harassment addressed by this important bill," GLSEN Executive Director Eliza Byard said. "Senators Casey and Kirk show we all share a common vision of schools that keep students safe and focused on learning.
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Said Sen. Casey: "I am pleased to introduce the Safe Schools Improvement Act to help ensure that every child receives a quality education that builds self-confidence. This bill is a crucial step towards ensuring that no child is so afraid to go to school that he or she stays home for fear of bullying."
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Nearly two-thirds of middle and high school students (65%) said they had been bullied in school in the past year, according to From Teasing to Torment: School Climate in America, a 2005 report from GLSEN and Harris Interactive that surveyed more than 3,000 students. Students at schools with a comprehensive anti-bullying policy similar to the one required by the Safe Schools Improvement Act were less likely than other students to report a serious harassment problem at their school (33% vs. 44%).
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LGBT students experience bullying and harassment at an even more alarming rate. Nearly 9 out of 10 LGBT students (84.6%) said they've been harassed in the past year because of their sexual orientation and 63.7% because of their gender expression.
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"Every child has a right to a safe place to learn," said NEA President Dennis Van Roekel. "NEA strongly supports the Safe Schools Improvement Act and ridding schools of bullying and harassment. Our children are America's greatest resource. And as educators, we want nothing more than to create a climate of civility and respect for all students, including LGBT students, in every public school."

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It would be wonderful if the bill passes both houses of Congress, but for that to happen politicians will need to stop prostituting themselves to Christianist extremists and put the welfare of children and youths first. Sadly, that may be expecting too much from today's GOP.

Nearly Three-Quarters of Irish Favour of Gay Marriage

In yet another sign of the death spiral enveloping the Roman Catholic Church in terms of its ability to sway public opinion in Ireland, a new poll indicates that nearly 2/3's of the population of the Irish Republic support same sex marriage. The poll results are indicative of the modernity that has been embraced by the Irish and the devastating effect the Church's nonstop sex abuse scandal has had in depriving the Church of any shred of moral authority. With the renewed scandal in Philadelphia, one can only hope for a similar result in the USA. Here are highlights from The Journal on these latest poll results:
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ALMOST THREE-QUARTERS of people in Ireland are in favour of gay marriage according to a new poll published today.
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A Sunday Times/Red C poll found that 73 per cent of people agree that gay couples should be allowed to marry with 53 per cent of those agreeing strongly with the idea.
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A total of 14 per cent strongly disagree with the idea while 8 per cent disagree slightly. The poll found that women were more likely to agree with the idea of gay marriage than men by a difference of 16 per cent.
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Three in five also believe that gay couples should be allowed to adopt children, according to the poll.

Tuesday Male Beauty

Religious Right Forming It Own "Army" to Take Over Government

The sense of entitlement and quest for special rights that trample on the rights of others so prevalent among Christianists is no better exemplified than by a story being reported by Right Wing Watch that looks at the Christian dominionist goals of some of the leading haters in our society today. Not surprisingly, up to his eye balls in the plot is Tony Perkins, head of the registered hate group Family Research Council. The open contempt that these individuals feel for the religious freedom of others and their desire to establish a Christianist equivalent of Sharia law is absolutely chilling. Yet too many in the main stream media continue to refuse to expose them for what they truly are. Here are highlights from Right Wing Watch:
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For months now, we have been chronicling how self-described prophets and apostles have been merging 7 Mountains/Dominionism with "mainstream" Religious Right activism ... and increasingly the man at the center of this appears to be the Family Research Council's Tony Perkins.
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Just today we noted that Joyner, Jerry Boykin, and Janet Porter were gathering for a conference next month and as I was looking for more information about that, I stumbled across this video of Perkins, Joyner, Boykin and Frank Turek discussing the importance of Christians getting deeply involved in politics. Perkins explains the absolute necessity of getting Christians into all levels of government
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Finally, Joyner announced that Christians have more than enough people to take control, but they need to bind together and, as such, would soon be unveiling coalition called "300."

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Go to the Right Wing Watch page to watch the theocratic scheming of these extremists who are a threat to civil liberties for all under the U.S. Constitution.

Medical Examiner Rules Gay Minnesota Teen Killed Himself

Following up on a topic addressed yesterday, the death of Minnesota teenager Lance Lundsten (pictured at right) has been ruled a suicide by the Douglas County medical examiner, adding to the death toll of gay teen suicide. The number of needlessly lost lives to bullying and a society where religious based prejudice against LGBT individuals remains rampant - and fanned by folks like Tony Perkins and Maggie Gallagher in large part to enrich themselves - is sickening. The Advocate has details on the medical examiner's ruling and here are some highlights:
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After nearly two months of speculation and controversy, the death of Minnesota teenager Lance Lundsten has been ruled a suicide by the Douglas County medical examiner.
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The 18-year-old gay high school senior, whose death contributed to a national conversation about teen bullying and suicide, was found at his home around 10 p.m. January 15 in need of medical care. Officers rushed Lundsten to the Douglas County Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.
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While Lundsten’s family believed the teen died from a medical condition, rumors circulated that Lance had committed suicide after being bullied at school for being gay.
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On Monday medical examiner Mark Spanbauer confirmed that the case had officially been ruled a suicide, according to KSAX.com. Spanbauer said the toxicology report from the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and MEDTOX determined that Lunsten had died from ingesting mixed drugs.
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As KSAX-TV reports in part, Lundsten was the victim of bullying by the accounts of his peers. This sense of entitlement to bully and denigrate others is openly supported by Christianists and whore like professional Christians such as those named above. It's a prime example of the special rights that Christianists want for themselves while accusing others of their own motivations.

New Lawsuit Against Catholic Church in Philadelphia - Prosecutor Looking At Former Archbishop's Role

The Catholic Church sex abuse scandal in Philadelphia continues to mushroom as a new law suit is about to be filed and the county prosecutor announced that it will undertake a review of all abuse cases reported during former Archbishop, Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua's tenure. Although it would be wonderful to see Bevilacqua (pictured at left) indicted, sadly due to his age and health issues such is unlikely to happen. Nothing would be more appropriate than to see some members of the high Church hierarchy behind bars for what in any other situation would be easily classified as a criminal conspiracy to obstruct justice. Failing such an indictment, it is important that all the ugly details possible come out so that practicing Catholics are forced to face the fact that they are financially underwriting a criminal enterprise. The Philadelphia Inquirer looks at the prosecutor's announced review plan. Here are some highlights:
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Two grand juries lambasted him and all but branded him a criminal. One said Cardinal Anthony J. Bevilacqua had "excused and enabled" sexual abuse by priests in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia, then launched a massive cover-up, delaying public revelation of the crimes until it was too late to prosecute.
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The second said sexual abuse was "known, tolerated, and hidden by high church officials, up to and including the cardinal himself." But Bevilacqua will likely answer to none of it. At 87, the cardinal is infirm and suffering from cancer and dementia, his doctors say.
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Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. said Friday that in response to the Philadelphia grand jury's latest findings, his office had begun a review of all abuse cases reported during Bevilacqua's Pittsburgh tenure. He was head of that diocese from 1983 to 1988.
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Last month, a victims group released documents showing that Bevilacqua, while an auxiliary bishop in Brooklyn in the early 1980s, recommended that a chronically abusive priest be sent to another diocese. There, the priest abused two more children.
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Msgr. William J. Lynn, charged with child endangerment after the recent grand jury concluded that he shielded abusive priests, was simply doing his boss' bidding, the panel said. "Msgr. Lynn was carrying out the cardinal's policies exactly as the cardinal directed," it said.
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Both grand juries said Bevilacqua was obsessed with the church's public image. To avoid scandal, they said, he took pains to ensure that potentially damaging information was kept secret. When one priest was reassigned because of improper behavior with boys, for example, parishioners were told to pray for him because he had Lyme disease.
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The first grand-jury report, which shocked Catholics and others across the region, also found that: When a seminarian told church officials that a Philadelphia priest had abused him as a teen, they worried he might sue. Bevilacqua then ordered an investigation of the seminarian. The priest, later found to have abused "countless" boys, remained in ministry for a decade. Bevilacqua retained and promoted a priest who had molested more than a dozen girls despite complaints against him that included an eyewitness account from another priest.
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I sincerely hope that the prosecutor's office will expose to the bright light of day every foul and morally bankrupt decision of Bevilacqua to sacrifice the lives of children to sexual predators. Meanwhile, CNN has these details on a new lawsuit to be filed against the archdiocese:
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"The Lawsuit will allege that Archdiocese officials conspired to endanger the safety of the Plaintiff when they actively concealed their knowledge of (a) priest's previous offenses, lied to parishioners, and created a sham sexual abuse victim assistance program for the Archdiocese," according to a news release announcing the lawsuit.
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[T]he lawsuit names seven parties in the complaint, including the archdiocese; Cardinal Justin Rigali, the current archbishop; Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua, a former archbishop; and Monsignor William Lynn, a former top aide to Bevilacqua. The suit accuses the defendants of conspiracy to endanger children, fraudulent concealment and actual fraud.
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The documents obtained by the victims' organization "essentially show that from the earliest days of his career, Bevilacqua has ignored and concealed child sex crimes," said David Clohessy, the group's national director.
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From 1992 until 2004, Lynn was responsible for investigating reports that priests had sexually abused children, the district attorney's office said. The grand jury found that Lynn, 60, endangered children by knowingly allowing dangerous priests to continue in the ministry in roles in which they had access to kids.
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The Church hierarchy is a veritable cesspool, yet practicing Catholic continue to give money to their parishes, a portion of which supports the high clerics who protect and enable child rapists. Rather than worry about same sex marriage, Maggie Gallagher ought to be spending her time demanding a thorough house cleaning in her Church. The fact that she doesn't do so speaks volumes about her own moral bankruptcy.