More Saturday Male Beauty

U.S. and Allied Forces Fire Back on Gadhafi's Forces

After the Chimperator's fools errand in Iraq I will concede that I am a bit gun shy on more additional U.S. involvement in the Middle East or North Africa. That said, I have real problems with the use of military forces against civilians and unconscionable brutality by a tyrant who shows signs of insanity and a total disregard for the lives of his people. At this point in time, I therefore hesitantly support the actions of the USA and its allies to stop the slaughter of civilians by megalomaniac Moammar Gadhafi. I shudder at the needless loss of lives and damage to Libya's infrastructure. It speaks volumes when a so-called leader is willing to murder civilians and destroy his country in order to maintain personal dictatorial power. CNN has these developments on events in Libya:
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Explosions and anti-aircraft fire thundered in the skies above Tripoli early Sunday, but it was not clear whether they resulted from another round of cruise missile attacks by allies determined to stop Moammar Gadhafi's offensive against Libyan opposition forces.
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American, French and British military forces, convinced that Gadhafi was not adhering to a United Nations-mandated cease-fire, hammered Libyan military positions with missiles and fighter jets in the first phase of an operation that will include enforcement of a no-fly zone.

More than 110 Tomahawk missiles fired from American and British ships and submarines hit about 20 Libyan air and missile defense targets in western portions of the country, U.S. Vice Adm. William Gortney said at a Pentagon briefing.
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The U.S. will conduct a damage assessment of the sites, which include SA-5 missiles and communications facilities. A senior U.S. military official, who was not authorized to speak on the record, said the cruise missiles, which fly close to the ground or sea at about 550 miles per hour, landed near Misrata and Tripoli.
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The salvo, in an operation dubbed "Odyssey Dawn," was meant "to deny the Libyan regime from using force against its own people," said Gortney.
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U.S. Navy photos showed flashes of light and smoke funnels as missiles soared from a destroyer into the night sky.
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Earlier, French fighter jets deployed over Libya fired at a military vehicle Saturday, the first strike against Gadhafi's military forces, which earlier attacked the rebel stronghold of Benghazi.
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An eyewitness in Misrata said Gadhafi's forces are targeting fuel and power stations in an effort to make citizens believe the damage is being done by coalition forces. The eyewitness, who was not identified for security reasons, said people celebrated allied airstrikes on loyalist positions in the city. CNN could not verify the account.
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Shortly after the first missile attacks, U.S. President Barack Obama informed the American people of the efforts by a "broad coalition."
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"The use of force is not our first choice," the president said from Brasilia, Brazil. "It is not a choice I make lightly. But we cannot stand idly by when a tyrant tells his own people that there will be no mercy."
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I have little confidence in Obama. However, from the news reports I have seen to date, I believe that intervention in Libya is perhaps the right thing to do. I shudder to think what Gadhafi will to those deemed rebels should he prevail. Where it will all end is anyone's guess.

The Abandonment of the Unemployed

It's a sad commentary on the state of U.S. politics that there seems to have been a near complete abandoment of the unemployed. The most glaring disconnect is, of course, amongst Republicans and their Christianist allies who give great lip service to worshiping religion and the Bible, but who seem to have utterly forgotten the Gospel message of giving aid to the poor and unfortunate. Too me, it is yet another aspect of so-called conservative Christianity becoming an increasingly self-centered and hate based belief system where anyone outside the Christianist tent is deemed expendable - if not in need of eradication. Many are unemployed through no fault of their own - I have a friend who lost his job in the mortgage industry who spent months looking for work before securing a less than desirable job. Rather than deal with this serious problem, the GOP prefers to defend DOMA and push insane bills like that of Randy Forbes discussed in previous pot this morning. Paul Krugman has a column in the New York Times that looks at this disturbing phenomenon. Here are some highlights:
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More than three years after we entered the worst economic slump since the 1930s, a strange and disturbing thing has happened to our political discourse: Washington has lost interest in the unemployed.
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Jobs do get mentioned now and then — and a few political figures, notably Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic leader in the House, are still trying to get some kind of action. But no jobs bills have been introduced in Congress, no job-creation plans have been advanced by the White House and all the policy focus seems to be on spending cuts.
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So one-sixth of America’s workers — all those who can’t find any job or are stuck with part-time work when they want a full-time job — have, in effect, been abandoned.
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[W]e’re well on the way to creating a permanent underclass of the jobless. Why doesn’t Washington care? Part of the answer may be that while those who are unemployed tend to stay unemployed, those who still have jobs are feeling more secure than they did a couple of years ago.
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Yet polls indicate that voters still care much more about jobs than they do about the budget deficit. So it’s quite remarkable that inside the Beltway, it’s just the opposite. What makes this even more remarkable is the fact that the economic arguments used to justify the D.C. deficit obsession have been repeatedly refuted by experience.
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I still don’t know why the Obama administration was so quick to accept defeat in the war of ideas, but the fact is that it surrendered very early in the game. In early 2009, John Boehner, now the speaker of the House, was widely and rightly mocked for declaring that since families were suffering, the government should tighten its own belt. That’s Herbert Hoover economics, and it’s as wrong now as it was in the 1930s. But, in the 2010 State of the Union address, President Obama adopted exactly the same metaphor and began using it incessantly.
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So who pays the price for this unfortunate bipartisanship? The increasingly hopeless unemployed, of course. And the worst hit will be young workers — a point made in 2009 by Peter Orszag, then the White House budget director.
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So the next time you hear some Republican declaring that he’s concerned about deficits because he cares about his children — or, for that matter, the next time you hear Mr. Obama talk about winning the future — you should remember that the clear and present danger to the prospects of young Americans isn’t the deficit. It’s the absence of jobs. But, as I said, these days Washington doesn’t seem to care about any of that.

Saturday Male Beauty

Has Congressman Randy Forbes Considered Emigrating to Iran?

Some may think the title of this post extreme, but I am way over the ever increasing insanity/blatant self-prostitution (I haven't figured out which it is) of my former law school classmate Randy Forbes. He is obsessed with intertwining religion and the secular government - forgetting, of course, that the Constitution prohibits it. With all the huge issues facing the nation - not to mention the economic stagnation and serious "brain drain" in his own district - what does Forbes worry about? Seeking to quasi-establish religion. That's right, Forbes has introduced a bill to reaffirm "In God We Trust" as the national motto of the United States, and encourage its public display in all public buildings, public schools, and other government institutions. Forget about the nation's crumbling infrastructure, severe dependence on foreign oil, the rising sea levels threatening portions of his district, the struggling economy. Nope, none of these issues apparently matter to Forbes who is prostituting himself to please the coven of religious extremists at The Family Foundation and its allied organizations that want a theocracy in this country. If Randy wants a theocracy, he ought to emigrate to Iran where he'd quickly get a taste of what he seems to want so badly. Here are highlights from Caution Church Ahead that roundly thrashes Mr. Forbes:
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This is just getting out of hand, as more and more real Americans find their way out of the morass of bullshit fundamentalist religion, a small cadre of lunatics keep trying to legislatively drag us back to the dark ages. It's time to stand up to these repugnant bullies and demand that our country stay free for people of all, and no, faith.
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The House of Representatives Judiciary Committee will vote today on whether to reaffirm "In God We Trust" as the national motto of the United States, and encourage its public display in all public buildings, public schools, and other government institutions.
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Congressman Randy Forbes (R-VA) is behind this resolution -- it may be said that he's leading the current legislative effort to confuse church and state. He and 64 co-sponsors (nearly all Republicans -- see list below) are hoping that the resolution's passage will encourage public display of "In God We Trust" in public schools and buildings -- a wholly unsavory practice that establishes one religious perspective (that of theism) as official, national, and patriotic . . .
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Congressman Forbes recently told Politico, "to a lot of people, the fact that this country was built on faith, the fact that faith is important, 'In God We Trust' is important." Of course, to a lot of people, that sounds like balderdash. This country was built on a Constitution, and according to that Constitution, the government is not to use its authority to promote any position on the questions of religion, theistic or atheistic.
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Please call 202-224-3121 and encourage him or her [your member of Congress] to defend freedom of conscience and the separation of church of state, by voting against this resolution.
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Use this webform, http://action.au.org/au/issues/alert/?alertid=35875506, to instantly contact your Congressperson.

New Washington Post-ABC Poll: Slim Majority Back Gay Marriage

A new Washington Post-ABC News poll has again shown that the Christianists are slowly losing their war against LGBT citizens and same sex marriage in particular. We can expect the shrill hysteria from self-enriching political whore Maggie Gallagher, KKK loving Tony Perkins (who must be incensed by the mixed race couple in the photo above), self-loathing closet case Bob Knight, and, of course white supremacist/homophobe manipulated black pastors, to increase much like anti-black hysteria increased in the South in the early 1960's (sadly, I'm old enough to recall watching TV coverage of segregationist violence in my pre-teen and teenage years). In the longer term, one can only hope that the increased stridency and untruthfulness of the opponents of equality will help to hasten the demise of their support in the larger public. The day cannot come soon enough in my book when the vast majority of the population will realize that if a Christianist's lips are moving, the safest assumption is to presume the statements being made are deliberate lies and/or reflect a religious extremism akin to that of the Taliban. The Washington Post has coverage on the poll and here are some highlights:
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A slim majority of Americans now support gay marriage, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll. The results underscore the nation’s increasingly tolerant views about homosexuals, and parallel a string of recent legal and legislative victories for gay rights advocates.
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Five years ago, at 36 percent, support for gay marriage barely topped a third of all Americans. Now, 53 percent say gay marriage should be legal, marking the first time in Post-ABC polling that a majority has said so.
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“This is very consistent with a lot of other polling data we’ve seen and the general momentum we’ve seen over the past year and a half,” said Evan Wolfson, president of Freedom to Marry, a leading pro-gay-marriage group. “As people have come to understand this is about loving, committed families dealing, like everyone, with tough times, they understand how unfair it is to treat them differently.”
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Opponents of same-sex marriage took issue with the poll, which asks respondents: “Do you think it should be legal or illegal for gay and lesbian couples to get married?”
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Post-ABC News polls have used the same “legal or illegal” wording in every poll about same-sex marriage since 2003. Other surveys by the Pew Research Center, the Associated Press and CNN show similar trends.
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Men, who previously were less supportive of same-sex marriage than women, now back it at the same rate. Support among college-educated whites, political independents and people who do not consider themselves religious also rose substantially. Republicans, conservatives and white evangelical Christians remain the groups most opposed to legalizing gay marriage.
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This week, Democrats introduced bills to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act and noted how the tables have turned. “What do I say to the idea that this is a wedge issue? I say ‘Hallelujah,’ ” Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), who is gay, told reporters, according to the liberal Web site Talking Points Memo. “The fact that we’ve now evolved to the point where the Republicans are complaining about the fact that we introduced this bill because it causes them political problems is a great sign of progress. It used to be the other way around.”

Why do African-American Homophobes Ignore Bayard Rustin?

Recently, I have vented somewhat about the sad manner in which - at least in my opinion - the black community and black pastors continue to allow themselves to be cynically used and manipulated by white Christianist organizations that, truth be told, have contempt for blacks. Over the years I have followed many of the leading anti-gay "Christian" and "family values" organizations and perused their websites. It quickly becomes clear that many in these organizations hold views not too distant from those of the KKK when it comes to issues of racial equality. Yet time and again - most recently in Maryland - these anti-gay, anti-black, anti-Hispanic, and anti-immigrant organizations orchestrate black pastors like trained dogs to do their bidding to preserve a culture of discrimination and intolerance. Here in Virginia, it is nauseating to watch The Family Foundation (a toxic affiliate of Daddy Dobson's Focus on the Family) pull the puppet strings of black churches - some right in Norfolk within not too many blocks of my office.

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In this situation, blogger friend Alvin McEwen ask the pertinent question of why black pastors and other homophobes in the black community refuse to recognize that it was a gay man, Bayard Rustin, who played a major role in Martin Luther King's successful efforts to end segregation and bring civil equality? (A link to an account of Rustin's crucial role in the March on Washington is here) It's a question that needs asking over and over again and a subject on which those who allow their ignorance and prejudice to make them willing tools of those who despise them need to be educated. Here are highlights from Alvin's recent post (For those who may not know, Alvin is black himself - not that skin color should matter):
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Another day goes by and another ignorant black preacher sets himself up as the arbiter of just what the civil rights movement was all about. This time, it was in Iowa: Speaking before a conservative-minded crowd of around 400 on the west steps of the Capitol, Rev. Keith Ratliff criticized gay rights activists for equating their struggle with the civil rights movement of 50 years ago.
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Every time I hear an African-American leader make such statement, I always wish I could ask that leader about this man, Bayard Rustin: Bayard Rustin was an African-American openly gay aide of Martin Luther King, Jr. He organized the 1963 March on Washington. If it weren’t for him, that march would NOT have been a success.
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Yet throughout all of this, Rustin was never given an acknowledgment or credit BECAUSE he was openly gay. In a history of a movement fighting for basic dignity and humanity, you have a key fighter who was “buked, scorned, and overlooked” simply because of his sexual orientation.
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Common sense would propel one to say that this proves the kindred spirit held by both the lgbt and African-American movements for equality and dignity. How many African-Americans were overlooked because of their color? How many were kicked aside and treated badly because of the color of their skin?
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Someone please tell me the difference between disrespecting someone based on racial prejudice and doing the same thing based on homophobia. Is the feeling of being treated less than a man or a woman any different when it’s done to you based on sexual orientation rather than race?
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It just goes to show how clueless folks like Mr. Ratliff are and how they have transformed the greatness of the civil rights movement into a mockery by placing themselves as the spokespeople and the arbiters of just what it was all about.
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The civil rights movement was not solely about African-American civil rights. It was about rights in general, most specifically the right to be treated like a decent human being in spite of differences. In the grand scheme of things, it’s no different than the Solidarity Movement in Poland, the Women’s Right Movement worldwide, or yes, the LGBT Rights Movement worldwide.
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The desire for dignity and self-determination is universal. It crosses all genders, ethnicities and sexual orientations. No amount of fancy speeches will change that. And no amount of individuals gaining their reputations from exploiting the blood, sweat, and toil of those who sacrificed themselves long ago will ever change that either.
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It drives me crazy that those who don't have a full and complete history willingly allow themselves to be co=opted by those who are actually their enemies.

Friday Male Beauty

"Godly Christian" - God Will Destroy America for Gay Marriage in Iowa

In follow up to the last post, here's another example of nasty and toxic hate being disseminated by a self-proclaimed Christian in Iowa. As Right Wing Watch reports the haters were out in force at a rally orchestrated by homophobe extraordinaire, Bob Vander Plaats, head of The Family Leader, the anti-gay Iowa group. During this clusterf*ck of hate, Cary Gordon of Cornerstone World Outreach engaged in a lengthy anti-gay rant as shown in the video below. Here's a summary of this "Christian" message:
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Cary Gordon of Cornerstone World Outreach launched a long diatribe against equal rights for gays and lesbians, and his church was a major player in the campaign against retaining three of the justices who backed marriage equality. One of his church members even publicized a video saying that equal marriage rights would lead to legalizing incest.

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14:00 into his speech, Gordon maintains that unless Iowans “protect the virtue of true Americanism from our own mental barbarians who attack our minds with the God-hating secularism of Europe,” like the Roman Empire “we too will be extinguished from the earth.”



Will there be any concerted push back by "good Christians"? Most likely not. I for one will not be holding my breath waiting for any high profile rebuke to this bigot. Oh yes, there will be churches and individuals who do good charitable works, but the silence will deafening in terms of any serious religious figure speaking out for gay marriage. Merely not throwing gays out of one's congregation and otherwise remaining silence is not a viable option for those Christians who do not want to be viewed as part of the problem.

Where Are the "Good" Christians?

Some readers from time to time complain that I am too hard on Christianity and that there are Christian denominations that actually do good works as opposed to the politically motivated professional Christians - e.g., Focus on the Family, Family Research Council, et al - who can best be defined by who they hate. And it's a long list of who these hate merchants hate and despise, with LGBT citizens often at the top of the list followed in alternating order by immigrants, non-Christians, and many others. I will concede that yes, there are Christians who do good works and actually try to follow the Gospel message. Unfortunately, most of the time they are on the side lines and never forcefully condemn and call out the professional Christian parasites and vitriolic anti-gay denominations like the Southern Baptist Convention, the Roman Catholic Church or the Mormon Church.
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Its one thing to occasionally publicly advocate for pro-LGBT legislation or to publicly oppose anti-LGBT legislation, Prop 8 being but one example. But where are these "good" denominations on a daily basis. My own ELCA parish, for example, does many good works. Yet on LGBT related issues, it remains mostly silent and measures go by the wayside out of a fear of upsetting the sensibilities of "conservative" parishioners. The same pattern can be seen in a leading Episcopal parish here in Hampton. No one has the backbone to call these conservatives out for what they truly are: bigots and homophobes - and false Christians. The silence is deafening most of the time and because of this silence spineless legislators allow themselves to be manipulated by the hate merchants who wrap themselves in religion.

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A case in point. As Jeremy Hooper reports at Good As You, Focus on the Family is opposing a civil unions bill in Colorado, calling the measure that would afford same sex couples legal protections "unnecessary." Jeremy has this to say:
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[L]et's get real: By "analysis," they mean "meticulous consultation of the same preconceived script from when Focus on the Family always operates." This organization has never shown even an ounce of willingness to consider something like civil unions. Hell, this is an organization that still puts "ex-gay" therapy front and center. For them, a compromise wouldn't be civil unions -- it'd be letting a gay person "change" yet still watch "Modern Family" on occasion.
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I concede that there are Christian and other religious groups who have voiced support for the proposed civil unions legislation in Colorado. But where are the press conferences, media stunts and concerted actions to rally church members to support the bill with the kind of vigor that the haters utilize daily? Sadly, they are largely non-existent and the field is by default yielded to the groups that make religion a force for evil.
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I subscribe to the theory that when good people do not actively and vocally oppose hate and evil, they become part of the problem. It's the "good German" phenomenon all over again. Too many of the "good Christians" continue to act like the "good Germans" did during the rise of Hitler.

New Lows for Catholic Church Apologists - Others Ask Why Doesn't the Laity Demad Accountability?

William Donohue often single handedly makes the case all on his own as to why anyone with a shred of morality ought to find it unconscionable to remain a practicing Roman Catholic. Donohue - who makes well in to the six figured by finding an anti-Catholic plot under every leaf and bush - has a new apologist propaganda piece out where his basic defense of the Church hierarchy's aiding and abetting of child rapists is more or less a bleat that "everyone is doing it"and he attempts to cite other institutions (e.g., public schools) as being worse than the Church. He conveniently omits, of course, that these other institutions don't hold themselves out as arbiters of morality in the manner in which the Church does, nor do they pontificate about who is "inherently disordered" while failing to take a good look in the mirror. Donohue's drivel makes nasty prostitutes look virtuous. Here are highlights of his ridiculous drivel from Spero News:
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Sexual abuse of minors is unfortunately a social problem that touches virtually every segment of the population where adults and minors interact on a regular basis. Nowhere is this less a problem today than in the Catholic Church.
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We know what's going on: get Catholics so riled up that they will demand the Church adopt the liberal agenda on sexuality. They just don't get it: it was the detour from orthodoxy that allowed the abuse scandal to take hold in the first place.
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No Mr. Donohue. That's not what's going on. The Church has engaged in a worldwide criminal conspiracy to obstruct justice and endanger children and youths while protecting sexual predators. It is way past time that Donohue and those like him got their head out of their ass and open their eyes. They have allowed their lives to be twisted and manipulated by a bunch of bitter old men in dresses who make the Mafia look honorable. The truth is sometimes unpleasant to face. but acting like a whore like sycophant does not solve the problem.

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Fortunately, there remain some Catholics who have (1) figured out that the Church hierarchy is a moral cesspool and (2) are basically asking WTF is wrong with the laity that they are allowing the hierarchy to get away with morally bankrupt and criminal behavior. One such piece is in the National Catholic Reporter. Here are some highlights:
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This past Ash Wednesday, while most Catholics were being told to turn away from sin, the faithful in Philadelphia were informed that the hierarchy had, once again, failed to do so themselves.
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After reading the details of this latest fallout of the church’s sex abuse epidemic, I am starting to wonder if there is anything left to say. For nine years we have heard unceasing, grim revelations about predatory priests and the bishops who protect them. Everyone knows it’s evil, it’s wrong, it’s the greatest stain on the sullied reputation of the Catholic Church.
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Even with so much already said, there is still one question that troubles me. Why are we, the Catholic laity, still letting the hierarchy get away with it?
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[W]hy isn’t everyone speaking out? Why isn’t every church-going Catholic demanding repentance and genuine reform from church authorities?
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[T]he sex abuse crisis is much deeper and darker. It’s about the rape, sodomy, and psychological abuse of children and adolescents by priests. It’s about church authorities going to great lengths to cover-up and to protect predators. The hierarchy cannot use the Bible, Canon Law, or tradition to defend themselves against these crimes.
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Many agree that the only way to get the church to respond in a decent and decisive manner is for the laity to withhold its money.
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Much as I agree that such a tactic would work, am I the only one sickened by the fact that depriving the church of financial support is the only way to shock them into acting with integrity?
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Again, I ask, how is the church still surviving amid such a legacy of sexualized violence? What other institution in the U.S. would still persist amid corruption of this nature? What is it that keeps all Catholics from calling the hierarchy to accountability for the crimes that they have committed against children and adolescents over many decades?
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If we truly believe that the Eucharist we receive is the body of Jesus, we must find the courage to oppose the religious leaders who continue to inflict harm on the body of Christ. So often we lament the lack of integrity in church authorities. But if we continue to remain immobilized by denial, weariness, or complacency, we may leave the next generations asking, where was the integrity of the laity?
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As I have noted many times before, the ONLY THING that will force accountability on the Church hierarchy is a massive defection of members - something that is hard to document given the Church's continued listing of individuals as members even when attendance and financial contributions have ceased absent a formal renunciation of the Church - and a massive decline in financial support. Practicing Catholics who continue to attend mass and to contribute money like mindless sheep are in reality accessories to sexual abuse and the obstruction of justice. Such individuals - including some of my family members - need to seriously open their eyes to reality and vote with their feet.

Thursday Male Beauty

Obama and Afghanistan - Torture and Horrors in the Field Continue

I have been appalled by the manner in which the Obama administration - despite Obama's campaign rhetoric - has more or less allowed all of the misdeeds (dare we say war crimes) prevalent under the rule of the Chimperator and Emperor Palpatine Cheney to largely continue. This sad reality does much to destroy Obama's credibility in my eyes and in the eyes of others and also raises serious questions of morality. While Obama tries to continue to play cute with his stance on social issues in frequent appeasement of the Christianists - e.g., his position of gay marriage and rampant Christianist activities in the military - the reality is that many of the crimes and denigration of civil rights that occurred under Bush/Cheney continue unabated. A post on America Blog reviews portions of a speech given by award-winning investigative journalist Seymour Hersh in January 2011, as reported in Foreign Policy magazine. Much of it is not pretty and I can only believe that U.S. actions are creating future generations with strong anti-American beliefs. The opportunity to change things in Afghanistan - if it ever existed - has long passed and we do damage with each day the USA remains an occupying force in the nation. Here are highlights:
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In any case, Obama did abdicate, very quickly, any control, I think right away, to the people that are running the war, for what reason I don't know. I can tell you, there is a scorecard I always keep and I always look at. Torture? Yep, still going on. It's more complicated now the torture, and there's not as much of it. But one of the things we did, ostensibly to improve the conditions of prisoners, we demanded that the American soldiers operating in Afghanistan could only hold a suspected Taliban for four days, 96 hours. If not... after four days they could not be sure that this person was not a Taliban, he must be freed.
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So what happens of course, is after three or four days, "bang, bang" -- I'm just telling you -- they turn them over to the Afghans and by the time they take three steps away the shots are fired. And that's going on. It hasn't stopped. It's not just me that's complaining about it. But the stuff that goes on in the field, is still going on in the field -- the secret prisons, absolutely, oh you bet they're still running secret prisons.
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There's still an enormous amount of whacking going on right now. What happened is after McChrystal ran into trouble and he was replaced, Petraeus took over the war, General Petraeus -- they call him King David, David Petraeus -- and he has done this in the last 6, 8 months; He has doubled up on the nightly , nightly assassinations. He's escalated the bombing. He's gotten much tougher. His argument is: Let's squeeze them, let's bomb ‘em, let's hit ‘em, and then of course they'll be open to negotiation.
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[T]he Joint Special Operations Command -- JSOC it’s called. . . . "Congress has no oversight of it. It’s an executive assassination ring essentially, and it’s been going on and on and on.
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"We're going to change mosques into cathedrals." That's an attitude that pervades, I'm here to say, a large percentage of the Special Operations Command, the Joint Special Operations Command and Stanley McChrystal, the one who got in trouble because of the article in Rolling Stone, and his follow-on, a Navy admiral named McRaven, Bill McRaven -- all are members or at least supporters of Knights of Malta. McRaven attended, so I understand, the recent annual convention of the Knights of Malta they had in Cyprus a few months back in November. They're all believers -- many of them are members of Opus Dei. They do see what they are doing -- and this is not an atypical attitude among some military -- it's a crusade, literally.
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Go to the full piece for more of this scary and disturbing information. It's clearly not stuff that would make one proud to be an American.

America Needs to Be Aware of Its Own Decline

The "real Americans" of the GOP who worship insularity and ignorance of the world typified by Sarah Palin and other politicians who know little of the world outside of the USA's borders and who seem to have no interest in educating themselves on anything beyond slogans and sound bites on Fox News or Rush Limbaugh's radio rants are causing real harm to the nation and its future. The world is changing and the USA needs to recognize these changes - the emergence of China, the inherent instability of the political systems in the Middle East, etc. - and change itself along with unstoppable forces driving change around the globe. Instead, these folks want to cling to a 1950's and 1960's mindset and a version of America that never even really existed. An article in The Atlantic looks at this dangerous phenomenon and makes the case of why it needs to change. Here are some highlights:
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I think it's important, as the age of U.S. unipolarity ends, for American conservatives to see the world in terms of an international society and not just a Hobbesian, dog-eat-dog system. . . . . The reason it is especially important now for Americans to recognize the societal dimension of international life is that America is in decline.
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That's not a statement of opinion and is not intended to suggest that America's current economic malaise is permanent, because that probably isn't the case. But no matter how strongly the U.S. bounces back, it is a mature economy and unlikely ever to match China's growth rates. China also has a much larger population, so it can overtake the American economy even while its citizens remain much poorer; by some measures, China is already the world's largest economy.
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If you're thinking America has previously faced down a peer competitor (the Soviet Union) and won handsomely, keep in mind that China is already a much larger economic force that Soviet Russia ever was, and that China is not done yet. Nor is India, or Indonesia. In fact, the "great convergence" between developed and developing economies is the economic and strategic story of our age.
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[I]n the multipolar order to come, international society will be far more important to the U.S.
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[I]nternational political life has its own laws, institutions, traditions and norms, which can be knitted together into a loose "constitutional" order. In an environment where one great power is rising and another is in decline (a situation that, historically, almost always creates conflict), such an order will be far more convivial than one marked by a naked contest of power. And given that traditions and institutions, by definition, take generations to establish, the U.S. cannot begin building them soon enough.
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Now, if there are any conservatives left reading this post, they may well be thinking that this all sounds rather ... well ... progressive. In my next post, I want to explain why conservatives can't just dismiss this as a lefty CINO (conservative-in-name-only) plot.
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A refusal to accept objective reality be it in the realm of economics, international relations or societal change is a hallmark of today's GOP and its Christianist and Tea Party allies. Ignoring the truth doesn't somehow magically make it untrue. Proper change in policies and institutions can only prosper when one is willing to recognize objective fact - something the GOP no longer even pretends to do as it panders for short term gain with no view to the future.

More Wednesday Male Beauty

FOTF Labels Anti-Bullying Programs “Pro-Homosexual Curriculum”

As if the last post did not sufficiently underscore the vileness of the current face of "godly Christians" and "family values" organizations, Focus on the Family ("FOTF") has more or less endorsed anti-gay bullying. It seems the godly folk at FOTF are lambasting Barack and Michelle Obama for last week's anti-bullying conference at the White House. The holier than thou set at FOTF describe the conference and anti-bullying initiatives in general as promoting a "pro-homosexual curriculum." Stated another way, the Christianists want free rein to bash, denigrate and abuse LGBT students and generally make their lives a living Hell. All while patting themselves on the back for their "godliness." Candidly, it makes me want to vomit - especially because too many in the MSM continue to give deference to these purveyors of unvarnished hate. Here are some highlights from Right Wing Watch:
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The Religious Right continues to parade the myth that gays and lesbians are trying to “recruit” followers in schools, and are increasingly using the lie as the basis of their opposition to anti-bullying programs. Leaders and groups continue to describe anti-bullying policies as attempts to “homosexualize their children” and “promote homosexuality in kids” through “homosexual indoctrination.”
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Focus on the Family has been at the forefront of challenging anti-bullying policies, which often cover the widespread harassment and bullying directed towards LGBT youth. Through initiatives like “True Tolerance” and the “Day of Dialogue,” Focus on the Family uses anti-gay rhetoric to attack proponents of anti-bullying policies.
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When the White House recently held a conference on the problem of bullying in schools, Focus on the Family’s political arm CitizenLink quickly announced their disapproval and said that Obama is trying “to promote pro-homosexual curriculum.”
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Here are highlights direct from FOTF's propaganda piece, Citizen Link:
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The Obama administration, however, apparently wants to use the crisis to promote pro-homosexual curriculum. The White House Conference of Bullying Prevention, which took place Thursday, provided a platform for gay activists and their allies to promote their agenda — which increasingly is being pushed into the classroom.
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Included in the curriculum is a video called “That’s a Family!” which depicts 9- and 10-year-olds lauding the benefits of living with two moms or two dads — an has elicited protests from parents across the country. The video has an accompanying teachers’ handbook that features a crossword puzzle for students that uses words such as “transgender.”
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The home page of the government’s official website on the issue addresses just two types of bullying: cyberbullying and LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) bullying. The site, which links directly to HRC’s “Welcoming Schools” program
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The taxpayer-funded government website also directs students to the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN).

"Loving Christians" Pile On Saying God is Punishing Japan

Frankly, if anyone is deserving of God's punishment, it would seem to be the hate-filled modern day Pharisees of the Christian Right who increasingly seem incapable of common decency much less empathy or concern for their fellow humans. These people make Christianity an uglier and uglier cult with ever passing day. Given the immense human suffering that is at this moment transpiring in Japan, one would think some minimal modicum of decency would prevail. But such is not the case. Not amongst the "godly Christian" set. Exhibit A and Exhibit B are Cindy Jacobs (pictured above), a self-congratulatory nut job Christianist and Malcolm McGregor III, a candidate for El Paso, Texas, City Council. As Right Wing Watch reports, Jacobs is bellowing that God is punishing Japan for its "deep idolatry and the worship of hundreds of idols under the guise of Shintoism, Buddhism, and allegiances to being "sons of the dragon." Meanwhile McGregor - who is vitriolic anti-gay - is likewise chiming in that God is punishing Japan for its failure to be blessed by protection. If Jacobs and McGregor represent the face of Christianity - and they certainly do represent far right Christianists - my query is who would want to embrace such a foul and inhuman belief system? First a sampling of Jacobs' foul verbal diarrhea via Right Wing Watch:
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Like her close colleague Chuck Pierce, who yesterday declared that the earthquake and tsunami in Japan was an attempt by God to topple "a stronghold of spiritism," Cindy Jacobs weighs in on the tragedy to declare that Japan has always been a "hard group for the gospel" because it was rooted in idolatry - even the island itself "looks like the head of a dragon" - and so God is trying to shake the nation because "the Holy Spirit wants to breathe the wind of revival across Japan and bring a mighty spiritual awakening to the land of the rising sun with healing in His wings":
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My interpretation of this is that while God did not want people to perish, He is going to use this to "pierce" the darkness surrounding the Japanese people if we will cry out to God for them in the midst of this crisis ... If we respond correctly, the darkness and the grip of idolatry of all forms that has blinded the eyes of so many in Japan will be broken off of them. The faithful believers in Jesus Christ will be strengthened as they are used for great harvest across Asia and the face of the earth.
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Then there's McGregor. Here are highlights from the Advocate on the mindset of this "loving Christian" who wants to be on El Paso's City Council:
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One of several antigay candidates running for the El Paso city council says he believes the tsunami and earthquake in Japan are a curse from God.
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“Japan had built tsunami walls along their coasts but this tsunami was bigger than that. No matter what you say, they either weren’t blessed with protection or they were cursed with an earthquake,” Malcolm McGregor III told ABC7.
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According to the Dallas Voice, McGregor is a member of the antigay El Pasoans for Traditional Family Values, which sponsored a successful ballot initiative to rescind domestic-partner benefits that had approved by the city council.
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Once again, I find myself firmly agreeing with Anne Rice: If these individuals are what being a Christian involves, then I have absolutely no desire to ever be considered a Christian ever again.

Reminder: HRBOR Third Thursday Event Tomorrow

I encourage local readers to join HRBOR tomorrow evening for its March Third Thursday on March 17th at The Artist Gallery on Norfolk Avenue near the Oceanfront. As I have noted in the past, HRBOR events at the Artist Gallery have always been wonderful and this year's visit should 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

America's Great Passport Divide

I guess it should come as little surprise that the lowest per capita number of individuals who hold passports would directly parallel the regions of the country that comprise the Bible belt. You know, the same region where ignorance and intolerance tend to be enthusiastically embraced as a virtue. The map above shows that Mississippi wins the prize for the lowest number of citizens with passports. Perhaps if these folks got out and saw more of the world they might be forced to open their eyes to the fact that their made up reality is flawed and out of touch with objective reality. The Atlantic looks at the results of a new study - here are some highlights:
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It's a fun map. With the exception of Sarah Palin's home state, it reinforces the "differences" we expect to find between the states where more worldly, well-traveled people live versus those where the folks Palin likes to call "real Americans" preponderate. Mostly to entertain myself, I decided to look at how this passport metric correlates with a variety of other political, cultural, economic, and demographic measures. What surprised me is how closely it lines up with the other great cleavages in America today.
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It's also reasonable to assume that more highly educated people would be more likely to hold a passport. And that too is what we find across the states. There is a considerable correlation (.80) between passports and human capital levels (measured as the percentage of a population with a bachelor's degree or higher). What's really striking is that this correlation holds even when we control for income,
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There is a substantial correlation (.70) between the percentage of passport holders and the percentage of the workforce in knowledge-based and creative jobs. Conversely, there is significant negative correlation between passport holders and the share of the workforce in blue-collar working class jobs (-.82). Working class states have considerably less passport holders than creative class states.
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What about politics? How does passport holding line up against America's Red state-Blue state divide? Pretty darn well, actually. There is a considerable positive correlation between passports and Obama voters (.59) and a significant negative one (-.61) for McCain voters. It appears that more liberally-oriented states are more globally oriented as well, or at least their citizens like to travel abroad.
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There are stark cultural differences between places where international travel is common and those where it's not, and we can see them playing out in the cultural and political strife that has been riving the country over the past decades.
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The trends in passport use reflect America's starkly bifurcated system of infrastructure. One set of places has great universities and easy access to international airports; another an infrastructure that is much further off the beaten track of the global circulation of capital, talent, and ideas.

Gay Families Growing in Acceptance

Results of a new study will surely cause angst among the gay-hating professional Christian set and does not bode well long term for those like Maggie Gallagher who are making plush livings disseminating anti-gay marriage untruths. The study finds that gay headed families have grown markedly in acceptance and the split is even now between those who accept such non-traditional families and those who cling to the Christianist mindset of what constitutes a family. Surprisingly, same sex couple headed families were more favorably viewed than single mothers (whom I'm sure the Christianists would like to see stoned to death along with gays if they got pregnant outside of marriage). As the oldest and most bigoted generations in society die off, the numbers should continue to increase in favor of acceptance. Here are some highlights from MSNBC:
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Highly visible gay families like Pougnet’s may be changing the way Americans view the world. And a new report by the Pew Research Center seems to bear this out. Its nationally representative survey of 2,691 people found that Americans are more accepting of families led by gay and lesbian parents than of single moms.
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The survey found that when it comes to opinions overall on non-traditional families, such as those with gay and lesbian parents, single mothers, and unmarried parents, the country is split three ways: a third of Americans (dubbed Acceptors by Pew) are comfortable with a wide variety of family situations, a third (Rejectors) consider non-traditional arrangements to be damaging to the country’s social fabric, while the final third (Skeptics) are mixed in their views — approving of some arrangements, but not others.
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When it comes to families like Pougnet’s, the news is all good. The vast majority of Acceptors and Skeptics believe gay and lesbian families are at least OK — and might even bring something positive to society.
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While 98 percent of Acceptors think there’s nothing wrong with women raising their children alone, 99 percent of Skeptics and 98 percent of Rejectors believe that’s bad for society. (The survey only asked about single mothers, not single fathers.)
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Gay and lesbian couples, however, are perceived as better for the kids because they’re providing a two-parent family, says Stamps Mitchell.
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“There’s no doubt there’s been a shift in attitudes towards gays and lesbians,” says Charlotte Patterson, a professor of psychology at the University of Virginia. “You also see the shift in attitudes towards marriage. Just 15 years ago a Gallup Poll found that 68 percent of Americans said gay marriage should not be legally recognized while 27 percent said it should be. Now the split is 50/50.”
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One reason for the attitude change may be the increasing contact people have with gays both socially and at work, Patterson says.
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The media may also have played a big role, says Stamps Mitchell.

“You’re seeing gay families more and more on TV in shows like ‘Modern Family’ and in movies like ‘The Kids are All Right,’” Stamps Mitchell says. “The media does help with acceptance.”

More Tuesday Male Beauty

GOP Kansas State Rep. Compares Illegal Immigrants to Feral Pigs and Suggests Shooting Them from Helicopters

If the horrid rantings of Chuck Pierce examined in the previous post were not disgusting enough, Kansas GOP State Rep. Virgil Peck (pictured at left) has demonstrated the yet an even more extreme fruit of the Christianist/Tea Party/GOP hate fest that has become the norm for the Republican Party. And what is really scary is the fact that Peck probably views himself as an upstanding "godly Christian." So what did Peck propose? He proposed that that hunters could shoot undocumented immigrants like they do with feral pigs in order to control illegal immigration. Clearly, in Peck's book, humans with brown skin and/or Hispanic ancestry are the equivalent of animals. And some people still ask me why I left the GOP years ago? Absent a lobotomy or severe psychological disorder, I don't know how anyone can still be a Republican. Here are highlights from ThinkProgess on Peck's disgusting comments:
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Today, during a Kansas state House Appropriations Committee hearing on state spending for controlling feral swine, GOP state Rep. Virgil Peck suggested that hunters could shoot undocumented immigrants like they do with pigs in order to control illegal immigration.
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The Lawrence Journal World reports that Peck refused to apologize for the remark. “I was just speaking like a southeast Kansas person,” he said. The Kansas blog Dome on the Range has the audio clip and direct quote of Peck’s remarks. “It looks like to me if shooting these immigrating feral hogs works maybe we have found a [solution] to our illegal immigration problem,” he said.
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Listen to the audio clip:
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Christianist Nutcase: God Struck Japan with Earthquake to Punish Its "Spiritism"

I suspect that many of us saw this coming. Now, in yet another example of just how vile Christianity has become under the unrelenting hate of self-congratulation of Christianists, Right Wing Watch looks at the rantings of "Pastor" Chuck Pierce. I am continually left dumbstruck by the manner in which self-anointed "Christians" write off the shared humanity of millions of other humans without the slightest thought or remorse. Their mindset frighteningly mirrors that of the NAZI murderers who sent Jews off for extermination in the 1930's and first half of the 1940's. I find it difficult to grasp how one becomes so morally bankrupt and devoid of even a shred of empathy for others. It is frightening and serves as an indictment not only of Christianists like Pierce but also the GOP politicians who constantly prostitute themselves to such hate mongers. Here are some highlights:
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[T]oday Pierce reminds us that back in 2005 he and his associates prophesied that Japan would be shaken and brought to its knees because it was a "stronghold of spiritism":

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"There will be a shaking coming to Japan that will bring them to their knees. This shaking will change the industry of the nation. Japan has been built upon a fault line linked with a deep wounding from the past. This shaking will occur before the apostolic team that I am sending to Japan arrives. When they arrive, I will begin the healing of the fault line and release a new anointing for industries. I am sending you to the people group of that area and they will be humbled in the midst of their pride. Do not fear. I am causing the mountain to be brought down and the valleys to be brought up. I will create a leveling effect in Japan."
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[B]ecause of this massive disaster "the old religious structures will fall and many will experience the freedom and reality of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ."
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Lest you think Right Wing Watch is exaggerating, check out Pierce's own verbal diarrhea here.

Maryland Gay Marriage Debacle Reveals Cowards and Civil Rights Myopia

I will confess that I'm not always a fan of Jonathan Capehart of the Washington Post opinion page because, in my view, he too often sells out to the apologists for anti-gay propaganda and misogamy. In today's Washington Post, however, he has a piece in the Washington Post that nails it and adds to the complaints I voiced this morning concerning the tools of the Christianists. Capehart takes no prisoners in his indictment of the cowards and bigots who claim to support civil rights - but only if those seeking equality look just like themselves. Here are some highlights from Capeharts column:
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Today's Post editorial on the marriage-equality debacle in Maryland wisely takes the long view. “The trend in public opinion continues in favor of equal rights for gays in general and same-sex marriage in particular,” the editorial board points out. “The direction of the debate seems clear enough; the pace is frustrating.”
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A pace not helped at all by cowards in the state legislature who talked out of both sides of their mouths to the gay community and who refused to heed the call of leadership. Or by African Americans who can’t or refuse to see that one’s civil rights should not be encumbered by race or sexual orientation.
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And then there was that other spineless profile in courage, Del. Tiffany T. Alston (D-Prince George’s). She, too, was a co-sponsor of the marriage-equality bill. But when it came time to vote in the Judiciary Committee, she literally fled the House. Alston, her chief of staff and Del. Jill P. Carter (D-Baltimore) rode around for 15 minutes to avoid casting votes.
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Alston and others who use that lame argument should contemplate what would have happened if “the people” had their say back in the 1950s and 1960s on questions of integration, voting rights and discrimination. Putting the civil rights of a minority up for a popular vote is never a good idea. As we have learned so many times in this nation’s history, sometimes “the people” need to be led by public officials with the guts to do the right thing even when their constituents are not (and may never be) supportive.
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What I find even more troubling is the wedge being driven between African Americans and gays. After the marriage-equality bill was tabled, the Family Research Council gave “particular thanks” to black preachers, their churches and legislators “who spoke out against the attempted hijacking of the concept of ‘civil rights.’
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”Del. Emmett Burns (D-Baltimore County) is one of those who found the linkage offensive. “The civil-rights movement as I knew it … had nothing to do with same-sex marriage,” he said. "And those who decide to ride on our coattails are historically incorrect."
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Fine, don't listen to the gays. Listen to Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), an architect of the famed 1963 March on Washington who was beaten at the Edmund Pettus Bridge on “Bloody Sunday,” one of many beatings he suffered. “I have fought too hard and too long against discrimination based on race and color not to stand up against discrimination based on sexual orientation,” wrote Lewis back in 2003. “I've heard the reasons for opposing civil marriage for same-sex couples. Cut through the distractions, and they stink of the same fear, hatred and intolerance I have known in racism and in bigotry.”
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“The civil-rights movement was about puttingteeth into the Declaration of Independence.” It still is. The strugglefor civil rights and equality is part of a continuum. As Dr. Martin Luther King often said, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” African Americans neither own that arc nor have exclusive right to it. Gay men and lesbians have every right to followit until it bends toward justice for them.
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Black preachers and those in the black community who play lackey to the likes of Family Research Council are cutting their own throats long term. As a gay American, why should I and many others give a damn about black civil rights when too many in the black community are only too willing to throw me and other LGBT Americans under the bus driven by racist white Christianists like the coven at Family Research Council? When these same Christianists and their GOP allies seek to roll back civil rights legislation, these cowards ought not be surprised if they find themselves standing alone with the knowledge that they brought it upon themselves..

Tuesday Male Beauty

Party Crashers Beat Teen to Death After Yelling Anti-Gay Slurs

The mindset behind this brutal crime is exactly what was impliedly endorsed by the black members of the Maryland House of Delegates in their recent betrayal of marriage equality (see the immediately preceding post). Sadly, the victim of the mindset that they inherently endorsed in this instance was black and apparently not even gay. I hope those who promote homophobia from the pulpit are pleased with their handiwork. Words do matter and they do have consequences - often horrible consequences. Even as the falsely pious and self-congratulatory pat themselves on the back for their self-declared godliness they encourage evil in the world. It makes me want to vomit and I can only imagine what Christ must think of the horrors done in his name. The New York Daily News has coverage of these disgusting murder in Queens. Here are some highlights:
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Party crashers yelled anti-gay slurs, then beat and stomped to death a teen attending a Queens birthday bash, sources and witnesses said. Anthony Collao, 18, a recent high school graduate who wanted to help run his family's ice cream business, died Monday at Jamaica Hospital. It's not clear why Collao was targeted. Friends said he had a girlfriend and was not gay - though the two men who threw the party are openly gay.
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Four suspects - Alex Velez, 16, of the Bronx, and Nolis Ogando, Christopher Lozada and Luis Tabales, all 17 and from Queens - were arrested soon after the Saturday incident. Lozada was wearing the victim's Atlanta Braves baseball cap, and the others were covered in blood, sources said.
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They came uninvited to the Woodhaven party - advertised on Facebook - and refused to pay a $7 cover charge. They stormed the 90th St. home, busting windows and picking fights, witnesses said.
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The crashers flashed gang signs, yelled anti-gay slurs and scrawled epithets in red marker on the walls, the two party hosts said. "They called us homos and all kinds of stuff," said one of the men,who was celebrating his 20thbirthday.
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Sensing trouble, Collao left with a friend and was chased, sources said. The gang caught him, . . . He was kicked and punched. Velez carried a pipe, sources said. Collao was on life support until Monday.
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Yes, we sadly need to chalk up another death to Tony Perkins, Maggie Gallagher, the U.S. Catholic Conference of Bishops, the Mormon Church leadership and everyone else who preaches against gays and our civil equality. They DO have blood on their hands. Unfortunately, these indirect accessories to murder will not be charged with any crime.

The Refusal to See Ties Between Racism and Homophobia

Editors Note: Some readers may not like the views expressed in this post. However, it is a message that needs to be sent in my view.

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In the wake of the delay/defeat of marriage equality in Maryland because, at least according to some reports - of the homophobia of black members of the Maryland House of Delegates, once again attention is focused on the fact that some members of the black community refuse to recognize the connection between anti-black bigotry and anti-gay bigotry. In the process, these delegates - and the brain dead pastors that the pander to - undermine support for their own civil rights and equality under the law. Both phenomena have had the Bible used as justifying hate and intolerance against their victims and both are a result of a sick mindset among those who have a desire/need to grasp at differences in others so as to make them feel superior and better about themselves. Yet, too many in the black community - black pastors in particular - refuse to open their eyes to the reality and allow themselves to be manipulated by white Christianists like Tony Perkins. That's right, individuals and organizations with documented ties to white supremacist groups. Like myself, John Aravosis finds the stupidity/ignorance of the black pastor set enough to drive one crazy. The black pastors are sending a dangerous message. They want others to support black civil rights yet they refuse to support the civil rights of others. I suspect the end result of this is a disinclination on the part of some in the LGBT community to continue to oppose anti-black racism. That's right, black homophobia is driving away would be allies. Here are highlights from a post on America Blog Gay:
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Racism is the same thing as homophobia, and they're the same thing as anti-Semitism, as bigotry against the Irish during the 1800s and beyond, as America's appalling treatment of Japanese-Americans during World War II, of America's appalling treatment of Muslim-Americans following September 11, and the Republicans appalling treatment of Latinos to this day.
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It's absurd for one group to make the claim that they suffered more than others, thus other claims for equal rights are somehow less valid.

[Maryland] Del. Emmett C. Burns saying "Those who want to ride on our coattails are historically incorrect; gay people had not endured the struggles of blacks, had not had crosses burned on their lawns or been thrown in a police wagon."
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Actually, gay people have been thrown in police wagons - some during Stonewall, and others fighting alongside Martin Luther King (Coretta mentions this fact below) - and had the bigot from Maryland bothered studying his civil rights history, he'd have known that.
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Prejudice and bigotry is a bad thing. And it's motivated by the same hatred, regardless of the skin color or sexual orientation of the perpetrator or the victim. So the next time you're confronted by an anti-gay bigot like Delegate Burns, or anyone who claims that somehow racism is more evil than homophobia, quote the words of Coretta Scott King, when talking about racism and homophobia. And then tell them to STFU, unless they want to now claim that they know more about civil rights than Martin Luther King's widow.
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Coretta Scott King, Martin Luther King's widow, told them to. In a remarkable address before the Task Force's annual meeting, on November 9, 2000, Mrs. King gave a forceful statement on the importance of gay rights to the overall civil rights struggle (read Mrs. King's entire speech here.)
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And this was not the first time Martin Luther King's widow made clear that groups like the Concerned Women for America have no idea what they're talking about when they try to speak on behalf of African-Americans about civil rights.
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[S]he [Coretta King] said, "But I hasten to remind them that Martin Luther King Jr. said, 'Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.'" "I appeal to everyone who believes in Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream to make room at the table of brother- and sisterhood for lesbian and gay people," she said. - Reuters, March 31, 1998.
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Homophobia is like racism and anti-Semitism and other forms of bigotry in that it seeks to dehumanize a large group of people, to deny their humanity, their dignity and personhood," King stated. "This sets the stage for further repression and violence that spread all too easily to victimize the next minority group." - Chicago Defender, April 1, 1998, front page.
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John has a number of additional quotes from Ms. King that I encourage readers to check out. Anti-gay bigots in the black community are stupidly cutting their own throats and aiding those white "family values" Christianists who despise the black community almost as much as (or perhaps even more)they despise LGBT individuals.