Who is Behind Indiana's License to Discriminate Law

Yesterday GOP Governor Mike Pence of Indiana took to the airwaves to try to do some damage control - it did not go well, thankfully - and even announced that "clarifying" legislation would be considered to make it clear that gays were not targets of Indiana's foul new law.  GLAAD provided the images above that show the lie of Pence's statements.

Duck Dynasty Bigot Suspended by A&E

I never cease to be amazed at how the Neanderthals of the far right feel that they have a license to say any kind of horrible and untrue thing they want about gays.  No other minority in this country is such open game for overt hate and bigotry - even white supremacists have learned some level of decorum as to where they unleash their racists vitriol.  But not so with the homophobes.  A case in point is "Duck Dynasty" star (if star is the correct term) Phil Robertson who let loose with a rant in an interview in GQ Magazine.  Thankfully, A&E was not amused and suspended Robertson's bigoted and prejudiced ass.  Not surprisingly, the usual hate merchants are crying foul.  What's truly foul is the hate and bigotry that comes from the "godly folk."  It is little wonder that less than a third of the Milennials see clergy as honest and why a third of them no longer identify with institutional religion.  The New Civil Rights Movement looks at the Robertson saga.  Here are highlights:

A&E’s popular reality series “Duck Dynasty” has just entered the culture wars. The father of the clan, Phil Robertson, told GQ Magazine in an interview published today that being gay is illogical. The 67-year old Louisiana patriarch also compared homosexuality to bestiality, adultery, prostitution, alcoholism, lying, stealing — and terrorism. He also, unsurprisingly, says gay people are not going to heaven.

“It seems like, to me, a vagina—as a man—would be more desirable than a man’s anus,” Robertson says. “That’s just me. I’m just thinking: There’s more there! She’s got more to offer.

GLAAD is speaking out, calling the comments “littered with outdated stereotypes and blatant misinformation.” And they’re talking with A&E about it.

Robertson’s “statement is far outside of the mainstream understanding of LGBT people,” GLAAD, in a press release notes. “In Louisiana, which passed a constitutional amendment banning marriage equality, 56% of the population support some sort of legal recognition, marriage or civil unions, for gay and lesbian couples according to Public Policy Polling released in August 2013.”

“Phil and his family claim to be Christian, but Phil’s lies about an entire community fly in the face of what true Christians believe,” GLAAD spokesperson Wilson Cruz says. “He clearly knows nothing about gay people or the majority of Louisianans – and Americans – who support legal recognition for loving and committed gay and lesbian couples.

Unfortunately, Robertson is becoming more and more representative of the types of individuals who make up the Republican Party base.  

The Muppets Dump Chick Fil-A

The Cathy family that owns Chick Fil-A have suffered another PR failure.  The Jim Henson Company, which owns the Muppet brand is severing relations with Chick Fil-A.  The Cathys loudly insist that they are free to believe what they want and to run their business any way they want to.  All of which is true.  But so are other business owners and it is encouraging to see a number of companies and organizations exercising their rights and distancing themselves from the hate and bigotry displayed by the Cathy family and their company.  This from The Jim Henson Company's Facebook page:

The Jim Henson Company has celebrated and embraced diversity and inclusiveness for over fifty years and we have notified Chick-Fil-A that we do not wish to partner with them on any future endeavors. Lisa Henson, our CEO is personally a strong supporter of gay marriage and has directed us to donate the payment we received from Chick-Fil-A to GLAAD. (http://www.glaad.org/)

I particularly like the fact that proceeds from Chick Fil-A are being given to GLAAD.   It's a nice extra slap in the face to Chick Fil-A.  How long will it take for AFA to cite this as another example of anti-Christian persecution?

NOM Looked for Glamorous, Unintelligent Celebrities to Advance Anti-Gay Cause

The callousness and shameless cynicism of the leaders of the National Organization for Marriage ("NOM") continues to be boldly exposed in the documents released in the Maine court case investigating NOM's blatant effort to ignore that state's campaign finance disclosure laws. Among other shocking details - i.e., over and above seeking to fan racial discord and duping Latino Americans - NOM sought out what might be best described as dim witted celebrities to advance NOM's anti-gay cause. Candidly, I'm not surprised about the tactic, although it is surprising that Maggie Gallagher and her minions were stupid enough to put some of their strategy in writing. Here are highlights from GLAAD on this latest revelation:

It sounds like a headline from the Onion, but strategy documents uncovered yesterday, from the nation's most prominent anti-gay marriage group, the National Organization for Marriage (found by the Human Rights Campaign), reveal a novel approach to convincing Americans to vote against marriage equality: recruit glamorous but unintelligent celebrities. (p.19/20)

"Hollywood with its cultural biases is far bigger than we can hope to be. We recognize this. But we also recognize the opportunity - the disproportionate potential impact of proactively seeking to gather and connect a community of artists, athletes, writers, beauty queens and other glamorous non-cognitive elites across national boundaries. (This is applying the Witherspoon and IAV model to non-intellectual elites.)" (emphasis added)

GLAAD responded to NOM's approach to "recruit glamorous but unintelligent celebrities":

"Celebrity or not and 'cognitive' or not, given how cynically NOM views its supporters, who would want to stand with them and support their agenda?" said Herndon Graddick, GLAAD’s Vice President of Programs and Communications.

In 2009, NOM released an ad featuring then Miss California Carrie Prejean, whose infamous statements against marriage equality during the nationally televised Miss USA pageant may typify the group's search for "glamorous non-cognitive" spokespeople. NOM later distanced itself from her.

These documents, unsealed as a part of a court case NOM is fighting in Maine also reveal that the anti-LGBT group has been actively interested in – as they say – "fanning the hostility" (p.12) between the LGBT community and the black community, and also revealed that NOM has been attempting to turn Latino families against marriage equality by framing the LGBT movement as part of – in their words – “assimilation.”

NOM is the most well-represented group on GLAAD’s Commentator Accountability Project (#glaadCAP), with five associated figures (Brian Brown, Maggie Gallagher, Christopher Plante, Jennifer Roback Morse, Robert George) among those anti-LGBT activists with profiles. And now we know that they refer to their own supporters as "non-intellectual."

To describe the folks at NOM as vile is an understatement. Their cynicism and willingness to breed hate and hostility and use the ignorant as their tools is an indictment of their cause.

More Hate Merchant Shrieking Over Being Held Accountable

I noted yesterday how GLAAD has launched an initiative to educate the mainstream media about the lies, faux experts and anti-gay animus of Christianist "pundits" who are all too often allowed to spill anti-gay bigotry across the airwaves without being challenged. The reaction across Christianist universe over the prospect of being held accountable and exposed as dishonest, deliberate liars has been sharp with gallons of flying spittle and verbal diarrhea that only serves to confirm why these individuals - and the hate group organizations many represent - are bigots and unworthy of being given any kind of media platform. Another example of this anti-gay animus comes from American Family Association talk show host Kevin McCullough. Right Wing Watch has details which are highlighted below:

After calling GLAAD a tool of the Devil, talk show host Kevin McCullough defended previous statements, listed by GLAAD’s Commentator Accountability Project, that gay couples “despise” marriage and are “seeking to destroy” it. McCullough said that they are indeed trying to “destroy” marriage, but took issue with GLAAD’s use of the term “gay,” because according to McCullough, “I don’t believe that you can be gay.” He said that being gay is a choice and warned that “homosexual behaviors can end up killing you” because “homosexual behaviors when acted upon in the teenage years greatly increases the likelihood if you’re male that you will try to commit suicide.” McCullough is correct in arguing that gay youth do have a higher risk of suicide, but seems to ignore the fact that anti-gay prejudice and bias in society plays a large role in why there is the higher suicide rate.

MCCULLOUGH: . . . They don’t like the fact that men and women complete one another. They don’t like the fact that that union is so perfect that it sometimes brings children out of it, they don’t like the fact that that is the ability of what a natural marriage relationship brings. So I said they “despise,” they do, “they don’t like normal marriage and they’re seeking to destroy it,” yeah, “by redefining it,” that’s what they are seeking to do, they are seeking to undo what it’s always been. Yeah, I said that, I still believe it. It’s still true.

I don’t believe that you can be gay. I believe that people engage in homosexual behavior, and I believe that homosexual behaviors can end up killing you, and I think that homosexual behaviors when acted upon in the teenage years greatly increases the likelihood if you’re male that you will try to commit suicide. But that’s what the data says, that’s not what the Kevin McCullough says, that’s what the studies show, that’s what the secular humanist studies indicate about homosexual behavior. . . . I don’t believe that people are gay, I think they behave in homosexual ways but I don’t buy that ‘gay’ is a state of being, I think it’s a series of choices.

As noted many times before, it is crucial to the Christianist agenda that sexual orientation be a "choice" because otherwise there opposition to legal rights hits a brick wall and is exposed as nothing but religious based hate and extremism. Hence why "ex-gay" ministries continue to be a top propaganda priority.

GLAAD Targets Lying Christianist "Pundits" Used By Media

I have vented a number of times about my frustration with main stream media outlets that regularly provide a platform for anti-gay bigots without ever challenging the untruthfulness of the statements these people make or addressing their backgrounds - e.g., Tony Perkins of the hate group Family Research Council who has ties to white supremacist groups. Time and time again these hate merchants come on even progressive news outlets and are allowed to spew lies and untruths. Now, thankfully, GLAAD has launched a "Commentator Accountability Project" which aims to inform media outlets as to the dishonesty, anti-gay animus, and general toxicity of these "commentators" and "pundits." Here's how GLAAD describes the project:

The GLAAD Commentator Accountability Project (CAP) aims to put critical information about frequent anti-gay interviewees into the hands of newsrooms, editors, hosts and reporters. Journalists or producers who are on deadline often don't have the time to dig into the histories of a commentator. Audiences need to be aware that when they’re not talking to the mainstream media, these voices are comparing LGBT people to Nazi Germany, predicting that equal treatment of LGBT people will lead to the total collapse of society, and even making accusations of satanic influence.

The Commentator Accountability Project is bringing all of these statements to light, while calling attention to the sentiments behind them. We will show that the commentators who are most often asked to opine on issues like marriage equality or non-discrimination protections do not accurately represent the "other side" of those issues. They represent nothing but extreme animus towards the entire LGBT community.

GLAAD also is asking people to contact them when they see an anti-gay bigot given an unchallenged platform to spew anti-gay hate and lies. These anti-gay "pundits" can be recorded here. Here's a rogue's gallery of the hate merchants GLAAD is targeting:

Not surprisingly, some of the Professional Christians/hate merchants are none too happy that their lies and thinly veiled hate - which is often aimed at shaking down the ignorant and gullible for money - are going to be exposed. An example of the whining and conniptions racking the professional Christian/homophobe set comes from Focus on the Family, a/k/a Focus on the Anus as per Pam Spaulding:

The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) announced today its new “Commentator Accountability Project,” which seeks to “educate” journalists about spokespeople from organizations that hold a biblical view of sexuality.

In an interview with Politico blogger Dylan Byers, GLAAD Communications Director Rich Ferraro said the 36 people networks need to be “educated” about — including Focus on the Family President Jim Daly, family formation studies director Glenn Stanton and education analyst Candi Cushman — “aren’t experts” but people who “represent nothing but extreme animus towards the entire LGBT community.”

Schneeberger added that GLAAD’s campaign was “rather chilling.” This is an attempt to stifle freedom of speech and freedom of religion by trying to intimidate the media into forfeiting their constitutional right to freedom of the press,” he explained. They’re seeking to saw three of the five legs of freedom off the stool that holds up the First Amendment.”

The list of flagged spokespeople also includes Exodus International President Alan Chambers, Catholic League President Bill Donohue, THE FAMiLY LEADER President Bob Vander Plaats, the National Organization for Marriage’s Brian Brown and Maggie Gallagher, Prison Fellowship Ministries Founder Chuck Colson, Wallbuilders Founder David Barton, former presidential candidate Gary Bauer, Bishop Harry Jackson, marriage expert Jennifer Roback Morse, pastors Jim Garlow and Lou Engle, radio personality Kevin McCullough, and Princeton University Prof. Robert George.

Having followed many on the list of faux experts for many years, the safest assumption to use with them is that if their lips are moving, then they are probably lying. Freedom of speech and freedom of religion are one thing. Deliberately disseminating know lies and falsehoods to harm others is something very different. These individuals, in my opinion, are horrible people and their dishonesty needs to be exposed and media outlets who give them a platform need to be held accountable.

P.S. Kudos to my blogger friend Jeremy Hooper of Good As You who assisted on the GLAAD project.

Anti-Gay Rantings of Another Hollywood Has Been

It seems to be a growing phenomenon that when one's Hollywood career has tanked, some former so-called celebrities who are desperately seeking to stay in the media eye turn to homophobia as their ticket back into the lime light - or at least the lime light of the far right and Christiansit noise machine. As Joe Jervis notes, GLAAD is taking on Kirk Cameron who is the latest to try to jump on the anti-gay bandwagon since apparently feels he hasn't received enough attention playing the professional Christian role:

Kirk Cameron joins former TV stars Victoria Jackson and Chuck Norris in desperately trying to remain in the public eye by using anti-LGBT rhetoric. Last year, Jackson described a kiss between ‘Glee’ characters Kurt and Blaine as ‘sickening’ and Norris wrote on anti-LGBT site WorldNet Daily that the public education system has devolved into "progressive indoctrination camps” that train students to “forcefully defend issues like abortion and homosexuality, as well as become cultural advocates for political correctness, relativism, globalization, green agendas and tolerance for all.” Let’s remember that while these once relevant celebrities try to regain notoriety through advancing ignorance, Hollywood’s elite including George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Kevin Bacon, Jamie Lee Curtis, Jane Lynch, and Martin Sheen are using their voices and popularity to move America closer to equality for everyone.

On its website GLAAD has more as well as a petition asking that Cameron wake up and grow up. Here's a sampling:

[O]n CNN’s “Piers Morgan Tonight,” anti-gay actor and former teen idol Kirk Cameron spoke out against marriage equality as well as gay Americans.

Cameron described his personal bias against gay people by saying:

"I think that it's - it's - it's unnatural. I think that it's - it's detrimental, and ultimately destructive to so many of the foundations of civilization."

“In this interview, Kirk Cameron sounds even more dated than his 1980s TV character,” said Herndon Graddick, Senior Director of Programs at GLAAD. “Cameron is out of step with a growing majority of Americans, particularly people of faith who believe that their gay and lesbian brothers and sisters should be loved and accepted based on their character and not condemned because of their sexual orientation.”

Piers Morgan disagreed with Cameron when asked what he would do if one of his kids came out. Morgan said: "If one of my sons [came out], I'd say 'that's great son, as long as you're happy.'"

Has anyone told Cameron that clinical research has shown that the loudest homophobes are the ones most aroused by gay porn? Doth Cameron protest too much?

Meanwhile, Andy Towle has these telling comments about Kirk Cameron on his blog:

It's unclear how Kirk Cameron keeps scoring TV appearances. Cameron, a not-especially-noteworthy star of B-movies who was once worked in a middling sitcom, spends his days running a ministry called "Living Waters" with his guru, a man named Ray Comfort. This ministry has no discernible purpose other than making science-literate people look good in public debates. (Ray Comfort's a creationist, and one of his best "arguments" against evolution goes like this: Mammals reproduce sexually, a process requiring both a male and a female. Therefore, the first, freshly-evolved elephant/hyena/human/whathaveyou wouldn't have anything to mate with. Bet Stephen Jay Gould never thought of that!) For a price, Living Waters dispatches preachers to deliver sermons on demand. It doesn't do much else. Nevertheless, Cameron was on Piers Morgan last night, saying not-nice things about gays and lesbians.

Obama's Hate Group Bedfellows in the DOMA Appeals

Barack Obama - our faux "fierce advocate in the White House - has disingenuously argued that he has no option but to appeal lower court decisions striking down portions of DOMA (and DADT) as unconstitutional because of their discriminatory impact of LGBT citizens. Now GLAAD has assembled a list of organizations that have filed amicus briefs - so-called "friends of the court" briefs - in support of Obama's DOJ defense of DOMA. By the very nature of the groups filing such briefs it is nothing less than an indictment of Obama and his false claims of supporting LGBT equality. Why do I make this statement? Because the groups filing amicus briefs include a who's who of anti-gay groups, some of which are registered hate groups as well. As the saying goes, you are known by the company you keep and Obama's company in supporting DOMA is utterly disgusting. Here's a list of the groups filing briefs along side the Obama DOJ:
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Agudath Israel of America
American College of Pediatricians [FAKE]
Attorneys General of SC, UT, IN, MI, CO
Concerned Women for America
Congressman Lamar Smith
Eagle Forum
Family Research Council
Foundation for Moral Law
Robert George
George Goverman
Liberty Counsel
Massachusetts Family Institute
NARTH
National Legal Foundation
National Organization for Marriage
Pacific Justice Institute
U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops,
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
National Association of Evangelicals

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The NARTH brief has the audacity to cite its own fraudulent "research" as rebuttal to the trial court's findings based on legitimate medical and mental health experts. Never mind that the APA has thoroughly rejected NARTH's bullshit reparative therapy claims and labeled the use of reparative therapy as unethical. One can only hope that the APA will take the next logical step and push for the revocation of licenses of those who continued to push the false "change change" and "choice myths." In the meantime, I hope that individuals harmed by the "ex-gay" ministries (using the term "ministries" very loosely, of course) will seek out legal counsel and bring lawsuits against these snake oil merchant ministries and the so-called therapists and help put them out of business once and for all. As I have stated before, the most tawdry whore has more integrity than the frauds at NARTH and the other groups that preach false science while seeking to undermine religious freedom for all Americans, not just the Christianists. That these folks are Obama's bedfellows on DOMA speaks volumes and none of it is good.

Bilerico Project Nominated for GLAAD Media Award

As I suspect many readers know, besides writing this blog I also contribute to The Bilerico Project as one of its team of writers. I've enjoyed the experience immensely and was thrilled to hear that The Bilerico Project has been nominated for a 2011 GLAAD Media Award in the Outstanding Blog category. The other blogs up for the prize are Blabbeando, Rod2.0, Pam's House Blend, and Joe.My.God. As Bilerico editor-in-chief, Bil Browning notes, they're all excellent sites that should be on one's daily reading list (they are all on mine). All of us at Bilerico are honored to be included with such worthy contenders. A full list of nominees for all categories can be found here. This is what GLAAD said about the blog nominees:

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By recognizing and honoring media for outstanding images of the LGBT community, the GLAAD Media Awards serve as a benchmark for the media industry and complement GLAAD's work to bring LGBT images and stories to Americans. . . .
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"This year's nominees represent some of the images and stories at the root of the growing acceptance of our community and support for our equality," said GLAAD President Jarrett Barrios. "They also have created a benchmark for inclusion of our community that other media outlets should look to. As GLAAD celebrates twenty-five years of working with the media, we are proud to recognize this year's nominees and we challenge the industry to share more stories that reflect the diversity of our community and the challenges that gay and transgender people face."
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This year GLAAD introduced a new category to recognize independent blogs, in recognition of the growing role of online media in shaping today's culture. The first nominees in this category are The Bilerico Project, Blabbeando, Joe. My. God., Pam's House Blend, and Rod 2.0.
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Whatever the outcome, I want to thank all of the members of the Bilerico team for allowing me to share in the blogs journalist efforts.

Another Bad Day For Maggie Gallagher and Professional Homophobes

In addition to the defeats of Section 3 of DOMA discussed in the previous blog post, a more symbolic - as opposed substantive - defeat of marriage equality opponents occurred. The Today Show announced that it was relenting in its exclusion of same sex couples from its wedding contest. Blogger friend Jeremy Hooper at Good As You first sounded the alarm on Today's discriminatory position and after catching incredible flax, Today has opened up it contest to same sex couples who enter the contest before July 12, 2010. I can already hear the shrieks and conniptions of Maggie Gallagher and other professional anti-gay leeches, I mean activists, who live the good life off of the donations of sheeple. Maggie must have wet herself on the news and the spittle has to be flying around self-loathing closet cases Robert Knight, Matt Barber, Porno Pete LaBarbera and Peter Sprigg. No doubt the American Family Association will be rolling out a boycott of Today come the morning. Here are some highlights from GLAAD's announcement on Today's about face:
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Following a meeting between GLAAD and NBC executives NBC announced that after listening to community concerns it will open the contest to same-sex couples. In addition to opening the contest NBC is extending the application period until this Monday, July 12. Finalists will be announced later this year and the wedding takes place live on the Today Show this October.
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"We're thrilled that 'Today Show's 'Modern Wedding Contest' now recognizes what most fair-minded Americans have already concluded - a wedding celebrates love and commitment, whether the spouses are straight or gay," said Jarrett Barrios, President of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD). "NBC heard GLAAD and the thousands of viewers who contacted them. And they have moved to make their contest a truly modern wedding where any couple can share their story. NBC is living up to its own high standard of fairness and for this, we applaud them. We encourage qualified same-sex couples to submit their applications to make the new contest submission deadline of Monday, July 12 and we look forward to next year when same-sex couples will have the ability to apply to the contest from the beginning."
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Here's some of Today's spin on the about face:
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Our intent was not to be discriminatory or exclusive. In 2005 when the wedding took place outside of New York, the application process was open to same-sex couples. We have listened to every voicemail and read every email. We take this feedback seriously, and we will change our application process. TODAY is a longtime supporter of the LGBT community, and GLAAD considers us an ally. We are committed to keeping those relationships strong and positive. We have opened up the application process to same-sex couples, and will extend the deadline to Monday, July 12. Moving forward, we ensure that our future wedding contests will be inclusive of all couples.

Fundie Obsession With Men Kissing

In the wake of the Academy Awards last week, it has been interesting to watch/listen to the fundamentalists have the vapors and convulsions over Dustin Lance Black's and Sean Penn's acceptance remarks and - oh, the horrors - scenes of men kissing at the awards ceremony. Personally, I think part of the phenomenon is that the fundies believe (or want to believe) that if gays are eliminated from public view, somehow we will just go away and that despite scientific and medical knowledge to the contrary, we will stop being born every day of the week - even into fundamentalist families. One of the high profile unhinged is Sean Hannity at Faux News who seems way too fixated to me on the issue. As GLAAD has reported, Hannity recently lamented:

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They keep showing the scenes of men kissing. And I'm thinking do we have to expose our children to more and more sex, more and more violence, you know, more and more controversy?...Listen, I'm just more sensitive. If it's going to be a family event, you know, and you want to -- you can't watch a lot of programs now because of the adult content. We're robbing these kids...of their childhood. We're over-sexualizing them at younger and younger ages.

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All kinds of straight sex is apparently fine, but the second two guys lock lips, the world order is somehow threatened. Just to set the record straight, GLAAD looked at the number of kisses shown during the Awards program and found that only 3 scenes of male to male kissing were televised out of a total of 17 kissing scenes. Thus, I'm not sure how 3 kisses amounts to "they keep showing" scenes of men kissing. Here's a video clip that GLAAD put together - you decide whether the scenes are "adult content" - my advice to Hannity is to get over it. We are here, we are citizens, and we're not going back in the closet no matter how much some would prefer that we do so.

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Truth Wins Out - GLAAD Documentary Interview

I had my interview with Wayne Besen yesterday which will be used in one or more documentaries being done for Truth Wins Out (http://www.truthwinsout.org/) and GLAAD (http://www.glaad.org/) that will be used to expose the fraud of the ex-gay cure programs. The interview focused on the events leading up to the story about national ex-gay Michael Johnston that showed he was certainly not cured and had been exposing unknowing victims to HIV.

We also talked about the unbelievable fact that the American Family Association ("AFA") is trying to rehabilitate Johnston and is marketing his books and videos which purported that he was "cured of homosexuality by accepting Jesus." I have always found AFA to be among the most dishonest of the anti-gay Christianist organizations, but HOW they can market Michael Johnston's materials when they know his story was an outright lie is mind boggling. AFA is taking hypocrisy to a whole new level and showing once again that all they truly care about is money and using the "cure myth" for political purposes. Rev. Wildmon deserves a "Worse Person in the World" award from Keith Olbermann for this callous deception.