Pope Francis' Encyclical on the Environment Sides With Science.

While the Roman Catholic Church ignores many aspects of science and scientific knowledge - e.g., modern knowledge on sexual orientation - a draft of Poe Francis' much-anticipated encyclical on the environment comes down hard on the side of science and sets the stage for Republican climate change deniers having to attack the Pope/Catholic Church.  In some ways the scheduled release of the encyclical could not be better in terms of roiling the political waters of the 2016 presidential contest.  A piece in The Daily Beast looks at the basics of the draft encyclical which should be causing headaches for Republicans like Marco Rubio who claim to be devout Catholics yet sell their souls to the ugliest elements of the ignorance embracing of the party base.  Here are article highlights:

It almost sounds like the beginning of a bad joke, but on Thursday a Catholic cardinal, an Orthodox theologian and an atheist scientist will walk into the Vatican synod hall and present Pope Francis’s hotly anticipated encyclical on the environment.  The hype around the document has been so fevered that it even spawned a silly spoof movie trailer in which the super pope fights an epic battle to save the planet.  And the Vatican City state secrecy that surrounded it only increased the drama.

But on Monday, a leaked version of the encyclical was published prematurely by the Italian weekly magazine L’Espresso, which printed the full text of a 192-page document with six chapters and two new prayers by Pope Francis dedicated to “the communal home that is planet earth.”

Because the leaked text is not an official Vatican document, we won’t know for sure until Thursday just how close it is to the final product, but a number of major publications, including The Guardian and The New York Times ignored the Vatican’s pleas for restraint and chose to publish extensive excerpts anyway.  

If the leaked draft is at all close to the final encyclical, we can expect that, as predicted, Francis comes down on the side of scientists who have concluded climate change is greatly affected by man-made pollution. It starts with the pope’s warning that the earth, “is protesting for the wrong that we are doing to her, because of the irresponsible use and abuse of the goods that God has placed on her.” He argues that people must change their lifestyles and methods of consumption to combat global warming.

No matter what edits made the final cut in the official encyclical—or what, for that matter, motivated the leaking of a religious text—the pope’s emphasis on respect for the environment as a moral issue is what is important.  “It will be a combination of that more rarified genre of the encyclical with some real moments of distinctly Francis rhetoric,” Peppard predicted, which, if the draft is any indication, is right on the mark.

That doesn’t mean the pope or Vatican are looking for a particular policy solution, although Peppard believes the timing of its official release is not by coincidence ahead of his crucial September visit to the United States where he will address the United Nations and Congress in addition to his duties at World Meeting of the Families in Philadelphia and a side trip to Cuba.

[T]he fact that anyone cares what a religious leader says about science is really a testament to the Francis effect and the potential he has to reach the masses.  Of course whether any of that will actually help save the planet is an entirely different matter.

Will GOP Congressional Freshman Be Short Timers?

I've noted before that the Republican Party has created two Frankenstein monsters that plague the party and which may well be it eventual undoing: the Christianist faction and the so-called Tea Party. Neither of these factions deal in facts and an objective reality and sooner or later the short term advantages of embracing these poisonous groups will likely have a very real negative consequence. In the short term, as an article in the New Times notes, the current class of GOP freshman in the House of Representatives may be unseated - often by someone even more untethered from reality than the current crop of GOP loons. But for the danger the trend bodes for the country in the short term, there would almost be some perverse pleasure to be had in watching the self-demolition play out. Here are some article highlights:
*
WASHINGTON — Just when freshman House Republicans have finally learned their way to the Cannon Caucus Room, how to vote on a motion to proceed and which commissary serves the best tuna sandwiches, someone back home — worse, someone from their own party — wants to take it all away.
*
It is miles to go before the 2012 Congressional races begin in earnest, but already some of the 87 freshmen who helped the Republicans win back the House last year are bracing for a challenge from within the party. At least half a dozen potential primary challengers to freshmen are considering a run, and there is heated chatter about more.
*
In some ways, the freshmen are responsible for their own predicament. Many won their seats after successfully challenging establishment Republicans in primaries . . . . Now, to some of the impatient and ideological voters who sent them to Washington to change things, the new House members may be seen as the establishment, and they face the disconcerting prospect of immediately defending themselves in the political marketplace.
*
[G]roups aligned with the Tea Party movement, which helped push many new-to-politics candidates into House seats, are disenchanted with some of their new hires and are pondering if they can raise the money, and the firepower, to find someone to take them on. “I do think it is going to be more competitive,” said Jenny Beth Martin, a co-founder of the Tea Party Patriots. “With the freshmen who claim to be Tea Party or claim to support the ideas of the Tea Party movement but haven’t kept their promise, I think it will be tough for them.”

Is a Possible John Boehner Adultry Scandal Brewing?

I generally do not take much notice of what the National Inquirer reports given the rag's tendency to fabricate truly bat shit crazy stories. On the other hand, the Inquirer was 100% on target with the John Edwards sex scandal, so the publication cannot be safely ignored either. Now the Inquirer is reportedly about to release a story exposing the teary eyed, Uber-Catholic current Speaker of the House John Boehner as having had an adulterous affair with a lobbyist. If indeed the story pans out, Boehner would be yet another Republican hypocrite who preaches "family values" and denigrates LGBT Americans while blatantly not practicing what he preaches. I wish no one ill, but if the Inquirer is on the mark, it will be sweet watching the Christianists and self-congratulatory members of the GOP eating crow. I guess we will have to see what proof the Inquirer offers tomorrow. Here are highlights from the Stark Report:

*

The New York Times passed on the story (if there ever was one; Page 6 of the New York Post isn’t known as the beginning and end of truth), but evidently Boehner hasn’t been successful in making the story go away. I was recently contacted by a reporter from the National Enquirer, and now I have confirmation that their story will hit the newsstands on Thursday.

*
Wonder how well Boehner’s zero-tolerance pledge regarding corruption will hold up when it comes out that several hundred paper-making jobs were lost in his district and he refused to do anything about it at the same time he was sleeping with a lobbyist for the printing industry that was very happy to get their cheap paper from China.

U.S. Recruited and Assisted Former Nazis - Another Blow to Supposed American Exceptionalism

I am not anti-American by any means, but it disturbs me greatly when xenophobes Sarah Palin and many in the Kool-Aid drinking Tea Party ranks depict the United States as some type of God-favored nation while glossing over the sordid and often morally deficient aspects of the nation's past. A new report, “Hitler’s Shadow: Nazi War Criminals, U.S. Intelligence and the Cold War,” is anything but complimentary or supportive of America's alleged exceptionalism. Indeed, the report based on materials declassified in the National Archives shows that all too often barbarous murderers were allowed to escape justice or were brought to America if they were deemed to have useful knowledge and/or skills. To me, the only way to avoid repeating dishonorable deeds is to admit that the nation is not perfect and in no wise chosen by God as something special. Such an honest look at our history may not be good for jingoists, but if true morality is supposed to matter, the ugly truth needs to be recognized and never repeated. Here are highlights from the New York Times on the new report:
*
After World War II, American counterintelligence recruited former Gestapo officers, SS veterans and Nazi collaborators to an even greater extent than had been previously disclosed and helped many of them avoid prosecution or looked the other way when they escaped, according to thousands of newly declassified documents.
*
“When the Klaus Barbie story broke, about his escaping with American help to Bolivia, we thought there weren’t any more stories like that, that Barbie was an exception,” said Norman J. W. Goda, a University of Florida professor and co-author of the report with Professor Richard Breitman of American University. “What we found in the record is that there were a fair number, and that it seems more systematic.”
*
“Hitler’s Shadow” adds a further dimension to a separate Justice Department history of American Nazi-hunting operations, which the government has refused to release since 2006 and which concluded that American intelligence officials created a “safe haven” in the United States for certain other former Nazis.
*
Like earlier reports generated by the group, this one paints a grim portrait of bureaucracy, turf wars and communication gaps among intelligence agencies. It also details blatantly cynical self-interested tactical decisions by Allied governments and a general predisposition that some war crimes by former Nazis and their collaborators should be overlooked because the suspects could be transformed into valuable assets.
*
Among them was Rudolf Mildner, who was “responsible for the execution of hundreds, if not thousands, of suspected Polish resisters” and as a German police commander was in Denmark when Hitler ordered the country’s 8,000 Jews deported to Auschwitz.
*
The report cites other cases that parallel the experience of Klaus Barbie, known as the Butcher of Lyon. He cooperated with American intelligence agents who helped him flee to Argentina. One of those cases involved Anton Mahler, who as a Gestapo anti-communist agent interrogated Hans Scholl, the German underground student leader who was beheaded in 1943. Mr. Mahler also served in Einsatzgruppe B in occupied Belarus, which was blamed for the execution of more than 45,000 people, mostly Jews.
*
In 1952, the report says, the C.I.A. moved to protect Mykola Lebed, a Ukrainian nationalist leader, from a criminal investigation by the Immigration and Naturalization Service. He would work for American intelligence in Europe and the United States through the 1980s, despite being implicated in guerrilla units during the war that killed Jews and Poles and being described by an Army counterintelligence report as a “well-known sadist and collaborator of the Germans.”
*
It is not a pretty picture, but Americans need to open their eyes to the truth rather than patting themselves on the back and convincing themselves that they and the USA are special or even favored by God.

Fort Worth City Councilman Gives Moving Message to Gay Teens

I had not viewed Fort Worth city councilman Joel Burns' message to gay teens in its entirety until tonight. If you haven't wated the whole thing, you need to do so. The boyfriend and I were in tears by the end of it. Burns reviews each of the recent gay teen suicides and then gives his own personal testimonial. It is amazing and highly troubling. Amazing because of its power and authenticity. Highly disturbing because the forces that led these youth and young men to take their own lives are alive and well and, in fact, are likely being stoked by the actions of the President of the United States through his appeal of the federal court rulings on DADT and DOMA . It should be mandatory that EVERY member of Congress watch this entire video. The same goes for the liar-in-chief in the White House. Here is a video of Burns' amazing speech/statement:

Blogswarm: Demand LGBT Employment Rights Today

Like many others, I am very disturbed that ENDA - the Employment Non-Discrimination Act is languishing in Congress. This is especially true since in Virginia, LGBT citizens have ZERO employment non discrimination protections. As a result, I am joining The Bilerico Project (for which I am a contributor) in participating in a blogswarm today with Daily Kos, Open Left, Americablog, Towleroad, Pam's House Blend, Joe My God, Michelangelo Signorile, David Mixner, Daily Gotham, Culture Kitchen, Taylor Marsh, PageOneQ, Dan Savage, GoodAsYou, and many others. We are all asking our readers to contact Speaker Nancy Pelosi and ask that she move the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (HR 3017) to a floor vote. As one who was forced from a law firm for being gay, I understand full well the need for ENDA. Jillian T. Weiss at The Bilerico Project gives further explanation of why ENDA and action by LGBT citizens is so necessary (these are highlights and I recommend a full read of her post):

*

The Employment Non-Discrimination Act, first introduced in 1994, would prohibit job discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. But LGBT people have never been able to achieve the enactment of the bill, known by the acronym of "ENDA".

*
Last year, the Administration's highest ranking gay official, Office of Personnel Management Director John Berry, indicated that ENDA was highest priority on the LGBT civil rights agenda.

*

Hearings were held last Fall in the House and in the Senate to demonstrate the need for the bill, and testimony was heard on the severe unemployment, underemployment and harassment experienced by LGBT workers. Witnesses testified to the scientific studies demonstrating this. But nothing has happened.

*

Civil rights, by definition, are needed most by those against whom there is most prejudice. Surveys over the last fifteen years show that 16% to 68% of LGBT people surveyed reported experiencing employment discrimination. Preliminary results from a major survey of transgender workers show 97% reported harassment on the job and 26% lost their jobs because of their gender identity.

*

Initially, the Committee said that some technical language required tweaking, ostensibly to insure that plaintiffs could not recover too much money or attorney fees, and to prevent lawsuits based on inadvertent discrimination. But it has become increasingly clear that something else is at work. A clue to the inaction: Speaker Nancy Pelosi publicly told Democrats that she would not move controversial bills. Meanwhile, the House Committee has stated its readiness to move, but is waiting for a signal from Speaker Pelosi.

*

In 30 states across America, there is no law against firing someone based on his or her sexual orientation, and the same is true in 38 states for gender identity. Will you join with us in asking that gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people be protected from job discrimination? Please call Speaker Nancy Pelosi at 202-225-4965. Ask that the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, HR 3017, move to a vote. Please be polite, but firm.

*

After you call, please tell us how the call went by clicking here. If you get a busy signal or hang up, let us know that too.

Who Is at Fault for LGBT Losses?

Besides our fair weather friends in the Democratic Party, others bear responsibility for the loss in Maine and other areas where anti-gay politicians were elected yesterday. And to see who that is, many of us need to look in the mirror. I'm as guilty as any given all the years I lived in the closet trying to be something that I wasn't and listening to the foul anti-gay message disseminated by the Roman Catholic Church. While I am trying to make up for my past omissions, I still can only have but so much condemnation for others who are still doing what I did or for those living their lives only partly out of the closet. As Christine Quinn said at the National Equality March, it is hard for politicians and other voters who will have to look you in the face to vote for bigotry and inequality like a slim majority did in Maine yesterday. The more that all of us live out and openly as who we are and do not hide our relationships, the sooner we can achieve full citizenship. Yes, living out and openly can be scary and even dangerous at times. But the alternative is to keep living in fear and to keep being treated as less than fully human and to have our committed relationships treated as garbage. That is no way to live one's life. I did it for years and I will never do it again - never ever. Pam Spaulding has some similar reflections. Here are some highlights:

*
[I]t's always the first inclination to place the blame at someone's door. The fact is that Protect Maine Equality/No On 1 did everything right, had a voter base they thought could be swayed by making gay families visible, straight allies present, and putting boots on the ground. And it didn't work. I think overall, Maine may just not have been winnable, because we understimate the power of cultural intransigence in accepting civil equality when it comes to LGBTs and marriage.
*
What we all have to do is take a look in the mirror to see what needs to happen to change this -- come out of the closet, live out of the closet, be who you are - a neighbor, co-worker and friend claiming your personal equality as their peer, and to be willing to be sacrifice the comfort of the closet rather than point fingers at gay orgs, the President, Congress, the voting homophobes. As long as our numbers remain artificially small because of that closet, we will fail.
*
One lesson is that LGBTs and allies must be visible, particularly to their lawmakers, at every level. As I've asked many times on the Blend, why is it we can draw thousands to a Pride Day, but only muster 200 to lobby their lawmakers face-to-face. Our priorities are screwed.
*
Without all of our allies out of the closet -- those in elected positions, those with access, and those whose voices are forces to be reckoned with, we'll continue to see the unthinkable -- unconstitutional mob rule over the civil rights of a minority group. Really, some allies may simply following the President's lead -- he was so uninterested in what was going on that he claimed not to watch the election returns. With civil rights on the ballot. What does that tell you about commitment, if you're a potential ally thinking "what can I do to help?" if the POTUS is so casual about the outcome.
*
But the fact is that we must not only gaze in the mirror and assess what we can each do personally to advance equality -- the gAyTM needs to close to stop the enabling. Unfortunately it seems to be one of the only ways to signal there's a problem with the lack of support from purported political allies and organizations. . . . We're definitely not on the same page, that's for sure. Otherwise we wouldn't hear the variations on "just wait until ___ occurs (midterm elections, Obama's [presumed] re-election, pick some BS of the day), we'll come back for you." That's counter-productive action in the name of "strategy" that hurts civil equality progress rather than helps.
*

I truly hope that more in the GLBT community - as well as our friends and families - will get outraged enough to send a resounding message all the way to the White House, U.S. Congress and U.S. Supreme Court that more of the same is unacceptable and that we are not going to be the docile "house gays" any longer.

Glenn Nye for Congress

This evening I attended a fundraiser for Gleen Nye, the Democrat Challenger for the 2nd District of Virginia seat currently held by Republican Congresswoman Thelma Drake. While (1) I do not live in the 2nd District and (2) Thelma Drake is a personal friend of mine, I nonetheless hope Glenn Nye wins in November because Thelma has sadly been largely a rubber stamp for all of the Chimperator's failed policies ranging from Iraq to the opposition of gay rights. Glenn is young, has served in both Afghanistan and Iraq, is supportive of gay rights (he has attended both HRBOR and Equality Virginia events), and is very articulate and smart (I spoke with him at some length tonight). As an added bonus he is pretty easy on the eyes as well.

*

Glenn truly understands the need for a dramatic change from the failed policies of the Chimperator which Thelma Drake has blindly rubber stamped. Glenn's campaign web site is found here. We need more members of Congress who know the reality on the ground overseas as opposed to staged visits and who offer up little more than planned sound bites on information they know nothing about first hand. I hope that readers will check out his campaign web page and better yey donate to his campaign. Here are a few highlights about Glenn:

*

Glenn returned home to Hampton Roads from Iraq, where he advised a U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) program, working closely with military colleagues to stabilize Iraqi neighborhoods by creating employment for over 70,000 Iraqis.

*

He began his foreign service career focusing on economic development in war-torn Eastern Europe, while working for the U.S. Director at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Glenn later joined the U.S. State Department, receiving training in the Albanian language and serving initially in Macedonia and Kosovo. In 2001 he received the State Department's Superior Honor Award for organizing the rescue of American citizens caught behind insurgent lines during a civil conflict in Macedonia and for securing the release of an American citizen held hostage by insurgents.

*

Glenn was then posted to the U.S. Embassy in Singapore, where he helped protect U.S. intellectual property rights during the negotiation of the US-Singapore Free Trade Agreement. From there he volunteered to go to Afghanistan, spending almost a year as part of a U.S. government sponsored team managing the historic Afghan Constitutional Convention and supporting the country's first Presidential election.