RNC Nixes Proposed Anti-Gay Resolutions

While the Christofascist elements of the party base will likely be outraged, perhaps the Republican National Committee ("RNC") has finally realized that homophobia and anti-gay extremism is not good for the GOP's long term viability as a national political party.  At least that is one possible take away from the RNC action today killing two controversial anti-gay resolutions that were proposed for consideration during its summer meeting this week in Cleveland.  It is also possible that the RNC did not to fuel a furor ahead of its first presidential circus debate event tomorrow after the Democrat National Committee had jumped on news that the proposals were up for consideration.  One can almost imagine the shrieks and howls - and sheets of flying spittle - that must be occurring in the headquarters of hate groups like Family Research Council, NOM and The Family Foundation here in Virginia.  Here are highlights from Time.com on the development:

The Republican National Committee’s resolutions committee quietly rejected a pair of resolutions critical of homosexuality Wednesday.

The controversial resolutions dealing with sex education and same-sex marriage threatened to cast a shadow on the first GOP presidential debate Thursday in Cleveland, as the party looks toward expanding its base in the key swing state. According to a member of the committee, both failed to gain support to be recommended to the full 168-member party governing body on Friday.

The first resolution, introduced by embattled Michigan national committeeman Dave Agema, would have encouraged “schools that are teaching the homosexual lifestyle in their sexual education class also include the harmful physical aspects of the lifestyle.” The second, which would have encouraged Congress and states to pass laws in an effort to nullify June’s Supreme Court decision legalizing same-sex marriage nationwide, was introduced by Louisiana national committeeman Ross Little, Jr. The Washington Blade first reported on the proposed resolutions over the weekend.

The proposals quickly garnered attention and criticism from the Democratic National Committee and same-sex marriage proponents. The Human Rights Campaign launched a digital ad campaign Wednesday to encourage candidates to support the plaintiff in Obergefell v. Hodges, Ohioan Jim Obergefell.

But the resolutions committee also failed to approve a counter-proposal that would have called for the party to respect differing opinions on the Supreme Court case among its presidential candidates.

According to a person familiar with the resolutions committee meeting, only four resolutions were sent to the full Republican National Committee for a final vote on Friday: one condemning Planned Parenthood amid recent controversial videos about fetal tissue, another condemning President Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran, a resolution on judicial overreach, and a fourth honoring a recently deceased former RNC member.

While it is possible that the resolutions could be offered once again at the general session on Friday, such a move is seen as unlikely, and would almost certainly fail.

Another take, of course, is that perhaps the GOP is learning that whenever the party takes new anti-gay stands, GOP elected officials tend to get outed - ask former Virginia 2nd district congressman Ed Schrock what happened to him after the Virginia GOP began its anti-gay jihad.

The Duggars' Toxic Christian Fundamentalism

As the Duggar sex molestation scandal continues to go increasingly viral - except on Fox News, of course - more attention is being focused on the cult like religious affiliations of the family.  Some are saying, as in a piece in Salon, that the molestation scandal should come as no surprise to anyone familiar with the Duggars' fundamentalist religious practices and home school organization that is the center of their practices.  Time and time again we see religious fundamentalists - who in my view suffer from a psychological/mental health illness given their obsession with avoiding independent thought and all things sexual - as the ones who are engaging in illicit sex, child pornography and inappropriate behaviors (an ultra-conservative Tea Party leader was recently arrested on child porn charges).  But back to the Salon piece on the Duggars.  Here are highlights:

Unlike most of the writers covering the Duggar sex scandal, I was raised in Advanced Training Institute (ATI), the fundamentalist Christian organization with which the family is affiliated. Joshua Duggar’s confession of sexually molesting young girls in his family’s home when he was a teenager didn’t surprise me, nor should it surprise anyone with any intimate knowledge about this organization, because ATI’s theological beliefs and practices cultivate an environment where women and children are more vulnerable to rape and sexual abuse.

The Duggars didn’t emerge from a subterranean bunker, though. They’ve been on TV promoting the fundamentalist Christian theology of ATI since their first special in 2004 (“14 Children and Pregnant Again!”). ATI is a Christian homeschool organization that hosts seminars worldwide, provides homeschooling curriculum, and even runs its own paramilitary training center.

[T]hey maintain insular groups and often form churches in which all members are affiliated with ATI and/or follow its basic principles. Referred to as “Gothardism” within fundamentalist Christian circles, the teachings of ATI form an ideological system of practices based on the extremely strict, fundamentalist, and idiosyncratic Biblical interpretations of the organization’s founder, Bill Gothard – a man who, in 2014, stepped down as head of ATI following allegations of sexual misconduct with young girls.

The allegations against “Mr. Gothard” (as he is respectfully and worshipfully referred to by his acolytes) were an open secret among group members for many years. As a friend who worked at ATI headquarters once said to me with a wink: “The prettiest girls are always chosen to work the closest with Mr Gothard.”

ATI’s teachings trickle down into every single part of its members’ lives. This is not just a homeschool curriculum, it is a fully institutionalized religious sect with incredibly strict demands to conformity — rules that, in my experience, more often reflect Gothard’s personal preferences than actual Biblical teachings. Have you ever wondered why every Duggar woman perms her hair? It’s because Gothard taught us that curly hair brings out a woman’s natural beauty. Other ATI beliefs that I learned range from utterly bizarre to downright barbaric . . .

And then there are the beliefs  . . . shared throughout the church’s teachings: the antiquated dress codes (especially for girls and women), the required homeschooling, the prohibition on birth control, the strictly gendered division of labor and the absolute and unquestioned authority of the father within the home.

Women and mothers working outside of the home is absolutely forbidden in ATI no matter what the financial situation of the family. Some women are even required to get permission from their husbands if they want to obtain a driver’s license.

Each child is another notch on Jim Bob’s headboard, walking and talking proofs of his masculine virility. Despite this fascination with Michelle’s fertility, there is a critical question that no one ever seems to be ask on camera: just how fragile is the boundary between the loss of a woman’s reproductive control over her body and the loss of her sexual control over her body? From my experience in the ATI culture, it is very, very slim.

A cornerstone belief of ATI is that God appoints husbands in an “umbrella of authority” over their wives, who are mandated by God to obey their husbands completely. That includes absolute sexual and reproductive submission.  

Like any system of abuse, ATI relies on control to maintain its power, and a critical component of that power is the total indoctrination of its members through its homeschool curriculum. The so-called “Wisdom Booklets” that form the backbone of ATI children’s educations contain more Bible verses than they do information. Particularly lacking, in a religious sect so obsessed with reproduction, is any kind of sex education. This is especially true for young women, who receive very little sex education because the church teaches us that women do not have sex drives. 

Women were taught from a very young age that they are to be submissive in all things: allowing men to open doors for us (even to get out of a car), never initiating conversation with a man and never correcting a man when he was wrong. Essentially, a good ATI woman is sweet, silent, and obedient.

This combination of zero sexual knowledge and deeply-ingrained submissiveness left many young girls in our church especially vulnerable to sexual abuse. As a teenager, I became aware that several of my friends were being molested by their older brothers or fathers.

The only hope of escape for young women was through courtship and marriage to a man, who would attempt to immediately impregnate her and to whom she would then relinquish all sexual control.

I hope this latest religion and sex scandal teaches that religious extremism isn’t entertainment. It is abuse. It is abuse when it is used to manipulate, control and victimize those who are rendered helpless within its confines. We should examine how we allow the most vulnerable members of our society to become prey for power-hungry religious leaders and sexual predators. Yes, the family is to blame. Yes, ATI is to blame. But so are we, for spending the past decade pointing and laughing along.

I remain convinced that raising children in far right fundamentalist homes is a form of child abuse.  The larger public needs to understand that fundamentalism - Christian or Muslim - is a sickness and that the "godly folk" all too often are not the nice, decent people they pretend to be.  

Northern VA "Conservative" Parents Upset Over School Curriculum that Admits Gays and Transgender Exist

Having had three children go through the Virginia public schools over the course of the last 25+ years, one thing that never changes is the way in which Christofascists ALWAYS want the school curriculum to reflect their ignorance embracing beliefs that exclude the existence of gays and transgender individuals.  They are self-centered and truly care nothing for the rights of beliefs of others and demand that their darling children be forever sheltered from the realities of real life and the real world.  Now, the Fairfax County School Board has committed the cardinal sin of (i) voting to implement a non-discrimination policy to protect trans students and staff, and (ii) amending the curriculum to include lessons on gender identity and being transgender.  The hate-filled "godly folk" are going ballistic.  Here are highlights from Gay Star News:

Conservative parents are furious about proposed changes to the curriculum for grades 7 to 12 at some schools in Virginia..

Last week, the Fairfax County School Board voted to include gender identity in their non-discrimination policy to expand protection for trans students and staff.

Parents and students opposing the policy change claimed children could choose which bathroom or locker room to use, heightening the danger of sexual harassment.

Now the school board is reportedly planning to extend the curriculum to include lessons on gender identity and being transgender.

‘Students will be provided definitions for sexual orientation terms heterosexuality, homosexuality and bisexuality; and the gender identity term transgender,’ the district’s recommendations state.

‘Emphasis will be placed on recognizing that everyone is experiencing changes and the role of respectful, inclusive language in promoting an environment free of bias and discrimination.‘

Parents have been said to be ‘irate’ over the recommended changes; Fox News columnist Todd Starnes expressed his disagreement, calling the update ‘unadulterated sex indoctrination’.

Peter Sprigg, of the Family Research Council, called it ‘an attack on nature itself’, saying children would be taught they could choose their gender.

‘It’s only going to create more confusion in the minds of young people who don’t need any further confusion about sexual identity,’ he said.

The changes are set to be formally announced on 21 May; because lessons need to be planned, the schools are planning to implement the changes later next year.

 

Virginia Senate Votes to Repeal Forced Ultrsound Bill; Bill Likely to Die in GOP House of Delegates

Virginia's forced ultrasound law earned now indicted Governor Bob McDonnell the nickname "Governor Ultrasound" and made Virginia look like a laughing stock on late night talk shows.  Today, a bill patroned by Mamie Locke, my state senator who gave the boyfriend and me a big hug when we met with her on EV's Day of Action last month, passed the Virginia Senate that would repeal last year's law which sought to override the decisions of physicians with the mandates of Republican members of the Virginia General Assembly beholden to the religious extremists at The Family Foundation.  Sadly, the bill will likely be killed in the GOP controlled House of Delegates which, when not devising ways to stigmatize and marginalize LGBT Virginians or to disenfranchise minority voters, wants to control women's wombs.  First this on point commentary from Blue Virginia:

This afternoon, the Virginia Senate passed a bill to repeal the mandatory ultrasound requirement that Republicans passed in 2012. Senate Democrats provided 19 of the 20 votes which produced a tie, broken by Democratic Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam.

SB 617, patroned by Senator Mamie Locke (D – Hampton), would repeal themandatory ultrasound requirement that Republicans passed in 2012. Under that law, women seeking an abortion must submit to an abdominal ultrasound — regardless of their wishes, and regardless of the wishes of their doctors.

“Let’s call the ultrasound mandate what it really is: a measure to shame, judge, and delay a woman’s access to the health care she seeks,” said Sen. Locke. “The state should not meddle in what ought to be a personal, private decision between a woman, her family, her faith, and her doctor. I am encouraged that members of the Senate saw the value in repealing this law. This is a great victory for the women of Virginia.”

“We need to think about the rights of individuals: of women, men and all of us. Because when one group us has their rights threatened, we all have our rights threatened,” said Sen. Favola (D-Arlington). "I'm glad my colleagues agreed and voted to protect women's rights."

“When an ultrasound is necessary, a doctor knows. There's no one on the floor, with the exception of the lieutenant governor, who's qualified to practice medicine,” saidSen. Ebbin (D-Alexandria). “This bill can be broken down to seven words: let doctors decide how to practice medicine.”

“The question of what is medically necessary should be decided by a physician, not by the General Assembly,” added Sen. Edwards (D-Roanoke). “Let's not practice medicine. Lets not have the hubris or the arrogance to tell physicians what they should do.”

Unfortunately, as the Richmond Times Dispatch notes, the bill is likely to be killed in the House of Delegates where Republicans who make tawdry whores look virtuous by comparison will do the bidding of The Family Foundation.  Here are excerpts:

The Senate vote for repeal is largely symbolic. Republicans hold two-thirds of the votes in the House of Delegates, which already has rejected bills to scrap the ultrasound requirement.

Abortion-rights advocates praised the bill's passage.

“We are absolutely thrilled to see the Virginia Senate take a strong stance for women’s health and rights and vote to pass this critical bill,” said Tarina Keene, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia. “Virginia’s current mandatory ultrasound law is a gross invasion of women’s personal privacy and the doctor patient relationship.”

The GOP-dominated House of Delegates is expected to kill the Senate bill in subcommittee, preventing it from ever reaching Gov. Terry McAuliffe, a Democrat who supports repeal.

I personally believe that abortion should be safe and rare.  Common sense and scientifically based sex education could go a long way toward reducing the number of abortions not only in Virginia but nationwide.  However, ever effort to provide such reality based sex education is opposed by, you guessed it, The Family Foundation.  These foul hypocrites do not want abortions to occur, but block measures that would make abortion less prevalent.

Federal Court Morning-After Pill Ruling Riles Christianists

America continues to have a far higher teen pregnancy rate than other developed countries for a simple reason: American sex education programs and access to contraception is opposed by the Christofascists who live in a fantasy world where they believe that "abstinence only" sex education is the only approach that can be allowed.   Sadly, too many politicians including in the Obama administration are afraid to take on this batshitery.  Meanwhile, the Bible belt has the highest teen pregnancy rate (and the highest divorce rate).  A federal court ruling has struck down the ban on sales of the so-called morning after pill to women under 17 and has reignited the convulsions and spittle eruptions among the "godly Christian" crowd who seemingly would prefer more pregnancies - and ultimately more abortions -  than otherwise would need be the case.  Combined with their lack of any concern for children once they are born as evidenced by their support for draconian GOP cuts to programs for poor children, it demonstrates the hypocrisy of the Christofascist crowd which might just as well have "Modern Day Pharisee" tattooed on their foreheads.  A story in the Washington Post looks at the court ruling.

A federal court ruling Friday requiring the government to make the morning-after pill available to females of any age without a prescription reignited a politically fraught debate that has stretched for more than a decade, vexing two administrations.

In a 59-page ruling, U.S. District Judge Edward Korman in New York offered a scathing rebuke of the 2011 decision by Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to bar over-the-counter sales of the pill to girls younger than 17. Sebelius had overruled a recommendation from the Food and Drug Administration, which had found the emergency contraceptive was “safe and effective in adolescent females” and could be used properly by young women without consulting a doctor.

The judge ordered the FDA to lift the age restrictions within 30 days. The Obama administration has not said whether it will appeal the ruling.  Korman called Sebelius’s decision “politically motivated, scientifically unjustified, and contrary to agency precedent.” 

Women’s health advocates and major medical groups were quick to praise Friday’s ruling, saying it would help prevent unwanted pregnancies and remove unnecessary hurdles that often prevent teenagers from getting the pill in a timely manner. 

Meanwhile, antiabortion activists called the decision short-sighted, saying it could lead to more unprotected sex among teenagers, while also lowering the number of sexually active teens who are likely to discuss such issues with their parents or a doctor. 

Plan B is classified by the FDA as an emergency contraceptive and greatly reduces the chance of pregnancy if taken within 72 hours after intercourse. It differs from abortion drugs such as RU486, which is intended to terminate a pregnancy that already has been established.

Rather than condemning the decision, if Christianists truly want to lower abortions, they ought to be welcoming the ruling.  The fact that they are not shows that their real issue is a religious based obsession that sex is dirty, etc.  Teens will have sex no matter what  these fantasy world dwellers want to believe and the best way to prevent abortions is through better sex education and wider access to preventive measures such as Plan B.  These folks aren't really "pro-life," they are anti-sex.

How Romney Would Treat Women

As the father of two smart, capable and wonderful daughters I have real concerns about today's misogynistic Republican Party views women.  Even more, so I worry about the course women's rights and equal pay for equal work would take under a Romney/Ryan administration.   With no daughters of his own, the already empathy free Romney truly has no clue or motivation that we fathers- at least those of not subscribing to the keep them barefoot and pregnant mentality of some evangelical denominations -  have for our daughters.  Nicholas Kristof makes the point in the New York Times that it is not just women who need to be worried about what a Medieval like Romney/Ryan administration would likely usher in for the female half of the nation's population.  He also correctly points out that if the GOP really wanted to reduce abortions rather than inflict far right Christianists views on all, it would support family planning and contraception initiatives, both of which are anathema to the Christofascists.  Here are some column highlights:

IN this year’s campaign furor over a supposed “war on women,” involving birth control and abortion, the assumption is that the audience worrying about these issues is just women.   Give us a little credit. We men aren’t mercenaries caring only for Y chromosomes. We have wives and daughters, mothers and sisters, and we have a pretty intimate stake in contraception as well.  

When it comes to women’s health, men as well as women need to pay attention. Just as civil rights wasn’t just a “black issue,” women’s rights and reproductive health shouldn’t be reduced to a “women’s issue.”  .  .  .  .  [W]hatever we call it, something real is going on here at home that would mark a major setback for American women — and the men who love them. 

On these issues, Mitt Romney is no moderate. On the contrary, he is considerably more extreme than President George W. Bush was. He insists, for example, on cutting off money for cancer screenings conducted by Planned Parenthood. 

The most toxic issue is abortion, and what matters most for that is Supreme Court appointments. The oldest justice is Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a 79-year-old liberal, and if she were replaced by a younger Antonin Scalia, the balance might shift on many issues, including abortion.  One result might be the overturning of Roe v. Wade, which for nearly four decades has guaranteed abortion rights. If it is overturned, abortion will be left to the states — and in Mississippi or Kansas, women might end up being arrested for obtaining abortions. 

Romney’s campaign Web site takes a hard line. It says that life begins at conception, and it gives no hint of exceptions in which he would permit abortion. The Republican Party platform likewise offers no exceptions. Romney says now that his policy is to oppose abortion with three exceptions: rape, incest and when the life of the mother is at stake. 

Romney has also endorsed a “personhood” initiative treating a fertilized egg as a legal person. That could lead to murder charges for an abortion, even to save the life of a mother.   In effect, Romney seems to have jumped on board a Republican bandwagon to tighten access to abortion across the board. 

If politicians want to reduce the number of abortions, they should promote family planning and comprehensive sex education. After all, about half of all pregnancies in the United States are unintended, according to the Guttmacher Institute, which conducts research on reproductive health.

Romney has boasted that he would cut off all money for Planned Parenthood — even though federal assistance for the organization has nothing to do with abortions. It pays for such things as screenings to reduce breast cancer and cervical cancer. 

Romney’s suspicion of contraception goes way back. As governor of Massachusetts, he vetoed a bill that would have given women who were raped access to emergency contraception. 

Yet Romney seems determined to curb access to contraceptives. His campaign Web site says he would “eliminate Title X family planning funding,” a program created in large part by two Republicans, George H. W. Bush and Richard Nixon. 

So when you hear people scoff that there’s no real difference between Obama and Romney, don’t believe them.  And it’s not just women who should be offended at the prospect of a major step backward. It’s all of us. 

The worse part of the GOP/Christianist hypocrisy, however, is that once a fetus is born, they basically cease giving a damn about it.  They seek to reduce health care availability for children and seek to slash programs that aid children born to poor families.  Once again, I wind the words "HYPOCRITES and LIARS" on my lips.

How to Save Marriage: Religious Sex -Toy Sites

What makes a vibrator holy? That's a question investigated by an article The Daily Beast which demonstrates that someone there has a great sense of humor. The post looks at the growing market for sex toys via "religious" sex-toy shops online and is too funny. Sample sites are "Covenant Spice" which describes itself as "Christ honoring sex and romance site for couples," and "Intimacy of Eden" which promises to ignite passion and romance for a healthy, heavenly marriage." Apparently, the theory behind the products is that good sex will strengthen the marriages of the self-congratulatory pious set. After all, these "godly Christians" have been raised to view all things sexual as nasty and dirty. Even as they lust for it probably all the more - sort of the forbidden fruit is always more alluring type of thing.

However, don't hold your breath waiting for Catholic related online shops to spring up any time soon. Per the teachings of the bitter old men in dresses in Rome, sex is only for procreation (unless you're a priest raping an altar boy, of course) and if there's even a hint of pleasure and enjoyment involved, then a trip to the confessional is clearly in order. Maybe Maggie Gallagher and Elaine Donnelly should check out these sites so that they could losing their obsessions with gay sex. Here are some highlights from the post:

Sex and religion have long been perceived to be at odds, with carnal pleasures representing sin more than saintliness. Yet in recent years, a handful of savvy Christian, Jewish and Muslim entrepreneurs have embraced the notion that the two can coexist in a way that jibes with doctrine—and even glorifies traditional values by strengthening marriages.

Enter the religious sex-toy industry, which carefully markets and sells a range of sexual-pleasure products to the faithful. With the voice and disposition of a summer-camp director, Joy Wilson founded Book 22 a decade ago, when she had trouble “getting her body to respond” to her husband after their second child, and her online search for remedies yielded scandalous imagery that offended more than it helped. The pioneering site, named after the Biblical book also known as the Song of Solomon, now faces growing competition from rival vendors including Hooking Up Holy, Intimacy of Eden, and Covenant Spice.

And the industry grew exponentially this fall with the launch of the Orthodox Jewish shop Kosher Sex Toys, and last year with the Muslim vendor El Asira.

To be clear, the “religious people” targeted are married, heterosexual religious people; pious sex-toy vendors market their products exclusively to these couples. Unlucky in love and looking for some solitary fun after morning prayers? Look elsewhere.

The burgeoning niche, part of the roughly $15 billion sex-toy industry, reports that business has been steadily growing, with most sites shipping a few hundred orders per month. Clients usually find them through Google, say the owners, or a thoughtful religious leader or astute sex therapist.

To an outsider, visiting the religious sites feels a bit like listening to the bleeped-out version of an explicit hip-hop song: the substance is the same, it’s just missing the X-rated details. None of the sites feature any nudity, instead relying on mannequins to display lingerie. Nor do they feature any sexy language. Kosher Sex Toys, for example, rewrites product descriptions that risk shocking its audience. (The “Butterfly Clitoris Stimulator” becomes, simply, the “Vibrating Stimulator.”) And while they don’t flaunt their holiness, they’ll occasionally rely on religious messaging to sell themselves, or perhaps put potential customers at ease. Book 22, for example, promises to “enhance the intimate life of all God’s children.”

Despite consistencies across the religious sites, the vendors do vary based on doctrine, audience, and each owner’s preferences. Wilson refuses to sell anal devices and condoms, not because she objects, but because her customers do. “The Catholics protested the condoms, and the evangelical Christian community is sensitive about anal sex and play,” she said. “But I’ll special order anything if people ask.”

The homepage for El Asira, which means “The Society” in Arabic, is partitioned by gender, with two ornate mosque doors—and while it carries women's lingerie and a range of massage products, oils and lubricants sell best.

Meanwhile, Kosher Sex Toys’ Gavriel won’t stock male masturbatory aids because, he says, God frowns on wasted potential, according to the Torah. However, since Judaism doesn't prohibit female self-pleasure, he carries myriad trinkets that buzz. He also proudly sells whips and drip candles; performance-enhancing pills and sprays; clear-heeled shoes and thigh-high boots; and a variety of handcuffs, restraints, and tools for cutting them off.

Indeed, navigating ingrained religious beliefs, and misconceptions, about sex and pleasure poses a continuous challenge for site owners, who have either taken it upon themselves to advise clients or enlisted the help of experts. Wilson pursued a master's degree in counseling to better help her customers. And Kosher Sex Toys keeps the rabbi and sex therapist Ribner on call as a licensed authority on both sex and scripture. Because of a lack of proper sex education, Ribner said, religious couples often suffer from misguided advice.

Hampton Roads' Youth in Crisis: Contracting HIV

In the November issue of VEER Magazine I wrote about World AIDS Day (December 1, 2011) and the fact that HIV/AIDS is not just a gay issue despite the efforts of Christianists to dupe their sheep like followers and the larger public to the contrary. Over the weekend a friend via political circles, John Chittick, executive director of the Norfolk-based nonprofit TeenAIDS-PeerCorps, wrote an op-ed in the Virginian Pilot that further underscores. He also correctly looks at the pathetic state of sex-education in Virginia's public schools which is aimed more at keeping the Bible beaters happy than educating and protecting our youth. Here are some highlights from the column:

"I didn't know nothin' about AIDS. He was my first real boyfriend and was going into the Navy. I was thinking only about love.... Now my life's over, and I'm only 17!"

"Carly" - who agreed to tell her story only if I didn't reveal her real name - is a junior at a high school in Hampton Roads. Blond hair falls across her face, wet with tears of regret and the realization that a horrible mistake has occurred. She whispers, "It's not fair." Like many teens, it is hard for her to accept the consequences of her actions.

Carly had no idea that Hampton Roads is now the epicenter of HIV/AIDS in Virginia, and Norfolk is No. 1. "I wish someone had told me about this stuff." Yet her ignorance was not really her fault.

Yes, she made the decision to have unprotected sex with her boyfriend. But her school has not provided any meaningful AIDS education for years since the story fell off the public's radar.

When the head of her school was offered the free services of this AIDS expert, his answer was disheartening: "You have to understand that it's not really a problem for us like it might be at other schools because our students are not into things like that... and we can't make the time with our focus on SOLs and sports."

Dec. 1 is World AIDS Day, the 30th anniversary of the public's first awareness of a mysterious disease in Africa and a few American cities. In the U.S., gay men were among the early victims, but in Africa HIV/AIDS was spread through heterosexual contact.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that 25 percent of all new cases of HIV in the U.S. occur among teens. Unfortunately, AIDS has become passe, a sleeper issue - but not for vulnerable teens.

We are facing a global pandemic of heterosexually transmitted youth HIV. And the clock is ticking here in Hampton Roads. The key to curbing the spread of teen AIDS is empowering young volunteers to reach out to their friends so the message grows exponentially. It doesn't cost taxpayers anything. And teens make the most convincing messengers. If only Carly had heard that message.

Damaged lives - all because the Virginia General Assembly would rather kiss the asses of sanctimonious haters like Victoria Cobb and her cohorts at The Family Foundation than protect Virginia's youth. These Christianists need to find some other way to fell superior and fulfilled by their bitter, empty lives.

Safe Sex Education is a Must

Tonight the boyfriend and I are hosting a fundraiser for ACCESSAIDS Care at one of the participating restaurants in the area for Dining Out for Life and what strikes me is that with everything that is now known about HIV/AIDS, young gays are still becoming infected at alarming rates. While HIV/AIDS is not the guaranteed death sentence of 30 years ago, why on earth aren't young people - and many older people more careful? If one is not in a 100% monogamous relationship with someone who has been tested and is HIV-, one should NEVER have unsafe sex. Yet it happens over and over again that care and common sense are thrown to the wind and potentially deadly conduct is engaged in as a result of foolishness, too much alcohol or perhaps drug induced stupidity. Now, porn star Sean Lockhart - better known as Brent Corrigan - who is no stranger to controversy and negative news is featured in same sex videos being put out by Washington D.C.– based STD prevention group DC Fuk !t. The first video - which is definitely NSFW - is explicit and hopefully will get the attention of those who might otherwise engage in stupid conduct since Corrigan is featured in it. Here's some highlights from The Advocate's take on the safe sex campaign:
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Porn star Brent Corrigan has partnered with Washington D.C.–based STD prevention group DC Fuk !t for a series of instructional videos on proper condom use and sexual health.
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The program launched last year after a study revealed the nation’s capital has the highest percentage of HIV-positive residents in the country. It promotes safe sex and condom use through the distribution of safe sex kits promoted by a series of provocative, often sexually graphic ads and videos.
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Cofounder Terry Gerace, M.D. says he recruited Corrigan for the campaign because of what he’s learned since starring in a series of bareback films at the beginning of his career while he was still underage.
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“He has long since become an advocate for safer sex and has very publicly apologized for his past appearances in films depicting unsafe sexual practices,” Gerace says. Garace talked to The Advocate about Corrigan’s video shoot, why he thinks the young porn star has more than redeemed himself for his bareback films, . .
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It was really about it being someone who learned from their behavior and made a change, which I think represents most young people. They’ll start out doing something high-risk, and if they’re lucky, they’ll survive it and make a change. That’s what he did, so I think in a lot of ways, he represents your average person.
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It’s about being honest, really. Gay men don’t learn a lot about sex in the sex-ed classroom. They learn on the Internet, from porn. That’s where they’re getting this material, and we were seeing such resurgence in bareback online that we needed to put out an alternative that focused on safer sex. It’s tongue-in-cheek. a little bit. that they’re public service announcements, but they’re very straightforward in showing you exactly what you have to do. I think they’re pretty effective. I was bracing for negative feedback, and frankly, we haven’t gotten any.
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Kudos to Fuk !T and Corrigan. I hope the campaign helps individuals to avoid an avoidable disease. And again, DO NOT watch the video at work!!

Harry Potter Star Daniel Radcliffe Blasts Parents Who Oppose Gay Sex Ed

Daniel Radcliffe, who just recently gave a major donation to the Trevor Project, has taken another step in support of LGBT youth by blasting homophobic Christo-fascists who oppose education about homosexual sex in the classroom. Like it or not LGBT youth do exist and they have every right to competent and fact based sex education just like every other student (although I suspect that these same people oppose sex ed period unless it's abstinence only - an approach that has been documented NOT to work). We truly need more stars speaking out and putting their money where their mouths are when it comes to challenging the hate and intolerance disseminated daily by "family values" professional Christians. Frankly, I believe that nothing would make some of these homophobes happier than to see all LGBT individuals sicken with HIV and die. Here are some highlights on Radcliffe's statements:

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20-year-old Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe has, in an interview with a homosexual magazine, expressed anger and intolerance for parents who oppose education about homosexual sex in the classroom. "Then there's all this stuff at the moment, which is hateful, about people being up in arms about the idea of gay sex education in schools. Hello!?! Actually for the one or two gay kids in the class, it's f***ing vital! It really makes me angry," he said in an interview with Attitude.

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The magazine quotes Radcliffe continuing his tirade against pro-family parents saying: "I just loathe homophobia. It's just disgusting and animal and stupid and it's just thick people who can't get their heads around it and are just scared." He concluded the point assuring his interviewer, "I'm not just saying that because I'm being interviewed for Attitude. I'd be using a lot stronger language if this wasn't on tape."

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Radcliffe returned to the theme when asked about Potter author Rowlings' admission that she intended one of the characters in the novels and film to be homosexual. "The idea that there can't be a gay character in a kid's film," he said. "It's the same thing, this terrible fear of exposing anybody below the age of consent to anything vaguely gay … it's ridiculous. I just brushed those questions aside. I'd never normally do that but some things I won't waste my time with."

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Kudos to Daniel for calling it like it is.

The Real Cost of Abstinence-Only Sex Education

In light of John McSenile's selection of Christianist high priestess, Alaska Governor Sarah Plain, as his running mate, a new column in the New York Times is most timely. Since Palin and the Kool-Aid drinking base of the Republican Party believe in abstinence-only education - which is in keeping with their mindset of believing that merely not mentioning something will make it go away - it is important to look at the true cost of these religion based programs in terms of their ineffectiveness not to mention the millions of dollars being wasted. The statistics are appalling (click the chart above for a larger copy) and truly make all Americans look like a bunch of moronic idiots. This sad statistics are yet one more product of the failed Bush/Cheney regime which has put religious views before science time and time again. It is truly time that rational adults retake control of this country and banish the religious zealots back to the wilderness. Here are some column high lights:
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Sarah Palin has a pregnant teenager. And, she’s not alone. According to a report published in 2007, there are more than 400,000 other American girls in the same predicament. In fact, a 2001 Unicef report said that the United States teenage birthrate was higher than any other member of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. The U.S. tied Hungary for the most abortions. This was in spite of the fact that girls in the U.S. were not the most sexually active. Denmark held that title. But, its teenage birthrate was one-sixth of ours, and its teenage abortion rate was half of ours.

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If there is a shame here, it’s a national shame — a failure of our puritanical society to accept and deal with the facts. Teenagers have sex. How often and how safely depends on how much knowledge and support they have. Crossing our fingers that they won’t cross the line is not an intelligent strategy.

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Parents don’t like it either. According to a 2004 survey sponsored by NPR, the Kaiser Family Foundation and Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, 65 percent of parents of high school students said that federal money “should be used to fund more comprehensive sex education programs that include information on how to obtain and use condoms and other contraceptives.”

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We need to take some bold steps beyond the borders of our moralizing and discomfort and create a sex education infrastructure that actually acknowledges reality and protects our children from unwanted pregnancies, or worse.

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“International evidence suggests that high-quality sex and relationship education that puts sex in its proper context, that starts early enough to make a difference and that gives youngsters the confidence and ability to make well-informed decisions helps young people delay their first sexual experience and leads to lower teenage pregnancy levels.”