New York Times Slams Rentboy Raid

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Don Lemon Slams CNN's "Homophobic" Coverage of Virginia Shooting

As previously noted in prior posts, the far right is having orgasms over the fact that Virginia shooter, Vester Falangan was gay.  Adding to their thrill and titillation is the fact that Flanagan apparently had two gay porn domain names registered in his name.  None of this, of course, has anything to do with Flanagan's top reason for his killing spree: racism and a delusional response to Dylann Root's effort to start a race war through the murder of black churchgoers in Charleston, South Carolina.  Sadly, now some other mainstream media outlets have jumped on the gay website connection (ignoring, of course the reality that the (i) vast majority of porn sites are for heterosexual porn, and (ii) the highest per capita viewership is among Bible Belt evangelicals) to drum up more sensation and, in the process, reinforce the societal idea that there is something wrong or perverted about being gay.   As Pink News reports, CNN anchor Don Lemon had enough of the bigotry and let loose at his own network.  Here are story highlights:

This week WDBJ-TV reporter Alison Parker and videographer Adam Ward were shot and killed during a live TV news report on Wednesday morning in Virginia. Inexplicably, CNN appeared to suggest a link between suspect Vester Flanagan’s (pseudonym Bryce Williams) ownership of legal gay porn sites.

CNN host Don Lemon has since criticised the “gay shaming” reports by his network, whilst condemning the tragedy.

In a video posted by Media Matters he says: “The gay porn site thing, to me, I don’t really see the relevance of it.

“If it’s not illegal, then what’s wrong with him owning gay porn sites or straight porn sites or as a journalist forming a media company like Dan Abrams did? I don’t see anything wrong with it. He’s an entrepreneur, he’s an American — as long as it’s two consenting adults, I don’t see what difference it makes.”

He went on to say: “I don’t want to gay-shame him. There’s nothing wrong with being gay. I’m sure he probably faced some discrimination, as we all do, and that’s horrible. But it still does not condone his actions two days ago.”

Despite CNN’s coverage never explicitly drawing a link between the gay porn sites and the shooting, correspondent Drew Griffin called the revelation “just another disturbing twist” in the incident.

Kudos to Lemon (in the interest of disclosure, we are Facebook friends)! CNN has never been my preferred news outlet and now, I will watch it even less.

Mississippi, Louisiana and Georgia Watch the Most Gay Porn in America

Click image to enlarge

Once again we see more proof that hypocrisy is the norm in the Bible Belt.  Not only do we see higher divorce rates and higher teen pregnancy rates in the Bible Belt - despite supposed religiosity and adherence to the Bible as the "inerrant word of God" - but some of the Bible Belt states have the highest levels of gay porn watching in America.  The liberal northwest states of Oregon and Washington and the liberal states of the Northeast have considerably lower usage rates.  I guess it must be all the closeted married men - and, of course conservative pastors - in the Bible Belt that push the levels so high.  As the story notes, a similar phenomenon has been found in countries with the most anti-gay laws.  Here are details from Gay Star News:

A new study by PornHub and Buzzfeed has found that, on average, people in the US South watch more gay porn than people in states that have legalized same-sex marriage.
PornHub found that out of all 50 US states, Mississippi, Louisiana and Georgia had the biggest number of people searching for gay porn on the internet.
5.58% of porn searches by Mississippians was for gay porn, compared to 5.44% in Louisiana and 5.38% in Georgia.
Florida, Alabama and New Mexico also made the top ten gay porn watching states.
- See more at: http://www.gaystarnews.com/article/mississippi-louisiana-and-georgia-watch-most-gay-porn-america130314#sthash.1FIRc5Fm.dpuf

A new study by PornHub and Buzzfeed has found that, on average, people in the US South watch more gay porn than people in states that have legalized same-sex marriage.

PornHub found that out of all 50 US states, Mississippi, Louisiana and Georgia had the biggest number of people searching for gay porn on the internet.

5.58% of porn searches by Mississippians was for gay porn, compared to 5.44% in Louisiana and 5.38% in Georgia.

Florida, Alabama and New Mexico also made the top ten gay porn watching states.  But some states that had legalized same-sex marriage also had high rates of internet searches for gay porn.

New York state had the fourth largest number of people searching for gay porn and California the sixth – not surprisingly considering those states’ large LGBTI communities.

Alaska, Montana, North Dakota and Idaho had the lowest percentage of gay porn users, all below the 3% mark.

Previous research by Google found that the highest levels of internet searches for gay porn were often from those countries that are most intolerant to gay people such as Uganda, Ghana, Kenya and Zimbabwe.

Gay Porn Star, Will Return To High School After Suspension

A Florida high school has brought itself national ridicule after suspending a 18 year old student who reportedly was being bullied after word got out that he was performing in gay porn - reportedly to earn money to assist his financially strapped mother.  I'm not applauding the young man's job choice, but why wasn't the school punishing the bullies instead of the victim?  Sadly, turning a blind eye to bullying seems to be the norm with school administrators, especially in states like Virginia where the anti-bullying laws are little better than a joke if they are enforced at all. Huffington Post looks at the uproar at Cocoa High School in Brevard County, Florida.  Note how the assholes at the school define being gay as "a lifestyle choice."  Here are highlights:

A story made its rounds on the Internet this weekend after a Florida high school allegedly suspended senior Robert Marucci when the principal discovered the student had appeared in multiple gay porn movies on popular site Sean Cody.

Originally reported through Reddit, the poster claimed that Marucci had been severely bullied after his classmates discovered his after-school job, causing school administrators to allegedly suspend him for "causing a campus disturbance." This suspension would reportedly have meant that Marucci would be unable to graduate due to an automatic "failure from absences," according to the Daily Mail.

The move by the educational institution sparked outrage on social media, causing students to rally behind Marucci through Facebook groups and campus demonstrations.

Now, Click Orlando is reporting that following an investigation school administers are allowing Marucci to return to school grounds -- though they reportedly won't give an exact reason for the suspension, citing privacy laws.

“It’s easy to become emotional about a situation when it looks like a student is being targeted for his lifestyle choices, that is not the case here,” school district spokeswoman Michelle Irwin told reporters. “We will continue to work with the student and his family to make sure he graduates and moves on with his education.”

Marucci's mother, Melyssa Lieb, however, told reporters that she believes her son's work in adult films is why school administrators suspended him.

"She [Dr. Sullivan] flat out told me that my son was expelled not just suspended," she reportedly stated. "He was expelled due to his explicit, adult, lifestyle career."

Uganda Tops Google Use for Searches on "Gay Porn"

This blog seeks to expose hypocrisy and there is plenty of it in Uganda.  Just as in America the Bible Belt sees the highest use of Internet porn, so to in Uganda we see they highest use of the Internet searches looking for gay porn.  The cynical part of me suspects that it is the "godly folk" so loudly condemning gays and their political whores in Parliament who are looking for what they outwardly condemn.  It is note worthy that homophobic Jamaica is in second place in the searches for gay porn. Proving once again that there are no bigger hypocrites than conservative anti-gay Christians for whom I have zero respect.  Gay Star News looks at this finding:

A new report on the most popular search terms of 2013 has revealed Uganda to be a nation obsessed with homosexuality online.

According to Google's Zeitgeist report of 2013, which lists the most popular terms used on its search engine, Ugandans searched for 'homosexuality' more than any other people on Earth.

The dangerously anti-gay nation also ranks third in searches for the terms 'man fucking man' and 'woman fucking woman' - trailing behind Kenya which was ranked first for both terms.

The term 'shemale', commonly associated with transsexual pornography, was searched most in Somalia - with Kenya, Pakistan and Ethiopia not far behind. Meanwhile, 'butt sex' also scored highly amongst African nations, with Ethiopia coming on top.

The report does not specify whether the terms were for looking at pornography, or simply for 'research' purposes.

Despite the country's online obsession with homosexuality, Uganda recently passed a bill declaring those found guilty of committing 'homosexual acts' to be jailed for life.

The bill is currently awaiting signature from Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni, who has stated he needs to take his time and study it before making a decision.

I have nothing but contempt for these people and the charlatans in the pulpit that encourage such ignorance and bigotry.

A new report on the most popular search terms of 2013 has revealed Uganda to be a nation obsessed with homosexuality online.
According to Google's Zeitgeist report of 2013, which lists the most popular terms used on its search engine, Ugandans searched for 'homosexuality' more than any other people on Earth.
The dangerously anti-gay nation also ranks third in searches for the terms 'man fucking man' and 'woman fucking woman' - trailing behind Kenya which was ranked first for both terms.
- See more at: http://www.gaystarnews.com/article/ugandans-top-google-results-searches-homosexuality110114#sthash.0lUCMhxS.dpuf

Reports Mount About Judge Bill Pryor's '90s Ties To Gay Porn

Over the weekend I noted that a gay porn scandal seems to be building in Alabama focused on federal judge, Bill Pryor, a George W. Bush recess appointment to the federal bench.  Pryor is extremely homophobic now and ultra-far right in general, but to date has tried to blow off the growing controversy by stating "I have been smeared by a widely discredited blogger with a political agenda. His allegations have now been picked up by other bloggers. . . . "   The blog Legal Schnauzer looks at the growing scandal.  Here are excerpts:

The number of news accounts is steadily growing about photographs of U.S. Circuit Judge Bill Pryor that appeared at a gay porn Web site called badpuppy.com in the 1990s. Perhaps the story has not "gone viral" yet, but given Pryor's staunchly anti-gay views and the flagrant hypocrisy the photos represent, members of the gay press are starting to latch onto the tale with glee. (See here, here, and here.) The style site NewNowNext.com picked up on the story yesterday.

Based on inquiries I'm receiving from major news outlets, the story might go viral on the Web at any moment. Pryor once was considered a conservative boy wonder, whose boyish looks and right-wing credentials made him a possibility for future appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court. Pryor might be watching that dream, and maybe quite a few others, slowly swirl down the drain.

As noted by Legal Schnauser, even the legal website Findlaw has now picked up the story:

Judge Wade McCree left the bench after an inappropriate photo leaked (though he was also embroiled in a sex scandal). Does a similar fate await Judge William Holcombe Pryor of the 11th Circuit?

The Internet and especially legal blogosphere exploded earlier this week when nude photos of a man bearing a striking resemblance to Judge Pryor appeared on Legal Schnauzer (link NSFW), a blog dedicated to fighting legal "injustice," and filled with criticism of allegedly-corrupt judges. The blog is authored by Roger Shuler, who holds a journalism degree from the University of Missouri, worked for 11 years at a daily newspaper, and then spent 19 years as a university editor. 

Past Resurfaces
The photos came from badpuppy.com, reportedly one of the largest gay porn sites on the Internet, and were allegedly taken when Pryor was a student at Northeast Louisiana University (now University of Louisiana Monroe) in the early 1980s. The photos, which originally appeared in a print magazine, resurfaced briefly on BadPuppy in 1997 before being taken down. Printouts survived, however.
 
Judge Pryor was confirmed to the bench in 2005. His candidacy was extremely controversial due to his antigay stance, reports the Advocate.

Credible source or not, the photos do resemble the 11th Circuit jurist. Above the Law has a censored version of the photo (SFW), and here is a photo of the judge (SFW). Legal Schnauzer has the printout from BadPuppy, which has "Bill Pryor and Tom Wander" displayed next to the photo (SFW). 

 If the photos are in fact of Pryor, I hope the jerk gets his due.

Does This Homophobic Federal Judge Have a Gay Porn Past?

Once again we are seeing the possible unmasking of a virulently homophobic Republican.  This time, however, it's not a GOP elected official but instead a federal judge in Alabama.  William Pryor does seem to fit the usual mold: married, "devout Catholic," ultra-far right, and anti-gay, anti-woman and anti-minority.  Indeed, he seems cut from the same cloth as Rick Santorum and Ken Cuccinelli.  A piece on Pryor during the time period a decade ago when he was being considered for the federal bench described him this way:

He holds the ignominious honor of being the only attorney general to file a brief attacking the Violence Against Women Act. Ever the defender of prudish virtue, Pryor threw himself into a defense of Alabama’s Dildo Law, which forbade the sale of vibrators. Dredging deep into the recesses of Federalist Society legal theory, Pryor argued that there is no right to privacy in Alabama and that the state had the authority to outlaw any kind of pleasure devices it wanted, even when accompanied by a doctor’s prescription. Naturally, Pryor is unwilling to apply the same legal mumbo jumbo to assault weapons.

His homophobic sentiments rival those of Senator Rick Santorum, the famously anti-gay Republican from Pennsylvania. In an amicus brief filed with the Supreme Court in the Texas same-sex sodomy case, Pryor urged the court to uphold the ban. "A constitutional right that protects ‘the choice of one’s partner’ and ‘whether and how to connect sexually’ must logically extend to activities like prostitution, adultery, necrophilia, bestiality, possession of child pornography and even incest and pedophilia." Santorum and Pryor must have attended the same Christian Coalition prayer breakfast.

Hence, that Pryor may have a gay porn past is just way too delicious (Ken Cuccinelli must be freaking out given the gay rumors I've heard about him).   Stories are exploding on the Internet, but here are highlights from Instinct Magazine that correctly notes that Mr. Pryor could be in big trouble if he lied to the FBI while being vetted for the federal bench.  (Two of my former law partners are federal judges and the FBI does extensive research on nominees' background under oath).  The Bilerico Project also has fun coverage.  Here are highlights:

The Alabama Bureau of Investigations (ABI) is looking into images that appeared on then-popular gay porn site Badpuppy.com in the '90s. Reportedly working on a few tips, the ABI is concerned that the full-frontal images feature federal circuit Judge Bill Pryor. If the ABI confirms that the images are in fact those of the conservative Bush-appointee, there is a chance Pryor could be indicted for falsifying his background during his Congressional confirmation hearings. 

According to LegalSchnauzer, Congress commonly asks federal judicial appointees about "potentially embarrassing or compromising information in their backgrounds." Sources indicate that Pryor was aware the pics were public on the gay site (which was dubbed the "Wal Mart of gay porn") in 1997, a few years ahead of his appointment. 

Pryor reportedly posed for the shots while he was a student at Northeast Louisiana University from 1980 - 1984, and sources indicate that the porn appeared in print during that time before finding new life on the Internet in the '90s. 

But that's not the juicy part. 

Judge Pryor is a notoriously staunch right wing conservative. Though he was cool with gay guys ogling his fully erect, full frontal naked self, he's not cool with gays and lesbians walking the streets as free people. According to People for the American Way, Judge Pryor "would deny gay men and lesbians the equal protection of the laws. He believes that it is constitutional to imprison gay men and lesbians for expressing their sexuality in the privacy of their own homes and has voluntarily filed an amicus brief in the Supreme Court urging the Court to uphold a Texas law that criminalizes such private consensual activity."

Of course, Pryor insists the pictures are not him, though apparently, a republican colleague in Alabama was quick to confirm that they are. "Holy cow, that's Bill Pryor!" he said.

Pryor denies he did porn in college and the investigation is ongoing, so take it all with a grain of salt. But do you think these pics are of Judge Pryor?

 

For the NSFW version, click here.