Sunday Male Beauty

LGBT Blogger Summit - Initial Reflections

This past weekend I attended the LGBT Blogger and Citizen Journalist Initiative in Washington, D.C., and the only way to describe the experience is that it was AMAZING!! We had approximately 83 attendees and/or presenters and in addition to being very informative and educational, the event provided an amazing opportunity to meet other bloggers in person, build connections and friendships and hopefully set the stage for increased collaboration to move forward the struggle for full LGBT equality under the law. A partial blog roll can be found here and Pam Spaulding has several posts on the event at Pam's House Blend which give an overview of the sessions, and posts can also be found at Gay Agenda, Joe My God (which includes a photo of yours truly with the boyfriend and Adele, a blogger from Richmond), Andres Duque, and Father Tony (of Billerico Project).

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Another unexpected surprise was that we were able to attend a special showing of the move "Milk" which was followed by remarks by Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin and a panel question and answer discussion which included Milk contemporary Clive Jones, screen writer Dustin Lance Black, and producer Bruce Cohen. The movie is very moving and for those who are too young to remember the time period it will bring to life an era that has parallels to what is happening currently with the Christianist/Mormon jihad against equality for LGBT citizens.

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I will be posting further reflections and why I believe the summit - and hopefully future summits - was important over the next few days . The energy and intellect assembled in the group was truly amazing. I am most grateful to Mike Rogers for organizing the event and Jonathan Lewis, Microsoft, Bolthouse Farms, and others who helped make the event possible.

LGBT Blogger Summit Weekend

Today is going to be a crazy day as I run from meetings and then travel to Washington, D.C., to attend the LGBT Blogger Initiative Summit in Washington, D.C. The event kicks off this evening at the Human Rights Campaign headquaters (I wonder if anyone has read my complaints about HRC on this blog?) for a happy hour reception with HRC senior staff, directors and coordinators of the event, as well as others attending the summit and staff from one of the sponsor organizations. The schedule is pretty exhaustive so I doubt I will have much time to blog until my return to the Tidewater area on Sunday night. From some of the people I now know are attending (e.g., Pam Spaulding, Mike Rogers and a number of Bilerico Progect contributors), it should be a pretty amazing experience and allow for incredible networking opportunities.

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The boyfriend is going to D.C., for the weekend with me and we hope to have a chance to indulge in a little of the D.C. nightlife. While not one of the most obscure areas in the LGBT world, the greater Norfolk area is not a bright center of the gay universe, so it should be fun spending the weekend in a far more progressive area among with many kindred spirits.

Friday Male Beauty

Nazi Like Mentality of Blaming the Victim

It was only a matter of time before other nutcases picked up the storyline being put out by MassResistance based on the recently released Massachusetts Department of Health report that I mentioned the other day. Now a Florida doctor, Dr. Richard Swier, is suggesting that since LGBT individuals reported - remember, this was a self reporting survey and NOT a controlled clinical study - higher incidences of certain health issues, the solution is to "eliminate" the number of gays. Here's what Herr Doctor had to say:

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Researchers found that in many cases the disparities were even greater for bisexuals than for gay/lesbians when compared with their heterosexual counterparts. Dr. Kerith Conron, Research Fellow, Harvard School of Public Health and lead author of the report, said, "This report identifies major health disparities faced by lesbians, gay men and bisexuals. Bisexuals particularly face greater health disparities in the areas of mental health and violence victimization. Specific interventions should be developed to work with the bisexual population in these areas.

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"Health officials also hope that the report will stimulate further study on ways to reduce and eliminate health disparities faced by gay, lesbian and bisexual people.

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For the full study go here.

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Reduce and eliminate health disparities? How about we eliminate gay, lesbian and bisexual behavior? Perhaps the Department of Health, Governor and Legislature should create strategies to reduce the number of gays, lesbians and bisexuals. That would solve this health crisis. Perhaps the media will give this lifestyle the same negative publicity they give smoking and obesity.

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Hmm, let me see. A number of reports have shown Southern Baptists to have the highest obesity rate of any denomination and that evangelical Christians tend to have lower education/intelligence levels. Applying Herr Doctor's analysis, does that mean we would be wise to "eliminate" the number of Southern Baptists and evangelical Christians? (I know, it is an attractive concept) One of the most hypocritical things the Christianists do is to unrelentingly make life a living Hell as possible for LGBT citizens and then condemn us for the mental health and emotional consequences of their jihad. Since sexual orientation is not a choice and appears to be biological/genetic, how would Herr Doctor propose to reduce the number of LGBT individuals? I can think of only one way - these folks are truly hateful.

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Here's more information on Herr Doctor via Matt Comer:

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Swier is a retired Army Lieutenant Colonel. He currently serves on the board of the Community Foundation of Sarasota County and an advisory committee of the county school system. In the past, Swier has twice chaired the Sarasota Better Business Council and once sat on the board of the Greater Sarasota Chamber of Commerce. He is the president of the Sarasota County Veterans Commission and was appointed chairman of the Sarasota National Cemetery Advisory Committee by Republican Congressman Vern Buchanan.

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Looks to me like Herr Swier needs to be removed from any involvement with the public school system in light of his Nazi like mentality. One can only shudder at the atmosphere that he must seek to create for LGBT students.

More Thursday Male Beauty

Archbishop George Niederauer Disingenuous Dance

Archbishop George Niederauer of the San Francisco diocese is apparently trying to give cover to the massive Mormon Church involvement in the passage of Proposition 8 and cover his own ass in terms of having crossed the line in having his diocese actively work for the passage of legislation - a big no-no with the IRS. Personally, I'd love to see an IRS audit of the San Francisco diocese's full involvement. As for Niederauer's whining about the right of religious leaders to speak out on issues of public policy, that's all fine and good - just do not ask to be tax-exempt if you are going to be an active player in politics. You do not get to have your cake and eat it too. I would also note that I have seen any reports of Niederauer demanding accountability from his brethren bishops and cardinals who enabled/covered up the sexual abuse of minors - a much more heinous thing than gay marriage. But then, Niederauer is the typical corpulent (he doesn't look like he does much fasting), falsely pious Roman Catholic bishop whose strongest attribute is hypocrisy. Here are some highlights from the San Francisco Chronicle:

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San Francisco Catholic Archbishop George Niederauer, in his first extensive explanation about his role in the passage of Proposition 8, on Wednesday defended the church's actions in the successful ballot initiative. "Religious leaders in America have the constitutional right to speak out on issues of public policy," Niederauer wrote in a statement posted on the archdiocese's Web site.

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Niederauer's statement, coming more than a month after the vote to ban same-sex marriage in the nation's most populous state, underscored the complex role he plays. . . . During the campaign, Niederauer issued statements, sent flyers and gave a videotaped interview posted at www.marriagematterstokids.org. But Niederauer's most prominent action was drawing in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, whose members responded with intensive grassroots organizing and an estimated $20 million in campaign contributions from individuals that accounted for half of the Yes on 8 campaign's total.

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In his statement Wednesday, titled "Moving forward together," Niederauer urged both sides to tone down the rhetoric and move toward a common cause. "Tolerance, respect and trust are always two-way streets and tolerance, respect and trust often do not include agreement, or even approval," he wrote.

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Kevin Sullivan, a gay parishioner at St. Dominic's in the Fillmore district, found Niederauer's letter to be "very condescending" and said the archdiocese deserves the moniker of being bigoted. "The actions of our archdiocese and this archbishop in no way spoke of tolerance, respect and trust toward gay Catholics," said Sullivan, 50. "It will take the gay community a very long time to forgive our archdiocese for this."

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Personally, I do not understand how any LGBT individual can remain in the Catholic Church which under the current Pope and hierarchy is nothing less than an abomination and an insult to the true Gospel message. I wish more Catholics would walk away and find more truly Christian church homes and let Catholicism wither on the vine as it so justly deserves.

Fundie Hissy Fits Over “Prop 8: The Musical”

The self-serving double standards of the Christianists never cease to amaze me. They feel that they can freely tell every conceivable lie about gays, distort legitimate research and selectively pick and choose which Bible passages to apply literally and which ones to pretend are non-existent, but the minute someone highlights their hypocrisy they get all pissy. A case in point is the reaction to “Prop 8: The Musical” which is a parody of the opponents of gay marriage. From what I've seen, most of the comments about Christianists and their lies and inconsistency when it comes to Biblical interpretation/application are true. Nonetheless, the fundies at CNSNews.com have their panties in knots over the play. Here are some highlights of the crocodile tears being generated:

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(CNSNews.com) – A Christian group is calling for an apology from Hollywood celebrities who starred in a musical that it says mocks Christians, defames Christ, and distorts the teaching of the Bible. . . . The video stars actor Jack Black - who plays Jesus – Neil Patrick Harris, John C. Reilly, Andy Richter, Maya Rudolph, Margaret Cho, and Rashida Jones, among others.

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"Jack Black should remember from his days at Hebrew School that homosexual acts aren't funny and are roundly condemned in the Bible," Dr. Gary Cass, of the Christian Anti-Defamation Commission, said in a statement. John C. Reilly plays a “hate”-spreading religious zealot, who asks Jesus, “Doesn’t the Bible say these people [gays] are an abomination?” “Yeah, but you know, it says the exact same thing about this shrimp cocktail. Leviticus says shellfish is an abomination,” Black says as Jesus. “The Bible says a lot of interesting things like you can stone your wife or sell your daughter into slavery.

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“Well we ignore those verses,” Reilly’s character says. “Well, then friend, it seems to me you pick and choose. Well, please choose love instead of hate. Besides your nation was built on separation of church and state,” Black says in response.

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“Appearing as a sarcastic, rotund Christ, Black distorts the Bible and condones shameful, homosexual acts. Associating Christ with perverse activity is an affront to all people of faith, especially Christians. Apparently Black and company find it hilarious to falsely accuse Christians while they intentionally distort the Bible. Black ought to apologize," Cass said.

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Pardon my French, but Mr. Cass is an ass. If anyone tortures the Bible to malign and denigrate others, it is the good folk like Cass and like minded Christianists. If the truth hurts, perhaps he/they need to take a good look at themselves in the mirror. As long as they tell lies about me and other LGBT individuals, I will continue to do all I can to tell the unvarnished truth about them.

Thursday Male Beauty

Focus on the Family Focuses on Homosexuals

The title of a Denver Post article says what most gays who are not unconscious already knew. Daddy Dobson's Focus on the Family is obsessed with homosexuality. As with the "conservative" Episcopalians, world hunger, genocide, homelessness are of far less concern. It's all about the "gay agenda" and maintaining the choice myth. In the article the number of attendees who have come to bogus "Love Won Out" conferences is noted but as is the norm, there is ZERO documentation as to the number of successful cures. One only hears from the tired "ex-gays for pay" like Melissa Fryrear. Truth be told, FOF likely has no documentation on purpose since it doesn't want to show how the program in reality doesn't work. They make wild claims but have no names of real people who have been "cured" to back any of it up. Even Daddy D himself can only cite 800 out of 50,000 some attendees who claim to have been cured. If true, that's a horrendously low success rate. In short, FOF peddles snake oil and makes the sleaziest used car salesman look like the height of integrity. Here are some story highlights:

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For a decade, Focus on the Family has delved into what it believes is the biblical truth about sexual behavior through its "Love Won Out" conferences. Focus says the conferences started a national conversation on the origins of homosexuality and have nurtured thousands of troubled families and helped hundreds of former gays and lesbians "escape the lifestyle."

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But pro-gay activists and many psychology experts denounce attempts to change people's sexual orientation through religious mediation or other so-called reparative therapies. They say it causes people great harm in an attempt to fix something that isn't broken.

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"These programs give us the tools and weapons to go to war against ourselves," said Peterson Toscano, founder of the support group Beyond Ex-Gay. Failed attempts to change sexual orientation take a tremendous toll on people's psychological, emotional, spiritual, financial and physical well-being, he said. "I've talked to more than 1,000 ex- gay survivors whose lives have been devastated — their close relationships destroyed," Toscano said. "Because of one of these conferences, my mother died feeling she had failed me."

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University of Minnesota researchers recently published a study in the Journal of Homosexuality showing that among homosexual men, the best predictor of poor mental and sexual health, including depression, drug use and sexually transmitted diseases, is a negative attitude toward homosexuality, not being a homosexual.

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Dobson said there are more than 800 known former gay and lesbian individuals who have found "wholeness in their newfound heterosexuality." As evidence mounts for biological underpinnings to human sexual behavior, Christian conservatives increasingly argue science doesn't matter.

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The bottom line is that for Daddy Dobson and FOF, the truth doesn't matter. It's all about shaking down folks for money and keeping the "choice myth" alive for political purposes. He/they make the Pharisees look like pretty upright folks in comparison.