Wednesday Male Beauty

The Same Old Recycled Deliberate Lies

There is an excellent post at Pam's House Blend that while focused on the Illinois Family Institute - which has been labeled a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center which tracks such groups - that does an excellent job of laying out the false information recycled time and time again by Christianist and professional Christian groups to malign LGBT Americans and more or less depict us as diseased vermin. Much of the "expert" opinion cited tracks back to totally discredited "studies" and articles by Paul Cameron whose own organization has likewise been labeled a hate group. Since Cameron was thrown out of basically every legitimate mental health and medical related professional association more than 20 years ago, the fact that his materials are blatantly false is something that is readily available to anyone how makes even the slightest effort to check out its veracity. The fact that the Illinois Family Institute and other "pro family" organizations continue to disseminate information based on Cameron - a common practice is to merely have someone else make the same claims to remove Cameron's name directly from the mix - is proof positive that these "Christian" organizations care NOTHING for the truth and know that they are lying. Having followed many of them for going on a decade, they are among the most dishonest organizations one can encounter. Yet sadly, the lazy and irresponsible main stream media never call them out on the lies. It is most infuriating. Here are a few highlights:

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The article in question was a rehashing of Cameron’s discredited gay life span study. It also makes the claim that the Centers for Disease Control’s own work proves Cameron’s study to be accurate. This is a lie (which would make the piece defamatory, wouldn’t it?) A member of the CDC went on record saying that the article’s claim was totally inaccurate:

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“[The CDC] does not collect statistics on the life span of gay men. While gay men continue to be severely impacted by HIV and AIDS, AIDS-related death data cannot be used to indicate that homosexual men live shorter lives than heterosexual men overall.” - Ronald Valdiserri, deputy director of the CDC’s National Center for HIV, STD, and TB Prevention.

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And mostly by the condemnation rained down on him [Cameron] by the medical profession:

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“(Cameron) misrepresents my findings and distorts them to advance his homophobic views. I make a very clear distinction in my writing between pedophilia and homosexuality, noting that adult males who sexually victimize young boys are either pedophilic or heterosexual, and that in my research I have not found homosexual men turning away from adult partners to children . . . I consider this totally unprofessional behavior on the part of Dr. Cameron and I want to bring this to your attention. He disgraces his profession.” - Dr. A. Nicholas Groth in 1984 after discovering that Cameron distorted his work.

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"Paul Cameron (Nebraska) was dropped from membership for a violation of the Preamble to the Ethical Principles of Psychologists - American Psychological Association, 1983

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The science and profession of psychology in Nebraska as represented by the Nebraska Psychological Association, formally dissociates itself from the representations and interpretations of scientific literature offered by Dr. Paul Cameron in his writings and public statements on sexuality. Further, the Nebraska Psychological Association would like it known that Dr. Cameron is not a member of the Association. Dr. Cameron was recently dropped from membership in the American Psychological Association for a violation of the Preamble to the Ethical Principles of Psychologists - Nebraska Psychological Association, 1984

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Dr. Paul Cameron has consistently misinterpreted and misrepresented sociological research on sexuality, homosexuality, and lesbianism" - American Sociological Association, 1985

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The Canadian Psychological Association takes the position that Dr. Paul Cameron has consistently misinterpreted and misrepresented research on sexuality, homosexuality, and lesbianism and thus, it formally disassociates itself from the representation and interpretations of scientific literature in his writings and public statements on sexuality. - Canadian Psychological Association, 1996
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Any organization that claims it has no active malice towards gays yet cites discredited Cameron based data is lying and desires the label of being a hate group. Plain and simple. Any politician who readily accepts anything these organizations tell them are lazy and equally disingenuous.

Gay Hater Elaine Donnelly Strikes Again

Highly unhinged professional gay gay hater, Elaine Donnelly - who claims to be an "expert" on the military yet has zero military experience herself - is continuing to do her best to malign gays and oppose the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell. The fact that the many allies of the USA that allow gays to openly serve in their military have experienced no difficulties is utterly lost on Donnelly who seems to have some real psychological issues of her own that cause her to be so hysterical on this issues. Her latest stunt is to allegedly put together a letter signed by 1000 retired relics from various branches of the military who predict the end of the military - if not the world - if gays are allowed to openly serve in America's armed forces. I wish Donnelly would go have some hot lesbian sex and get over it all. It is also note worthy that the same arguments were made by many in the military before Harry Truman mandated that black Americans serve along side whites in the military. The segregationists and homophobes never seem to update their arguments. Here are some highlights from the Associated Press:

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A statement issued by the retired officers Tuesday said passage of that bill "would undermine recruiting and retention, impact leadership at all levels, have adverse effects on the willingness of parents who lend their sons and daughters to military service, and eventually break the All-Volunteer Force." . . . The retired officers said they strongly supported the principle that "homosexuality is incompatible with military service" and warned that repeal of current law could jeopardize morale and "unit cohesion."

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The statement was criticized by Aubrey Sarvis, executive director of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, an advocacy group seeking equal treatment of gays in the military. "The signers of this petition are mired in the fears and politics of the past," Sarvis said. "More than 75 percent of the American public, including most younger service members as well as many active duty flag officers, realize the question is not if 'don't ask, don't tell' is repealed, but when and how."

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"The most important factor in lifting a gay ban is a clear signal from senior leadership," said Dr. Nathaniel Frank, senior research fellow at the Palm Center, a think tank at the University of California, Santa Barbara, that studies issues involving gays and the military. "Everyone knows it's just a matter of time before the gay ban falls, so for officers to come out and say 'Gays are a threat to the military' could cause the very problems that they ostensibly fear," Frank said.

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A copy of Ms. Donnelly's handiwork can be viewed here. As some bloggers have noted, it's a bit odd that the letterhead used has no phone number on it. Hopefully someone will check out the physical address to determine whether a real office even exists.

Religious Fundamentalists Taking Over World's Armies?

I have expressed concerns previously about the influence of evangelical Christians in the U. S. Military who seek to impose their beliefs on others in the ranks. The Air Force Academy has been particularly racked with problems of this nature. The phenomenon is not unique to the USA, however, as a Washington Post column notes. The development is worrisome since the combination of military power and religious fanaticism is a very dangerous one indeed. One need only look to Iran to see how dangerous unrestrained religious extremism becomes when combined with military power. It literally can threaten the entire world. Here in the USA, every effort needs to be made to discharge from the military those who put religious fanaticism ahead of the U. S. Constitution and the civil rights it guarantees to all citizens, nut just Christianists. Here are some column highlights:

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Thanks to the peculiar combination of Samuel Huntington's clash of civilizations theory and Al-Qaeda's televisual terrorism, we've grown accustomed to thinking of holy wars as battles fought between shadowy non-state actors representing different 'civilizations'. But a recent string of articles indicates a far more complex and dangerous relationship between religion and state-based security forces.

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Consider a recent New York Times commentary regarding Israel. "The officer corps of the elite Golani Brigade is now heavily populated by religious right-wing graduates of the preparatory academies," noted Moshe Halbertal, a Jewish philosophy professor who co-wrote the military code of ethics and who is himself religiously observant but politically liberal. "The religious right is trying to have an impact on Israeli society through the army."

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And one, published five days later, about Pakistan. "The Taliban's widening campaign in southern Afghanistan is made possible in part by direct support from operatives in Pakistan's military intelligence agency ... new details reveal that the spy agency is aiding a broader array of militant networks with more diverse types of support than was previously known -- even months after Pakistani officials said that the days of the ISI's playing a "double game" had ended."

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Closer to home, there have been reports of a disturbingly close relationship between some right-wing Christian groups and U.S. Armed Forces: "(In the summer of 2007) the Pentagon abruptly announced that it would not be delivering 'freedom packages' to our soldiers in Iraq, as it had originally intended. What were the packages to contain? Not body armor or home-baked cookies. Rather, they held Bibles, proselytizing material in English and Arabic and the apocalyptic computer game "Left Behind: Eternal Forces" (derived from the series of post-Rapture novels), in which "soldiers for Christ" hunt down enemies who look suspiciously like U.N. peacekeepers."

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To make matters worse, religious nationalism in security forces has the potential not only to inflame conflicts between nations, but also within nations and regions. One of the biggest destabilizing influences in Northern Ireland was the presence of a largely Protestant police force patrolling Catholic neighborhoods. A recent New York Times piece confirms that one of the main complaints by Sunni Muslims in Iraq is feeling blocked by the Shia dominated Iraqi government from jobs in the Iraqi security forces.

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There's a lot on the line here, folks. Will battles over land and power get framed as clashes between civilizations? Will the religious right increase their influence over nuclear weapons by rising to the top of the military hierarchy - in Pakistan, Israel, America? Will police forces become instruments of chaos rather than stability in diverse societies?

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Here's what's clear: the forces of religious nationalism are no longer content to dress in rags and move in the shadows. Some are seeking uniforms, and a place in the halls of power.

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It should be noted that in every instance cited, the fundamentalist religious groups involved are all consistently anti-gay and favor the marginalization of LGBT citizens or worse.

More Tuesday Male Beauty

Fundy Anti-Gay Push in West Virginia Fails

While I was a bit surprised at the result, I was very happy to see that the Christianist push to get an anti-gay marriage amendment on the ballot in West Virginia. I find the result even more interesting because I suspect that the Christianist forces were almost certain that their anti-gay quest would succeed. I give the West Virginia legislators who voted no on the amendment a lot of credit in that they put equality under the law ahead of political expediency. Would that there had been more such legislators in Virginia in 2006 so that the vile "Marriage Amendment" would not have made it to the ballot. Here are some story highlights from the Charleston Daily Mail:

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West Virginia's House of Delegates voted along party lines Monday to end this session's chances for a proposed constitutional amendment on marriage. An evangelical group has pressed lawmakers this session to have marriage defined as between one woman and one man. But the resolution needed to put the issue before voters has stalled in committee. That prompted Monday's move by Republican delegates to force it to the full House. Delegates voted 67-30 to reject the attempt. All 29 House Republicans voted to move the measure out of committee, as did Delegate Tom Louisos, D-Fayette.

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West Virginia does not recognize same-sex marriages granted elsewhere, under a 2000 law that also requires all marriage license applications to say "marriage is designed to be a loving and lifelong union between a woman and a man.'' But amendment advocates argue that doesn't go far enough and could be challenged in court

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The Family Policy Council of West Virginia has pushed for this session's resolution, citing a poll it says shows clear support for an amendment. It recently bombarded the revision committee's chairwoman and the head of the House Judiciary Committee with sometimes abusive phone calls demanding action, and targeted Gov. Joe Manchin with a postcard campaign.

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A Democrat, Manchin has said he supports the current law and questions the need to amend the constitution. Legislative leaders have echoed that stance and also question the group's motives, citing its hiring of Republican consultants to conduct the poll and assist the publicity campaign.

Mom's Plea Deal for Child's Death Includes "Resurrection Clause"

The enemies of LGBT Americans among the Christian Right bloviate endlessly about how gays cannot properly parent children and pose a threat to the natural development of children's identity. I'd say better a gay or lesbian parent than a heterosexual religious nut case. A story out of Maryland makes this argument all too strongly. The mother - who is sad to have belonged to a "cult" rather than a small far right fundamentalist denomination - starved her year old son (shown in the photo) to death believing he was a "demon" and that he would be resurrected free of the affliction. While the story sounds too crazy to be true, all the sad details are available via CNN. Here are some highlights:

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Maryland woman involved with a group described as a religious cult pleaded guilty in the starvation death of her son, but insisted that the charges be dropped when he is resurrected. The condition was made a part of Ria Ramkissoon's plea agreement, officials said. She entered the plea Monday in Baltimore, Maryland, to a first-degree felony count of child abuse resulting in death, her attorney, Steven Silverman, said Tuesday. Ramkissoon, a member of a group called One Mind Ministries, believes Javon Thompson, her year-old son, will rise again

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Under the plea agreement, Ramkissoon, 22, must testify against four other One Mind Ministries members who are also facing charges, including first-degree murder, in Javon's death. At her sentencing, set for August, she will receive a 20-year sentence, which will be suspended except for the time she has already served behind bars, Silverman said. She must also undergo deprogramming and psychiatric counseling.

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Ramkissoon and the others are accused of denying Javon food after the group's leader, a 40-year-old woman who goes by the name Queen Antoinette, decreed the boy was a demon since he refused to say "amen" after meals, Silverman said.

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Javon is believed to have died in December 2006, court documents allege. Following his death, the group members put the boy's body in a back room, and "everyone was directed to come in and pray," according to the documents. "The Queen told everyone that 'God was going to raise Javon from the dead.' Javon remained in the room for an extended period of time (in excess of one week). The resurrection never took place." Authorities believe the boy's body was then placed into a wheeled suitcase along with mothballs and fabric-softener sheets, documents said. Prosecutors allege Antoinette opened the suitcase periodically and sprayed its interior with Lysol to mask the decomposition odor.

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Court documents say Ramkissoon joined One Mind Ministries after Javon's birth in 2005. Silverman described her as a petite, soft-spoken woman who rejected her family's Hindu religion, became a devout Christian and wanted to raise her son in that religion. "She didn't want to have to work or go to school. She just wanted to take care of her son, and they offered her all this," he said.

Pope and Catholic Bishops Knew of Predator Priest Problem

The Dallas Morning News - which did a great story in 2002 showing that 2/3's of the Catholic Bishops in the USA were involved in sexual abuse cover ups - has a new story out that further proves that the bishops were well aware of the magnitude of the problem and the lack of "cures" for priests sexually abusing minors. The most damning part of the story is that the bishops had been put on notice as far back as the 1950's yet lied about their lack of knowledge about the problem. As more and more information like this comes out, the more disgusting it is that no one in the Church hierarchy has been criminally prosecuted. And note, the Vatican knew about the situation too, yet we still see simpering ass kissers within the Catholic laity acting as if the bishops, cardinals and Popes are somehow worthy of respect. Many of them ought to be in jail rather than parading around and lecturing others on morality. Note how a spokeswoman for the Church continues to tell the same lies. The Church hierarchy is simply morally bankrupt - a fact I hope more Catholics will start to grasp and then vote with their feet. Here are some story highlights:

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The leader of a Catholic order that operated one of the biggest U.S. treatment centers for sexually abusive priests told bishops and the Vatican in the 1950s that the predators were "devils" and "vipers" who should be confined to an island and kicked out of the clergy. The leader's views were expressed in letters previously placed under seal by a New Mexico court as part of litigation involving a notorious Dallas priest. They undercut the bishops' longstanding claim that they didn't understand the scope and seriousness of the abuse problem until recent years.

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Fitzgerald's correspondence, first reported Monday by the independent weekly National Catholic Reporter, represents a historic benchmark in the U.S. church's embarrassing scandal, which has led to the removal of hundreds of priests who had been kept in the ministry despite credible evidence, criminal prosecution and billions in legal settlements to victims.

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The Rev. Thomas Doyle, who in 1985 helped write the first detailed abuse report to bishops while working at the Vatican's Washington embassy, said Monday that Fitzgerald's letters were especially powerful because he was a confidante to church administrators. At one point, the records show, Fitzgerald in 1964 recounted meeting personally with Pope Paul VI to discuss the problem.

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A spokeswoman for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Sister Mary Ann Walsh, stood by bishops' past statements that they had received bad advice on how to handle the troubled priests and didn't understand until the mid-1980s that pedophilia was incurable.

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Fitzgerald's letters, only now receiving public attention, were unsealed in 2007 as part of a massive court case waged by hundreds of sex-abuse victims against the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.The case ended in an out-of-court settlement exceeding $600 million.

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One of the lawyers representing Kos' victims, Sylvia Demarest, said she did not have prior access to the letters by Fitzgerald, who died in 1969. But in reading them now, she believes Fitzgerald provided Catholic leaders with extensive, sophisticated analyses of abusive priests. "The fact that bishops had this insight and had this responsibility and power, and covered it up rather than act, is shocking," Demarest said.

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He [Fitzgerald] also expressed skepticism that the priests could ever change their ways. "Their repentance and amendment is superficial," he wrote to the Manchester bishop, "and, if not formally at least subconsciously is motivated by a desire to be again in a position where they can continue their wonted activity. A new diocese means only green pastures."

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I have always mainntained that a non-celibate hierarchy with children of their own would have acted far differently. What is equally sad as the damage done to youths in the past is that the Church is still disseminating the same posionous message to LGBT youths today that they are sinful, evil, and unworthy of God's love. This knowledge makes me almost physically sick. How many more lives will be ruined?

Tuesday Male Beauty

Scared for Their Lives

Meanwhile, in Iran - the country that seems to reflect the toxic intertwining of religion and civil laws sought by extreme Christianists in this country - things for gays are beyond bad. With the 30th anniversary of the Islamic revolution that overthrew the Shah of Iran (who looks better all the time when contrasted to the theocrats now in power) gays have to literally fear for their lives under the hate driven, intolerant sharia law imposed on the population. When one considers how advanced the Persian Empire was more than 2500 years ago, it is amazing how backwards elements within the Iranian government have become fueled by religion in one of its most toxic forms. Unfortunately, even when they escape from Iran,gays often find themselves still subjected to discrimination and immigration/asylum policies that ignore the reality of what will happen to gays sent back to Iran. Here are some highlights of the situation on the eve of the 30th anniversary of the revolution tomorrow:

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The first of April 2009 marks 30 years since revolution in Iran resulted in the birth of the Islamic Republic and the adoption of sharia law. This strict penal code criminalized homosexuality and the gay community in Iran have subsequently suffered three decades of persecution. The punishment for lesbian sex is one hundred lashes, with the death penalty being imposed on the fourth offence. Sodomy, or lavat, between men is punishable by death on the first offence. The law is enforced by the Basij Secret Police and gay and lesbian Iranians live with the constant threat of being followed and arrested.

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‘It’s because of the Islamic revolution that people like me are here’ explains Ayra, an Iranian currently seeking asylum in Britain. ‘The revolution is a really bad memory for gay and lesbian people. Before, they were free but now they can’t live in Iran and have to escape.’

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Arrival in Britain is often the beginning of another long ordeal. . . . Access to support networks can also make a big difference in the process of applying for asylum in Britain, as illustrated in February this year when Iranian lesbian Pegah Embakash was finally granted refugee status. Pegah fled Iran in 2005 following the arrest, torture and imprisonment of her partner. In Britain she was initially refused asylum, arrested and detained in Yarls Wood Detention Centre. In August 2007 she was hours from being deported to her death but was saved by a last minute reprieve.

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‘Almost everybody from Iran is initially refused asylum by the Home Office on the grounds that they are not believed to be gay or lesbian,’ says Sebastian from The UK Lesbian and Gay Immigration Group (UKLGIG). The only group of its kind in Britain, UKLGIG helps people to ‘prove’ their homosexuality by providing witness statements at the court of appeal and referral to specialist solicitors. However, even if they are believed to be gay, a large number of Iranians’ appeals are rejected on the grounds that they can go back to Iran and hide their sexuality. ‘To me, telling people to go back and hide their sexuality is persecution in itself,’ continues Sebastian.

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For gay Iranians like Behrouz and Ayra the anniversary of Iran becoming an Islamic Republic is a reminder of the persecution that forced them to flee their country. Having been refused sanctuary in Britain, it is also a reminder of their uncertain future and the suffering they will face if they are returned. Behrouz found a solicitor who believed he had a strong case and put in a fresh claim for asylum. However, 18 months later he still hasn’t had a response from the Home Office and is living in limbo. ‘I want to live, I don’t want to hide,’ he sighs. ‘I want to live like everybody else’.