Servicemembers United to Pentagon: Refund $4.4 Million Spent on Homophobic Survey

I have to hand it to Alex Nicholson and his comrades at Servicemebers United - they are keeping the abortion also known as the DADT survey disseminated by the Pentagon in the news and on the blogosphere. Now, a petition is online demanding a refund of the $4.4 Million squandered on the biased and homophobic survey orchestrated by DOD and the Pentagon. I urge readers to sign the petition - I already have - and encourage them to urge friends to do likewise. Again, the petition can be found here.

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Aiding them are other bloggers like Pam Spaulding and John Aravosis who have picked up on the possibility that LGBT servicemember - if allowed to serve openly - would be segregated. That's right, a black president backing a plan of separate and unequal. Will there be drinking fountains like the ones in the photo above except relabelled as straight and gay? And Obama wonders why the LGBT increasingly cannot stand him - well in addition to the fact that he's a liar who does not keep campaign promises.

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Apparently, the senior brass at the Pentagon doesn't like being shown to be not only homophobes - which many of them clearly are - by down right stupid. Did they seriously believe that this survey would not create a firestorm? Do they seriously believe that long term Westat will fall on its sword, if you will, and take full responsibility for the outrageously insulting and homophobic questions? The more we see of the incompetence and stupidity at the Pentagon, the more it looks like it's the senior bras and not gay service members who need to be discharged. John Aravosis sums it up well:
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In a briefing this past Friday, Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell appeared to allude to the possibility of segregating gay troops if and when the ban is lifted . . . Today, Morrell - who has been less than truthful about Pentagon efforts on DADT in the past - took umbrage at our post.
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Morell said the suggestion the survey could lead to segregation is "inflammatory nonsense" from groups trying to discredit the survey, which is "not helpful" for the Defense Department.
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With all due respect to Mr. Morrell, a Bush appointee, it's not my job to be "helpful" to a Defense Department that treats my community as second class citizens, and regularly undercuts its own commander in chief. As for Morrell's assertion that we are responsible for this notion that the Pentagon might be considering segregating gay troops, the idea didnt come from me, it came from the Secretary of the Army last October.
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It's been nine months since the Army Secretary's comments created a mini firestorm of concern that the Pentagon was seriously considering segregating gay troops, as an option for how to implement a repeal of DADT. Perhaps the deafening silence from Mr. Morrell about the Secretary's comments, and his decision to let such concern fester for nine months, in addition to his rather in-artful wording at the briefing last Friday, played a small role in people's concerns.

Monday Male Beauty

Dedicated to Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio

Top Cardinal Calls Gay Marriage Work of Satan

Sometimes the hubris and hypocrisy of the Roman Catholic Church is so stunning that it makes one gasp. Here's an institution that has been documented to have systematically enabled and covered up the rape of hundreds of thousands of children and youths worldwide, yet the top Catholic cleric in Argentina, Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, has the nerve to condemn gays and same sex marriage as "a machination of the Father of Lies that seeks to confuse and deceive the children of God." Frankly, if anyone is in the business of confusing and deceiving the children of God, it would appear to be the good cardinal and his fellow liars and hypocrites in the Catholic Church hierarchy. I suggest that Cardinal Bergoglio take a long look at himself in the mirror if he wants to see the face of the "Father of Lies." Life Site News has coverage of the deceitful and himself morally changed verbal diarrhea. Here are some highlights:
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Argentina's number one Catholic prelate, Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, is calling upon the priests of the Archdiocese of Buenos Aires to bring their flocks to an upcoming protest against homosexual "marriage," which is currently under consideration by the nation's senate.

"*Let's not be naive, we're not talking about a simple political battle; it is a destructive pretension against the plan of God," writes Bergoglio in a letter sent to the monasteries of Buenos Aires, where he is archbishop. "We are not talking about a mere bill, but rather a machination of the Father of Lies that seeks to confuse and deceive the children of God."
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To the clergy of the parishes, Bergoglio requests that all of them read from the pulpits a declaration defending the true definition and understanding of marriage.
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"The Argentinean people will have to confront, in the coming weeks, a situation whose result could gravely injure the family. We are speaking of a bill regarding marriage between people of the same sex," a bill that calls into question "the identity, and the survival of the family: father, mother, and children." The latter, warns Bergoglio, might also be threatened by homosexual adoption, which would be a true form of discrimination.
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The country now needs "the special assistance of the Holy Spirit, to place the light of truth in the middle of the darkness of error, to defend us against the enchantment of so many sophistries with which they seek to justify this bill," he writes.
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Again, if anything is a threat to children, it would seem to be the Catholic Church and its morally bankrupt clergy, not a loving same sex couple being afforded civil law rights. Why does anyone continue to listen to the Church and its child predator clerics?

Argentine TV’s Gay Soccer Storyline Prompts Real World Speculation

Following the World Cup competition has been almost an erotic endeavor given the sexual appeal and eroticism of some of the gorgeous players from around the world. Now a soap opera in Argentina featuring two gay professional soccer players is prompting speculation that the characters may, in fact, be based on real life figures in the sport. Obviously, gays are in all areas of society and many of us are athletic to varying degrees. Hence there is no reason that professional soccer players could not be gay. Nonetheless, with the ongoing battle in the Argentine Senate for the approval of gay marriage, it is interesting that rumors based on this popular TV show are surfacing now. Here are highlights from Rumor Rat:
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On the field, Manuel and Lalo are soccer teammates in the hit primetime Argentine soap “Botineras.” But off the fictional field, and inside the fictional locker room, let’s just say things are getting complicated when it comes to the question of which team the two play for.
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It would seem that the Argentine public’s fascination with this pair of papis and their romantic storyline goes beyond fiction and into the real world of the country’s most macho sport.
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The entire country is abuzz with whispers that the gay plot is pulled from reality, and futboll fans everywhere in South America are wondering if the story might be based on the real-life sexploits of a handful of the sport’s biggest stars. It’s causing lots of whispers about whose team some soccer players are really on, if you get The Rat’s drift.
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Off the set of “Botineras,” the two actors who play Manuel and Lalo (Cristiano Sancho & Ezequiel Castaño) happen to be as straight as a soccer goal line, but on screen they certainly give convincing performances. And the viewers love it enough to make the show’s one of the country’s top-rated. If only we knew how many of its millions of viewers happen to be pro ballers.
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A video clip from the show can be found here on You Tube.

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Manuel & Lalo -- Insatiable ♥♥

More Sunday Male Beauty

Mel's Early Day Antigay Meltdown

I lost all respect for Mel Gibson years ago - who I first had come to like in the 1981 movie Gallipoli which had definite homoerotic overtones (I found mark Lee the sexier of the two main characters) - after I discovered that he was a far right Tridentine rite Catholic which discovery was followed by his racist and anti-Jewish rants when he was picked up for DUI. The movie Passion of Christ, which was pornographic in its violence, solidified my view that Gibson was a nutcase and false Christian in my mind. I have made a point of NOT watching any movie featuring Gibson Now, Gibson - who while claiming to be a Bible following conservative Catholic divorced his first wife - has had another outburst that has exposed him both as a bogus Christian and as an utter, nasty bigot. The Advocate, among other publications, has stories that look at Gibson's increasingly racist and bigoted mindset and false Christianity. Like so many f the professional Christian set, Gibson again proves that those who talk the most about their Christianity and set themselves up as the moral critics of others are in fact the least Christian and the biggest hypocrites. Here are some highlights:
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Long before Mel Gibson's anti-Semitic, racist and violent rants, the actor made headlines — and enemies — with his antigay remarks to a Spanish newspaper in 1991.
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The latest shocking comments from Mel Gibson, in which he hurls racist, misogynistic, and anti-immigrant slurs at his ex-girlfriend, cap a career of tirades that includes a highly publicized homophobic rant and an anti-Semitic outburst.
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According to PopEater, long before Gibson could be heard on tape last week threatening Oksana Grigorieva, with whom he had a baby, he made homophobic remarks in 1991. Back then, American columnist Liz Smith reported on what the actor said to the Spanish newspaper El Pais:
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"They take it up the a**..this is only for taking a s***,” he said at the time. "With this look, who's going to think I'm gay? I don't lend myself to that type of confusion. Do I look like a homosexual? Do I talk like them? Do I move like them?"
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On Friday, Gibson was dropped by the William Morris-Endeavor agency after the audio tape of his latest rant was leaked.
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No doubt Gibson will be embraced by the Kool-Aid drinkers of the far right as some sort of martyr. As is all too typically the case, the professional Christians reject the Gospel message of Christ even as they pat themselves on the back for their religiosity.

Need A Job? Try Canada

I first visited Canada as child of about five with my mothers parents, crossing into Ontario near the Seaway Locks in northern New York. Later as a teenager I crossed the border with friends at Niagara Falls and visited the beautiful beaches on the north shore of Lake Erie. But I fully fell in love with Canada - and British Columbia in particular _ when my son (pictured in the photo above at Whistler) and I visited Vancouver, Whistler, Victoria and other parts of British Columbia in July, 2004. Not only is Canada relatively gay friendly - it's utopia compared to Virginia - but now, Canada has much more to offer economically. Canada - even tough far, far smaller than the USA - is producing more new jobs that the USA, but it also has a vibrant housing market. The loons of the far right and Christianist controlled GOP may malign Canada, but the USA has much it should learn from our neighbor to the north. I can honestly state that if our circumstances were different, Canada could well be a possible destination should we decide to emigrate. Here are highlights from a piece at Huffington Post:
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Stubbornly high unemployment rates got you down? Not sold on the economic recovery? Look no further than America's polite neighbor to the north, where jobs numbers are surging and home prices have been rising steadily for nearly a year.
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Last month, Canada, a nation with roughly one tenth of our population, created about 10,000 more new jobs than America.
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Yes, Canada's economic recovery is outpacing our own. In terms of sheer job creation, June saw Canada create jobs at a pace that was five times the rate predicted by economists, Bloomberg News reports. Canada added 93,200 jobs in June, while U.S. private employers added just 83,000.
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Thanks to strong hiring in the service sector, Canada's unemployment rate fell to 7.9 from 8.1 percent, while America's unemployment rate came in at 9.5 percent in June, falling only because of a large exodus of Americans looking for work.
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Canadian real estate broker Royal LePage predicts Canada's home prices could rise an average of 6.8 percent in 2010. Meanwhile, the IMF, though remaining relatively upbeat on the U.S. housing and job markets, warned that the foreclosure crisis could lead to a double-dip in home prices.
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With gay marriage rights - British Columbia was one of the first provinces to approve gay marriage - and a far more robust economy and tolerant society, Canada has far more to offer LGBT Americans that does the USA where religious based discrimination - even though unconstitutional under a straight forward reading of the Constitution - remains the norm in the majority of states.

Another "Played" Minority

This cartoon from the Sun Sentinel reminds LGBT Americans that we're not the only ones being played by our "fierce advocate" and the DNC. Enough talk - it's time for action and delivery on campaign promises.

Why We DO Need to Close the "gAyTM"

Joe Mirabella had posts on Pam's House Blend and The Bilerico Project entitled "Don't Close the "gAyTM" that garnered high volumes of comments (65 comments on Bilerico and 197 comments on Pam's blog). Joe's argument - after reviewing all of the betrayals and non-actions of Obama and Congressional Democrats to date - boils down to the following:
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$300 Million [in far right organization funding] can do incredible damage to not only the Democratic Party, but to the LGBT community. The Republican Party remains viscerally opposed to equal rights for LGBTs. If you think sitting on your wallet is helpful to our community, you are simply wrong.
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I realize not every Democrat is perfect and some are downright wrong on our issues. This is why I urge the DNC to create an LGBT fund. Allow us to contribute to the DNC while knowing our money won't support candidates who do not support us.
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With all due respect to Joe, he's singing EXACTLY the song the cynical, disingenuous Democrats - including our faux "fierce advocate" in the White House - want him to sing. There will ALWAYS be an excuse why they want us to keep ponying up money and votes for them even as they do nothing but give us false promises of future progress in return. Except the return never happens and the date for promised results just moves on further and further out in the future. As noted in prior posts, one form of insanity is continuing to do the same thing time and time again and expecting different results to somehow miraculously to occur. It's not going to happen. *

As long as the Democrats know that they can throw us repeatedly under the bus yet can count on us to show up with money and votes like Pavlov's dog, why is there any need for them do anything different? They get exactly what they want without doing anything except holding up the same old GOP boogie man. They think we're idiots - and if we keep doing the same thing no matter how bad the betrayals, they are right, we will be proving ourselves to be idiots. The homophobic and slanted DADT survey - which I personally suspect our "fierce advocate" at the White House knew about - is but the latest glaring evidence of the contempt with which the Democrats believe they can view us and still have us mindlessly hand over money and show up on election day.

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Pam Spaulding's analysis is correct in my view: turn off the gAyTM except for candidates that have actually done what they promised in terms on actual, concrete votes. In keeping with this approach, I am supporting Virginia 2nd District Congressman Glenn Nye for re-election because he has delivered: He voted for Hate Crimes, he a co-sponsor of ENDA and he voted for DADT repeal. As for the rest of the Democrats and the DNC, Pam's thoughts are spot on:
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The reality-based conclusion in the coffeehouse is that we've had it with the hopey-changey head fakes and fear-based approaches to extracting cash out of the gAyTM. It's over.
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We're keeping the gAyTM CLOSED, only donating to pols and organizations that are pro-equality and have been effective in advocacy. I see nothing wrong with this. I am not, however, an advocate of sitting out the midterms. If you have pro-equality candidates on the ballot, they deserve and need your vote.
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[R]eality-based LGBTs . . are tired of being played. We're tired of being told by Beltway advocates (who are in a political bubble) that to disagree with this White House's LGBT "strategy" (if you can call it that) is "politically unsophisticated," impatient or that it's merely tantrum throwing. Say whatever you wish about our position. The GAyTM is still closed.