Pat Robertson: Gays deliberately spread AIDS through special rings they wear

UPDATE – I think it’s safe to assume that we have a SERIOUS controversy here.  According to the New Civil Rights Movement, Robertson has forced youtube to take down the video mentioned in this post.  You will notice that even the video from Right Wing Watch (included in this post) seems to be gone. But never fear, if you want to see the video, click on this Huffington Post link.

Mark this one down. I think Pat Robertson has gone so far that even he feels the need to dial himself back. At the end of this clip, he clearly says that gays spread AIDS through special rings we supposedly wear:



Apparently that comment about gays spreading AIDS due to special rings has caused a huge controversy. According to Right-Wing Watch, CBN - Robertson's network - first edited the remarks away then removed the youtube video.

Later that day, Robertson tried to rescind his comments. I think he made things worse:

 "I was asked by a viewer whether she had a right to leave her church because she had been asked to transport an elderly man who had AIDS and about whose condition she had not been informed. My advice was that the risk of contagion in those circumstances was quite low and that she should continue to attend the church and not worry about the incident.

"In my own experience, our organization sponsored a meeting years ago in San Francisco where trained security officers warned me about shaking hands because, in those days, certain AIDS-infected activists were deliberately trying to infect people like me by virtue of rings which would cut fingers and transfer blood.

"I regret that my remarks had been misunderstood, but this often happens because people do not listen to the context of remarks which are being said. In no wise (sic) were my remarks meant as an indictment of the homosexual community or, for that fact, to those infected with this dreadful disease." - Pat Robertson, in a statement emailed to me by the head publicist for the 700 Club.

'Right-wing still angry that they don't get to discriminate against gays' and other Tuesday midday news briefs

NRO's Dennis Prager: LGBT Non-Discrimination Efforts Breed "Fascism" - Because apparently nothing says "facism" like equality. Yes, that confuses me, too. 

 Hawaiian Bishop: Discriminating Against Same-Sex Couples Is Just - This bishop's points are just sad. And they get sadder when Think Progress refutes them.

 Jamaica Mob Traps And Barricades 5 Gay Men In House (VIDEO) - This is scary as hell. 

ADF warns of a worldwide, pro-LGBT 'war' - And the religious right are conjuring up visions of war using crosshairs (again). And what's worse? Of course they are smearing the lgbt community but didn't even make the crosshairs pink in color (bad joke, sorry).

 Republicans Say It’s Unfair To Compare Civil Rights To LGBT Rights - Of course they say this while simultaneously attempting to keep gays from marrying and African-Americans from voting.

Louis Farrakhan and homosexuality 40 years ago

How's this for a nauseating blast from the past? I found this clip on youtube and just had to share it. It's 1972 footage of Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan talking about homosexuality. Check out how the audience is filled with his supporters cheering him on:

Bryan Fischer: Russian anti-gay law is the public policy the religious right have been advocating

There are times in which you laugh at the American Family Association's Bryan Fischer (which is most of the time) and then there are times in which you should listen to him.

Bryan Fischer says what I'm sure a vast majority of members of the religious right are thinking but are afraid to say out loud. This clip is a perfect example. In it, he defends that awful anti-gay law in Russia. Fischer claims that Russia is ahead of the United States when it comes to dealing with lgbts and that folks on his side of the spectrum have been advocating for such a law:



 The lgbt community here in America would do well to not only pay attention to Fischer's words but also make sure as many other people as possible listen to them. As nauseating as he is, Fischer shows the true face of the religious right, i.e. the homophobic and hateful one they try to hide.

And it is a face we must work to make America see.

Hat tip to Right Wing Watch

'Anti-gay group exploiting 9/11 to fight marriage equality' and other Monday midday news briefs

Disgusting: Illinois Family Institute uses 9/11 anniversary to pray against gay people's marriages! - Regardless of how you feel about marriage equality, this sort of thing is tacky and in very poor taste.

Fox's Shannon Bream Suggests Businesses Have A Right To Discriminate Against Gay People - No they don't. Like a commentator remarked in the post, if you replaced the word "gay" with any other minority group, you would get a different response than the tired argument of "religious liberty." And those who call themselves journalists really need to do more than Bream did with this one-sided piece of crap she calls a news segment.

 Alabama judge validates lesbian mom’s visitation rights to her children - Damn skippy!  

Same-sex couple's names on Iowa birth certificate 'a little surreal' - Surreal but appropriate.

Liberty Counsel's Matt Barber smears NJ lawmaker over 'ex-gay' therapy ban

Barber

Liberty Counsel member and anti-gay activist Matt Barber is one who never lets the truth keep him from spinning a tale of evil gays plotting to take over America.

I think he really outdoes himself in his latest spin in both the depths he stoops to and the nausea he creates.

In the piece 'Gay' lawmaker to Christians: 'We'll take your children,' Barber is attacking New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie for signing a state bill outlawing "ex-gay" therapy for minors.  Like he tends to do, Barber creates a fictional connection between homosexuality and pedophilia and cherry-picks CDC statistics to create the false image of homosexuality being a supposed negative lifestyle:

But what about the title of the post, which no doubt reels potential readers in. Did a gay lawmaker tell Christians that gays will be taking their children because of the law? Of course not.

The title of Barber's post is as fictional as the post itself :

Things get more sinister yet. On Wednesday, New Jersey Assemblyman Tim Eustace, who sponsored the bill and is openly homosexual, bombastically compared change therapy to “beating a child” and suggested that the government take children seeking change away from their parents. He told Talk Radio 1210 WPHT, “What this does is prevent things that are harmful to people. If a parent were beating their child on a regular basis we would step in and remove that child from the house. If you pay somebody to beat your child or abuse your child, what’s the difference?” Mat Staver responded on the same program: “It is shocking to hear the law’s sponsor threaten parents that the state will remove their children from them if they provide the counsel they need and which helps them. This is the ultimate nanny state,” he said. 

So no. A gay lawmaker never made the statement or implied in any way or form that gays will be snatching the children of Christian parents.  Eustace was making a hypothetical comparison in which he made no threats nor even mention Christians at all.

Barber's group, the Liberty Counsel, will be suing New Jersey over the "ex-gay" therapy ban. If Barber's bad lie an example of their defense, then the state has nothing to worry about.

Know Your LGBT History - Billy Squier and the 'Rock Me Tonite' video

If you don't know who Billy Squier is, blame the video below.

In the early 80s, Squier was a hard rocker with several hits and he was on the verge of superstardom. Until the video for his song, Rock Me Tonite premiered.

The song itself was a huge hit, but the video has been called one of the worst, if not the worst music video ever for a number of reasons. Personally, I think his dancing was a hot mess. But others cited the homoerotic subtext in the video, i.e. the satin sheets, the pink clothing he put on, as well as him writhing on the floor. Nowadays, that's old hat, but in the 80s homoeroticism was a huge no-no in rock videos. Even singers like Prince and Mick Jagger "butched it up" a bit back then. And while Boy George of Culture Club was wild, he walked a very tight line between bizarre and gay.

Many, including Squier himself, said that the video totally destroyed his career by alienating a huge part of his fan base. Whatever the case may be, take a look and judge for yourself:



Wikipedia has a huge entry on the Rock Me Tonite video and the havoc it wrecked on Squier's career.

Past Know Your LGBT History Posts:

'Right-wing FURIOUS that courts won't let them discriminate against gays' and other Friday midday news briefs

Right-Wing Media Cry "Tyranny" Over Enforcement Of New Mexico's Non-Discrimination Law - Sorry guys, but you have the follow the rules just like everyone else. If you let photographers discriminate on the basis of "religious beliefs" today, tomorrow it may be apartment complex owners, or restaurants, or maybe even pharmacies. It's neither fair nor right.

5 most absurd, self-pitying gripes of the Christian Right - I'm amazed that the author found just five.

Senator Claims Pentagon Policy Allowing Gays To Marry Harms Straight Couples - Tell you what. Give us the right to be legally married in all 50 states (like straight couples have) and we wouldn't need a policy like this one.  

Daily Beast Publishes Piece Suggesting Prison Is Pretty Great For Transgender People - I read that piece and it was a HOT MESS! Whatever happened to standards a publication should follow when publishing material?  

Center for Marriage Policy Worries Lesbians Will Trick Gay Men Into Fathering Their Children And Become Their Slaves - Ooo Lawd!

Bryan Fischer anoints Christians as the ‘new Black’ after court ruling

The New Mexico Supreme Court just ruled against a wedding photographer who refused to service a gay couple, saying that “personal religious beliefs” is not grounds for discrimination.

Naturally,  Bryan Fischer of the American Family Association is all broken up over the ruling:

Cry me a river, Fischer.

MLK's son speaks about his father's legacy in the gay community

This wonderful interview that Michelangelo Signorile conducted with Martin Luther King III, the son of MLK, is an excellent antidote for all of the times the wannabes and never-will-bes attempt to co-opt the legacy of the Civil Rights Movement and MLK to plant a wedge between the lgbt and black communities.

King also voiced support for the boycott of the Russian Olympics due that country's anti-gay policies. But this part is very poignant to me:

King III also discussed his father’s legacy on civil rights and claims by some anti-gay religious conservatives, including some black minsters, that his father would not have supported LGBT equality. MLK's widow and King III's mother, Coretta Scott King, eventually became a champion of LGBT rights and gay marriage. Gay advocates are included among the speakers at the rally this weekend commemorating the march, and LGBT groups are busing in attendees.

“What I know, for sure, is that dad was beyond the average person in terms of what he chose to embrace and accept,” King III said. “One of the most significant persons -- the most significant person in fact -- who helped to organize the March on Washington was Mr. Bayard Rustin [who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Freedom this year by President Obama]. And Mr. Bayard Rustin was openly gay. The point is, if dad had problems with gays I don’t think he would have embraced someone in a such a significant role. I think that as he worked to advocate for civil and human rights, he was talking for everyone, not just for people of color. That’s where my mom was throughout her life.”

You read more about the interview here. But try to listen to it all if you can.

'Is Scott Lively taking credit for Russian homophobia?' and other Thursday midday news briefs

How A Global Anti-Gay Activist Reached Into Russia - Homophobe Scott Lively seems to be taking credit for the anti-gay debacle in Russia while he is facing a lawsuit for another anti-gay debacle in Uganda. 

The Seven Most Ignorant Reactions To Bradley Manning Coming Out As Chelsea - I would be accused of having my head in the sand if I ignored the situation regarding Chelsea Manning.

 WND Touts Hate Group's Distortion Of Pentagon Policy On Same-Sex Marriages - World Net Daily teaming with the Family Research Council? It's one of those proverbial matches made in the lower part of hell.

 “Dangerously Uninformed”: Fox News’ Fact-Free Campaign Against Protections For Transgender Students - Isn't calling Fox News "dangerously uninformed" an extreme oxymoron?

Albany pols push for ban on gay ‘conversion’ therapy for teens, citing new N.J. law - Yes! Big time yes!

Video proof that homophobia rots your brain

Andy Warhol once said that in the future, everyone will be famous for at least 15 minutes. Methinks he was predicting youtube. This observation was very astute, but highly unfortunate for some homophobes who seem to think that their personal observations about our community deserve a wide audience. I challenge you to get through at least five minutes of this "common sense" video without choking on laughter.

Religious right talking head wants 'civil disobedience' over marriage equality

As many times as some of my African-Americans brothers and sisters get angry to hear the gay rights movement being compared to the civil rights movement, I wish some of them would show a little of that fire when someone like the Liberty Counsel's Matt Barber besmirches the name of the civil rights movement.

Dear Matt, NO ONE on your side of homophobes can be compared to Martin Luther King, Jr. Please get over yourself.

'Another fake story of anti-Christian persecution revealed to be wrong' and other Wednesday midday news briefs

No, This Air Force Sergeant Was Not Fired For Opposing Marriage Equality - One of the most dangerous attacks on lgbt equality are stories like this - anecdotal claims which are pushed and driven hard by the right-wing media and helped by lgbts eager to demonstrate how objective they are BEFORE the truth comes out. Usually, the truth is totally different from the claims driven by religious right groups. When stories like this come out, please wait to hear the entire incident before commenting. 

Maggie Gallagher issues actual response to Gov. Christie (which is just like the one she says was issued in error) - So Maggie Gallagher issues a statement regarding Gov. Christie signing a ban on "ex-gay" therapy for minors . . . and it's just like the first statement she claimed she didn't make. It's as if she didn't realize that we would be waiting regardless of how long it did take her to make a statement.

 Maggie Gallagher Confirms Her Support For Junk "Ex-Gay" Therapy - More on Maggie Gallagher's doublespeak. I swear this woman doesn't seem to realize that we can read her like an old trashy novel.  

Liberty Counsel Will Sue Over New Jersey ‘Ex-Gay’ Ban - Of course those crazy folks at the Liberty Counsel will sue.

 Sampson McCormick Becomes First Openly Gay Black Comedian To Headline Washington D.C.'s Howard Theatre - I told y'all last week to keep your eye on Sampson. He has the potential to be a huge star.

What the heck are cannibalism and sodomy merit badges?

Some people's hatred of gays absolutely amazes me. Here are Christian Right talk show hosts Kevin Swanson and Dave Buehner still whining over the fact the decision to allow openly gay Boy Scout members:

Swanson: Manhood is a problem and the Boy Scouts are going to lead the decline since the final decision came down that the Boy Scouts as a national organization are going to invite homosexuals into the troops.

Buehner: Which is just a matter [of time] until they invite homosexuals, active homosexuals, to be leaders of the troops and pretty soon you’re going to have the sodomy merit badge. Christians are fleeing like rats.

Swanson: And after that I guess it’s incest; after that I guess it’s the cannibal merit badge, where I guess you cut up human flesh, fry it—

 Buehner: Cook it in a Dutch oven out in the wilderness.

 Swanson: So that’s what the Boy Scouts are doing, they are trying to add abomination on abomination, effectively going into God’s word, trying to find the thing that God really, really, really hates the most. The sins listed in the Bible, going through the lists of sins in the Bible, finding the very worst ones and creating merit badges for them is where the Boy Scouts are headed.

Eight minutes of homophobic trash for your amusement

Wanna-be filmmaker and arch-homophobe Janet Porter is at it again. The following trailer is from her supposed upcoming documentary The Criminalization of Christianity.

To put it nicely, the trailer is a hot mess of homophobia. She throws everything at the viewer from the so-called recruitment of children to "ex-gay" nonsense.

And she doesn't do it alone. Also starring in the trailer are:

Former chaplain Gordon Klingenschmitt who, amongst other things, recently said that Jesus will strike down "sodomites" and throw them into hell,

Scott Lively, who is responsible for helping to push the "kill the gays" bill in Uganda and is now embroiled in a huge lawsuit over it,

Former Concerned Women for America and Family Research Council spokesman Robert Knight, who seems to spread anti-gay propaganda with every other sentence,

Harry Jackson who once claimed that marriage equality will destroy children and that voting for Obama will bring "divine judgement" on America,

and Brian Camenker, head of the hate group, Mass Resistance, who once compared educators who support lgbt-inclusive schools to Nazi concentration camp guards.

With a line-up like that, you know Porter created, don't you?

The world's first audio/visual laxative.

Hat tip to Right-Wing Watch

Related post: How They See Us: Unmasking the Religious Right War on Gay America

'Right-wing BLAST Gov. Christie for signing 'ex-gay' therapy ban' and other Tuesday midday news briefs

Right-Wing Media Blast Chris Christie For Signing "Ex-Gay" Therapy Ban - Apparently the right-wing is so angry at Christie that they don't like nor his mama right now. All except Maggie Gallagher. She backtracking from comments attributed to her. 

Tim Donnelly, California Politician, To Pull Son Out Of Public School Over Transgender Students Bill - His son said he would not use the bathroom alongside a transgender teen.  Donnelly had to pull the child out of school, otherwise he would just bust from constant suspicion.

Teacher applies GLAAD CAP in exchange with Laurie Higgins. You can too! - And THIS is why I say there needs to be more information out there regarding the ugly rhetoric and lies of the religious right. If the information isn't out there, then folks who want and need it cannot receive it. 

 The 5 Weirdest Ideas From Conservatives’ New Talking Points Against Marriage Equality - And here we go again.  

Harvey: Gays Seek to 'Absorb the Personality and Identity of Another Person' - OMG! Now she thinks we are something from Star Trek. I get to be "Q." He may be a villain but the brother can dress!

American Family Association spokesman - Punish gays like drug abusers

It's been noted on many occasions that Bryan Fischer of the American Family Association doesn't like gay people, but I think even he would admit that he went too far in this rambling explanation as to why gays should be punished like drug abusers.

Hat tip to Jeremy Hooper.

Video gives a vindictive, unfair portrait of the transgender community

This has to be the single most vindictive display of transgender bashing I have ever seen on video not involving violence.

From Media Matters:

For the past several weeks, conservative media outlets have been stoking fears about a new California law that will allow transgender students to have access to school facilities and sports teams that match their gender identity. The law has drawn criticism from outlets like Fox News, which warns that the law will allow boys to sneak into girls' bathrooms and engage in inappropriate behavior.

Case in point: Media Research Center Content Specialist Dan Joseph, who on August 15 released a video in which he poses as a transgender female and asks a woman if she would be comfortable with him using the same restroom as her.

That point of the video happens at 5:31. Media Matters also says:

Other than attempting to feminize his voice, Joseph doesn't present himself in any way as a female in the clip. He is wearing men's clothing, has a full goatee, and goes by his male name, "Dan." His impersonation is a perfect example of everything that's wrong with how conservative media imagine transgender people.

Unlike Joseph's character, most people who are actually transgender make efforts to present and appear in a way that matches their gender identity. Transgender women don't typically walk around in men's clothing will full faces of facial hair. They don't typically refer to themselves as "a transgender." And they certainly don't stand outside of women's restrooms announcing themselves and asking passerbys for permission to "go in there... and change and shower and stuff."

Media Matters points out that the purpose of this video is not to give accurate information about the transgender community, but to gin up fear and anger by amplifying the homophobic stereotypes created about transgenders.

I couldn't agree with this more.

'NJ Gov Christie signs bill outlawing 'ex-gay' therapy for minors' and other Monday midday news briefs

Chris Christie Signs New Jersey Bill Banning Ex-Gay Therapy For Minors - I think its safe to assume that Chris Christie won't be getting the Republican nomination for President any time soon, not if the religious right has anything to say about it. 

Matt Barber says he will never accept my marriage (*even though he absolutely will, at least in law) - For the second time, Matt Barber, we don't care whether or not you accept our marriages. I mean who the hell are you that we should care? 

Parker: Gay Rights Advocates 'Hijacked the Civil Rights Movement' And Are 'Destroying Black Communities' - Says the woman receiving wingnut welfare for being the head of a - as I see it as now - nonexistent organization which does nothing but lend its name to whenever conservatives or the religious right wants a black face. 

 Judge orders Colorado State Patrol to pay $768,268 to gay ex-trooper - Fairness wins. 

 San Antonio Nondiscrimination Bill Triggers Community’s Homophobia - It's sad how the wolves came out of the woodwork.