'FRC claiming that 'straight soldiers' are victims of discrimination' and other Tuesday midday news briefs

Perkins: Stop Discriminating Against Straight Soldiers! - More lies from Tony Perkins and the Family Research Council. 

Trans worker wins $50K in settlement over job bias - That's right, honey. You take that money and you deserve every penny of it. 

Mark Regnerus to join ADF at UN event - After his faulty anti-parenting study was destroyed, dissected, and devastated, I guess Mark Regnerus is now saying "to heck with integrity. show me the money."  

Orson Scott Card's New Job On North Carolina Public TV Board Comes Under Fire - Who thought of putting this bozo on public tv board.

NOM gives accidental compliment to the gay community

The following graphic is by the National Organization for Marriage in its latest fundraising appeal. My guess is that NOM meant for it to show the lgbt community as menacing warriors, but I don't take it as that.

The graphic doesn't insult me. On the other hand, it empowers me. I see it as typifying a community who was beset with anti-marriage equality fever in 2004 and suffered many losses from the Prop 8 vote in California to many smaller but nonethless equally bruising battles.

However, the lgbt never lost our resolve. We never allowed ourselves to succumb to defeat. No matter how many times we were beaten and Maggie Gallagher or Brian Brown would mock us, we never gave up. We - in the words of a famous pro wrestler whom I adore - "sweat, bleed, and paid the price."

And now, we are where we need to be. Not where we want to be, but at a much better place than where we were.

So no, NOM's graphic depicting the lgbt community as menacing warriors don't insult me and it shouldn't insult anyone else in the community.

We should own up to the distinction with pride. Hell, we earned it.

Media Matters calls out and destroys 'Matthew Shepard Trutherism'

By now, a lot of you are aware of a vile book coming out in October which will smear Matthew Shepard's name.

Openly gay author, Stephen Jimenez, is claiming that not only was Shepard's murder the result of a drug deal rather than because of anti-gay bias, but also Shepard and one of his murderers, Aaron McKinney, were lovers.

You can practically hear the religious right squealing and the concern trolls on our side of the spectrum rising up to defend this piece of hokum, even though Jimenez makes these assertions without an ounce of concrete evidence.

So it is again that I say THANK YOU to watchdog group Media Matters who reveals several facts about Jimenez's work which the religious right will deliberately omit and the mainstream media will probably accidentally omit.

I'm just going to give you some pertinent parts:

Right-wing media outlets are already celebrating a forthcoming book that claims that brutal 1998 murder of gay Wyoming teen Matthew Shepard - which became a rallying cry for LGBT activists - was actually fueled more by drug use than anti-gay bias.

In The Book of Matt: Hidden Truths about the Murder of Matthew Shepard, journalist Stephen Jimenez argues that Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson bludgeoned Shepard in a meth-fueled rage. Jimenez minimizes the role of anti-gay bias in the murder, writing that Shepard and McKinney had previously had sex and done meth together (an assertion that McKinney himself denies).

Although his report of a sexual history between Shepard and McKinney is new, Jimenez's central thesis - that drugs were the motivating factor in Shepard's murder - has been called into question before.

In November 2004, Jimenez co-produced a piece on the Shepard murder for ABC News' 20/20.  GLAAD highlighted key shortcomings in 20/20's report, including the lack of hard evidence that drugs were a factor and its failure to point out that McKinney himself had cited ant-gay bias as a central element in the case, even attempting to employ a "gay panic" defense at trial. Shepard's mother also condemned the report, criticizing its selective reading of evidence and accusing ABC of taking her comments out of context.

The 20/20 report neglected to mention another crucial detail: that Jimenez was a friend of Tim Newcomb, Henderson's defense attorney.

Most disturbingly, email correspondence revealed that the Jimenez had already decided that Shepard's murder wasn't an anti-gay hate crime before 20/20 even started its reporting. As Gay City News reported in December 2004:

Roughly two months before reporting began for a "20/20" piece on the Matthew Shepard killing, [Stephen Jimenez,] the freelance producer who sold the story to the ABC program had decided that methamphetamine motivated the murder and not anti-gay bias.

And barely two months into a six-month span of reporting on the piece, a "20/20" producer wrote in an e-mail that the "'hate crime' motivation of Shepard's death" was a "flawed theory."

Sean Maloney, a senior attorney at Willkie, Farr and Gallagher who represents the Matthew Shepard Foundation, said of "20/20"'s apparent prejudgment of the story, "This strikes us as bad journalism. There is a significant body of evidence that says that anti-gay bias played a role in Matt's death."

The November 26 story said that Aaron McKinney who, along with Russell Henderson, murdered Shepard on October 6, 1998 was fueled by meth. [emphasis added]

Media Matters goes on to detail the number of religious right groups and spokespeople who are now exploiting Jimenez's book to demonize the lgbt community at large.

I dare anyone to give me any crap about this book being written because of a "need to get the truth told."

 It's about money, pure and simple. And a group of hateful folks masquerading as Christians eager to besmirch the memory of a young man who cannot defend himself.

Where the hell is the decency in that?

'Religious right continues to lie about 'anti-Christian persecution' in military' and other Monday midday news briefs

As false horror story I posted about this morning about "anti-Christian" persecution in the military isn't enough, leave it to Matt Barber and Mat Staver of the Liberty Counsel to create a new one.

 In other news:

  Fox's Erickson Complains That Media Outlets Aren't Anti-LGBT Enough - Poor baby. Heavy on the baby part.  

Pro-LGBT Tech Executives Back Anti-LGBT Candidate For Virginia Governor - With all due respect, Northern Virginia Technology Council’s political action committee , y'all stupid.

Nigerian Student Uses Magnets To 'Prove' Gay Marriage Is Wrong - Say what?

Religious right pushing a false narrative about anti-Christian persecution in the Air Force

Conservatives and the religious right are under the sad impression that they have found of story of anti-Christian discrimination in the military so juicy that the Family Research Council, the Liberty Counsel, entities of Fox News, and even Bryan Fischer of the American Family Association are teaming up to talk about it.

Let me give you the gist of the story via the words of FRC's Peter Sprigg:

Air Force Senior Master Sergeant Phillip Monk told Todd Starnes of Fox News Radio that his openly lesbian commander at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio,Texas had essentially forced him into taking leave rather than completing his assignment. (A Lackland spokesman denied that Monk was punished, insisting to Starnes that he was simply at the end of his assignment.)

Monk was caught in the middle of a situation which involved an instructor who was subjected to an investigation for having told trainees that he opposed homosexual "marriage." Investigators sought to determine whether the unnamed instructor had slandered homosexuals and created a "hostile work environment."

Monk's job was to advise the commander on disciplinary action. According to Monk, however, the commander said from the outset that "we need to lop off the head of this guy." Monk concluded that the instructor's remarks were innocuous, and suggested instead that the incident could teach everyone - on both sides of the debate over homosexuality - about "tolerance" and "diversity."

In the end, the instructor was disciplined with a "letter of counseling" in his official file. The commander, however, demanded to know from Monk "if you can see discrimination if somebody says that they don't agree with homosexual marriage." Monk refused to answer because, "As a matter of conscience I could not answer the question the way the commander wanted me to." Instead, he "said that perhaps it would be best if he went on leave," and the commander agreed.

Monk said to Starnes, "I'm told that members of the Air Force don't have freedom of speech. They don't have the right to say anything that goes against Air Force policy." However, if the homosexual Air Force officer involved in this case thinks that "Air Force policy" requires rejecting the policy choice of three quarters of the States to define marriage as the union of one man and one woman, she should think again.

But according to Equality Matters:

Try as Starnes might to depict the investigation of Monk as an all-out assault on conservative Christians in the military, it's clear that Monk's harsh words for his Air Force superiors may well have breached military regulations on soldiers' conduct. Article 134 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice prohibits soldiers from engaging in speech or actions "of a nature to bring discredit upon the armed forces." Going to the media with unfounded allegations that the Air Force is retaliating against Christians would likely merit an investigation under Article 134.

But Starnes asserted that Monk's case indicates widespread punishment of Christians in the military. Alas, this claim is based on nothing more than hearsay. An attorney for the Liberty Institute - which has a history of pushing trumped-up, unfounded "religious liberty" cases - told Starnes that "there must be some sort of systemic problem in the Air Force," while a local pastor told Starnes that he "hear[s] it every Sunday at church" that life at Lackland is becoming "difficult" for Christians.

And according to Media Matters, who reported on the situation and the fact that the Liberty Counsel is taking up Monk's case:

While Senior Master Sgt. Phillip Monk claims his anti-marriage equality views led him to be relieved of his duties, there's no evidence, besides the sensationalistic coverage of far-right news outlets, that that's actually the case. After devoting four minutes to touting the Liberty Institute's claims, Bream briskly noted that officials at Lackland Air Force Base said Monk was at the end of his assignment. A spokesperson for the base told Fox News Radio's Todd Starnes that while Monk and his lesbian commander did disagree on marriage equality, they "agreed to disagree," adding "the wing commander said there was no punishment."

The one constant in this strange is how the narrative of anti-Christian is being driven by the religious right and conservatives. According to Todd Starnes of Fox News, Monk is now being brought up on charges for repeating his tale.

Of course the irony of Starnes' story is while the headlines pushes the idea that Christians are being persecuted in the military, it doesn't even look like Starnes even tried to get the Air Force's side of the story.

Why should we be surprised at how conservatives and the religious right are pushing this story? It's a formula we have seen before - take a potential controversy, report on it in a half-assed way, bombard the media with the side of  the story you support, and finally take your victory before the truth even has a chance to put on its track shoes.

For folks to engage in this scurrilous propaganda is one thing, but for those who claim to be Christians while engaging in this underhanded tactic is positively nauseating.
 

SC couple sues about gender reassignment surgery performed on son' and other Friday midday news briefs

South Carolina Couple Files Lawsuit For Gender Reassignment Surgery Performed On Their Adopted Son - It's cases like that which blows away that ridiculous "God made men to be men and women to be women" mantra. I hope it ends well for the child. 

Transgender woman, Saskatoon bridal shop reach mediated settlement - And it turns out to be an excellent settlement for all involved.  

National Organization for [Opposition to Reproductive Technology, Gay or Straight] #MoreThanMarriage - So now, NOM wants to weigh in on how children are conceived. Forget it, guys.

 Stemberger: 'Abuse' To Affirm LGBT Youth; Sexual Relations Among Boy Scouts Will Become 'Commonplace' - Ignorant people like this just makes me want to pull my hair out. That's why I deliberately shave my head.

Family Research Council doesn't know meaning of 'irony' and 'hypocrisy'

In the irony to beat all ironies, less than a week after the religious right accused the lgbt community of unfairly causing the closing of a bakery which refused to make a cake for a same-sex wedding, Family Research Council head Tony Perkins is calling for a boycott of baking company Betty Crocker for giving away free cakes to gay couples getting married in Minnesota.


Bear in mind that in the case of the bakery, the lgbt community was accused of using "Mafia-style" tactics even though no one actually gave any description of these so-called evil tactics. At the very least, gays probably arranged a very successful boycott of the business.

Which leads us to this conclusion - when gays conduct a successful boycott, it's the equivalent of leaving a horse's head in someone's bed (Godfather reference). When the religious right attempts a boycott, they are merely "standing up for Christian values."

Someone really needs to send me a decoder book for all of this crap.

New information sheds light on FRC shooter's 'mental capacity'

While I am not one for usually citing the Washington Times, here is something regarding the shooting last year at the Family Research Council headquarters which I doubt FRC will let folks know. It would appear - and it should have really been obvious - that the perpetrator, Floyd Corkins, had mental issues:

A Virginia man who planned to kill employees at the D.C. headquarters of a conservative Christian organization last summer received mental health treatment for hallucinations months before he tried to storm the building and then shot a security guard.

The attorney for 29-year-old Floyd Lee Corkins II noted in court documents that his client had been doing well on prescribed antipsychotic medication but missed a doctor’s appointment for an additional dose the day before the Aug. 15, 2012, shooting at the Family Research Council.

Federal public defender David Bos noted Corkins‘ mental illness as a factor when asking for an 11½-year prison sentence for his client. Prosecutors previously recommended a 45-year prison sentence for Corkins, who is the first person to be found guilty of terrorism under the District’s 2002 Anti-Terrorism Act
.
In court documents filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court for the District, Mr. Bos wrote that if Corkins “were unrepentant and unremorseful for his conduct, and not suffering from a mental illness at the time he committed the offenses, a severe sentence might indeed be warranted in this case.” Corkins is scheduled to be sentenced in federal court on Sept. 19.

I think it was obvious that Corkins wasn't "wrapped too tight" when one discovers what he planned to do after the shooting had he been successful:

In addition to the pistol, Corkins also had with him two fully loaded magazine clips with 15 rounds each, a box of 50 rounds of 9 mm bullets, and 15 Chick-fil-A sandwiches. The sandwiches were bought the day before the shooting, Corkins told investigators, with the purpose of smearing them in the faces of his victims.

In short, Corkins was extremely disturbed.  So I am going to say this right now. It's unfair for anyone to blame the Southern Poverty Law Center (which FRC has attempted to do) or FRC (which I am guilty of) for what Corkins attempted.

He was a young man with mental issues who interjected himself into a controversy the wrong way.

'Russian legislator citing junk science study in attempt to separate gay families' and other Thursday midday news briefs

Russian Lawmaker: Children Are Better Off In Orphanage Than With A Gay Parent - And guess what NOM paid-for-study did this bozo cite? 

 Being ‘Masculine of Center’ While Black - Articles like this need more prominence. 
 

Michigan Republicans Once Again Propose ‘License To Discriminate’ For Adoption Agencies - Lovely. Here we go again.

 Daily Caller Mocks Transgender Students "Running For Homecoming King, Queen, Whatever" - More proof that Daily Caller publisher and former journalist Tucker Carlson has continued to sink in credibility.

 ‘Ex-Gay’ Courage Award To Be Awarded To Former ‘Satanic Drag Queen’ - Oh lawd!

'Porno' Peter LaBarbera exploits lgbt youth to fuel obsession about gay sex

LaBarbera

Our favorite irrational homophobe, 'Porno' Peter LaBabarbera of Americans for Truth is unwittingly teaching a lesson today on how members of the religious right cherry-pick legitimate science to demonize the lgbt community.

On his webpage, LaBarbera posted a muddled mess of a report regarding HIV cases amongst young gays. I can't even begin to make coherence of this mess. He cites the Centers for Disease Control studies to make his case. Then he tries to claim that when the CDC supports the work of the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) and the Gay-Straight Alliance Network (GSAN), they are actually exacerbating the problem. He says:

With HIV rates growing among YMSM (young men who have sex with men), the CDC’s focus on building self-esteem among LGBT youth and creating a “positive school climate” for homosexuals — includes forming “gay”-affirming clubs in schools — seems disconnected from reality.

 The gist of what LaBarbera is trying to say is this:

The chasm between the obvious and extreme health risks associated with “gay” male sex and the CDC’s politically correct, pro-homosexuality mindset reflects public policy malpractice on an Orwellian scale. “Gay” activist ideology and assumptions — including intrinsic (many would claim innate) “gay”/bi/transgender identities — go unquestioned at the CDC. Ironically, the most direct answer to the HIV-youth crisis — teaching young people NOT to practice unhealthy homosexual sex — is the one thing that is essentially forbidden.

All across America, “gay” activists and their straight liberal allies are advocating “gay”-positive lesson plans and strategies in response to anti-homosexual bullying. However, while everyone can agree that all bullying is wrong, many “anti-bullying” programs double as pro-LGBT affirmation programs. This is troubling because:1) bullying can be discouraged with neutral messaging that does not promote “out and proud” homosexuality and transgenderism; and 2) in the name of “safety,” educators and cultural elites are advocating a sexual lifestyle that has continually been shown to be dangerous, particularly for males.

Is LaBarbera's assumptions about the CDC wrong? Yes.

 Is LaBarbera clueless? Always.

Had LaBarbera not been so obsessed with demonizing "gay sex "(yet again), he would have known that the CDC had conducted a study that looked at risk behavior among youth and an excellent part of that study was a paper which looked at the health problems regarding lgbt youth.

The CDC has also said:

LGBT youth are also at increased risk for suicidal thoughts and behaviors, suicide attempts, and suicide. A nationally representative study of adolescents in grades 7–12 found that lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth were more than twice as likely to have attempted suicide as their heterosexual peers More studies are needed to better understand the risks for suicide among transgender youth.
Another survey of more than 7,000 seventh- and eighth-grade students from a large Midwestern county examined the effects of school climate and homophobic bullying on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and questioning (LGBQ) youth and found that

• LGBQ youth were more likely than heterosexual youth to report high levels of bullying and substance use; 
• Students who were questioning their sexual orientation reported more bullying, homophobic victimization, unexcused absences from school, drug use, feelings of depression, and suicidal behaviors than either heterosexual or LGB students;
• LGB students who did not experience homophobic teasing reported the lowest levels of depression and suicidal feelings of all student groups (heterosexual, LGB, and questioning students)

The CDC has also linked negative sexual behaviors to these problems amongst lgbt youth. In addition, the CDC has also listed ways to combat lgbt youth health problems:

For youth to thrive in their schools and communities, they need to feel socially, emotionally, and physically safe and supported. A positive school climate has been associated with decreased depression, suicidal feelings, substance use, and unexcused school absences among LBGT students. School personnel, leaders of community organizations, parents, and youth have a role to play in building positive, supportive, and healthy environments for youth. Such environments promote acceptance and respect and help youth feel valued . Schools can assist by implementing clear policies, procedures, and activities designed to prevent violence. For example, a study, found that, in schools with LGB support groups (such as gay-straight alliances), LGB students were less likely to experience threats of violence, miss school because they felt unsafe, or attempt suicide than those students in schools without LGB support groups.

In other words, by doing all of the things that LaBarbera seems to have a problem with, the CDC is in fact not contributing to the problem but attempting to combat it.

Let's be honest here. LaBarbera could care less about aiding lgbt youth. They are just pawns in his continued obsession about gay sex.

Former AFA employee decribes Bryan Fischer as 'a drunken uncle at a wedding'

In a very good piece on the Truth Wins Out webpage, former American Family Association employee (he has since evolved) Joseph R. Murray II described current AFA spokesman Bryan Fischer as:

 . . . a drunken uncle at a wedding who must continually be outrageous in hopes that someone will pay attention.

When listening to the following insane ramblings from Fischer today (courtesy of Right Wing Watch who refutes his lies), I think that description is way too kind:

'NOM endorsed candidate fails BIG TIME in NYC primary' and other Wednesday midday news briefs

So how did the National Organization For Marriage's endorsed candidate do in NYC primary? - Poor NOM. Its candidate in the NYC primary election for mayor BOMBED big time.

Fox's Starnes Fearmongers About Christian Groups Being Denied Federal Food Assistance - Giving inaccurate information in an article is one thing, but giving inaccurate information even though you were GIVEN the correct information is in a class by itself.

UK's anti-equality crowd touts Robert Oscar 'gay parents are slavers' López - NOM has a United Kingdom affiliated group and it also puts out crappy videos.  

Federal Government Is Recognizing Same-Sex Couples’ New Mexico Marriages - Sweet!  

Michael Jordan’s daughter comes out as gay on Instagram - The more younger lgbts of color to come out, the better!  

Harvey: LGBT-Inclusive Education Is 'Pure Evil And Should Be Declared Child Abuse' - Linda Harvey. The cure to constipation.

NOM spotlights its own failure

The above video from the National Organization for Marriage was a part of an endeavour the organization called the Marriage Anti-Defamation Alliance.

The Marriage Anti-Defamation Alliance was created to supposedly spotlight "victims" of the push for marriage equality. It was a colossal failure because of the simple fact that NOM couldn't show any compelling proof that those featured in its videos were actual "victims" of a supposed gay menace.

And also, as this video spinning horror stories of what would happen should DOMA be overturned demonstrates, pronouncements of future doom fizzled like flat soda.

To date, no military chaplain has been forced to participate in a gay wedding.

Nice going NOM in reposting this video on your blog. It puts a huge spotlight on your failure.

Howard University students want to boycott black gospel singer's concert

Here is something you probably won't hear too much about because - and while I hate to say it, it's true - lgbt news tends to be too Eurocentric:

Tonex has been no stranger to controversy in past years. From his flamboyant interviews with any television crew willing to interview him express his homosexual behaviors and how he claims he is “finally free,” to outrightly bashing many Christian artists who he claims are wolves in sheep’s clothing. His new concert, set for September 15 at The Howard Theatre, is causing many students at the school to become quite upset. With a Facebook page created entitled “Don’t support Tonex concert” and a Twitter handle, @BoycottTonex (which as of this morning has been removed), students at Howard believe the same negative words he spoke about many current Christian artists are his exact behaviors.

Angela Powell said, “He’s confused. One second he says he’s not gay then does a tour and says he is. He said he quit gospel but then comes out and says he’s not finished with Christian music yet. He needs to sit down somewhere.”

 . . . Students have posted signs throughout Howard University asking people not to support the concert and to return their tickets for a full refund.

On a personal level, I feel this way. If the students want to boycott, that's their right. However, none of them own the patent to Christianity. If this is how Tonex wants to express his faith, then more power to him. It's refreshing to see an openly gay black gospel singer, especially in light of the rumors that so many black male gospel singers are in the closet.

'Anti-gay propaganda book reaches 50,000 reads as author announces plan for biographical series of posts' and other Tuesday miday news briefs

Editor's note - This is not necessarily a news brief but an announcement. Last night, my booklet, How They See Us: Unmasking the Religious Right War on Gay America crossed the 50,000 reads threshold. Thank you everyone for your supporting, your criticism, and your reading and passing along this very important booklet, which as far as I am concerned, is a minor lgbt cult classic. If you hadn't read it yet, please do so and also RT it on twitter and pass it to your friends. If you desire a personal copy, email me at Charlekenghis@aol.com and write 'anti-gay propaganda book' in the subject line. It is crucial that the lgbt community and our allies receive this information so we can deconstruct religious right anti-gay propaganda.

I feel that because of your support and patience, I owe everyone something. Therefore, I am announcing that starting in late October, I will be publishing a series of biographical posts on Saturdays. These posts will explain how the idea for 'How They See Us'  formulated in my mind two decades ago while I was a student at Winthrop University. And I intend to be very candid, talking about how I dealt with being one of the few openly black gay men not only on campus, but also in a predominantly white fraternity. I will also talk about my first "love," my first boyfriend, and even my suicide attempt in my senior year.  Why am I doing this? Because I want you all to understand my urgent feelings about exposing anti-gay propaganda. It was this propaganda which served as an albatross around my neck during those years. Look for these posts under the title - "Ghouls, Vampires, and Gay Men."

In other news:

How Homophobic Do You Have To Be To Get Fired From Fox News? - Pick yourself up from the floor on this one. This article answers your question.  

AG Greg Abbott to challenge San Antonio nondiscrimination ordinance - Apparently they won't let gays in San Antonio fight their hard fought victory even a little bit. 

 James Franco: 'I Wish I Was Gay' - Tell you what, James. Schedule an appointment and we will "talk" about it. 

 Elena Kostyuchenko, Russian LGBT Journalist, Threatens To Out Closeted Politicians - DO IT! We didn't start this, but it's on!

Is the 'hate group' label worrying the Family Research Council?

The Family Research Council recently sent out a fundraising letter to its supporters (none of your business how I received one). Naturally the letter followed the usual pattern of claiming that America is in danger of losing its so-called Judeo-Christian heritage and that Christian families are also in danger of being attacked by the nonexistent homosexual "agenda."

But one part caught my eye:

We are not haters as the same-sex lobby would have the public believe. We are not intolerant or self-righteous. We are defined and liberated by the grace of God. Jesus told us to "love your neighbor as yourself."

The Family Research Council has a strange idea of love if this is the case. Remember the following from its leaders:

 



 Of course it's relatively easy to refute the FRC leaders when they claim that they aren't filled with malice against the lgbt community, but here is the thing which I find interesting.

FRC now has to assure its followers, those who support the organization's efforts, that its not a hate group, that it does not attack gays because of malice or intolerance.

That doesn't strike me as something you have to do if you are "preaching to the choir."

But it is something you have to do if efforts to label you as a hate group have been successful.

'American Family Association BUSTED in lie about Home Depot' and other Monday midday news briefs

American Family Association Ends Home Depot Boycott With Nothing To Show For It - Oh look. Claims by the American Family Association that its boycott against Home Depot ended in success is refuted by none other than Home Depot. Don't you guys know that lying is a sin. BUSTED! 

The top 12 strangest arguments against equal marriage from Scotland’s first day of Committee stage - And I thought the religious right in America were screwy!  

Sochi Olympic Chief to IOC: Make the Criticisms Stop. IOC to Athletes: Stop Criticizing When in Sochi - It's your own problem, Russia. When you pass a draconian anti-gay law, you really don't expect people to be silent about it, do you?  

Video: How to sell an organization based 100% around gay (youth) discrimination - Ah yes, the organization which supposedly be the alternative of the Boy Scouts. Proceed watching this video at your own risk.

  Coming Out Of The Closet: 12 People Who Should Always Know You're Gay - This is a damn good article.

Stolen document underscores the need to expose anti-gay propaganda

Nothing I have ever written or read about in regards to religious right propaganda could prepare me for what you are about to see. I apologize beforehand but this needs to be seen:

According to the Washington Blade, a British journalist was able to nab a document from the Ugandan Parliament. What that document showed blows away any and everything I have ever seen on anti-gay propaganda:

The document he stole is titled: “Protect our young people from homosexuality: Debate and pass the anti-homosexuality bill now!”

Smith took the document from the Press Office at Parliament when the secretary wasn’t looking. It contains morbid images, such as one that may be posed or altered to depict a human figure lying on a bed with his or her intestines literally extruding onto a bed from his or her rectum.

The photo purports to be of a young man named Turyamureeba Wycliffe, who supposedly died from complications of “fisting” and tuberculosis (supposedly also brought on as a result of his homosexuality).

Mercifully and perhaps manipulatively, the document also includes a photo of Wycliffe in far happier and healthier days sitting in a decidedly effeminate posture. The juxtaposed imagery more subtly drives home the same point the brief hammers out in writing as, “Attention Ugandan MPs and parents: If you don’t do something about your gay (or gay-acting) kid, he’ll end up in a grave with his guts hanging out, just like this one did in Katungu Village."

CAMOVA Anti-homosexuality Brief Uganda - Washington Blade exclusive by WashingtonBlade

This is why it is so important that the lgbt community shine the spotlight on anti-gay propaganda. What's funny to us is deadly to lgbts in other countries.

San Antonio vote reveals the hard truth about anti-gay propaganda

The passage of the pro-lgbt non-discrimination ordinance in San Antonio on Thursday brings to my mind yet again the urgency of the lgbt community needing to call out the propaganda spread about  us via deliberate liars such as Todd Starnes and Fox News and funneled by ignorant folks blinded by their interpretations of Biblical truth.

Before San Antonio voted for the ordinance, members of the lgbt community had to sit through demeaning testimony which cast gays as "abominations" or went into grotesque detail in regards to how we supposedly engage in intercourse. I personally felt nauseated when I read the tweets of testimony. I felt as if I was strapped down into some time machine and transported back to when Anita Bryant was trumpeting the false idea that gays recruit children.

It was such a long time ago since that happened but here we are decades later hearing the same lies. The problem is we don't take this junk seriously until after the fact. We laugh at the outrageous comments uttered by Bryan Fischer and the rest but in doing so, we underestimate these comments. We forget that they do in fact move a significant part of the population either due to their religious beliefs or when Fischer and company can infuse fear of a gay takeover into their minds.

We are under the false belief that addressing this propaganda gives it power, but we have the entire idea backwards. NOT confronting this propaganda is the thing which gives it power.

 Until the lgbt community and our leaders declare war against the lies and liars and makes a serious effort in confronting this propaganda head on, America will have serious problems seeing the real lgbt community:

Instead, the lgbt community will have to contend with this:

And this:



Make no mistake about it. Those who spread anti-gay propaganda are only part to blame when that propaganda successfully hinders gay equality. The other part of the blame has to go to the powers-that-be in the lgbt community with the power to educate  about this propaganda beforehand but will do nothing but gripe and groan after it does its work.

To hell with being reactive. We need to be proactive.

Related post: How They See Us: Unmasking the Religious Right War on Gay America - a short, but definitive guide in calling out and refuting homophobic propaganda.

Know Your LGBT History - The Lion In Winter

Richard confronts Philip in "The Lion in Winter" by 123lucyfur

One of my favorite plays and movies. The Lion In Winter, (1966 play) has been performed several times, the most famous being the 1968 motion picture in which Katherine Hepburn won an Oscar for Best Actress. It's a somewhat complicated play based upon English history mixed with a little fiction.

Henry II of England has let his wife, Eleanor of Acquitane, out of prison to spend Christmas with him. She had been imprisoned for constantly plotting to overthrow him. Also present are Henry's three sons, Richard, Geoffrey, and John. And let's not forget Alais, Henry's mistress and Richard's one-time fiance. She is also the half-sister of the last guest, King Philip of France. The entire play is an intense gamemanship as Henry attempts to keep his throne while verbally jousting with Eleanor. Eleanor, for her part, is plotting with Richard to overthrow Henry. Geoffrey and John are plotting to overthrow Henry also, but need the help of Philip. Meanwhile, Henry is torn between leaving his throne to John, who he thinks loves him the most out of all of his sons, and gaining a new heir with Alais.

You got all of that? The Lion in Winter is a serious wild ride in which alliances are formed and broken within seconds. Where characters express their love for each other in the middle of verbally slashing each other to ribbons. For the purpose of this blog, there is just one more interesting point.

 It would seem that Richard had an affair with Philip when Philip was younger. That is the subject of the above clip featuring Andrew Howard as Richard and Jonathan Rhys Meyers as Philip in the 2003 movie . Be forewarned, however and remember what I said. In spite of the tender moment at which the clip ends, there is a vicious betrayal on the part of Philip.   Philip exposes Richard as his lover in front of his father and reveals that the only reason why he started the affair was to be able to rub it in Henry's face in the future. Nasty!

 In reality, Henry did have several sons, including Richard and John, who continued to plot against him with the help of their mother. Their rebellions earned them the name of the "Devil's Brood."  As for the supposed affair between Richard (who was later named as Richard The Lionhearted) and Philip, historical details are rather sketchy.

Past Know Your LGBT History Posts: