Hatred Can Be a Useful Learning Tool Too.

"I think it’s time for us to occupy. Not going down and setting up tents out in front of city hall, but it’s time for us to be gainfully involved in boldly proclaiming truth and not backing down in the face of intimidation, whether it be from a school principal, kids if you’re listening obviously talk with your parents first, and parents, don’t be intimidated by school officials, don’t be intimidated by the ACLU. [snip]

"Should we be angry? No. But we should understand that it is the truth that sets people free and those in the homosexual community that are looking for fulfillment, that are looking for the approval that they are trying to get by forcing society to embrace homosexuality, they will never get it that way. They’ll only get it when they come to grips with the truth, that they are created in the image of God and God has a plan for their lives, and it’s not the destructive path that they’re on." - Hate group leader and KKK affiliate Tony Perkins, speaking on his radio show.

via Joemygod.

I find this line of thinking to be one of the largest detractors to a free and egalitarian society. The forthright assumption that any citizen's "acceptance" requires being vetted by their particular religion to be free and equal is a leap I'd love to see supported by say...the very documents and ideologies that make this republic unique in the first place.

On a more personal level, this line of arch-hubris is one of the reasons I stopped consorting with fine and compassionate Christians. I could never in my heart and head reconcile this willful cruelty, this "love my religion and adopt my worldview or else" way of doing religion.In a way, I should thank the likes of Perkins for his "truth". As a teenager, the more I saw this sort of santimonious bile that passsed for "Christian Compassion" the less it made me believe in this God or any other being real and provable.His smug, taciturn "truth" convinced me that the proverbial cake was a lie. His calloused stance on this, and his politicisized version of Christianity defies my upbringing in Herculean ways, and offends my sensibilities as a believer in equality...and yet, these men, the Tony Perkins and Bryan Fischers and Michelle Bachmann's of the nation are the face of modern Christianity. I should thank Perkins for reminding me why this (compassionate, loving, humane) God of his is a myth.

Get Out, Stay Out- Ken Mehlman and "Forgiveness"

Much has been said this weekend about OUT magazine's "Out 100" list ...and here whereGawker's Brian Moylan makes a brilliant case for why OUT's decision is both jarringly ill placed and wrongheaded..and rightly effing so.


Having read the write up that accompanied the article on Melhman I nearly spit coffee. "As someone who came out later in life I can say It gets better" he says. Please, its better for him because he's wealthy, conservative and most importantly DOESNT live in a state that hurled anti-gay policy around like grenades to make sure he can't EVER get married in them. He lives comfortably in one of the few states where it is better...but refuses to own up to the fact that its significantly less so in other parts of the nation because of his role as RNC chair. It hasn't gotten better for gay couples in the 11 states where they adopted the RNC's gay (southern) strategy and enshrined their state constitutions in bigotry to make sure gay people couldn't share their lives in any meaningful way.


I find the drum and strang on Melhman irksome because there have been very few conversations about him post coming out that even attempt to directly speak to his culpability as head of the party that made and continues to make being rabidly anti-gay a tentpole. Instead he's being lionized by OUT and more than a few apologists because he's out of the closet well after the damage has been done on the national scale and it is no longer politically expedient for him personally. There is in fact nothing heroic about being overwhelmingly opportunistic...and yet, here we are attempting to make excuses for those that haven't admitted wrongdoing. There's something so snide and disappointing in this narrative it makes me genuinely question the collective memory (and sanity) of the group he's profited off of maligning.

Wellsprings of Venom- The AFA and "Family Values"

Joe. My. God.: Star Parker: Gay People Make Us Sick:

The only political event that I've ever heard that approaches this sort of language is this "Family Values Summit", which frankly seems to have more in common with an Oi band performance than it does with the more...cautious rhetoric of a nonpartisan function. This is the AFA when it thinks its preaching to the chior. This is what they think and believe. Full stop. Its been unadultrated hatred and undistilled bigotry...but its been very informative... ahhh the internet. It really does have uses outside of pornography. Seeing the coded "family values" misdirect for what it is? May actually be something to thank them for. At the very least, the pretense of civility has at least evaporated in a spate of hate speech and righteous indignation. The Summit has proven to be a wellspring of such.

Its a fascinating notion that the Southern Poverty Law Center has categorized the American Family Association a hate group (explanation from the link), solely on the fact that it uses consistent disproven rhetoric and hate speech to further its anti-gay agenda, is so in line with right wing ideology that numerous GOP candidates for the presidency of the United States have shown up currying favor.The soundbites from its figurehead Tony Perkins (Right Wing Watch has compiled quite a list of inflammatory statements from the guy) are far from partisan and...only rarely deviate from the idea that gay people are going to destroy the world. How he's not advocating gas chambers yet speaks to incredible self control. These orginizations are not as benign as they position themselves to be. The National Orginization for Marriage may have once claimed that its merely interested in preserving marriage, the AFA may suggest its just about "family values", but more and more when one pays attention to the tone, language and frequency of anti-gay hostility in the interests of what they perceive "family interests" to be...their pretense that they're not homophobic and purely interested in politically advancing  that marriage is between a man and a woman (tm) evaporates. 

And now for some theme music. The National- Afraid of Everyone. Apt, no?

'via Blog this'

Twinkie Defenses- Blaming the Victim Never Goes Out of Style.

Joe. My. God.: Jurors Discuss Lawrence King Trial:

This is pretty difficult to watch. There are so many mixed messages in society but the one here is pretty clear. Nobody misses another kid who "experiments with sexuality". I think of the hatchet job Ramin Setoodeh Newsweek piece and the defense attorney's "gay panic" defense and am blown away by how often we tolerate it when kids who are or seem gay get stabbed or shot to death in our country because they made some straight person who can't control themselves uncomfortable.

The twinkie defense is alive and well. Its exasperating how ideologically speaking our culture can clamor for "personal responsibility" ...unless someone you encounter deviates from prescribed gender roles (or dresses too provocatively). Then its "Look what you made me do!" The number of slap on the wrist convictions and mistrials indicate that much of society seems comfortable looking the other way, because regardless of how a 14 year old who "experiments with sexuality" makes us feel, there ought to be a million more tolerable ways to deal with this than justifying his being shot twice execution style and then blaming him for being too provocative.

Here's Hoping the Majority Actually Votes.

Positive news for those of us who don't like our state constitutions to be enshrined in discriminatory policy. Recent polls put the notion of putting the ban of same-sex marriage in NC's constitution in a similar light according to WRAL and Elon University's recent data.

 Fifty-six percent of North Carolina residents oppose a proposed amendment to the state constitution that would ban same-sex marriages, according to a poll released Friday.
The Elon University Poll, which surveyed 594 adults statewide between Sunday and Thursday, found support for recognizing gay marriages growing in North Carolina. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points

 Its important to note that this legislation is simply putting the ban in the constitution to further ensure that same sex marriage will be a long term impossibility for the state. Its an abstraction to think that same sex marriages are legal or possible in North Carolina otherwise. This measure is a misdirect and a waste of resources that will serve to divide the state further and marginalize a group that already has little chance of what the ballot initiative seeks to prevent. Salt in wounds, and wedge issue politics that would make Ken Melhman proud. 


Still, its refreshing that the public isn't as gullible as Forrester seems to think we are. If the majority in the sample is representitive of the rest of the state, and that majority goes to the polls, we'll be in good shape. (Or at least not taking steps backwards on civil rights based on bias and poorly articulated conjecture)

 "It must be in the air here..."

Real Live Death Panels.(Meanwhile at the Hall of Doom)

OneAngryQueer: "Are You Saying That Society Should Let Him Die?":

'via Blog this'The above is a link to the clever OneAngry Queer blog that's been cranking out a lot of killer insight lately (keep it up). Its a line thats worth picking up:

Wow. I've been scratching my head and...applying for asylum actually, since this disturbing scene went public. One would think it would make them, and people who might be swayed to think like them look bad to suggest that the soaring numbers of the uninsured and the unemployed are simply not worth saving to an entire audience of people. Mrs. Palin was going on about how ]"Obamacare" (it bothers me that we've allowed this phrase to get traction) is worse than being uninsured, but its becoming more and more clear that the Republican plan for those numerous persons without healthcare is..."Good luck with that, don't get sick". And, the indignation they channel while actively planning to do nothing (and I defy you prove that any one of them has a plan for health care reform that involves anything other than cutting more medicare and medicaid, for my own edification) boggles the mind in ways I cannot articulate.

States of Misgiving (NC Marriage Ban Update)

N.C. considers putting amendment to ban same-sex marriage on ballot – This Just In - CNN.com Blogs:

'via Blog this'

Suffice it to say, things aren't looking so forward thinking in North Carolina surrounding this impending (probable) ban on even the mention of gay marriage in the State of NC. Longstanding evangelical hate group leader Tony Perkins showed up in full force to display their animus. Rallies are being put together for today and tomorrow to demonstrate just how regressive and pointless such a move would be, (primarily because its not legal in the state as is), but it looks as though the vote was rushed and not passed through the proper channels for a reason. More as this develops.

As for my feelings on the prospect, it doesn't exactly make for a very welcoming environment to spent a decade or two, does it? A state that is so concerned about a given couple's inability to marry that it legislates it three ways from sunday. All the while, how about that unemployment rate? Way to keep our eye on the proverbial ball, guys.

In more active news, please check out the Equality NC facebook page , and consider attending the Marriage Equality Rally on the 13th. (click the link for more information). Its going to be interesting around here over the next few days, and by interesting I mean potentially volatile. I can only hope the legislators see sense at the last minute.

EDITED TO ADD: Facebook co-founder and former NC resident Chris Hughes has written an open letter to the State assembly expressing strong aversion to the bill, citing that its bad for business and alienating to potential residents. Well worth the read.

And now for some subversive singer/songwriter action: Rufus Wainwright's "Going to a Town" showcases a little of how I'm feeling right now, and does so as eloquently as ever.

Shocking, I Know (WBC for the win?)

‘God Hates Fags’ church to picket Ground Zero and Nevada National Guard funerals - PinkNews.co.uk:

'via Blog this'

Anyone else blatantly not surprised here? The interesting thing about the Westboro Baptist Church is that their fire and brimstoning tends to alienate them from both the uber-tolerant and liberal and the more mainline socially conservative (Especially due to the "lets draw a parallel between a civilization that doesn't outright murder its homosexual population annnnnd tolerance" - which I'm unsure is a very valid association) , pretty much cementing their status as a counterculture nobody (even fundies like NOM and Michelle Bachmann) feel comfortable supporting publicly.

With the exception that teaching abject intolerance to your children is not doing them any favors (its hard to have a functional life as a member of the KKK and have to live/work around people who aren't part of your stunted world view for instance) , in a way the more press the WBC gets, the worse its brand of intolerance looks to mainstream America. So....You guys have fun with that protesting cultural events that mean something to people! (and fashion week)

Defamation for fun and profit. And fail.

Judge: Sherrod Defamation Suit Against Breitbart Can Proceed | TPMMuckraker

The lesson? Running a burn campaign on low level burrecrats (and otherwise kindly old ladies) by editing their meaningful and introspective testimony about how racism can lead to poor service and is wrong because you're making a name for yourself as a Republican shil is...about as douchey, illegal and unethical as it sounds. Proceed to Trial and do not pass go.

• More "fun" reading on Breitbart (and his "technical" employee facing federal felony charges). (Also...there's an African American conservative group called ....AACORNS. *headdesk*)

Sen. Al Franken: Mythbuster.

Speaking of feeble defenses and mis-apropriated sociological research; Al Franken absolutely dessimates the testimony of Focus of the Family representative's ...rather creative (false) assumptions about the article he sites.

The Box Turtle Bulletin highlights that here.

I'm not sure whether to be dismayed or amused at the aftermath of the DOMA exchange above. Especially considering Right Wing Conservatives are still clinging to the belief that the study cited excluded same sex nuclear families and Sen. Franken was flat out wrong.

That is, until the researcher responsible for the study chimed in, claiming that the Senator was correct in reading that nuclear families in this (or any) case meant two parents related to children by adoption or birth, and same sex families were included in the study. Same economic, emotional and psychological benefits. Period. Granted, the Good As You Article above is an indicator cold hard scientific evidence of normalcy isn't useful when countering those with fingers in their ears.

Music by Hey Champ.

On the "Will of the People" (tm)

Boehner says no House vote on DOMA repeal | Washington Blade - America's Leading Gay News Source

Here's an interesting lesson in political jargon. When DADT, Proposition 8 and the recent votes to legalize gay marriage in NY state were major political issues, we'd hear quite consistently how we needed to "Let the people vote!!!". The reason for this is a sheer matter of numbers and social conservative pragmatism, as NOM and the likes assume (narrowly in the case of Proposition 8) that people will invariably vote to suppress the rights of their neighbors should they "disagree with some aspect of their lifestyle choice". They assume- marginally correctly- that (older, more religious) people will find the gays vile enough, and have no network connections to actual gay people and therefore will be more apt to enshrine glbt discrimination into policy (or at least vote in favor of it).

But there's some indication that this assumption can be made less safely now, as the above article makes an interesting distinction:

“A number of House Republicans have told me privately that they feel the same way,” Nadler said. “This, coupled with the fact that there is now a majority of Americans who support equality and with the recent polling data showing that a majority of Republican voters want GOP leadership to give up their position on this matter, means that it is only a matter of time before we act in a bipartisan manner and repeal DOMA. And, believe me, we will keep pushing to get it done until we have succeeded.”

Interestingly, the data from Proposition 8 even showed a gradual sea change on the attitudes of younger Americans towards same sex marriage. Glenn Beck, the afore-reviled Ken Mehlman and other staunch conservative figures have since noted that the vehement traction on the wedge issue is much less there. (With the likes of Mehlman this is of course too little, too late as he's one of the architects of DOMA in the first place.) During the elections that hammered through anti-gay marriage legislation on both the state and federal levels during the Dubya years, the anti-gay rhetoric was turned up to 11, and the "Will of the People" was done; At least according to the staunch conservative policy groups like NOM who make a very handsome living being professional homophobes. Look at the rhetoric being used here: Allowing people to vote on gay rights issues = the will of the people. Not allowing people to vote on DOMA = prudent officiating. Its artifice at its most transparent to suggest that NOM and the American Family Association are interested in the will of people who do not side with them on this issue. For groups like this, their tactics and ploys to perpetuate political inequality are good and noble...but only when they do them. Some of their press on gay rights issues shatters the misconception they push about "just being about preserving marriage" and "not being explicitly anti-gay". NOM's activity, tweets and talking points have long since gone beyond opposite sex marriage and ballooned into full blown completely transparent anti-gay rhetoric. If anyone ever bought the idea that they "merely disagreed over allowing gay people to call it marriage" we can dispense with that naivete now.

The consolation prize is that these issues are nominal in the grand scheme, and ultimately love will win over inequality. I'm confident of that much. The world can be a beautiful, inclusive place, "the kids are allright" and I for one am pleased to see the changes on the horizon for what they are.

Here's some Earworm for you, courtesy of Empire of the Sun- "Walking on a Dream" (Seriously, I'm trying not to adore this song) The original is lovely too.

Guess We Should Decriminalize Murder Too...

Another gem from the fine folks at GOProud (single handedly providing cover for arch-conservative hubris). An organization that of late has championed Tea Party darling Michelle Bachmann, despite her saying they were "of satan", an organization that falls all over itself to justify the smugly conservative in their disdain for the homosexual. Despite being an organization that is or alleges to be homosexual (Bachmann has argued that the homosexual is "anything but gay"). Have we discussed Uncle Toms, class?

Joe. My. God.: GOProud's LaSalvia: Being Gay-Bashed Proves That Hate Crimes Laws Don't Work

Hm. Good to know. You'll be happy to note that the Department of Justice is now considering throwing out murder laws and the death penalty because they don't prevent some people from committing them.... how do these people get airtime? There are smarter community college students who aren't ever going to see a fraction of the money this appearance makes.

Watch this video (by the Friendly Fires) You'll feel better about the world's suckiness.

See What We Did There?

From the ever clever "Dispatches from the Culture Wars":
I'm very pleased with how diligent our steadfast Republicans have been about job creation and restoring the country to prosperity. Because the 162 provisions created hamper reproductive health rights? Thats directly linked to reversing unemployment. Or, here's a thought: It could be that once these tea partiers got into office on their solemn swearing to do no harm, they decided to do overtime on their political pet peeves instead of righting the economy as they'd sworn.

Some of us are paying attention. Though it may be a day later and a dollar shorter than many would prefer.