Thursday, May 08, 2008
After admitting earlier today that he
had an extramarital affair and fathered a child out of wedlock, Rep. Vito Fossella (R-N.Y.), who was nailed for drunk driving last week, was spotted today huddling with the House chaplain in the back of the chamber during floor debate.
Fossella, who is married and has three children with his wife, could be seen standing on the back rail of the chamber, on the Republican side near the center aisle, in deep conversation with Rev. Daniel Coughlin, the House chaplain. One can only assume what they were discussing...
In a statement today, Fossella went so far as to name the woman with whom he has had an affair for several years. Her name is Laura Fay, a retired Air Force Lt. Col. who, as Fossella now admits, is the mother of their 3-year-old daughter.
Fossella's "love child" was exposed in his drunken-driving charge because Fay is the person who fetched Fossella from an Alexandria, Va., police station after he was charged with driving while intoxicated in the wee hours of the morning last Thursday.
Well, I'd like to take a swipe at this Republican for his "moral" behavior. But, after the Elliot Spitzer debacle, I'm going to pass on this one. Let's just call it even and agree that politicians from all parties misbehave.
UPDATE: I just checked the Human Rights Campaign's Congressional scorecard. This human Sin-Bag had three straight ZERO ratings. So, he can oppose loving GLBT families while he wrecks his own home? What a piece of
moral rubbish. Good thing this disgraceful hypocrite's undistinguished career is over.
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Exodus Global Alliance Is Selling False Hope and Faulty Science To Vulnerable and Desperate People, Says TWONEW YORK -
TruthWinsOut.org denounced a so-called "ex-gay" religious symposium near Toronto that will peddle anti-gay stereotypes, twist legitimate science and promote discrimination. The event, hosted by
Exodus Global Alliance, is part of a multi-million dollar worldwide effort to deceive people into believing homosexuality is a casual choice that can be cured through therapy and prayer. The goal is to shift public opinion, so a majority of voters will oppose legal equality for GLBT people.
"Exodus Global Alliance is selling false hope that will ultimately shatter families and ruin lives," said Wayne Besen, Executive Director of New York City-based TruthWinsOut.org. "It is important that people realize that attempts to change sexual orientation can be dangerous and are rejected by every mainstream medical and mental health association in the world."
The right wing symposium will take place at Morningstar Church in Scarborough, ON, May 8-10. It will feature several so-called "experts" who will misinform people about GLBT life and distort science to conform to their religious theories.
Exodus Global Alliance is the international component of a movement founded in the United States in 1973 to convince people that homosexuality is not a fixed orientation. Exodus International, based in Orlando, FL has a $1 million dollar budget and thirteen staff members. The organization works closely with Colorado-based Focus on the Family. Exodus Global Alliance has endorsed the
criminalization of homosexuality in foreign countries and actively works to support anti-gay laws.
TruthWinsOut.org is a non-profit organization that counters right wing propaganda, exposes the "ex-gay" myth and educates America about gay life.
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According to this reader:There is an 800 pound gorilla sitting prominently in most fundamentalist churches today. But nobody seems to notice. These churches claim to demand a strict, literal interpretation of every passage in the Bible. But there are some Biblical passages that will literally curl your hair! And fundamentalists don't dare demand a strict interpretation of them. For example:
A man who divorces his wife and remarries commits adultery (Luke, Chapter 16, Verse 18). And those who commit adultery must be put to death (Deuteronomy, Chapter 22, Verse 22).
If a woman is not a virgin when she marries she must be put to death (Deuteronomy, Chapter 22, Verses 20 and 21).
If a son is rebellious and out of control, he must be put to death (Deuteronomy, Chapter 21, Verses 18 thru 21).
And yes, there are a few passages in the Bible that are critical of physical love between men. Interestingly, there are no passages in the Bible that are critical of physical love between women. So presumably lesbian love is acceptable to the hard-liners.
Rational people do not advocate the death penalty for people who divorce and remarry, or for women who are not virgins when they marry, or for rebellious sons, or for men in loving gay relationships. They ignore these passages and others like them because they are contrary to the Bible's central message of love and compassion.
People who use the Bible as a weapon to bludgeon gay men also ignore the passages about divorce and non-virgin wives and rebellious sons. But they seize upon the passages that are critical of gay men and trumpet them to the world. Could it be that these hard-liners are picking and choosing which passages they will recognize, in order to cater to their own prejudices?
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Apparently, popping pills was not enough of a rush for Rush Limbaugh. Bored with getting high, he decided hijack the Indiana Democratic primary - with the former junkie spewing junk about Republicans voting for Hillary.
It was part of a concerted effort, dubbed "Operation Chaos," to prolong the Democratic race, in an attempt to beat up and bloody Obama so he would be weaker in the general election.
You see, in Indiana registered voters could participate in either party's primary. With Operation Chaos, Rush may have been responsible for the slim 14,000 vote margin that favored Clinton. According to the Washington Post:
Limbaugh crowed about the success of his ploy all day Tuesday, featuring on-air testimonials from voters in Indiana and North Carolina who recounted their illicit pleasure in casting a vote for Clinton. "Some of the people show up and they ask for a Democrat ballot, and the poll worker says, 'Why, what are you going to do?' He says, 'Operation Chaos,' and they just laugh," Limbaugh said Tuesday.
Clearly, Limbaugh cares more about partisanship than fair elections. He is a disgrace to broadcasting, as well as morally challenged. Would someone get this hypocrite a fresh bottle of Oxy-Contin? At least when he's high he's only screwing up himself instead of America's political system.
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Monday, May 05, 2008
- McCain Mugs With Rev. Hagee(Weekly Column)No matter who wins the presidential election, it is quite clear that the big loser in campaign 08 is religion. By far, the most strident political voices have come from renegade reverends that seem a bit hot under the collar. These cantankerous characters (or caricatures) have transformed their houses of worship into a harbor of war ships with loose cannons lobbing invective into an otherwise serene national conversation.
The most cloying of the clergy is Barack Obama's self-promoting preacher, Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright. While he claims to represent the interests of African Americans, he may be remembered for giving a black eye to the black church, while sabotaging America's first legitimate African American presidential contender.
Wright has clearly turned the sanctuary into a sanitarium. When I see him jumping around the pulpit and flapping his wings like a chicken, I want to call Colonel Sanders, so Wright's ridiculous routine will finally come home to roost.
I'm half past fed up with hearing about how we should respect Wright and his ilk because he has an AIDS ministry and helps the poor. The good work that people do in life does not automatically negate the bad. For example, President Bush has helped fund the fight against AIDS in Africa. However, this does not cancel out his disinformation campaign against condoms, which helps increase infections. Likewise, Wright's sickening sermons are so obnoxious and divisive that they overshadow his laudable contributions.
At this point, the best thing this shameless shaman can do is continue stabbing his former parishioner in the back. The further apart they grow, the more difficult it will be for McCain to conflate the positions of Wright and Obama in political ads.
While the eyes of the nation were focused on Wright's sinful spectacle, they largely ignored a stinging denunciation of gay unions by Hillary Clinton's church.
The United Methodists voted to uphold church law that says gay relationships are "incompatible with Christian teaching." If there was a vote opposing interracial marriages on scriptural grounds, is there any doubt Clinton would leave her church?
Clinton averted our gaze to her church's bashing of gays by sending Chelsea on a gay pub-crawl in Philadelphia. While her daughter frolicked with bar patrons pounding shots - her church took pot shots at loving same-sex couples. It would have been refreshing if the possible Democratic standard-bearer, would have taken a stand against the gay double standard and left her church.
Of course, the "liberal media" has been so consumed with the Democratic demolition derby, that they barely noticed radical reverends on the right. Now that Rev. Jerry Falwell has departed, McCain has latched onto Rev. John Hagee to prove his conservative credentials. Hagee has called the Roman Catholic Church the "the great whore of Babylon."
Hagee also believes that God spawned Hurricane Katrina to stop a "homosexual parade there [New Orleans] on the Monday that Katrina came." This messianic meteorologist/madman appears twice daily on Trinity Broadcasting network, which reaches 75 million homes. As New York Times columnist
Frank Rich saliently points out, "any 12-year-old with a laptop could have vetted this preacher in 30 seconds, tops." Unfortunately, McCain's crass political needs, trump Hagee's dirty deeds and the worrisome words he imparts to millions of worshippers.
And, of course, we must not forget Rev. Pat Robertson endorsing the multiple marriage machine, Rudy Giuliani, during his ill-fated campaign. The 700 Club host once predicted that natural disasters would destroy Orlando if the city flew gay pride flags. He also - along with Falwell - tried to blame 911 on gays, abortion practitioners and the ACLU.
While the politicians have worked diligently to appear mainstream, the pugnacious preachers have done nothing but sell the candidates - and the religions they represent - down the river.
It remains to be seen whether Clinton, Obama or McCain will ultimately benefit or suffer from their affiliations with ranting reverends. However, this circus-like exhibition (or, in Wright's case, theological exhibitionism) may have a lasting impact on America's image of religion.
The rhetorical inanity combined with the scriptural insanity is nothing short of a theological calamity. I can't imagine the next generation drawing inspiration from this clerical conflagration. Far from appearing as if they stand on hallowed ground, these ministers of mindless, hollow madness are driving civility and common decency into the ground.
Basking in the warm glow of the election spotlight, these pastors must feel quite popular. I'm willing, however, to bet they will ultimately lose the popular vote, as today's youth eventually walk out in droves and find churches where bile doesn't come with the Bible.
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(Pete Was Burned, Now He's Bitter)Has-been crooner Pete Burns - the lead singer of "Dead or Alive"is sour because he was dumped by his husband. Instead of maturely dealing with his break-up, he
decided to dis all gay relationships. Speaking out on the issue the washed up (and washed out) pop star said:
"I view marriage as a sacred institution," he said through barely recognizable lips. "I think two men naturally are predators. Gay relationships are a commercial break, not a whole movie."
Bitter Burns failed to mention that maybe his husband woke up sober, looked at him and freaked out. Apparently, Burns has more new heads than Joan Rivers and more plastic than a Mastercard factory. Who's his plastic surgeon, the assistant chef at Benihana? I'm sure even Michael Jackson took a break to beg him to stop before he looks like a second tier circus act.
I also find it ironic that a man who made his fortune on a song titled, "Brand New Lover" is angry because his husband took his advice and decided to move on. When straight couples break up, the embittered party does not blame their sexual orientation. So, why must Burns blame his orientation, just because his relationship fell apart faster than his career?
Pete, I urge you to see a shrink and stay away from the oven, before your face melts like a Hershey's kiss in the Iraqi desert. I'd call you two-faced, Mr. Burns, but it is apparent you are on your fifth.
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Thursday, May 01, 2008
(Warren Throckmorton, left)Sources have informed TruthWinsOut.org that Monday's symposium featuring infamous "ex-gay" therapist Dr. Warren Throckmorton may be cancelled. The forum, "A Pastoral Approach for Gay & Lesbian People Troubled by Homosexuality," suffered a major blow when panelist, Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson, pulled out of the event. Robinson expressed concern that the symposium, scheduled to take place the same week as the APA's annual meeting in Washington, would be used as a public relations gimmick for Focus on the Family.
"The cancellation of this forum is welcome news because it gave the wrong impression that the American Psychiatric Association endorsed 'ex-gay' therapy, when, in fact, the organization soundly rejects such therapies," said TWO Executive Director Wayne Besen.
Predictably, on his blog, Throckmorton claimed that the APA is "apparently afraid of a conversation." What he conveniently failed to mention was that this discussion ended three decades ago and his side was defeated because they lacked scientific credibility. They have yet to provide a shred of evidence supporting the efficacy of ex-gay therapy, while there is evidence that such methods cause a great deal of harm.
"Throckmorton 'counsels' vulnerable gay people to either live a lifetime of loneliness or a lifetime of lies. This is neither healthy nor therapeutic and it's a diagnosis for disaster," said Besen.
David Scasta, the openly gay psychiatrist who shamelessly promoted the seminar, has not publicly confirmed the events cancellation.
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Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Dr. James Dobson
Focus on the Family
Colorado Springs, CO 80995
April 30, 2008
Dear Dr. Dobson,
I want to draw your attention to a gross misrepresentation of our research at the website of "Focus on the Family" (see http://www.family.org/socialissues/A000000682.cfm). In the third paragraph of the article, "Myths and Facts," our research is cited in support of the statement: "During early adolescence, many children experience a period of sexual-identity confusion when they can easily be influenced in either direction."
First, please note that the citation itself is incorrect. The original article was published in Pediatrics, not Journal of Pediatrics. The correct reference is: Remafedi G, Resnick M, Blum R, Harris L. Demography of sexual orientation in adolescents. Pediatrics. 89(4):714-721, 1992. More important, had the authors of "Myths and Facts" actually read the article, they would have found no support for their contention that "many children experience a period of sexual-identity confusion when they can be influenced in either direction." The word confusion does not appear in our article; nor did we find that anyone can influence a young person's sexual identity.
The purpose of our study was to explore patterns of sexual orientation in a representative sample of more than 34,000 Minnesota students in grades 7 to 12. We found that the percentage of student who reported being "unsure" about their orientation steadily declined with age from 25.9% in 12-year-old persons to 5% in 18 year-old students (p. 716). Youth who were "unsure" were more likely than others to entertain homosexual fantasies and attractions and less likely to have had heterosexual experiences (p. 720). These and other data suggested that uncertainty about sexual orientation "gradually gives way to heterosexual or homosexual identification with the passage of time and/or with increasing sexual experience" (p. 720).
Please ask the authors of the misstatements to correct them as soon as possible. In the interest of accurate translation of research into practice, a copy of this letter will be posted at www.truthwinsout.org. Thank you for your attention.
Respectfully yours,
Gary Remafedi, M.D., M.P.H.
Professor, Department of Pediatrics
University of Minnesota
428 Oak Grove St.
Minneapolis, MN 55403
cc: Truth Wins Out
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Tuesday, April 29, 2008
(Gene Robinson) Sources have told TruthWinsOut.org today that Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson has pulled out of a controversial symposium featuring an infamous "ex-gay" therapist. The May 5 symposium, at the APA's 2008 convention in Washington, was dealt a major blow with the news of Robinson's decision. TruthWinsOut.org opposed the panel because it featured Dr. Warren Throckmorton, an unlicensed psychologist who compares "leaving" homosexuality to quitting smoking.
"We are pleased that Bishop Robinson has not lent his credibility to a political right wing platform disguised as a scientific symposium," said TWO Executive Director Wayne Besen. "The debate over whether homosexuality is a curable metal illness was settled decades ago and is not debatable. This forum is nothing more than an underhanded way for anti-gay activists to make their outdated and intolerant views look respectable."
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Monday, April 28, 2008
(Weekly Column)When I first came out in 1988, if two young gay people met, the reaction often was, "You too! I thought I was alone." As my twenty-year high school reunion approaches, I witnessed an identical response in a seminal New York Times Magazine
cover story. At a coffee shop in Boston, two gay men, Aaron and George, met for the first time.
"I thought I was the only one."
"Me too!"
What differed was that these two young men were relieved to meet because they were legally divorced and had not met peers who had experienced similar situations. While we have a long journey towards full equality ahead of us, it is a dramatically different world than the one I came out in.
In fact, more than 700 gay men 29 or younger have married in Massachusetts through last June, the latest date for which statistics are available. While Massachusetts is still the only state that allows same-sex marriages, gay men who are my age, 37, never dreamt these unions would occur in our lifetime.
Indeed, much of our social culture was built around men cheating on their wives. The rest stops, parks and bathhouses were all geared toward the "quickie." If a gay man did not get home in time for dinner with his family, he'd find that his goose was cooked. The double lives and hypocrisy forced on gay men by a repressive society took an awesome psychological toll.
The gay bars in the 1970s-90's were geared for men in their 30's-50's who were often living a belated adolescence. Anyone who has seen a half-naked 50-year-old man at a circuit dance party twirling a glow stick with a pacifier in his mouth knows what I am talking about.
I sometimes hardly recognize the gay community's social scene. When I first came out, many gay bars had a back room, which was a dark crevice where men furtively had sex. Today, a dark room likely means a gay couples' row house den with mood lighting. Contemporary gay bars have largely gone from seedy to chic and - for better or worse - often attracting many straight people.
An older friend of mine who visited Boston half-jokingly complained, "There's something morally wrong with a city where it's easier to marry a boyfriend than find a gay bar."
His observation was spot on. Boston Globe writer Robert David Sullivan told
National Public Radio this week that he noticed the number of gay bars in Boston had been cut in half in recent years.
Massachusetts is not the only place the gay social scene has been transformed. Fortune Magazine named gay bars as one of the 10 businesses it thinks is facing extinction. It joined a list of has-beens that includes record stores and crop dusting. Additionally, overt street cruising is out of fashion and demure glances have largely replaced outright ogling.
The decline in the public sex culture and gay bars can be attributed, in part, to the rise of the Internet. However, a larger trend, captured by the Times magazine article, is at work. A good portion of men in their mid 20's have been out of the closet for more than a decade. (They were barely in) Having had a normal adolescence, they are already burnt out on gay bars and ready to start families.
A couple of weeks ago, I visited Washington and met up with the friends I used to party with in the mid to late 90's. Today, they are all in long-term relationships and in bed by the time they used to wake up from their disco naps.
The changes in the gay social scene have happened so fast that they are sometimes difficult to comprehend. It's as if someone slipped a roofie into the GLBT community's mimosa and while we slept Rudy Giuliani swooped down in drag and cleaned up our Times Square.
Sometimes, I fondly reminisce about the good old days. Then, I recall that that the endless party was a product of our oppression. The storied "days" were actually really late nights - and as I get older, I want to be up on Sunday morning in time to watch "Meet the Press."
Caught between the wild party and wedding party generations, the rapid pace of change can seem unsettling, yet reassuring.
"Am I the only one who feels this way?"
"You, too! Thank, God."
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In a disgraceful example of journalistic malpractice, the college newspaper The Daily Mississipian printed right wing talking points - while calling it
an op-ed.
"Homosexuality is unhealthy," writes Zack Williams, "Not in the way that cigarettes and booze are unhealthy, but in the way that drinking a shot of turpentine every Wednesday afternoon while perusing real estate catalogues for houses near nuclear waste dumps is unhealthy."
TWO responded with a letter to the editor:
Dear Editor:
I read the anti-gay rant by Zack Williams with a mix of horror and amazement. How could a real newspaper allow such transparent lies to find their way into print? His error-laced article is not only profoundly immoral, but statistically and scientifically inaccurate.
For example, Williams cites that the life-span of gay men is 20 years less than heterosexuals. This lie came directly from Dr. Paul Cameron, a discredited psychologist who was kicked out of the American Psychological Association and Nebraska Psychological Association for distorting statistics about gay men. One would think that the Mississippian would fact check before it prints a hateful article that defames an entire population by citing a debunked researcher. Clearly, you have shoddy journalistic standards. Shame on you.
Furthermore, Williams' assertion that there is no gay gene is sophistry, at best. While technically accurate, he conveniently fails to mention that for the past three decades, there has been an enormous amount of research suggesting that sexual orientation is biological. For the record, there is also no "left handed gene," but no serious person suggests that left handedness is a learned or unnatural behavior.
I can understand your desire to have a healthy debate - but you have broken a very basic journalistic rule: One does not sacrifice accuracy for the sake of "balance."
For example, you would not have a person write that the world is flat, just because you have someone write that the world is round. (Or, maybe the Mississippian actually would.)
Please apologize immediately for this miscarriage of journalism, before the reputation of your newspaper suffers further and irreparable damage. In the future, you will find that basic fact checking goes a long way in enhancing credibility.
I hope you elect to print this letter in your newspaper, so your students can actually get some accurate information. Remember, college is supposed to be a place of education - not right wing indoctrination. Printing the talking points of the American Family Association in the guise of an honest op-ed is simply disgraceful.
Sincerely,
Wayne Besen
Executive Director
TruthWinsOut.org
MEDIA ALERT: Please send your own letters to the editor of the Daily Mississipian, Marti Covington, at:
editor@thedmonline.com
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Saturday, April 26, 2008
(Huckabee and the waitress he allegedly had fired)
"What happened to free speech in America?" Asked Micah Qualls.A couple of days ago, Senator John McCain made a stop in Little Rock , Arkansas. He was greeted on the tarmac at the airport by Governor Mike Huckabee (a possible Vice Presidential candidate) and other Republican supporters. Micah Qualls, a waitress that worked at this airport, remembered that she had a "Hillary for President" sign in her car, and spent her break time holding her sign outside the fence where the Republican presidential nominee was landing his airplane.
According to Qualls, Governor Huckabee noticed that she was an employee of the airport, and raised questions with her boss about professionalism, and expressed embarrassment over the incident as the host of Mr. McCain.
Qualls says
she was fired as a result of her expressing her First Amendment rights
"I have been at my job for 7 years, and I was fired today because of the 'embarrassment.' I have no disciplinary actions in my employee file, and am loved by all of the customers. I am shocked about this decision. It is unfortunate that Mr. Huckabee and the other Republicans felt threatened by my little sign. It cost me my job."
The blog
Arkansas.com got a call from Huckabee and he denied the incident occurred. The governor, and prominent religious right figure, said he had not even seen Qualls and also denied that he'd made a complaint that led to her dismissal. Huckabee claimed that Qualls'
suggestion that he had her fired is"absolutely unbelievable"
In a Friday evening conversation I had with Qualls, she alleges that Huckabee is "not telling the truth" - and that a local television station videotaping McCain's landing at the airport has video placing her in relatively close proximity to Huckabee and McCain. This would show, she says, that it would have been difficult - if not impossible - for the governor not to have noticed her.
** Update: Little Rock station KTHV has
aired a story on the incident. This is the station that may have video placing Micah in close proximity to Huckabee and McCain. Such video would contradict Huckabee. We urge KTHV to publicly release this video ASAP.
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