Pam Spaulding's Blog
August 22, 2011
16 reasons why the Family Research Council is a hate group
crossposted on Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters
Tony Perkins of the hate group the Family Research Council recently had the temerity to attack the Obama Administration for its participation in the "It Gets Better" campaign. This is the campaign designed to raise the self-esteem of lgbtq youth and raise awareness of the problems they encounter with bullying.
Perkins called it immoral and actually accused the "It Gets Better" campaign of "recruiting" children into homosexuality.
Rather than call Perkins a lying SOB, I think it would be more pertinent to remind folks of just who is immoral in this case by giving 16 very good reasons why Perkins should stop speaking on the so-called immorality of others and ask himself is he truly right with God.
So now I present 16 reasons why the Family Research Council is a hate group. Granted, there are probably more but if I were to list them all, I would be here all day:
August 15, 2011 - GLSEN (the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network) issues a cease-and-desist letter against the Family Research Council demanding that the organization remove video falsely accusing GLSEN of distributing an explicit safe-sex guide to children. FRC yet to remove this video.
June 13, 2011 - Two years after claiming to remove "studies" from its website because they contained "outdated material," FRC sneaks the studies back on its website. One of the studies includes citations to the work of Paul Cameron, a highly discredited research.
February 28, 2011 - In order to defend the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), FRC distorts research in order to compare gay men to pedophiles.
February 16, 2011 - FRC spokesman Peter Sprigg makes the claim that same-sex households are inferior to two-parent heterosexual households by using studies which have nothing to do with same-sex households. Sprigg, by the way, has earlier voiced opinions that gays should be deported out of the United States:
"homosexual behavior" should be criminalized:
September 15,2010 - Perkins and the right-wing LifeSiteNews mischaracterize a study to make a claim that domestic violence happens at a high level in lgbt relationships.
August 13, 2010 - Sprigg claims that openly gay Obama appointee David Hansell will cut funds from states that don't allow gay adoption. Sprigg claims that "private sources" told him so. Strangely enough, original article where Sprigg made this claim, the right-wing CNSNews.com was pulled.
July 29, 2010 - The Family Research Council distorts the words of AIDS researcher Ronald Stall to make the case against the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell and ENDA (Employment Non-Discrimination Act.)
July 6, 2010 - Sprigg pushes a pamphlet, The Top Ten Myths About Homosexuality,which not only repeats discredited anti-lgbt accuracies but exposes a bit of trickery on Sprigg's part. He cites only part of pro-lgbt information which talks about diseases and negative behaviors but omits the information which talks about how homophobia plays a part in these diseases and negative behaviors.
May 10, 2010 - The Family Research Council distorts the words of President Obama's director of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management John Berry.
April 16, 2010 - Tony Perkins makes a false accusation that homosexuality and pedophilia are connected by using a Netherlands study which doesn't even prove his point.
January 7, 2010 - The Family Research Council exploits the presidential appointment of transgender Amanda Simpson to call ENDA (Employment Non-Discrimination Act) a "Crossdresser Protection Bill."
November 23, 2009 - The Family Research Council was caught distorting Congresswoman Diana DeGette's words to make her seem like she was espousing religious bigotry.
November 18, 2009 - The Family Research Council spliced footage of then EEOC nominee Chai Feldblum to make the case against Obama choosing her.
October 27, 2009 - In an attack on lgbt seniors, the Family Research Council echoes the phony belief of Paul Cameron that lgbts don't live long enough to become elderly.
October 01, 2009 - In Congressional testimony, Perkins practices the "sin of omission" in his testimony against ENDA (Employment Non-Discrimination Act).
May 20, 2009 - The Family Research Council pushes a fraudulent study, Comparing the Lifestyles of Homosexual Couples to Married Couples. It's a bad study specifically because it uses outdated work and compares married United States couples to unmarried gay couples in casual relationships from other parts of the world.
I think a verse from the Bible would best describe Perkins and the Family Research Council:
Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. - Isaiah 5:20
August 21, 2011
Your blogmistress meets some of her Journey rock stars!
What a night! I'm on cloud 9. Yes, reliving my teen years while I still can!
Sorry for the lack of Tweets, but many of us had trouble b/c of poor cell connections. But I did REPRESENT, my fellow Plokkers!
The other good news is I have a ton of pix and good video (up later). I was able to get into a Meet & Greet and did in fact meet lead singer Arnel Pineda and Jonathan Cain! But first...
I met Arnel Pineda Rocks administrator Nicole (Coley) -- thanks for getting (Kate in so she could take the M&G pix).
We also met Neal's wife Ava, who was outside the M&G area. We discussed them getting hitched in Paris, as well as our (Canadian) marriage. She and Neal have to get married here in the States for it to be legal. Ours is not legal in NC (it is in the 6 states where SSM is legal). Someday... 
It was a thrill to meet Jonathan Cain -- the man responsible for penning many of the hits most of you know, including Don't Stop Believing. He was mellow, kind and thoughtful.
And yes, Arnel is as wonderful as can be. I brought him a Durham Bulls baseball shirt. The Bulls and my town were featured in the movie Bull Durham, and wanted for him to have something local to remember us by:
He also signed my photobook of shots from the Vegas concert! He didn't have to take the time (they said no autographs at the M&G) but he did.
More below the fold.
Journey founder and guitar god Neal Schon and powerhouse drummer Deen were not at this Meet & Greet (or I missed them); bassist Ross Valory was there but occupied so I didn't get a pic with him. Darn! Guess this means I have to try again!
But Neal did get a surprise during the concert when I held up this poster (we were in the 6th row, just far enough to miss getting a high five, but when you see the pix you'll see just how close we were. Neal saw the poster, squinted and read it, then gave a big smile to us! Here's what the poster said:
I flashed my "Plokker's Ride" and "Eclipse Rocks" posters during the concert and AP pointed it out, and made eye contact and smiled several times during songs, most prominently during DSB; the guy in front of me turned around and said "he's singing to you!" and gave me a fist bump...
Makes me want to go to another concert soon! Plokkers ride!
Here are some pix from my album...
Deeno sitting in to play skins for Night Ranger during Sister Christian:
Jon doing a hot jam:
Neal rocking the house:
Arnel was working hard in some serious humidity. We were all soaked.
The last bow...
More commentary on the concert later. Just wanted to get this up...now off to b-e-d!
Your blogmistress meets some of my Journey rock stars!
What a night! I'm on cloud 9. Yes, reliving my teen years while I still can!
Sorry for the lack of Tweets, but many of us had trouble b/c of poor cell connections. But I did REPRESENT, my fellow Plokkers!
The other good news is I have a ton of pix and good video (up later). I was able to get into a Meet & Greet and did in fact meet lead singer Arnel Pineda and Jonathan Cain! But first...
I met Arnel Pineda Rocks administrator Nicole (Coley) -- thanks for getting (Kate in so she could take the M&G pix).
We also met Neal's wife Ava, who was outside the M&G area. We discussed them getting hitched in Paris, as well as our (Canadian) marriage. She and Neal have to get married here in the States for it to be legal. Ours is not legal in NC (it is in the 6 states where SSM is legal). Someday...
It was a thrill to meet Jonathan Cain -- the man responsible for penning many of the hits most of you know, including Don't Stop Believing. He was mellow, kind and thoughtful.
And yes, Arnel is as wonderful as can be. I brought him a Durham Bulls baseball shirt. The Bulls and my town were featured in the movie Bull Durham, and wanted for him to have something local to remember us by:
He also signed my photobook of shots from the Vegas concert! He didn't have to take the time (they said no autographs at the M&G) but he did.
More below the fold.
Journey founder and guitar god Neal Schon and powerhouse drummer Deen were not at this Meet & Greet (or I missed them); bassist Ross Valory was there but occupied so I didn't get a pic with him. Darn! Guess this means I have to try again!
But Neal did get a surprise during the concert when I held up this poster (we were in the 6th row, just far enough to miss getting a high five, but when you see the pix you'll see just how close we were. Neal saw the poster, squinted and read it, then gave a big smile to us! Here's what the poster said:
I flashed my "Plokker's Ride" and "Eclipse Rocks" posters during the concert and AP pointed it out, and made eye contact and smiled several times during songs, most prominently during DSB; the guy in front of me turned around and said "he's singing to you!" and gave me a fist bump...
Makes me want to go to another concert soon! Plokkers ride!
Here are some pix from my album...
Deeno sitting in to play skins for Night Ranger during Sister Christian:
Jon doing a hot jam:
Neal rocking the house:
Arnel was working hard in some serious humidity. We were all soaked.
The last bow...
More commentary on the concert later. Just wanted to get this up...now off to b-e-d!
August 20, 2011
Your eccentric blogmistress preps for tonight's Journey Concert in Raleigh
Tonight's the night that your blogmistress heads to Raleigh to catch her favorite band, Journey, at Time Warner Cable Music Pavilion at Walnut Creek. As a fan girl, I'm both looking forward to this night so that I can thank them all for making positive, energetic music that's part of of the tapestry of my life - after all, next month I'm attending my 30th high school reunion (Stuyvesant High, in NYC), and Journey is on the playlist.
I'm slated for a Meet & Greet, so this time I will actually have a chance to meet guitarist and founder Neal Schon, lead singer Arnel Pineda, keyboardist and songwriter Jonathan Cain, bassist Ross Valory, and drummer Deen Castronovo. I had a photo book made of my shots taken at the Vegas kickoff concert, so I'm crossing fingers that some or all of them will sign it.
I recently trekked to NYC to see Journey at the Today Show Concert Series at 30 Rock, standing in the pouring rain with other die-hard fans for 3 hours to see the group perform on live TV. It was worth it.
But the band's in my territory tonight, and I've got great seats (center section, row F) and hope to capture some great pics. It will be hard to top the Vegas shots, though. So poor Kate, who is a casual fan, not an eccentric fanatic like I am, has agreed to hold up some signs I made for the concert:
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To explain - Plokkers are the fans that hang out in the Arnel Pineda Rocks fan site chat room (the name comes from the sound you hear when you hit the enter key while chatting). Arnel regularly drops by to interact with us. Eclipse is the latest release by Journey. You can read my review here.
Yes, your blogmistress has gone over the edge (I know you're thinking that), but as I told someone over at G+, most of my regular Blenders have learned to put up with my Journey obsession. It's part of my eccentricity of being 48 and living the teen years I missed being able to follow one of my favorite bands around. I realize I better do it before my chronic pain and health woes prevent me from doing so. Rock on. Hope to save up some scratch to catch them in Vegas again in October.
I will Tweet pix, so if you want to follow, I'm @pamspaulding.
Related:
* The blogmistress trip to NY to see Journey on The Today Show
* Journey's new CD, Eclipse: a group revitalized, energized and rocking hard
* Blogmistress heaven: five new songs from 'Eclipse' debut in throw-down set by Journey in Vegas
August 19, 2011
I felt welcomed and affirmed in Lake Oswego, Oregon
When Autumn told me that she would be having her gender affirmation surgery in Lake Oswego, Oregon, I was both delighted and a little nervous. I was delighted because this meant that I could be present as a supportive friend on the day of the surgery, what with Lake Oswego being only a 3-4 hour drive from my home in Seattle, Washington.
But I was nervous because Pastor Gary Randall is a Clackamas County voter and taxpayer and his anti-LGBT organizations are headquartered in Lake Oswego. Randall is a retired televangelist who meddles constantly in Washington state politics in an attempt to undermine equal rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people. He asserts that trans people are the victims of "gender confusion" and misgenders the trans individuals he writes about.
So I had to ask myself, if Randall is at all representative of Lake Oswego, will we be safe and at ease there?
My first drive through town assured me that Gary Randall's dark views about LGBT people are not symptomatic of Lake Oswego. Lake Oswego United Church of Christ (Congregational) is so dedicated to diversity that they had "Honoring Diversity" carved into their sign. And while the sign for the Beit Haverim congregation wasn't as explicit in words, the rainbow Star of David speaks volumes.
Since returning home I've learned from The Community of Welcoming Congregations website that there is at least one more LGBT-positive church in little Lake Oswego, and over 100 others around Oregon.
Had I not learned of Gary Randall from his meddling in Washington state politics, I'd never have guessed by a visit to Lake Oswego that such an individual lives there. I'm sure a few others in town agree with his anti-LGBT views because there are biased people everywhere. But the message I received very clearly, from the presence of Autumn's doctor to the church signs on main streets, was that Gary Randall is not representative of Lake Oswego.
NOM's Minnesota game plan involves money, churches, and martyrs
crossposted on Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters
The National Organization for Marriage is setting up its battle plan to defeat marriage equality in Minnesota and it seems that the plan pushes three points - money, churches, and marytrs.
According to Think Progress:
The fight over a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage in Minnesota could cost up to $10 million before voters go to the ballot in November 2012. And while the measure only seeks to define civil marriage as “a union of one man and one woman,” proponents of the amendment have begun waging a campaign that blurs the line between civil and religious unions.
And of course you know that a good amount of that will probably be provided by NOM. After all, the organization has already spent over $700,000 in the gubernatorial race which the candidate it supported, Tom Emmer, lost.
So win or lose, NOM can expect even more questions at to where exactly is it getting its funding and why does it fight losing court cases to hide its donors. The organization has fought in several states to hide its funders, most recently losing two cases this month.
Think Progress also notes how NOM is attempting to get Minnesota churches behind its efforts:
Even though marriage equality bills have never tried to dictate what any religion can believe or practice when it comes to sanctifying religious marriage, the Minnesota coalition, Minnesota for Marriage, and other so-called “traditional groups” are defining their campaign in religious terms. For instance, the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) is encouraging Facebook fans to “support marriage as God intended it to be,” while Minnesota Family Council (MFC) President John Helmberger has injected God into his rhetoric, predicting success if “people of faith [rise] up, speak, and participate in the campaign.”
The article also says that MFC is actually "recruiting church captains." My question is wouldn't that present a problem in court should NOM win and someone challenges the victory? But more the point, MFC is the same group which claimed that gays engage in pedophilia, bestiality, and the consuming of feces and urine - points that it did not apologize for nor did NOM address. Whether or not they believe these things about the gay community is definitely a question which should be asked to NOM's allies in Minnesota, particularly the prospective "church captains."
And let's not forget about the martyr.
Earlier this month, a freelance writer, Carrie Daklin, with Minnesota Public Radio, wrote a piece which criticized Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) for calling out Focus on the Family's Tom Minnery during a hearing on the Defense of Marriage Act. Daklin contended that Franken had rudely set Minnery up for ridicule by obscuring the fact that Franken had actually called out Minnery for wrongly citing a government study on families.
Daklin was justifiably criticized for her faux pas. Today she claimed in another column that she was unfairly attacked and naturally, NOM has a portion of that column on its blog, using it to claim that those support marriage equality are "meanies." This is what Daklin claims:
There must be a group of advocates who watch that website for anything that might conflict with their point of view. Within days, my words, taken completely out of context, and my message — better manners — had been used as the basis for a rallying cry: Carrie Daklin of Minnesota is a homophobe.
I am not sure how my message got so skewed. I have become the object of hate mail and really vicious comments, all in the name of etiquette. Go figure.
I found this all rather unsettling.
... What has happened in our culture, that so many of us are completely unable to accept someone who doesn't share our views? I don't agree with all that my conservative Christian friends espouse, but I support their right to their beliefs. I don't agree with a very liberal friend who said certain members of the religious right should be shot. Actually, he used the word murdered. Sadly, I think he meant it.
In retrospect, the original infraction I wrote about is positively innocuous compared to the resulting uproar. To be blunt: My article was not about gay rights, it was not about the Defense of Marriage Act, and it most certainly was not a promotion for the National Organization for Marriage.
If some of the comments directed to Daklin were as vicious as she claims, I certainly don't agree with them. However her attempts to claim martyrdom is as sad as the original column itself.
Daklin's words were not misconstrued, but her intent was justifiably questioned. It was obvious that Ms. Daklin was commenting about a situation in which she had absolutely no clue, much like a baseball referee attempting to officiate a hockey game.
While her original column was seemingly innocent, the adage of "looks can be deceiving" were definitely into play. Through her words, Daklin allowed some folks to obscure the fact that they were deceptively manipulating studies to push a vicious and vindictive lie regarding children and same-sex households. While at the same time Daklin pleaded for civility, she was giving ammunition to people who know nothing about the term because there is no such thing as civility in the absence of truth.
Let's be clear about what exactly happened between Franken and Minnery yet again.
Franken did not set up Minnery for ridicule. He rightfully called him out for pushing fraudulent material.
The pushback Daklin received (the respectful pushback that is) for her column was not a matter of people showing intolerance to someone registering a different opinion. It was a simple reaction of a people harmed yet again through lies and distortions, by research manipulated to make them look like monsters.
The sad thing about Daklin's new column is her contention that she does not appreciate being an object of hate to those on the left or a hero to those on the right.
I wonder how she feels about NOM exploiting her new column?
Related post - NOM inaccurately connects marriage equality with pedophilia
August 18, 2011
"Ow" But "Yay!"
Well, "Ow." And by that, I actually mean physical pain in my genital area due to gender affirmation surgery.
Seriously, my scheduled bilateral orchiectomy ("orchi") with Dr. Tuan Nguyen was accomplished on August 17th. And, the surgery went well, and essentially to plan.
The surgery itself was an uncomfortable experience -- somewhat on par with my trips this year to the dentist. I wasn't fully anesthetized for my surgery; my orchi instead was accomplished under a local anesthetic. Even now, post-surgery, the experience is far less painful than that dry-socket I experienced at the removal of a molar a number of months back.
Dr. Nguyen told me I was a good patient, which I took to mean as saying that I took to the surgery well, and I wasn't a particularly difficult patient for him to work on. I just figure physical pain related to transition (e.g. electrolysis, laser hair removal, various surgeries, etc.) is just a byproduct of the process of being a transsexual.
What was difficult with the surgery related to surgery I had back in spring of 2000 -- a few moths before the of my U.S. Navy career. I spent the first 4 of my last 8 months of my Naval career assigned to the Medical Hold unit at the Navy Medical Center San Diego, being treated for depression related to the sexual harassment experienced near the end of my 20-year Navy career, as well as -- of all things -- surgery for a varicocele.
A varicocele forms when valves inside the veins along the spermatic cord prevent blood from flowing properly. This causes the blood to back up, leading to swelling and widening of the veins. (This is essentially the same process that leads to varicose veins, which are common in the legs.) A varicocele is sometimes referred to as a "sack full of worms" because these swelled blood vessels can break free of, or stretch, the ligaments that hold these blood vessels in place which results in the blood vessels dropping into the scrotal sack. When the scrotum and testicles are touched by the patient or physician, the grouped blood vessels can feel like "a sack full of worms."
My varicocele had been in my scrotal sack for quite a few years prior to my surgery for it, but in early 2000 began the "sack full of worms" had become more that just a little bit painful. I had surgery in spring of 2000 to tie my blood vessels back up in my abdominal cavity.
But on the 17th, about eleven years after that surgery for my varicocele, Dr. Nguyen had to deal with the scarring from that varicocele surgery when performing my orchi. And, during and after the surgery, the most pain associated with the surgery were in the scarred area of my abdominal cavity -- just below my right side kidney.
Prior to the orchi, I felt some tension related physical symptoms in anticipation of the surgery. Emotionally though, I was feeling pretty flat before the orchi. In other words, I wasn't feeling joyous or afraid about the then upcoming surgery.
After the surgery, I didn't feel strong emotion related to the surgery either. It was just something related to the transition process.
I know a lot of gay and straight men who would shudder at the thought of having their testicles removed...it's a cringe worthy moment. But that's a difference between genital surgery for transsexual women and genital surgery for gay and straight men (such as losing one or both testicles due to testicular cancer). Transsexual women feel no sense of loss at having their genitalia reshaped, and most often feel joy, a sense of relief, and/or no significant emotional response at the loss of one's testicles and/or the inversion of the penis to create a vagina.
Where I'm beginning to feel some emotion is at the reality that in my birth state of California, I'll now be able to petition the courts to change my legal sex, and once the petition is granted be able to change my name and sex marker on my birth certificate. Per the state of California records, I'll be a female-born-female. That is an wondrous, amazing, and welcome outcome I'm really, really looking forward to.
So the short term "ow" is for long term benefit on so many levels, the most important benefit in my mind being the soon government recognition that my female gender identity is my sex...that I'm a woman. That gets a 'Yay!" from me.
~~~~~
Related:
* What Genital Reconstruction Surgery, And When
Senator Gillibrand: "No. They Will Fail."
New York's Junior Senator, Kirsten Gillibrand, made an appearance at an LGBT symposium held in New York City on the future of marriage equality in New York State (video and summary here). An attendee asked her about the right-wing's attempts to walk back LGBT progress made of late. Specifically mentioned was Representative and Presidential candidate Michele Bachman's promise to reinstate "Don't Ask, Don't Tell", a signature achievement for Gillibrand in her first term in the Senate.
The Senator's answer was concise, resolute, and the picture of "no nonsense." It was a mere four words in it's entirety:
"No. They will fail."My own state Senator, Daniel Squadron, himself a great ally on LGBT rights and host of the evening, said, "Let that be a lesson to us all on brevity and effectiveness."
Indeed. I'll stack up my Senator's tough talk and impressive record of effectiveness against Michele Bachmann's lunatic ramblings and record of failure any day.
Do treat yourself to the 46-second video. It's clear from her tone, Senator Gilibrand is not playing around there. The Senator has also taken on the cause of recruiting more women into the field of politics. If they are cut from Gillibrand's cloth, I say let a tsunami of estrogen hit DC in 2012. The boys have had their time.
Silly phony 'activist' claims that gays are 'sexualizing' children
crossposted on Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters
In a column in One News Now, an "activist" named Michael Brown reveals the ignorance of the religious right when it comes to the gay community.Brown (who by the way is seeking to disrupt the pride celebration in Charlotte, NC next weekend) has written a piece on gays and children. The title of the piece "Please stop sexualizing our children" should give you an indication of where he is headed. It's one of those Anita Bryant-like pieces which implies rather slyly that gays are trying to "convert" childen. And as with all religious right hit pieces regarding the gay community, he pulls out "examples" of just how the gay community is "sexualizing" children:
But there's more. There is the sexualizing of our children in the public schools, and I'm not talking about sex-ed classes. I'm talking about teaching gay history to elementary school children, as now mandated by law in California with the recent passing of SB 48, thereby introducing sexual categories to little ones who haven't the slightest clue what sexual orientation is, let alone have the ability to wrap their minds around "bisexual" or "transgender."
Please notice what how Brown tries to imply that this bill is about "sexualizing" children. Of course this is a lie. According to the author of the bill, CA State Sen Mark Leno:
Children need to feel self-confident and safe, both emotionally and physically, in order to learn and thrive in school. They are denied a safe school environment when they are exposed to negative stereotypes in classroom materials and school-sponsored activities. California law currently addresses this problem for many children by prohibiting instruction which reflects adversely on people of certain personal characteristics such as race, sex, color, creed, disability, national origin or ancestry. California law also requires that public instruction include the historical contributions of underrepresented cultural and ethnic groups such as African American, Native Americans, Asian American, Mexican Americans and other groups.Now you may agree or disagree with Mr. Leno (and I happen to agree), the point is shouldn't this bill be debated without lies about how gays are trying to introduce sexual acts to children?
Despite these protections, some children’s needs are still not met by the law. Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students are an example of one group that is still vulnerable to discrimination in instructional materials and school activities. SB 48 would remedy this problem by adding coverage for sexual orientation and gender, consistent with other laws prohibiting discrimination such as the Fair Employment and Housing Act and the Unruh Civil Rights Act.
The FAIR Education Act also require that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Americans are included and recognized for their important historical contributions to the economic, political and social development of California and the United States. Specifically, this legislation would add LGBT people to the existing list of underrepresented cultural and ethnic groups. Studies have shown that including the contributions of LGBT people in instructional materials is linked to greater student safety and lower rates of bullying.
Brown commits another distortion:
Already in Massachusetts, a couple was so upset with this state-sponsored sexualizing of their first-grader that they took their battle to court, where Judge Mark Wolff of the U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that the schools have a greater responsibility to teach "diversity" than to honor the requests of the parents. In other words, "Sorry, moms and dads. We know what is best for your children, and when we decide it's time to introduce them to 'diversity' -- our code word for gay activist curricula -- we will do so. You, on your part, have no right to interfere, so don't even think about it."
You will notice again how Brown does not tell the entire story. The situation he is referring to actually sprang from two cases - in one case, parents claimed to be upset that their child was read a story in which one prince ended up marrying another prince. I wonder if Brown feels that children being read the story of Hansel and Gretel teaches them cannibalism or that the story of Cinderella teaches them child abuse?
Now the other situation is one which I covered on several occasions - the David Parker situation. Parker was arrested for trespassing at his son's school because he would not leave the premises after a meeting with school officials. Parker claimed that he was trying to make sure that his son would not be "taught" about homosexuality. Of course the reality of the situation, which was exposed many times, was that Parker and a MA hate group, Mass Resistance, orchestrated the entire situation to harm the local gay community.
Both of those controversies combined into one court case which was dismissed by U.S. District Court of Appeals. Brown omitted the fact that the Supreme Court also refused to listen to the case.
But how Brown dismissed the ruling gives a clue to not only his mindset but those of the religious right:
Judge Mark Wolff of the U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that the schools have a greater responsibility to teach "diversity" than to honor the requests of the parents. In other words, "Sorry, moms and dads. We know what is best for your children,
The thing that Brown hates to acknowledge and that other members of the religious right hates to acknowledge is that heterosexual two-parent families aren't the only ones who are raising children. Same-sex couples and single gay parents are also raising children.
In short, Mr. Brown makes the clarion cry of "stop sexualizing our children," but it's not his right to make such a cry. Those are our children too. And we are not "sexualizing" them.
We are merely telling them that the gay community exists, there is nothing wrong with us, and if these children should discover that they too are lgbtq , there is nothing wrong with that. There is no need to be depressed or be consumed with self-hatred. We are merely telling them that they are wonderful creatures as God has made them.
And it is a message that we will continue to repeat in spite of Mr. Brown and others like him.
August 17, 2011
Memo To Commander-In-Chief Wannabe Bachmann: We'll Be Back
My dear friend Ian Finkenbinder has a question for Presidential Candidate Bachmann:
Do you really want this on your doorstep?
The doorstep Ian is alluding to lies at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, DC. A hypothetical future scenario so awful it gives us all chills, I know, but bear with me past the fold and I'll explain.
Now, to understand what set my friend off you have to know Michele Bachmann said something crazy in her straw poll victory lap. Well, she said a lot of crazy things, but one thing in particular touched a nerve for dear Ian. Among the many crazy things Mrs. Bachmann said was she all but assured Candy Crowley on CNN's State of the Union President Bachmann would reinstate "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" if she were elected to serve as Commander-in-Chief.
Bachmann told Crowley:
CROWLEY: If you became president, would you reinstitute the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy in the military, which said that gays could not serve openly in the military.
BACHMANN: The Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy has worked very well. And I think…
CROWLEY: Would you reinstitute it then? Because it’s been set aside.
BACHMANN: It worked very well. And I would be in consultation with our commanders. But I think yes, I probably would.
The awful truth is according to the New York Times: "Turns out that it wouldn’t be hard to do, legal experts say."
Which is all the background you need to know to understand what set my friend off. See Ian has been fighting to end "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" for a long time. He was among more than a dozen Arabic translators discharged in 2005, and was happy to embarrass Commander-in-Chief Bush in the media in the aftermath.
So when Ian says:
I would like Michele Bachmann, in all her political theater and insane grandstanding, to consider this: *If you reinstate DADT, I'll be back.* I don't care how many times I have to chain myself to that fence, I will be back, and you will be in for a long, pain-in-the-ass ordeal and media extravaganza.
Do you really want this on your doorstep?
When I took the fence with my comrades-in-arms, America paid attention. Do you want that level of scrutiny on your anti-gay politics? Your recent interviews, essentially refusing to address your anti-gay past, would indicate you don't. So don't screw this up for yourself, Michele.
Because we're watching you, and handcuffs really aren't that expensive.
Mrs. Bachman? You best be believing him. He has already brought the fight to the Bush Administration, and he brought the fight to the Obama Administration and he will relish bringing the fight to the Bachmann Administration.
Yes, Mrs. Bachmann, you would be well-advised to listen to my friend Ian because he is One Angry Queer.
And he's not the only one. 
Let's look back on your last few months, shall we?
You've personally been glittered. Your gay "cure" clinic has been has been infilerated. Your gay "cure" clinic has been glittered. You've been pestered relentlessly with annoying questions about the gays you won't answer. You've even got 17-year old High School Seniors heckling your public events —in Iowa! → You swapped out your old favorite phrase ("teh gheys are of Satan!") for a new one:
"I am running for the President of the United States..."
You're a strict Constitutionalist, except the parts you don't like, those you promise you'll help rewrite.
I'd be careful, because if you follow through on the path you are currently running on now, you are looking at a very long and very messy Presidency. Really, if someone were prone to headaches it could well turn into four years of pure Hell (on Earth, you make your own fate after that).
I'm not sure you fully comprehend there's a new post-Prop 8 attitude:
It's very fashionable and it's sweeping the nation, even among High School kids in Iowa apparently. Who knew? And, Ian wasn't alone on that fence.
And I promise you, Ian won't be alone next time either. Like he said, handcuffs are cheap.
So, try us. Ask your friend Rick Santorum how that's working out for him.
CC: Ed Rollins; Rick Perry; Mitt Romney; Newt Gingrich; Rick Santorum
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