Bringing Hate To Paradise: Will Bali Suffer From The Wrath of NOM?

Scott Lively, move over, there's a new international homophobia-spreader in town: the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) has attempted to go international with its DumpStarbucks campaign by targeting countries where homophobia is already established, but need a little push in the form of anti-Western sentiments. 

"...today we go international, expanding DumpStarbucks.com campaigns into Mandarin, Arabic, Turkish, Spanish, and Bahala (one of the chief languages of Indonesia) DumpStarbucks.com online ads will also start running in Egypt, Beijing, Hong Kong, the Yunnan region of China, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Oman and Kuwait."

The campaign may be an easy sell in countries where homosexuality is criminalized, but think of this: the "overspill" into countries that are gay friendly, like Bali. As part of the campaign to boycott Starbucks in Indonesia, NOM will be affecting what some people consider the closest thing we on earth have to "paradise."

And Bali is, by all accounts, very gay friendly.

Joe Jervis (Joe.My.God) is rightfully indignant at the thought of NOM's campaign targeting homophobic countries:

In what may be their single-most outrageous and repulsive move yet, NOM is attempting to whip up anti-gay fervor by expanding their Starbucks boycott into nations that put homosexuals to death or have other legal punishments for merely being gay.

The tactic certainly compliments their "drive-a-wedge" strategy. But it's necessary to look beyond the skulduggery of using already anti-gay societies and see what effects it might have on the peripheral societies such as Bali. Like it or not, Bali is intrinsically tied to Indonesia. And Indonesia is intrinsically tied to Bali's tourism and finances. Starbucks has dozens of franchises on the tiny island.

One glitch in a push by NOM in Bali:  92% of its religious community follows Balinese Hinduism with only about 5% following Islam and 2% following Christianity. NOM, of course, wishes that it was 92% Right Wing Christian or 92% Muslim.*

Sorry, NOM, But Bali Ain't Uganda

Scott Lively and Lou Engle had success in exporting homophobia to Africa: third world countries with little education were easily led by evangelicals who regaled them with stories and false statistics of the "evil homosexual lifestyle." It is common knowledge that both had a great deal of influence with the formation of Uganda's infamous "kill the gays" bill.** The First Lady of Uganda, Madam Mouseveni, a born-again Christian, welcomed them as well as other evangelicals in order to bolster the country's emerging Right Wing Christianity. Of course, calling for a boycott of Starbucks is not the same as pushing for capital punishment for gays. 

But it's a start. 

NOM's problem with Bali, however,  lies not only in a different religion, but a different mindset - and more advanced education. As the richest province in Indonesia's archipelago, it has a level of sophistication in art, literature and sciences that cannot be matched, even in Jakarta. In other words, it's "world class," not "third world class." Paradise has standards to uphold. 

So the DumpStarbucks campaign will tank in Paradise. But that is not to say that we should think it will not be successful in any of the other supremely homophobic countries on NOM's list, the irony being that most of the countries are Muslim.

The enemy of my enemy is my friend.

* Same thing - at least in terms of homophobia

**As did Rick Warren before the awarding Uganda the sobriquet of "Purpose Driven Nation." Warren's BBF in Uganda was Martin Ssempe, the "eat da poo poo" pastor (so called because he has claimed that homosexuals ingest feces on a regular basis). 

Africa Is Burning: How Clinton's Speech Has Inflamed Nigeria And The Homophobia Exporters.

Being gay is not a Western invention; 

it is a human reality.

And Even Rick Perry got into the act.:

“Just when you thought Barack Obama couldn’t get any more out of touch with America’s values, AP reports his administration wants to make foreign aid decisions based on gay rights.

We can see the flames from Africa now, and they are not coming from bonfires declaring liberty for LGBTQ people. They are the flames coming from countries like Uganda and Nigeria. They are the flames of anger and vengeance being wreaked upon gay communities. Where the fires came from, however, is something that should concern everyone in America, because, like some perverted Prometheus, America's Christian Right gave Africa it's fires. Clinton was right to say being gay was not a Western invention, however, she should also have said that homophobia was certainly a Western invention, promoted in Africa by Christian Right leaders such as Scott Lively, Lou Engle and, to a certain extent, Rick Warren. 


The Christian Right's exportation of homophobia has been happening over a number of years, well ahead of the "Kill-the-gays" bill in Uganda. 

Think Progress has a good list of Christian Right reactions including Rick Santorum, Peter LaBarbera (Americans for Truth About Homosexuality), Peter Sprigg (Family Research Council), Matt Barber (Liberty Counsel) and Pat Robertson, who warned of God's wrath and claimed that it's really Christianity that's being persecuted (see below).

"I kissed a girl and liked it - 
and I got ten years in jail."


Nigeria has reacted so strongly to Clinton's speech that it purportedly added MORE offenses in its anti-gay bill. "To hell with them," said lawmaker Jakari Mohammed, referring to other denouncing the bill. It could  be argued that Nigeria has seen same-sex "marriages" for centuries (actually as part of a surrogate tradition, with a woman marrying another woman for her husband), but somehow traditions have a way of disappearing and appearing when according to expediency. 


According to the current bill, kissing in public would be an offense punishable by up to 10 years in prison. Anti-gay vendettas - like those in Uganda - will become rife in the most corrupt country in the world. 


And Nigeria has never been alone in its attitudes about gays. Here is a list of countries that could definitely be cut off from American aid:

     Algeria  Angola  Botswana  Cameroon  Egypt  Gambia  Ghana  Guinea*  Lesotho  Liberia  Libya        Malawi*  Mauritania  Mauritius   Morocco  Nigeria  Senegal   Sierra   Leone   Somalia  South Sudan Sudan   Swaziland   Tanzania   Togo  Tunisia  Uganda  Zambia   Zimbabwe  

*carry the death penalty for homosexuality.

THE SPEECH


Clinton's speech was concise and eloquent (a full transcript is HERE), and the group gave her a standing ovation, so what did she say in particular that inflamed so many Africans and "social conservatives" like Rick Perry? 

1. Many LGBT Americans have endured violence and harassment in their own lives, and for some, including many young people, bullying and exclusion are daily experiences.

Notice the inclusion of "bullying." Clinton has taken on the newest, most sensitive issue facing the Christian Right: it opposes anti-bullying laws unless dispensations are made for religious beliefs. And while Tony Perkins screams "we're not not the ones who cause teen suicides," people are beginning to note just how many cases are connected to "you're going to hell" accusations.

2. Now, raising this issue, I know, is sensitive for many people and that the obstacles standing in the way of protecting the human rights of LGBT people rest on deeply held personal, political, cultural, and religious beliefs. So I come here before you with respect, understanding, and humility.

It's the last part they can't stomach, because they don't believe the Left has anything but disrespect, ignorance and hubris when it comes to Christian Right dictums.

3. The third, and perhaps most challenging, issue arises when people cite religious or cultural values as a reason to violate or not to protect the human rights of LGBT citizens. This is not unlike the justification offered for violent practices towards women like honor killings, widow burning, or female genital mutilation.

How dare she compare discrimination against gays to hideous acts like widow burning! She's talking about pagan, anti-Christian practices!

4. I am also pleased to announce that we are launching a new Global Equality Fund that will support the work of civil society organizations working on these issues around the world.

Taxpayer money used to forward a perverted agenda!

We will be hearing about reactions to this speech for quite some time, with politicos screaming about how the Obama administration is pandering to gays and how this foray into world cultures will signal Armageddon.

Stay in your seats. The circus performances are just starting.

The Tears Of A Bullied Boy Go Viral: But Are They Enough To Move The Bully-Enablers?

Are The Tears Fake? At This Point, Who Cares?

Just as Jamey Rodemeyer's suicide touched off a firestorm against bullying by posting his "It Gets Better" video, so too has this latest one from Jonah Mowry. He posted his video back in August, but in the past 24 hours, it has gotten over 550,000 views on YouTube, not only because it was mentioned by Perez Hilton, Joe Jervis (Joe. My. God) and Michelangelo Signorelli, but also because it was posted by thousands of viewers on the facebook pages. 


It's the kind of video that dares you not to cry along with young Jonah: he never says a word, but relates his story through music and flash cards because he's trying to summon courage while tears are streaming down his face. Some people might consider it a ploy, an almost cloying plea for attention, but they would be dismissed as heartless. Some others might consider it a put up piece - too histrionic to be real, but Jonah answered the naysayers in a follow-up video thanking people for their support. That video (Thank You Everyone - 3) unfortunately, has been removed fromYouTube by Jonah for reasons that one can only speculate, but he disclosed the fact that spammers and bullies bombarded it's posting. 


So far, Jonah's parents have not come forth with a statement about the video, provoking comments like "where's the parents in all of this?" The 14-year-old may have a good relationship with them, but so far he has not given evidence on whether or not they reported the bullying to Jonah's school. In the video, his accounts of cutting (self-mutilation) go back 8 years.   


ON ITS OWN


The video is so powerful, however, that cries of "fake" are rendered moot: Jonah's emotions are clearly raw, demonstrating that an appeal for attention is not what's at stake here: even a fictional appeal can transcend itself and result in something good. And the good that it has done is touching hearts is enough for many people. 


If it is a fake, then, it is a fake appeal as a WORK OF ART.


The outpouring of sympathy, admiration and encouragement has definitely been one-sided ... so far. Elements of America's Christian Right will need to react (positively or negatively) if they are to seem "compassionate" at all. But compassion is sometimes not their forte: Bryan Fischer of the American Family Association may try to cast Jonah as the "real bully" since the teen must be considered part of the "homosexual agenda." Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council has flatly stated "We're not the cause of teen suicides," belying the fact that arbiters of morality has been the cause of hundreds of millions of suicides in the last 3000 years. Yesterday, the eponymous Christian Historian David Barton declared homosexuality to be completely "unnatural". 


One might argue that pharisees have never known when to shut up and leave well enough alone.  


In a brilliant open letter to the Christian Right, John Shore of LGBTQ Nation dares them all to respond:

Tell me that your belief system didn’t help but the hot tears on this kid’s cheeks. Tell me that the bullies who torment this kid aren’t in any way encouraged or empowered by your tacit approval of their actions. Tell me that the shame this kid feels about himself has nothing to do with the shame that you believe all gay people should feel for themselves.
Tell me that you can’t comprehend the connection between your conviction that God finds homosexuals repulsive, and the fact that this kid finds himself so repulsive that he habitually cuts his own flesh.
Tell me, please, how you love this kid. Tell me how you understand his pain. Tell me how when he cries, you cry.
Tell me how you want to do everything in your power to make sure that no one, ever again, feels free to in any way victimize a young gay person.
A Christian myself, I am pleading with you to be honest with me about this.
Tell me, please, how none of this kid’s anguish has anything to do with you.
I’m listening. I really am.
We all are.

Yes, we all are waiting, but the answers to this appeal will be lame, speaking of a "love" that transcends the needs of teens and even humanity. So we are not waiting with baited breath - or even anticipated amusement - but an impending sense of ennui. We will monitor the responses (or non-responses) of:


Bryan Fischer - Tony Perkins - Pat Robertson - Michele Bachmann - Bill Donohue (Catholic anti-Defamation League) - David Barton - Linda Harvey (Mission America) - Lou Engle ("The Call") - James Dobson - Peter LaBarbera (NARTH) - and yes, Ann Coulter. Maybe Cindy Japan-is-shaped-like-a-dragon Jacobs will chime in, babbling incoherently. 


And we will have to look for the response of Jonah's parents to his sudden celebrity. Jonah has not actually mentioned any support or antagonism from his parents. Perhaps this is the most glaring omission so far, prompting many to postulate that it was a fake. 


Whatever the responses from the Right, they're sure to be virulent and definitive.

The Most Violent Rhetoric Is Upon Us: An Analysis Of Rev. Lou Sheldon's Latest Rant

His Word(les) says it all!

Though victory against such an evil onslaught will never come easy, it will also never come until the church awakes from her slumber and becomes the visible expression of Jesus Christ, raised from the dead in the power of the Holy Spirit, in this fallen world. The homosexual agenda will never be defeated by mere laws. This war will only be won by a church awakened and determined to stand for the righteousness of God. It is my hope and fervent prayer that, before it’s too late and the agenda of death and destruction has overcome us utterly, God’s people will rise. (emphasis mine)

Rev. Lou Sheldon - from A Gay (Domi)Nation in Charisma Magazine - July 2, 2011

There comes a time when even vitriol gets tedious, but that doesn't mean we should dismiss it. What we need to do is pay more attention to it so that our guard is not let down in the least.  


Rev. Lou Sheldon's rhetoric is a case in point: it can slip by as just another mindless, lying rant, but by analysis, the INTENSITY of the rant can be seen. For example: if the "homosexual agenda" will not be defeated by laws, how then, will it be defeated? By Prayer? Bullsh*t. He never states that. What about his context? Go ahead, you can view all of Rev. Lou Sheldon's diatribe HERE. With rhetoric so venomous, it falls just below Hitler's for the Jews, Sheldon manages to pack in deadly words and phrases which could only be described as the worst of  pulpit hate speech. 

Now, Sheldon has been around so long that he's practically hidden among the groups of Right-wing Christians now demanding the spotlight*, but he's still there. He justifies the point many people make when they say that the Christian Right is getting more violent (and hence, more deadly) in its rhetoric. 


Of course, he brings out the old talking points:


Hollywood is the BIG enabler
Homosexual activists want to FORCE acceptance and legitimization
The Homosexual agenda is sinister and part of it is that they want to control the worldview.
The book, After the Ball, is really an outline of their "game plan."
People are "trapped in the homosexual lifestyle"
Homosexuals are not born gay


Writing That Makes Moot 

Then Sheldon comes up with the classic line:

Let me be quick to say that I do not hate homosexuals.

Unfortunately, this line comes about two thirds of the way  into the piece, so it is hardly "quick" about anything. He talks about "evil" homosexuals, then says he doesn't hate them! It would be hysterical if it weren't so ubiquitous to the Christian Right argument and so utterly lame. After leveling a diatribe against gays, the possibility of Sheldon's NOT hating gays is rendered moot.

d just as horrific are the phrases he uses:

Homosexuals say they want the right to get married and live normal lives just like heterosexual couples, but this is a lie. On the surface, marriage seems like such a natural and innocent request. Who could argue with that? But that’s another part of the homosexuals’ campaign of deception. What they actually want is to force same-sex marriage on America as part of a much larger strategy for destroying the concept of marriage altogether.

There is nothing benign here, no reasonable disagreement, no respect for the opinions or moral reservations of those who have expressed concern for the dismantling of our culture. Rather, what’s being presented here is a plan for combat and the conquest of a nation.

Let's Get Literal


I went to Wordle.net and created a piece based on the words most often written in his little homily. In a very real sense, it came out classic (just click on the thumbprint wordle to read it all):


Of the 2789 words, 798 are common words (left out of the wordle) and the most prominent are the most pejorative:  Homosexual - homosexuality - agenda - marriage (same-sex) - lifestyle - evil - activists. Look for the word "love" in the wordle  - you won't find it - it was only mentioned once.


All this is "picky" you say? Of course it is, because only in the details of a bigot's speech can we see the true picture. And yes, it can be said of pro-gay speech as well, but the INTENSITY of Sheldon's rhetoric is really what causes one to pause and consider. 


What May Follow


It should be pointed out that the audiences for hate speech can be different: people predisposed to hate are more liable to "take arms against a sea of troubles and by opposing, end them."* And while there have been relatively few attacks (mostly vandalism) on churches by the homosexual community, they pale in comparison to the hate crimes committed against gays in the past decade: people have lost their lives. Read the entirety of Sheldon's missive and underline the most powerful words and phrases. Read it again. Then again. 


Now think of two words:
righteous assassination. 

* Bryan Fischer, Lou Engle et al.
**Admittedly a reversal of Shakespeare

Sweetwater, Tenn.'s Old "Tea Room" - Ahead Of It's Time!!

One "sweet" little fun photo and tidbit:


During our research on homophobic Sweetwater, TN, we came up with this old photo. If Sweetwater knew what today's connotation of "tea room" is, it sure wouldn't post it! 


Sorry guys, this place closed down in 1930's (after the Crash). Bet it had some really great times!!

The Passion of the Mel

Focusing On Gibson's Other Phobias

Before there was his misogynous rant
Before there was his racism
Before there was his anti-Semitism

There was the El Pais interview:

"They take it up the a** ... this is only for taking a s***,” he said at the time. "With this look, who's going to think I'm gay? I don't lend myself to that type of confusion. Do I look like a homosexual? Do I talk like them? Do I move like them?"

Mel Gibson's outbursts have always attracted attention, but his most  recent rants have exploded exponentially: everything viral on the net was overshadowed by the news that filmdom's enfant terrible had eclipsed his last "lapse in judgment" -  drunken remarks blaming "The Jews" for everything. His (tacit) admission to domestic violence,  his use of the "N" word, his verbal abuse of the mother of his child  left most of his friends and colleagues with no reason to support him. People are asking each other, is this the end of his career?

However, my question is: how did we ever let it get this far? Yes, WE. The signs of an angry, bigoted and volatile personality were there long before his DUI in 2004. Looking back at all of the words and actions of animosity towards so many people, it's a wonder that his career both as an actor and as a director hadn't fizzled out twenty years ago. Put it this way: Mel Gibson was hired by the American public to entertain them. He did. But somewhere along the way, he opted to become an icon, a public personality as well as an actor. Maybe it was his stint at directing that made him realize that he could have power/control not only over a film, but over other people's lives. But in spite of his phobias, his errors, his crude and almost violent behavior, the American public still kept Mel Gibson on the pedestal/payroll - maybe because we can't stand seeing our icons walk away in disgrace.

 

Maybe it's time for America to fire Mel Gibson. It's not like he hasn't expected it. Again, before there were the misogynist and violent rants, there was the anti-Semitism. One of our own OpEdNews diarists has opined that perhaps the "Okasana tapes" are part of an elaborate  revenge/conspiracy of Hollywood's Jews as payback for his now infamous DUI rant. (I doubt it - my response). 

And before that...

There was the Anglophobia:

English critics saw through the machismo of Gibson's epic, Braveheart. In Colin MacArthur's book, Brigadoon, Braveheart and the Scots: Distortions of Scotland in Hollywood Cinema the author writes that 

"... a worrying aspect of the film is its appeal to "(neo-) fascist groups and the attendant psyche."

There was Sedevacantism. 

The word comes from the Latin, meaning "vacant seat', and although Gibson describes himself and his father as "traditional Catholics" his actions and views have leaned heavily towards this almost heretical view of the Catholic Church. Recently, Gibson had a full-scale church built on his land in Malibu, ensuring that the Catholic masses he attends will be said in Latin and that all of the old rites will be preserved. Sedavacantists disdain the "modernism" that took hold of Christianity after pope Pius X and rarely if, if ever, recognize any progress in the Church past Pius XII. Gibson's father, Hutton, is a writer and apologist of Sedavacantism.

There was "The Passion" 

 All the "miracles" surrounding Gibson's singular magnum opus, The Passion of the Christ, stood in contrast to Gibson's cavalier treatment of scriptures and scholarship regarding the Life of Christ and the the political climate of first century Roman Judea. Perhaps more than any other time, it was then Gibson enjoyed projecting his beliefs on the screen while cloaking them in sacred religion: his anti-Semitism and Sedavacantism became increasingly evident as time went on. He was on a mission to show Jesus the Christ as  Mel Gibson saw Him. The sources Gibson relied upon the most were also in question: two nuns, one, the stigmatic German nun Anne Catherine Emmerich (1774–1824), another a Spanish nun named María de Ágreda (1602–1665). Although he had several scholars on the set, their scholarship was always laid aside in deference to these two. To Mel, mysticism trumped scholarship. 

Mel probably thought of himself as something of a mystic in his translation of The Passion to the screen, else why would he forego scholarship and jumble the scriptures?

There was his alcoholism and bi-polar disorder.

Being bi-polar (a late diagnosis and an even later admission) is one thing, but being bi-polar and alcoholic is a recipe for disaster. Gibson himself admitted that he started drinking at the age of thirteen and that while making his early films, he put away six pints of ale for breakfast. (!). He also admitted to thoughts of suicide. The peaks and valleys  of being bi-polar took their toll on everyone around Gibson. 

Defenders of Gibson have cited his bi-polar condition as a possible trigger to his rants. However, doctors familiar with bi-polar disorder have not been quick to chime in.  Some have gone so far as to suggest a form of psychotic break. And if his violent tone had been caused by his disorder, Oksana would have not have been quite as defensive.  

And then there was ... Hutton Gibson.

Hutton Gibson's views as a Holocaust denier are well known. And because Hutton has a forceful personality like his son, it would have been almost impossible for the son not to have had the same ideas.

wikipedia;

Gibson is an outspoken critic of the post-Second Vatican Council Catholic Church and a proponent of various conspiracy theories. In a 2003 interview he questioned how the Nazis could have disposed of six million bodies during the HolocaustSeptember 11, 2001 attacks were perpetrated by remote control.[1] He has also been quoted as saying the Second Vatican Council was "a Masonic plot backed by the Jews".[2]

Perhaps one of the most troubling aspects of Mel Gibson is that there is also a humanitarian behind the manic, xenophobic facade: he and his former wife have been among the chief donors to Healing the Children, he has been instrumental in preserving Costa Rican rainforests and, along with pop icon, Sting, contributed to the fund for the cleaning and restoration of Michelangelo's David.

Gibson, however, has not become a lovable bigot, like some Archie Bunker in Hollywood. His social sins have been too grave.

***

A career that has spanned three decades, filling the public with power and respect has been badly stained by the personal ideologies and exploits of its star. And like it or not, as a celebrity who has willing revealed parts of his personal life, Mel Gibson has taken us through his journey and has exposed us to his some of his ugliest problems: a father who vehemently denies the Holocaust and adheres to the ideologies of Sedevacantism; a history of substance abuse; bi-polar disorder; homophobia; anti-Semitism; racism; misogyny. Click them off in the proper cadence and one might have Gibson's own Stations of the Cross. His "Passion" so to speak. But he has dragged us through these episodes, only sometimes asking for our forgiveness.

In the wake of the taped-rants scandal, Gibson's agent, The William Morris Agency has dropped him. But as his REAL employer, can the U.S. fire him? A kinder separation would be termed "retire."

But maybe that would be too kind.

Just a thought.

Riding The Train To Homophobia: Those Tickets Cost A Lot, Don't They, Tony?

Putting A Train In The Doghouse

Two hundred fifty thousand dollars - sounds like a lot, doesn't it? But not if you're in the travel business - or the bigot business.

Fifteen years ago, I was able to get some pretty remarkable local advertising for SF's AIDS Emergency Fund. The market value for transit posters and production of 4 black & white public service announcements: $350,000. In 1995 dollars. In a local market.

According to FRC's Tony Perkins, however, this amount is an absolute fortune of taxpayers' money going out to advance the "homosexual agenda."

FRC Action

If there was ever proof that the Obama Administration has gone off the rails, it's Amtrak. For the first time in the train service's history, Amtrak has decided to spend a quarter-million dollars recruiting homosexual passengers. As you may know, Amtrak isn't a private business. This is a government-run business, meaning that this $250,000 is taken directly from taxpayers' pockets. In a very real sense, this ad campaign is a federal endorsement of homosexual behavior -- one of the most serious public health threats in America.

Whoa! Tony! Do you mean that Amtrack is going to turn into one big rolling bathhouse? Hmmm.

I don't think so. Even though Perkins thinks that every LGBT person is one big horny STD, one tiny piece of outreach to get gay dollars is not going to cause an influx of drag queens sipping martinis in the Vista Dome lounge. Point of fact: Amtrak should be so lucky! I know plenty of wonderful girls who could liven up that dreary run to Topeka!

Of course, Amtrak is really not so innocent or naive: for years it has bucked the market trends in following Perkins' homophobic ideology, but to put it in a more Biblical perspective:, "They saw the Light!":
 

Openly Gay Marketing:

Says Darlene Abubakar, the director of national advertising for Amtrak, “Most all of the major airlines, hotels and others in the travel and tourism industry target the LGBT market segment. Amtrak ’s goal is to raise the level of awareness of the benefits of train travel and increase consideration and ridership amongst this segment.”

And $250k is small change to the FRC. Promoting "Family Values" and lobbying for same costs over $30 million per year. FRC employs over 200 people and has satellites in all fifty states. FRC is a lobbying organization and, unless I've missed something, politicians still don't give discounts.

And all of Lou Engle's trips to the "Dark Continent" add up (not to mention keeping him odor-free with Right Guard!).

Another ridiculous rant. Another ridiculous headline. Another ridiculous case of fear-mongering.

 

Two hundred fifty thousand dollars - sounds like a lot, doesn't it? But not if you're in the travel business - or the bigot business.

Fifteen years ago, I was able to get some pretty remarkable local advertising for SF's AIDS Emergency Fund. The market value for transit posters and production of 4 black & white public service announcements: $350,000. In 1995 dollars. In a local market.

According to FRC's Tony Perkins, however, this amount is an absolute fortune of taxpayers' money going out to advance the "homosexual agenda."

FRC Action

If there was ever proof that the Obama Administration has gone off the rails, it's Amtrak. For the first time in the train service's history, Amtrak has decided to spend a quarter-million dollars recruiting homosexual passengers. As you may know, Amtrak isn't a private business. This is a government-run business, meaning that this $250,000 is taken directly from taxpayers' pockets. In a very real sense, this ad campaign is a federal endorsement of homosexual behavior -- one of the most serious public health threats in America.

Whoa! Tony! Do you mean that Amtrack is going to turn into one big rolling bathhouse? Hmmm.

I don't think so. Even though Perkins thinks that every LGBT person is one big horny STD, one tiny piece of outreach to get gay dollars is not going to cause an influx of drag queens sipping martinis in the Vista Dome lounge. Point of fact: Amtrak should be so lucky! I know plenty of wonderful girls who could liven up that dreary run to Topeka!

Of course, Amtrak is really not so innocent or naive: for years it has bucked the market trends in following Perkins' homophobic ideology, but to put it in a more Biblical perspective:, "They saw the Light!":

Openly Gay Marketing:

Says Darlene Abubakar, the director of national advertising for Amtrak, "Most all of the major airlines, hotels and others in the travel and tourism industry target the LGBT market segment. Amtrak 's goal is to raise the level of awareness of the benefits of train travel and increase consideration and ridership amongst this segment."

And $250k is small change to the FRC. Promoting "Family Values" and lobbying for same costs over $20 million per year. FRC employs over 200 people and has satellites in all fifty states. FRC is a lobbying organization and, unless I've missed something, politicians still don't give discounts.

The Council's Finances

While I couldn't get the 2009 data on the FRC, I was able to come up with some for 2007: $12,758,000 in revenue. And what, pray tell, was it spent on?

1. Mailing out copies of its 425 (mostly) anti-gay "findings"

2. Printing and shipping out 105,000 "educational" materials.

3. Publishing it's monthly newsletter and mailing to 150,000 homes.

4. Producing its weekly radio show, Washington Weekly. It also produces a daily "Commentary" aired on three 300 stations.

In addition, the FRC now hosts the extremely expensive Values Voter Summit. The speakers' fees are eye-popping when you consider that right-wing icons like Mike Huckabee, Ann Coulter(geist), Sean Hannity and heavy-hitting intellectual Stephen Baldwin (actually D-list-actor-brother-of famous-actor).

And all of Lou Engle's trips to the "Dark Continent" add up (not to mention keeping him odor-free with Right Guard!).

wikipedia:

In their report Funding the Culture Wars, the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy^[18] lists the Family Research Council as one of the leading organizations funding the activities of the conservative movement. As a non-profit organization, FRC is completely dependent on donations from supporters.

Of course, the FRC screamed "Donations, Please!!"  while ragging the administration on a piddling $250k:

Yet Washington is targeting the demographically small homosexual population-probably because marketing surveys suggest it is also one of the richest. So let's be honest. This Administration is more interested in riding the gravy train than getting the culture back on track.

Another ridiculous rant. Another ridiculous headline. Another ridiculous case of fear-mongering.

The Blatant Bigotry At CPAC: The Anger, The Arrogance And A Distinct Lack Of Reasoning

It's over a week since this event happened. It went viral almost immediately. Millions have already seen it. Why am I writing about it? Simply to state this:

THERE  ARE  MORE  WHERE  RYAN SORBA  CAME  FROM

A young Right-wingnut disguised as a budding conservative ala William F. Buckley (who would NOT have approved) aroused anger, shame, boos, disgust and yes, a small amount of applause. No one had expected his arrogant tirade. He was very proud of it. With the first sentence, he proved that Republicans still have not mastered the art of vetting. The event is best told in short points:

• Alexander McCobin of Students for Liberty thanks CPAC for including GOProud as a sponsor...
• McCobin is booed by several members of the audience...
• Including (admittedly): Ryan Sorba, representing ...
• California Young Americans For Freedom ...
• Sorba is introduced next as the young man who appeared on Glenn Beck's show for the wrong reasons and ...
• Was supposed to tell his story...
• The first words out of his mouth...
• "I'd like to condemn CPAC for accepting GOProud"...
• It was met with a chorus of boos...
• To which he said "I love it!"

Forget the booing. It's PC. Yes, for once, booing was politically correct. A bunch of CPAC arch-conservatives would have cheered, but people were recording his sage words, so how should they have reacted? They also heard the boos for McCobin and didn't want to go down that path by cheering Sorba.

And the saga doesn't end with Sorba's words at the podium.

He gave TWO interviews.

One ended in an ugly manner and should be quoted verbatim by gay reporter Alex Knepper of Race 4 2012.

He [Sorba] said at around this point that he needed to go, and put out his hand to say goodbye. I stared at him, refusing to shake his hand, and he said “Well, I don’t really want to shake your hand, you’re intrinsically evil.”

When we reached the area near the escalator downstairs, he turned on his camera. I put out my arms, striking a mocking pose, but realized he kept holding the camera at me.

“Wait, are you recording or taking a picture?” He was recording.

“Ah! OK…Well, I’d like to say, then, that the person behind the camera is a Hitler Youth waiting for a fuhrer to sweep him off his feet into a grand national project so he can sacrifice individuals like stock-fodder to his own biases.”

He turned off the camera and approached me. I told him he should get his girlfriend to give him a blowjob so that he could experience the joys of sodomy. He put two of his fingers an inch from my face and said that he’d want to fight me if a girl wasn’t around. “Ah, the use of force!” I said again.

The full exchange can be read HERE. This was not the first time Sorba's speech caused a stir. Recall that he cited protesting lesbians at Smith College. He was referring to a three-year-old incident at Smith where he was supposed to speak on the "Born Again Hoax". The theme for his speech was supposedly culled from his "forthcoming" book of the same title. Protesters stormed the hall in which he was speaking and he was ushered out ("for his own safety"). He's been living on that story ever since, it seems.  

The irony here lies in the possibility that the "hoax" may be Sorba himself. The only available copy of his "book" is HERE. It is not listed in Amazon.com (which many times even lists out-of-print books). It was copywrighted in 2007. The first chapter and the last three chapters are labeled "tbc" presumably because they are not under copywright yet, but they are important chapters and are missing. But the biggest problems with this 95-page pamphlet/book: no bibliography and no index. Sorba thinks that his brain and his brain alone should be taken as the temple of truth. This man who prides himself on spewing pure Aristotilian rhetoric is himself unreasonable, expecting everyone to take him and his arrogance at face value simply because HE says he's using reason. He makes statements, then immediately storms off because he is cowardly. Bravado, it seems, is not his forte.
 

The second interview he gave that day is below. Again, his bravado does not extend to allowing himself to be photographed for some inexplicable reason. You are allowed to laugh at his statement "I don't hate anybody."  

Remember this message: Ryan Sorba is not alone. He may seem like a one-man hate group masquerading as an intelligent neo-conservative, but he has supporters out there - somewhere.

Known Diseases Attacking the Republican Brain: Prognosis Negative

The guy whose brain was scanned for the above picture doesn't have a chance of survival - at least not as an American human being. He has been diagnosed as one of those unfortunate beings who places in the lowest twenty percent of self-identified Republicans and as such suffers chronic attacks of bigotry, intolerance, self-righteousness, secessionist tendencies, overbearing (fake) patriotism, hard-boiled homophobia, and totally rank hypocrisy. His I.Q. has been reduced to a level below that of an amoeba. This reduction is brought on by irrational hatred of just about everything he is told to hate.

None of these terrible conditions have ever been treated simply because he was unaware of them. If caught in time (before the age of reason since these viruses attack rudimentary reasoning first) they might have been treated.

The most obvious sign that his mental capacities were impaired was when he stated on a Research 2000 survey that he thought Sarah Palin was better qualified for the position as President of the United States than Barack Obama. Examining researchers were horrified that this man's deterioration had been so long and advanced.

He also AGREED to all of the statements below. To be fair, they were put in question form, and some ideas were delineated by proper grammar, so they might have been put in a way that may have been difficult for him to understand.

NEGATIVE THOUGHTS AND IDEOLOGIES OF REPUBLICANS

Abortion is murder	76%
ACORN stole the election	21%
Congress shouldn't make it easier to join unions	68%
Contraceptives should be outlawed	31%
Creationism should be taught in public schools	77%
Gay couples should not have state or federal benefits	68%
Gays should not be allowed to serve in the military	55%
Gays should not teach in schools	73%
Illegal immigrants should not be allowed to work here	59%
Jesus Christ is the only way to salvation and heaven	67%
Marriages are equal partnerships	76%
Obama is a racist	31%
Obama is a Socialist	63%
Obama should be impeached	21%
Obama wants the terrorists to win	24%
Obama was not born in the United States	42%
Sarah Palin is more qualified that Barack Obama	53%
Sex education should not be taught in schools	51%
The birth control pill is abortion	34%
There should be no same-sex marriages	77%
Women should be able to work outside the home	86%
You support the death penalty	91%
Your state should secede from the U.S.	23%

Put together in a different graph, the poll shows us that there is the possibility that a substantial amount of people could have agreed with ALL of these statements. Let's look at it in another way:

Now let's see to possible variables: some Republicans did NOT agree with every statement. Some statements may not be considered too radical. Also, some statements do no necessarily mean that a person negates the opposite. E.G., it's possible that some Republicans believe that Creationism should be taught along WITH evolution.

Variables aside, however, the results of the poll (2,000 self-identified Republicans across the country and across demographics) show a very, very sczisophrenic group of people, the majority of whom agree with the statements that: a. abortion is murder, but they would voted for the death penalty, b. gay cannot teach in public schools, but some of them could serve in the military, c. purport to be patriots but some of them want to secede from the Union, and d. folks who think abortion is murder would also outlaw contraceptives - at a time when more "misbegotten" children are born than at any other time in history.

Indeed, the reasoning power of self-proclaimed conservatives has been on a downward spiral for the last generation. That may be why the number of self-proclaimed Republicans has decreased steadily since the 1960s. 55 million people in the U.S. were registered Republicans in 2004. It's doubtful that today's number is in the high 40's. Look at the bottom part of the graph and make some assumptions of our own: counting a wide range of variables, that bottom 20% can be honed down to 10%, don't you think? Is that fair?

Well, if it is, than 10% of people who identify as Republicans are: pro-Sarah Palin, anti-Obama people who will refuse to let their children have any sex education let alone purchase condoms. They will allow their women to work outside the home and think that their marriages are equal partnerships, although domestic violence cases continue to rise. They will certainly support the death penalty but at the same time chant that they are "pro life," without any qualms of hypocrisy. Some of them want gays to serve in the military more than they want them to teach in schools, but giving them any rights concerning marriage or spousal claims is beyond their comprehension. Finally, why any of them would think that Obama WANTS the terrorists to win is incomprehnsible. That statement alone defines the bottom 20% as irrational and, dare I say it, not qualified to vote.

And according to the least amount of calculation, there are approximately 4 MILLION people out there who have agreed to ALL OR MOST OF THE STATEMENTS. Four million. Who are voting irrationally. Who are amongst us. Who want their state to secede from the Union. Who do not like the rest of the people in the U.S. simply because they are not made of 100% whatever they label themselves as.

I'm sorry, but it looks to be true. Movements start with just a few people, but when movements begin to mass and affect the nation's psyche, then we all have to deal with them. Sorry, but at this time, to go on would make me seem like a fearmonger. Please, just think about it.