FRC and The Dating Game: Forsooth! A Battle Lost!

eHarmony is a cowardly TRAITOR!

Family Research Council constantly sees itself as the brave knight waging the war against the demon of homosexuality and its "agenda". While it considered Proposition 8 to be a battle won, it immediately discovered the treasonous act of what it thought was one of its staunchest warriors.

The surest way to lose the culture war is refusing to fight. Unfortunately, no company illustrates that better than eHarmony, whose shocking concession to the homosexual movement is sending tremors through the faith community...To those of us in the pro-family movement who hailed eHarmony's commitment to the virtue of traditional marriage, the company's actions are distressing and damaging.

"Shocking concession...sending tremors through the faith community...virtue of traditional marriage." Tony Perkins is definitely in a Gothic phase. If only the rest of the country would take him seriously. Oh, some do, to be sure: his boss, James Dobson for one. However, this latest phase makes Christofascist FRC look, well, medieval.

He shares this Gothic obsession of knights and fair damsels with other "knights" around the country. Unfortunately, the castle those knights are besieging is the citadel of civil rights. Tony doesn't think he's a member of these groups, but many of their members are FRC members.

Oh, and as appropriate to chivalrous knights, they all wear white...sheets.

And a Monumental Change for American Diplomacy! And A Change of Scene for George W. B**h (Paraguay)

The American Diplomacy Dream Team

Sometimes, when you go to a site for a collection of photographs (like Flickr), it's amazing what you DON'T see: I searched Flickr.com with the word "diplomacy." I looked at several hundred photos and cartoons, before I found an image of George W. B**h. The image wasn't very flattering. I then searched for "cowboy diplomacy." Of the 10 possible photos, two were referenced to B**h. Neither were flattering. Yesterday we posted a piece about B**h's "gauntlet of shame" at the G20 Summit. In the attached video, you can see particular scorn by Chancellor Angela Merkel (Germany). Whenever I see her, I think of Georgie's impromptu "neck rub" of Merkel and her bewildered (almost frightened) look. The Diplomatic Dimwit had struck again. Even today, you can see in B**h's eyes the look of cluelessness. "Why don't people like me?" Georgie, it's probably because you're considered the source of everything that went wrong in the last eight years.

• You intended war the day you became President.
• You used a national calamity as an excuse to unseat another head of state.
• You lied about "weapons of mass destruction."
• You constantly placed inept cronies in positions of responsibility.
• You depended on the advice of only one man.
• You did not heed the advice of the rest of your advisers.
• You did not listen to the voice of the people.
  
• You constantly placed big business and big oil ahead of the rest of the nation.
• You studiously (but not judiciously) deregulated almost everything in site.
• You conducted official duties in utmost secrecy.
• You kept "suspected" terrorists in confinement without due process.
• Your foreign policy "Doctrine" was composed entirely of pre-emptive strikes.
• You approved of torture.
  

And you were arrogant about it all.

Get thee to Paraguay, George B**h, before the public storms your obscenely expensive "Memorial Library" in hopes of finding out the truth: just how inept and corrupt you really were. Or storms your father's Library to find that your old records as Governor prove you were inept and corrupt back then.

On January 20, 2009, the 44th President of the United States will take the Oath of Office. His proposed cabinet members will undergo scrutiny and (hopefully) approval by the Senate. One of those cabinet members will be our new Secretary of State: the highest ranking ambassador and diplomat our country has. With the world in such precarious unrest - unrest which George B**h fulminated and abetted - the pressures upon the Secretary of State will be incalculable. The Secretary will try to patch up the wounds inflicted by bad diplomacy or, in most cases, no diplomacy at all. It will take years for America to stand proudly with other nations and not be looked upon as the big bully the 43rd President made of it.


Yesterday, strong rumors went about that President-elect Obama was going to offer the post of Secretary of State to Hillary Rodham Clinton. The objections from the Right, of course, came swiftly: her husband, former President Bill Clinton has too many irons in the fire with his Foundation and his connections to world leaders.

I say: GREAT! To repair the damage of the last eight years will take a strong, strong team: Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton and Bill Clinton. If Bill Clinton gives strong evidence that he has given up all financial benefits from his connections and that he will not interfere with Obama's policies, but instead upholds them, this could be the team that could not only set the course for a better, more diplomatic America, it could also be a force which installs peace to the Middle East and Africa as well. Adding incredibly intelligent and sophisticated spouses to the team will help to solidify their efforts.

Just a thought.

Honest diplomacy doesn't need to look pretty, but it DOES need to look sincere.

A MUST Read!: The Most Touching Letter About The Rights of ALL Loving Couples!

You Can Only Feel Love and Devotion From This Man!

This letter is from a reader of Andrew Sullivan's columns. Sullivan is unabashedly gay and has just been married to another wonderful and insightful man (Sullivan would marry no less!). I hope Andrew doesn't mind my posting it in its entirety (he's very difficult to contact - such a busy, busy queen!). I think this letter should be copied and sent to every person who voted "Yes" on Proposition 8:

I am a 26 year old heterosexual, white male who is in the best relationship of my life. She is a 26 year old Egyptian woman. We're very happy and recently she met most of my family and extended family. They loved her as well. We even hope to marry someday. I am so grateful that I live in a country that would honor that bond. As you know, it wasn't too long ago that our relationship would not be recognized in many states. That being said, I've taken the stand that I do not want to join the institution of marriage until it is one that allows ALL loving couples to join.

This has been met with raised eyebrows by some in my family. It's not really understood why I would care so much about an issue that doesn't affect me directly. But as an American - it absolutely does. I live in a country that will recognize my relationship but won't recognize another.

The reasons are endless. Gay marriage threatens "traditional marriage" (so did my inter-racial relationship once upon a time). The Bible said man should not lie with man (guess what the Bible thought of me being with an Egyptian -yikes). I've had family, whom are genuinely good people, say that it just weird's them out, they are old-fashioned, it's not the way marriage has been for thousands of years (again - look at my relationship - the same was said about couples like us). So it does affect me. The parallels are numerous. I am so lucky I was born into a generation that approves of the love I feel towards her. Yet, I live in the same generation that doesn't approve of yours - at least in the eyes of the State. But we're getting there.

I was once of the same mindset of most of my family. Being gay was wrong. Then I went to The Ohio State University, and guess what? I met gay people. They were nice, they were jerks, they were shy and they were outgoing. My God, they were like me. Familiarity was the key. It was ok for me to accept that lifestyle because it wasn't "foreign" anymore. Progress, as you have said, will be made in not by litigation so much but in our living rooms, with friends and family. I speak very openly on this issue with my family now. They are great people that, frankly, maybe fear what they don't understand. But maybe I can be that connection to an understanding. Maybe seeing how I feel and how it hasn't destroyed my relationships will help them realize - it's ok. They can in one moment look at my girlfriend and I and hope to see us marry - then in the next moment disapprove of another loving couple wanting to do the same. I wish they looked at your love the same way they look at mine.

There's no need to be afraid. Gays aren't here to destroy marriage. They just want to enjoy it, stress about it, succeed at it, fail at it - as much as the rest of us. As a son of divorce, I need something to re-instill my faith in marriage. I hope to marry someday, maybe when all 50 states allow Gay marriage, maybe when my home state of Ohio does, I don't know exactly. But I do know I need to see something. Something that says this institution of marriage isn't of the mindset of your local country club's "white's only" policies. I love golf. Can you imagine me, a man with a Middle-Eastern partner, joining a "Whites Only" institution? Me neither. Once that "sign" comes down - I'll be the first to join. Know hope.

"Mr. Murdoch's Legendary Vision In The Future": Fair, Balanced, Unadulterated ...

BULLSHIT!!

From Think Progress:

Rupert Murdoch’announced today that Fox News’s top executive, Roger Ailes, has signed a five year contract extension with News Corp. “Roger has done a remarkable job building FOX News into a force in journalism and built a great asset for News Corporation,” said Murdoch in a statement. Ailes said that he looks “forward to carrying out Mr. Murdoch’s legendary vision in the future.”

If "a force in journalism" means part of a "vast right-wing conspiracy," maybe Murdoch's right. Fox News' subtitle of "fair and balanced" news has, however, become the laughing stock of just about everyone who's ever taken a course in journalism. (Sorry, Sarah Palin, a couple of courses in "sports broadcasting/journalism" don't count - not even at junior college level! Ooops, you actually went to a four-year college. Sorry, we couldn't tell.).

The video at the end of this post will show people what a joke Fox News REALLY is! Unfortunately, Fox's extreme bias can be mean spirited as well. Take a look at THIS picture:

It's obvious that Fox is comparing these singing kids to a Hitler Youth Group. You can view the real video here. And, of course, Bill O'Reilly made fun of the kids' efforts.

So, let's ask this of Fox News: which is creepier, the Obama kids or JESUS CAMP?

Just a thought.

The Gauntlet of Shame: G20 Summit Shows B**h Exactly What They Think of Him

Rotten Tomatoes Weren't Available!

The following video you are about to see shows just how low our prestige has sunk due to The B**h Doctrine. He is being openly vilified by heads of state.

Bye Bye, America, Hello Paraguay!

P.S.: Notice the sidebar and today's date in history: the opening of the Nuremburg Trials! Very appropriate. Bush is being judged by his peers and found guilty!

The Delusional Mind of Mike Huckabee (AKA Wackjob)

Whatever This Guy's On,
Please Do Not Take While Driving

You might also wind up saying "a rose is NOT a rose..."

Along with the idea that homosexuals haven't suffered enough to have civil rights, Mike Huckabee is now telling people that Proposition 8 did not ban anything:

HUCKABEE (On Bill Bennet's radio show):

"The very people who voted for Barack Obama in California…also voted to sustain traditional marriage. I refuse to use the term, “ban same-sex marriage.” That’s not what those efforts did. They affirmed what is. They did not prohibit something. They simply affirmed something that which has and forever has existed."

Delusion #1: "Something that has and forever has existed." All hyperbole aside, for the one trillionth time, where do Christofascists get the idea that one-man-one-woman marriage has ALWAYS existed? Huckabee has "Father Knows Best" on the brain. There have been one-man-ten-women (or much more) marriages. History has even seen one-woman-ten-men marriages. There have been group marriages. There have been societies where incest was the norm! There have been (according to scholar John Boswell) same-sex marriage in pre-modern Europe. There have been consensual marriages, but, more often then not, there have been arranged marriages. Totally consensual, one-man-one-woman marriages are relatively new in history. Just who "married" Adam and Eve? God? A dinosaur? Who? How many wives did Solomon have? Four hundred?

Cut the
LEAVE-IT-TO-BEAVER-EXISTED-SINCE-THE-DAWN-OF-TIME
crap!

Delusion #2: People can affirm something by amending the Constitution. If they have to "affirm" something - anything - then there is something wrong with the thing they have to "affirm". It's not strong enough to be backed by the Constitution as a general right, it has to be singled out as a "specified" right.

Delusion #3: The UberChristians who put together Proposition 8 DO NOT hate homosexuals. A religion that thinks it is the "One True Religion" is like a kids' club or, in more violent terms, a gang: "You wanna be in our club? We have rules. If you don't want to be in our club or follow our rules, you'll be our enemy and we'll hate you forever and ever." The "love the sinner, hate the sin" never floated and never will. The "Yes on 8" people hate homosexuals. They just needed a more "tolerant-looking" way to show it. And the phrase ELIMINATES the right of same-sex couples to marry was put in so that even morons could know who they were hating.

Delusion #4: "The very people who voted for Barack Obama in California…also voted to sustain traditional marriage. Not true.

(from fivethirtyeight):

Exit polls suggest that first-time voters -- the vast majority of whom were driven to turn out by Obama (he won 83 percent [!] of their votes) -- voted against Prop 8 by a 62-38 margin. More experienced voters voted for the measure 56-44, however, providing for its passage.

The people who voted for Barack Obama wanted CHANGE in government. The people who voted for Proposition 8 DID NOT WANT CHANGE in their idea of marriage.

Huckabee: go home and have a fun time in withdrawal.

Just a thought.

A better picture of the situation - Separate But Equal??

Did Matthew Shepard Suffer Enough?

Huckabee Doesn't Seem To Think So

According to Mike Huckabee, gays have just not suffered enough to have their rights linked to "civil rights." On The View, Huckabee went on and on about his pride in America in electing Barack Obama, but when Joy Behar asked him about gay rights, he immediately went into phobic mode: gay rights are "different rights." He then went on to suggest that the turmoil of the African American Civil Rights movement, was too staggering to be compared to gay rights.

Evidently, this is the new tack by Christofascists: "gays haven't suffered enough."


(From Think Progress, Nov. 19)

Tara Wall, deputy editorial page editor at the Washington Times, wrote today that “[t]here is no comparison” between blacks’ struggle and gay people’s struggle because “[b]lacks were stoned, hung, and dragged for their constitutional right to ’sit at the table.’ Whites — gay or not — already had a seat at that table.”

(TP) To suggest that a civil rights movement must meet some sort of violence threshold is an incredibly dangerous argument — not to mention blind to the serious violence gay people have already suffered. 16.6 percent of all hate crimes reported by the FBI in 2007 “resulted from sexual-orientation bias,” and the number of hate crimes directed against gays and lesbians increased six percent from 2006. More striking, a 2007 study by the University of California, Davis, found that “[n]early four in 10 gay men and about one in eight lesbians and bisexuals in the United States have been the target of violence or a property crime because of their sexual orientation.”

Think Progress said it more stridently and more succinctly than I ever could. Thanks. Let's see now: gays absolutely MUST experience some form of slavery, undergo Jim Crow-like laws, and be killed on more massive a scale than they have been in the past. How bloodthirsty! How Southern Baptist! How Christofascist to laud the election of someone in a minority then turn around and say that another minority has a "different" set of rights. Too bad. Sometimes Mike Huckabee seems almost genuine...and human. But Southern Baptists can be very, very hypocritical.

You almost have to ask: are they born that way, or do they choose to be hypocrites?

Just a thought.


Before you view Huckabee's statement, look at these statistics:

Isn't 97.2% ENOUGH?