"If you're gay, lesbian, or bisexual, would you sacrifice for your trans neighbors and siblings? If you're trans, would you sacrifice for your gay, lesbian, or bisexual neighbors and siblings? It's something worth knowing about yourself and those around you." --Autumn Sandeen, 4/19/2010, the night before GetEQUAL's DADT repeal protest at the White House
Public Calendar
Press/media, organizations, and individuals send your time-based event info to: calendar@phblend.net
The Christian Civic League of Maine's Mike Hein calls Pam's House Blend: "a leading source of radical homosexual propaganda, anti-Christian bigotry, and radical transgender advocacy."
He is "praying that Pam Spaulding will "turn away from her wicked and sinful promotion of homosexual behavior."
(CCLM's web site, 10/15/07)
Ex-gay "Christian" activist James Hartline on Pam:
"I have been mocked over and over again by ungodly and unprincipled anti-christian lesbians."
(from "Six Years In Sodom: From The Journal Of James Hartline," 9/4/2006, written from the "homosexual stronghold" of Hillcrest in San Diego).
"Pam is a 'twisted lesbian sister' and an 'embittered lesbian' of the 'self-imposed gutteral experiences of the gay ghetto.'" -- 9/5/2008
Peter LaBarbera of Americans for Truth Against Homosexuality heartily endorses the Blend, calling Pam:
A "vicious anti-Christian lesbian activist." (Concerned Women for America's radio show [9:15], 1/25/07)
"A nutty lesbian blogger." (MassResistance radio show [16:25], 2/3/07)
Pam's House Blend always seems to find these sick f*cks. The area of the country she is in? The home state of her wife? I know, they are everywhere. Pam just does such a great job of bringing them out into the light.
--Impeach Bush
who monitors yours Bevis ?? Just thought I would drop you a line,so the rest of your life is not wasted.
Sally Kern made her infamous statement about homosexuality being worse than terrorism over two years ago. Now she is trying to explain what she meant! It's not a matter of quality, but a matter of quantity, you see:
When you mention the name Sally Kern, most people think of the now-infamous speech she gave two years ago, declaring homosexuals more dangerous to America than terrorists. But that is the first of many misconceptions Kern says she wants to clear up.
"Here in America we've had what maybe three known real big terrorist attacks on our nation," Kern said. "But every day our young people especially, all of us, but our young people especially are in a sense bombarded with the message that homosexuality is normal and natural."
You can see video of Kern (and and her trans political opponent Brittany Novotny) here, as FOX 25 profiles the race for State House seat 84.
Tonight is the liveblog with the leaders of Outserve, the "underground network of LGBT actively serving military members."
We are active duty and veteran gay, lesbian, and bisexual soldiers, sailors, Marines, airmen, and members of the Coast Guard who are currently serving and who have served - some in silence, some with the open support of our comrades - in defense of our nation. We include service men and women who graduated at the top of our classes at the service academies and enlisted at recruitment centers around the country. Some of our members have lost their lives in service to their country.
Ty Walrod and JD Smith will be taking your questions.
Ty Walrod is the civilian co-director of OutServe. He graduated in 2006 from Washburn University. He runs OutServe's operations in San Francisco where he has worked at Deloitte LLP and Coverity Inc.
JD Smith is the active duty co-director of OutServe. He is a graduate of a U.S. service academy and a current officer in the U.S. armed forces.
The org announced on Monday the creation of several base and regional chapters around the globe. At least ten will be organized by OutServe this week on military bases and regions where the organization has significant presence, including Afghanistan and Iraq. For safety reasons the exact location of the chapters will not be known, except for inside the exclusive network, but 5 chapters will be located overseas and 5 chapters will be located stateside. Although the demand to establish additional chapters is high, OutServe will start with ten this week and expand in the near future.
The goal of each base and regional chapter will be to provide information, resources and social support to actively serving military personnel. "Don't Ask Don't Tell" places an immense burden upon individuals who think they are alone at their base and these networks will seek to fix that. Each chapter will be charged with growing and expanding their networks and offering support in their specific areas. OutServe Headquarters will be tasked with supporting those networks and serving as the voice of the national organization.
"We need to start to empower local military networks to expand and unite them under one banner," said JD Smith, OutServe's co-director and active duty officer in the U.S. Armed Forces. He continued, "Informal networks of gay and lesbian military members have existed well before World War I and it's time to take those networks and start connecting them and giving them more resources."
So we have our first active duty webad. The fact that we're using someone still in is compelling - as it's meant to be - but only as a means to gain attention. The deeper talking point here is how comprehensive the affects of DADT really are.
A pro-family activist who is working to expose the truth about homosexuality finds it absolutely appalling that former Republican National Committee (RNC) chairman Ken Mehlman was able to "beat back" Republican efforts against homosexual "marriage" while hiding his own homosexual lifestyle.
He's talking about Peter LaBarbera of course. And The Peter doesn't disappoint:
"The most troubling thing about Mehlman is that he reveals in his interview with The Atlantic magazine that he was subverting the fight to preserve marriage as the head of the RNC," notes Peter LaBarbera, founder and president of Americans for Truth About Homosexuality (AFTAH). "He admits that he was working in private conversations with senior GOP leaders against the federal marriage amendment."
LaBarbera adds that he cannot understand why current RNC chairman Michael Steele has been so accepting of Mehlman's lifestyle. "There are so many great stories of people who left lesbianism, who left homosexuality," he points out. "We should not accept that this homosexuality is part of Ken Mehlman's identity. And shame on Michael Steele for [almost] celebrating Ken Mehlman's homosexuality."
And in a moment of revelation and admiration for the work of Mike Rogers, LaBarbera calls for outing "secret homosexuals" in order to cleanse the GOP of "homosexual activism."
And the hat tip goes to former AFA staff attorney Joe Murray. :)
This is disgusting. Where do you even begin. (LezGetReal):
Jeff Sharlet, author of The Family and C Street: The Fundamentalist Threat to American Democracy, went to Uganda and spoke to the author of the much discussed Anti-Homosexuality Bill, David Bahati.
Sharlet has written an article about his visit for Harper's Magazine (you'll have to be a subscriber or find a hard copy to read it) and has done an interview with NPR. In the interview, he talks about the opportunity he had to meet with David Bahati, and even visit him in his home.
...And while the likes of Martin Ssempa have been saying that the bill is about HIV prevention, Bahati made his motivations clear when he invited Professor Sharlet to his home.
[Bahati] spoke more bluntly than he had before, about what he wanted to do.
And what he wanted to do was kill every last gay person. And this came up because he said, well, the death penalty may come out of it but, you know, democracy will bring it back...
Towards the end of this genial visit, Bahati threatened to arrest Professor Sharlet if he came back to Uganda, on the grounds of promoting homosexuality.
In a move which should surprise no one, the Palmetto Family Council released a press release criticizing the city of Columbia about the rainbow flags hanging on downtown lamp posts.
The banners are to commemorate the SC Pride festival happening Saturday as well as to bring visibility to SC's lgbt community.
The Palmetto Family Council released a press release saying the following:
“This is about much more than a piece of cloth on a lamp pole.
The flag raised today is symbolic of the city’s ongoing and aggressive financial and institutional support of militant homosexual advocacy.
Taxpayers need look no farther than this year’s headliner, Pandora Boxx (or last year’s RuPaul) to see how their tax dollars and the city’s good name are being invested.
The City of Columbia is not neutral in this matter. It continues to take a side in the culture wars, which we believe is not appropriate for any government.”
With this press release, the Palmetto Family Council seems to be sidestepping any confrontation with SC Pride and instead going the "the city council is wasting our tax dollars" route.
That also seems to be the route taken by SC blogging site FitsNews.com:
As much as we hate to agree with the Bible thumpers, they’ve got a point here. As we’ve said on numerous occasions, we have no problem with homosexuals and we support their right to publicly display their lifestyle choices. We’re also supporters of civil unions and oppose efforts to discriminate against gays – whether that means denying benefits in the workplace or denying permits for a parade.
However, using tax dollars to support such events – or public facilities to promote one particular sexual orientation over another – is clearly wrong, which we would encourage the Palmetto Family Council to keep in mind the next time it organizes protests over municipalities doing away with Jesus-themed prayers.
But it would seem that both FitsNews.com and the Palmetto Family Council have gotten the story wrong.
I had a long hard day at work (you know, the one that keeps a roof over my head) with the prospect of more tomorrow, so I wanted forget about politics this evening, or think about the approaching hurricane, and just went out to dinner with my wife. Now I'm in my jammies and feeling beat. Will give the dogs a snack and hit the sack since I have to get on the hamster wheel again in the AM.
But you all can read what President Obama said (nothing about LGBT service members, naturally) about the close of combat operations in Iraq. It's below the fold.
This quote could put Joseph Farah into a padded cell:
"I think there is a growing mass of people in Republican politics who are fundamentally sick and tired about being lectured to about morality and how to live your life by a bunch of people who have been married three or four times and are more likely to be seen outside a brothel on a Thursday night than being at home with their kids... There is a fundamental indecency to the vitriol and the hatred directed against decent people because of their sexuality. People have reached a critical mass with this."
-- a prominent gay-rights supporting Republican making clear the growing hostility toward the social conservative element of the party
Sam Stein interviewed John McCain's 2008 campaign chief Steve Schmidt, who is one of the heavy hitters fundraising for the American Foundation for Equal Rights, which will hold a tony event on September 22 @ $5K per person.
"There is a strong conservative case to be made in favor of gay marriage," former McCain campaign manager and fellow same-sex marriage fundraiser Steve Schmidt told the Huffington Post on Tuesday. "Marriage is an institution that strengthens and stabilizes society. It is an institution that has the capacity to bring profound joy and happiness to people and it is a matter of equality and keeping faith of one of the charters of the nation, the right to live your life.
"More and more conservatives are saying that opposition to gay marriage would not be a litmus test for membership in the GOP," Schmidt added. "And more conservatives are making the case that no more do you want big government conservatives in the bedroom than big government liberals telling you how to live your life."
Indeed, the stellar performance of the odd couple -- Ted Olsen and David Boies -- in demolishing the pitiful arguments of marriage discrimination advocates in Perry v. Schwarzenegger has finally brought out gay conservatives and allies to finally declare war on the fundamentalist wing of the party.
Even though the big money is coming out and the bible beaters are on the defense, the GOP still has a serious problem with its homophobic base. The party relies on the conservative churched to man its phone banks, send out those direct mail pieces and knock on doors. Mehlman et. al. coming out of their respective closets is not a policy or platform change in the Republican party when it comes to LGBT equality.
It remains to be seen whether this money and influence results in anything other than a boost for marriage advocacy. That's welcome, of course, but what impact will this have on endorsements for the 2010 elections? Will these same attendees, including Mehlman, still give money to anti-gay candidates? Lasting change in the GOP will only occur if funds are withheld from those who would do harm in the cause for equality under the law. We don't have to agree on all policy, but if equality is a shared goal, that spigot has to be shut.
On the Dem side, lasting change will only occur if we withhold funds from those who coast on the gAyTM and spin their wheels when we lobby them to take action.
There is a must-read diary over at DKos by GLBT and Friends that covers some ground that we discuss here in the coffeehouse fairly often - can we define a single view of what the LGBT community is? And even if we can't all agree on what "the community" is, who is currently effectively representing it? The logical and thorny extension of the latter is who is now qualified to represent the LGBT community.
The African American civil rights movement has a similar history in its organizational development. The early organizations of the Urban League and the NAACP were born in the progressive era and originally partook of the rather paternalistic philosophy of the times. The membership was composed of middle class African Americans and their middle class white allies. The ferment of the 60s had a similar impact on that movement as well. New organizations such as CORE and SNCC came along to challenge the leadership and philosophy of the older groups.
Up until recently The Human Rights Campaign has attempted to present itself as the voice of the LGBT community. Its primary focus has been on fund raising for political campaign contributions. It has always had a preference for glitzy fund raising events attended by designer clothed celebrities. They were pursuing the beltway inside track. Since they were providing politicians with money and very modest requests for social change they made non-threatening mascots for the Democratic Party. The Republicans had the Log Cabin Republicans who followed a similar approach. More recently there has been a growing impatience with such a gradualist approach and organizations with a more aggressive approach have emerged. Two groups that have been very publicly visible are The Service Members Legal Defense Network and Get Equal.
There are literally hundreds of LGBT organizations in the US. Many of them are focused on particular types of associations such as professional, occupational or religious interest. Others are limited to particular geographic locations such as cities or states. There are several that have focused on providing specialized legal support such as Lambda Legal and The National Center For Lesbian Rights. Also the ACLU has a special section dealing with LGBT rights issues.
There really aren't any organizations that can plausibly claim to speak for all LGBT people.
And the plethora of LGBT advocacy groups shows you that it is not possible; however the reality is we all know that if there is breaking news about the LGBT community, the tattered rolodexes of lazy producers usually means a call to HRC's Joe Solmonese. Notable recent exceptions were the Prop 8 verdict, where more air time was given to Freedom To Marry's Evan Wolfson, and attorneys Olsen and Boies, as well as legal analysts; and for DADT, usually the MSM turned to Servicemembers Legal Defense Network or organizations directly tied to repeal.
What the diary also touched upon, but did not delve deeply into was the red alert item of class and its impact on both public perception of the community and who represents the face of LGBT America. The luxury of time and money means many who are working in the movement are likely 1) single, 2) have no children, 3) are independently wealthy or committed to the cause and willing to work for less than they could in the private sector (see "Between Floating and Leeching: The Financial Struggle of the LGBT Activist").
More below the fold -- addressing failed leadership.
The upcoming SC Pride festival is what everyone is talking about in Columbia and a key move by the organization coordinating the festival is a good reason why:
Displaying a multitude of colors, the rainbow flag is now hanging from lamp posts on Main and Gervais Streets. The brightly colored banner is a sign of diversity and acceptance for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender citizens.
“It definitely will promote the event, but I also hope it makes people realize that there is a strong LGBT community that exists in Columbia,” said Vice President of Center Operations Santi Thompson with the SC Pride Movement.
Thompson adds that for the first time in the organization's 21 year history, the rainbow flags will fly in downtown Columbia in celebration of this weekend's SC Pride Parade and Festival.
The flags not only had to be approved by the City of Columbia, but the organization also had to get clearance from businesses along the two streets.
“I think the flags being flown on Main Street and Gervais Street make people excited and will help them realize it’s not as backwards as we think,” said Thompson.
For many lgbt South Carolinians who have to live with the stereotype of our state being backwards, these flags and the increased visibility they bring are a like bursts of fresh air. It also reveals the steady pace the SC lgbt leadership has been working to make things better for our community.
The banners also caught local anti-gay leaders by surprise. Oran Smith of the Palmetto Family Council was asked about the banners and all he could muster is the following:
“I think the mistake the city has made is being knee deep in agenda for a specific organization promoting a specific kind of lifestyle,”
If you ask me, he is probably upset. Up until yesterday, he probably thought he had the easiest job in the state.
For more information on the SC Pride week, especially Saturday's festival featuring 80s diva Taylor Dayne, go here. Full disclosure time - I will be one of Saturday's speakers and will also be receiving the Order of the Pink Palmetto.
Oh, the hard-hitting, up-to-the-minute journalism of OneNewsNow, the "news" outlet for the American Family Association's (AFA's) "Reporter" Bill Bumpas.
In the OneNewsNow piece of Bumpas's (and no, I'm not trying to be funny -- I'm not making up the last name for this OneNewsNow "reporter") , entitled Combating Homosexual Promotion In Schools, Candy Cushman {of Focus On The Family's (FOTF's) activism arm -- CitizenLink}. recycles her months old talking points. Nothing up-to-the-minute here.
...a leading national expert on education issues affecting public and private education, including school choice and home school initiatives, the promotion of homosexuality in public schools, censorship of Christian students and the evolution debate.
Her resume, perhaps, is how she became an expert? Maybe her stint at her stint at World Magazine made her "a leading national expert on education issues"? Perhaps an anointing with oil by Dr. James Dobson? Perhaps being a wife and mother who was active in her children's Parent-Teacher Association?
I actually have no idea how or why Candi Cushman was declared to be "a leading national expert on education issues" on the CitizenLink's website. That's because there is no information included in her CitizenLink profile that indicates how someone who graduated cum laude from Baylor University with a double major in English and journalism became "a leading national expert on education issues." Instead, we just have a declarative statement in a short bio by a by an unidentified CitizenLink employee declaring Candi Cushman "a leading national expert on education issues" -- in other words, we're all to take her status as "a leading national expert on education issues" on faith.
But, Cushman sure does have her talking points down. "Hard-hitting journalist" Bumpas gives us nothing beyond what one can view and hear in the CitizenLink video Report: Identifying Gay Activism in Public Schools (uploaded August 17, 2010) , and articles that Cushman wrote last June.
Such as, a quote from Cushman in the video (00:58):
[Below the fold: Comparing Candi Cushman's previous statements to her statements for OneNewsNow.]
Am I the only one willing to stand up for marriage as an institution of one man and one woman?
Am I the only one willing to stand up for a U.S. military unencumbered by perverse social experiments?
Am I the only one willing to stand up for liberty as a gift of God?
-- WorldNetDaily's Joseph Farah, continuing his public psychological meltdown in today's column, "The homo con continues"
Ah, I love the smell of schadenfreude in the morning. It appears that poor Joseph Farah believes he stands alone in fighting the Homosexual Agenda these days. The level of desperation and flop sweat makes for excellent blogging opportunities here at the Blend, but I can't help feeling that we're really watching someone mentally unravel over the political changes afoot.
In yet another column (it's up to a near daily e-blast or WND editorial at this point), Joseph Farah attacks GOProud, blaming the gay conservative organization for: 1) convincing Ann Coulter to come to HOMOCON; 2) having the gathering hosted at PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel's house (he's a libertarian, btw); 3) apparently "pro-gay brainwashing" a bunch of prominent conservatives to attend.
Sponsors for the Homocon event now include:
Conservative Political Action Conference director Lisa DePasquale;
Americans for Tax Reform President Grover Norquist, who sits on GOProud's board;
John Hawkins of Right Wing News;
Fox News contributor Margaret Hoover;
Craig Engle, former general counsel to the National Republican Senatorial Committee.
Suffice it to say, I told you so.
I told you this event was aptly named. It literally represents the homo conning of the Republican Party and the conservative movement.
Now, Joe, all of the above people are attending and sponsoring of their own free will, so I presume that they want to be there, not jawboning with you about The Homosexual Agenda taking over the Republican party. I would, however, assume that they are thumbing their noses at your Bedroom Peeping Agenda.
Farah is really pissed at Coulter - she's apparently earned as special place in Joe's Hell; look at the path of social destruction he now applies to her (keyboard alert);
When I said Ann Coulter was giving validation to this group, this is what I meant. She has opened the floodgates for participation and support for a group that favors:
liberty-destroying hate-crimes legislation;
same-sex marriage;
open homosexuality in the U.S. military;
special government perks for homosexuals.
I'm trying to figure out what these special government perks are. Do you all have any ideas about that? Free toasters? Babies to eat? WTF?
The vast Farah ego that is now being crushed by rejection from these conservatives has him claiming "last man standing" status to save society - with his "Taking America Back National Conference." Do I hear a plea for attendee$? Pull out the tiny violin...
We are witnessing the destruction of Washington's conservative establishment before our eyes.
And what a time for capitulation - on the very brink of the biggest electoral mid-term congressional victory in modern American history!
Again, I repeat: I'm not seeing anyone of prominence in the Republican Party or the conservative movement standing up to this wholesale retreat on some fundamental conservative issues.
...This kind of appeasement of the open celebration of sin represents the camel's nose under the "big tent" that some conservatives and Republicans are so hell-bent on building.
There is a way that every non-celebrity conservative and Republican who recognizes this capitulation by the conservative establishment in Washington for what it is can stand up and be counted.
Join me in Miami for what has been planned as an alternative to this kind of surrender - the "Taking America Back National Conference" Sept. 16-18.
Stand up proudly for marriage, freedom and national security with me.
Here are the high-caliber people who will stand up proudly with Joe. I'm not seeing the future of the GOP in this crowd.
Gov. Perry was speaking at a barbecue in Temple, Texas, and he asked those in the crowd to make a decision. "Would you rather live in a state like this, or in a state where a man can marry a man?"
-- From Michael Jones's piece at Change.org.
Is this what it's come down to? The hypocrisy fest is plumb out of control today.
No word on whether he took an empty beer can and crushed it on his forehead afterwards.
The Texas GOP platform made national news earlier this year, when it came to light that the official Republican Party position in the Lone Star state is not only against marriage equality, but in favor of arresting gay people solely because of their sexual orientation. How very .... Uganda of them.
But Gov. Perry's latest missive isn't his first foray into gay baiting for votes. Take a look at the script of a robocall that his campaign ran last November, when Gov. Perry was running in a primary election against current Texas Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchinson.
"With the president making homosexuality a protected class by signing the hate crimes bill, and Congress poised to vote on socialized health care, do you feel it is critical for more people to earnestly pray for our leaders? If yes, press 1. If no, press 2," the robocall said. I'm guessing it left off the "Press 3 if you'd like to vomit at this type of politics" option.
UPDATE: Thanks to Blender Stewart Price for the below audio of Perry's numnut remarks.
This is hysterical - Newt's going to have a hard slog ahead if he plans to run for President - his own party faithful are going to talk about his inability to understand the "Sanctity of Marriage." Via ThinkProgress:
U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn called out Democrats, Republicans, Newt Gingrich, the military-industrial complex, teachers unions and Medicare - to name a few - at a town hall meeting Friday. [...]
Coburn made it clear that he won't be on Newt Gingrich's 2012 presidential bandwagon. Gingrich "is a super-smart man, but he doesn't know anything about commitment to marriage," he said of the thrice-married former House speaker. "He's the last person I'd vote for for president of the United States. His life indicates he does not have a commitment to the character traits necessary to be a great president."
The "DREAM Now Series: Letters to Barack Obama" is a social media campaign that launched Monday, July 19, to underscore the urgent need to pass the DREAM Act. The Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act, S. 729, would help tens of thousands of young people, American in all but paperwork, to earn legal status, provided they graduate from U.S. high schools, have good moral character, and complete either two years of college or military service. With broader comprehensive immigration reform stuck in partisan gridlock, the time is now for the White House and Congress to step up and pass the DREAM Act!
Dear Mr. President,
My name is Lizbeth Mateo and I am undocumented. On May 17th, on the 56th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education, I, along with Mohammad Abdollahi, Yahaira Carrillo and two others, became the first undocumented students to risk deportation by staging a sit-in inside Senator McCain's office in Tucson, Arizona, to demand the immediate passage of the DREAM Act. As a result of that sit-in we were arrested, turned over to ICE, and we now face deportation
The 
Ty Walrod is the civilian co-director of OutServe. He graduated in 2006 from Washburn University. He runs OutServe's operations in San Francisco where he has worked at Deloitte LLP and Coverity Inc.
JD Smith is the active duty co-director of OutServe. He is a graduate of a U.S. service academy and a current officer in the U.S. armed forces.
Am I the only one willing to stand up for marriage as an institution of one man and one woman?
Farah is really pissed at Coulter - she's apparently earned as special place in Joe's Hell; look at the path of social destruction he now applies to her (keyboard alert);
We are witnessing the destruction of Washington's conservative establishment before our eyes.
This is hysterical - Newt's going to have a hard slog ahead if he plans to run for President - his own party faithful are going to talk about his inability to understand the "Sanctity of Marriage." Via 
