Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters

Monday, October 18, 2010

Justin Bieber becomes a victim of anti-gay bullying and other Monday midday news briefs

Justin Bieber -- Homophobic Bullying Victim - Rarely do I do the celebrity thing but this is just incredible. It just goes to show you that anyone can be targeted for anti-gay bullying.

Gay Marriage In Iowa Will Lead to Incest - I swear I didn't get my new copy of the "Radical Homosexual Agenda" which said this. Has someone been stealing my mail?

This is How Ex-Gays Influence the Civil Rights of Gays - And this guy, Ken Buck, is supposedly a favorite for the Colorado Senate seat. Ugh.

11 arrested in raid at Club Dallas - Guess what the next post on Peter LaBarbera's webpage will be about?

AOL article sanitizes Paul Cameron and bad science

Imagine my surprise Sunday morning when I was on AOL and saw the following:

Study: Gay Parents More Likely to Have Gay Kids

Walter Schumm knows what he's about to do is unpopular: publish a study arguing that gay parents are more likely to raise gay children than straight parents. But the Kansas State University family studies professor has a detailed analysis that past almost aggressively ideological researchers never had.

When one such researcher, Paul Cameron, published a paper in 2006 arguing that children of gay parents were more likely to be gay themselves, the response from the academic press was virulent, to say nothing of the popular press; the Southern Poverty Law Center, for instance, equated Cameron to a Nazi.

Not all of the vitriol was hyperbolic. Cameron does not tolerate gay people. He believes that "homosexual practice is injurious to society."

The gay press, as far back as the 1980s, labeled Cameron "the most dangerous anti-gay voice in America." Though Cameron was the first to publish papers on the dangers of secondhand smoke, the scientific community has abandoned him. The American Psychological Association long since dropped him from its membership for an "ethical" violation.

The article makes it sound as if Cameron is a victim of a "politically-correct" scientific community. And though the article's author, Paul Kix, does provide links which refutes that notion including the work of Cameron critic Dr. Gregory Herek (whom he labeled as part of the "gay press"), he was highly derelict in his responsibility to give a complete picture of Cameron's problem with credibility and why many in the scientific community have denounced him. It has nothing to do with political correctness, just the simple fact that Cameron couldn't be believed if you pumped him with a truckful of truth serum:

“(Cameron) misrepresents my findings and distorts them to advance his homophobic views. I make a very clear distinction in my writing between pedophilia and homosexuality, noting that adult males who sexually victimize young boys are either pedophilic or heterosexual, and that in my research I have not found homosexual men turning away from adult partners to children . . . I consider this totally unprofessional behavior on the part of Dr. Cameron and I want to bring this to your attention. He disgraces his profession.” - Dr. A. Nicholas Groth in 1984 after discovering that Cameron distorted his work.

"Paul Cameron (Nebraska) was dropped from membership for a violation of the Preamble to the Ethical Principles of Psychologists - American Psychological Association, 1983

The science and profession of psychology in Nebraska as represented by the Nebraska Psychological Association, formally dissociates itself from the representations and interpretations of scientific literature offered by Dr. Paul Cameron in his writings and public statements on sexuality. Further, the Nebraska Psychological Association would like it known that Dr. Cameron is not a member of the Association. Dr. Cameron was recently dropped from membership in the American Psychological Association for a violation of the Preamble to the Ethical Principles of Psychologists - Nebraska Psychological Association, 1984

Dr. Paul Cameron has consistently misinterpreted and misrepresented sociological research on sexuality, homosexuality, and lesbianism" - American Sociological Association, 1985

The Canadian Psychological Association takes the position that Dr. Paul Cameron has consistently misinterpreted and misrepresented research on sexuality, homosexuality, and lesbianism and thus, it formally disassociates itself from the representation and interpretations of scientific literature in his writings and public statements on sexuality. - Canadian Psychological Association, 1996

The crux of the AOL article was about a study by Schumm claiming that children of gay parents are more likely to be gay themselves. Now while in the article, Schumm asserts that he doesn't "go" for Cameron's type of research, he neglected to say that he has defended Cameron's methodologies in the past.
According to the site Box Turtle Bulletin:

Schumm is considerably more circumspect in how he uses Cameron’s research, but he did publish a 2000 article in Psychological Reports, Paul Cameron’s favorite publication outlet, defending Cameron’s research methods against Dr. Gregory Herek’s criticisms. Schumm is also listed as a member of Cameron’s “Editorial and Scientific Review Board” for the EJSSB (Empirical Journal of Same Sexual Behavior.)

The Box Turtle Bulletin 2008 article in question was talking about how Schumm testified in support of Florida's anti-gay adoption ban. In the AOL article, Schumm gave a bizarre defense as to why he testified for the adoption ban:

Schumm tells AOL News that he agreed to testify as one of the state's witnesses only if his evidence was not "slanted" for or against gay rights.

That is a hilarious assertion, seeing that Susan D. Cochran, a professor of epidemiology and statistics at UCLA and a witness against the ban, accused Schumm of distorting his own data. By the way, Florida's other witness in this case was the now infamous George Rekers.

And a recent post in Box Turtle Bulletin accused Schumm of distorting data in the same manner as Cameron in this supposed new study of his:

Schumm’s study is currently making a big splash on AOLNews, where, according to an article by Paul Kix, Schumm has supposedly conducted a new “robust” study examining whether Cameron was right: Do gay parents make gay children? Cameron’s paper, also published in JBS, was just another example of the shoddy “scholarship” and deliberate distortion of other publications that we’ve come to expect from him. Schumm’s paper seeks to replicate Cameron’s work while acknowledging some of the criticisms of Cameron’s 2006 paper. It’s important to emphasize however that Schumm only acknowledges some of the criticisms. The most important criticism — the completely non-random nature of the so-called “dataset” that Cameron used — Schumm not only ignores, but he repeats that same flaw and embellishes it in a grandly enlarged form.

So basically not only is Schumm's study not new but it's also not accurate. The real question is why was it so difficult for the AOL reporter, Kix, to do some real background research before writing this article.

Related posts:

Homophobic 'researcher' Paul Cameron in all of his repulsive glory

More homophobic lies from the Paul Cameron Poland tour

Why we should care about Paul Cameron

Friday, October 15, 2010

Know Your LGBT History - Boat Trip

Harassment of gay college student condemned and other Friday midday news briefs

Lesbians told to leave shopping center - Because they held hands and kissed. Oh the horror!

Michigan assistant AG's conduct condemned - About time more people get hip about this harassment.

NY: 14-year-old receives beatdown on bus by four teens who thought he was gay - There are no words for ^@# like this.

As campaign money pours in, so do complaints - It's about time someone complained to the IRS about the National Organization for Marriage.

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Should DADT end via Congress, the courts, or a stroke of Obama's pen?

Don't Ask, Don't Tell is a conundrum for the President. He claims that he is opposed to it but then his administration is fighting the court orders to end it. President Obama said to an audience in an MTV Town Hall:

"Congress explicitly passed a law that took away power of the executive branch to end this policy unilaterally," he said. It is "not a situation where with a stroke of the pen I can end this policy."

But many lgbts want it to end now, period.

On the risk of sounding wishy-washy, I can see both sides.

The policy is wrong, point blank. But it affects a lot of people. Now I know polls say that many in the military and in the country don't have a problem with lgbts serving openly, but to me, the trick IS how the policy is done away with.

Something that will affect the military on a complex level cannot be taken care of with a simple stroke of a pen. I don't care if Obama is the president. If he does it this way or in the courts rather than through Congress, it could create a resentment of the lgbt community and a backlash

And backlashes seem to be something that the lgbt community never plan for. I remember when Lawrence vs. Texas was struck down. The lgbt community was up in a celebration. We had finally knocked the sodomy laws down after years of having them over our heads as sort of a "Sword of Damocles."

"That will show people that we aren't inferior," we seemed to say.

And the religious right came back and said "you wanna bet."

By partly using a statement by Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia about how the elimination of the sodomy laws would cause gay marriages, the religious right galvanized themselves and the nation into an anti-gay marriage fervor that whipped us like government mules.

And we are still feeling the effects of that.

It's definitely something for folks to remember in lieu of the "we want it and we want it NOW" attitude.

On the other hand, again the policy is wrong. If lgbts want to serve openly, they should be able to and I understand totally the point of view of lgbts who are angry at the President over this. Obama did promise to end Don't Ask, Don't Tell. And you shouldn't have to wait on rights which should already be yours. You don't feel like you are being treated like a human being. It takes away your dignity and self esteem.

So I am going to pray on the matter.

Meanwhile, if you feel so inclined, please tell me what you think about what's going on.

BUT don't be rude.

Essence runs piece on African-American lesbian wedding and other Thursday midday news briefs

Bridal Bliss: Love at First Sight - Essence magazine runs a piece on African-American lesbian wedding. A pretty big deal as far as I'm concerned.

'I have a scheme': NOM still co-opting Martin Luther King's legacy - Religious right group trying to steal MLK's legacy. And many black pastors are silent about it. Shame.

Christine O’Donnell Compares DADT Repeal to Adulterous Affairs - She is so much fun to listen to.

One Year Since the Introduction of the Uganda Anti-Homosexuality Bill – 2009 - Let's not forget about this sad anniversary.

Perez Hilton Swears Off Bullying and Outing - Okay I am going to be nice here. Good for him.

Councilman Joel Burns - It gets better

One of the most memorable speeches of the year. Councilman Joel Burns commenting on the recent suicides of lgbt youth with a touching personal story causing him to break down in tears.

Forget all of the stuff you hear about the "homosexual lifestyle" and the "radical gay agenda." THIS MAN is Gay America personified.

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

The top 12 lies of Tony Perkins and the Family Research Council

Recently, Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council published a piece in The Washington Post spouting his usual brand of anti-gay distortions.

And he was lambasted from all corners. From Box Turtle Bulletin, to Pam's House Blend, to Media Matters. Even those responding to his post pointed out Perkins's deceptive tactics of half-citing studies and relying on bad research.

Since I was ill yesterday, I missed the fun and games. It made me feel like Walter Payton finally making it to the Superbowl and not being able to score a touchdown.

But what happened yesterday was an unfortunate rare occurrence - a religious right figure caught red-handed publicly lying and called out for it. That's a problem to me. Why does it happen so rarely?

What Perkins tried to do yesterday was not an anomaly. It happens all of the time. In their talking points, on their web pages, and even in their so-called research papers (usually done by one of their phony experts), religious right groups distort legitimate science or rely on junk science to create a false image of the lgbt community.

And every time they do it, they need to be called on it. And someone needs to be keeping score.
So in that spirit, allow me to present past posts illustrating this point:

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 - FRC employee Peter 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 uses outdated work and compares married United States couples to unmarried gay couples in casual relationships from other parts of the world

Paladino don't like gays but he loves gay money and other Wednesday midday news briefs

Being out sick on a day when all sorts of interesting things happen is not my idea of fun. Oh well, you have heard all of the good stuff (i.e. DADT, Florida and gay adoption) so here is some new stuff:

Paladino Rented To Gay Clubs, Son William Paladino Operated One - He thinks we are bad people but hey, we got money too.

Family “Research” Council Gets It Wrong On LGBT Mental Health - The Family Research Council's Tony Perkins was able to present a column in the Washington Post in which he pulled more of his anti-gay deceptions. The only thing is that he got caught big time by Box Turtle Bulletin and the commentators under his piece.

A University Professor Making Prejudiced, Transphobic Statements About Trans People's Civil Rights - Read this piece because it illustrates a huge roadblock that will be used against ENDA.

A Teachable Moment: Pro-gay parent activists? In Alabama? - An excellent story.

Jackson, ADF Take Fight Against DC Marriage to SCOTUS - Gotta love their chutzpah.

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

The MOST RACIST anti-Obama pitch you will ever see - Operation Black Storm

I'm still a little lightheaded when I saw this. It's just . . . strange:

From Operation Black Storm:

And what is Operation Black Storm? You won't believe it but it's a pitch to elect black conservatives to Congress.

From People for the American Way:

Patriot PAC has unveiled Operation Black Storm, a national coalition effort to unite the nation behind the 15 black conservative congressional candidates running in key districts around the country as Republican nominees for the upcoming November elections.

Helping to lead the charge among the Tea Party and Patriot movement in America for substantive political reform, Operation Black Storm will fight to fundamentally reshape the makeup of the U.S. Congress on November 2, 2010.

. . . This coalition has put its collective weight behind these highly qualified conservative black candidates to provide the resources and exposure they need to win on Election Day. Coalition members helping with voter education and candidate scorecards include Break the Bonds of Tyranny, Unite in Action, The ConservativeMESSENGER, The Frederick Douglass Foundation, and The Black Sphere, among others.

And the kicker? On the website under the above videos are the pictures of the 15 black conservatives wanting to be elected behind this mess. Call it what you want, I say it's an endorsement of the insane, paranoid message in the video.

And by the way, this isn't a joke. There are legitimate organizations pushing this. The Frederick Douglass Foundation claims to be

. . . a public policy and educational organization which brings the sanctity of free market and limited government ideas to bear on the hardest problems facing our nation. We are a collection of pro-active individuals committed to developing innovative and new approaches to today's problems with the assistance of elected officials, scholars from universities and colleges and community activist.

Black Sphere is an extreme right-wing blog/organization.

And Conservative Messenger seems to be an organization run by one man, K. Carl Smith, who "claims" to espouse the free labor system of government

Quite simply, this is the most God-awful piece of crap I have ever seen in my life. It goes beyond the ideas of respecting black conservatives simply because they have a difference of opinion when it comes to the majority of the African-American community when it comes to the ballot box.

It's like a mad scientist crossed the DNA of a stereotypical Uncle Tom with that of a stereotypical House Negro, made clones, weaned them all on Fox News and then sent them out loose in the world.

I think we need holy water and 15 copies of The Autobiography of Malcolm X.

If that doesn't work, nothing will.

Article: American Family Association turns a blind eye to racism and employee abuse

Sorry for not posting but I've been bedridden all morning. Sick as a dog.

But I did manage to find something juicy:

I've long since believed that the American Family Association lacks a moral foundation and now a new article has justified this. From Religious Dispatches comes former employees who attests to the nasty attitude the so-called pro-family group's not-so Christian attitude and a lot of it has to do with the controversial Bryan Fischer:

Fischer, who hosts a daily radio show on AFA's radio network of 180 stations, has, among other things, claimed that inbreeding causes Muslims to be stupid and violent; called for the deportation of Muslims and for banning them from military service; claimed that gay sex is "domestic terrorism"; called gay adoption a "terrible, terrible, inexcusable, inhumane thing to do to children"; and claimed that Hitler and his Stormtroopers were all gay.

. . . According to former employees of the AFA, the views represented by Fischer are not only tolerated within the organization, but any opposition to its anti-gay, anti-Muslim, anti-immigrant invective—including reliance on white nativist sources in the AFA's media programs—is dismissed. What's worse, former employees say, anyone questioning such attitudes as un-Christian is denigrated, and in some cases forced out.

And here is something interesting about One News Now, the phony news service run by the AFA and the subject of many of my posts:

The AFA's radio and news division, in particular, said (former employee Allie) Martin, had become a place where authority could not be questioned, and where the "news" was nothing more than a mouthpiece for conservative "sources" whose views were portrayed as fact. (The Values Voter Summit award citation to Wildmon described One News Now as a "respected online news service.") And those views were extreme, even by Martin’s standards of conservative evangelicalism. He said that the director of the news service, Fred Jackson, had a "hateful, hateful attitude" that "carried over" into stories. Martin described editorial meetings in which "liberals were accused of hating their kids," while Chad Groening, who covers immigration, described gay people as "degenerates" and "reprobates."

In the newsroom, said Martin, "I saw the tone of stories develop in a way I thought was disturbing."

"They get people as news sources to say what they want to say but can't say," he added.

After Obama got elected, said Martin, "this went up to a whole new level, we have to vilify this man."

Even without Martin's words, you can easily look at the One News Now and see how true this is. Almost every article having to do with Obama is negative and even the columns (whether they be by Thomas Sowell, Larry Elder, Peter Heck, or Michelle Malkin) vilify the president in tones that go way beyond ugly.

Posner's article is an eye-opener for those not familiar with the AFA and confirms all of the suspicions of those of us who are familiar with the AFA's phony Christian perspective.

Monday, October 11, 2010

NoMoreDownLow.TV speaks to the African-American lgbt perspective

Before I start with this post: No doubt everyone is talking about GetEqual's protest at the Democratic fundraiser. I understand their anger and frustration but sometimes I wish groups like this would protest organizations like Focus on the Family, Concerned Women for America, or the American Family Association with as much fervor as they protest President Obama. This problem of our equality didn't start with Obama and it won't end with him, no matter what he does or doesn't sign. As long as religious right groups are free to propagandize and push their mess without a backlash, they will continue to have more power in Congress and in public.

In spite of all of the hoopla going on, I want to point everyone to this incredible bit of news:

To coincide with National Coming Out Day, the web series NoMoreDownLow.TV launches its premiere episode today featuring interviews with Wanda Sykes, Wilson Cruz, photographer Duane Cramer, among other members of the African American lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community.

Co-hosted by Jonathan Plummer and Janora McDuffie, NoMoreDownLow.TV is a groundbreaking, one-of a-kind lifestyle and entertainment series dedicated to dispelling myths and stereotypes about same gender-loving people in the African American community.

Watch the episode at http://www.nomoredownlow.tv/

Interestingly, on Thursday Oprah interviewed J. L. King, who wrote the best-selling book “On the Down Low: A Journey into the Lives of ‘Straight’ Black Men Who Sleep With Men.” He originally introduced the term, the “down low,” to mainstream America on The Oprah Winfrey Show in 2004.

Executive producer of NoMoreDownLow.TV, Earnest Winborne said he named the series “No More Down Low” as a response to the negative implications King’s book had on the black gay community. “Our show will put a real face on same gender loving people who are traditionally overlooked by the mainstream media. We’ll feature people who are open and honest about who they are and those who are contributing to their communities in the fields of entertainment, sports, politics, health, music, and social activism.”

A show like this is needed and I hope it gets a lot of attention.

Son of anti-gay professor comes out and other Monday midday news briefs

Paladino Warns Against Homosexual “Brainwashing” - Say what you will about tea party candidates, they certainly aren't boring.

"Progressive Hunter" - Pay attention. You will be hearing about this again and again.

Son of anti-gay professor comes out - How is this for kismet?

Lesbian couple ejected from Ravens game - What can you say?

Let us love one another as well as come out of the closet

Today is National Coming Out Day and this year has a certain degree of poignancy due to the recent suicides of lgbt youth.

But I want us to do something a bit different this year because it's about more than just coming out.

Let's never forget about the children, but don't leave the adults out of the equation.

Just because you are over 18 doesn't mean you don't get hit with the slings and arrows of hopelessness.

Just because you are an adult doesn't mean that the realization that some people have awful preconceived notions about your life simply because you are gay won't leave you bedridden wishing to end it all.

Take it from me when I say that I know this on a personal level.

And please don't start bashing anyone because of what I say. I've done all I have done and said all I have said about the religious right. And I will continue to do so. Some people have attacked President Obama and they will continue to do so.

But all in all, we are the solution to this problem.

I don't mind telling you that there are some facets of the lgbt community that I'm unfamiliar with. I'm not a lesbian nor am I transgender so no, there are some things they go through that I will probably never understand.

But that doesn't mean I should dismiss their worries, fears, and concerns. And it definitely doesn't mean that when I see a lesbian or transgender whom I don't know that I shouldn't give then a friendly greeting.

For this National Coming Out Day, we are all going to get together in our groups and have our vigils complete with speeches, lighted candles, and tears.

But what about afterwards?

Why do we need to wait for our children to die before getting to know and respect each other? Why is it that death on this scale suddenly induces the Scarlett O'Hara in crisis mode in each of us when the most simple thing for us to do would be to treat each other with dignity and respect at all times.

For those who aren't transgender to respect those who are.

For those who are from a high socioeconomic background to respect those who aren't and vice versa?

For those who have their "circle of friends" to maybe say hello and make conversation with someone not in their clique.

For those who may or may not believe in religion or politics to respect the differences of opinion that their fellow lgbts bring to the table.

We talk about self-love but let's not forget about love and respect for each other no matter what race, religion, or background. We take the word "gay community" for granted because usually when we speak it, our minds gravitate to those who look like us, think like us, and at times behave like us.

The "gay community" is universal and diverse. No doubt people agree with me when I say this. But instead of simply agreeing with me, how about acting like you mean it.

Sunday, October 10, 2010

We need to STOP the HOMOSEXUAL MENACE!!

I'm sorry people. I love you but Peter LaBarbera, Matt Barber, and the rest have gotten to me. I am now dedicating my life to "stopping the homosexual menace."

And my first act is to show this very informative video courtesy of youtube: