Making fun of the news and the people who are in it....
"I just know those fags are behind this push against me."
Bush Loses Ally as Delay Resigns - story
Thursday, September 29, 2005
Monday, September 26, 2005
The Tale of Two Penguins, Betrayal, and the Christian Right Frenzy
Remember Roy and Silo? The couple made headlines a few months back as the loving pair of gay penguins. During their six year relationship, they adopted a rock and tried to hatch it. Zoo keepers, after trying to break them up first by introducing some swanky female penguins, finally gave up and supplied them with a real penguin egg to hatch. They faithfully hatched the egg and successfully raised Tango, a baby girl penguin.
Normally, this would be a story zoo keepers would joke and laugh about over a few beers at Happy Hour.
Not quite.
Somewhere along the way, the Happy Hour story made headlines. Gay activists proudly pointed to the pair as proof that homosexuality is a natural state, not a perverted choice as some would like us to believe. International protests broke out when zoo keepers tried to convert Roy and Silo using their own version of an ex-gay ministry - by separating them and introducing female penguins.
Christians and the conservative right brushed the story off. "Penguins are animals," they said. Animals do all sorts of things people would never do. That's what separates us from the animals.
Then along comes the summer surprise hit - March of the Penguins. The documentary tells the tale of the emperor penguin and how the male and female battle the harsh Antarctic winter for months on end to raise their little penguin. Christians latched onto the story as being symbolic of the importance of monogamous relationships and the need for a devoted mother and father in raising children. If we all were more like the emperor penguin, God would smile upon us and we would be blessed as individuals and as a nation.
While the Christians were busy praising the emperor penguin as being good role models for people to learn the God-inspired lesson of monogamy, faithfulness, and parental devotion to the children, something quite extraordinary transpired in Roy and Silo's household.
First, their daughter, Tango, grew up and paired off with another female penguin. Then Silo's eye began wandering after the pair were kicked out of their nesting area by more aggressive penguins. This past mating season, he caught glimpse of a female penguin from California named Scrappy. Silo left Roy for Scrappy and Roy has been left standing in the corner, alone and staring at the wall.
The Christian Right are beside themselves with joy. On the Focus on the Family website - a gay hate group founded by the influential radio host James C. Dobson - a commentator, Warren Throckmorten, wrote: "For those who have pointed to Roy and Silo as models for us all, these developments must be disappointing. Some gay activists might actually be angry."
Not exactly, though.
As Roberta Sklar, a spokeswoman for the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, put it: "There's almost an obsession with questions such as, 'Is sexual orientation a birthright or a choice?' And looking at the behavior of two penguins in captivity is not a way to answer that question."
Of course, that doesn't stop the Christians from pointing the accusatory finger. Silo and Roy went through a phase and in the process of going against nature, hurt a child by turning their daughter into a lesbian. If that isn't proof enough that homosexuality is unnatural and that homosexuals make bad parents, then the Great Social Experiment of allowing gay marriages and gay parents will surely bring the wrath of God upon us.
At least the penguins are dressed in formal attire for the Coming of the Lord's Wrath.
Oh, and in case you've read this far and are a little concerned: just because penguins waddle around all prim and proper in their tuxedos, that doesn't make them sophisticated Messengers of God trying to teach us moral behaviors.
They are living their life the way God created them to live it. Nothing more. Nothing less.
Be sure to visit Little Guy Protest and submit your bill to Congress asking them to repeal the Defense of Marriage act and reaffirm states' rights by honoring, without prejudice, individual state marriage laws.
Normally, this would be a story zoo keepers would joke and laugh about over a few beers at Happy Hour.
Not quite.
Somewhere along the way, the Happy Hour story made headlines. Gay activists proudly pointed to the pair as proof that homosexuality is a natural state, not a perverted choice as some would like us to believe. International protests broke out when zoo keepers tried to convert Roy and Silo using their own version of an ex-gay ministry - by separating them and introducing female penguins.
Christians and the conservative right brushed the story off. "Penguins are animals," they said. Animals do all sorts of things people would never do. That's what separates us from the animals.
Then along comes the summer surprise hit - March of the Penguins. The documentary tells the tale of the emperor penguin and how the male and female battle the harsh Antarctic winter for months on end to raise their little penguin. Christians latched onto the story as being symbolic of the importance of monogamous relationships and the need for a devoted mother and father in raising children. If we all were more like the emperor penguin, God would smile upon us and we would be blessed as individuals and as a nation.
While the Christians were busy praising the emperor penguin as being good role models for people to learn the God-inspired lesson of monogamy, faithfulness, and parental devotion to the children, something quite extraordinary transpired in Roy and Silo's household.
First, their daughter, Tango, grew up and paired off with another female penguin. Then Silo's eye began wandering after the pair were kicked out of their nesting area by more aggressive penguins. This past mating season, he caught glimpse of a female penguin from California named Scrappy. Silo left Roy for Scrappy and Roy has been left standing in the corner, alone and staring at the wall.
The Christian Right are beside themselves with joy. On the Focus on the Family website - a gay hate group founded by the influential radio host James C. Dobson - a commentator, Warren Throckmorten, wrote: "For those who have pointed to Roy and Silo as models for us all, these developments must be disappointing. Some gay activists might actually be angry."
Not exactly, though.
As Roberta Sklar, a spokeswoman for the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, put it: "There's almost an obsession with questions such as, 'Is sexual orientation a birthright or a choice?' And looking at the behavior of two penguins in captivity is not a way to answer that question."
Of course, that doesn't stop the Christians from pointing the accusatory finger. Silo and Roy went through a phase and in the process of going against nature, hurt a child by turning their daughter into a lesbian. If that isn't proof enough that homosexuality is unnatural and that homosexuals make bad parents, then the Great Social Experiment of allowing gay marriages and gay parents will surely bring the wrath of God upon us.
At least the penguins are dressed in formal attire for the Coming of the Lord's Wrath.
Oh, and in case you've read this far and are a little concerned: just because penguins waddle around all prim and proper in their tuxedos, that doesn't make them sophisticated Messengers of God trying to teach us moral behaviors.
They are living their life the way God created them to live it. Nothing more. Nothing less.
Be sure to visit Little Guy Protest and submit your bill to Congress asking them to repeal the Defense of Marriage act and reaffirm states' rights by honoring, without prejudice, individual state marriage laws.
Monday, August 29, 2005
The Christian Agenda Exposed Part II
In Michigan, they're pushing to eliminate domestic partnership benefits. (story) In California, they're pushing to ban same sex marriage and civil unions, eliminate domestic benefits, and deny children of same sex couples the same legal protections every other child is afforded. (story).
In Massaachusetts, they're willing to throw out a refernedum that would give voters a chance to ban same sex marriage, but leave provisions for civil unions in favor for an outright ban on same sex marriage and civil unions.
Who are they? Various Christian groups and "concerned" citizens. In all three states, the leading opposition groups are headed by an organization usually having some positive name that includes key words like "family" and "concerned" conjoined with official sounding terms like "institute" or "research". These organizations all have their roots with the national organization, The Family Research Council, a known homophobic organization.
The Michigan Family Institute is no exception.
In 2004, when the Massachusetts Supreme Court ruled that the state's constitution allowed same sex marriages and gay couples could not be denied the basic civil right to marry, the Michigan Family Institute kicked into high gear. They worked hard to gain enough signatures to put a referendum through the state legislature that would ban same sex marriage, but allow civil unions.
Call it panic mode. They needed something fast to counter the gay threat to marriage.
On September 14, the state legislature is set to vote on the referendum to allow it to be put before the voters. Not surprisingly, in the almost two years since the Christian groups pushed for the referendum, they are now abandoning it. In their own words, "This amendment must be defeated."
They shout that commandment in bold face letters on their website followed by a step-by-step plan to defeat the 2006 referendum and get the more restrictive 2008 referendum in its place. They've had almost two years to come up with an alternative that not only bans same sex unions, but would also ban civil unions. The implication, of course, is that same sex couples would then be legally denied many of the state benefits of being married - including domestic partnership and legal protection for the children of same sex couples.
The argument has never been about protecting marriage. It has always been about marginalizing homosexuals to the fringes of society. It has always been about sweeping the gay problem back into the closet - and throwing the key away.
Don't be fooled by their positive spin. The Christian agenda is clear. Demonize homosexuals as a threat to society. Once the threat is established in the minds of the average person, controlling the gay problem becomes easy.
And it will still be socially acceptable to preach against their sins, blame them for the ills of society, and to hate them.
Without the legalized discrimination, more and more people will see their rhetoric for what it is - intolerance, bigotry, and/or hate.
Tuesday, August 23, 2005
The Christian Agenda Exposed
Related Stories: Michigan Denies Domestic Benefits
Even though the push for legal, same sex marriage got its start back in the early 1970's, it wasn't until 1993 that the battle began in full force. That was the year that the Hawaii Supreme Court suggested that a ban on same sex marriage may violate the state constitution.
Conservatives and the religious right gathered in full strength. Since then, their battle cry has boiled down to an argument of preserving the sacred institution of marriage and nothing about denying anyone rights.
In 2003, when Massachusetts became the first state to legalize same sex marriage, a firestorm swept the country. That code phrase for legalized discrimination, "protect the sanctity of marriage" mobilized 11 states to pass constitutional amendments defining marriage as between a man and a woman, only.
"It's not about denying rights," the voters were told. "Gays can enjoy all the rights they want in some form of legal civil union."
Voters bought that cheap slogan hook, line, and sinker. Some still do.
But now the truth of the Christian agenda is being exposed. The same sex marriage arguments are all about rights. No matter what you call a same sex relationship - marriage, civil union, a couple with some marriage rights - the fear of the Christian Right is that those people will become acceptable in society. No society can ever accept that - at any cost.
Now, the Christian Right isn't even bothering to hide their true agenda.
In Michigan last year, voters passed an amendment to the state constitution which read "To secure and preserve the benefits of marriage for our society and for future generations of children, the union of one man and one woman in marriage shall be the only agreement recognized as marriage or similar union for any purpose."
Those last six words, or similar union for any purpose, were used to negate the domestic partnership benefits already set into law. While the judge as not yet ruled on the challenge to the legal opinion from the state's attorney general that negated the domestic benefits laws, one of the arguments presented was that the intent of the law had nothing to do with denying benefits to same sex couples. An attorney for the governor of Michigan even presented a brochure put out by backers of the amendment - primarily an offshoot of the group, Focus on the Family - that clearly said the amendment would maintain the status quo of Michigan, i.e. domestic benefit laws weren't in jeopardy.
Gary Glenn, president of the Midland-based American Family Association of Michigan - a primary backer of the amendment, had another story to tell the reporters. The secondary intent of the amendment, and the purpose of those six words, were to ensure the traditional marriage would be honored "including the provision of taxpayer-financed spousal benefits," he claimed.
He just may be the first person to publically expose the real Christian agenda.
Jumping over to California, the state Supreme court just ruled that same sex couples have the same parental responsibilities as their heterosexual counterparts, including child support and custody rights.
Now one would think this is a clear cut case of protecting the children and has nothing to do with same sex marriage.
Wrong.
After the ruling, Randy Thomasson, president of Campaign for Children and Families, which opposes gay marriage, said the court's position "goes against nature."
"Despite junk science and frustrating rulings like this, children still need a mother and a father," Thomasson said. "A child does not have two mommies or two daddies; a child comes into this world because she has a mother who gave her egg and a father who gave his sperm."
The court's stand "ignores the self-evident truth that God designed a man and a woman to fit together and participate in the miracle of procreation," he said.
What's he saying? The children of same sex couples are less deserving of protection of the law than children born to a man and a woman.
Still think it's not about keeping homosexuals as second class citizens? Denying them equal footing in our society? Consider this. Opponents of same sex marriage in California are diligently trying to get several referendums on next year's ballot that would roll back many of the gains in domestic benefits.
The Christian agenda is clear. After more than twelve years of lying to the voters, their real goal on the same sex marriage issue has nothing to do with "protecting the sanctity of marriage" and everything to do with sweeping homosexuals back into the closet.
And at least in Michigan and California, at the expense of the children if need be.
Tuesday, August 16, 2005
A Ray Of Hope?
On a follow up about the two gay Iranian teens who were hung (story):
A ray of hope? An excerpt from an article on 365gay.com covering this story:
Is gay life in Iran as dire as some reports on this case suggest?
According to a new interview with the publishers of the Iranian gay magazine MAHA conducted by the Web site GayRussia.ru, it is not.
The magazine is distributed from inside Iran via e-mail in PDF format. (If it were published on the Web or in traditional magazine format, it likely would be blocked or banned by the government.) The magazine has 600 subscribers.
"After eight months of hard work, eight issues and four supplements have appeared, covering issues such as gays and family, depression among GLBT, a report about lesbians in Iran, etc.," the publishers wrote in the e-mail interview. "MAHA also publishes a separate supplement for gay aid and to help GLBT to find a friend. Today MAHA has two editors, one gay and one lesbian, and MAHA's readers are all over the country and even some Iranian GLBT in exile."
The publishers said gays are no longer routinely persecuted in Iran.
"The regime does not systematically persecute gays anymore, there are still some gay Web sites, there are some parks and cinemas where everyone knows that these places are meeting places for gays," they wrote. "Furthermore it is legal in Iran that a transsexual applies for sex change and it is fully accepted by the government.
"There are some media which sometimes -- not often -- write about such issues. Having said that, the Islamic law, according to which gay punishment is death, is still in force, but it is thought [to be] not much followed by the regime nowadays.
"Thanks to the Internet and contact with the international community, people get the info, and Iran society has changed a lot, and support for GLBT rights is growing in Iran, though we still have a long way to go," the publishers said. "On the whole, we are optimistic about the future as Iran's situation cannot continue [as is] and people are pushing for reforms and changes."
A ray of hope? An excerpt from an article on 365gay.com covering this story:
Is gay life in Iran as dire as some reports on this case suggest?
According to a new interview with the publishers of the Iranian gay magazine MAHA conducted by the Web site GayRussia.ru, it is not.
The magazine is distributed from inside Iran via e-mail in PDF format. (If it were published on the Web or in traditional magazine format, it likely would be blocked or banned by the government.) The magazine has 600 subscribers.
"After eight months of hard work, eight issues and four supplements have appeared, covering issues such as gays and family, depression among GLBT, a report about lesbians in Iran, etc.," the publishers wrote in the e-mail interview. "MAHA also publishes a separate supplement for gay aid and to help GLBT to find a friend. Today MAHA has two editors, one gay and one lesbian, and MAHA's readers are all over the country and even some Iranian GLBT in exile."
The publishers said gays are no longer routinely persecuted in Iran.
"The regime does not systematically persecute gays anymore, there are still some gay Web sites, there are some parks and cinemas where everyone knows that these places are meeting places for gays," they wrote. "Furthermore it is legal in Iran that a transsexual applies for sex change and it is fully accepted by the government.
"There are some media which sometimes -- not often -- write about such issues. Having said that, the Islamic law, according to which gay punishment is death, is still in force, but it is thought [to be] not much followed by the regime nowadays.
"Thanks to the Internet and contact with the international community, people get the info, and Iran society has changed a lot, and support for GLBT rights is growing in Iran, though we still have a long way to go," the publishers said. "On the whole, we are optimistic about the future as Iran's situation cannot continue [as is] and people are pushing for reforms and changes."
Monday, August 15, 2005
Why NARTH Is a Hate Group
Note: This is a rough draft that some day I'll polish up for my website.
From Narth's own website:
...says Nicolosi. "And, when the research comes in--as indeed it has--showing gays and lesbians to be less psychologically healthy than straights."
"Also, many people coming from a homosexual background have, sadly, spent so many years in self-protection and self-absorption that they have difficulty in giving to others."
"That doesn't make the reality of change any less valid than it does for the alcoholic who returns to drinking, or the anorexic who returns to unhealthy eating patterns." (Reinforces NARTH's position that homosexuality is a disease or disorder that requires treatment.)
"The conclusion arrived at by the researchers, based upon these figures, is that the rate of abuse between urban homosexual men in intimate relationships 'is a very serious public health problem.' The study compared the rate of abuse among homosexual men (22%) to the rate of abuse to heterosexual men (8%) and concluded that homosexual men are more violent.
"Unfortunately, the AMA appears to have accepted the unsubstantiated claim that the numerous psychological problems and self-destructive behavior found among persons who self-identify as gay, lesbian, or bisexual (GLB) are caused by social discrimination. It has ignored substantial evidence that these negative outcomes are related to the homosexuality itself."
Citing Stein (1999, Oxford University Press), they find corroboration in his conclusion that "Even if one's sexual orientation is primarily biological and not a choice, much of what is ethically relevant about being a lesbian or gay man is not biologically based and is not determined, [such as] engaging in sexual acts with a person of the same gender."
"The Concept of Disorder Derives from a Moral Concept" - Subtitle to an article that links homosexuality to pedophilia. The article goes on to explain that the APA ignores moral considerations when determining what is and what is not psychological disorder. In simple terms, if you believe something is morally wrong, then it is a disorder that requires treatment. That is their philosophy with homosexuality - they believe it is morally wrong so they fix it. See above quote.
Ok, you get the idea. Let's face it. Hate groups are smart, today. The KKK doesn't go around saying "The niggers are inferior to Whites." Nope. They couch politically correct language between questionable studies and personal testimonials to "prove" their stance that Black people are inferior to Whites.
Narth uses the same technique. They use professional sounding language to hide their two basic principles:
From Narth's own website:
...says Nicolosi. "And, when the research comes in--as indeed it has--showing gays and lesbians to be less psychologically healthy than straights."
"Also, many people coming from a homosexual background have, sadly, spent so many years in self-protection and self-absorption that they have difficulty in giving to others."
"That doesn't make the reality of change any less valid than it does for the alcoholic who returns to drinking, or the anorexic who returns to unhealthy eating patterns." (Reinforces NARTH's position that homosexuality is a disease or disorder that requires treatment.)
"The conclusion arrived at by the researchers, based upon these figures, is that the rate of abuse between urban homosexual men in intimate relationships 'is a very serious public health problem.' The study compared the rate of abuse among homosexual men (22%) to the rate of abuse to heterosexual men (8%) and concluded that homosexual men are more violent.
"Unfortunately, the AMA appears to have accepted the unsubstantiated claim that the numerous psychological problems and self-destructive behavior found among persons who self-identify as gay, lesbian, or bisexual (GLB) are caused by social discrimination. It has ignored substantial evidence that these negative outcomes are related to the homosexuality itself."
Citing Stein (1999, Oxford University Press), they find corroboration in his conclusion that "Even if one's sexual orientation is primarily biological and not a choice, much of what is ethically relevant about being a lesbian or gay man is not biologically based and is not determined, [such as] engaging in sexual acts with a person of the same gender."
"The Concept of Disorder Derives from a Moral Concept" - Subtitle to an article that links homosexuality to pedophilia. The article goes on to explain that the APA ignores moral considerations when determining what is and what is not psychological disorder. In simple terms, if you believe something is morally wrong, then it is a disorder that requires treatment. That is their philosophy with homosexuality - they believe it is morally wrong so they fix it. See above quote.
Ok, you get the idea. Let's face it. Hate groups are smart, today. The KKK doesn't go around saying "The niggers are inferior to Whites." Nope. They couch politically correct language between questionable studies and personal testimonials to "prove" their stance that Black people are inferior to Whites.
Narth uses the same technique. They use professional sounding language to hide their two basic principles:
- Homosexuality is a disease that can be cured either through "incremental change" to heterosexuality or by celibacy
- Homosexuality is a moral choice even is a biological component can be proven
They believe homosexuality is caused by one of two factors: either the failure of the self-identified gay to have formed a meaningful relationship early on with his/her same-gender parent or they were victims of childhood sexual abuse.
Both presumptions are easily disputed, especially in today's world where many heterosexual children grow up in single-parent households. Why aren't they all gay?
So yes, NARTH is nothing more than a prejudicial hate group.
More Evidence of Biological Link To Homosexuality
More and more, the evidence seems to point to a biological link to homosexuality.
The interesting point in the above article is that the gay rams' part of the brain that is thought to control the sex drive is half the size of the brains of hetero sheep. A study a couple of years ago in Canada found that the part of the human brain that controls the sex drive was half the size in gay men as opposed to heterosexual men. Another study a few years ago showed a statistically significant correlation between homosexuality and being the second born son. Something like almost 2/3rds of homosexual men were the second born son. Researchers theorized that possibly the mother's body "remembered" giving birth to one male child, so with the second male child, not enough estrogen or estrogen-like hormones were produced to fully "masculinize" the brain. They have found the same effects in the gay rams.
Despite the growing evidence of a biological link, no doubt many Christians will cling to their "love the sinner, hate the sin" philosophy.
Translation: gay bashing will be around for a long time.
Thursday, August 11, 2005
Two Iranian Gay Teens' Last Day
The last day of life for Mahmoud Asgari, 16, and Ayaz Marhoni, 18. Both were publically hung for being gay.
Wednesday, August 10, 2005
Write Your Own Bill
We're still short on participation, so once again, we're running the Write Your Own Bill Campaign again this month. If you wrote your bill last month, there's no need to write one again this month.
If you wrote one in May or June and never received a response from your senators or representatives, you may want to write another one this month. Sometimes you have to repeat yourself a few times before your elected officials hear you.
For those of you who signed up for the semi-monthly newsletter, yes, I'm a few days late. I hope to have it out by mid month.
I do thank everyone who has at least looked at the site. I extend a big hearty thank you to everyone who participated in the campaign and have shown an interest in keeping updated by joining the newsletter mailing list. Feel free to click on the link above and join the newsletter if you haven't already. It's a painless couple of clicks to do.
If you wrote one in May or June and never received a response from your senators or representatives, you may want to write another one this month. Sometimes you have to repeat yourself a few times before your elected officials hear you.
For those of you who signed up for the semi-monthly newsletter, yes, I'm a few days late. I hope to have it out by mid month.
I do thank everyone who has at least looked at the site. I extend a big hearty thank you to everyone who participated in the campaign and have shown an interest in keeping updated by joining the newsletter mailing list. Feel free to click on the link above and join the newsletter if you haven't already. It's a painless couple of clicks to do.
Monday, August 08, 2005
Teen Sent To Ex-Gay Ministry Update
Zach's back - sort of.
On Aug 1, he posted a new blog entry. In the blog he railed against groups using his blog for their "one-sided (biased) agendas" and that "homosexuality is still a factor in my life" but "not who I am, it never has been".
Ah, yes - the homophobic key word -agenda. People who have followed Zach's blog insist the latest is not his entry. The writing style and "voice" is different. Zach went so far as to delete all prior posts so that there is no record of what he has said - and how he said it - in the past.
He hasn't posted since Aug 1. Hasn't finished his brainwashing training, yet, I reckon.
Aug Reminder: The Aug effort is underway. Read more....
On Aug 1, he posted a new blog entry. In the blog he railed against groups using his blog for their "one-sided (biased) agendas" and that "homosexuality is still a factor in my life" but "not who I am, it never has been".
Ah, yes - the homophobic key word -agenda. People who have followed Zach's blog insist the latest is not his entry. The writing style and "voice" is different. Zach went so far as to delete all prior posts so that there is no record of what he has said - and how he said it - in the past.
He hasn't posted since Aug 1. Hasn't finished his brainwashing training, yet, I reckon.
Aug Reminder: The Aug effort is underway. Read more....
Tuesday, August 02, 2005
U.S.C. 2257
Note: While this new law doesn't relate to gay marriage, I thought the restriction on the freedom of speech may interest some readers.
A new law that greatly restricts freedom of speech went into effect last June. It lasted ten hours before Attorney General Gonzales put enforcement on hold until Sep 7 while arguments brought before the government by the Free Speech Coalition are heard.
If you own a website and aren't a member of the Coalition, you are subject to enforcement of this law today.
The law requires any primary producer of Internet porn to maintain documentation of the age of any people who appear in the nude. Such strict requirements were always required of the primary producers of porn on the Net or elsewhere.
The law goes one step further. All secondary producers of porn are required to keep the same documentation on hand, too. That means if you post the cover of Debbie Does Dallas on you website, you need to contact everyone pictured on the cover in the nude and obtain and verify their age and id and keep that documentation on hand. If you are selling that movie, you need to get that information from every performer in the movie. In the past, you wouldn't have had to do that because you knew the producers of the movie had already collected the information and was readily available for inspection by the Feds.
But the law doesn't stop there. All the personal, swingers, and amatuer sites where members post their own pictures are subject to the same law. In the past if you posted your own picture, you were the primary producer of the porn and responsible for yourself. Now the owner of the website must get that proof from you before you can post your picture.
In effect, the law will shut these sites down.
Fine, you might think. Porn producers can take their business overseas. But if an American portal, like Google, allows you to view that porn, then American webmasters are in violation of the law.
So what happens if you post a nude pic of yourself? You must have proof of your id and age ready for inspection at any time, unannounced, between the hours of 8 AM to 6 PM, 365 days a year. Failure to do so could land you in jail for up to five years.
And yet mainstream media is strangely quiet about this invasion of our free speech rights.
A new law that greatly restricts freedom of speech went into effect last June. It lasted ten hours before Attorney General Gonzales put enforcement on hold until Sep 7 while arguments brought before the government by the Free Speech Coalition are heard.
If you own a website and aren't a member of the Coalition, you are subject to enforcement of this law today.
The law requires any primary producer of Internet porn to maintain documentation of the age of any people who appear in the nude. Such strict requirements were always required of the primary producers of porn on the Net or elsewhere.
The law goes one step further. All secondary producers of porn are required to keep the same documentation on hand, too. That means if you post the cover of Debbie Does Dallas on you website, you need to contact everyone pictured on the cover in the nude and obtain and verify their age and id and keep that documentation on hand. If you are selling that movie, you need to get that information from every performer in the movie. In the past, you wouldn't have had to do that because you knew the producers of the movie had already collected the information and was readily available for inspection by the Feds.
But the law doesn't stop there. All the personal, swingers, and amatuer sites where members post their own pictures are subject to the same law. In the past if you posted your own picture, you were the primary producer of the porn and responsible for yourself. Now the owner of the website must get that proof from you before you can post your picture.
In effect, the law will shut these sites down.
Fine, you might think. Porn producers can take their business overseas. But if an American portal, like Google, allows you to view that porn, then American webmasters are in violation of the law.
So what happens if you post a nude pic of yourself? You must have proof of your id and age ready for inspection at any time, unannounced, between the hours of 8 AM to 6 PM, 365 days a year. Failure to do so could land you in jail for up to five years.
And yet mainstream media is strangely quiet about this invasion of our free speech rights.
Wednesday, July 20, 2005
Silencing of the Homosexuals Part II
(For those who missed Part I, you can read it here.)
If you can't twist them to conform to your standards, shove them back in the closet where no one can see the dirty laundry.
Them are gay, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgendered people. The dirty laundry is the topic of sex. And the closet is on the fringe of society where most people won't bother to take a gander.
In the conservative right's and Christian right's effort to marginalize homosexuals and make them appear as less than normal, they have banned books, banned discussions of homosexuality in public schools, recinded discrimination and equal rights laws, and now - in at least one county in Florida - have banned official recognition of "gay pride, little g, little p".
The county is Hillsborough. Thanks to the effort of one homophobe, Ronda Storms, the county has deleted all references to homosexuality in its Human Rights Ordinance and now refuses to recognize gay pride. It is unclear if the ordinance means just the Gay Pride celebrations during the month of June or anything gay. Storms apparently wanted the ambiguity by refusing to capitalize the g and p.
Since the county is intent on setting the moral standard for America by example, what has the county produced so far?
- A father who beat his three year old son to death because he "wanted to toughen him up". During testimony in the father's murder trial, she said he was afraid his son might be gay.
- A 24-year-old teacher who had sex with her 14-year-old student in the backseat of her car while the boy's 15-year-old cousin drove them around. No, she wasn't teaching sex ed and drivers ed at the same time. She may claim a temprary insanity defense.
- We can't forget about the 8-year-old boy who beat his 7-month-old half-sister to death because her "crying made him mad". The murder occurred while the boy and his half sister were visiting the boy's father and his girlfriend. Note the "stability" of the heterosexual relationships involved.
- And let's not forget the plight of two migrant workers from Mexico - Areli Nava, 15, gave birth to Leonel Reye's son in a Florida hospital. Reyes is 24. The state immediately seized custody of the newborn. You see, in Florida, the sexual relations between the two are illegal because Areli is 15 - even though in their own country, their relationship is perfectly legal and, in this case, supported by both families. In fact, in Reyes country, a woman over 17 is "too old" to marry. The two, accompanied by Areli's parents, braved hurricanes to get their family reunited. The mother and child are still in state custody and the father is allowed supervised visits. He showed up to court with pay stubs in hand to show he can support the mother and child. The mother's parents showed up to plead with the court to allow Reyes to marry their daughter as all parties had planned. "He's a good man," pleaded Areli's father. Until Reyes completes a sex offender program, he won't be allowed to be reunited with his bride-to-be and son. He is required to complete the program even though he has never been charged with a sexual offense nor ruled a danger to Areli or his son. This is one story among thousands of migrant worker's cultural clash with Florida laws.
In all fairness, one can't judge a county, or any locale for that matter, by picking and choosing cases to present as evidence. One has to wonder, though, if these cases are symptomatic of a failing conservative agenda liberally infused with Christian philosophy.
Tell Hillsborough County what you think of their "gay pride, little g, little p" ban.
Tuesday, July 19, 2005
Teen Sent to Ex-Gay Ministry
From Zach's blog just before his parent's "shipped him off to camp":
Thanks. Thank you for all of the comments and messages, they mean a lot. really. I was shocked to see all of this... of course I haven't been on a computer, phone, nor have I seen any friends in a week almost-- Soon. Soon, this will be all over. My mother has said the worst things to me for three days straight... three days. I went numb. That's the only way I can get through this. I agree, if you're thinking that these posts might be dramatized.. but the proof of the programs ideas are sitting in the rules. I pray this blows over. I can't take this... noone can... not really, this kind of thing tears you apart emotionally. To introduce THIS subject... I'm not a suicidal person... really I'm not.. I think it's stupid - really. But.. I can't help it, no im not going to commit suicide, all I can think about is killing my mother and myself. It's so horrible. This is what it's doing to me... I have this horrible feeling all of the time... I wish this on no person... I'm so satisfied--happy's too strong of a word the state I'm in-- that everyone's taking the time to email and write letters in complaint to these people. I dont know if it will do anything, but if something did happen it would be -- awesome.
He was due to leave camp on Jun 20. He hasn't been heard from in the blogosphere world and no one knows if he is still away in the camp or not. His blog gained international attention and launched a series of investigations into the Love in Action camp by Tenn authorities. Many bloggers who interacted with him are very concerned that he is being isolated from the world until he "changes". On gay who was forced by his parents into the program for two years is particularly concerned for his mental well being. He says that the decline in Zach's mental state is apparent in his blog.
Yes, I'll definitely be following up on this story so if anyone learns anything new, please let me know.
Update: (20 Jun 05 1:45 PM EDT) PFLAG reports that Zach's initial 2-week stay has been extended another six weeks. Since he is cut off from the outside world and using the computer, we'll have to wait to see if he emerges a changed man espousing the ex-gay life or a damaged boy bitter at the world for treating him as they have.
Thanks. Thank you for all of the comments and messages, they mean a lot. really. I was shocked to see all of this... of course I haven't been on a computer, phone, nor have I seen any friends in a week almost-- Soon. Soon, this will be all over. My mother has said the worst things to me for three days straight... three days. I went numb. That's the only way I can get through this. I agree, if you're thinking that these posts might be dramatized.. but the proof of the programs ideas are sitting in the rules. I pray this blows over. I can't take this... noone can... not really, this kind of thing tears you apart emotionally. To introduce THIS subject... I'm not a suicidal person... really I'm not.. I think it's stupid - really. But.. I can't help it, no im not going to commit suicide, all I can think about is killing my mother and myself. It's so horrible. This is what it's doing to me... I have this horrible feeling all of the time... I wish this on no person... I'm so satisfied--happy's too strong of a word the state I'm in-- that everyone's taking the time to email and write letters in complaint to these people. I dont know if it will do anything, but if something did happen it would be -- awesome.
He was due to leave camp on Jun 20. He hasn't been heard from in the blogosphere world and no one knows if he is still away in the camp or not. His blog gained international attention and launched a series of investigations into the Love in Action camp by Tenn authorities. Many bloggers who interacted with him are very concerned that he is being isolated from the world until he "changes". On gay who was forced by his parents into the program for two years is particularly concerned for his mental well being. He says that the decline in Zach's mental state is apparent in his blog.
Yes, I'll definitely be following up on this story so if anyone learns anything new, please let me know.
Update: (20 Jun 05 1:45 PM EDT) PFLAG reports that Zach's initial 2-week stay has been extended another six weeks. Since he is cut off from the outside world and using the computer, we'll have to wait to see if he emerges a changed man espousing the ex-gay life or a damaged boy bitter at the world for treating him as they have.
Friday, July 08, 2005
UCC Endorses Gay Marriage
In an historic vote, the United Church of Christ passed a resolution that endorses same sex marriage. The vote means that the UCC is the largest mainstream Christian religion to officially recognize and endorse gay marriage.
In addition, the resolution encourages its congregation to develop wedding policies, endorse nondiscriminatory and gay rights legislation, oppose discriminatory legislation, including constitutional amendments, which deny homosexuals equal rights, and calls for an end to the rhetoric that promotes devisiveness and hatred towards homosexuals.
Specifically, as posted on the UCC website, the marriage equality resolution
- Affirms equal marriage rights for couples regardless of gender and declares that the government should not interfere with couples regardless of gender who choose to marry and share fully in the rights, responsibilities and commitment of legally recognized marriage;
- Affirms equal access to the basic rights, institutional protections and quality of life conferred by the recognition of marriage,
- Calls for an end to rhetoric that fuels hostility, misunderstanding, fear and hatred expressed toward gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender persons,
- Asks officers of the church to communicate the resolution to local, state and national legislators, urging them to support equal marriage rights,
- Calls upon all settings of the church to engage in serious, respectful and prayerful discussion of the covenantal relationship of marriage and equal marriage rights,
- Calls upon congregations, after prayerful, biblical, theological, and historical study, to consider adopting Wedding Policies that do not discriminate against couples based on gender, and
- Urges congregations and individuals of the UCC to prayerfully consider and support local, state and national legislation to grant equal marriage rights to couples regardless of gender, and to work against legislation, including constitutional amendments, which denies rights to couples based on gender.
Now, if only all those other Christian denominations would follow suit....
Nah. I'm sure those seven points are far too controversial for them to adopt.
Thursday, July 07, 2005
Fight Discrimination in Florida
Last month, County Commissioner Ronda Storms in Hillsborough County, Florida banned any recognition of “gay pride, little p, little g”. (story ) Her use of “little g, little p”, added to the ambiguity of the county ordinance and has a lot of people up in arms, including the Mayor of Tampa.
This isn’t the first time Storms has shown her homophobia, either. A few years ago, she successfully rescinded the county’s Human Rights Ordinance that protected homosexuals. At the time, she claimed the “government should not be in the business of saying this is acceptable behavior.''
If you live in Hillsborough County, Florida, now would be a good time to let your commissioners know how you feel. If you want a good idea of what to write, you might want to use the First United Church of Tampa’s letter as an example. (their letter)
If you live outside of Hillsborough County, Florida, you can still let the commissioners know how
you feel about the “gay pride, little g, little p” ban. You can use the letter linked above for ideas of what to write, but tailor it to your needs as an “outsider”.
For address/contact information and sample letter, please visit Little Guy Protest's effort. Please let them know if you plan to participate. An easy to fill, anonymous form is provided.
Wednesday, July 06, 2005
Quiet Acceptance From the Homophobes - Naturally
The twice-divorced Angelina Jolie adopted a Ethiopian, baby girl who was left orphaned by AIDS. While she has been linked romantically to Brad Pitt and Pitt did accompany her to Ethiopia to file the adoption papers, a source told People magazine that the two aren't planning to start the family together. "Angelina is adopting as a single mother and she wants that emphasized," the source said.
Earlier this year, after a trip to Ethiopia, Jolie said, "My son is in love with Africa, so he has been asking for an African brother or sister."
He got his wish.
Now, where is the conservative's and Christian right's uproar? A single Mom adopting? And adopting because her son wanted an "African brother or sister" as if African children are to be traded as commodities?
A gay couple's adopting gets the conservative's panties in a wad. Just ask anyone in Florida (where gay adoption is illegal) or Texas (where gay adoption ban legislation is pending). But a single Mom adopting doesn't raise an eyebrow.
The hypocritical silence is deafening. Can you hear the silent approval of single-parent adoption and the thunderous roar of gay condemnation?
I can.
Maybe it has to do with Jolie being rich and able to buy what she wants - including an African child.
Be sure to check out Little Guy Protest's campain in favor of gay marriage.
Earlier this year, after a trip to Ethiopia, Jolie said, "My son is in love with Africa, so he has been asking for an African brother or sister."
He got his wish.
Now, where is the conservative's and Christian right's uproar? A single Mom adopting? And adopting because her son wanted an "African brother or sister" as if African children are to be traded as commodities?
A gay couple's adopting gets the conservative's panties in a wad. Just ask anyone in Florida (where gay adoption is illegal) or Texas (where gay adoption ban legislation is pending). But a single Mom adopting doesn't raise an eyebrow.
The hypocritical silence is deafening. Can you hear the silent approval of single-parent adoption and the thunderous roar of gay condemnation?
I can.
Maybe it has to do with Jolie being rich and able to buy what she wants - including an African child.
Be sure to check out Little Guy Protest's campain in favor of gay marriage.
For all the Racists, Bigots, and Homophobes
My note: I wrote this in response to the continual bantering against the need for hate crime legislation, anti-discrimination laws, affirmative action programs, and anything against homosexuals spewed on the myriad of BBs on the web. I doubt any of them actually see themselves as racists, bigots, or homophobes, but their words speak for themselves.
Imagine for a moment that you are a wheelchair bound, Black transsexual. Despite your faithful attendance at your Church and the practicing of its magic that is supposed to help you through life, you feel the Church of Satan isn't enough to protect your from the inujustices of the world.
What injustices do you think they are? What do you think are appropriate remedies to those injustices?
If you're mind is a bit too small too imagine a handicapped, transsexual, Black Satanist, which most likely it probably is, then pick one of those minority groups and pretend for a moment you aren't a White, middle class suburbanite, but are Black or handicapped or gay/transgendered or a member of a religion other than a mainstream Christian religion (Satanist, Wiccan, Islamist, Hindu - pick one, any one).
And, yes, we all know you are at least White. We can tell by what you write with 99.9% certaintity.
Now picture yourself as a minority:
As you are wheeling yourself to your Church, a group of teenage thugs tease and taunt you because you are worthless cripple sucking off of society while everyone else has to work hard. Since they never hit you, the most they get is a slap on the wrist for juvenile delinquency. Since they targetted you for being in a wheelchair, do you think their punishment should have been more severe (hate crime)? What about if you came home from Church and found your door spray painted with "Satan ain't watching you, but we are. Burn at the stake you witch!" The vandals are caught and charged with criminal trespassing (a misdemeanor) and vandalism (another misdemeanor). They're ordered to pay for a new door and sentenced to 80 hours community service, typical sentence for first time misdemeanor offenses. Should their punishment have been more severe? Do you really believe the teen's parents (those perfect role models who raised and taught them to act that way) will mete out a more severe punishment to teach them a lesson in tolerance?
Oh, yeah, that's right. A reminder to you tunneled-vision practioners of hate. Religion is protected under hate crimes legislation, including your Christian religions. So is disability and race. Sexual orientation/identity isn't always a protected status.
Being Black, how would you describe your quality of life, especially when you are trying to navigate in a White world? You're an inner city Black youth. You graduate high school in the top third of your class. What do you think are your chances of being accepted to a good-named university? (We know Harvard is out of the question.) Let's say you work hard and through scholarships and affirmative action programs, you manage to tweak your way through a community college. How far behind are you compared to your White, suburbanite peers? How much harder will you have to work to attain a middle management level job than your White suburbanite peers - the ones who teased you on the way to Church? How many Black CEOs of fortune 500 companies are there?
Being gay/transgendered, how safe do you feel being yourself in public? Dare to hold your boyfriend's/girlfriend's hand at the mall while shopping together? How about hanging up pictures of you and your "other" in your cube? Talk about your vacation gay cruise? Do you think your company can fire you because you don't fit the "family image" the company is trying to project? How about being evicted from your apartment because the complex is family-orientated with children running around and you make your neighbors nervous?
Of course, you can't answer these questions. No one really expects you to answer them. Discrimination doesn't happen and when it does, it's all the social programs discriminating against the Whites. Affirmative action deprives qualified Whites an equal opportunity to acceptance in a school or a job. Hate crime legislation makes crimes against minorities more important than crimes against Whites. And anything that gives homosexuals a fair shake in the world is forcing acceptance of something Christians are strongly opposed.
See the trend? If something threatens the secure world of White Christians, then it must be bad.
Be sure to write your own bill to Congress in support of gay marriage...
Imagine for a moment that you are a wheelchair bound, Black transsexual. Despite your faithful attendance at your Church and the practicing of its magic that is supposed to help you through life, you feel the Church of Satan isn't enough to protect your from the inujustices of the world.
What injustices do you think they are? What do you think are appropriate remedies to those injustices?
If you're mind is a bit too small too imagine a handicapped, transsexual, Black Satanist, which most likely it probably is, then pick one of those minority groups and pretend for a moment you aren't a White, middle class suburbanite, but are Black or handicapped or gay/transgendered or a member of a religion other than a mainstream Christian religion (Satanist, Wiccan, Islamist, Hindu - pick one, any one).
And, yes, we all know you are at least White. We can tell by what you write with 99.9% certaintity.
Now picture yourself as a minority:
As you are wheeling yourself to your Church, a group of teenage thugs tease and taunt you because you are worthless cripple sucking off of society while everyone else has to work hard. Since they never hit you, the most they get is a slap on the wrist for juvenile delinquency. Since they targetted you for being in a wheelchair, do you think their punishment should have been more severe (hate crime)? What about if you came home from Church and found your door spray painted with "Satan ain't watching you, but we are. Burn at the stake you witch!" The vandals are caught and charged with criminal trespassing (a misdemeanor) and vandalism (another misdemeanor). They're ordered to pay for a new door and sentenced to 80 hours community service, typical sentence for first time misdemeanor offenses. Should their punishment have been more severe? Do you really believe the teen's parents (those perfect role models who raised and taught them to act that way) will mete out a more severe punishment to teach them a lesson in tolerance?
Oh, yeah, that's right. A reminder to you tunneled-vision practioners of hate. Religion is protected under hate crimes legislation, including your Christian religions. So is disability and race. Sexual orientation/identity isn't always a protected status.
Being Black, how would you describe your quality of life, especially when you are trying to navigate in a White world? You're an inner city Black youth. You graduate high school in the top third of your class. What do you think are your chances of being accepted to a good-named university? (We know Harvard is out of the question.) Let's say you work hard and through scholarships and affirmative action programs, you manage to tweak your way through a community college. How far behind are you compared to your White, suburbanite peers? How much harder will you have to work to attain a middle management level job than your White suburbanite peers - the ones who teased you on the way to Church? How many Black CEOs of fortune 500 companies are there?
Being gay/transgendered, how safe do you feel being yourself in public? Dare to hold your boyfriend's/girlfriend's hand at the mall while shopping together? How about hanging up pictures of you and your "other" in your cube? Talk about your vacation gay cruise? Do you think your company can fire you because you don't fit the "family image" the company is trying to project? How about being evicted from your apartment because the complex is family-orientated with children running around and you make your neighbors nervous?
Of course, you can't answer these questions. No one really expects you to answer them. Discrimination doesn't happen and when it does, it's all the social programs discriminating against the Whites. Affirmative action deprives qualified Whites an equal opportunity to acceptance in a school or a job. Hate crime legislation makes crimes against minorities more important than crimes against Whites. And anything that gives homosexuals a fair shake in the world is forcing acceptance of something Christians are strongly opposed.
See the trend? If something threatens the secure world of White Christians, then it must be bad.
Be sure to write your own bill to Congress in support of gay marriage...
Thursday, June 23, 2005
Little Guy Protest's First Newsletter - Who We Are
Little Guy Protest
Gay Marriage
A Civil Rights Issue
Volume 1
15 Jun 05
This being Little Guy Protest's first newsletter, please excuse any formatting errors. I feel I need to get that out of the way up front as I am learning this new mail client and what it can and cannot do.
I want to take the time to thank our new subscribers and truly hope that you find this issue and future issues informative, helpful, and insightful.
With the formalities out of the way, let's get down to business.
Some of you may be wondering exactly who is behind Little Guy Protest. For starters, let's say "we" is really one little guy - me, Mark Darien, and every subscriber to this newsletter. I can write until I'm blue in the face, but without you participating and spreading the ideas contained on the site, Little Guy Protest will only be one website among millions that goes largely unnoticed.
We have no corporate sponsorship nor do we have any political groups supporting or financing us in any way. I never ask for money and expect none. The most I have done is added some Google ads to some of the pages.
Yes, it takes a lot of time and a little bit of money to maintain Little Guy Protest so if you absolutely feel a need to donate something to keep the site up and running, there are a couple of things you may do.
First, and foremost, participate in the monthly campaign and the secondary campaigns as you see fit. Participation is the key to success.
You may also click on an ad sometime. It doesn't matter if you buy or not. Just click on it.
If you aren't the ad-clicker type, join our editorial staff. Visitors to our site appreciate variety and they most likely will get bored reading my stuff all the time. Please keep in mind that I cannot pay you for your submission. I will, however, fully credit the article to you and only publish it on Little Guy Protest.
While joining the editorial staff is open to all visitors to the site, I extend an invite to you, the subscriber of this newsletter, to join our news staff. There's plenty of examples on the site of the quality of writing and factual reporting that I'm looking for.
If you are interested in writing for Little Guy Protest, please email me and specify whether you want to compile news stories or write editorials so I know which submission guidelines to send you.
You may have noticed that I have added a comments section to the end of the news stories and editorials. Feel free to respond to the articles and if you opt to allow me to publish your response, I will have a Letter to the Editor page to spice up the variety of the site. Also, the campaigns now have an option to allow you to tell us if you will or won't participate. Please take the time to let us know so we can give everyone else an idea of our level of participation. (Ok, so its not a scientific measurement, but every little bit of feedback helps.)
And lastly, spread the word about this site any way you see fit. Tell your friends. Share it in online communities. If you run a website or a blog, post a link if you feel Little Guy Protest will compliment your site.
For the sake of brevity, I will not summarize all the improvements to the site nor recap the many stories and few editorials that have been added. Please feel free to check it out, though!
If you haven't done so already, please visit June's efforts.
And even if you have, but haven't told us if you plan on participating or not, please go back and let us know. It's completely anonymous!
Best regards to all,
Mark Darien
Friday, June 17, 2005
Gay Dad Wins Court Appeal
Awhile back, I posted a story about the gay Dad who was awarded custody of his son on the condition that his gay partner moved out. Another judge in Virginia had denied him a hearing claiming there was no change in circumstance to warrant revisiting the original custody terms despite the father's claims that his son became emotionally upset and sometimes in tears after his partner moved out.
A Maryland appellate court ruled the father was improperly denied a hearing. While the terms of the custody remain intact until the new court hearing, this ruling is a victory for gay rights.
A Maryland appellate court ruled the father was improperly denied a hearing. While the terms of the custody remain intact until the new court hearing, this ruling is a victory for gay rights.
Wednesday, June 15, 2005
"Don't Ask, Don't Tell" Under Fire
The "don't ask, don't tell" policy signed into law by President Clinton bans openly gay people from serving in the military. Court challenges, a move in Congress, and four straight months of the military falling short on its recruitment goals threaten to abolish the ban.
The telling sign that homosexuals serving in our military poses no harm to our national security is the 47% decline in discharges granted under the "don't ask, don't tell" policy since the start of the War on Terrorism.
On the one hand, we have the official stance from the military saying that the decline cannot be attributed to the decision by frontline commanders to retain openly gay soldiers. The decline may be that fewer homosexuals are opening up and being "discovered".
On the other hand, we can look at the historical trend in discharges for homosexuality. They peak during peacetime and fall dramatically during wartime. Even Rep. Wayne Gilchrest (R-MD) acknowledges that he personally knew gay soldiers who served in Vietnam.
The message the military is sending and our government is quietly endorsing: gays have no rights, but if we need their bodies, we'll let them fight and die for our country.
Now is a good time for the military - and Congress - to step up to the plate and eliminate the ban on gays in the military. They're proudly serving our country. They're proudly dying for our country. The least we could do is show them the respect and dignity afforded everyone else and allow them to serve whether others know they're gay or not.
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