Taking the measure of Pence

I’ve had my eye on Vice President-elect Mike Pence for years. He’s no friend of atheists and has a real problem with the LGBT community. Pence is also anti-science, anti-women and I have him pegged to the far-right dominionist fringe of the evangelical community. I take the measure of a man by what he does. The press is full of examples. Take for example how he treated Amy Sandler.

When a federal trial court ordered Indiana to recognize our marriage on an emergency basis because of Niki’s declining health, Governor Pence immediately appealed. He wouldn’t allow the state to protect even one family with a dying parent—my family—while the court case made its way through the legal system. - Mike Pence’s Hateful Laws Almost Kept me for my Dying Wife.

Mike Pence made his anti-gay crusade personal, and that’s all we really need to know him.

Be explicit James Dobson

Did you mean to say that men should shoot trans men in bathrooms? I’m unclear. What are we supposed to do?

“If you are a married man with any gumption, surely you will defend your wife’s privacy and security in restroom facilities,” Dobson writes in a column published this week on the far-right site WND. He imagines such scenarios as “a strange-looking man, dressed like a woman … peering over toilet cubicles to watch your wife in a private moment” and “men who walk in unannounced, unzip their pants and urinate in front of [little girls].”

“If this had happened 100 years ago, someone might have been shot,” he continues. “Where is today’s manhood? God help us!” Via James Dobson: Be a Man, Shoot a Trans Woman in the Bathroom

It’s clear that Trudy Ring of The Advocate thinks Dobson is advocating for violence, but I am not sure. Dobson does not actually say, SHOOT THEM. He talks around it though. Let’s look at the original text.

Obama, acting like a king, is wielding dictatorial powers never envisioned in the law. He is determined to change the way males and females relate to one another, and worse, how children perceive themselves. If you are a married man with any gumption, surely you will defend your wife’s privacy and security in restroom facilities. Would you remain passive after knowing that a strange-looking man, dressed like a woman, has been peering over toilet cubicles to watch your wife in a private moment? What should be done to the pervert who was using mirrors to watch women and girls in their stalls? If you are a dad, I pray you will protect your little girls from men who walk in unannounced, unzip their pants and urinate in front of them. If this had happened 100 years ago, someone might have been shot. Where is today’s manhood? God help us! Via Protect Your Kids from Tyrant Obama

Let’s set aside most of the paranoid rantings the start the paragraph. What matters to me is this sentence. “If this had happened 100 years ago, someone might have been shot.” - I am not sure this is true, but I understand his appeal to the good old days of segregation and repression. Dobson is clearly saying, transgendered people would have been shot in the past by real men.

His next sentence challenges his male readers. “Where is today’s manhood” Dobson is clearly calling out men who do not protect their families like the real men of old. Dobson may not actually say to go out and shoot transgendered people, but its pretty clear that that is what he means. It is a repressible call to action that skirts direct responsibility for action while at the same time, encouraging that same action. I’d call it masterful if it did not come from human filth.

Steve Wiles a.k.a. Miss Mona Sinclair

Conservative North Carolina State Senate candidate Steve Wiles used to work as an MC and performer at a drag queen show at Club Odyssey. When confronted about the inconstancy of supporting his state’s same sex marriage ban, he said the role was, “Just not something that I want to continue.”

Ok… I can buy that a conversion to christianity may drive behavior changes. In fact, it supports the whole redemption from sin mindset that’s popular with Christians these days. I have a problem with Steve Wiles’ position though. He’s lied about his past and he will not answer a basic question. “Are you gay?”

When confronted about working at the club, he initially denied it. That constitutes a lie, right? If he had gone through a religious conversion, would it not make more sense to proclaim that he was a form drag queen turned Christian and then use that to his advantage in the election? And why lie? My guess… being gay is an unforgivable sin in evangelical circles.

Steve Wiles qualifies as a hypocrite on several fronts. The one I find most disturbing is that he acts against his own community. How can anyone trust him?

The 10 commandments mean nothing to Kim Davis

It is simple really. Though shall not lie. God does not allow an exception to stop gay marriage. It is black and white. Yet Kim Davis appears to have a special dispensation.

Lawyers for couples suing Davis have said that since her return to work, the Rowan County clerk has interfered with the issuance of marriage licenses in violation of orders by U.S. District Judge David Bunning’s in Louisville.

An attorney for Davis has said she has made a good-faith effort to comply with Bunning’s orders. She has said licenses granted by her staff are invalid because she has not given them that authority.
- via www.rawstory.com

We judge a person by what they do and not by what they say. Is Kim Davis a good representation of Christianity? I find her version of Christianity horrifying.

And now in odd religious news

I can see newspaper headline writers having a fit with this one. I have no title that describes this insanity. Do you?

What do you call it when an Orthodox Jewish group protests a gay pride event by paying Mexican laborers to hold anti-gay signs? Idiots come to mind, so does cowards.

Behind a barricade, a group of men wore the fringed Jewish prayer garment known as the tzitzit and held up anti-gay signs bearing the logo of a group calling itself the Jewish Political Action Committee.

“Judaism prohibits homosexuality,” one sign read.

But the men were not Jewish. They were Mexican laborers, protesting because they were paid to protest, said one of the men, who would not give his name.
- via The New York Times

Nutball fits too.

Go Michael Sam!

I'm pulling for you Michael Sam!

Watch Michael Sam make his NFL preseason debut by Jeff Gray

Horrible Christian pastor says horrible thing

Ex-Navy Chaplain says...

“But homosexuality is a combat divider, dividing one’s reason to live while taking breaks on the combat field to change diapers all because their treacherous sin causes them to lose control of their bowels,” - Gordon Kingenschmitt

What I expect to happen never does; a long list of pastors and religious luminaries should denounce Kingenschmitt’s words as utter lunacy an as un-Christian hate speech. What will happen is the opposite. A few left-leaning media sites will pick up the story, as will a few atheist and secular bloggers, but Christian bloggers will not pay attention. I do not mean just conservative Christian bloggers and pastors either  The entire Christian spectrum will be silent and this is why we have a problem. There should be other voices in this fight. Kingenschmitt’s words are horribly offensive and hate filled. They should not stand unopposed. How do we fix this?

Who covered this story?

• The Raw Story: Ex-Navy chaplain: Consequences of sin force gay soldiers to wear diapers in combat
• Right Wing Watch: Gay Soldiers Undermine The Military Because They Have To Take Breaks In The Middle Of Combat To Change Their Diapers
• What Would JT Do at Patheos: Klingenschmitt: gay soldiers have to take combat breaks to change their diapers. 

Nutball Alert: Gordon Klingenschmitt and transgender demons

Gordon Klingenschmitt is already on my nutballs list for his insane rant about Christian persecution. He’s made the list again with another absolutely crazy idea. Klingenschmitt thinks that a Demon of rape is sending transgender people to violate your daughters while they use the bathroom. I cannot find a sing case of a transgender person raping a girl in a bathroom, so I’m not sure where he gets his information. It must be God. In fact, all searches indicated that transgender people are often the victim of rape or violence, but who needs facts?

Why I passed on the gay waitress tipping story

I passed on a story. I regret it now. 

I was outraged by the thought of a Christian couple stiffing a gay waitress and leaving an obnoxious message instead of a tip. This type of insensitive bullying makes my blood boil. I hate it.

I wanted to post, but when the story broke, I thought about it and passed. My reasoning was simple, it was a one-sided story. I don’t like one-sided stories as they often bring me inbox grief, so I passed.

I’m mad at myself now, because I realize my dislike for one-sided stories can be a filter which prevents critical thinking. What I should have done was think. I should have demanded the other side of the story. I should have asked to see proof. I should have thought about how it would have been possible to validate the story. I should have asked why everyone jumped in and donated money before the facts were in. Everything about this story should have caused me to dig deeper, but my filter stopped me because… I did not want the grief. If I had posted the story, my inbox would have filled-up with people complaining that I was anti-gay or a hater because I had questioned the authenticity of Dayna Morales’ story.

People want to believe this kind of story. I want to believe this kind of story myself because it fits my view of how some Christians act and that is a shame. I should have made the damn post.

What is a church anyway?

Linda Cooper found out about her church recently. She was kicked out after six decades of membership for failing to publicly denounce her daughter's lifestyle. Linda's daughter is lesbian.

“My mother was up here and she sat beside me. That's it,” Kat Cooper said, acccording to The Daily Mail. “Literally, they're exiling members for unconditionally loving their children - and even extended family members.”

The Coopers have attended the church for decades, reports the New York Daily News. Linda Cooper was raised in the church, and her father’s plaque hangs on the walls of the church.

“This is not just some casual church they dropped in on," said Hunt Cooper, the father of Kat and husband of Linda.

Source: Ridgedale Church Of Christ Exiles Member Linda Cooper For Supporting Lesbian Daughter

The hate in this story is self evident. I do not need to explore the obvious. Instead, I want to comment on what a I think a church really is.  I've been thinking about this for a long time. A church is social construct whose primary focus is on establishing a moral norm and then enforcing compliant behavior on its members through a variety of techniques; including the heavy-handed method used in this story. Further, since each independent church has its own leader, morality is defined within the pastor social and political mindset. There is a vast difference between a liberal and conservative. What most of these conservative churches have in common is a break away from the word of Jesus toward the rules and laws of the Old Testament, which gives structure as apposed to the Golden Rule, which gives direction. If one interprets that actions of Linda and Kat Cooper through the words of Jesus, does one really kick an old lady to the curb? I don't think so, but then again, I am an atheist and my expectations are not skewed by a pastor with a political agenda. 

I am most disappointed with the other members of Linda Cooper's former church. Members of the Ridgedale Church of Christ should support Linda Cooper. They should walk out of the church along side their longtime friend instead of pointing the finger of shame at her. They do not know what it means to be a friend. They do not understand that the bonds we share with people are more important than the political rantings of a pastor focused on enforcing moral purity. Pastor Ken Willis is a putz. His congregation should abandon him. 

Irrational Christian Hate

I see and hear this type of thing all the time. Christians, it really needs to stop.

Christian Voice Leader: "Tesco support for gay rights to blame for super mouse infestation"

Despite making an “unreserved apology”, the leader of Christian Voice attributed the situation to Tesco’s support of Pride in London in 2012.

Christian Voice’s national director Stephen Green told PinkNews: “It is symptomatic of the bad management of Tesco. Any company which announces its support for gay pride six weeks before Christmas obviously can’t operate basic pest control.”

Let's call this what it really is, an outrageous public display of homophobia and hate. I am confused though. Any rational person will see this for what it really is; a lie pushing a political position and motivated by hate. Christians, how does this help you message?

I see Catholic hypocrisy in every action

At times, when a Catholic clergyman acts, I see the hypocrisy in every action.

Ohio Catholic School Disinvites Pro-Gay Graduation Speaker Then Blames Him For Not Showing

Franklin County Commissioner John O’Grady is a dedicated alumnus of Bishop Ready, and Principal Celene Seamen apparently invited him to give the graduation speech about two months ago. At the ceremony, his name was still on the program, but students were told he could not speak because “something had come up,” and Seamen gave the speech herself.

Read more here.

"Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.” - somebody in the bible. 

It is false witness to disinvite a speaker because of his support for marriage equity and then tell the student body that "something came up?" I think so, and so do many others.

It is irritating enough that Commissioner O’Grady would be excluded for his support of LGBT issues, but it is quite another thing altogether to cause O’Grady to be blamed for not appearing as he promised. Allowing another to take the blame for your actions? Someone needs to hit the confessional, Bishop Campbell.

Read more: Catholics Uninvite Pro-Gay Speaker, Then Let Graduates Think He Stood Them Up

What other proof is required? Bishop Campbell's actions are clear. He acted out of a desire to control the political dialog on a key social issue. He did so unethically. Burn it your make-believe hell. 

Moved to tears - Same Love

I heard this song for the first time today as I left my neighborhood this morning on the way to work. I was moved to tears.

Same Love - An absolutely beautiful song. Thank you Macklemore & Ryan Lewis

Jason Collins is a Christian. Who knew?

I've heard nothing but praise and criticism of Jason Collins since he came out. All of my information came via radio, TV or online media. I did not read too deeply. It's been a busy week. At no time did I hear any mention that Collins was a dedicated Christian, in fact, his religion, or lack of it, was not part of the story. I just read Why Jason Collins' Faith is ignored. And Tebow's Isn't. I was surprised to find that Collins was a Christian because I would have thought that that this fact would have been important to the story. Silly me…

Collins and Tebow are a study in contrasts, perhaps especially when it comes to their faith. Tebow is known for game-saving theatrics and an equally performative profession of faith politicized by the culture wars. He’s positioned himself as an all-American poster child for the pro-life movement and homophobic groups like Focus on the Family. Collins, on the other hand, is a career role player who keeps his head down on the court and his devout Christian faith, rooted in family and community identity, private.

So Tebow, a man defined by his outward Christian faith is a hero to some and Collins, a man who lives his values, is ignored. It's a style over substance thing. Going with style is superficial and is wrong. Tebow is the opposite of a Christ follower, while Collins is the personification. Yet now, Tebow is a failed hero and Collins a successful villain, all because Collins is gay. It's wrong and It makes no sense at all. 

Collins is a hero to me and what he has done for America and Gay Rights is important. Tebow… I don't even think about him. He failed and accomplished little. 

Technorati Tags: Christians, Gay Rights

Let's start the clock on homophobe Ken Cuccinelli

Whenever a Republican politico comes out with an aggressively anti-gay driven suggestion for a new law, like Ken Cuccinelli did when he suggested re-criminalizing sodomy in Virginia recently, I start a special clock. I call it my hypocrite countdown clock. Experience tells me that men like Cuccinelli (it's always men) are likely to be arrested with a gay prostitute or while soliciting sex in public bathrooms. I'm betting we see something like this with Cuccinelli. Are there any takers out there?

What the hell Antonin Scalia?

When I read this story I had to verify that it was not really faux news. Sadly, Antonin Scalia actually had a bigoted meltdown over marriage equity.

As Justice Anthony Kennedy questioned whether it was appropriate for the Court to hear a case about same-sex marriage at this time, Mr. Scalia stunned observers with an emotional outburst.

“O.K., could we just stop talking about this stuff right now?” Justice Scalia snapped at Justice Kennedy. “I’ve told you all how I feel about this topic, and I don’t understand why we’re going on and on about it unless you all hate me.”

As the courtroom froze in dead silence, Justice Scalia seemed to gather steam, shouting, “For two days, it’s been gay this, gay that. You’re all just talking about this stuff as if it’s the most normal thing in the world. Well, it’s not, O.K.? It’s weird and it’s wrong. And just talking about it like it’s O.K. and whatnot is making me angry beyond belief.”

Source:Scalia Furious He Has to Hear About Gay Couples All Week by Andy Borowitz

Am I proud to be an American? No… not at the moment. 

Scalia has a long history of bigotry from the bench. How much longer can it last? How much longer until he is irrelevant? One can only hope. 

In Tennessee, we love everyone… except those LGBTs

Is this America or the land of nonsense? Sometime I wonder. I expect equality and freedom, not hatred and bigotry. I read this story today: Tennessee bill allows Christian counselors to reject suicidal LGBT students. 

Before I read the story, the headline blew my mind. How is it possible that any Christian would want the legal right to reject giving another human being help in their darkest hour? Is this what Jesus taught? That… help is offered for the sick, the blind, the poor and lepers even, as long as they are not Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, or Transgendered. What! The! Fuck!

What kind of an idiot would dare to damage the Christian brand in such an antithetical way? Our misguided crusader is named Senator Joey Hensley and you can send him your love at Sen.Joey.Hensley@capitol.tn.gov. 

After reading the article, my opinion is that Joey Hensley and the Family Action Council of Tennessee need to go read about Jesus and then reflect on service. If necessary, I know this little old lady who has been feeding the homeless. I'm sure she can teach them a few things. After reeducation, take a few years to study what we expect as a society from our doctors. Consider it remedial punishment.

What Hensley is offering is a perversion of principles of Christianity and a complete misunderstanding of the Hippocratic Oath. 

The best quote of the day….

“The concept of so-called ‘religious liberty’ as it’s being (mis)used is faulty,” Badash wrote on Tuesday. “If anti-gay people want a reason to not help gay people, they should have the personal courage to do so, and accept the consequences.”

Um… yes, that makes perfect sense to me. 

I spoke to a homeless man recently. He asked me if I were a Christian. I told him no. He looked disappointed. When I asked whey, he told me that Christians always help. I'll offer the following comeback the next time I'm asked a similar question, "…not if you are LGBT."

Gay activist Larry Brinkin arrested

Larry Brinkin was arrested on child porn charges in San Francisco. I’m troubled by this arrest because it gives ammunition to the loons who claim that clergy sexual abuse is a gay issue. I prefer to keep focused on the actions of the offenders rather than their sexual orientation. Those who I write about are deviants.

Brinkin was a gay activist, a good one by all accounts. The charges focus on Brinkin’s alleged possession of child pornography with a mean-spirited white supremacist tinge. Frankly, the charges are hard to fathom.

The warrant claims these e-mails contained images of children as young as perhaps a year old being sodomized by and performing oral sex on adult men. Zack3737@aol.com -- whom the police allege is Brinkin -- provided graphic commentary on the photos of interracial adult-child sex. Comments included "I loved especially the nigger 2 year old getting nailed. Hope you'll continue so I can see what the little blond bitch is going to get. White Power! White Supremacy! White Dick Rules!"

Source: Larry Brinkin, S.F. Gay Rights Icon, Arrested on Child Porn Charges

It makes you think wtf. Right?

Technorati Tags: Crime,Pedophiles

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• News: Andrew Cuomo, Making Love, Egypt, Alex Pettyfer (towleroad.com)

Bible Scholar calls out Piers Morgan over Olsteen interview

I watched the January interview but missed the most recent version – Joel Osteen is exactly the opposite of what I think of when I think of the word Christian. He preaches Rock Star Christianity and he’s made a fortune out of it. In the video below, Osteen calls homosexuality a sin. Piers Morgan interview was a promotional puff piece. He challenged nothing.

Bible Scholar Dr. Joel M. Hoffman published an open letter challenging Morgan. He called Morgan’s effort, “promoting bigotry and helping to perpetuate a fraud”.

Hoffman writes:

It’s both an important point and an easy one to settle. You could have asked Pastor Osteen for the chapter and verse that he thinks calls homosexuality a sin. What you would have found is that he couldn’t provide it, because Pastor Osteen was expressing his personal opinion, not quoting the Bible. The Bible doesn’t say that homosexuality is a sin.

Source: Bible Scholar Accuses Piers Morgan Of Promoting Bigotry

Seriously folks… the truth is the truth and mediocrity helps spread hatred and bigotry. Do your job Piers Morgan. Ask the hard questions. Be a real reported.

Technorati Tags: Gay Rights

Sunday morning dose of hatred

Rich Santorum never ceases to amaze me with his unabashed hatred for gay Americans. This time he’s promising to nullify existing gay marriages if he elected president. Is this all he thinks about?

Rick Santorum says he'll try to unmarry all of them if he's elected president.

Once the U.S. Constitution is amended to prohibit same-gender marriages, "their marriage would be invalid," the former Pennsylvania senator said Dec. 30 in an NBC News interview.

Read more: Santorum backs nullifying existing gay marriages

I remember when I was young and just starting to work in a professional field. I worked with a few gay men and women. I was fascinated by same sex couples because it was new to me. And by fascinated I mean I was kind of a jerk about it. I’m my relatively sheltered life, I was taught that gay people were something to be feared. Boy was I wrong. It took a few years, a couple patient friends, and some growing up, but I came to realize that gay people were just like me. That is to say, they were pursuing love and happiness the same way I was, and how they did it or who they did it with was not important. Today, I will fight for gay rights and for the right of gays to marry. People like Santorum… they are the ones to fear because they want to force their version of morality on others. Gay rights, there is no better cause to fight for.

Technorati Tags: Gay Rights,Rick Santorum,Politics