Someone forgot to inform National Geographic that sexual orientation is a lifestyle choice

Hat tip: BTB

Tell me again why the Catholic Church thinks it has the moral high ground to condemn anybody much less my gay son

So once again we get smacked in the face with the reality of the "intrinsic moral evil" (Benedict's description of my gay son) of the Catholic Church's actions:

[A] report in May sought to document the scale of abuse as well as the reasons why church and state authorities didn't stop it, whereas Thursday's 720-page report focused on why church leaders in the Dublin Archdiocese – home to a quarter of Ireland's 4 million Catholics – did not tell police about a single abuse complaint against a priest until 1995. By then, the investigators found, successive archbishops and their senior deputies – among them qualified lawyers – already had compiled confidential files on more than 100 parish priests who had sexually abused children since 1940. Those files had remained locked in the Dublin archbishop's private vault.

This Church needs to step aside from judging anyone else until it get its own damn house in order. And while they are at it, they need to stop using the Sacrament of Communion as a weapon to get our country's lawmakers to vote a certain way.

Andrew is spot on about this:

If the Catholic church were a secular institution in Ireland and had been found guilty of child abuse to the massive extent the Church has, it would be forced to close. Its top officials would not be issuing statements of apology and regret, but serving sentences in jail. The name of John Paul II would not be a revered mantra; it would be synonymous with the head of an international organization that had to be dragged kicking and screaming to acknowledge its own long-running, institutional brutalization of generations of defenseless children.

In the name of Jesus.

The cold hard truth about the Catholic Church

For those who did not already catch this over at Pam's -I present to you a speech that outlines the ugly and destructive side of the Catholic Church so brutally and honestly that it made me squirm with both discomfort and relief. Stephen Fry nails it in a way that only someone who has felt the full force of this institution's hate and backward policies could. And I must confess that I may have enjoyed this clip a bit too much.

Watch it. (the good part starts at about a minute and 25 seconds).

What I had hoped to see when Obama became President

A girl can dream, can't she?



Sadly, I now realize that my dreams are the only place I am going to see this. Ahhhh the power of the "ignorant tight-ass club"...

10 year old boy from Arkansas stands up for his many gay friends

What a Kid!! Watch it. And I'll wager a bet you can't keep a big ole grin from spreading across your face before the video clip is done.

Nice interview with John Cole (of Balloon Juice fame) over at League of Ordinary Gentlemen

As many of you know, finding out we had a gay son back in 2003 was a profound and life-changing experience for both my husband and me. And it was the catalist we needed to open our eyes to what was really going on all around us. And once we actually started paying attention, we realized how lazy we'd been about letting others form our
personally held beliefs, both in religious and political terms.

In the beginning, the process of paying attention was difficult and painful because it forced us to realize how much of an echo chamber we'd put ourselves in and how little we did to challenge our beliefs. It also made us feel ungrounded and alone. The Republican Party, our party!, was campaigning for votes on a constitutional amendment that would forever enshrine our gay son's second-class citizenship into the Constitution. The Catholic Church, our church!, was loudly proclaiming that our son was "intrinsically evil" and "objectively disordered". And we'd been blindly pledging allegiance and support to both institutions!

We felt abandoned, betrayed, and duped. So it was a tremendous relief to find out we were not alone. There were many people who were feeling disillusioned and angry, people like Andrew Sullivan and John Cole, both of whom were also experiencing major cracks in their own most basic and life-long political (and in Andrew's case) religious beliefs.

Neither one of them will know how much of a saving grace they were to me, but I am
profoundly grateful to both of them. By allowing me to ride along with them (via their blogs) while they grappled with their own transitions, I was able to slowly regain my own footing while learning to think critically for myself. And having their digital company made it a much less lonely journey.

So it was really fun to learn this morning of this interview with John Cole. It is worth clicking over to read the whole interview, but one passage in particular resonated with me, the question about John's tipping point when it came to how he felt about the Republican Party and the Conservatives after being one of their biggest and loudest supporters:

For me, the final straw was the Schiavo affair, on top of Abu Gharib, torture, the Presciption Drug plan, the bankruptcy bill, the treatment of homosexuals and calling anyone who disagreed a traitor, etc. In 2005, I started to look around at the GOP and the conservatives and all I saw was a freak show that has just gotten worse the last few years. But Schiavo was really the final straw. I couldn’t believe they inserted themselves into that marriage that way. I couldn’t believe they passed legislation. I couldn’t believe Congress locked arms with Randall Terry and the rest of that insane crew, hounding a man who had been going through hell for two decades. They trashed that Judge Greer in Florida, a man who had been a Republican his entire life, calling him an activist judge because he had the nerve to actually follow the law and piss off the godbotherers. He even had to leave his church. It was just sheer insanity.

And putting aside personal political beliefs, I simply don’t understand how anyone can look back at the two Bush administrations and say, with a straight face, that Gore or Kerry would have been worse. I just don’t. Every single aspect of the last eight years was a complete and total disaster. How could Gore possibly have been worse? Anyone who is still a Republican after eight years of Bush and Cheney is simply a Republican for the rest of their life. Nothing is going to change them.

Go read the rest, it is a nice read.

So the Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix had a spare $50,000 to put towards stripping rights from gays in Maine

Wow, just wow. I simply can't help but wonder if spending $50,000 in another state's political battle to strip gays and lesbians of rights that everyone else enjoys was the best way to spend such a large sum of money in these desperate economic times. I guess if you are the very homophobic bishop of the Phoenix Diocese it is definitely money well spent.

At the very least, the Most Reverend Thomas J. Olmsted, bishop of the Phoenix diocese, should have considered giving some of that money to the many victims of Pedophile Priests that preyed on Phoenix families for decades.

Dan Savage pokes big holes in the Religious Rights' "Re-defining marriage" argument

Hat tip: BTB

100's of thousands of dollars later(the poor be damned), the Catholic Church claims huge victory-no equality for Maine gays and lesbians

I stayed up to the wee hours of the night last night watching the voting tallies come in from Maine and Washington state. And when the trend in Maine started going the wrong way for marriage equality, I couldn't help but feel a complete sense of devastation and loss (and I can only imagine how those whose dignity and rights were stripped from them felt).

But today? Different story. I am enraged. I am horrified. And I am filled with an intense revulsion for what the Catholic Church did when it declared an all-out war on an already demonized and oppressed minority. And every ounce of my rage is pointed at the Catholic Church even though there were others involved in this campaign of hate as well. For me, the "others" in this war were acting true to form, but watching the Catholic Church's involvement was the final realization that it is every bit as cruel and homophobic as the other religious frauds preaching hatred and bigotry in the name of God.

I wish I could say that I will get over it, but I will not. This wound is deep and unhealable. This is the only church I have ever known and the betrayal is just too enormous. There is absolutely no forgiveness in my heart, there is only an intense feeling of revulsion for what this Church has done. The fact that they could use their pulpit, their collection baskets, and t.v. ads to declare my son a threat to other people's children while conveniently forgetting the decades they spent hiding and protecting those within their ranks who truly did destroy so many children's lives is simply pure evil.

My heart is too broken for any more words. But here are some other reactions. From Andrew:

After Maine, where the Catholic church actually organized a second collection to raise money to prevent gay people from having civil rights, the situation shifts again. Using a tax-exempt church to raise money to defeat the civil rights of fellow citizens is not too shocking in the age of Benedict. It is shocking if one believes in a separation of politics and religion, and if one believes that the church of Jesus should stand in solidarity with the marginalized, rather than seeking to marginalize and demonize them still further.

It is time to acknowledge that the Catholic church hierarchy can no longer pretend that it isn't the active enemy of gay people and our families. That this church hierarchy - especially in its more conservative wing - is disproportionately gay itself and waging war against their fellow gays through the cowardly veil of the closet, is not new. But it is, as we flinch with the sting of defeat, harder to take than ever.

It is time to demand that gay priests who are actively fighting against the dignity of gay people own their enmeshment in injustice, stigmatization and cruelty. It is time to reveal them in this respect as the enemies of the Gospels, not the champions.

And a letter sent by a Gay Catholic to his Parish Priest (via Andrew):

Dear Father Andrew:

We have shared the celebration of Mass of universal inclusion for 18 years. Homeless, doctors, addicts, plumbers, prostitutes, trash collectors, gang members, elderly, boomers, young adults, teens, babies of all colors, races, genders gathered in common purpose -- to give thanks for blessings and rejoice in the goodness that can come from humanity. You provided a unique sanctuary for us all -- rich or poor, educated or not, gay or straight. No one had any fear; none were rejected.

It is with the deepest sorrow that I must write you that I no longer can join you at Mass. After 59 years, I am no longer a Catholic.

You will be distressed at my decision, but not surprised. We have spoken about this possibility for some time now. In fact, I suspect you would join me if you did not have such a valuable mission in this vibrant community. I will still volunteer for the children's programs, and remain involved in activism, but I can no longer participate in the one rite that binds me to the Catholic Church. I cannot swallow the bile another day. I cannot look up at the altar when you read the gospel, give a homily that is so beautiful, it makes me weep, raise the chalice we believe is to be shared by everyone. I cannot bear the thought of you being driven from your ministry when the bishop discovers you are gay.

Hatred fueled by the resources of hundreds of thousands of parishes will be the central reason why the Church will eventually wither and die. I can no longer bear the stench of the rotting body and hierarchical ignorance. I can no longer embrace what has become a menace and money machine to support evil. We are all tainted by what happened in Maine. We are all lesser citizens because our brothers and sisters are lesser citizens.

We remain joined in friendship and common cause, my dear friend. I will need your counsel in this dark time because I feel hatred bubbling in my thoughts. I do not want to be them. Bless you, dear Andrew.

With great affection,

M.

Testimony from a final witness at a DC Council hearing on Gay Marriage Bill

The hate disguised as biblical righteousness spewing from this woman's mouth truly encapsulates the ugliness surrounding the gay marriage debate. But in spite of the ugliness, I encourage you to watch the clip to its conclusion. This woman is so bad, they literally had to turn her microphone off because they couldn't shut her up once she got rolling. And I couldn't help it, but I ended up getting a side ache from lauging so hard. This kind of ignorance and hatred is incomprehensible. But this woman is the face of the modern day Religious Right in all its glory:

Face of a Maine homosexual activist

This clip has gone viral, as of this posting there have been 437,828 views of this You Tube video. And the story has now been picked up by the main stream media in Maine.

Horrific quote of the day

"Islamic fundamentalists clearly understand the damage that homosexual behavior inflicts on a culture. This is why they repress such behavior by death...It may be brutal at times, but any culture that is able to produce wave after wave of suicide bombers...is a culture that at least knows how to value self sacrifice." From a letter sent out this week by the office of the Archbishop on Guam.

I am reeling. I am speechless. I am horrified. And I am repulsed.

Religion-based hatred and bigotry

I cannot wait to see this documentary. It is time to expose all these Churches that have galvanized their forces and poured so much money into enshrining their bigotry and hate into our laws. This film appears to focus strictly on the Mormon Church and its role in the passage of Prop 8. This is great, and I hope it makes those old Mormon sanctimonious farts squirm, but this momma would like to see a few of the Catholic Church's hateful old farts squirm too. After all their involvement in stripping Maine gays and lesbians of rights, protections, and dignity needs to be exposed in all its hateful glory as well:

I now understand why Bill Donohue is the face and voice of the Catholic Church

I used to wonder why the Catholic Church would want someone like the homophobic, bombastic Bill Donohue of the Catholic League For Religious and Civil Rights to be such a vocal voice for them. Long before walking away from the Church myself, I found him an embarassment and hated the fact that he and I belonged to the same Church. But now I've got to say I understand why he has been the face of the Catholic Church for so long. It was me who was out of sync with the church, not him.

And watching the video clip below of him spewing his toxic lies really brought it all home for me. What better way for the Church to kill 2 birds with one stone than to use this blowhard to blame gays for the decades of molestation that took place within the ranks of the Church? He spews his hateful lies and presto, it is a done deal: Catholic Church is exonerated from all blame for destroying so many innocent lives and all gays are now to blame for the sins committed by pedophile priests and those who enabled them.

Evil. Just pure evil.

Oh my God, has the Catholic Church lost its way:

Thank you Bangor Daily News for speaking truth to power

Wow. An editorial that calls the Catholic Church out for its dishonesty and zeal in trying to impose its will on the entire state of Maine by stripping gays and lesbians of the right to marry whomever they choose to marry:

The repeal effort has been led by the Roman Catholic Diocese. Bishop Richard Malone called same-sex marriage “a dangerous sociological experiment.” The fact that gay couples have existed for generations — many of them raising children — counters this argument. Worse, however, is the church’s attempt to force its views on all Maine’s residents, whether they are Catholic or not.

I really do think the most abhorrent part of this nasty campaign in Maine and the Prop 8 battle in California is the fact that these powerful churches are butting in with mega bucks and resources in an attempt to enshrine into our laws their misguided "religious" beliefs. Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.

And this practice is passing under the radar of most people because it doesn't directly affect them. But wait. Just wait. With each nasty hateful victory for these churches (yes, I'm talking to you Catholic Church and Mormon Church), they become more emboldened. And they will not rest until they are legislating everyone's morals. And by that time, it will be too late.

Publishing this editorial took courage. And according to Joe over at AMERICAblog, this paper leans conservative, which just goes to show you that there are still some principled conservatives left in this country.

Dear Religious Left

I know you are busy feeding the poor, providing shelter for the homeless, and basically tending to the least of us with the same mercy and compassion that Jesus did, but I was wondering if you could take time out of your extremely busy schedule to do more of this:



Otherwise people are going to think that statements like this one from Religious Right leader Richard Land, head of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, reflect the sentiments of all Religious leaders:

"What they are attempting to do in healthcare, particularly in treating the elderly, is not something like what the Nazis did. It is precisely what the Nazis did."

This accusation is shocking enough, but Land doesn't stop there. He goes on to single out President Obama, Speaker Pelosi, the Democratic Party, and "the government," accusing them of supporting euthanasia-like policies and practicing a "biological bigotry that is feeding a euthanasia mentality."

This despicable statement shines a small light on just how cruel and dishonest the Religious Right has become (and when it comes to God's lgbt children - they've gone completely off the edge with hate). It's mind boggling that they pass this drivel off as the work of God. But far more frightening is that they are filling mega-churches full with people who believe it.

The party of "Family Values" was revealed as the largest walk-in closet in the America

Max Blumenthal: "The modern radical right, the most homophobic political movement in American history, has become a sanctuary for repressed gay men.":



Hat tip: JMG

Is there any hope for the Republican Party?

I'm not so sure...

Today's Arizona Republic political cartoon

Gay Marriage = Religious Freedom

I really do need to go to bed, but all of a sudden I got this big rush of energy and sleep is the farthest thing on my mind. There's just something about discussing all the religious-based bigotry and lies that so freely flow from these churches and their little soldiers of hate that get's this momma all hot and fired up.

I saw this clip a few months ago and held on to it because it's really well done and gives us the straight facts we need to counter all the bullsh*t lies that are being used to demonize our gay loved ones:

One man's journey from religion-based bigotry to ally - his story gives this momma a reason to hope

Sometimes it gets to be too painful watching huge religious institutions like the Catholic and Mormon Churches working so hard to deny basic civil rights and dignity to gays and lesbians (which is why I've dropped off the radar so much - I need a break from it). It is agonizing to see these huge institutions using their tremendous power, resources, and reach in such hateful, destructive ways. I can only wonder how many thousands of people they will profoundly wound with their homophobia and hate before they see the terrible destruction they have wrought. And if I sound dramatic and shill --- well just chalk it up to the pain that those institutions have caused me, and so many other mothers and fathers who have gay and lesbian children. And this is something these churches are forgetting (at their own peril), and that is that for every gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender person they hurt in their misguided crusade, there is a family and friends who are also hurt.

So it was a rather nice surprise to read this article in Newsweek by Brent Childers, an evangelical Christian, and executive director of Faith in America, and a former self-described "bigot" who attended and marched in the National Equality March in DC last weekend. It is a lovely article which, for me, came in just the nick of time. It doesn't make the hurt of religious-based bigotry and hate go away, but it does give me hope. And for that I am grateful.

Here is a small snippet:

During the past four years I have looked into the faces of those I once caused harm to with religion-based bigotry and prejudice. And while I may have never inflicted a physical blow, I know today that my words indeed caused deep wounds—perhaps at some point deeper than I care to dwell upon.

They are the faces of individuals like young Sean Kennedy, who died in Greenville, S.C., in 2007 after being struck by a person who considered Sean a "faggot"; Pat and Lynn Mulder of Auburndale, Fla., whose gay son also died as a result of a hate crime; Jared Horsford of Texas who carved derogatory words into his flesh because he thought it would help control the demon he was told lived there; Nicholas White who was relentlessly berated by fellow 4-H peers at camp this summer as other 4-H campers stood behind the tormentors in silence; or the mother I met recently in North Carolina who grieved over her dead son—a child that had been rejected because he was gay and thought peace could only come through suicide.

So the Catholic Church is now going to make us choose - gay loved one or the Church?

This ad has some within the Catholic Church really, really upset. In fact so upset that they are demanding the ad be taken down:



And here is the reaction from the conservative Catholic group that is demanding the ad be removed from the airwaves, CatholicVoteAction.org:

CatholicVoteAction.org President Brian Burch said, "For decades gay and lesbian groups have attacked the Catholic Church for refusing to accept their skewed views on human sexuality and marriage. Having lost that battle, they have now launched this desperate and despicable attempt to curry favor with Catholics by pretending that the Catholic faith supports their radical agenda."

....

"Everybody knows the Catholic Church is opposed to counterfeit marriages . . . . For homosexual groups to suggest that the Catholic Church believes otherwise is disingenuous, dishonest, and an insult to the intelligence of Catholic voters in Maine," said Burch.

"We call on Protect Maine Equality to stop lying about our faith and to immediately pull this ad from the airwaves and from YouTube," said Burch.

So an ad depicting a good Catholic woman with a gay son, who unlike me, chose to remain a practicing Catholic in spite of the Church's cruel and hateful stand on homosexuality is now considered a threat to the Church.

I guess this means that if you are Catholic and have a loved one who is gay or lesbian, there is no in-between. You can remain in the Church, but you must remain silent while they descriminate and encourage hate and homophobia towards your love one, or you can leave the Church.

Good to know I made the right decision by walking away. And so did my husband, my three children, my mother, my four brothers and their families, numerous cousins and friends, ...

Good going Catholic Church. At the rate you are going, the only people left in your pews will be the ones looking for the biblical cover you so gladly provide them to be homophobes and haters.

More from Box Turtle Bulletin:

Remember the ad featuring the Catholic Grandma advocating for marriage equalityon behalf of her son and grandson? Apparently Catholics aren’t allowed to express an opinion. CatholicVoteAction.org, a conservative group out of Chicago, is demanding that the ad be taken down, claiming that it distorts Catholic teaching. It doesn’t, of course. It represents one woman’s ability to integrate her faith with her family, which we all know is a very dangerous thing for people who fight against families like hers. To these people, standing up for your own grandson cannot be tolerated. After all, that would be anti-family.

Still here, still seething

And quite pissed that I am still seething ...

So sorry for the long unexplained absence. I just cannot seem to pull myself out of this very bad funk in which I have been steeping.

It's not so much buyers remorse, but more like a very bad knock up the side of the head. We finally get rid of the disastrous Bush/Cheney 8 year nightmare and usher in our first Black President and a lot of hope and dreams. And yet, here we sit no better off as far as gay rights go than we were 9 months ago. In fact, I don't see that we are any better off on anything than we were 9 months ago. Except for the fact that this president does not use the glbt community for political gain, which I must admit, is huge, I don't see much reason to be hopeful.

Silly, stupid me. I guess if change is really going to happen, it is going to happen because we make it happen here on the ground floor. I was so naive to believe that any one person can make the kind of changes I want to see happen. Not even if that person is Barack Obama.

And yes, yes, yes. I get it. Full plate. Two wars going badly. Horrible recession. High unemployment. Health Care Reform flailing. And angry, nasty, vile, racist venom spewing from the usual suspects poisoning the public discourse worse than I ever thought could be possible.

It all got to be more than I could take. I had to walk away. I needed a break. No more writing. No more public seething. No more unrealistic expectations.

And I am not sure I am back to stay. The hibernation has helped. Although living in this whack-a-doodle state of Arizona with its wingnut legislature and a Republican Governor WE DID NOT ELECT has not helped. It has only served as a reminder that I can hide from the craziness, but I cannot escape it. But I will say this, it is no wonder that we are losing our best and brightest young people to other places. Who wants to live in a state that thinks the answers to all our problems is yanking benefits from domestic partners and their families, demonizing anyone with brown skin, idolizing and re-electing a publicity starved sheriff, amending the constitution to ban gay marriage, making it much harder for desperate young women to make difficult, gut-wrenching decisions with their doctors without the morality police inserting themselves, making it legal to carry concealed weapons into restaurants and bars, and banning sparklers (No, really! I kid you not. Guns-YES, sparklers-No too dangerous).

So I will be around. Sporadically. But can't promise anything more right now.

Love Still Seething Mom

Dear President Obama

As the parents of 3 children, one of them gay, my husband of 28 years and I listened to your speech at the Human Rights Campaign gala this past weekend with the same urgent anticipation and hope that we had when you campaigned for President. And as we did during your Presidential campaign, we hung on to your every word. We knew you were not just speaking to a room full gay and lesbian activists, but to us too. In fact we honestly believed you were talking to every fair-minded person in this country who believes that all Americans are entitled to equal protection under the law.

I cannot tell you how profoundly grateful we are for the complete change in tone that you have brought to the table when discussing the subject of gay and lesbian equality. As a former life-long Republican it was hell enduring 8 years of a Republican administration and congress that so cruelly used our beloved son and the gay and lesbian community for political gain. We felt intense betrayal and anger.

And then you came along. Your eloquent words were a salve to our wounds. The courage you displayed by addressing, head on, the discrimination of Don't Ask, Don't Tell, the Defense of Marriage Act, the homophobia in so many churches, and all of the other injustices that gays and lesbians have endured for so long was refreshing and welcome. You gave us hope that one day our gay son would have the same rights and be treated with the same dignity and respect that those who identify as straight enjoy and take for granted.

So in spite of the fact that we have yet to see any of your promises turned into action, we have remained patient. Your words at the HRC event strengthened our resolve to hang in there with you. After all, we understand the tremendous amount of pressing issues that are demanding your attention right now. Our faith in you has not waivered.

So imagine my embarrassment and feelings of utter gullibility and naivety when I turned on the television just in time to catch John Harwood, a CNBC Chief Washington Correspondent, telling us that a White House advisor told him that the White House views the people demonstrating for Gay Rights as part of the “internet left fringe”. And that those bloggers need to take off their pajamas, get dressed and realize that governing a closely divided country is complicated and difficult.


Really?? pajama-clad internet left fringe?? Really? Is that how you view us?


Because if it is, then there has been some serious misjudgment on both of our parts. My husband and I are NOT “pajama-clad internet left fringe". But we are parents. And like you Mr. President we love our children with every fiber in our bodies. And we want NOTHING MORE than what every other loving parent wants for their children. We want all three of our children to be treated equally under the law. We want them to have the freedom to marry whomever they love, without any government intervention and with all the rights, responsibilities and protections that come with that contract and commitment, we want them to have the right to serve their country, if they so choose, without the constant fear of dismissal because of their sexual orientation, we want them to be able to live their lives in a world where they are defined by who they are and not who they love. In other words Mr. President, we want equal protection under the law for all of our children regardless of whom they choose to love.

And we will not settle for anything less.

And if that makes us pajama-clad internet left fringe in the eyes of "the White House" -- then the White House has got a pretty big problem because that pajama-clad internet left fringe includes a whole lot of mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, grandparents, aunts, uncles, friends, fellow employees, bosses, and straight allies.

And if believing that no American should be denied rights because of their sexual orientation makes us a problem for you or any of your advisors, then I'd say you have a pretty big problem Mr. President, because we are the people who campaigned for you, believed deeply in you, donated generously to your campaign, talked enthusiastically and ad-nauseam to our friends and neighbors about you, voted for you, and cried tears of joy the night you were declared our new president.


And finally Mr. President, this is a civil rights issue. It is not a Left Issue, it is not a Right Issue. And yet, I sit here, in front of my computer, clad in my pajamas (it's bedtime), knowing in my heart that I have not misjudged you, but feeling like I still need to tell you this.

Please don't underestimate us Mr. President. You are not dealing with a bunch of left-wing fringe nutcases asking for special rights, you are dealing with normal everyday people who come from a wide swath of backgrounds, political beliefs, ethnicities, and religious beliefs, but we share a few things in common. We believe in you, we voted for you, and we know your words are not empty promises. Please don't let us down. Please prove to us that we have not been duped.

And please keep on speaking your beautiful eloquent words of hope, faith and equality. But work to make them a reality someday soon too. And please make my beautiful son equal to your beautiful daughters.

You've already got the hard part done. You spoke the powerful truth to the American people when you were asking them to hire you as their next president. And they did not reject you. But they soundly rejected the ugly, hateful, divisive politics of the last 8 years by putting you in the Oval Office. Please don't forget that.

Another sanctimonious GOP SOB hypocrite falls PART 2

OMG.

This is getting old. Another "Family Values", "Christian Values", "Protector of Marriage", FRAUD is out there doing EVERYTHING he has been so sanctimoniously preaching against for years. Governor Mark Sanford (South Carolina) gets added to the loooong and ever-growing list of Sanctimonious GOP Frauds who have given the term Hypocrite new meaning:

Another sanctimonious GOP SOB hypocrite falls

Awwwwww look at that happy couple. Can't you just feel the Sanctity of their marriage just oozing out all over your computer screen?

And why wouldn't you? This is Nevada Senator John Ensign and his wife Darlene. And yes, this is the same guy who proclaimed back in 2004:

“Marriage is the cornerstone on which our society was founded. For those who say that the Constitution is so sacred that we cannot or should not adopt the Federal Marriage Amendment, I would simply point out that marriage, and the sanctity of that institution, predates the American Constitution and the founding of our nation.”

Well guess what?

The sanctity of the born-again Senator’s own marriage didn’t last so long. Ensign has now admitted that he had an affair between December 2007 and August 2008 with a woman who worked for both his re-election campaign and his Battleborn political action committee. To make matters worse, the New York Times reports that the woman’s husband had worked on Ensign’s Senate staff. MSNBC is reporting that Ensign is telling fellow Senators that he’s coming forward to head off an extortion attempt by his former mistress. Politico reports that it’s the mistress’s husband who was trying to shake Ensign down.

Ensign demanded Sen. Larry Craig’s resignation in September 2007 over Craig’s arrest for soliciting sexual favors in a Minnesota airport public men’s room. He also called for President Bill Clinton’s resignation during the Monica Lewinsky scandal while running for the Senate in 1998. No word yet on whether Ensign plans on resigning, or if he’s going to relinquish his chairmanship of the powerful GOP Policy Committee. Darlene Ensign, like Larry Craig’s wife, is standing by her man.

Ho hum. Another loathsome holier-than-thou Republican fraud who cannot keep his own you-know-what in his pants, but has no problem legislating other people's morality. What a creep.

Rachael Maddow's take on the affair:

How my son became a political tool

Hat tip JMG

Grief and Betrayal

I am too heartsick to say much about Obama's vigorous and very hurtful defense of DOMA, the Defense of Marriage Act. But suffice it to say that not only did this administration defend DOMA with a zeal that could warm the cockles of even James Dobson's stone-cold heart, but gratuitous Religious Right homophobic venom such as comparisons between same-sex marriage and incest were used to make extra sure they got their point across. And yes, I got their point loud and clear, my son is just as much a political tool and liability to this administration as he was to past administrations. The only difference is I expected this hateful nonsense from George W. Bush, I didn't expect it from this President. And that is what stings the most.

What a naive fool I am. I actually believed I was supporting, both financially and with my vote, a man who was going to be my beloved gay son's "fierce advocate" (Obama's words, not mine) in the fight for his equality. And my husband and I did everything in our power to help him get elected.

Someone please please kick me in the gut, I need something to take my mind off the intense grief and betrayal I am feeling.

From the New York Times:

The Obama administration, which came to office promising to protect gay rights but so far has not done much, actually struck a blow for the other side last week. It submitted a disturbing brief in support of the Defense of Marriage Act, which is the law that protects the right of states to not recognize same-sex marriages and denies same-sex married couples federal benefits. The administration needs a new direction on gay rights.

...If the administration does feel compelled to defend [DOMA], it should do so in a less hurtful way. It could have crafted its legal arguments in general terms, as a simple description of where it believes the law now stands. There was no need to resort to specious arguments and inflammatory language to impugn same-sex marriage as an institution.

The best approach of all would have been to make clear, even as it defends the law in court, that it is fighting for gay rights. It should work to repeal "don't ask, don't tell," the law that bans gay men and lesbians in the military from being open about their sexuality. It should push hard for a federal law banning employment discrimination. It should also work to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act in Congress.

The administration has had its hands full with the financial crisis, health care, Guantánamo Bay and other pressing matters. In times like these, issues like repealing the marriage act can seem like a distraction — or a political liability. But busy calendars and political expediency are no excuse for making one group of Americans wait any longer for equal rights.

Never again will I be so gullible. Never again.

AZ Legislature Moves To Strip Domestic Partner Benefits

I am so angry right now, I cannot think straight. So I'll let Jim at Box Turtle Bulletin give you the details of the latest idiocy going on in the backward state of Arizona since I feel like I am going to be sick:

Here’s a story that goes to show that marriage opponents will lie, cheat and steal to have their way.

Last summer, Arizona lawmakers broke Senate rules in order to place an anti-marriage amendment on the 2008 ballot. At the time, they said that Prop 102 would not endanger domestic partnerships, and that all they wanted to do was “define marriage” in the state constitution. Marriage opponents went on to make this a key centerpiece on their Prop 102 campaign, that they had no interest in denying anyone’s domestic partnership benefits.

Well now we know that was yet another bold-faced lie:

State lawmakers are moving to strip the domestic partners of state and university employees of the health insurance coverage they gained just a year ago.

A provision in the state budget would legally define “dependents” of state employees who are entitled to coverage as a spouse or a child younger than 19 — or younger than 23 if a full-time student. Changing the law would override regulations adopted last year that added domestic partners and their children to the list.

The state Department of Administration says about 750 workers who have signed up for the benefits would be affected.

The measure passed the House last night and is now on the governor’s desk. Gov. Jan Brewer (R), who became governor when Janet Napolitano (D) became Homeland Security secretary for the Obama administration, was on record in 2006 for opposing domestic partner benefits for state employees.

Equality Arizona is urging state residents to call Governor’s office (602-... or toll free at 1-800...) or email the Governor here.

As I've mentioned before, I'm a native Arizonan, but as far as I am concerned, it's nothing I want to brag about. Right now, I can feel nothing but shame. No wonder my three children, all of whom graduated in the top 5% of their high school classes, hoofed it out of this backward state as fast as they could. Why would they stay? They had merit scholarships giving them almost free rides to private universities in more progressive states that value people on their abilities and not whom they choose to love. Why the hell would anyone stay here when one's potential contribution to this state is completely irrelevant if the person they love doesn't meet the standards set by the neanderthals in our state legislature?

There is nothing left here for my husband and me. Our kids are gone. Any pride we had in this state is gone. I suppose we are not long for this place either. But until we can get out of here, I am going to fight on. Hopeless as it feels right now.

If you are an Arizona resident, please call and give our governor an earful (Jim lists the numbers above). Who knows, maybe our new governor has enough sense to see that this legislation is nothing more than hate and homophobia. And Arizona is the loser.

Wanted: President with empathy

Dear President Obama,

I write to you today as a parent, and I am asking you to hear my plea not as President of the United States, but as the parent of two beautiful daughters.

My husband and I cried tears of joy that November night back in 2008 when you were declared the victor and 44th president of the United States. But despite our tremendous relief that George W. Bush would soon be gone and you would soon be taking over, it was still a bittersweet night for us. Yes, our hopes and prayers had been answered. Yes, the eight year nightmare finally felt almost over. But our intense joy was overshadowed by the passages of hateful marriage amendments in both Arizona and California.

My husband and I understood exactly what those horrible marriage amendments were really all about and we knew it had nothing to do with protecting the sanctity of our 27-year marriage, and everything to do with hate, ignorance and bigotry masquerading as a mandate from God. It was also the point at which we painfully realized that enough of our fellow Arizonans, possibly friends and neighbors among them, felt so strongly that our son was not worthy of the same rights they enjoyed that they could pull the lever for enshrining his second-class citizenship into our state constitution. I cannot describe the pain we felt. Saying it was excruciating just doesn't do it justice.

But thankfully I was able to console myself with the knowledge that these amendments represented the last of the divisive political tactics used by the previous administration to pit American against American simply to win, with no regard to the damage it would do to our country. We just knew that with your election this kind of stuff would soon be an ugly memory and that we would soon have a man of honor and dignity coming into office - a man who promised, over and over, to make things right.

Mr. President, we were deeply moved by all of the inspirational speeches you gave during your campaign. We hung on to your every word. We were so desperate for change and your words filled us with so much hope and optimism. We believed you when you promised you'd fight for legal equality for gays and lesbians by expanding the Employment Non-Discrimination Act to include sexual orientation and gender identity, we believed you when said you'd urge states to treat same-sex couples with full equality in their family and adoption laws, we believed you when you promised you'd repeal the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, and we believed you when you said you'd support the repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).

Just recently you spoke about choosing a person who would judge with “empathy” for the U.S. Supreme Court. That resonates with me. I believe in the power of being able to walk a mile in someone else's shoes. I believe that ability makes one a better a better friend, neighbor, parent, judge, lawmaker, and yes, President of the United States. And it is, Mr. President, a quality I thought I saw in you.

But maybe I was wrong.

Yes, I know, you walked into a horrific mess on January 20th, 2009. Yes, your plate is full. Yes, there are many urgent matters that must be dealt with. And yes, you must make some tremendously difficult prioritizing decisions. But your silence on every single one of these LGBT issues Mr. President, is deafening. And it is a crushing disappointment.

Do you ever ask yourself how you'd feel if one of your precious daughter's rights were up for negotiation at the ballot box every time some person or church decided that who your daughter chooses to love doesn't meet their religious standards? Do you ever wonder what it would be like to explain to your daughters why one of them will have all the rights and protections guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States and the other never will? Have you ever asked yourself how you would feel if people who claim to be religious used all their time, energy, and precious resources fighting to keep one of your daughters from being included in school anti-bullying measures or hate-crime legislation while the other daughter's inclusion is a foregone conclusion? Do you ever ask yourself how you'd feel if one of your daughters was dismissed from the military after years of committed service to her country because she refused to lie about who she was? Do you ever wonder how it would make you feel if one of your daughters was turned away from a job, or fired from a job, or denied housing because of her sexual orientation, percieved or real? Does the idea of putting one of your daughter's rights up for a vote feel like mob rule to you? Do any of these scenarios make you sick to your stomach. Would these scenarios feel like minor injustices that could be put on a back burner to be addressed at a much later date if one of your daughters were gay?

I could go on and on, but I won't. The fact that I am pleading with you nearly 5 months into your presidency to keep the promises you made while asking for my vote is telling. The fact that I have to beg you to make my son an equal citizen of this great country is something I cannot believe I'm being forced to do. The idea that the constitutionally protected rights of a minority can be put up for a vote by the majority is un-American, unconstitutional, and just plain wrong.

So I ask you Mr. President, how would you feel if you were forced to beg your friends, your neighbors, your fellow citizens, and even the President of the United States to treat one of your precious daughters the same way they treat their own children? How would you feel? Horrified? Indifferent? Filled with seething rage? I need to know, because your answer to that question will tell me just how much empathy you have.