Just Looking At Today’s News

I have been a bit overwhelmed lately trying to get ready for a move in 5 weeks. Dealing with all of the things that go along with a move has left me with little stomach for news items like the ones below. And keep in mind, this is just from perusing a couple of sites today. This crap is depressing:

Ford sales hit by gay ad protest:

A lovely little snippet:

A conservative Christian group has seized upon Ford Motor Co.'s sponsorship of an upcoming gay pride event in Ferndale to intensify its call for a nationwide boycott of the automaker, and dealers in some parts of the country say the campaign is starting to hurt sales.

Pastors are preaching against Ford in their Sunday sermons. And some congregants have called and written dealers, saying they won't buy Ford cars until the company stops supporting organizations working to legalize gay marriage.

Hat tip: PageOneQ

Falwell vows no support for Giuliani

A lovely little snippet:

Televangelist Jerry Falwell doesn't see any Democrat making inroads with evangelical Christian voters in the next presidential election. Potential Republican candidate Rudolph Giuliani, the former New York city mayor, won't be scoring any points with Falwell, either.

"Everybody admires him. And I'll never forget the great things he did on 9/11 and following," Falwell said.

"But, of course, we have, as conservative Christians who take the Bible seriously, we have probably irreconcilable differences on life and family and that kind of thing," Falwell said Sunday on "Late Edition" on CNN.

"I'll never speak an ill word about him because he means so much to America. But, yes, you're right. I couldn't support him for president," he said.

Giuliani supports abortion rights, gay rights and gun control.

Hat tip: PageOneQ

Report: Two-thirds of Gay Students Face Harassment

A lovely little snippet:

Seventeen-year-old Jessie Liberatore has been spit on, called a dyke and even pushed down the stairs at her public school in Havre de Grace, Md.

The harassment started even before she came out in the ninth grade when there were just rumors about her sexual orientation.

"It was worse at the beginning," she said. "I’m lucky in that I’ve gone to Havre de Grace public schools my entire life. They realize I’m still the same person that they’ve known."

According to a new survey by the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network, the experiences of Liberatore, who is gay, are not uncommon.

In 2005, GLSEN surveyed 1,732 lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students between the ages of 13 and 20 from all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The survey results were released last week.

Hat tip: PageOneQ

Calvey Praises Reversal of Sexual Orientation Policy

A lovely little snippet:

OKLAHOMA CITY –(March 23, 2006)State Rep. Kevin Calvey praised the Oklahoma State Board of Education today for repealing their sexual orientation policy.

After a request from Calvey, the State Board of Education met today to make a rule change that repeals their current sexual orientation policy by modifying it to be in sync with federal and state law.

"This brings Oklahoma’s educational rules in line with federal and state law and also in line with the values shared by the large majority of Oklahomans," said Calvey, R-Del City.

Currently, federal and state laws require strong anti-discrimination policies in the areas of gender and race but do not address sexual orientation.

Calvey said the board’s new rule will protect public schools from having to allow homosexual-rights organizations to hold meetings on school grounds and will also give school boards more control over personnel decisions.

"The board’s old policy would have opened the door for our schools to become battlegrounds where activists for ‘alternative’ lifestyles would try to undermine the moral teachings of parents," said Calvey. "Now, Oklahomans won’t have to worry about that."

"I would like to thank Deborah and David Williams for bringing this issue to my attention and Mike Jestes and David Dunn of the Oklahoma Family Policy Council for raising public awareness on this issue."

Hat tip: PageOneQ

Report: Military commanders perpetrate antigay harassment

A lovely little snippet:

A new study published this month in the journal Military Psychology shows that U.S. military commanders often perpetrate or witness antigay harassment and those who are being harassed often fail to report it.

"Antigay harassment remains a daily reality for our men and women in uniform," said C. Dixon Osburn, executive director of Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, an advocacy group for gay service personnel. "Pentagon leaders have failed to implement their Anti-Harassment Action Plan and have openly acknowledged that they have no plans to more aggressively enforce measures to protect service members from antigay harassment."

Hat tip: Advocate.com:

So to recap:

· Our holy (((((bristle)))) Christian soldiers are working hard and steadfastly to take down an already embattled American Car Company because they dare to support diversity and tolerance. Sunday sermons are actually devoted to this.

· The Reverand ((((bristle)))) Jerry Falwell will not support Rudy Giuliani for president even though he thinks Mr. Giuliani is a great guy and did great things on 911. None of that matters because he supports gay rights. That cancels out all of the good things that might make him a great President.

· Two thirds of gay students are harassed in school and this statistic has not changed much from 3 years ago when the last survey was taken. A lot can be attributed to the Religious (((((bristle)))))) Right, which has fought hard to keep anti-bullying policies out of schools for fear that the gay kids might not get their daily beating or dose of hateful harassment.

· The Oklahoma State Board of Education earned high praise from State Rep. Kevin Calvey for repealing their sexual orientation policy. Now Oklahoma students can enjoy daily harassment and beatings like the rest of the country’s gay students. And as State Rep Calvey points out, Oklahoma’s educational rules are now finally in line with the values shared by the large majority of Oklahomans. How nice! Who wants to move to Oklahoma?

· And last and maybe most repulsive, reprehensible, and unforgivable of all: gay and lesbians in the military sign up to defend their country and possibly pay the ultimate price and that does not even earn them the right to be treated with dignity and respect. And most shameful of all: it is the military commanders perpetrating the antigay harassment. Wow what big brave men of honor you bullies are…

I am sick to my stomach. I am going to bed. Suddenly our move in 5 weeks sounds more appealing than reading about these horrendously horrible people. It is hard to have hope in humanity when I read about these poor excuses for human beings behaving in such evil ugly hateful ways and trying to pass it off as Christian behavior.