Ah Geeze! You want to rethink that Veto Arnold?

According to 365gay:

(Cazenovia, Wisconsin) A 15-year old charged in the Friday shooting death of his high school principal was angry that the man and others at the school had failed to stop classmates from bullying him court documents allege.

***

According to court papers filed late Friday by the prosecutor in Sauk County Circuit Court Hainstock told police after he was taken into custody that students regularly bullied him - calling him "fag" and "faggot" and rubbed up against him.

The documents say that the teenager told police he was so frustrated that Klang and teachers would do nothing to stop the harassment he decided to arm himself.

And in other news, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed AB 606 (Levine), an anti-bullying act. This bill would require a school district to establish and publicize an antidiscrimination and antiharassment policy that prohibits discrimination and harassment based on specified characteristics, including, but not limited to, actual or perceived gender identify and sexual orientation.

So what I want to know is this: Are you still feeling pretty good about that veto Arnold? Was that little bone you threw to the Religious Right to keep them at bay worth it? Because the Traditional Values Coalition sure thinks so:

Praise God, Governor Schwarzenegger Vetoes SB 1437

A public outcry was lifted by your letters, phone calls, and rallies joining the entire Republican caucus in the California Senate and Assembly asking Governor Schwarzenegger to veto SB 1437 which was passed by the homosexual dominated Democratic legislature.

We must thank the Governor for “keeping his word.”

And we must continue the outcry against the other homosexual education bills
AB 606 and AB 1056 plus SB 1471, a sex education bill by Senator Sheila Kuehl.

And It’s (CYA) Business as Usual for the Party of Religious and Family Values

John Amato wonders whether Boehner is objecting to Nancy Pelosi’s Investigation Resolution because his own hands might be a bit filthy regarding the Foley Sex scandal cover-up.

John also notes that when the clerk reads the resolution calling for an ethics investigation into Foley – Republicans actually boo Nancy when she asks for a recorded vote. They don’t boo the brewing sex scandal -- they boo Nancy.

You gotta see it to believe it. Crooks and Liars has the video.

My God! When oh when will this nightmare end?

You Didn’t Learn Diddly Squat from the Catholic Church’s Scandal – Now Did You?

As sad and completely outrageous as the Foley story is, the true scandal may just now be unfolding. It seems that prominent members of the House GOP leadership may have known about Representative Foley’s “problem” for as long as 10 or 11 months. It also seems that this Party of Religious and Family Values kind of forgets about those “Values” that they so love to shove down our throats when it looks like putting those “Values” where their sanctimonious mouths are could be politically damaging.

This whole thing sure feels eerily déjà vu of another unsavory, hypocritical, and disgusting scandal by an institution that preaches Religious and Family Values, the Catholic Church. Doesn’t it seem like this GOP is taking a page straight out of the Catholic Church’s “Protect Our Asses at All Costs” handbook? And if that is the case, is act II for the GOP going to be page 2 of the Vatican’s playbook: Blame everything on those evil homos and maybe no one will notice from where the real evil emanates?

The Party of “Family Values” Is Full of Pious Hypocrites

As you have probably already heard, Rep. Mark Foley (R-Fla.), suddenly announced this afternoon he is stepping down from Congress after his sex-laced e-mails to a former male page, who was 16, were published. Rep. Foley made headlines in May 2003 when he took the unusual step of calling a news conference to denounce a report in a South Florida alternative paper that he is gay.

And just when you think the story cannot get any worse, it does. Representative Foley is a member of the Missing and Exploited Children Caucus. He is responsible for authoring legislation to overhaul our nation’s sex offender registration and notification laws.

I’m so upset and so tired tonight that I think I will just let the Inside Dope express my utter disgust for me:

In a party built on phony piety and hypocrisy, it's become almost routine when prominent members, almost always those that are most damning and intolerant of gays, are revealed to be gay, perverts, or both. Literally dozens of Republicans have been revealed to be sexual deviants and predators.

And to make things even more upsetting is how little time it takes for the brain-dead responses to start spilling from the mouths of those who would support Charles Manson if he proclaimed himself a good Christian, Gay-hatin, Family Values, Republican. The Carpetbagger has kindly gone where I just cannot make myself go and he has come back with the inevitable slime that spills from the mouths of some of these numbskulls:

The award for the most disturbing response to the Foley controversy comes by way of the fine folks at RedState, who had a post saying, "I will refrain from pointing out that Barney Frank is still in Congress and I will refrain from daring to suggest that this is just another example of why the policy against gay scoutmasters in the Boy Scouts is a good one." (The post has since been taken down.)

The sad fact is closeted gay Republican politicians are dangerous. They are pretty much forced to live a double life, deeply hidden in the closet by day while quietly slinking in the shadows by night. And this whole charade is carried on under the added burden of proving to everyone that they are someone they aren't with votes that reek of desparation for the approval of the most extreme in their base. So nothing about them is real and their priorities are completely out of line with what is best for their constituency. And in the end we have a hypocrite one scandal away from exposure. This is not good for anyone. This is not good for America. And as Pam points out constantly:

Yet another reason why homo politicians who vote anti-gay have no business holding office. When you live your life in the shadows of self-loathing trolling for sex, this is the end result -- poor judgment, outlandish arrogance that you won't get caught, and ultimately, in this day and age, public humiliation when it surfaces.


Update: And as always, Andrew can speak eloquently from a perspective that I shall never be able to speak from:

I don't know Foley, although, like any other gay man in D.C., I was told he was gay, closeted, afraid and therefore also screwed up. What the closet does to people - the hypocrisies it fosters, the pathologies it breeds - is brutal. There are many still-closeted gay men in D.C., many of them working for a Republican party that has sadly deeply hostile to gay dignity. How they live with themselves I do not fully understand.

****

What I do know is that the closet corrupts. The lies it requires and the compartmentalization it demands can lead people to places they never truly wanted to go, and for which they have to take ultimate responsibility. From what I've read, Foley is another example of this destructive and self-destructive pattern for which the only cure is courage and honesty. While gays were fighting for thir basic equality, Foley voted for the "Defense of Marriage Act". If his resignation means the end of the closet for him, and if there is no more to this than we now know, then it may even be for the good. Better to find integrity and lose a Congressional seat than never live with integrity at all.

Dr. Paul Cameron and Gay Penguins

Ok, this clip is a bit old, but I am intrigued by this Dr. Paul Cameron, a man so homophobic that he is willing to sell his soul and any credibility and reputation he might have had by using his own bogus studies to claim that “homosexuals threaten public health, social order, and the well-being of children.” It doesn’t matter that “his conclusions were generally at odds with other published research, and that objective indices show his work has had no apparent impact on scientific research on sexual orientation.” And yes, I know that in 1983, the American Psychological Association sent him a letter informing him that he had been dropped from membership and that in 1984, the Nebraska Psychological Association adopted a resolution stating that it "formally disassociates itself from the representations and interpretations of scientific literature offered by Dr. Paul Cameron in his writings and public statements on sexuality." And yes, I also know that the only people that will have anything to do with him are people who’d like nothing more than to demonize gays and lesbians at any cost, like the Family Research Institute of Colorado Springs, Colorado, an extremely anti-gay organization. For them, Dr. Cameron’s discredited studies work just fine for achieving their goals. I mean, who needs peer reviewed, credible scientific studies when they can just look to Dr. Cameron to pull something out of thin air to back up whatever claim they need legitimized?

Santorum momentum 'dead in the water'

Raw Story is reporting:

A new poll on the senatorial race in Pennsylvania released today by Quinnipiac University shows challenger Bob Casey Jr. leading incumbent Senator Rick Santorum (R) by a margin of 12 points. This is an increase over a six point lead Casey had last month.

I am trying not to allow myself to get too excited about this yet, but boy is it hard. I suppose there is still time before the November elections for Senator Santorum to rebound, but at this point it isn’t looking too likely. Although I suppose if anyone can pull off a miracle, it should be him since he is one of God’s chosen few. But barring the miracle, it looks like Righteous Ricky is soon gonna be nothing more than a really bad memory. And that is going to be one very joyful day for this seething mom.

Oh Senator Santorum I have been waiting so long to do this and even at the risk of jinxing things, I just cannot hold my tongue any longer. I want to be one of the first to bid you good bye and good riddance. I want to thank you for giving this seething mom hope for the first time in 5 ½ years that America has had its fill of pious little hypocrites like you. I want to congratulate you for taking first place in the contest to say the most despicable, vile, and repulsive things and then artfully passing it off as God’s Word. I must say you’ve got that down to a science an art form. And I want to begrudgingly give you credit for baptizing me and my husband into the deep, dark, and ugly world of hate and homophobia within days of learning that one of our beloved children was gay. As searingly painful as that was, it was necessary. It was absolutely imperative that we learn quickly just how despicable some people are towards those that do not meet their rigid standards for perfection. And you were the best guy from whom to learn that nasty little lesson. And lastly I want to thank you for opening my eyes to how many self-righteous, little men like you there are. I had no idea so many people like you actually existed. But I needed to know what I was up against and you helped me discover the cold hard truth. Now this is going to sound a little bizarre, but I am grateful to you for one more thing. You have no idea how comforting it was when I finally realized that it was people like you who consider my son an abomination. You really helped me put everything into perspective. You have helped me through this very difficult period in my life. With your help, I am finally at peace with my son's sexual orientation. And I now believe that it is all part of God's plan. Now how about that for unintended consequences?

Oh Senator Santorum, I cannot tell you how good it feels to finally allow some of this pent-up rage to ooze from the festering wound in my heart. Watching you become a former Senator will be one big step towards healing that horrible wound that you have thrown salt in for the past 5 1/2 years. I can hardly contain myself. The thought of you leaving the Senate forever fills me with so much hope for the future of this country. It's time for you to go home and be a dad and raise your family and see things from the same perspective we have been seeing them for the eternity that you have been in office. And in the meantime I will pray that none of your children ever have to come to you and tell you that he or she is gay, because as much as I’d enjoy the amazing irony of it all, I would not wish that kind of cruelty on any child. And something tells me that is when we'd see your true family values come out and I have a feeling it would be yet another example of the hypocrisy that has been the mainstay of your time in the Senate.

Geez - How disconnected from reality is this?

"As we face the issues that we are facing today, I don't think there's anything more important out there than the marriage issue," - Marilyn Musgrave, seeking re-election in Colorado.


Hat tip to Andrew

Hey Arizona, Look What Wisconsin Is Doing

Voters will be deciding on whether they want a state constitutional ban on gay marriage in a number of states this November, including my own state of Arizona. Thus far the record on outcomes in states that have already voted on this initiative has been dismal. But there is a new and I think persuasive ad that has begun airing in Wisconsin, another state whose voters will find this initiative on their ballot come November. This ad does a good job of appealing to “voters' compassion and sense of fair play” and in my opinion is very powerful. It exposes how discrimination hurts couples when one gets cancer or some other terminal illness by telling the story of a real family who has already lived the nightmare. I believe this ad will give voters some pretty profound things to think about before they “pull the trigger” for or against this amendment.

I believe Americans are, by and large, compassionate and fair people. I wish my own state would air an ad like this. People need to see and hear this side of the story before they make a decision. They need to know there will be very real repercussions to very real families. And Lord only knows they won’t hear it from the pulpits of most of their churches even though that is where they should be hearing it.

It truly urks the holy hell out of me that we even have to appeal to the voters’ compassion and sense of fair play. Damn it, no one should be handed the power to deny their fellow citizens rights that they themselves already enjoy! It is just plain un-American and un-Christian. But in a very real sense that is what is happening here and it goes against every principle that has made this country great. It simply galls me that Americans are being asked to enshrine discrimination into a document that is usually used to protect minority rights. It sends the very clear message to a whole segment of our society: you are not as worthy as me and the constitution was written to protect everyone but you.

Check out the ad:

And speaking of the ugly face of the Bush base

… any time spent on a non-discrimination policy protecting gays and lesbians is "too much time."

So says Missouri Governor, Matt Blunt’s spokesman, Spence Jackson. Apparently, the esteemed GOP Governor of Missouri has his panties in a twist over a “clarification” of Missouri State University's non-discrimination policy. According to said esteemed Gov the “clarification” is "unnecessary and bad." He further bemoans that "Today's decision bows to the forces of political correctness."

The article goes on to state that the university was acting on a recommendation from a committee looking into ways to improve diversity on campus.

But I guess Governor Blunt doesn't think they need no stinkin diversity! It kind of makes you wonder if there are any Missouri campuses listed in the The Advocate College Guide for LGBT Student.

Well I can tell you this, after reading of Governor Blunt’s very blunt feelings on diversity (code for LGBT) issues, this seething mom will be scratching Missouri off her three kids’ lists of college possibilities. For this family the attitudes of the city and state governments matter as much as the institutions within them.

The ugly face of the Bush base - Brains of mush; hearts of stone

I usually leave the job of trudging through the swamplands of freeperville to Pam because I simply do not have the stomach for it. In fact I usually have to skim rather quickly through the hate-filled diatribes and foam-at-the-mouth rants because it is so depressing to see such horrible things coming from the mouths of people who actually consider themselves good Christians. Well there is an interesting article on AlterNet today by Melissa McEwan aka Shakespeare’s Sister discussing this very thing:

Pam Spaulding is a brave woman. She regularly delves into the muck at the Free Republic to see that the Freeper response is to various issues, which inevitably yields a collection of gross lunacy that makes one contemplate whether most of the traffic to the Free Republic emanates from asylums for the criminally insane. Having been reading The Blend for two years now, almost nothing in Pam's regularly culled Freepi twaddle manages to surprise me anymore, but I was particularly disgusted by what she found in response to a wholly inoffensive story about coming out to one's kids which aired on KNBC-4 in Los Angeles.

Within two comments, the rabid nutwits had already invoked bestiality -- "Next, 'How to tell your children you're into beastiality" and "How to tell your children you're a Democrat.'" -- and it only went downhill from there.

You will need to go read for yourself the horror that spews from the mouths of these so called Christians. Somehow I just cannot bring myself to contaminate this blog spot with such filth. As it is I feel the need to go decontaminate myself.

CORPORATE AMERICA GETS IT

I got an email from the Human Rights Campaign today with news about a great trend in Corporate America. The headline reads:

NEW REPORT SHOWS CORPORATE AMERICA INCREASINGLY COMPETING TO BE THE MOST GAY-FRIENDLY

Industry Trends Show Fierce Competition; Benefits Ranging from Domestic Partner Health Plans to Transgender Protections

It is really nice to know that Corporate America understands the value that their GLBT employees bring to the workplace. The HRC report can be found here.

This really is wonderful news, but as Pam has already noted there will be people who will be none too happy about this:

The fundies will most definitely come out, guns blazing, at this news, out of sheer frustration. While our government, which is supposed to represent us, drags its feet on civil equality and fairness, corporate America is the one venue where equality for LGBT citizens has been on a constant, positive trajector

She goes on to say that the growth is notable:

138 major U.S. companies earned HRC's highest rating of 100 percent, up from 101 in 2005. Over four years the overall growth is tenfold, despite constant pressure tactics from the AmTaliban forces such as Don Wildmon's American Family Association.

Who knew? Corporations don't judge their employees worth by sexual orientation, but rather by the quality of their contribution to the workplace. Oh boy this is going to be a bitter pill to swallow for those who believe otherwise. It’s a sad day for homophobes everywhere.

Oh Ok, now it all makes sense!

Back in July I posted a story about a decorated Sergeant and Arabic language specialist named Bleu Copas who was dismissed from the U.S. Army under the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy in spite of the fact that the military has been having trouble meeting recruiting quotas and has a shortage of Arabic language specialists.

My mind just reels with the craziness of this policy. I simply cannot understand how such a policy can remain intact when our military is in such dire need of the skills that Bleu has to offer. Well thankfully, after watching this most insightful interview, I have some answers to some of these questions that haunt me. (And keep in mind this is the so called expert that the fundies use when they need to site bogus studies.)

Is This Campus Gay-Friendly?

A few years ago when we found out our son was gay, it was in the midst of high school and the college application process. That new-found bit of information literally changed everything about the way we were going about deciding where he would apply. All of a sudden, universities that I thought I’d like to see him attend became big question marks either because they were too conservative or the city in which they were located was too conservative. I really, really wanted information about the school and campus life, and also about the city in which the school was located, but for different reasons than before. And the kind of information I sought was not easily attainable.

After much discussion, my son and I decided that the number one priority was making sure that starting college also marked the beginning of a new life as an out gay man. I never ever wanted him to live with a big secret hanging over his head again. And that is why it became so important that he find a university in which he could feel comfortable being who he was. So when I read today about a new College Guide that is now available to LGBT students, I was thrilled:

“The Advocate College Guide for LGBT Students” (Alyson Books) profiles 100 of the country’s “best campuses” for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students, and it arrives at a time when gay students are more vocal and visible.

“It’s looking more like half or most gay and lesbian Americans are coming out before they get to college,” said Bruce Steele, the guide’s editor in chief. “Unlike in the past, the experience they will have on a campus is something they can think about before they go to college.”

Now maybe other kids like my son will be spared the dilemma he faced and won’t feel compelled to do what he did ---- include an essay about being gay in with each and every application he sent ---- and let the chips fall where they may.

A Former GOP Senator from Missouri Comes Out Swinging

Former Senator John Danforth first caught my eye last year when I read a couple of New York Times op-ed pieces he wrote that resonated with me and even made me nod my head in agreement. I was stunned, speechless, and yes, even a bit relieved. Why? Because I had come to believe that I could never again feel anything other than complete contempt and revulsion at the mere mention of a Republican politician’s name let alone anything he/she might write. But there it was, an op-ed written by a former United States Senator from Missouri, an Episcopal minister, and a Republican no less. And he was writing words that did not make me scream in disgust and anger. Wow.

I guess I had become so hardened to the brutality and thuggery of the Republican Party (as it stands today) and the bullies extremists Christians of the Religious Right that are connected to their hips, that it didn’t occur to me that there might still exist somewhere on this planet a Republican politician who actually has a soul, a conscience, and a vision for America that does not include hate, exclusion, and filthy dirty politics.

I rejoiced when Senator Danforth lamented in a March 2005 op-ed piece that Republican principles were becoming secondary to the agenda of Christian conservatives. And I nearly spit my coffee across the breakfast table when he broke with Rovian talking points and said this of his time in the Senate:

As a senator, I worried every day about the size of the federal deficit. I did not spend a single minute worrying about the effect of gays on the institution of marriage. Today it seems to be the other way around.

And then in June 2005, to my delight, he wrote another piece that took aim at the staunch authoritarian and absolutist Dobson, Robertson, Falwell crowd:

Moderate Christians are less certain about when and how our beliefs can be translated into statutory form, not because of a lack of faith in God but because of a healthy acknowledgement of the limitations of human beings. Like conservative Christians, we attend church, read the Bible and say our prayers.

But for us, the only absolute standard of behavior is the commandment to love our neighbors as ourselves. Repeatedly in the Gospels, we find that the Love Commandment takes precedence when it conflicts with laws. We struggle to follow that commandment as we face the realities of everyday living, and we do not agree that our responsibility to live as Christians can be codified by legislators.

When, on television, we see a person in a persistent vegetative state, one who will never recover, we believe that allowing the natural and merciful end to her ordeal is more loving than imposing government power to keep her hooked up to a feeding tube.

When we see an opportunity to save our neighbors' lives through stem cell research, we believe that it is our duty to pursue that research, and to oppose legislation that would impede us from doing so.

We think that efforts to haul references of God into the public square, into schools and courthouses, are far more apt to divide Americans than to advance faith.

Following a Lord who reached out in compassion to all human beings, we oppose amending the Constitution in a way that would humiliate homosexuals.

So today when I read that the former Missouri senator was on the short list to be then-Governor Bush's running mate in the 2000 presidential election, second choice only to Vice President Cheney, I wanted to cry.

Well cry I won’t, but buy his book --- I will. And apparently this time he does not hold back. He comes out with his dukes up:

Danforth blasts the alignment of the Republican Party with the Christian right, lays out his most aggressive pro-gay stance to date and attacks the handling of the Terri Schiavo case.

He calls the Terri Schiavo case "Big Brotherism" and “a threat to all the families that had seen their loved ones suffer through terminal illness”. He goes on to say:

They [the administration and congress] intervened not in the name of principle, but at the expense of principle. They abandoned principle by deciding a medical question without any firsthand knowledge of what they were doing.

And on gay rights -- a cause he has championed since his retirement from the Senate, he writes:

"I believe that homosexuality is a matter of sexual orientation rather than preference," he writes. "Discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is, in my view, comparable to discrimination on other civil rights grounds. It is wrong, and it should be prohibited by law."

"I think that the only purpose served by the campaign for the amendment is the humiliation of gay Americans, advocated by the Christian right and eagerly supported by its suitors in the Republican Party," he adds. "In reality, it is gay bashing."

He also calls supporters' arguments that the amendment would protect marriage ludicrous:

"America's divorce rate is now over 50 percent, and marriage is under attack from a number of quarters: finances, promiscuity, alcohol and drugs, the pressures of work, cultural acceptance of divorce, et cetera," he pens. "But it is incomprehensible that one of these threats is when someone else, whom we have never seen, in a place where we may have never been, has done something we don't like."

Ok now is your chance, if you are a principled Republican politician (oxymoron?), and you are nauseated, embarrassed, and fuming at the damage done to your party and to this country as a result of this current batch of Republicans, join Senator Danforth and COME OUT NOW AND SAY SO, or remain silent and share the blame that this country is most assuredly going to cast on your party and upon you and your fellow Republican members.

And to everyone else:

Let’s throw these bums out of office in November. They have done enough harm and obviously there are too few John Danforths to save them from themselves.

Bush more worrisome than gay marriage, poll finds

Yoooo Hooooo Republicans … I have some bad news. Americans aren’t buyin your crap anymore. Whatcha gonna do now? Who ya gonna single out and shame and humiliate and relegate to second class citizenship now? Huh? People (well maybe not everyone) are not as dumb as you hoped and they get it. And you know what they get? They get that it’s gays who have the bull-eye on their backs right now, but that it could be them next. They just aren’t buyin the Gays are our problem line anymore. But guess what they are buyin: Bush is our problem:

When asked if they approve or disapprove of the way George W. Bush is handling his job as president, 39 percent said they "approve," 60 percent said they "disapprove," and 1 percent said they have "mixed feelings." (AP)

November is just around the corner. If you happen to be one of the 60 percent who disapprove of the job George W. Bush is doing, then vote out the people who enabled him every step of the way. Vote out the people who failed miserably at their job of providing oversight and balance: the Republicans in Congress who simply marched in unquestioning lockstep and never dared to break ranks even when they knew they should have. The very same people who spent time bashing gays when they should have been tending to what really ails Americans. The very same people who cared more about currying favor with people like James Dobson, Jerry Falwell, and Pat Robertson than the American people. The same people who chose divide and conquer at a time when we should have united to fight some very real enemies. The same people who abandoned every principle of their party and left this country far worse off than it was before they took control.

Let’s kick those bums off the hill this November. They have failed the American people miserably.

Dobson and his Gang of Thugs Are Real Nasty Bullies.

So Conservative Republican Dick Armey thinks James Dobson and his gang are thugs and bullies:

Where in the hell did this Terri Schiavo thing come from? There’s not a conservative, Constitution-loving, separation-of-powers guy alive in the world that could have wanted that bill on the floor. That was pure, blatant pandering to [Focus on the Family President] James Dobson. That's all that was. It was silly, stupid, and irresponsible. Nobody serious about the Constitution would do that. But the question was will this energize our Christian conservative base for the next election ...

Dobson and his gang of thugs are real nasty bullies. I pray devoutly every day, but being a Christian is no excuse for being stupid. There's a high demagoguery coefficient to issues like prayer in schools. Demagoguery doesn’t work unless it's dumb, shallow as water on a plate. These issues are easy for the intellectually lazy and can appeal to a large demographic. These issues become bigger than life, largely because they're easy. There ain't no thinking.

Well all I have to say to you Dick (Mr. "Lifetime Champion of Family Values" award) Armey is you and your thugs empowered the Dobson Gang of Thugs and you got what you paid for!

And speaking of “praying devoutly” Dick, I think that might be a good idea. November is just around the corner.

Hat tips to Andrew and The Carpetbagger

America's Ultimate Hate Crime

There is an extremely powerful essay on PageOneQ called AMERICA'S ULTIMATE HATE CRIME. This article discusses the sheer hell that gay and lesbian children go through when they have religious fanatics for parents:

Every once in a while I allow myself to consider the nightmare existence of a queer child growing up with religious fundamentalist parents. The thought of it is so painful that I need to keep it mostly compartmentalized and in the back of my mental and emotional closet.

It's an aspect of the world of homophobia and fundamentalist religion that we very much ignore. For many reasons, it's the forgotten stepchild of gay activism, child care services and the mental health profession.

The author goes on to say:

I can think of few other situations that have the potential to engender such a relentless and pervasive environment of psychological and possibly even physical child abuse. Generally speaking we do not do a good job of handling child abuse in this nation but when it come to gay kids the picture is even bleaker. The ratio of gay kids to straight kids among runaways, child prostitutes and suicides, well documented by the CDC, makes this painfully clear.

And the seeds for these children’s nightmare are planted early and carefully nurtured, long before the child is even aware of his/her own sexual orientation:

Long before a child develops self-awareness of his or her own sexual orientation, he is trained to believe that homosexuality is an abomination and a perversion that is a threat to the American way of life.

In a fundamentalist religious environment, he is told that homosexuality threatens the American family and the sacred institution of marriage. He is told that homosexual activists and their agenda are leading the charge in a war against Christianity. The homosexuals are the enemy.

This young and impressionable child learns that the Bible, the absolute word of god and truth, clearly states that homosexuals are an abomination and that their sin is punishable by death.

And then, worst of all, he learns that homosexuality is a choice made by sick and evil people and that to make this choice is a very bad and wicked thing. But then nature takes its course and at some point the gay child realizes that he's "chosen" homosexuality. He doesn't remember being asked. He doesn't remember checking off that particular choice on any application. And he searches through the mail for the recruitment brochure, but it isn't to be found.

Somehow, somewhere along the way, he has made this monumental, life-changing and life-shattering choice, against his will and against the will of god.

The author then goes on to describe the long and tortuous battle that so many of these children spend their whole childhood fighting and ultimately losing. And before it is all said and done, it is not just the battle they have lost, but the innocent and carefree childhood as well:

It's an exhausting and soul-crushing childhood. While other children are looking to the future with hope, he lives in a world of despair, pain and fear. While other children are considering ballerina, doctor, astronaut or fire fighter, the gay child's energies are focused on hiding his or her true self. The boy dreads his first fake sexual encounter: will he be able to perform? The girl worries less, she will just turn away and cry and wait until it's over.

And he rightfully puts the blame squarely where it belongs – on the fundamentalists and a society that allows it to go on under the banner of religious freedom:

Protected by a very misguided notion of religious freedom, fundamentalists of all sorts are allowed by our society to engage in the ultimate hate crime, a pervasive and monstrous form of child abuse that will one day be seen by social historians and anthropologists as a very barbaric and grotesque aspect of the American civilization.

Sexual orientation is not a choice, but our society's willingness to tolerate this terrible treatment of children is a choice and a choice that should make us all ashamed. We will be judged harshly by future generations as we are already judged by more evolved societies on the other side of the Atlantic.

It is an essay that should be read in full. We are a society that goes out of its way to pat ourselves on the back for being so civilized, but our ability to pass off some pretty heinous and abusive behavior as good Christian Values is anything but civilized or Christian.

Let’s quit while we’re behind

Another Democrat weeping inconsolably?

Bob Woodward asked Bush 43 if he had consulted his father before invading Iraq. The son replied that he had consulted a higher father. That frisson you feel going up your spine is the realization that he meant it. And apparently the higher father said, Go for it! There are those of us who wish he had consulted his terrestrial one; or, if he couldnt get him on the line, Brent Scowcroft. Or Jim Baker. Or Henry Kissinger. Or, for that matter, anyone who has read a book about the British experience in Iraq. (18,000 dead.)

Who knew, in 2000, that 'compassionate conservatism' meant bigger government, unrestricted government spending, government intrusion in personal matters, government ineptitude, and cronyism in disaster relief? Who knew, in 2000, that the only bill the president would veto, six years later, would be one on funding stem-cell research? A more accurate term for Mr. Bush's political philosophy might be incontinent conservatism....

Despite the failures, one had the sense that the party at least knew in its heart of hearts that these were failures, either of principle or execution. Today one has no sense, aside from a slight lowering of the swagger-mometer, that the president or the Republican Congress is in the least bit chastened by their debacles. George Tenet's WMD 'slam-dunk,' Vice President Cheney's 'we will be greeted as liberators,' Don Rumsfeld's avidity to promulgate a minimalist military doctrine, together with the tidy theories of a group who call themselves 'neo-conservative' (not one of whom, to my knowledge, has ever worn a military uniform), have thus far: de-stabilized the Middle East; alienated the world community from the United States; empowered North Korea, Iran, and Syria; unleashed sectarian carnage in Iraq among tribes who have been cutting each others' throats for over a thousand years; cost the lives of 2,600 Americans, and the limbs, eyes, organs, spinal cords of another 15,000 -- with no end in sight. But not to worry: Democracy is on the march in the Middle East....

Well no it's not exactly a Democrat. It's a Republican weeping inconsolably (and with good reason):

What have they done to my party? Where does one go to get it back? One place comes to mind: the back benches. It's time for a time-out. Time to hand over this sorry enchilada to Hillary and Nancy Pelosi and Joe Biden and Charlie Rangel and Harry Reid, who has the gift of being able to induce sleep in 30 seconds....

My fellow Republicans, it is time, as Madison said in Federalist 76, to Hand over the tiller of governance, that others may fuck things up for a change.

And I could not agree more! So fellow Seethers, let's show these poor suffering Republicans some real compassion and kick as many of those bums off the hill as we can. Ok?

Update: OOPs I forgot... Hat tip to AMERICAblog

To the Lovers Who Awaken Each Morning Without Their Gay Patriot & Hero Beside Them

Note: I set out to do some research on gay people who perished on September 11, 2001 and came across a website that had pretty much done what I was getting ready to do, so I figured I didn’t need to reinvent the wheel, so I have borrowed heavily from here. It seems especially appropriate today to recognize some of the gay and lesbian Americans who died 5 years ago today.

Among the openly Gay people known dead at the World Trade Center is New York Fire Department Catholic chaplain Father Mychal Judge. Judge, 68, was killed while ministering to a fallen firefighter at Ground Zero. Judge's helmet was presented to the Pope, and Judge was chosen Grand Marshal of the 2002 Chicago St. Patrick's Day Parade. There is also an initiative to elevate Fr. Mychal to sainthood. In June 2002, the president signed the Mychal Judge Act, granting federal money to certain survivors of victims of 9/11, including same-sex partners.

Mark Bingham, 31, a Gay passenger on United Airlines Flight 93 that crashed in Pennsylvania, helped to thwart the plane's hijackers. September 16 is officially designated Mark Bingham Day in San Francisco.

40-year-old Carol Flyzik's plane, American Airlines Flight 11, never made it to California. It was the first of two to crash into the World Trade Center. Flyzik, who was a registered nurse and a member of the Human Rights Campaign, is survived by Nancy Walsh, her partner of nearly 13 years.

David Charlebois, the co-pilot of American Airlines Flight 77, which crashed into the Pentagon, was openly Gay, the Washington Blade reported. Charlebois was a member of the National Gay Pilots Association. Charlebois is survived by Tom Hay, his partner of almost 13 years.

Graham Berkeley, 37, a native of England who lived in Boston, boarded United Airlines Flight 175 on Sept. 11 on his way to a conference in Los Angeles. He died when the plane became the second hijacked airliner to crash into the World Trade Center. -- Washington Blade

Pamela J. Boyce, 43, is only one of several dozen World Trade Center workers who have officially been confirmed dead. Boyce, a resident of Dyker Heights, Brooklyn, worked on the 92nd floor of One World Trade Center as assistant vice president of accounting for the New York office of Carr Futures. She is survived by her partner Catherine Anello.

A Gay couple on their way home to Los Angeles from Boston were killed when United Airlines Flight 175 was hijacked Tuesday and crashed into the second tower of New York's World Trade Center. Ronald Gamboa, 33, and his partner of 13 years, Dan Brandhorst, 42, were traveling with their 3-year-old adopted son, David. Brandhorst and Gamboa were founding members of the Pop Luck Club, an L.A. organization for Gay men interested in adopting children. -- planetout.com

James Joe Ferguson, 39, director of geography education outreach for the National Geographic Society, was on American Airlines Flight 77 when it crashed into the Pentagon. Ferguson was traveling on a National Geographic-sponsored educational field trip to the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary off Santa Barbara, Calif.

41-year-old John Keohane was at work near the World Trade Center when the planes hit. He was killed by falling debris. Keohane worked at One Liberty Plaza near the World Trade Center and died when the towers collapsed. After the planes hit the Trade Center towers, Keohane met Mike Lyons, his partner of 17 years, on the street, and called his mother from his cell phone. "They were just in the streets like everybody else," Keohane’s sister, Darlene Keohane, told The San Francisco Chronicle. "As he was talking, he had thought a third plane crashed into the building." What Keohane thought was a third crash was really the collapse of the South tower of the World Trade Center. While Lyons survived, Keohane was killed by falling debris. Tragically, Lyons committed suicide March 1, 2002, on his 41st birthday.

Sheila Hein, 51, was working for the U.S. Army’s management and budget office in the Pentagon when American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into it. Peggy Neff is Hein's partner of 18 years. Virginia's Criminal Injuries Compensation Fund administrators refused to accept the couple were anything but "friends." However, in January 2003, "the federal government's 9-11 Compensation Fund approved what is said to be the first payment to [Neff], a person in a gay relationship whose partner was killed in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks." -- 365Gay.com

"Roxy Eddie" Ognibene, a beloved member of the Renegades of New York's Big Apple Softball League, was tragically lost in the Sept. 11 World Trade Center attack. He worked as a bond trader for Keefe, Bruyette & Woods on the 89th floor of WTC 2. -- Jerry Rosco, Renegades for Outsports.com

Larry Courtney and Eugene Clark were partners for 11 years. Clark, 47, worked for Aon Consulting on the 102nd floor of the World Trade Center's south tower. Clark sent Courtney a voice message: "I'm OK. The plane hit the other tower. And we're evacuating." Clark is still missing. -- Victoria Scanlan Stefanakos (advocate.com)

Bill Randolph's lover of 26 years, Wesley Mercer, 70, is among three security personnel from Morgan Stanley still missing in the World Trade Center rubble. Mercer, who was vice president of corporate security, was drinking coffee on the ground floor of the WTC when the first plane hit. He rushed to the 44th floor to supervise the evacuation of employees. All 3,700 employees escaped harm. Then Mercer, a decorated Army veteran of the Korean and Vietnam wars, returned to the 44th floor to make sure no one was left behind. Unlike other surviving partners, Mr. Randolph is not eligible for the full range of benefits, from pensions to Social Security payments to special memorial funds available to victims of Sept. 11. -- advocate.com

Luke A. Dudek, 50, was the food and beverage controller at Windows on the World. Dudek is survived by his partner of 20 years, George Cuellar. Cuellar said his partner loved Cuellar's flower business so much that after years of renting space, this year they bought their own property for the business. He said Dudek spent a week of vacation in September completing renovations. Dudek's first day back to work in New York was Sept. 11. He died in the attacks on the World Trade Center.

Since Sept. 11, friends of Michael Lepore, 39, a project analyst at Marsh & McLennon, have been pruning his rosebushes, clearing wayward ivy off stone walls, planting bulbs for next spring. It is the perfect act of kindness, said Mr. Lepore's partner of 18 years, David O'Leary. Their house and garden in Yonkers had been Mr. Lepore's pride and joy and are now Mr. O'Leary's primary source of comfort. -- The New York Times via H. S. Levine, NYC

John Winter and his lover William Anthony Karnes, 37, lived within sight of Karnes' office at Marsh & McLennon on the 97th floor of the World Trade Center Tower One. Walking to the office together, the couple had timed the "commute" at just 11 minutes. On the morning of September 11, Karnes, who went by "Tony," left for his office at about 8:30. At 8:45, Winter heard what sounded like a calamitous thunder clap. When he looked out his apartment window, he could already see his future. Karnes was killed in that morning's tragedy. In dealing with the aftermath, Winter says that he was "fortunate [in having] a good relationship with Tony's family in Knoxville." -- Paul Schindler (lgny.com)

New York resident Tom Miller lost his partner Seamus O'Neal in the World Trade Center attack. "I did not have the luxury of grieving without having to defend myself and prove who I am and who we were," Miller said. "If down the road anyone can be spared that torture, that would be excellent," he said -- Dan Kerman, Gay.com / PlanetOut.com Network

Elba Cedeno lost her partner of six years, Catherine Smith, 44, who worked on the 97th floor of one of the World Trade Center towers. They both had wills, which will ease the process of Cedeno taking sole ownership of their home. But Cedeno said she is angry that she will not qualify to receive any of Smith's Social Security benefits. "This was my soul mate. We planned to live the rest of our lives together and retire together," Cedeno said. -- AP via contaxguide.com

Emergency aid kept Margaret Cruz afloat after the loss of her partner of 18 years, Patricia McAneney. Ms. Cruz documented her finanacially interdependent partnership and prevailed with the Crime Victim's Board, the Red Cross and the New York State charitable fund. A total of $80,000 went to Ms. Cruz. McAneney, 50, was the fire marshal of her floor of 1 World Trade Center, where she worked for the insurance company Guy Carpenter. -- Jane Gross via Lucy at fiancesof911.com

Waleska Martinez, 37, a computer whiz in the Census Bureau's New York office, was aboard flight 93 that crashed outside Shanksville, PA. In his book, Among the Heroes, Jere Longman "unobtrusively quotes [Angela Lopez, her] same-sex partner." Lopez said, "She was my longtime companion, best friend and soul mate." -- NY Times Book Review, 9-8-02, p. 13.

Renee Barrett, injured in the September 11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center, died on October 18 of her injuries. Barrett was a member of [the Gay] Metropolitan Community Church of New York. She leaves behind her life partner Enez Cooper and her 18-year-old son, Eddie, who lived with them. Renee was an employee of Cantor Fitzgerald, and was in Tower 1 at the time of the attacks. Though critically burned she escaped the building prior to its collapse, and had been hospitalized at Cornell-Presbyterian Hospital.

Francis S. Coppola, a New York City detective whose partner, a firefighter named Eddie, died in the attacks, summed up the bipolar feelings many GLBT people have had about Sept. 11. "I have never been more proud of being an American or a New Yorker, but at the same time it has made me sad. The greatest country in the world, and yet we are treated like second-class citizens.... The great love of my life died doing what he did best and what he loved to do: helping others. I have never been an activist or ever wanted to be one; however, it is time we stand up and be counted and demand equality -- nothing more or nothing less." -- Tom Musbach, Gay.com / PlanetOut.com Network

And sadly, most of the gay widows and widowers would soon face a tangle of legal obstacles over inheritance rights and a first-of-its-kind victim compensation program offered by the federal government that would complicate their lives and, in many cases, add to their grief.

As the days went by, we learned that some of the missing rescue personnel were gay, and that many of their lovers, some of whom are cops and fire fighters, were grieving in silence for fear of outing them. There were also gay cops that lost family members that were rescue personnel. We all learned too quickly and in too cruel a way that the closet is a terrible place to grieve... -- Edgar Rodriguez, NYPD (in the former Lesbian & Gay New York)

Matt Foreman, former executive director of Empire State Pride Agenda, says advocates have already identified 24 surviving partners from the Trade Center attack, and believe that there may be as many as 50 in total, based on surveys about gay and lesbian participation in long term relationships. -- Paul Schindler in Lesbian & Gay New York

On September 11, 2001 we were not black, white, gay, straight, Republican, or Democrat, we were Americans. Sadly, this was not true for some people. There were those whose homophobia and profound hatred transcended even the sorrow and horror that united everyone else that day. For these people the tragedy of 9/11 presented a golden opportunity to yet again display their grotesque and twisted worldview of those who are gay. Unfortunately for them it actually highlighted for sane Americans just how unhinged and hateful they truly are:

Before a television congregation, Jerry Falwell offered up his credo: "I really believe that ... gays and lesbians ... helped this happen." Pat Robertson seconded the motion, "Well, I totally concur." -- Ellen Goodman, Washington Post

Rev. bigot Louis P. Sheldon, chairman of the ... Traditional Values Coalition, urged relief agencies working in the aftermath of the September 11 tragedies to withhold assistance to surviving partners of Gay people who died. -- pfaw.org

On March 9, 2002, Rev. Fred Phelps and followers from his Westboro Baptist church in Topeka, Kansas, picketed in New York City at 9 Metro Tech Center, Brooklyn. Their target: the "fag ridden" New York Fire Department, which Phelps says brought down the wrath of God upon itself September 11. -- Queer Mail via J. Steakley

Gay domestic partners are "left out of my program...Otherwise I would find myself getting sued in every state...I can't get into that local battle." -- Kenneth Feigberg, discussing the federal September 11th Victim Compensation Fund -- via John Aravosis

But thankfully, while you had the Jerry Falwells, Pat Robertsons, Lou Sheldons, and Fred Phelpses yapping hate, there were also those who were not afraid to speak truth to bigotry. One such person was Scott Simon:

Referring to Mark Bingham, a Gay rugby player and hero of Flight 93, National Public Radio commentator Scott Simon asked,

"If your plane was hijacked, who would you rather sit next to? Righteous reverends who will sit back and say, 'This is God's punishment for gay Teletubbies,' or the gay rugby player who lays down his life to save others?"

The Closets of Karl and Ken

"Whatever he is, Mehlman and his political consort Rove are driving an issues agenda that is making life even more difficult for millions of Americans dealing with their sexuality. They are being discriminated against for the way they were born in the same manner as were African-Americans when their rights were also disputed by conservatives. And that's what turns the personal lives of Karl Rove and Ken Mehlman into public affairs. They promulgate policies that invade the privacy of gay and lesbian Americans while covering up their own backgrounds.

And it is time for their hypocrisy to come out of the closet."

From a post about the new book "The Architect: Karl Rove and the Master Plan for Absolute Power."

Benedict XVI finds fault with Canada's morals

According to an article on Gay.com the Pope is none too happy with Canada’s laws or their ‘tolerance’:

Pope Benedict XVI hit out Friday at Canada's laws allowing same-sex marriage and abortion, saying they result from Catholic politicians ignoring the values of their religion.

"In the name of 'tolerance' your country has had to endure the folly of the redefinition of spouse, and in the name of 'freedom of choice' it is confronted with the daily destruction of unborn children," the pope told a group of bishops visiting the Vatican from Ontario.

The article goes on to say:

Such laws, he said, are the result of "the exclusion of God from the public sphere." He lamented that Catholic politicians yielded to "ephemeral social trends and the spurious demands of opinion polls."

Benedict has made the defense of traditional family values a major goal of his papacy, speaking out often on the issue. During a trip to Spain in July, he challenged that country's Socialist government for instituting liberal reforms such as same-sex marriage and fast-track divorce.

Wow! Where does one begin with this??

This Pope is unhappy with same-sex marriage, tolerance, and Catholic politicians who ignore the ‘values of their religion’.

Really?? No kidding??

Does anyone know if he was saying this with a straight face? I mean no disrespect, but where the HELL does this Pope get off talking about ignoring the values of the Catholic religion and tolerating behavior that hurts the family? Has he had a conversation with the thousands of families left picking up the pieces after learning their beloved children had been abused by pedophile priests? He certainly has plenty of victims from which to choose since it went on for decades. And how does he think these families felt when they learned that not only were their children raped and molested, but the very people to whom they entrusted their children were also the very same people who tolerated, protected, and enabled the abusers. Yes, that’s right --- the Catholic hierarchy (in which this Pope was a proud and pious member) tolerated, protected, and enabled pedophile priests to destroy on a daily basis thousands of families --- for decades.

And now this Pope feels he has enough moral authority to get on his high-horse and tell Canadians how unhappy he is with them because they have laws which recognize 2 consenting adults’ commitment to each other? Wow! Oh and wait, the Pope is not done being unhappy. Furthermore, he wants Canadians to know that he is unhappy that they tolerate said 2 consenting adults who want to have their commitment legally recognized. (Is it me, or is the hypocrisy mind-numbing?)

Well no offense to the Pope, but he does not have a “red Prada-loafered” leg to stand on when it comes to talking about ‘defending the family’. I honestly cannot believe he’d have the guts to say this without at least pinching himself really really hard so he doesn’t break out into a nervous cackle or a drenching sweat under his dazzling new vestments with shimmering, sequinlike details. No wonder he wears those Gucci shades to cover the windows to his soul.

And though I’d expect the Catholic Church’s unhappiness with the ‘destruction of unborn children’, what was he doing all those decades when very real destruction to already born children was taking place on his watch? What does he have to say about the Catholic Church’s (and his) tolerance of that??? Who was ignoring the ‘values of their religion’ when these kids were being raped and molested and their attackers were not only allowed to do it without fear of being caught, but were actually protected from discovery and prosecution for years. This Pope talks about ‘exclusion of God from the public sphere’; well I’d say this is definitely exclusion of God from the private sphere ---- the Catholic empire sphere.

Where does this Pope get off lecturing anyone about tolerance? He and his peers tolerated heinous, destructive, sinful, and very un-God like behavior for years against the most innocent and the most vulnerable of their flock. For him to come out with this mock tsk-tsking of 2 consenting adults’ love and desire to commit to each other just fries me. And for him to conflate that love and commitment to destruction of the family --- how dare him! I know there are plenty of families that can set him straight on what real destruction of the family is.

And maybe, just maybe if he and his Catholic Church had ‘yielded to ephemeral social trends and the spurious demands of opinion polls’ like Canadian politicians do, there would never have been thousands of wounded former Catholics walking around today shaking their heads, and wondering what gives him the right to tell anyone what helps or hurts the family.

Huh?

Oh my:

"There are some people, and I'm one of them, that believe George Bush was placed where he is by the Lord," Tomanio said. "I don't care how he governs, I will support him. I'm a Republican through and through."

I am truly at a loss for words.


Hat tip to Andrew

Rove Has an Image Problem

A recent USA Today/Gallup poll finds that Americans have a more negative than positive opinion of presidential adviser Karl Rove, a pattern that has been consistent over the last year.

Oh come on! I am getting so sick and tired of articles that tip toe around news that should be SCREAMED from the mountaintops. And “Rove has an image problem” is definitely tip toeing. I am sick to death of tip toeing. I want to see headlines like this:

Karl Rove Is an Evil Man Who Has NO Soul and More and More Americans Are Now Realizing It

There! Now isn’t that much better? And it is definitely more fitting of a man like Karl Rove. No pussy footin, just cold hard facts. I mean really now, Karl Rove doesn’t pussy foot when he puts bulls-eyes on the backs of thousands of law abiding gay and lesbian Americans for political gain. Karl Rove doesn’t pussy foot when he attacks anyone who dares to disagree with this administration. Karl Rove doesn’t pussy foot when he decides to smear good Americans with lies and innuendos. In fact Karl Rove doesn’t pussy foot when he does anything because Karl Rove isn’t a pussy. So why should the press be?

The bottom line is Karl Rove is an awful person who knows no boundaries and will stoop as low as he has to and destroy whoever or whatever he has to in order to win. And I am sick to death of reading meek, timid little statements like “Americans have a more negative than positive opinion of presidential adviser Karl Rove”. That kind of statement just makes my blood boil. I mean c’mon, we are talking about a man who uses the vilest and cruelest tactics to achieve whatever he needs to achieve. We are talking about a man who used MY SON in the elections to help rally the most hateful, homophobic, and discriminatory people and get them to the polls. Karl Rove even used his own (gay) stepfather, a man he spoke of:

in a tone of fierce admiration, love, and loyalty, for, as he put it, "how selfless his love had been," as shown by his willingness to play, persuasively, the part of a blood parent for two decades.

Now that is despicable. I cannot imagine the kind of greed for power that would motivate any human being to use someone that they supposedly love in such a vile way for political gain.

I once read a description of Karl Rove (about a year ago) that at first made me chuckle, then made me stop and think, then made me nod in agreement, but now makes me shake my head in disagreement:

A greasy pig whose only distinction in life is his total lack of decency. Rove is decidedly not a genius; he is simply missing the part of his soul that prevents the rest of us from kicking elderly women in the face. His admirers have elevated fanatical, amoral ambition to the status of a virtue, along with lying, cheating, and negligent homicide, all in the name of "values." Quite possibly the worst person in the worst White House in American history.

You know why I don’t agree with that statement? Because that statement gives Karl Rove credit for having a soul, albeit a soul that is missing some important parts. And I don’t believe Karl Rove has a soul. It is the only thing that would explain the ease with which he has wreaked so such mayhem in so many people’s lives without so much as batting an eye. It is the only thing that would explain how Karl Rove operates.

And now there is a new book coming out, The Architect: Karl Rove and the Master Plan for Absolute Power, which is probably making Karl squirm a bit. First of all it reveals things that I am sure Karl would rather it didn’t (the fact that Karl’s stepfather was gay is one revelation) and secondly it puts the spotlight on a guy who’s always been most effective when he is slithering under the radar. Well I say hurrah. It can’t happen to a better villain. And may the spotlight be the highest voltage and wattage possible. We need to shine a blinding light on what has been some of the darkest, dirtiest, and creepiest politics this country has ever seen. And if the press is too timid to do it, then let the books start rolling off the printing presses now and keep ‘em comin.

Karl, I will shed no tears when you are just a bad memory. You targeted my son, my beloved child, a person that I would go to the ends of the earth to protect. You made him a target of hate, ridicule, and discrimination. You may have even put his life in danger. You’ve put him in a position in which he will spend the rest of his life fighting for rights that you abuse and take for granted. You have hurt him and everyone who loves him. Now take all of that and multiply it by thousands and thousands and what you get are a lot of enemies. You targeted lots and lots of beloved sons and daughters. You didn’t just piss off this seething mom, you pissed off thousands of loving moms and dads. And you did it for personal and political gain. Your greed for power and your lack of conscience are mind boggling.

May that God you used, twisted, and exploited for political purposes have mercy on your soul --- oops ---- never mind.