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.