Tea Party Hypocrite Joe Walsh: Deadbeat Dad and Anathema to Anyone with True Family, Fiscal, or Christian Values

The first time I saw this blowhard of a weasel, Joe Walsh,  preening and vomiting teabag drivel in front of a camera, I was repulsed. I felt bad at the time for making such a snap judgment, but there was just something I could not put my finger on that caused me to recoil in complete revulsion.

I guess I should have trusted my gut because this guy is truly a reptile in tea bag clothing. He encapsulates everything that now represents today's Republican Party values: greed, hypocrisy, profound ignorance, arrogance, dishonesty, rigidity, exaggerated self-righteousness,  and a complete inability to feel any empathy or pain other than one's own. I am sure I missed a few Republican "values", but you get the idea.

So when I saw this clip of Joe Walsh giving President Obama a tongue lashing that dripped with so much pious, sanctimony and disrespect, I gagged. And this was before I learned that my gut could not have been more right on about Joe Walsh.

So watch this sanctimonious fraud lecture President Obama (and keep a barf bag close by) and then, when your stomach can take no more, go watch the clip below this one. And learn just how creepy and disgusting and hypocritical and putrid this Joe Walsh really is.





Thank you Lawrence O'Donnell for taking the time to peel away the thin veneer hiding who this guy really is. It's a dirty job, but you do it oh so well. It is getting so old having Republican frauds like Joe Walsh lecturing those of us who are fiscally responsible about fiscal responsibility, or Republican frauds like Newt Gingrich who has had numerous extamarital affairs and 3 wives lecturing those of us who have been married for decades to the same person about the sanctity of marriage, or Republican frauds like Michele Bachmann who "suck at the teet" of the federal Government by taking advantage of every federal program out there and then turning around to criticize those who collect what they are legitimately owed after years of hard work and paying into the program.

The Republican party would do well to take a look at the Catholic Church for lessons on what not to do. Decades and decades of child rape and molestation and cover-up has depleted any moral high ground the Church may have had to preach about the immorality of others. The Church becomes more inconsequential to more people every day because people do NOT like hypocrites. And in my opinion, it's looking like that's all that's left in the Republican party as well. Hypocrites, big fat repulsive hypocrites.

If you vote for a Republican ...

You are either voting for this man, Grover Norquist, a man who hates government so much he'd like to reduce it to a size in which it can be dragged to a bathroom and drowned in a bathtub, but who has never held an elected office himself because he doesn't need to. He already holds something better, a pledge from just about every elected Republican in state and federal office swearing they will never ever raise taxes. No matter what.

Grover Norquist

Or you are voting for the higher power that the Republicans believe  

only supports them and their desire to drown that nasty old

government and all its safety nets that protect the least among us
in the bathtub. Because as we all know, Jesus spent all his time preaching
about protecting at all costs the wealthiest, most powerful among us. 

Jesus Christ

The Weekend I Stopped Lying to Myself - an essay by Jarred Harris

Note from Seething Mom: One of the most wonderful things to have come out of my decision to blog about my anger, hurt, and frustrations with those in the outside world who choose to hate my son simply because he is gay is that I have met so many amazing and beautiful people along the way. I cannot begin to express how much my life has been enriched by the many people whose paths have crossed mine through this blog. So I have decided to invite some of these talented and insightful people to write essays for this blog. Today's contribution comes from Jarred Harris, someone who has been with me since the beginning of this blog. And though I have not met him in person, his thought provoking comments and contributions to the conversations on this blog have made me feel as though I've known him far longer than the 5 1/2 years I've been blogging. Needless to say, Jarred is really special to me.  


His story, A Journey to Queerdom, can be found here. "The Weekend I Stopped Lying to Myself" is his first essay in the series and I am publishing it here tonight with his permission.


Perhaps the most pivotal event in my coming out process was the weekend that I finally decided to accept that I was gay. And while starting my story there seems like jumping in halfway through the journey, I think it is essential to do so. Understanding what that weekend was like and where I was emotionally and mentally will shed much needed light on the rest of my experiences, even those that predate this particular event. Indeed, understanding where the journey prior to that eventually led has increased my appreciation for those earlier experiences.

As I often tell my friends, I did not so much come out of the closet as I ran out of it screaming. By the time I finally decided to stop with all of the lies and the attempts to be someone that I'm not, I had reached a critical point. Indeed, while I consider my official coming out anniversary to be April 1, 1996 (the evening I told a good friend that I was gay), the real turning point occurred two nights earlier as I lay in bed, planning my own suicide.

I had quit trying to convince myself that my attractions towards other guys were "just a phase" two years prior to that night. However, I had spent those two years hoping and praying that I would be healed of those feelings, conquering them once and for all. It had been a losing battle those two years, and I had finally reached the point where I was tired of fighting it. I had lost all hope.

That night, I realized that I was alone, and would be doomed to be alone for the rest of my life if I continued down the path I was on. I knew that my feelings would never change, no matter how hard I tried or how hard I prayed. I wanted a romantic relationship so badly, and if only allowed myself to seek that out with a woman like my religion, my friends, my family, and much of society told me I should, that desire would go painfully unfulfilled.

That sense of loneliness was even more pronounced because my closest friends were busy that night. To add insult to injury, two of them were busy spending the night with female friends they were either romantically involved with or hoping to become as such. This only reinforced my realization that while my friends could try their best to be supportive of my struggles, they ultimately had the benefit of walking away from it all and pursue that which I most wanted and could not find. Words cannot describe the sense of isolation and abandonment I felt because of this.

All of these factors resulted in my going into an emotional tailspin. I lay in bed in my grief and misery, and realized I could not go on like this. And at first, my mind locked onto death as a solution. I spent half an hour considering ending my life that night. This was not a passing thought, but a concerted visualization. I saw every detail of my death with vivid clarity. Indeed, my focus was so great that even eleven years later, I can still picture every detail of the knife I intended to use to slit my wrists and what I think it would've felt like to draw my own blood with its blade.

Fortunately, I never got out of bed or walked downstairs to the kitchen to get the knife. I'm not entirely sure what stopped me, but I'm glad it did, whatever it was. Instead, I finally fell asleep. Sometime the next day, it hit me just what I had considered doing the night before, and how much time and energy I invested in the very idea. That realization terrified me. As miserable as I was, I wanted to live.

But I also knew there was no way I could go on living this way. So I finally admitted to myself that if I wanted to live, I was going to have to accept that I was gay and get on with my life. So when I saw my friend, Kim, on Monday, I told her I needed to talk to her.

Kim used to go to the same college as the rest of friends and I, but had transferred to a SUNY school at the end of the last school year. She just happened to be visiting for a few days when all of this was happening in my life. That was fortunate for me, as I'm not sure who else I would have felt comfortable talking to at the time. I knew she would be supportive of me because she had come out to me the previous year. So when I saw her in the cafeteria, I jumped at he chance to confide in her.

We met later that evening in a small alcove in front of some instructors' offices in one of the buildings on campus. We had used this spot for a Bible study the year before, and it was a place both Kim and I knew well. I also knew we would have our privacy, which I needed at the time.

I don't remember much about the conversation we have. I do remember that it took me several minutes to work up the courage to actually utter the words "I'm gay" in her presence. I recall taking several deep breaths and opening my mouth to speak, only to find my voice had run away. But eventually, after a few attempts, I was able to overcome the panic inside enough to say what I needed to.

Naturally, Kim was accepting and supportive. She was also understanding of my incoherent and frightened state at the time. We spent at least an hour just talking. She shared some of her own experiences with me and emphasized just how proud of me she was. I babbled and cried.

It took me a long time to realize just how cathartic that whole experience was. Indeed, the sense of freedom of finally admitting who I was didn't really set in until much later, perhaps even more than a year. But that moment started me on the path that eventually led me to it.

More importantly, that moment saved my life.

It's Official - Don't Ask, Don't Tell is repealed

The President Certifies Repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell

I am a little late reporting this, but on Friday President Obama made it official by certifying the repeal of DADT. From the President's statement put out on Friday:

Today, we have taken the final major step toward ending the discriminatory ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ law that undermines our military readiness and violates American principles of fairness and equality. In accordance with the legislation that I signed into law last December, I have certified and notified Congress that the requirements for repeal have been met. ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ will end, once and for all, in 60 days—on September 20, 2011.

[...]

There are so many wonderful people who worked so hard to make this happen that I would not know where to even begin on acknowledgments. So I won't even try, but there are also a few hateful homophobes who deserve recognition for their help in getting this discriminatory law repealed as well.

Now don't get me wrong, it was never their intention to actually help get this law killed, but regardless of their motives, it was their over-the-top bigotry and outright lies that opened more than a few people's eyes up on the hill - and I am talking Democrats and Republicans.

So I'd like to take this opportunity to single out one especially over-the-top homophobe in particular (although there are so many from which I could pick). Her name is Elaine Donnelly, founder and President of the Center for Military Readiness.

Ms. Donnelly, an advocate for keeping the DADT policy firmly in place, testified before the House Armed Services personnel subcommittee back in July of 2008. But even though she was firmly against repeal, her wild-eyed, barely-coherent homophobic drivel testimony had the opposite affect on many of the people in attendance that day - so much so that Dana Milbank of the Washington Post (this article is so good, you really should click over and read it) wrote the following:

Inadvertently, Donnelly achieved the opposite of her intended effect. Though there's no expectation that Congress will repeal "don't ask, don't tell" and allow gays to serve openly in the military, the display had the effect of increasing bipartisan sympathy for the cause.

Now that we know that DADT is dead, you have listen to this woman testify. It is beyond unbelievable:




And so I thank Ms. Donnelly, once again,  for her help in getting DADT repealed. And I will end this post with another snip from Dana Milbank's most awsome article from July of 2008, but please go read the whole thing, it is that good:

Don't ask, don't tell. And, whatever you do, don't ask Elaine Donnelly to tell you what she thinks about gays in the military.

The House Armed Services personnel subcommittee made just such a miscalculation yesterday. Holding the first hearing in 15 years on the "don't ask, don't tell" policy, lawmakers invited a quartet of veterans to testify on the subject and also extended an invitation to Donnelly, who has been working for years to protect our fighting forces from the malign influence of women.

Donnelly treated the panel to an extraordinary exhibition of rage. She warned of "transgenders in the military." She warned that lesbians would take pictures of people in the shower. She spoke ominously of gays spreading "HIV positivity" through the ranks.

"We're talking about real consequences for real people," Donnelly proclaimed. Her written statement added warnings about "inappropriate passive/aggressive actions common in the homosexual community," the prospects of "forcible sodomy" and "exotic forms of sexual expression," and the case of "a group of black lesbians who decided to gang-assault" a fellow soldier.

Yeah, what is with all these stupid pledges that Republican candidates are all signing?

Well as usual, Bill Maher tackles the question and nails it:

Gay Barbarian Horde Glitters Bachmann Clinic

Oh boy did I need this laugh!



I suppose it's better to laugh than cry when things get so bad that people like Michele and Marcus Bachmann are actually considered credible candidates for the President and First Dude of the United States. But then ... this is what has become of the Republican Party.

Sen. Al Franken exposes the deception and lies of one of the many anti-gay, foam-at-the-mouth fools at Focus on the Family

Over at ThinkProgress LGBT we are treated to a wonderful video clip of the good Senator (D-hero) from Minnesota showing us what a Democrat with a backbone looks like:

During this morning’s Senate DOMA hearings, Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) destroyed Focus on the Family’s Tom Minnery’s argument that children are better off with opposite-sex parents by demonstrating how Minnery misrepresented an HHS study. The study — which Minnery cited to oppose marriage equality — actually found that children do best in two-parent households, regardless of the parents’ gender.

Watch it and enjoy:



Please forgive me for being a bit too gleeful at seeing one of the haters at Focus on the Family humiliated, laughed at, and exposed as a liar and a fraud. From the moment I started paying attention to gay issues, which sadly was about 1 hour after learning about my own son, I learned that one of the biggest enemies to the lgbt commnunity and my son was this  faux "family advocate" organization, Focus on the Family (FOF). To this day, the hair on the back of my neck stands up if someone even whispers James Dobson's name. And yes, I know the old coot has stepped down from the day-to-day tasks of being chief homophobe and bigot at FOF, but he is still very active and powerful in other areas of the very lucrative hate industry and his love child, FOF, still has its bulls-eye on the back of our glbt loved ones.

My Mother Flutters and the Strife of the Life of Rejected Jonathan - an essay by Adonis Ramirez Parra

Note from Seething Mom: One of the most wonderful things to have come out of my decision to blog about my anger, hurt, and frustrations with those in the outside world who choose to hate my gay son simply because he is gay is that I have met so many amazing and beautiful people along the way. I cannot begin to express how much my life has been enriched by the many people whose paths have crossed mine through this blog. So I have decided to invite some of these talented and insightful people to write essays for this blog. Today's contribution is from Adonis Ramirez Parra, a 24 year old young man wise well beyond his years. He is a published author and his website can be found here.    

My Mother

My mother was killed when I was three years old. I have no reliable recollections of her; glimpses of her body, aromas; even the sound of her laughter and voice in my memory seem more imagined than predicated on reality.

I have never wholly reconciled myself to her loss; it was so tragically sudden, so utterly traumatic; and that scar nothing or no one will ever seal closed.

Time in this instance has been helpful. He has at least eroded from my memory the sting of her loss, and has introduced loving and supportive people into my life that have helped fill the void of her absence; and so Time has been kind. Nevertheless, I could safely assume that without hesitation, I would return all that I have been given to just once again sweetly embrace her, give to her my lip’s most loving kiss. I would render myself a pauper to feel for an instant the glory of her presence.

My mother did not raise me, but I know she has accompanied me throughout my development. I know this for fact.

My Mother w/Her Mother

Seven years ago, when I was seventeen, I felt inside my skin a truth so incontestable, so natural, I wanted to voice it out, speak it, and live it. Taking into consideration how my life would suddenly become precariously unsafe solely because I spoke that natural truth, which unwittingly offended one’s religion, or one’s culture, even though I couldn’t find inside myself one single reason to ever offend them, made me prefer to kill this truth – and with it my body, mind and spirit – than to voice it, speak it, or live it.

Downing one entire bottle of wine one summer day, I prepared myself for the journey from this vicious life, into the next, to be with my mother. Set to plunge the butcher knife which was in my hand into my heart, I recall how, like an implosion that burst all throughout my head, the wine’s alcohol took affect and I fell to the ground unconscious, with my spirit transported to another place and time.

Family Portrait

In my dreaming stupor, I was a weak purple aura – in this place bodies were much too cumbersome, so I was rather the light of my spirit’s consciousness. I stood outside a beautiful gated meadow with butterflies fluttering everywhere; beautiful melodic chirpings imbued the winds, and birds dashed about all over. I longed so terribly to be permitted entrance; I was so burdensomely enveloped in the dark purple aura of my downtrodden spirit that the serenity of this meadow seemed to provide respite from my troubles. Suddenly, I can recall, the old copper gates, so green and sun-kissed, creaked open, and I saw the luminous yellow-orange loving aura of my mother inviting me in.

We walked side by side, through the field’s meadows, along a placid flowing river, with no words spoken. Rather than being apart from me, she seemed to actually permeate the aura of my light, seemingly purifying like a baptismal fount all the demonic specters that had conquered my spirit. She mended my emotional afflictions, remedied with her love my apprehensions, caressed the wounds of my psyche, and reassured me through her spirit to continue along my path, and blessed the truthful veracity of my soul right before I opened my eyes again to this reality.

My mother as a little girl

I woke up with my head heavy with pressure as if I had knocked it spitefully against a wall, but I felt good, rejuvenated. I felt loved.  

Walking alongside my mother in that meadow saved my life. I felt no castigation, no judgment, no rejection; I wasn’t berated or deemed wrong or immoral. My mother in that meadow, with her love, infused virtuous moral principles into my voice, humility and strength into my spirit, and encouraged me to speak and live my truth, to unfold and develop as my truest self: as her gay son.

           

            I want to bring light now to a topic that means a lot to me: the calloused rejection of abandoned and homeless gay youth. In America, fifty percent of youth rejected by their parents, state it’s because of their sexual orientation.[i] Of all the homeless youth in America, forty percent are said to be LGBT;[ii] and lastly, of all openly gay males, fifty-five percent report to have had substance abuse problems at least once in their lifetime.[iii]

Hmmm I think Frank Schaeffer is rattling a few Evangelical cages

I've been offline these past few days because of a few big things going on that have required my undivided attention, so blogging will probably take a back seat for a few more days. But I do have a post waiting in the queue to be tweaked and published later today. And just a few hours ago a comment came through on one of my older posts that required not only my approval to be published, which I gave, but also a response written with great restraint.

Unfortunately I think I failed on the restraint part, but nothing sets this seething momma off faster than when comments come in under the thinly-veiled guise of kind, loving Christian compassion, and end up being anything but. So with that said, I think I may have over-reacted and gotten angrier than I should have, but then, I certainly don't pass myself off as anything but a seething mom who will fight to her death for her gay son.

Word to the wise: don't use dog-whistle language with me, it may work with your fellow Evangelicals, but not with me. I hear what you are really saying and I won't let you get away with it. You see, I may be an unwashed heathen in your eyes, but I am not stupid.

So for greater audience viewing, I am re-posting both the comment and my response. And I will let you all decide if I went overboard with my anger as I suspect I may have. Feel free to give me a verbal flogging if you must.

So first the comment:

FrancisSchaefferStudies.org said...
You should be careful not to jump on the Frank Schaeffer bus too quickly, one must always question someone that has attempted to throw his entire family "under the bus," so to speak.

I know you might not think so, but most Evangelical Christian's are not haters of gays. It is the fact that the lifestyle and actions of being gay violate a premise of the Evangelical Christian faith that they have a hard time with (I'll spare you the Biblical law explanation). Yet unfortunately many are not mature enough to properly take exception without being hurtful to others, which is indeed a shame. Let me be the first Evangelical Christian to apologize for those who have been hurtful to you and your son.

The unfortunate fact is that there is a decline of people in the church that understand the gracious balance of law and love. The late Dr. Francis Schaeffer (Frank's father) wrote about this in his book The Mark Of A Christian. Apparently Franky never read this book. In that book his father details that you have every right to judge us when we are not properly displaying these two important traits. So you should challenge any Christian who attacks you in the future on this point. Francis Schaeffer said, "truth without love is ugly and love without truth is compromise," these are primary tenants and BOTH must be observed.

On the gay issue. Being "anti-gay agenda" does not necessitate that you hate gays. In reality the position is that the homosexual lifestyle is a social dysfunction that is counter-productive to society. That is both an opinion and conviction of mine. I hold the opinion not because of just religious views, but also on the basis of the sociological implications. Yet I hold this conviction in the same way I feel about other social disorders. That those dealing with them are real people who deserve our real compassion and help. I am neither homophobic or hate homosexuals.

I took the time to read your story about the day you found out. I won't pretend that I truly understand what that felt like, but I do empathize with you. The sociological dysfunction of that moment must have been truly tramatic. Your descriptions sound nothing short of depression. I also read your write-up on the aftermath and it is here that I can see you begin to displace your anger. While the world may have a multitude of errors in how it deals with this issue, and I empathize with your analysis here also, the jump to attacking the overal social construct and Christians seems to me greatly misguided. Granted you were hurt, but at this point haven't you now become a hater yourself?

After years of this sort of writing and anger, and probably talking to less kind Evangelicals I wonder if anything I say will be taken as helpful. Yet, I wanted to at least offer a few sincere words.

And now my response:

Seething Mom said...
I appreciate the time you took to write your comment and I am going to give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you meant well. And though I respect your right to beliefs that run 100% counter to my own, you so completely lost me when you started backing up your "opinion" and "conviction" with words like "homosexual lifestyle" and "social disorders", which not only imply choice and defect, but truly show your profound ignorance on the subject. And that you used those words when confronting a mother of a gay child was quite telling and insulting.

I watched my son for years and knew he was struggling, I just didn't know why, and even counseling did not uncover the secret he spent most of his young life hiding because he thought it would cost him our love. And why would he believe otherwise? Between 20% & 40% of homeless youth on the streets are lgbt children, many of whom were either thrown out of their homes when they came out or were outed to their families. And though I do not have statistics on this, I'd bet my last dollar religion played a huge role in it as well because tragically, so many of these families are getting validation from their churches and religious leaders to be bullies, to throw their children out on the streets, or to subject them to horribly damaging programs that claim to change one’s sexual orientation.

I can tell you this, no sane person I know chooses to be something that will make him the scorge of the earth, an abomination, and to many people of faith, worthy of death. I would love to know exactly when you chose the "lifestyle" of being straight because I know from my own personal experience, my sexual orientation is every bit as innate to who I am as my eyes are brown. Neither is a choice and neither can be changed. But it is "both an opinion and conviction" of mine that you have made the "lifestyle" choice to be a holier-than-thou swathed so tightly in a false sense of smug sanctimony that I think you should get help. Being gay is NOT a social disorder, as you call it, but being a homophobe in denial, in my humble opionion, is.


And you are right, I do write with anger - a lot of it. And I make no apologies for it. And you are also right that I keep my exposure to "less kind Evangelicals" to a minimum. I happen to have a brother who is a born-again Evangelical (posted about him here, here, and here). He is a profoundly broken man who did what many of the Evangelicals I know did, he traded an addiction to alcohol and a lifetime of despicable, selfish behavior for an addiction to twisted religion that he uses as a weapon to judge and hurt others. I no longer expose myself or my family to him. He was far easier to be around as a beligerant, ugly drunk than he is now as a beligerant, ugly Christian.

UPDATE: And my evangelical "friend" responds:

More fun at the expense of homophobic imbeciles

And who better than Jon Stewart to be poking fun at the dual human tragedies of  Michele and Marcus?

The Daily Show
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On The Road With Marcus And Michele Bachmann

I know, I've been a bit obsessive about the Bachmanns and their extreme homophobia lately, so today I am posting something a little more on the light side (even though there is now a clip out there of Michele using gay, family member, and satin all in the same sentence. I decided to post this instead as I must take my own sanity into account too.). And yes, this will be filed under "Fun at the expense of homophobic imbeciles".

Nightline - Michele Bachmann's Family Business Exposed

I know I have done a lot of posting on this subject lately, some might argue too much, but this woman, Michele Bachmann is running for President of the United States. So I would argue that the moment she made the decision to run, everything about her and her husband, including their "counseling business" became relevant. She and her husband have a belief system that not only runs completely counter to what I believe, but is extremely dangerous to our glbt children.

And one more thing, a quibble more or less, but have you ever noticed how much these so-called "good" Christians lie? It really is astounding. The Bachmanns have been lying for years about whether or not their clinic offered conversion therapy. Now why would they lie about something like that unless they felt it was something they needed to keep secret?   

Ex-Mormon and finally happy after 35 years of trying to pray away the gay.

Take note "Dr." Marcus Bachmann, these programs do NOT work. They only succeed in crushing or killing our beloved gay children.

So Marcus, take some advice from this momma:  Stop hurting our children. No matter how many gay youth you treat crush or destroy, you will never extinguish your own inner demons. You will always be you. Accept yourself honey. Celebrate who you are. But for god's sake, leave our beloved gay children alone. We cherish them just the way they are: alive, fabulous, and at peace with themselves.

Michele and Marcus Bachmann want to pray away the gay, I say we need to pray away them

I have gone back and forth on whether to post the South Park clip below. And in the end, I decided I should, but with the warning that it could be very upsetting to some of the people who visit this blog. I must confess it was upsetting to me. But I decided that in spite of my worries, it is important and relevant, so I definitely should post it.

We have a woman, Michele Bachmann, who has decided to run for President of the United States. And she is doing well enough, and getting enough attention from the right groups of constituents, that I have come to believe she actually could win the Republican primary. I hope I am wrong, but I don't think it would be wise for any of us to underestimate this woman. It could be a mistake we regret big time, especially those of us who have glbt children, and even more especially our glbt children.

Michele Bachmann has never made any secret of her feelings about our glbt children. She hates them and she justifies that hatred with what some of us believe are some pretty twisted religious beliefs. And now that she has made it official and we know she is running, there has been a brighter spotlight put not just on her, but her husband. And this has given us an opportunity to really see who this potential "first dude" is. And it is pretty damn scary. I honestly didn't think it was possible, but this guy might be a bigger horror show than his very homophobic and crazy wife.

According to ThinkProgress LGBT:

An undercover investigation from a staff member of the organization Truth Wins Out has revealed that the clinic run by Dr. Marcus Bachmann, husband of Republican presidential hopeful Michele Bachmann, is providing discredited “ex-gay” reparative therapy. Dr. Marcus Bachmann has been under intense scrutiny in recent weeks, after a ThinkProgress report documenting his past comments referring to gays as ”barbarians” and an NBC News reportthat revealed Bachmann and Associates had taken $137,000 in federal Medicaid funds over the past five years despite Michele Bachmann’s strident anti-government stance.   

We need to know what we are up against with these two people. They are both nightmares when it comes to our glbt children's futures. And from what we are now learning, Dr. Marcus Bachmann is more than just a nightmare for our glbt children, he is a deluded, cruel and dangerous man who is doing great harm to our glbt children and doing it with our g.d tax dollars. These two people must be stopped in their tracks, and yesterday is not soon enough.

Via The Dish:

Cartman Sucks
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PARKmore...

MSNBC - Michele Bachmann & Rick Santorum Sign 'The Marriage Vow'

I am posting this with very little commentary. This clip speaks for itself. The Republican Party is one big fat hideous joke and any of the presidential candidates who sign this ludicrous pledge deserve all the scorn and mockery they are getting. And as for those who only vote Republican because it is the party of "family values" and "Christian values"? I can only pity them. They are nothing more than the useful idiots to a party that could not survive without them, but doesn't give a damn about them.    



Well off to clean up the big mess left by the monster dust storm, or Haboob as they are calling it, we had the other night.

Frank Schaeffer on Michele Bachmann: She's too radical for Evangelicals

I have posted about Frank Schaeffer before, but it has been a while, March of 2009 to be precise. This is a man who has invaluable insight when it comes to the Religious Right. So if you have not heard of him, it is time to get acquainted. He and his parents (evangelical leaders Francis and Edith Schaeffer) played a big part in creating the monster we call the Religious Right. He was a major player up until the mid 80's when he defected. And now - he is their biggest nightmare. There is no better person to lay bare the gory, ugly innards of a movement he helped to start. And when he says it is a movement that has helped to destroy the Republican Party and looks set to destroy this country next - I'm prone to believe him.

Here is an excerpt of what he had to say back in 2009, but you really should go over to Huffington Post and read his "Open letter to Republican Traitors" in its entirety. It is still as relevant today as it was 2 years ago. And he doesn't mince words either:

You Republicans are the arsonists who burned down our national home. You combined the failed ideologies of the Religious Right, so-called free market deregulation and the Neoconservative love of war to light a fire that has consumed America. Now you have the nerve to criticize the "architect" America just hired -- President Obama -- to rebuild from the ashes. You do nothing constructive, just try to hinder the one person willing and able to fix the mess you created.

And now Frank Schaeffer is back with even more insight on one of the Religious Right's best hopes for the Republican nomination for President, Michele Bachmann. Only problem is, Mr. Schaeffer thinks even the Evangelicals will find her too extreme:



I am personally not convinced that Evangelicals will find Michele Bachmann  too extreme. I know a few people who claim to be Evangelical Christians, including one of my brothers and his wife, and sorry to say this but, they are so in the habit of checking their brains at the door of their mega-church and letting extreme right-wing moo-moo'd preachers like Rick Warren tell them what to think, I'm not so sure they'd find Michele Bachmann extreme. She says all the right things and uses enough dog whistles to win them over, but then it doesn't take much to win formerly smart people who have let their brains atrophy and shrink from lack of use (too harsh?).

And if you have never heard this interview he did with D.L. Hughley back in 2009, you must take the time to listen to it as well.  Here he discusses his life in the Religious Right and his views now that he has defected from both the Religious Right and the Republican Party. Again, he doesn't mince words and we'd do well to listen. I for one am scared to death of the Bachmanns and the useful idiots (read Evangelicals) who will vote for her simply because she hates abortion and absolutely loathes gays. That is really all they need to know in order to pull the lever for her.

Minnesota's Michele Bachmann & Homophobia

OK Minnesota, you know I love ya, but why on earth have you thrust this horrific nightmare upon us? She's batsh*t crazy and you know it. Is this some kind of joke or something? Cuz if it is, we're not laughing any more ...

Soo off-topic, but I don't care

I haven't felt the warm and fuzzies like this in a long time. This dear sweet little lady is the same age as my mom and has the same kind of pluck and spunk she does.

Via the marvelous, stupendous ladies at TPC I present to you Janey Cutler:



I don't know about you, but it's kind of nice to have tears in my eyes because of something as sweet as this, and not because of the usual frothy homophobic hate masked as the love of jeebus that I usually blog about.  The last time I felt this kind of warm and fuzzy was back in June of 2007 when I blogged about Paul Potts (also on Britain's Got Talent and also a most pleasant surprise). Posts on him are here, here, and here:

Big Bullies: How the Religious Right is Trying to Make Schools Safe for Bullies and Dangerous for Gay Kids

When I first learned one of my sons was gay I became obsessed with learning everything I could about the extra dangers and challenges he would face simply because of his sexual orientation. I was shocked to learn who the enemies were. And beyond terrified for my son's safety.

Do you think I'm exaggerating?

Well, if you asked this mom I know she'd give you an emphatic NO!!  Her son was bullied mercilessly at school. In fact her son was bullied to death. And the school? Well they couldn't be bothered:



Learning that schools are a breeding ground for bullies and their victims are often children who are gay or perceived to be gay, isn't really news. Schools have always had bullies and plenty of vulnerable children to be victimized, and my memory serves me especially well on this as I had a horrible experience with a bully when I was in the first grade. The memory will stay with me until the day I die. But what was shocking was learning who was pouring so much energy and resources into keeping schools from doing anything about it. And as you heard in the heart-wrenching clip above, Seth Walsh was a victim of their success.

To their credit, many schools are working hard to put anti-bullying policies into place. And their attempts are often met with strong resistance. But, who on earth, you ask, would fight something that would protect our children from the evils of bullying? And the answer, which shocked and horrified me in those early days of research, blew my mind. It is  those who claim to be the "good" Christians and "advocates" for the family. The problem is, they can't come out and say what they really want, which is, bullying is bad, except if the victim is an evil homo, then it is ok. So instead, they just fight tooth and nail all attempts to stop bullying:

Students deserve an education that is free from bullying and harassment, and in many districts parents, teachers, principals, community members and students are working together to create a safe and welcoming environment for all children. Bullying can impede learning and ruin lives. As Education Secretary Arne Duncan has said, “bullying is doubly dangerous because if left unattended it can rapidly escalate into even more serious violence and abuse.” Close to nine in ten Americans believe that bullying is a “serious problem,” and many communities are directly challenging harassment and violence in schools. 

However, many Religious Right activists want to derail efforts to combat bullying. An increasing number of conservative leaders and organizations have fiercely opposed anti-bullying programs developed by schools and education groups for the sole reason that such programs identify and attempt to combat the widespread bullying of LGBT youth. (emphasis mine)

Rather than recognize and address the problem of bullying against students who are gay or perceived to be gay, Religious Right groups want schools to embrace a policy ofinaction. Many resort to repeating discredited lies about sexual orientation and vilifying the LGBT community and its allies to back up their opposition to anti-bullying programs that mention anti-gay bullying. Concerned students, families, teachers, education professionals, and public officials should not be fooled by the far-right’s attempt to smear anti-bullying programs, and should instead ensure that schools address bullying with a direct, honest and comprehensive approach.

Or even more heinous ... they give pointers on how to harass those evil homos, in a good christiany kinda way of course.. Take it away Joe:

Focus On The Family's Stuart Shephard hosts anti-gay activist Candi Cushman and her ratty hairpiece to explain how Christianist students are going to harass LGBT kids in the loving name of Jeebus. The Focus-sponsored "Day Of Dialogue" is this Monday. Up until last year, this annual bashing-fest was run by the "ex-gay" liars at Exodus International.

I have written about Focus on the Family and James Dobson for years. For me, this organization, and this former head of the organization, personify everything that is EVIL about these groups that masquerade as advocates for the family, but are really just front groups for homophobia and hate and destruction.

James Dobson is retired now. He no longer heads up the vile Focus on the Family, but his legacy and the organization live on. They hate my son. They hate kids like Seth Walsh. And our gay and lesbian kids will always be in danger as long as these monstrous, hateful organizations exist.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO OUR LITTLE GIRL

July 3rd, 1988

OH HOW WE LOVE YOU!

CNN: Soldier leaves legacy much larger than 'he was gay'

There is an excellent, but gut-wrenching article over on CNN's website right now about Cpl. Andrew Wilfahrt, his death in Kandahar at the age of 31, his terrific relationship (as an openly gay soldier) with his fellow comrades (they loved and deeply respected him for the intelligent, committed, and brave soldier he was), and his parents' dogged determination to fight for marriage equality in their son's memory. And sadly, it is a battle they will be forced to fight in their own backyard now that the Minnesota state legislature, four months after their son's death, "voted, largely along party lines, to put a constitutional amendment on the ballot for November 2012 to define marriage as solely between a man and woman."

CNN:  
In a state that has produced GOP presidential hopefuls Michele Bachmann and Tim Pawlenty -- who have made careers fighting gay marriage -- these parents of an American hero present a major challenge to the establishment.

They'll take their battle to the Supreme Court, if that's what it takes. To the Wilfahrts, denying gays the right to marry is discrimination against a group to which their son belonged.

The article is just too good to do it justice with excerpts. You really must go read it in its entirety. Just make sure you have a box of tissue nearby, it is impossible to read without a good cry going on simultaneously.



Thank you, Jeff and Lori, for fighting this fight. I cannot begin to imagine the strength it must take just to get out of bed each day and face the loss you have experienced, yet you do it. I know I am not alone in feeling deep gratitude to you both for what you are doing.