Bertolli piles on ...

So cute:

Bertolli's responds to Guido Barilla's Homophobia

Related post: Dear Barilla

Judge Orders New Jersey to Allow Gay Marriage

Supporters crowd the boardwalk

This is great news, but we cannot celebrate just yet. Nope, in spite of the fact that New Jersey has a legislature that is totally on board with marriage equality (something they proved in February 2012 when a same-sex marriage bill was passed in both houses of the legislature but vetoed by Gov Christie), and the polls show a majority in New Jersey favor marriage equality, the cog in this tortuous process is, of course, Republian Governor Christie, who is vowing to appeal this latest decision. (Hey, is anybody surprised by this?)

It is no secret that Governor Christie has aspirations for higher public office. We all know he's got hopes of one day running for president. So doing nothing is not an option for him and in fact would most likely prove fatal to any hopes he has of becoming the Republican presidential nominee in 2016.

It just feels so heinous to me that any politician can so callously and transparently use the basic rights of a whole segment of his or her constituent population to advance their own political career. Especially when we all know that Chris Christie will NEVER be the Republican's nominee for president. He is no favorite of mine, but he is really loathed by the Republican base. He is just not enough of a psychopath to be a viable candidate for this crowd. So a whole segment of New Jersey's population will just have to endure the tortuous highs and lows of this battle so Governor Christie can play this game out. And it will be their rights he'll use as bargaining chips to try and please a crowd who will never love him back.

MN Archbishop John Nienstedt great about exposing evils of all things gay, but sees no problem covering up the evils perpetrated by pedophile priests

Archbishop/Homophobe John Nienstedt

Pope Francis sure has his work cut out for him if he wants to rescue the Catholic church from the loathsome, hypocritical creatures that have chased millions away. Yes, Pope Francis talks the talk, but I am not sure he can do what it takes to back that talk up. It is going to take some really tough action on his part, and his first step should be ridding the rank and file of vicious, cruel homophobes like Archbishop John Nienstedt. As John Becker of Truth Wins Out says (and I agree with):

Longtime readers will know that I’m no fan of Twin Cities Catholic Archbishop JohnNienstedt. In fact, I believe that Nienstedt has inserted himself more deeply into the battle over civil marriage in his state than perhaps any other Catholic bishop across the country. (And considering some of the competition, that’s quite the accomplishment!)

There has been no low too low for this supposed Man of God. His hatred and demonization of our glbt loved ones has been breathtaking in its scope. I recently wrote about his foam-at-the-mouth rant about sanctity of marriage, where he managed to get satan, sodomy, and threats to civilization all in under the same breath.  Now that gay marriage is legal in Minnesota, the man seems to have gone off the deep-end with his hatred of all things gay. His resume for loathsome, pitiful, scare and hate mongering is plentiful. Here are a few examples:

• He denied communion to all students who dared to wear rainbow buttons in protest of the Catholic Church's campaign in which nasty anti-gay DVDs were sent out to all congregants in the Diocese. 
• Or the time he sent out a letter to all congregants demanding all congregants vote for a marriage ban.
• Or the time he told all priests and deacons who disagreed with the anti-gay marriage bill to keep their mouths shut.
• Or the time he required all Catholics in Mass to recite a special prayer asking the Heavenly Father to help deny gays and lesbians civil rights everyone else enjoys and takes for granted.
•  Or the time he basically told the mother of a gay child to reject him or risk her own salvation.

But the coup de gras is:

• This horrible, despicable man covered up for a local priest recently sentenced to prison for child molesting. 

Now if that is not a perfect example of an intrinsic moral evil, I don't know what is. This man should be defrocked and sent on his way and it should happen NOW. 

Like I've been saying over and over again, if Pope Francis really really wants to disinfect this church and welcome back the millions who have walked away, he needs to get rid of all of the John Nienstadts. And that's just for starters.

But then again, hell will probably freeze over first ...

  

Dear Barilla, (UPDATED)

Barillo Pasta Jerk

I am a 50-something year old woman, married to my husband for almost 32 years, and we have 3 children we love dearly. I believe we probably fit Mr. Guido Barilla's concept of the "sacred family" with an added bonus for him: we love, love, love our Italian food. But from here on in, Barilla products will not be a must-have staple in our pantry.

The problem  is our "sacred family" includes a gay child. And we love our gay son more than any product Mr. Barilla could offer us, which is why we will choose to give our business to another company whose values more closely match ours.

You see, in our country, Mr. Barilla is free to voice his opinions, and we, his customers are just as free to choose some other company's product should we find his views reprehensible and homophobic. I just hope Mr. Barilla realizes that for every person or group of persons he chooses to demean when going public with his opinions, there is a potential "sacred family" who loves that person far more than any product Guido Barilla could put on our grocery store shelves.

Mr. Guido has lost this "sacred family" as customers.

Sincerely,
A seething mom

What has me so worked up? This.

UPDATE: US Division Of Barilla Apologizes (Via: JMG):

UPDATE #2: And Barilla replies to my angry comment on their website:

Dear Kim,

At Barilla, we consider it our mission to treat our consumers and partners as our neighbors – with love and respect – and to deliver the very best products possible. We take this responsibility seriously and consider it a core part of who we are as a family-owned company.

We are working hard to learn from this experience, and appreciate you taking the time to share your comments and valuable feedback.

Sincerely,

Barilla

Case # 157811

UPDATE #3: Guido speaks:

Just because it's Sunday ...

And this pope has been on my mind a lot lately ...

Via Pat Bagley

A family turns their worst nightmare into something that will help other families avoid their mistake: a follow-up to one of my earlier posts

NALT Christians: Meet the Robertsons of Seattle

Back on July 3rd of this year I blogged about this family. Their story is so tragic and so unforgettable and so heartbreaking. And quite frankly, I did not react well when I first read their story and then blogged about it. 

My sorrow for this family was offset only by a seething rage that has been building deep within my soul for the past 10 years. It is not so much a rage at this family as it is at these horrible right-wing fundamentalist churches that preach hatred and homophobia to their congregations knowing full well the consequences can and will be devastating for at least some of their congregants who either have gay loved ones or are gay themselves. And yet, that does not stop these sanctimonious fraud preachers from doing it. Needless to say this can make for some very tragic endings, especially for the gay people who are being demonized and condemned. And it absolutely did not lead to a happy ending for the Roberston family.

But the purpose of this post is not to rage and rail against right-wing fundamentalist churches, I do that often enough. The purpose of this post is to plug another Dan Savage project that I have blogged about before and will probably blog about in the future (I have a link to it in the sidebar on the right-had side of this blog). It is called The NALT Project and it is amazing.

The clip above is from The NALT Project and features the Robertson family. Knowing their back story only makes it a much more poignant and selfless contribution on their part. You can read their story here and here. 

Pope Francis is definitely no Pope Benedict, but can he heal the wounds inflicted by his predecessor?

I have been reading excerpts from the transcript of the latest New York Times interview with Pope Francis. I have also spent a lot of time reading and listening to reactions from people I deeply respect. But I am still not sure how I feel and way too skittish about allowing myself to get too hopeful or excited.

But this NYT's interview is giving a whole lot of people a reason to get their hopes up. Maybe too much so. Let's be realistic here. There is only so much this new Pope can do, and none of it will involve changing church doctrine. But that said, there are things Pope Francis said in this interview that is truly music to the ears of those who have only felt the pain of rejection and stinging condemnation from the previous pope(s):

Q: What should the church say to divorced and remarried people, and homosexuals?

A: In Buenos Aires I used to receive letters from homosexual persons who are “socially wounded” because they tell me that they feel like the church has always condemned them. But the church does not want to do this ... if a homosexual person is of good will and is in search of God, I am no one to judge.

Q: What kind of church do you dream of?

A: We cannot insist only on issues related to abortion, gay marriage and the use of contraceptive methods ... but it is not necessary to talk about these issues all the time.

The church’s pastoral ministry cannot be obsessed with the transmission of a disjointed multitude of doctrines to be imposed insistently …

We have to find a new balance; otherwise even the moral edifice of the church is likely to fall like a house of cards, losing the freshness and fragrance of the Gospel.

These are just a few excerpts, but I can see why those who have been so desperately hungry to be loved and accepted by the Church for so long would be so hopeful. But I would caution against getting too exuberant yet.

Am I hopeful? Yes, but extremely cautious. This is a church that has done tremendous damage and the wounds are deep and still quite fresh. The stains of Pope Benedict's cruelty are almost impossible to forget and even harder to erase.

Will I personally go back to the Catholic Church? Hell will probably freeze over before that happens, but I've learned never to say never.

Do I like what I am hearing from this Pope? Yes, but they are words, kind and soothing as they are, they are still just words. There is still a rigid church doctrine (when it comes to gays and women's issues) that will never change in my lifetime, and way too many priests, bishops, and cardinals who wholeheartedly subscribe to the Pope Benedict/John Paul II homophobia, sexism, and obsessions with contraception/abortion. And they are still in the ranks, spewing their uncompromising authoritarian stands and threatening the denial of communion to those who dare to disagree. And I really can't see any of that going away anytime soon, nor can I see the appearance of the Catholic Church being an arm of one of our two political parties (guess which one) going away any time soon either.

But still, I don't want to come off too pessimistic. Pope Francis is a welcome breath of fresh air after the horrors of Pope Benedict. But it will take far more than softer, gentler words to disinfect and heal the wounds inflicted by previous popes. Just take a look at Pope Benedict's Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church on the Pastoral Care of Homosexual Persons.

His words are cruel and unforgiving. The intention is obvious: wound, demonize, stigmatize, and condemn. Phrases like "intrinsic moral evil" and "objective disorder" are used to describe anyone with tendencies towards same-sex attraction, not people who act on those tendencies, but anyone with those tendencies. Cold, hard, unforgiving condemnation for simply being. No room for salvation. No room for compassion. No room for redemption. And all this harsh judgment coming from a man who oversaw and directed the largest cover-up of decades-worth of child rape and molestation within his Church. He was so blinded by his desire to protect a church that had gone astray and by hatred for my son and anyone like him who had "tendencies", he could not even see the "intrinsic moral evil" of his own horrific actions. And yet he expected a submissive flock to just accept that he had the moral high-ground to make these unforgiving judgments.   

My wounds are deep, my anger intense. And the desire to put it behind me is not there. It has fueled me for 10 years and forced me to soul search. It has pushed me to reach out to those who've been thrown to the gutter by the church and by the families who chose to follow it blindly. To put that anger away now would be my intrinsic moral evil.

But I will continue to watch Pope Francis and hope. Maybe he can create a kinder, gentler environment within the church for future generations, but I don't hold out much hope for the walking wounded of this and past generations.

Maybe I am wrong. I hope I am wrong. But I don't think I am.

British Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg recalling the day gay marriage became legal in Britain

Oh how I love the British, especially when they are on the right side of history:



Funny thing, dinosaur bigots from other countries aren't much different than American dinosaur bigots. Frightened, ignorant, ruthless, self-righteous liars and fear-mongers - I guess those are universal traits, regardless of where they call home.

Campaign launched to bolster gay marriage support in Arizona in preparation for a possible 2016 ballot measure

Cathi Herrod-AZ's Morality Dictator

There was another article on gay marriage in today's Arizona Republic. And don't quote me on this, but I think our local self-appointed morality dictators are starting to get a little jumpy. I saw a clip of our very own Cathi Herrod on one of the local tv stations and she was awfully chirpy and a little too breathless with her bravado and self-righteous shtick. Me thinks she is getting a wee bit nervous.

Yes, the ole battle ax, Cathi Herrod, and her Focus-on-the-Family funded god-botherers came out in force and successfully got a marriage ban enshrined into our state constitution in 2008. But it isn't 2008 anymore, it's 2013. And whether Cathi wants to admit it or not, attitudes are changing at lightening speed. And if this new campaign today's paper detailed is any kind of success at all, a whole lot more people are going to know someone who is profoundly hurt by Cathi Herrod's life work enshrining her hate and bigotry into our laws.  

From the article today:

The campaign, Why Marriage Matters Arizona, encourages same-sex couples to share their stories with friends and family in a bid to build support for a possible 2016 ballot measure. In coming weeks, community groups, businesses and religious leaders will also share their support for changing Arizona law to allow same-sex couples to marry.

Oh and by the way Cath? You taught us well. Nothing is beneath us. We will broadcast stories like the very sad story below. This couple may live in Illinois, but there are plenty of stories here in Arizona that will tug at heartstrings (thanks to you):



Arizona is not going to stay in the dark ages for much longer Cathi. No matter what filthy lies and tricks you employ. Your days as Arizona's top hate-monger in chief are numbered, but cheer up, I hear Uganda is hiring.

Oklahoma Guv: You can put your life on the line to defend this state and this country but we are still going to deny you benefits if you are legally married and gay

Because my third-grade understanding of the Bible tells me this is what I should do.

Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin (R-Bigot)

So Oklahoma governor, Mary Fallin, has decided to join Texas, Mississippi, and Louisiana in flippin a big old FU bird at its gay and legally married National Guard members by ordering the local National Guard not to process requests for benefits of same-sex couples.

Besides being completely mean and nasty, it also bolsters the American south's reputation for being a backwater, ignorant, bible thumpin cesspool. but that is something the saner parts of our country and the world already knew.

Oh and Mary? Who ya gonna call when you have a local disaster? What a wonderful message you send. Jebus woold be so prowd of y'all.

The God Debate: The Atheist and the Christian debate each other

Not much going on, so how bouts some John Fugelsang to hold you over?

Oh Senator David Vitter, do you really want to go there?

Please forgive me, but I cannot, nor do I have any desire to conceal my complete and utter glee at the prospect of one of the Senate's most sanctimonious, hypocritical "family values" & "sanctity of marriage" frauds, David Vitter, getting his ass handed back to him in a pair of man pampers. I just hope that Harry Reid doesn't get squeamish and chicken out because this creep may have gotten the people of Louisiana to forgive and forget, but the rest of the country will never forget the sordid details of this guy's story.

So just to refresh your memories (yeah I know, you will need to disinfect after this post): Back in July of 2007, Senator David Vitter, a staunch "Family Values", "Sanctity of Marriage" conservative, was identified as a client of a prostitution service during the DC Madam scandal and then one day after he publicly apologized for his connection to that scandal, it came out that Vitter was once a client of the Canal Street brothel, a high-priced brothel in his hometown. And it gets better. Apparently, when this sanctimonious fraud rented prostitutes back home in New Orleans, there was “more than sex” — he liked the hookers to make him wear diapers. 

But fear not, a little nookie with dypees on the side was not enough to sideline this fierce protector of our moral values. Senator David Vitter had the unmitigated gall to actually put his name down as one of the 10 original sponsors of a Federal Marriage Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. And this was in June of 2008 - just a year after shocking the country with his hooker & diaper escapades! 

So fast forward to September 2013. Senator dumber-than-a-box-of-rocks Vitter is at it again, only this time he is pissing off a lot of Democrats who have better memories than Vitter's Louisiana constituents:

Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) this week tied up his chamber, blocking efforts to work on a bipartisan energy efficiency bill. He said he'd reconsider his obstructionist antics if the Senate voted on his measure to end the "Washington exemption from ObamaCare."

But ...

There is no congressional "exemption" from the Affordable Care Act, as I imagine most senators realize. But Vitter engaged in his little stunt anyway, to his colleagues' annoyance.

And ...

It appears that some of those colleagues are growing tired of the Louisiana Republican's antics, and have a brush-back pitch in mind.

Which has resulted in some deliciously titilating headlines like this:

Will Democrats haul out hookers in David Vitter fight?

Senate Democrats have had all they can take from David Vitter and his fixation on Obamacare -- and they're dredging up his past prostitution scandal to hit back.

Vitter, a Louisiana Republican, has infuriated Democrats this week by commandeering the Senate floor, demanding a vote on his amendment repealing federal contributions to help pay for lawmakers' health care coverage.

But Democratic senators are preparing a legislative response targeting a sordid Vitter episode. If Vitter continues to insist on a vote on his proposal, Democrats could counter with one of their own: Lawmakers will be denied those government contributions if there is "probable cause" they solicited prostitutes.

So, are Democrats finally going to start fighting dirty? I sure as hell hope so. The Republicans certainly have no problem doing it. And who better to start with than the hypocritical embarrassment from Louisiana, Senator Diaper Dave?

Oh SNAP! I was just getting ready to press the publish button when I saw this from TPM Live Wire:

Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) on Friday sent a letter to the Senate Ethics Committee requesting an investigation of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) for what he calls "attempted bribery."

The letter responded to reports that Senate Democrats were shopping around a plan to deny government contributions to lawmakers' health care plans if there is "probable cause" they solicited prostitutes. The proposal would effectively dredge up Vitter's 2007 prostitution scandal unless he stopped pressuring the Senate to vote on an amendment repealing federal contributions to legislators' health plans.

You will have to click over to read Vitter's letter and Reid's office's response. I am simply astounded at just how stupid David Vitter really is. My gawd Louisiana, is this really the best you can do??

What principles are you fighting for? Answer: Everyone's inalienable rights in this country, if you are an American, you're an American

Great clip and well worth watching (all 6 plus minutes worth) to the end. Brought tears to my eyes and made me very proud:



Via: TPC

Remembering the tragedy of September 11th and the vermon who crawled out from under their rocks to capitalize on it

Oh how well I remember this: Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson coming out before the fires were even out at the Pentagon and the World Trade Center blaming the terrorist attacks on: the American Civil Liberties Union, the U.S. federal courts, the Christian God, pagans, abortionists, feminists, male and female homosexuals, and a liberal non-profit called People for the American Way. 

What a putrid duo they made: 

My skin crawls.

Cathi Herrod, Arizona's top morality dictator, smugly spins today's news about delaying marriage equality fight in Arizona

Cathi Herrod-Arizona's top Morality Dictator

The front page of today's Arizona Republic has an article titled:  Same-sex marriage won't be on 2014 ballot. The article goes on to list the different reasons why 2014 is not the right time, but 2016 probably will be. And those reasons basically boil down to challenges raising money, gathering signatures, disagreements among supporters, and not having the different pro-marriage equality organizations (including the Log Cabin Republicans) on the same page. In other words, they don't have all their ducks in a row ---- yet.

Needless to say, there is a lot of disappointment and disagreement on this decision. And honestly, I am one of those people who would love, love, love to forge ahead. But this is Arizona, and we are a red state, and we do have a strong "family" (cough, cough) advocacy group, the Center for Arizona Policy, led by a vocal and very homophobic president, Cathi Herrod, who receives her marching orders and financing from hideous hate groups like Focus on the Family, and is the main reason an marriage amendment limiting marriage to one man and one woman got enshrined into our state constitution in the first place. And let me tell you, Cathi is not disappointed with this latest piece of news. In fact her statement seems to smack of a forced confidence that she doesn't really feel (and then again, I might be giving her waay to much credit for reading the tea leaves correctly). But regardless, she is still riding high on the fumes of successfully legislating her right-wing ideology and ignorance into our laws, and Ms. Herrod is ready and willing to crow about it.

From the article:

The anti-gay-marriage groups are claiming victory, with the end of Equal Marriage Arizona.

“The so-called equal marriage campaign could not overcome the support for one-man and one-woman marriage,” Center for Arizona Policy President Cathi Herrod said in a statement. “Redefining marriage is a nonstarter today in Arizona.”

But Herrod said the battle will continue as both sides gear up for 2016.

“Our resolve to stand together for our families and our future must remain resolute,” she said.

Yeah, and about those families that Cathi calls "our families"?  That group is getting smaller and smaller (if it ever really existed at all) and has never included families like mine or families like the Hams (their story here and here), or like most Arizona families for that matter. Her "our families" has pretty much been a Leave It To Beaver idealistic wish that resides more in her head than in the average Arizona household.

And me thinks that Ms. Herrod's quote in today's paper is a lot of bravado and spin masquerading as confidence. Ms. Herrod may be an ignorant bigot, but she isn't stupid. She has to know that she won a battle here in Arizona, but she is not going to win the war. The momentum, and a lot of Arizona families, are not in her favor.

So savor your past victories, Ms. Herrod because pretty soon, that will be all you have.
 

Christian Mingle: Let us help you find God's match for you - except if you are gay

Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart. - Psalms 37:4

I don't know about you, but I absolutely loathe the Christian Mingle commercials - so much so that I immediately change channels or press the mute button the second I realize one of their cringe-worthy ads invade my space. Their ads are cheesy and literally raise the hair on the back of my neck, but I guess they are effective with a certain crowd since they are still running. 

And it certainly doesn't help that the company itself is a defiantly, in-your-face discriminatory organization that refuses to serve anyone looking for a same-sex match:

As eHarmony distances itself from Christian group Focus on the Family, Spark Networks, the parent company of popular Jewish dating site JDate, is throwing its weight behind Christian dating site ChristianMingle. This week the Washington Post and CNN took note of the site’s $30 million advertising blitz, which promises to “Find God’s match for you.” It’s certainly a tall order, but reporters wondered if it might also be false advertising.

In response, ChristianMingle’s spokeswoman has been offering a weird blend of Internet-era religious doctrine and legal disclaimer. “God can orchestrate and use the medium of Christian Mingle to allow people to find their match for one another on the site,” Ashley Reccord explained to CNN. “He may or may not use that means, but he can use that means.” Access to the medium that God may or may not use will cost users $18.99 a month for a three-month subscription.

[...]

Unlike eHarmony, which admitted users looking for same-sex matches after a rash of discrimination litigation, ChristianMingle’s homepage offers two options: men seeking women and women seeking men.

So it is with great pleasure I present a commercial I can watch without gagging.  Christian Mingle deserves to be laughed at. They are not "good" Christians, they are bigots.



Thanks JMG, Sundays are the perfect day for mocking sanctimonious frauds.

  

Minneapolis City Pages Best Villain of 2013, Archbishop John Nienstedt, is working hard to be named Best Sore Loser of 2014

Wow Archbishop Nienstedt, drama queen much?

Seriously, stop the hyperventilation about the evils and dangers of gay marriage. You lost the gay marriage battle, move on or else risk exposing yourself for the big fat liar and homophobe you really are.

People are now seeing that life is not much different than it was before gay marriage became legal in your great state. No one's marriage is dissolving and no one's family life has been debased now that the 2 guys or 2 gals down the street can get married. The only thing they are seeing is you screaming at the wind and making a fool of yourself.

Keep this kind of shit hyperbole up and next year you will be a shoo-in for the Minneapolis City Pages' Best Sore loser of 2014:

"Today, many evil forces have set their sights on the dissolution of marriage and the debasing of family life. Sodomy, abortion, contraception, pornography, the redefinition of marriage, and the denial of objective truth are just some of the forces threatening the stability of our civilization. The source of these machinations is none other than the Father of Lies. Satan knows all too well the value that the family contributes to the fabric of a good solid society, as well as the future of God’s work on earth."

A bit of advice Archbishop? If you are really worried about the sanctity of marriage, start working on those parishioners sitting in the pews of your churches who have 2 and 3 (or even more) marriages under their belts. And believe me, there are many.

Your unhealthy obsession with all things same-sex is blinding you to the real culprits debasing marriage and family life, and it doesn't have anything to do with loving same sex couples or Satan.


  

Dan Savage - The Right Wing "Christians" worst nightmare - and one of my biggest heroes

Well Dan is at it again and his latest project should send the Pat Robertsons, Tony Perkins, Brian Browns, and all the other Haters-in-the-Name-of-God Christians monsters into full panic mode.

So what is Dan up to now? Well here is the press release:

On Wednesday, Sept. 4, Christians everywhere will begin to rise up and proclaim their unconditional love and support for their gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender friends, neighbors, co-workers, and family members. This new movement, inspired by Dan Savage’s “It Gets Better” project, encourages LGBT-affirming Christians to upload videos that unapologetically express their full acceptance of LGBT people. The NALT Christians Project, created by Christian author John Shore and Truth Wins Out, will be an online platform that directly challenges the idea that anti-gay Christians represent all or even most of the Christian faithful. The first two videos on the website are from author and advocate Dan Savage, and NALT co-founder John Shore and his wife Catherine.

And here is Dan explaining how NALT came to be:



And here are some of the many videos that can be found at the NALT website:







The website is loaded with great information and a lot of great video clips like the ones above. Check it out. It is wonderful.

And thank you Dan Savage. This is yet another amazing idea that, like your It Gets Better project, will save lives and possibly even rescue Christianity from the hateful bullies who have given it such a bad name. It is about time we counter those who have made Christianity synonymous with hate and exclusion. And it is definitely time to silence the sanctimonious frauds who have hurt so many while claiming they have God on their side.  

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd gives a staunch defence of same-sex marriage when challenged by a "good" Christian Pastor

Wow! PM Kevin Rudd puts a good number of our American politicians, especially the ones who claim to be "good" Christians with "good" family values, to shame. Watch how Rudd confidently explains why he changed his mind on same-sex marriage and why he believes his stance does not contradict his own deeply held religious beliefs.



It is so refreshing to see what weapons PM Rudd has in his political arsenol: a good understanding of the nuances of the bible and the times in which it was written, a solid grasp of modern scientific consensus on homosexuality, and the courage to make fools of those who are accustomed to using 3rd-grade interpretations of cherry-picked bible passages to demonize "others" without ever being challenged.

Priceless.





  
  

Dear Chaplain Klingenschmitt,

Don't twist bible passages to fit your right-wing views. And certainly don't be stupid enough to do it around John Fugelsang. He knows the bible  better than you ever will and he will call you out on it. And if it is on national t.v., you will look like the lying fool you are: