Friday, December 05, 2008

LGBT Blogger Summit Weekend

Today is going to be a crazy day as I run from meetings and then travel to Washington, D.C., to attend the LGBT Blogger Initiative Summit in Washington, D.C. The event kicks off this evening at the Human Rights Campaign headquaters (I wonder if anyone has read my complaints about HRC on this blog?) for a happy hour reception with HRC senior staff, directors and coordinators of the event, as well as others attending the summit and staff from one of the sponsor organizations. The schedule is pretty exhaustive so I doubt I will have much time to blog until my return to the Tidewater area on Sunday night. From some of the people I now know are attending (e.g., Pam Spaulding, Mike Rogers and a number of Bilerico Progect contributors), it should be a pretty amazing experience and allow for incredible networking opportunities.
*
The boyfriend is going to D.C., for the weekend with me and we hope to have a chance to indulge in a little of the D.C. nightlife. While not one of the most obscure areas in the LGBT world, the greater Norfolk area is not a bright center of the gay universe, so it should be fun spending the weekend in a far more progressive area among with many kindred spirits.

Friday Male Beauty

Nazi Like Mentality of Blaming the Victim

It was only a matter of time before other nutcases picked up the storyline being put out by MassResistance based on the recently released Massachusetts Department of Health report that I mentioned the other day. Now a Florida doctor, Dr. Richard Swier, is suggesting that since LGBT individuals reported - remember, this was a self reporting survey and NOT a controlled clinical study - higher incidences of certain health issues, the solution is to "eliminate" the number of gays. Here's what Herr Doctor had to say:
*
Researchers found that in many cases the disparities were even greater for bisexuals than for gay/lesbians when compared with their heterosexual counterparts. Dr. Kerith Conron, Research Fellow, Harvard School of Public Health and lead author of the report, said, "This report identifies major health disparities faced by lesbians, gay men and bisexuals. Bisexuals particularly face greater health disparities in the areas of mental health and violence victimization. Specific interventions should be developed to work with the bisexual population in these areas.
*
"Health officials also hope that the report will stimulate further study on ways to reduce and eliminate health disparities faced by gay, lesbian and bisexual people.
*
*
Reduce and eliminate health disparities? How about we eliminate gay, lesbian and bisexual behavior? Perhaps the Department of Health, Governor and Legislature should create strategies to reduce the number of gays, lesbians and bisexuals. That would solve this health crisis. Perhaps the media will give this lifestyle the same negative publicity they give smoking and obesity.
*
Hmm, let me see. A number of reports have shown Southern Baptists to have the highest obesity rate of any denomination and that evangelical Christians tend to have lower education/intelligence levels. Applying Herr Doctor's analysis, does that mean we would be wise to "eliminate" the number of Southern Baptists and evangelical Christians? (I know, it is an attractive concept) One of the most hypocritical things the Christianists do is to unrelentingly make life a living Hell as possible for LGBT citizens and then condemn us for the mental health and emotional consequences of their jihad. Since sexual orientation is not a choice and appears to be biological/genetic, how would Herr Doctor propose to reduce the number of LGBT individuals? I can think of only one way - these folks are truly hateful.
*
Here's more information on Herr Doctor via Matt Comer:
*
Swier is a retired Army Lieutenant Colonel. He currently serves on the board of the Community Foundation of Sarasota County and an advisory committee of the county school system. In the past, Swier has twice chaired the Sarasota Better Business Council and once sat on the board of the Greater Sarasota Chamber of Commerce. He is the president of the Sarasota County Veterans Commission and was appointed chairman of the Sarasota National Cemetery Advisory Committee by Republican Congressman Vern Buchanan.
*
Looks to me like Herr Swier needs to be removed from any involvement with the public school system in light of his Nazi like mentality. One can only shudder at the atmosphere that he must seek to create for LGBT students.

Thursday, December 04, 2008

More Thursday Male Beauty

Archbishop George Niederauer Disingenuous Dance

Archbishop George Niederauer of the San Francisco diocese is apparently trying to give cover to the massive Mormon Church involvement in the passage of Proposition 8 and cover his own ass in terms of having crossed the line in having his diocese actively work for the passage of legislation - a big no-no with the IRS. Personally, I'd love to see an IRS audit of the San Francisco diocese's full involvement. As for Niederauer's whining about the right of religious leaders to speak out on issues of public policy, that's all fine and good - just do not ask to be tax-exempt if you are going to be an active player in politics. You do not get to have your cake and eat it too. I would also note that I have seen any reports of Niederauer demanding accountability from his brethren bishops and cardinals who enabled/covered up the sexual abuse of minors - a much more heinous thing than gay marriage. But then, Niederauer is the typical corpulent (he doesn't look like he does much fasting), falsely pious Roman Catholic bishop whose strongest attribute is hypocrisy. Here are some highlights from the San Francisco Chronicle:
*
San Francisco Catholic Archbishop George Niederauer, in his first extensive explanation about his role in the passage of Proposition 8, on Wednesday defended the church's actions in the successful ballot initiative. "Religious leaders in America have the constitutional right to speak out on issues of public policy," Niederauer wrote in a statement posted on the archdiocese's Web site.
*
Niederauer's statement, coming more than a month after the vote to ban same-sex marriage in the nation's most populous state, underscored the complex role he plays. . . . During the campaign, Niederauer issued statements, sent flyers and gave a videotaped interview posted at www.marriagematterstokids.org. But Niederauer's most prominent action was drawing in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, whose members responded with intensive grassroots organizing and an estimated $20 million in campaign contributions from individuals that accounted for half of the Yes on 8 campaign's total.
*
In his statement Wednesday, titled "Moving forward together," Niederauer urged both sides to tone down the rhetoric and move toward a common cause. "Tolerance, respect and trust are always two-way streets and tolerance, respect and trust often do not include agreement, or even approval," he wrote.
*
Kevin Sullivan, a gay parishioner at St. Dominic's in the Fillmore district, found Niederauer's letter to be "very condescending" and said the archdiocese deserves the moniker of being bigoted. "The actions of our archdiocese and this archbishop in no way spoke of tolerance, respect and trust toward gay Catholics," said Sullivan, 50. "It will take the gay community a very long time to forgive our archdiocese for this."
*
Personally, I do not understand how any LGBT individual can remain in the Catholic Church which under the current Pope and hierarchy is nothing less than an abomination and an insult to the true Gospel message. I wish more Catholics would walk away and find more truly Christian church homes and let Catholicism wither on the vine as it so justly deserves.

Fundie Hissy Fits Over “Prop 8: The Musical”

The self-serving double standards of the Christianists never cease to amaze me. They feel that they can freely tell every conceivable lie about gays, distort legitimate research and selectively pick and choose which Bible passages to apply literally and which ones to pretend are non-existent, but the minute someone highlights their hypocrisy they get all pissy. A case in point is the reaction to “Prop 8: The Musical” which is a parody of the opponents of gay marriage. From what I've seen, most of the comments about Christianists and their lies and inconsistency when it comes to Biblical interpretation/application are true. Nonetheless, the fundies at CNSNews.com have their panties in knots over the play. Here are some highlights of the crocodile tears being generated:
*
(CNSNews.com) – A Christian group is calling for an apology from Hollywood celebrities who starred in a musical that it says mocks Christians, defames Christ, and distorts the teaching of the Bible. . . . The video stars actor Jack Black - who plays Jesus – Neil Patrick Harris, John C. Reilly, Andy Richter, Maya Rudolph, Margaret Cho, and Rashida Jones, among others.
*
"Jack Black should remember from his days at Hebrew School that homosexual acts aren't funny and are roundly condemned in the Bible," Dr. Gary Cass, of the Christian Anti-Defamation Commission, said in a statement. John C. Reilly plays a “hate”-spreading religious zealot, who asks Jesus, “Doesn’t the Bible say these people [gays] are an abomination?” “Yeah, but you know, it says the exact same thing about this shrimp cocktail. Leviticus says shellfish is an abomination,” Black says as Jesus. “The Bible says a lot of interesting things like you can stone your wife or sell your daughter into slavery.
*
“Well we ignore those verses,” Reilly’s character says. “Well, then friend, it seems to me you pick and choose. Well, please choose love instead of hate. Besides your nation was built on separation of church and state,” Black says in response.
*
“Appearing as a sarcastic, rotund Christ, Black distorts the Bible and condones shameful, homosexual acts. Associating Christ with perverse activity is an affront to all people of faith, especially Christians. Apparently Black and company find it hilarious to falsely accuse Christians while they intentionally distort the Bible. Black ought to apologize," Cass said.
*
Pardon my French, but Mr. Cass is an ass. If anyone tortures the Bible to malign and denigrate others, it is the good folk like Cass and like minded Christianists. If the truth hurts, perhaps he/they need to take a good look at themselves in the mirror. As long as they tell lies about me and other LGBT individuals, I will continue to do all I can to tell the unvarnished truth about them.

Thursday Male Beauty

Focus on the Family Focuses on Homosexuals

The title of a Denver Post article says what most gays who are not unconscious already knew. Daddy Dobson's Focus on the Family is obsessed with homosexuality. As with the "conservative" Episcopalians, world hunger, genocide, homelessness are of far less concern. It's all about the "gay agenda" and maintaining the choice myth. In the article the number of attendees who have come to bogus "Love Won Out" conferences is noted but as is the norm, there is ZERO documentation as to the number of successful cures. One only hears from the tired "ex-gays for pay" like Melissa Fryrear. Truth be told, FOF likely has no documentation on purpose since it doesn't want to show how the program in reality doesn't work. They make wild claims but have no names of real people who have been "cured" to back any of it up. Even Daddy D himself can only cite 800 out of 50,000 some attendees who claim to have been cured. If true, that's a horrendously low success rate. In short, FOF peddles snake oil and makes the sleaziest used car salesman look like the height of integrity. Here are some story highlights:
*
For a decade, Focus on the Family has delved into what it believes is the biblical truth about sexual behavior through its "Love Won Out" conferences. Focus says the conferences started a national conversation on the origins of homosexuality and have nurtured thousands of troubled families and helped hundreds of former gays and lesbians "escape the lifestyle."
*
But pro-gay activists and many psychology experts denounce attempts to change people's sexual orientation through religious mediation or other so-called reparative therapies. They say it causes people great harm in an attempt to fix something that isn't broken.
*
"These programs give us the tools and weapons to go to war against ourselves," said Peterson Toscano, founder of the support group Beyond Ex-Gay. Failed attempts to change sexual orientation take a tremendous toll on people's psychological, emotional, spiritual, financial and physical well-being, he said. "I've talked to more than 1,000 ex- gay survivors whose lives have been devastated — their close relationships destroyed," Toscano said. "Because of one of these conferences, my mother died feeling she had failed me."
*
University of Minnesota researchers recently published a study in the Journal of Homosexuality showing that among homosexual men, the best predictor of poor mental and sexual health, including depression, drug use and sexually transmitted diseases, is a negative attitude toward homosexuality, not being a homosexual.
*
Dobson said there are more than 800 known former gay and lesbian individuals who have found "wholeness in their newfound heterosexuality." As evidence mounts for biological underpinnings to human sexual behavior, Christian conservatives increasingly argue science doesn't matter.
*
The bottom line is that for Daddy Dobson and FOF, the truth doesn't matter. It's all about shaking down folks for money and keeping the "choice myth" alive for political purposes. He/they make the Pharisees look like pretty upright folks in comparison.

Conservative [Bigoted] Episcopalians Vote to Create New Branch

With all the pressing issues in the USA not to mention the world - starvation, genocide, wars, homelessness - one has to wonder about the priorities of the "conservative" Episcopalians who obsess over gay clergy and the acceptance of gays as full church members to the exclusion of all else. Are their faith and belief system so terribly fragile that the concept that maybe, just maybe, the few phrases they cling to in the Bible to justify demonizing gays might not be accurate that the thought sends their house of cards world crashing down? I would love to see psychological profiles worked up on the male members of this break away group - I suspect it would reveal that these people are very f*cked up and have some serious mental health issues. Oh, and as I have argued before, why are they perfectly alright with divorce even though JESUS is said to have condemned it (why he was silent on gays)? I seriously do not understand the bigotry and hypocrisy of these "conservatives." Here are some highlights from the Washington Post concerning the Pharisees/homophobes' latest actions:
*
Conservatives from the Episcopal Church voted yesterday to form their own branch of Anglicanism in the United States and said they would seek new recognition in the worldwide church because of their growing disenchantment over the ordination of an openly gay bishop and other liberal developments.
*
The conservatives remain upset about the 2003 ordination of Gene Robinson of New Hampshire, the role of female clergy, the church's definition of salvation and changes to the main book of prayer. It was unclear how other branches of Anglicanism, a loose affiliation of 77 million people that is the third-largest Christian church in the world, will react.
*
Bishop Martyn Minns, a Virginia-based conservative leader, said a new constitution and canons approved by conservatives would be reviewed this week by seven like-minded Anglican leaders, mostly in Africa, who were expected to approve it. He said meetings both formal and informal would begin with other branch leaders to seek approval.
*
Although yesterday's votes took some church leaders by surprise, conservatives have been speaking of forming an alternative body for decades. Among the challenges they have faced are internal divisions about issues including the role of laypeople and female clergy. Minns said the new canons allow female deacons and priests in churches that choose them but do not allow female bishops.

Wednesday, December 03, 2008

Final Wednesday Male Beauty

Catholic Diocese Pays $4.5 Million for Abuse Claims

Meanwhile, as the doddering Benedict XVI disingenuously worries about the sign of peace in the celebration of Mass, another Catholic diocese pays out millions for sexual abuse claims. Will any senior cleric in the Church be punished or held accountable? Of course not. Why individuals continue to give money to such a corrupt institution defies logic. I also wish that insurers would cease paying claims since in all too many instances the bishops and /or cardinals in places of authority mere turned a blind eye to what was being done to children and youths. Only when sexual abuse judgments bankrupt many more dioceses will there be any hope for change within the Church. Here are highlights from the Washington Post:
*
A Catholic diocese in Massachusetts has paid $4.5 million to nearly 60 people who say they were sexually abused by priests as far back as 1948. The agreements announced Tuesday were part of a voluntary arbitration process set up over the summer. That's when the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield reached a settlement with its insurance carriers.

Gay Parenting - Next Skirmish in the Culture War

Emboldened by their victories in Arizona, Arkansas, California, and Florida - even though time and generational change is not on their side long term - the Christianists are expected by some to extend their anti-gay jihad and efforts to further make LGBT people second class citizens by seeking to eliminate adoption and foster parenting rights by gays and lesbians. Candidly, the Christianists don't give a rat's ass about children needing loving homes - it's all about passing laws that give credence/justification to their bigotry and efforts to denigrate and marginalize gays. Just as the anti-gay marriage amendments were not really about protecting marriage, neither will these efforts be about the best interests of orphaned children. Here are some highlights from today's Chicago Tribune which looks at this new battle ground:
*
Arkansas adoption ban passes despite shortage of homes for needy children. The measure was written to prohibit straight and gay people who are living together from adopting or becoming foster parents, but its real objective, child welfare experts say, is to bar same-sex couples like Shelley and Ross, 52, from raising childreneven if it means youngsters who desperately need families will wait longer.
*
"We don't have enough quality homes as it is, and now we're going to place more restrictions?" asked Susan Hoffpauir, president of the Arkansas chapter of the National Association of Social Workers. "A lot of us are still shell-shocked by this." . . . [M]any Americans are opposed to placing kids in gay households, and social conservatives hope the issue will rally voters in the same way that same-sex marriage has in recent elections.
*
But beyond the state system, the ban set to take effect Jan. 1 will thwart private adoptions of children like Eva Mae, left at a Vietnamese orphanage with nothing but a yellow blanket and a gaping hole where her upper lip should have been. Moreover, opponents say the new law could jeopardize a wide range of non-traditional living arrangements, such as co-habitating grandparents raising grandchildren, and are not sure how far-reaching the impact will be.
*
Some 129,000 U.S. children are in foster care, and the only criteria should be who can best provide a loving, permanent home, according to Adam Pertman, executive director of the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute. In a recent report, the non-partisan group concluded that a national ban on gay adoptions could add $87 million to $130 million to foster care expenditures annually because these children would then be living in other types of institutional care, such as group homes."On its face, this [Arkansas] law is just crazy," Pertman said. "I fear what will happen if other states see this as a model."
*
The American Civil Liberties Union is weighing a legal challenge to the ban. But people are afraid to bring attention to their families, said Rita Sklar, executive director of the ACLU in Arkansas.

More Wednesday Male Beauty

Dedicated to Benedict XVI

The Pope's Christmas Gift - Not

One would think that the spirit of Christmas and the concepts of love and forgiveness might even be ale to infiltrate the cold marble halls of the Vatican at this time of the year, but that would be expecting too much from the Panzercardinal/Nazi Pope and the bitter old queens who surround him. Instead, Benedict XVI is preaching a message of indifference towards the persecution of gays and his own message of intolerance. I increasingly view the Roman Catholic Church - at least the Vatican and the corrupt hierarchy of bishops and cardinals - as a force for evil in the world. They have about as much compassion for other humans (fetuses excepted, of course) as a Grand Inquisitor or executioner. It should also be noted that the Nazi Pope wants to change the "sign of peace" practice in the order of the mass. Would that he had as much concern when it comes to removing bishops and cardinals who enabled or covered up the sexual abuse of minors. In my view, Benedict XVI = phony hypocrite = modern day Pharisee. I feel so much less dirty now that I have left the Roman Catholic Church. The ELCA may not be perfect, but there is far, far less hypocrisy. Here are highlights from a Time Magazine article that looks at the Nazi Pope's Christmas message:
*
[W]ith the Christmas season upon us, there is growing proof that the 82-year-old Pope is also quite willing to play the part of Scrooge to defend his often rigid view of Church doctrine. Benedict's envoy to the United Nations, Archbishop Celestino Migliore, has announced that the Vatican will oppose a proposed U.N. declaration calling for an end to discrimination against homosexuals.
*
At first blush, no one should be surprised to find the Catholic Church hierarchy butting heads with gay rights activists. But this particular French-sponsored proposal, which has the backing of all 27 European Union countries, calls for an end to the practice of criminalizing and punishing people for their sexual orientation. Most dramatically, in some countries, including Iran and Saudi Arabia, homosexuality can be punished by death.
*
Papal spokesman Father Federico Lombardi was forced to clarify that the Vatican continues to condemn the use of the death penalty for any crime, including those associated with homosexuality. Instead, Migliore said the Vatican's opposition to the U.N. proposal was driven by concern that countries that prohibit gay marriage would somehow be targeted.
*
The Italian gay rights association Arcigay says the Vatican's opposition to the anti-discriminatory measure is "unprecedented," and the citing of gay marriage is an "excuse" to distract people from the real intent of criminalizing gays.
*
[T]op Vatican deputies are now studying a change to the mass that would affect the moment when members of the congregation are asked to greet each other with a "sign of peace." . . . . It may now be moved earlier in the service. . . . And to those who wonder why not just let everyone to say 'peace' when and where they please for Christmases to come, one can imagine Benedict flashing that gentle smile, tilting his head ever so slightly and declaring: Bah Humbug!

More Hate and Blaming the Victim from MassResistance

A reader forwarded me an e-mail that had been forwarded to him containing anti-gay propaganda being disseminated by MassResistance, a extremely dishonest and hysterically homophobic organization based in Massachusetts. The organization is so extreme and utilizes such outrageous lies and untruths that it makes Daddy Dobson look relatively rational in comparison. If Daddy D drinks Kool-Aid by the glass, the MassResistance folks drink it by the barrel full. In its latest epistile of hate, MassResistance cherry picks and/or annotates information from a new Massachusetts Department of Public Health report in a manner to depict gays as disease ridden, mentally ill, and by intimation a menace to society. Not surprisingly, if one reads the entire report, the picture is far less dire than MassResistance would have its sheeple followers believe. MassResistance also omits reference to this disclaimer contained in the report:
*
There are limitations to the data in this report. First, the cross-sectional design does not allow us to identify trends over time even though changes occurred between 2001 and 2006 including same-sex marriage and the advent of health care reform. Further, all of the data are self-reported and there are no additional state-level sources of data (such as hospital discharge or outpatient) to confirm any of the findings. Finally, although the sample size is relatively robust to answer questions about disparities related to sexual orientation, there is insufficient power to analyze rare outcomes or to provide analysis based on race and ethnicity within sexual orientation identity groups.
*
Of course MassResistance - which does all in its powers to denigrate, malign and engender hatred towards LGBT citizens (all in the name of Christ I might add) - totally ignores the fact that in the areas of mental health and alcohol/drug use, the reported findings concerning gays are likely highly influenced by the atmosphere of hate and non-acceptance promoted by MassResistance and its Christianist allies. In short, MassResistance blames its victims for the consequences of the campaign of lies and hate it sponsors. A new study entitled " The Psychological Harm of Anti-Gay Ballot Campaigns" looks at the harm done to LGBT citizens by the Christianist gay bashing initiatives. I know that on a personal level, I felt very depressed initially after learning that all the anti-gay measures had passed on November 5th even though I do not live in one of the effected states. Of course what I find most distressing is that to groups like MassResistance, we are not even human, but rather are regarded as less than animals. Here are highlights of some of the new study findings:
*
Sixteen years ago, by a margin of roughly 53-47%, Colorado voters passed a constitutional amendment written to overturn gay rights ordinances in Denver and other cities, and to bar the future enactment of such laws by cities or the state legislature. Amendment 2 was ultimately struck down by the US Supreme Court in 1996 . . . . in its historic Romer v. Evans decision . . .
*
Although Amendment 2 was ultimately nullified, Colorado’s gay, lesbian, and bisexual residents nevertheless had to endure the months-long antigay pre-election campaign waged by its Christian Right sponsors. And they had to deal with the knowledge that a majority of their neighbors had voted to strip them of their rights.
*
In the wake of the 1992 vote, a research team led by psychologist Glenda Russell conducted a statewide study to assess the psychological well-being of Colorado lesbians, gay men, and bisexuals. In her 2000 book, Voted Out: The Psychological Consequences of Anti-Gay Politics, Dr. Russell reports extensive analyses of the data. In particular, she details her group’s examination of the research participants’ accounts of how they experienced the Amendment 2 campaign.
*
In those accounts, Dr. Russell’s group detected themes that today are all too familiar to many sexual minority residents of California, Florida, Arizona, and Arkansas. Respondents reported feeling overwhelmed or devastated by the vote. Some were shocked that the measure passed. Many experienced anger, fear, sadness, or depression. Some felt a sense of loss, saying they would never again feel the same about living in Colorado. Some expressed regret at not having done more to prevent the measure’s passage.
*
[O]ne of her important findings was that a substantial segment of the sample reported many symptoms that are commonly associated with depression, anxiety disorders, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and they perceived that these symptoms were a direct result of having lived through the months of antigay campaigning. . . . gay and lesbian and bisexual people living in the targeted states endured rhetorical — and sometimes physical — attacks against themselves and their families.
*
In 2006, marriage amendments appeared on the November ballot in 8 states. All of them passed except in Arizona. Given the earlier findings of Dr. Russell’s research team in Colorado, it was reasonable to assume that those campaigns in other states would also exact a psychological toll. That hypothesis is supported by data from a new study to be published early in 2009 in the prestigious Journal of Counseling Psychology. The study, titled Marriage Amendments and Psychological Distress in Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual (LGB) Adults, was conducted by Drs. Sharon Rostosky, Ellen Riggle, Sharon Horne, and Angela Miller.
*
In sum, the findings of Dr. Rostosky’s group support and extend those of Dr. Russell’s research team. By examining the experiences of sexual minority adults residing in different states, and by comparing scores on mental health measures before and after the statewide antigay campaigns, they provide good evidence that marriage amendment campaigns are harmful to the mental health of lesbians, gay men, and bisexuals.
*
Dr. Rostosky and her coauthors suggest that sexual minority individuals should avoid blaming themselves or accepting antigay stigma and prejudice as valid. Instead, it’s important to remind oneself that the people who foment antigay hostility are the ones who deserve blame.

Wednesday Male Beauty

College May Become Unaffordable for Most in U.S.

Further adding to the darken outlook for things in the USA is a new study that reflects that going to college may soon be difficult if not impossible for most Americans. Yet another gift from the GOP's focus on helping the rich and f*cking over everyone else while gay bashing whenever possible. I hope Daddy D is happy. I'm certainly not and thinking Americans should be livid. With lending dried up, even parents who might otherwise take out equity lines against their homes are likely to find this financing route unavailable. The effects of eight years of misrule just continue to keep on multiplying. It's a sad reality, but the GOP and the Christianists refuse to see that investing in the nation's population and youth are necessary for the country's long term prosperity. Focusing solely on cutting taxes and reducing programs is shortsighted at best. Here are highlights from the New York Times (click the image above for a larger view):
*
The rising cost of college — even before the recession — threatens to put higher education out of reach for most Americans, according to the annual report from the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education. Over all, the report found, published college tuition and fees increased 439 percent from 1982 to 2007, adjusted for inflation, while median family income rose 147 percent. Student borrowing has more than doubled in the last decade, and students from lower-income families, on average, get smaller grants from the colleges they attend than students from more affluent families.
*
“When we come out of the recession,” Mr. Callan [Patrick M. Callan, president of the center] added, “we’re really going to be in jeopardy, because the educational gap between our work force and the rest of the world will make it very hard to be competitive. Already, we’re one of the few countries where 25- to 34-year-olds are less educated than older workers.” Although college enrollment has continued to rise in recent years, Mr. Callan said, it is not clear how long that can continue.
*
The report, “Measuring Up 2008,” is one of the few to compare net college costs — that is, a year’s tuition, fees, room and board, minus financial aid — against median family income. Those findings are stark. Last year, the net cost at a four-year public university amounted to 28 percent of the median family income, while a four-year private university cost 76 percent of the median family income.
*
While tuition has risen at public universities, his report said, that has largely been to make up for declining state appropriations. The report offered its own cost projections, not including room and board. “Projecting out to 2036, tuition would go from 11 percent of the family budget to 24 percent of the family budget, and that’s pretty huge,” Mr. Shulenburger said. “We only looked at tuition and fees because those are the only things we can control.”
*
Mr. Shulenburger’s report suggested that public universities explore a variety of approaches to lower costs — distance learning, better use of senior year in high school, perhaps even shortening college from four years.

Shades of the Great Depression

As if the Chimperator has not already done enough to earn himself the title "Worse President Ever." he now seems to be mindlessly acting along the same lines as Herbert Hoover as the USA fell into the great depression. The Chimperator has shown himself time and time again to be utterly oblivious to objective reality in addition to being utterly ignorant of history. If he'd studied the history of Iraq for instance, we'd have likely never have invaded back in 2003. Harold Meyerson has a column in today's Washington Post that shows how the Chimperator continues to screw over the country. The dangers of having a cretin in the White House are enormous - not that the Sarah Palin loving Kool-Aid drinkers will ever figure this out. From what I am seeing in the residential and commercial real estate market - i.e., segments of the economy that largely power everything else - things are still continuing to worsen. Here are some column highlights:
*
George W. Bush . . . his handling of our plunging economy is Hooverian in both its substance and inadequacy. Herbert Hoover, we should recall, had a program for dealing with the Depression. It consisted of lending to banks but opposing fiscal stimulus or direct aid to individuals. Which is why Hank Paulson's frenzied endeavors to prop up the banking sector and Bush's dogged resistance to assisting anybody else amount to pure neo-Hooverism.
*
Having done his bit to bail out the banks, however, Hoover rested. He opposed provisions that would have enabled homeowners to hang on to their homes. As breadlines lengthened, he vetoed a bill appropriating funds for public works on the grounds that it was inflationary and contained pork-barrel spending. Bankers would be saved; everyone else was effectively damned.
*
Sound familiar? The Bush administration's approach to today's meltdown is to direct all its energies and largess to lending institutions. There is, as yet, no program to help floundering homeowners renegotiate the terms of their mortgages. The president is opposed to further stimulus programs, even though private-sector investment in the United States has all but ceased.
*
It's becoming increasingly clear, however, that while saving the banks may limit further calamities, it doesn't really save anybody else. Even with government-guaranteed lines of credit, financial institutions are refusing to lend money. With the banks effectively on strike, an economic recovery, if there is to be one, must begin with the government injecting funds to those parts of the economy that need it most: infrastructure development, state and local governments, an alternative-energy sector. These are all programs to which Bush is firmly opposed.
*
In a sense, Bush's inactivity is even less excusable than Hoover's. Unlike Hoover, Bush could learn from the successes of New Deal and World War II-era programs to revive the economy. . . . Bush, drawing on no known body of economic thought, remains opposed. (So does Republican House leader John Boehner, who seems determined to elevate stupidity to a party principle.) And with each passing day, the economic hole out of which we will have to climb grows deeper.
*
So where's the outrage? Why aren't demonstrators besieging the White House? . . . Bush . . . misled us into a nearly endless war of choice to disarm a threat that never really existed. He let a great American city drown. And now he stands by while the economic security of tens of millions of Americans is vanishing.

Tuesday, December 02, 2008

Final Tuesday Male Beauty

A Non Gay-Hating Republican?

UPDATE: James Richardson dropped me a note - for clarification, he's the FORMER RNC Online Communications Manager.
*
While I do not hold out a lot of hope that the GOP will regroup and exile the nutcase Christianists back to the wilderness any time soon, perhaps a few folks are waking up to the fact that the Christianists' anti-gay jihad is not selling well with the non-Kool-Aid drinking portion of the population. A case in point is the Republican National Committee’s Online Communication Manager, James Richardson (pictured at left) who has authored a blog article that must have Daddy Dobson and like-minded homophobes writhing on the floor in fits. Richardson's heresy? Stating that just maybe the GOP needs to put aside gay bashing and move forward with the rest of modern society. As for the initial question he asks, in my opinion, the answer is that "protecting the family" has never been the real agenda of the Christianists. Here are some highlights from Richardson's article:
*
Is the fight to preserve the traditional American family – think the Cleavers meet the Bradys – one to, as its proponents argue, protect children, or is it means by which to silence the “radical gay agenda” in the United States through institutionalized shame? Cindy Lederman, a Miami-Dade circuit judge, is convinced it’s the latter.
*
Lederman’s landmark
ruling, a move likely to elicit Prop 8-like responses, noted the inherent hypocrisy in Florida state law allowing gay men and women to be foster parents, but not legally adopt, further rejecting the notion that there is “a supposed dark cloud hovering over homes of homosexuals and their children”: It is clear that sexual orientation is not a predictor of a person’s ability to parent. A child in need of love, safety and stability does not first consider the sexual orientation of his parent. The exclusion causes some children to be deprived of a permanent placement with a family that is best suited to their needs.
*
Florida’s indefensible ban dates back 31 years to Anita Bryant’s “Save our Children” crusade. On the day of its passage, freshman Sen. Don Chamberlin of Clearwater asked of his colleagues: “Will we sleep better knowing we have institutionalized shame for those who have already felt shame?
*
My support for gay adoption will surely be met with hostility and, no doubt, charges of RINO’ism by many of my colleagues, but the Grand Old Party is at a crossroads and now is not the time for an echo chamber. Homosexual demagoguery is not the answer to the Party’s woes. . . And as Daniel Blatt notes, gay-hostile rhetoric no longer resonates in suburban areas with soccer moms, many of whom have gay friends or family members, and plays even worse with young voters, 61% of which voted against stripping gay couples of the right to marry.
*
To my dissenters, let me be clear, I am not advocating some sort of radical “judicial activism.” I maintain that judicial resolution to these matters (adoption, marriage, etc) typically leads to protracted and bitter legal battles, but, what is perhaps equally as distressing is our collective failure as a Party to hold a candid discussion on the emerging role of gays in the Party and society at large – not as outcastes, but as equals.
*
I recognize the Republican Party is “pro-family” party, and as such supports traditional policies, but are these traditional policies benefiting us moving forward with non-traditional demographics? As this Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research poll reveals, young evangelicals display generational differences on key social issues, namely gay marriage — 66% supported such measures. Those are evangelicals, my friends, not libertarians.

National LGBT Blogger Initiative Summit - Update

I have received the preliminary schedule of events for the National LGBT Blogger Initiative Summit that I will be attending in Washington, D.C., this coming weekend. I am really excited to be going and hope to meet some folks like Pam Spaulding of Pam's House Blend, one of my daily reads, and catch up with Mike Rogers. The summit is made possible through the generous support of Jonathan Lewis and various LGBT community and corporate sponsors, including but not limited to the Victory Fund, HRC, NGLTF, Microsoft, Bolthouse Farms, and the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association.
*
I still do not know who all of the attendees will be, but I have received e-mails from a few folks who will be attending from various parts of the country. One thing I hope to gain from the experience is how/what I can do to take this blog to a higher level and hopefully make a bigger impact in the cause of gay rights. God knows, so much needs to still be done particularly in states like Virginia where LGBT citizens have no legal protections.
*
The boyfriend will be going to D.C. with me and despite the busy schedule I hope the two of us will get to enjoy a little bit of time as a couple at a few of the local venues. He's such a sweetheart that I would not think of going without him.

Gays Are Second-Class Citizens?

The Christianists - and Mormoms - dishonestly allege that LGBT citizens are seeking "special rights." Even as they make these claims, they know it is a lie, but as the Proposition 8 campaign made clear, our enemies have no qualms about lying if it furthers their goals. To Hell with the Commandment against lies and bearing false witness. The reality is that gays ARE second-class citizens in a number of ways. Amy Balliet, the founder of JointheImpact.com, has a partial list of the ways in which we are not afforded equality under the civil laws. Here is her list of ways (all of which apply in Virginia) we are deprived of equal protection under the law via 365gay.com:
*
1. We can not fight for our country without hiding who we are;
2. In many states (like the recent law in Arkansas) We can not adopt a displaced child in need of a home and safety;
3. In many states, we can still be fired because we are gay;
4. My rights in Washington do not stand when I cross the border to Idaho and, therefore, if my partner were to fall ill on a cross country trip, she would be alone in the hospital and I would be powerless;
5. Partners cannot share insurance in many states;
6. In many states, people can be murdered because of their sexuality, but their murderer will not be tried for committing a hate crime;
7. A loving couple can share a home, but if one passes, that home can be taken from the other in states where shared property rights are not available;
8. Finally, a couple can share their lives, share expenses, share good times and bad over many years, but they still cannot gain the equal protections and recognition that two strangers can in one drunken night in Vegas: 2 Strangers + 1 20 minute ceremony + $50 + 10 shots of tequila = Holy Matrimony and 1st Class Protections Under the Law,

*
Putting aside the lies and untruths our enemies use, the other thing that is amazing is their expectation that we should just allow ourselves to be abused and mistreated. As Shane at Land of Savages notes, they act as if we should be almost thankful for the way we are denigrated and made less than equal:
*
What's most alarming is the misunderstanding of the legal jeopardy gay people find themselves in. What I gather from most anti-gay posts is a reversal of who they feel is being discriminated against. Apparently, if a gay person wants to protest the LDS church for largley funding the recent amendments in Arizona and California, they are somehow bigots and filled with hate. Apparently, these amendments that singled out and continue to exclude gay couples from being able to be married should have been met by the gay community with quick acceptance of the majority's infinite wisdom, and that we sh0uld also feel lucky their tolerance of us includes actually speaking with us at our places of work and a deeper gratitude for not being fired or arrested.
*
I honestly don't understand what these religious groups expect gay people to do. Do they honestly feel we should give our money to their businesses despite what they later do with it? Are we to sit quietly by while they take away our ability to protect our families or adopt children? Are we supposed to accept that they know God or Nature better than us and to accept their ideas as unshakeable? The answer is no, of course. This is our country and our government, too.

More Tuesday Male Beauty

Vatican Opposes Gay Decriminalization

UPDATED: Additional coverage on the Vatican's temper tantrum can be found at Timesonline here.
*
France, on behalf of of the European Union, will be introducing a proposed U.N. resolution calling on governments worldwide to de-criminalize homosexuality. Not surprisingly, Pope Benedict XVI and the other old bitter queens at the Vatican - who close their eyes to the sexual abuse of minors by clergy unless and until caught by the media or lawsuits - are having a cow and have indicated that the Vatican will oppose the resolution. Never mind that gays are imprisoned or even executed in some countries around the world. However, now that a number of groups are condemning the Vatican for its opposition to the resolution, Benedict, et al are crying like spoiled babies and trying to cast themselves as victims. Here are some highlights from Reuters on the controversy:
*
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Gay rights groups and newspaper editorials on Tuesday condemned the Vatican for its decision to oppose a proposed U.N. resolution calling on governments worldwide to de-criminalize homosexuality. The row erupted after the Vatican's permanent observer to the United Nations told a French Catholic news agency the Holy See would oppose the resolution, which France is due to propose later this month on behalf of the 27-member European Union.
*
Archbishop Celestino Migliore said the Vatican opposed the resolution because it would "add new categories of those protected from discrimination" and could lead to reverse discrimination against traditional heterosexual marriage.
*
A strongly worded editorial in Italy's mainstream La Stampa newspaper said the Vatican's reasoning was "grotesque." Pointing out that homosexuality was still punishable by death in some Islamic countries, the editorial said what the Vatican really feared was a "chain reaction in favor of legally recognized homosexual unions in countries, like Italy, where there is currently no legislation."
*
On Tuesday the Paris government defended the resolution. "France's initiative ... is an initiative that is based on existing texts. The idea is not to create new rights. The idea is ... to make decriminalization possible," French Foreign Ministry spokesman Eric Chevallier said. Human rights groups say homosexuality is still punishable by law in more than 85 countries and by death in a number of them, including Afghanistan, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Yemen.
*
Grillini, the gay rights activist, said he feared what he called another "Holy Alliance" between the Vatican and Islamic states at the United Nations to oppose the proposed resolution.

Christian University Leader Arrested For Sex Crime

It never seems to fail that those who are most hysterically against same sex relationships in their statements and/or who align themselves closely with Christianists organizations in fact harbor a secret desire for the very thing they purportedly condemn: gay sex. A case in point is Robert Williams, Chief Financial Officer of Cincinnati Christian University, who was arrested for soliciting sex from an undercover police officer. I never cease to be amazed at the rank hypocrisy, not to mention incredible stupidity, of these "Godly Christians" who solicit sex in public places. Are they subconsciously hoping to get caught? Here are some highlights from WCPO-TV 9:
*
A leader of a local Christian University is facing sex charges following an arrest at Mount Airy Forest Saturday morning. Police arrested Robert Williams and charged him with sexual imposition for allegedly grabbing an undercover officer in a sexual manner. According to court records, the incident happened on Trail Ridge Road, which is about a mile and a half from the park entrance. Williams is the Chief Financial Officer of Cincinnati Christian University.
*
University President David Faust issued a written statement about the arrest. Part of it reads, "We are shocked and dismayed by the news of Robert Williams' arrest. This is a personal tragedy for him and for his family and we lift them up in our prayers. Mr. Williams is being placed on administrative leave from his job at CCU while we learn and assess the facts of the case."
*
Cincinnati police recognize an ongoing problem of men soliciting sex from men at the park. They regularly conduct sting operations.

Tuesday Male Beauty

Virginia Marriage Amendment: Two Years Later

Today's Virginian Pilot has an article looking at the impact of the anti-gay "Marriage Amendment" passed in Virginia in 2006 and the practice of same sex couples still continuing to get married or hold commitment ceremonies even though the state will not recognize their unions. The piece also has disingenuous quotes from gay-hater extraordinaire, Victoria "Ice Maiden" Cobb (in my opinion, having sex with her would out one at risk of frost bite and amputation) of The Family Foundation, the Virginia affiliate of Daddy Dobson's homophobic Focus on the Family. The moral of the article is that gays WILL persevere with dignity even if those who hate us try to denigrate our relationships. Here are some highlights:
*
Buddy Rau says two things nudged him into tying the knot earlier this year: his 40th nniversary with gay partner Kila Chong and the 2006 state constitutional amendment banning gay arriage.
Two years after Virginians passed the amendment, the measure hasn't stopped some same-sex couples from celebrating extra legal holy union or commitment ceremonies at liberal churches.
*
Meanwhile, faith-based advocates of the amendment contend the measure helped preserve Virginia law prohibiting gay marriage and fended off legalization of same-sex unions popping up elsewhere.
*
It was a harsh, severe slap in the face," said Glen Coats, who grew up in Chesapeake. "It's filled with vitriolic hate for a certain segment of the population in the way it was worded." Coats, a research analyst, said he and his 16-year partner had a holy union ceremony years ago and had no marriage plans. What they fear, instead, is wording in the amendment they think could allow outsiders to meddle in their wills and affect their ability to inherit property from one another.
*
Coats, 54, is so concerned about the potential consequence of that text, he said, that he and his partner might leave Virginia when they retire. "It doesn't feel like home anymore," he said. Same-sex couples who stay can at least have a symbolic, religious union ceremony at churches such as New Life Metropolitan Community Church, The Great Awakening United Church of Christ, Norfolk's Unitarian Church and the Williamsburg Unitarian Universalists congregation. All offered union ceremonies before the amendment.
*
"Whenever two adults come forward and say, 'We want to do this with the witness of our community and our notion of God,' then of course I want to say, 'Yes, yes, yes, let's do that. Who cares what the state is doing?' " said the Rev. Jennifer Ryu of the Williamsburg church.
*
"We decided that a church that welcomes you, no matter who you are, is a good one to get married in," Chong said. . . . It absolutely meant something to me," Chong said. "I thought that we look to a God who's all-loving." It meant something else as well. "It helped us tell the God-fearing people who voted for the amendment: the heck with you," Chong said. "You don't want us, but we want each other, and our friends want us."

Monday, December 01, 2008

Final Monday Male Beauty

Virginia's Inreased Blue Hue

With the 2008 elections behind us, Virginia will soon be looking toward the statewide elections in 2009 when a new Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, and most of the General Assembly will be up for election. Given the dramatic loss of Virginia by the McCain/Palin ticket, it will be interesting to see whether or not the GOP can come up with a new game plan and candidates that do not seem like Kool-Aid drinkers who escaped Jonestown in terms of their Christianist fanaticism. Despite claims that the GOP will rethink it's message, personally, I doubt it will happen. Bob "Taliban Bob" McDonnell is the likely GOP candidate for governor and he has thrust his nose so far up the butts of the Pat Robertson/Jerry Falwell crowd that it's a wonder he has not suffocated. Meanwhile, unless a primary is used to select the party candidates, the increasingly unhinged base of the Virginia GOP (the Virginia GOP makes the national GOP look liberal) will do the selecting which almost guaranties extremist candidates will get the nod. If this happens, it will help the Democrats significantly. Here are some highlights from the Washington Post that look at the changing nature of Virginia:
*
Virginia Democrats have rapidly expanded their political base over the past eight years, taking nearly full advantage of demographic shifts in the suburbs, and they enter future statewide races with an advantage over the GOP, according to a review of recent election results and census data. After an election in which Virginia was one of the most hotly contested states in the presidential race, the results show Virginia Democrats amassing a formidable coalition as the state's suburban communities grow more diverse, white voters in Northern Virginia shun the GOP, young voters align with Democrats and black voters prove they continue to have clout downstate.
*
Obama won Virginia with 52.6 percent of the vote, racking up a higher share than he did in Florida and Ohio, more traditional swing states. Senator-elect Mark R. Warner (D) also won his race with a record number of votes, and Democrats picked up three congressional seats in Virginia.
*
Many Virginia Republicans argue that their party's poor showing on Election Day can largely be traced to
President Bush's low approval ratings, the economic collapse on Wall Street and Obama's decision to flood the state with paid media and staffers. But an analysis of the results suggests that a more fundamental change is occurring, perhaps accelerated by Obama's success in registering hundred of thousands of new voters this year. "There is no question Republicans cannot run the same type of campaigns they have run in the past and expect to win," said GOP strategist Phil Cox, an adviser to Attorney General Robert F. McDonnell, the likely GOP nominee for governor next year. "It is a different Virginia than it was a decade ago."
*
Cox maintains that McDonnell will make an aggressive appeal for minority support next year, saying, "We are not going to cede any vote." Next year "is clearly going to be very different than 2008," Cox said. "You got different candidates, and you are going to have a different political and economic impact."
*
But Virginia's electorate has undergone a fundamental demographic shift in recent cycles. In 1996, when Republican Bob Dole carried Virginia, white voters made up 81 percent of the electorate. Those same voters made up 70 percent of the electorate this year, with the decrease mostly coming from people without college degrees, a solidly Republican bloc. Robert Lang, a demographer at the Metropolitan Institute at Virginia Tech, said affluent whites in Northern Virginia, like other heavily populated areas in the Northeast and Midwest, "now seem to trust the Democrats with the economy and don't trust the Republicans with civil liberties."
*
Downstate counties and cities boasting the largest increases in turnout this year were almost all college towns or home to large black populations. In Charlottesville, home of the University of Virginia, voter turnout increased by 49 percent this year compared with eight years ago, even though the city's population declined by 10 percent during the same period. Similar trends played out in Williamsburg (home of the College of William and Mary), Montgomery County (Virginia Tech), Harrisonburg (James Madison University) and Fredericksburg (Mary Washington). Voters younger than 30 comprised 21 percent of voters in 2008, up from 17 percent in 2004. Half of these young voters now identify themselves as Democrats, up from 38 percent in 2000.