Janice Shaw Crouse, executive director of Concerned Women for America’s Beverly LaHaye Institute, wrote an op-ed for The Washington Times titled, “Obama Committee’s Slap in the Face of Religious Liberty.” … Crouse and other evangelicals routinely confuse freedom with having free rein to insult and demonize others without suffering consequences. They simply can’t comprehend that the “untouchables” they used to bully with their Bibles are no longer remaining silent and refuse to accept their inferior place in society.
The Trevor Project is determined to end suicide among LGBTQ youth by providing life-saving and life-affirming resources including our nationwide, 24/7 crisis intervention lifeline [1-866-488-7386], digital community and advocacy/educational programs that create a safe, supportive and positive environment for everyone.
No, that's not the statement, but it tells you where this is going. -- I ran across this a few times lately and finally decided to Check it out.
MANHATTAN DECLARATION: A CALL OF CHRISTIAN CONSCIENCE Drafted October 20, 2009 & Released November 20, 2009
Founded by anti-gay hate monger, Chuck Colson, and drafted by himself, Robert George and Timothy George.
The Manhattan Declaration has a preamble, a declaration, and follows with articles on "life" "marriage" and "religious liberty," and boasts of nearly half a million signatories.
Naturally I was drawn to the section on marriage, to see what was being said about me homsexuality.
They begin with a couple of Bible verses, here's one of them:
The man said, "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called woman, for she was taken out of man." For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh. Genesis 2:23-24
They then soften us up with some “acknowledgement” of mistakes (without the anti-gay parts):
We confess with sadness that Christians and our institutions have too often scandalously failed to uphold the institution of marriage ... we have too easily embraced the culture of divorce ... we repent, and call upon all Christians to do the same.
And then proceed to bash gay-marriage.
The impulse to redefine marriage in order to recognize same-sex [marriage] ... would lock into place the false and destructive belief that marriage is all about romance and other adult satisfactions, and not, in any intrinsic way, about procreation..."
Yes, I'm sure "romance" and "adult satisfactions" are the reasons why so many gay couples want to adopt.
We'll get back to that "procreation" song and dancee thing later.
We acknowledge that there are those who are disposed towards homosexual and polyamorous conduct and relationships, just as there are those who are disposed towards other forms of immoral conduct. We have compassion for those so disposed; we respect them as human beings possessing profound, inherent, and equal dignity
Yes, I felt more "dignified" by the syllable.
There's really nothing quite like having someone express their love and support for you than by characterizing the most precious moments of your life, shared with someone you love more than life itself, as a matter of good and evil.
Marriage is what one man and one woman establish when, forsaking all others and pledging lifelong commitment, they found a sharing of life at every level of being—the biological, the emotional, the dispositional, the rational, the spiritual— on a commitment that is sealed, completed and actualized by loving sexual intercourse in which the spouses become one flesh, not in some merely metaphorical sense, but by fulfilling together the behavioral conditions of procreation.
That is why in the Christian tradition, and historically in Western law, consummated marriages are not dissoluble or annullable on the ground of infertility, even though the nature of the marital relationship is shaped and structured by its intrinsic orientation to the great good of procreation.
So, in order to blunt the accusation of hypocrisy in regard to having no problem with non-procreative heterosexual-marriages, they now maintain that gays shouldn't be able to marry because LGBT-sex DOESN'T LOOK LIKE hetero-sex?
Anyone?
…the assumption that the legal status of one set of marriage relationships affects no other would not only argue for same sex partnerships;
it could be asserted with equal validity for polyamorous partnerships, polygamous households, even adult brothers, sisters, or brothers and sisters living in incestuous relationships. Should these, as a matter of equality or civil rights, be recognized as lawful marriages, and would they have no effects on other relationships? No.
No. No it could not be asserted with equal validity.
This argument states that should one event occur, so will other harmful events. There is no proof made that the harmful events are caused by the first event.
The fallacy here is the assumption that something is wrong because it is right next to something that is wrong. Or, it is wrong because it could slide towards something that is wrong.
So there's that, plus all this stuff:
-Given that incest is Biblically-approved (see Genesis), why would you even have a problem with incestuous marriage?
-Unlike same-gender attraction, being attracted to one's siblings is NOT a sexual orientation.
-There are direct social consequences to the legalization of incestuous marriage.
If the family unit, as you say, is indeed the cornerstone of society, then the home should the safest place. Legalizing incestuous marriages could fundamentally undermine the perceived sincerity of familial affection.
-slippery slope fallacy -Polygamy, also God approved -The desire to marry ONE partner is not the same as the desire to marry additional partners -Also, there are directsocial consequences of legalizing polygamous marriages.
The wealthiest would marry up hundreds if not thousands of potential mates for other men. Marriage would become a highly coveted privilege. Now add an ocean of testosterone with no place to go. The incidences of rape and molestation would skyrocket. -- And while we’re at it, whenever they compare the “sin” of homosexuality with the “sin” of adultery, they’re comparing having a partner with cheating on one’s partner. --- I am left to conclude one of three things about the drafters and many, if not most of the signatories of this "Declaration."
1. They know these arguments are bogus and are fully aware that they are lying. 2. They just don't care about the truth. 3. They really are that stupid.
I've been mulling on this since I first read the article and I think I've finally come to a conclusion. -- From Truth Wins Out: February 12th, 2010 by Wayne Besen
Why I Loathe The Term ‘Same-Sex Attraction’(SSA)
Personally, I don’t like the bogus term “SSA”, which stands for “same-sex attraction.” There is no such thing (or diagnosis) as SSA and it is a manipulative attempt to separate LGBT people from their natural, inborn sexuality.
The term SSA is skillfully employed to make it appear as if fundamentalist bigots are not attacking the person, just their sexual feelings.
He then quotes from this article to show the power of words. Note, this is a different quote from the article that TWO uses:
New Poll Shows Support for Repeal of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ February 11, 2010 By DALIA SUSSMAN
As the Obama administration proposes repealing the policy known as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” a new New York Times/CBS News poll finds that a majority of the public support allowing openly gay men and women to serve in the military.
There’s less support, however, for allowing homosexuals to serve openly.
As one commenter put it: "The reason the far right uses the term “homosexual” is that it implies that our community consists of nothing but unfettered sexual urges on a daily basis."
Agreed. By using the term homosexuality, they are essentially able to characterize our equality-agenda as being sexually motivated. The use of the term "same-sex marriage" is no different.
When we hear "same-sex marriage," we think of marriage equality.
When they hear the term, they hear "sex marriage," reducing our motive for marriage-equality as being nothing more than a selfish desire to earn governmental recognition of our relationships promiscuity with the same person. Ergo, "sex marriage."
Another commenter had this to say: "SAME-GENDER MARRIAGE (SGM): Now, there’s a term I can understand and believe in. It’s not ambiguous to me at all."
I try to be consistent when using opposing terms, like, gay/straight heterosexual/homosexual, etc. It depends on what I'm writing and how I'm using the words.
So that much I'll defend in regard to the use of SSA, SSM, homosexual, etc.--sometimes they just fit.
But I will say that I have been, and will continue to use the terms "same-gender attraction" and "same-gender marriage" to help ensure that they are being taken in the context they were meant to be. As opposed to the anti-gay industry's use of the terms to reduce us, and the intimacy we share with our partners, as being nothing more than recurring sex acts.
I was familiar with him from (before the anti-gay movement kicked into overdrive) when I saw one of his inspiring sermons (on TV).
The second time I ran across him, he basically said that the root cause of same-gender attraction is the result of confusion. Which I take to mean that every gay person on the planet is just to stupid to see that they are attracted to the opposite sex.
So this time, I was naturally curious to see if he’d broach the subject. And broach he did.I’d add a caveat about the age of this DVD, and how his views may be different now, but the video is still for sale on his website.
Father John Corapi: So the P squad, that’s an attack--a contemporary attack on the family. The attack of the P squad: permissiveness, promiscuity, potions [drugs], pornography, prostitution and progressivism.
Homosexuality. So called alternative lifestyles. Whenever I have talked about this, someone always misunderstands me, even though I do take great pains to try clarify what I’m saying. But I always begin by saying “Look, we are called all people. You can’t hate any class of persons. Everyone is to be loved as God loves them. A person may have a particularly loathsome---to you---habit, persuasion, be in a certain class, maybe ethnics.
You know, when I was a kid, it wasn’t fashionable, yet, to be Italian. I remember being called those names, derogatory names, when I was a little kid. I kinda hurt me. And Irish people were discriminated against. In my home area in upstate New York, it was settled by the Dutch, and the English--Protestant. And in the 1850’s the Irish came, and they were persecuted by the Protestants--Christians. And then the Italians came and low and behold, the Irish persecuted the Italians. And then the Polish came, and low and behold the Pols were persecuted by the Italians and the Irish. And then the Hispanics came, and the Hispanics were looked down upon by the Pols, the Italians and the Irish, and everybody.
So I think we’re getting better. I think there’s less of that kind of thing. But we’ve got to be careful, we don’t want to look down. We don’t want to be derisive, we don’t want to be hateful, we don’t want to be bigoted--for whatever reason a person has that sexual orientation toward a person of the same sex, we don’t quite understand it yet.
It may be a variety of environmental, and societal things. It may even have a genetic component, I don’t know, but you want to know what I tell gay people? And I don’t hate them. Many of the very creative, sensitive--beautiful people. I’m not homophobic, at all, I’m not afraid of them. I say, you know what, you’re just like me---no, not that way---you’re just like me because like me, you’re called to celibacy.
That’s the answer. For whatever reason you are the way you are, and I sympathize, with being the way you are. It must be tough--It must be tough. But if you are in fact that way, then you are called to celibacy, just like me. I am human, there are days when I might be tempted to this that or the other thing. I’m called to celibacy, and I don’t question it, and I don’t doubt it, I know it. And may I die having been faithful to it, all the days of my priestly life--I don’t mess with that, that’s a fact. And I tell them, same for you until you can resolve that, or maybe you never will, you’re called to be celibate.
That’s an attack on the family. This nonsense of giving legal recognition to samesex partners. It’s a terrible contemporary attack on the family.
It will undermine society, and society will go from bad to worse. And it will unravel, it will crash, and it will burn.
First time I’ve ever heard this one:
“…you want to know what I tell gay people? …I say, you know what, you’re just like me, you’re just like me because like me, you’re called to celibacy.”
Alan Chambers of Exodus: This is why I believe that it is so important to clarify that just living a celibate gay life is just as sinful as living a sexually promiscuous one. The sin is in identifying with anything that is contrary to Christ, which homosexuality clearly is. (218)
So, every same-sex attracted human being on the earth is not just “called” to a life of celibacy, but "called" to hate themselves on top of it.
It also goes to show the disingenuousness of those who so rabidly condemn the symptom: "homosexual behavior,” rather than the so-called "cause" of the problem: “identifying with anything that is contrary to Christ”
“…you’re just like me because like me, you’re called to celibacy.”
Calling: impulse to follow particular job: a strong urge to follow a particular career or do a particular type of work
Impulse? Urge? That which one is drawn to most? Seems to me that homosexuality would fit more in line with the definition of "calling" than does celibacy, besides, human sexuality is not a "calling," it's an empirical fact.
“…you’re just like me because like me, you’re called to celibacy.”
First of all, who the hell are you to decide what another person's calling is, especially when it is based, arbitrarily, on an unverifiable third party source?
Secondly, I was supposedly “called” to celibacy AGAINST MY WILL---the very antithesis of what it means to be "called."
Third, what do you say to those who tell you that their “calling” is to fall in love? Oh that's right:
"This nonsense of giving legal recognition to samesex partners."
"Nonsense" being code for 'their love is fake, and their relationships irrelevant.'
--
We are NOT just like you, Fr. Corapi, there’s quite a difference between “a calling” and the perversion of its meaning.
We are called, by you (et al), to rebel against our own human-nature, yet no Golden Rule has been broken. Which puts your moral credibility into serious question.
--
Celibacy is not a “calling” for homosexuals any more than lefties are "called" not write with their left hand. In this case, it's a "calling" to a life sentence of solitary confinement. The kind of "calling" you suggest is IMMORAL.
And for the record, I don’t recall him having said anything about the effect of violence---and the promotion of it---as being an attack on the family (but he had plenty to say on the evils of birth control).
--
And then there's this:
Fr. Corapi: “we’ve got to be careful, we don’t want to look down. We don’t want to be derisive, we don’t want to be hateful, we don’t want to be bigoted.”
Father Corapi, I have no respect for those who preach that I'm too stupid to know what love is, or to recognize intentionally veiled condescension.
Until you can decipher the true meaning of right and wrong, you’re "calling" will remain as an atheist generator.
Antonyms: truth --------------- The ending line (before the preacher’s rant) of the movie gave it away:
“As long as abortion remains legal, the Maafa cannot end.”
In word, in deed and in timing, pitch perfect propaganda.
Yet the time it took for those words to come out of that man’s mouth, is the time it took to throw the entire two hour history lesson I had just received, out the window. --- You can argue the conspiratorial racist history and inception of Planned Parenthood all you like, but at this point, for some people, their services are vital. But exposing Planned Parenthood’s past was never the point of the movie, attempting to “secularize” the issue, was. A common political tack: Guilt by association (much of the anti-gay industry is built on this premise).
It was designed to appeal mostly to people of faith and those sympathetic to the cause, who may be on the fence about abortion. In this case, demonize Planned Parenthood’s sordid past in order to depict abortion and birth control as tools of genocide--and voilà , elective abortion = racial genocide.
The producers of this film, exploited the very history of the exploitation of blacks, in order to blur the line between genocidal intentions and abortion itself. It was never about eugenics, as the back cover of the DVD suggests:
Black Genocide in 21st Century America
They were stolen from their homes, locked in chains and taken across an ocean. And for more than 200 years, their blood and sweat would help to build the richest and most powerful nation the world has ever known.
But when slavery ended, their welcome was over. America's wealthy elite had decided it was time for them to disappear and they were not particular about how it might be done.
What you are about to see is that the plan these people set in motion 150 years ago is still being carried out today. So don't think that this is history. It is not. It is happening right here, and it's happening right now.
The back of the DVD cover also leads one to the Maafa website, where you can find that quote, as well as, after a little digging, this (PDF):
The claim is that the abortion issue is about privacy, and women’s rights, and reproductive freedom.
But that’s just marketing hype. In reality, it was EUGENICS that drove the legalization of abortion. And now, a stunning new movie lays it all out with incredible documentation. -- The film is called Maafa 21 and it exposes a plan to create “racial purity” that began 150 years ago and is still being carried out right now. It’s about the ties between the Nazis, the American eugenics movement and today’s “family planning” cartel. It’s about elitism, secret agendas, treachery and corruption at the highest levels of political and corporate America.
The rest of the Maafa 21 website seems a bit coy in revealing its anti-abortion agenda, unlike its producers, Life Dynamics Incorporated--who’s website was curiously NOT listed on the back of the DVD jacket. Even the LifeDynamics hyperlink on their YT trailer page only leads to their YT video library.
Something to hide, perhaps?
“This is the mindset that is behind everything that Life Dynamics does. We are fighting to return full legal protection for every unborn child, from the moment of conception. Because of this our motto is, "Pro-Life: without compromise, without exception, without apology."
As I said, that last line gives it all away:
“As long as abortion remains legal, the Maafa cannot end.”
A more productive and success oriented approach might be to suggest the end of unwanted pregnancies. It’s not a secret that abortions occur regardless of legality--and often with fatal consequences. But who cares about those lives, right?
That last line, and the rhetoric of every anti-abortionist that I’ve ever heard, is not at all interested in preventing the reason for abortion, but in controlling, via religiously influenced BIG government, what women do with their bodies. Misogyny at its best.
-The anti-abortion movement, as far as I have seen in my life, is intent on illegalizing not just abortion, but birth control of any kind, as well as comprehensive sex ed---all of which lead to more unwanted pregnancies, which then lead to more abortions. -- Again, from Life Dynamics, the producers of the video:
This is the mindset that is behind everything that Life Dynamics does. We are fighting to return full legal protection for every unborn child, from the moment of conception. Because of this our motto is, "Pro-Life: without compromise, without exception, without apology." -- I take it that that means “Life begins at conception,” which means that a new eternal soul is created upon conception?
Unfortunately, no anti-abortionist that I’ve seen interviewed has ever explained it like that. It would offer their “secular” audience the reason why anti-abortionists are so fervent about their opposition. Not that they would change that many minds, but it would plant some seeds of respect for their position/beliefs. Until, that is, that extra support finds out that they are also against all birth control and sexual education (sans ignorance only abstinence only education). Not to mention the resounding call for BIG government to implement this religious supremacist master plan.
“We are fighting to return full legal protection for every unborn child, from the moment of conception”
-Am I to understand that an eternal soul is created at the very moment that the lucky sperm fully penetrates the egg?
-Why would God need humans to create souls?
-How can a physical act create something non-physical?
-And if physical conception is required to create a new soul, how then did Adam and Eve come about?
What happens if the zygote (fertilized egg) fails to adhere to the uterine wall as it often does? Where do all those eternal souls go?
Why isn’t the anti-abortion industry doing all it can to ensure that these eternal souls make it to term? Funding research to preventing spontaneous abortions and miscarriages is something practical that can be done right now, but why aren’t the leaders of the anti-abortion movement doing this? Are they that unaware of reproductive facts? Or are they intentionally keeping the focus on late term abortions that people can emotionally identify with for the sake of fundraising purposes?
They must despise their fundraising audience.
Further, The Catholic Church abolished limbo a few years back, but to my knowledge, hasn’t replaced it with another place for these aborted souls to go. -- There is a reason some of us refer to the “pro-life” movement as “anti-abortion,” or “anti-choice.” In my opinion, they are actuality pro-death.
-Support of the unnecessary Iraq war, which has resulted in tens of thousands if not hundreds of thousands of deaths.
-Neglect of the 40, 000 already alive people that die of starvation and preventable diseases every day.
-Support for the Bush administration’s ravaging of funding for low income children. (It was a real “treat” to hear republicans on the House Floor decry funding to enforce “dead-beat dads” to pay their alimony to mom‘s with kids.) -- Again, why aren’t they funding research to prevent spontaneous abortions/miscarriages with the millions upon millions they rake in each year? Think of all the liberal$ who would actually support that cause?
It seems clear to me that credibility and solutions are at the bottom of their priority list.
Ask your abortion leaders those questions, I would LOVE to hear their answers.
Once again, the point, even if this eugenics conspiracy is as true as they say, we have a Planned Parenthood right here in Caucasian conservative central, should they too be shut down on the basis of unrelated genocidal intentions? -- I had an idea the other day that religion is mostly for the faithless. Only someone who doesn’t believe in God would need to be reminded of its existence, or need “His” book to remind them that there is life after death.
Anti-abortion, anti-euthanasia, anti-stem cell research, these are all symptoms of the same disease: Fear of Death--or more accurately, the suppression of the fear of death.
Terri Schiavo lived for 13 days after being cut off from all food and water. Essentially, she was tortured to death. Not because she was euthanized---as per her wishes---but because the anti-euthanasia rabble refuse to allow for any legal means of dying humanely.
Faith, eh?
It seems to me that they are against anyone being euthanized, et al, because they are afraid of being reminded of death.
In that context, those who proclaim the loudest of their belief in God, and life after death, are the most terrified of death...thus the need to scream about it.
Anti-Choice Doc[umentary] Aims to Link Reproductive Rights to ‘Black Genocide’ By Michelle Goldberg March 9, 2010
It digs into the misuses of what was presented to be factual history and makes it clear that Maafa 21 was designed as a piece of propaganda. Worse, inherent in its design is the exploitation of the exploitation of racism. ___________________________ Update: 4-6-10, 3ish AM
For the sake of disclosure, I’ve just been informed by a poster that Michelle Goldberg is biased.
One of the websites the poster lead me to included this video of Michelle talking about the importance of taking a more expansive and global look at reproductive health, and the unseen connections that exist.
A federal bill reintroduced this week would place children and their need for a mother and a father at the mercy of an agenda to promote gay and lesbian couples.
Implying that the only reason gay couples adopt children is so that the kids can be used as props to “normalize” their own relationship in the eyes of the public.
If passed, the bill would make it illegal for states that give priority to married mother and father couples for foster care and adoption placement, to receive federal funds for the purpose. Read about it here.
Yep. From the link:
The bill would make it illegal for any entity involved with adoption or foster care placement that receives federal funding to discriminate in its placement decisions based on sexual orientation, gender identity or marital status. States whose statutes or policies conflict with the laws would need to change those policies or risk losing federal adoption funds.
And voilà , “big government” finds a family, and “small government” becomes an orphan.
There's some interesting stuff in section 2 of the bill that you may want to check out:
(4) As of 2007, gay, lesbian, and bisexual parents were raising 4 percent of all adopted children and fostering for 3 percent of all foster children. A report from the Evan B. Donaldson Institute found that an additional 2,000,000 gay, lesbian, and bisexual individuals are interested in adoption.
(5) According to the Urban Institute, same-sex couples raising adopted children tend to be older, more educated, and have more economic resources than other adoptive parents. Studies confirm that children with same-sex parents have the same advantages and same expectations for health, social and psychological adjustment, and development as children whose parents are heterosexual.
Unlike FOTF's disingenuous show of concern for the wefare of foster kids, This bill really is about improving their lives. --- Extrapolating from the ‘bigotry should be government sanctioned' stance, Ms. Jenny decries this potential LGBT measure of equality as a travesty, managing to take swipes at gay marriage along the way:
1) …State policies favoring the most stable family structure for orphaned children would necessarily be thrown out in order to comply with the federal law. 2) …faith-based foster care and adoption organizations … [will] lose business with the state. 3) People of sincere religious faith will marginalized… 4) …Catholic Charities in D.C. had to drop its foster care services when the city council redefined marriage. 5) …Catholic Charities of Boston was run out of that state, too—just after same-sex marriage became law.
And apparently it’s all our fault.
~The Sociopath Next Door, p59:
Using fear-based propaganda to amplify a destructive ideology, such a leader can bring the members of a frightened society to see the its as the sole impediment to the good life, for themselves and maybe even for humanity as a whole, and the conflict as and epic battle between good and evil. Once these beliefs have been disseminated, crushing the its without pity or conscience can, with chilling ease, become and incontrovertible mandate.
And if there’s one thing the anti-gay industry knows how to do best, it’s how to portray a gay as an it. Gays are promiscuous, disease ridden, drug addicted, child molesters, to name just a few of the dehumanizing terms they use to turn us into its.
Also, did you know that CHILDREN NEED A MOTHER AND A FATHER!!!!
Six out of nine paragraphs include some combination of the words “mother” and “father,” the rest implied it:
1) need for a mother and a father 2) married mother and father 3) both a mother and a father 4) mother-father homes 5) a mother and a father. 6) need a mother and a father, and the best way to make that happen is still marriage.
~~~~
To use Jenny’s words; “It’s hard to know where to begin with all that is wrong with this.”
1)Let's start with the Gay Bashing used to decry LGBT adoptions:
a) …children…at the mercy of an agenda to promote gay and lesbian couples.
b) We all know that difficult situations arise and family policy should address those situations, but it shouldn’t create them.
c) The “family”… …[is] more specific than two adults—or the current fad in social engineering.
2)Faith based adoption agencies will be forced to shut down.
a) According to the article you linked to, That's only if they can't pay their own discriminatory way.
b) If an organization wants to discriminate against a certain group, then I think it's only ethical to not receive their tax dollars in doing so.
Why should discriminatory agencies be allowed to receive federal funding that includes a portion of the tax dollars of LGBT citizens and their supporters? Otherwise it's thievery.
c) Being organizations of faith, shouldn’t this be where your “faith” kicks in?
d) And finally, If a child-placement service---especially a faith based one---is willing to sacrifice the welfare of the many in order to starve the few, I think it’s fair to question the integrity of that organization. --- This was an interesting article in regard to how Catholic Charities of Boston was “run out of that state”:
Hehir said he hoped the decision will end the tumult surrounding the gay adoption issue. The controversy began in October when the Globe reported that Catholic Charities had been quietly processing a small number of gay adoptions, despite Vatican statements condemning the practice. Over the last decades, the Globe reported, approximately 13 children had been placed by Catholic Charities in gay households, a fraction [1/55th] of the 720 children placed by the agency during that period.
Agency officials said they had been permitting gay adoptions to comply with the state's antidiscrimination laws. But after the story was published, the state's four bishops announced they would appoint a panel to examine whether the practice should continue. In December, the Catholic Charities board, which is dominated by lay people, voted unanimously to continue gay adoptions.
3)“Children need a Mother and a Father”
OMG, by far the most irritating of all.
a) A motherload of a lie. If that was their concern they’d be fundraising to make divorce illegal.
5"It was because your hearts were hard that Moses wrote you this law," Jesus replied. 6"But at the beginning of creation God 'made them male and female.'[a] 7'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife,[b] 8and the two will become one flesh.'[c] So they are no longer two, but one. 9Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate."
Yet man separates “one flesh” all the time. But who cares what the Bible says, right, FOTF?
b) Are you seriously suggesting that it would be better for a child to live in an abusive home with “a mother and a father,” than to live in a same-gender parented household that was safe?
c) The studies that FOTF points to that prove the power of the mom and dad, are too often (if not always), irrelevant and/or misleading in some way, but that’s whole ‘nother can of worms.
d) Placing so much emphasis on the importance of gender cheapens this theoretical “mother and father” down to an “Any married p and v will do” position.
~The Sociopath Next Door, p109:
When deciding whom to trust, bear in mind that the combination of consistently bad or egregiously inadequate behavior with frequent plays for your pity is as close to a warning mark on a conscienceless person’s forehead as you will ever be given.
Pity the “victims” of gay adoption, and then pity us, and our loss of yet another government subsidized expression of faith based hate religious freedom.
Boo. Hoo. --- The results of the studies on the welfare of kids in foster care are appalling. That’s a long article, you can get a sense of it here:
Now, consider a study released on April 7, 2005 by a large, Washington State-based foster-care provider, Casey Family Programs, and Harvard Medical School. The study used case records and interviews to assess the status of young adult “alumni” of foster care.
When compared to adults of the same age and ethnic background who did not endure foster care:
· Only 20 percent of the alumni could be said to be “doing well.” Thus, foster care failed for 80 percent. · They have double the rate of mental illness. · Their rate of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder was double the rate for Iraq War veterans. · The former foster children were three times more likely to be living in poverty – and fifteen times less likely to have finished college. · And nearly one-third of the alumni reported that they had been abused by a foster parent or another adult in a foster home. --- Why, then, do we continue to pour billions of dollars into a system which fails 80 percent of the time and actually abuses at least one-third of those forced into it?
We do it because, over 150 years, we’ve built up a huge, powerful network of foster-care “providers” – “a foster care-industrial complex” with an enormous vested interest in perpetuating the status quo.
If you click on one link in this article, that’s the one. It offers a variety of solutions to fix the broken foster-care system, focusing mainly on prevention. This is where Focus on the Family’s priorities should lie--ON THE FAMILY.
Focus on the Family has an annual budget of over 100 million dollars and boasts of a 38 state network of “Fully Associated Family Policy Councils.” So far, twenty-nine states have been successful in their bid to bash gay relationships by legal decree.
They’ve raised millions upon millions upon millions through campaigns of lies and deception. The sociopaths at the top make them up, and their nonthinking followers repeat them.
Bush’s trillion dollar deficit, a-okay. An unnecessary war that cost the lives of tens of thousands (at least), to the tune of another trillion, a-okay. Children languishing in foster care, children in foster care unnecessarily, families that can’t make ends meet--also, a-okay.
But two gay people in love who want to wed? That, classily enough, opens up the floodgates. Wallets open, volunteers appear, press releases claiming victimhood are “rushed” out, and church networking explodes in the effort to prevent any chance of it.
However, when it comes to raising funds for actual families in need, Focus and their 38 state network of "family" groups are MIA.
Rosie O’Donnell’s movie, America -Resources and disturbing facts section.
The sociopath next door-Amazon. -This book changed my life. It really helped me to better understand the atrocious behavior of the anti-gay industry’s talking heads and their non-thinking flocks.
Jayson Graves, a board member of Exodus International, co-hosts a show called “Pure Passion” (now in reruns). A show that highlights those who’ve supposedly overcome “sexual bondage.” Personally, I think it gives genuine testimony of changed (for the better) lives, and actually helps some people.
Unless you’re gay. Then you will get AIDS and die because of your “sinful behavior.” At least according to this program.
Jayson Graves (intro): Welcome to Pure Passion. My name is Jayson Graves and I’m your host for today’s program.
Did you know that the US Center for Disease Control has a fact sheet they’ve issued, which says that in 2006, 54% of HIV infections among males age 13-29, were caused by homosexual contact. As well, that demographic is the only one that is seeing an increased rate of HIV infection in this country. Sadly, there were over 56,000 people in the US who were newly infected with HIV that same year, most of them being homosexual men.
The CDC fact sheet went on to say that 77% of HIV positive homosexual men, between the ages of 15 and 29, do not know they’ve been infected.
Another study shows that HIV positive, practicing homosexual men, are 9000% more likely to develop anal cancer.
Even in Canada, the HIV / AIDS rates have risen sharply, 51% of infections are now found among homosexual men.
On today’s program, we’re going to talk with a man who has AIDS. These are always sobering stories, but it’s important that we become informed on the subject.
So let’s hear Dan’s testimony, and let it be a witness not only to the consequences of sinful behavior, but, also to the power and love of God, to cleanse us, and forgive us, from all unrighteousness.
The entire intro was devoted to the conclusion that HIV/AIDS are due to "sinful behavior."
From the Exodus website: "In brief, AIDS is better seen as a reaping of consequences than as God's wrath on a specific group."
Exodus leaves it up to the reader to decide whether or not AIDS is God's punishment.
Timothy Kicaid of Box Turtle Bulletin crunched some numbers and estimates that there is a "5.9% incidence of gay people (men and women) who are living with HIV/AIDS"
Instead of expressing a desire to find a cure and/or vaccine for the disease, they exploit, in God's name, the 6% of us who are suffering and dying, to suggest to their audience that anyone GLB or T are are warehouses of infectious disease.
The American Humanist Association has launched a nationwide promotion to undermine Christmas. The "National Godless Holiday" campaign includes a series of bus and rail ads that take a swipe at the Christmas celebration, exhorting people to "Be Good for Goodness' Sake."
Oh the humanity. What a bad thing it is to "Be Good for Goodness' Sake." Unlike those who need to be told by the Bible to be good. How ever will supremacist Christians regain their monopoly on goodness?
According the The American Humanist Association, they are "driven by a desire to meet the needs of people in the here and now, and "The positions we hold and the actions we take are not simply for our own benefit, but for the betterment of all of society."
Pretty ominous, eh?
Back to the Citizenlink article:
Mat Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel and dean of Liberty University School of Law, said the ads are insensitive and mean.
"It is wrong to belittle Jews for celebrating Hanukkah during the holiday season, and it is wrong to offend all religions during Christmas."
Of course, Jews and the members of all other religions are going to burn in a lake of fire for all eternity---by a loving god no less. But that doesn't discourage Staver and Focus on the Family from exploiting them--No doubt for goodness' sake.
And as far as “insensitive and mean” goes, that’s quite rich coming from Matt Staver. This is a man who argued in front of the California Supreme Court to deny marriage equality.
Same sex relations will not accidentally, unintentionally, in an unplanned fashion, produce children.
This is also a man who penned a book called “Same-Sex Marriage: Putting Every Household at Risk." A book that contains some of the most hateful and vile rhetoric and slander that I have ever read in an anti-gay book.
In Chapter 3: Our Children At Risk, he had this to say on p46:
Another study found a significant increase in the risk of incest among children raised by homosexual parents. “A disproportionate percentage---29 percent of the adult children of homosexual parents had been specifically subjected to sexual molestation by that homosexual parent, compared to only 0.6 percent of the adult children of heterosexual parents having reported sexual relations with their parent…Having a homosexual parent(s) appears to increase the risk of incest with a parent by a factor about 50.” (92)
And what does footnote 92 list as its source, you ask. *drum roll please*…The long-time discredited lord of virulently anti-gay fake studies, Paul Cameron. -- Psychopath: A person with an antisocial personality disorder, manifested in aggressive, perverted, criminal, or amoral behavior without empathy or remorse.
Once again, from Focus on the Family's Citizenlink magazine:
AMA Opposes 'Don't Ask Don't Tell,' Says Gay Marriage Bans are Unhealthy
The country's largest professional organization for doctors takes a position on homosexual issues.
Gary Rose, a consultant with the conservative Medical Institute for Sexual Health, said the AMA should stick to medicine.
The AMA “should stick to medicine” eh? Here’s a Citizenlink quote from last July:
A third major finding of the study is that there is significantly greater medical, psychological and relational pathology in the homosexual population than the general population.
So there you have it. FOTF’s anti-gay Citizenlink knows more about medicine than the American Medical Association.
In short, the study design was so flawed that no mainstream, peer-reviewed, mental-health journal would publish it. And the study’s supposed success stories were gay celibate individuals who adopted false labels to direct attention away from frequently undiminished same-sex attraction.
Eventually it gets bad, you know it {~~Michael Jackson~~}. There comes a day when people start to say, oops, not again {~~Britney Spears~~}. It’s possible in the world of celebrity, to become so famous, to be on so many magazine covers, to collect so much TV airtime, that it becomes cool for people to say that a given celebrity is not so cool anymore {~~Barry Manilow~~}. There comes a point when a celebrity tips from fame to anti-fame {~~Brett Favre~~}.
But I had this thought, that if a politician runs as a celebrity, and the celebrity gossip magazines like Time and Newsweek, offer up positive cover after cover. And if the TV networks offer up more glowing coverage than the circumstances really demand, well…{~~Barack Obama~~}.
He ran a campaign that was all big crowds and photo ops, and he could deliver a scripted line better than any Oscar winner. And people imagined him to be whatever character they wanted, and they voted for what they imagined {~~Rock Star~~}.
Right about now, as reality starts to sink in, I can imagine a lot of those folks are privately thinking: “~~This doesn’t look anything like the change I thought he meant~~”. And by the end of summer they might just be ready to say it out loud: “THIS IS NOT AT ALL WHAT I WANTED.”
Now, it’s not a time to point fingers, and this is critical, it’s a time to say “Welcome home.” And then talk to them about the important issues at stake, the fate of pre-born babies, the definition of marriage, the role of the courts {~~Anti-fame~~fame~~fame~~}.
[announcer-like:] Coming to a polling place near you in 2010 and 2012.
Hello, all 300 million of you American voters. In case of my absence, I've chosen Sarah Palin to be responsible for your safety:
"As for that VP talk all the time, I tell ya, I still can’t answer that question until somebody answers for me, what is it exactly that the VP does every day?"
From Box Turtle Bulletin (of all places). As Gabriel Arana says: "Normally Box Turtle’s brow is a bit higher... ...but could you ever imagine this sort of humor coming out of the other camp?" --- To all the hateful, bigoted, anti-gay "Christians" out there, who feel they aren't getting the tolerance they "deserve" for their intolerance, this one's for you:
Visit their (mostly French) website for more: http://www.gayclic.com/ _______________ Edit: title, 6-8-09 AM
The pro-life community reacted with shock after George Tiller was shot to death Sunday morning...
"We…categorically condemn the act of vigilantism and violence that took his life," Dr. James Dobson said in a statement..."The person or persons responsible for his death should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law." --- Umm...wouldn’t that be the death penalty?
In a post entitled “Prop. 8 Traumatic Stress Disorder,” Mr. Buchanan makes the following assertions, implications, and observations.
Most of them worse than baseless.
~~~
To begin with:
~Carrie Prejean, “assaulted” for anti-gay views ~Sean Penn, “ugly” for admonishing anti-gays ~Google maps, “insidious”
And now for the more memorable moments of the article...
“But we must ask ourselves - as the church, what should our response be? The answer for me comes in looking back at how the early church responded to similar opposition.”
“Today rather than facing the lions, the church now faces the merciless jaws of litigation.”
“The attitude against the church is the same but the venue for persecution has been modernized.”
"The interesting thing about fear is that it desensitizes us to the needs of others by causing us to be preoccupied with our own concerns."
Funny, I was just using that last part to describe people like you. I wonder who read who’s mind...
Of course, he’s not talking about himself, he’s talking about the churches who are fearful of being vocally anti-gay.
Shrilling right along..
"Will the only message they hear be one that directly opposes God's divine plan and creation?"
Mr. Buchanan, how do you get from 3% of the population to 100% of the "message"? Please show your work.
~~~
He then laments over the possibility of having grown up in “today’s culture,” and shudders at the thought of living a life “more harmonious with my proclivities.”
Proclivity: a natural or habitual tendency or inclination, esp. toward something discreditable
And now to use it in a sentence...
The homosexual had a proclivity for anonymous sex.
And now to use it in another sentence...
In the effort to dehumanize gays and lesbians, the man used the word "proclivities" to describe their relationships.
~~~
God’s divine plan: Adam and Eve, from whence we all came. Thus, Adam and Eve had children, and those children had children, and so on.
It appears that God's divine plan included procreating with members of one's immediate family.
19 Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. 20 So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds of the air and all the beasts of the field.
But for Adam no suitable helper was found.
So, God’s “divine plan” included incest and almost bestiality.
~~~
"It is the church's high calling to proclaim it ["redemptive message on homosexuality"] to those who need to hear it no matter what the cost may be."
IOW, it's a cause worth dying for, but all you have to do is speak up about it.
~~~
And to give credit where credit’s due:
Jeff Buchanan is a pastor and the Director of the Exodus Church Association(www.exoduschurchassociation.org), a national network of more than 120 churches helping those dealing with same-sex attraction to live a life that reflects the Christian faith.
"Exodus International today announced the reformation of its church network as the Exodus Church Association." ---- By the time I read the article and clicked on the “Exodus Church Association” link, the site had been shut down. So I Googled it and found the cached home page, where I found an article called:
"Caught in the Middle: How to Talk about Homosexuality Written by Jonathan Inman" ---- The site is back up now, but without a link to that article, at least not on the home page, fortunately though, it’s on the Exodus website. I have no idea how old this is, or who Jonathan Inman is, but this article is just one contradiction after another. It’s essentially a litany of suggestions on how to condemn we gays and our pro-gay advocates, without appearing insulting.
As usual, the attempt to not be insulting is more insulting than the insults themselves:
When talking with people who believe homosexuality is an acceptable lifestyle option, suggesting that homosexuality is sinful can appear stupid and rude -- if not homophobic, unloving and abusive…
…We must bring the gospel of God's grace where it is most needed: to the vocally anti-Christian pro-gay activist, or to the mild-mannered clergy who says the love of Jesus means affirming homosexuality as God's gift…
He begins each segment with a title and a Biblical quote. For example:
Patiently Listen
"My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires." (James 1:19-20)
...Don't just listen for opportunities to find fault or critique...When a factual claim is made, politely ask to have it substantiated with reference to a verifiable source.
I started dissecting the whole thing for a post (which may or may not come to fruition), when I ran across this little gem...
Mercifully Pursue
"Be merciful to those who doubt; snatch others from the fire and save them; to others show mercy, mixed with fear -- hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh." (Jude 22-23)
Now that, takes the cake. Out of all the verses dealing with mercy in the Bible (24 according to my “Holman Concise Topical Concordance”), he chooses the one that could not be more ironic for the “ministry” of Exodus.
(Caution: racy satire below)
In other words:
_________ Edited to add caveat, Wed May 20, 2009 @ 3:58AM
If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.
After 400 years of religious freedom for those who wanted to own and distribute Bibles on their own property in America, the Governor of Colorado has put an end to it. SB08-200, signed into law last week will prohibit the issuing, circulating, and distributing of Leviticus 20:13...
That link leads to the bill summary, and as usual, has nothing to do with the reading of minds or the distribution of Bibles, or Biblical hate speech. It has to do with prohibitions against discrimination:
The committee returned to order. Representative Judd presented Senate Bill 08-200 concerning the expansions of prohibitions against discrimination. The bill adds the prohibition of discrimination based on sexual orientation to nondiscrimination statutes for 23 areas, including housing, employment not covered by House Bill 07-025, education, public accommodations and health care. It also allows for the appointment of people who have been, or might be discriminated against because of sexual orientation, to the Civil Rights Commission. Prohibitions against discrimination on the basis of sex, marital status, disability, age, national origin, ancestry, and religion, are added as necessary for consistency in all nondiscrimination statutes including consumer credit transactions, jury service, issuance of a license to practice law, and public accommodations. Violations of anti-discrimination laws are misdemeanors subject to fines up to $5,000, two years imprisonment in a county jail, or both.
As you may have noticed, BabbaZee’s a bit dull. So BabbaZee's description of this image should come as no surprise:
Love Not Laws aspires to show that Margaret Mead was correct when she said "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." None of the people who appear in this video received any compensation for their time.
None of the people who worked on this video received any compensation for their time. All materials used to create the video were donated. We simply came together to promote the ideals of love and equality.
We’ve been keeping track of this at SoulForce, so the following is based on the highlights of that thread. --- Thanks to Anita Bryant and her “fans,” there’s been a gay adoption ban in Florida since 1977. --- Last November, an Orlando Sentinel published an article titled: “Miami judge rules against Florida gay adoption ban”
“A Miami Dade Circuit judge [Cindy S. Lederman] ruled today that a gay man and his partner should be able to adopt the two foster children they have raised for four years. [Saying,] “There is no rational basis to preclude homosexuals from adopting”
That article is now gone from the original link. Fortunately, Matt Algren who started the thread, published it in full on SoulForce (linked above) and on his blog, and just in case you think I’m a lying because I’m a militant homosexual activist, here’s a Google search on the matter. Go nuts. --- Frank Martin Gill and his partner have been taking care of these kids for years now, and asked the ACLU to help them adopt the boys. Here’s a brief profile on the family:
Fighting Florida's Gay Adoption Ban ACLULGBT November 25, 2008
And here’s a news clip of the event:
Florida Gay Adoption Ban Unconstitutional seth3481 November 25, 2008
For the record, you can see my transcription of the news clip here.
The salient point is thus:
Reporter Gary Nelson: Well this ruling here in Miami Dade County today sets a precedent, one that the state’s conservative Attorney General promised to immediately appeal.
Voiceover: But the ink was scarcely dry on Judge Lederman’s ruling when the state announced a challenge.
State's Spokeswoman: We have filed a notice of appeal with the court, on this order already this morning.
On December 11th, of last year, Mike Thomas of the Orlando Sentinel, wrote a commentary titled: “State’s hypocrisy on gay adoptions could tear apart this family
This article also disappeared. At the time, I emailed Mike Thomas about the missing article, and did not receive a reply. So I then found the cached versions, which have now also disappeared.
Fortunately, Matt took screen caps of the article: Page 1 and Page 2.
I don’t know if “politics” were involved in the deletion of those articles (and the cached pages of the commentary), but there are a few things of interest to note.
Mike Thomas: The attorney general's main expert witnesses was George Rekers, a Miami clinical psychologist and Baptist minister who believes gays are immoral and has written that gay activists are trying to legalize pedophilia. He argues gays are more prone to depressive disorders, substance abuse and unstable relationships, disqualifying them as adoptive parents.
He adds that the state paid $60,000 for Rekers’ quack testimony.
Now, these are the portions of Mike Thomas’ commentary that caught my eye:
DCF is fighting Gill because it fears a political backlash from social conservatives if he is allowed to adopt the boys. They could bring intense political pressure to ban gay foster parents. That would be devastating, particularly as the economy worsens, the number of abuse cases rises and the state's resources dwindle.
This is not about what's best for kids. It's a political agenda by people who consider homosexuals sinful deviants. And the image of gays living in stable relationships, driving minivans, and caring for damaged children undercuts their cause and their moral superiority. And now among their allies they can include DCF Secretary George Sheldon, Gov. Charlie Crist and Attorney General Bill McCollum.
Enough to make you wanna puke.
Finally, I found this article today, from Tampa Bay Online:
Now the state Legislature is faced with a bill aimed at overturning the state's 1977 ban on gay adoption, and Florida's Third District Court of Appeals must resolve a lawsuit over the issue stemming from Gill's case. The case is likely to move on to the Florida Supreme Court...
...The legislation is expected to die without coming to a vote before the Legislature adjourns next week...
...Former state legislator Baxley and other conservatives want the state to maintain its gay adoption ban and support the Department of Children and Families' decision to fight Lederman's ruling and the Legislature's decision for a seventh straight year to maintain the law.
They say it's better for the children to remain in foster care and keep their chance to be adopted by a heterosexual person or couple than to be adopted by a gay person or couple. More than 3,000 children in Florida's foster care system await adoption, most of them having suffered abuse or neglect.
"What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off?”
The Christian conservative version might go something like this:
"What do you think? If gay couples can provide loving and nurturing homes to 3000 children, and one of them has the chance to be adopted by a heterosexual couple, wouldn’t Christian conservatives leave the 2,999 to languish in foster care for the chances of that one?”
A group of seven congregants from Topeka, Kan., set up outside Walt Whitman High School in Bethesda yesterday to protest the sexual orientation of the poet for whom the school was named.
At the 2:10 p.m. dismissal, 500 students issued forth from the campus and lined up, several students deep, along the police tape, across Whittier Boulevard from the congregants. They alternately chanted the school name and "Go home!" -- drowning out voices from across the street.
Susan Russell, 17, a junior, said she hoped the publicity would "highlight how ridiculous they are. I mean, that sign -- 'You will eat your babies' -- that doesn't even mean anything."
JimK at Teach the Facts, takes down the whole gay = hyper-sexual “lifestyle” thing, in an article titled Lifestyle -- Huh?:
Sexual orientation isn't a lifestyle, it's just a way people feel. Do you think The Post would mention a straight person's heterosexual lifestyle? No, it doesn't make any sense. There are all kinds of straight people, too, in fact if you're straight then the concept is obvious to you. The only reason you would think gay people have a certain lifestyle is if you don't know any of them, if you think of them as "others" who are different from you.
It really is time for somebody at The Post to have a talk with the headline writer who composed this gibberish and the editors who let it pass through the process.
I took out the video, the embed was making these annoying clicks. You can still access the video at the link to the news story above.
