Taking Another Break

Labor Day Weekend is upon us, and I've got a full calendar starting tomorrow. I'll have more sarcastic posts starting Tuesday. Until then, have a great holiday!

Ft.Lauderdale Mayor Off Tourism Board

Jim Naugle, the embattled mayor of Ft. Lauderdale, FL who has not only suggested installing "robo-toilets" throughout the city, but has also made several public statements which are incredibly discriminatory toward the LGBT community, has lost his seat on the tourism board. According to the local Sun-Sentinal, Broward County commissioners were concerned that Naugle's actions would harm the tourism industry...a multibillion-dollar asset to the county...and that he'd ignored warnings from commissioners about his actions. The Sentinal reported...

"Since Naugle made his initial allegations about rampant gay sex in public
restrooms nearly two months ago, the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention &
Visitors Bureau has been deluged with hundreds of angry e-mails from tourists.
Some said they had canceled vacations, while others threatened to go
elsewhere.

A gay-oriented convention that was to draw 200 attendees this fall is on
hold. A group that plans black family reunions has voiced concern about whether
the mayor was sending a message of intolerance. Bookings of college and
high-school sporting events is also down compared to last year."

And how did Naugle respond to the fact that groups other than LGBT affiliated organizations were voicing their displeasure over his comments and actions? Take a look...

"Naugle was unbowed by the county's rebuke and said commissioners removed
him because they "feared a very vocal minority." He questioned why no
commissioner had talked to him beforehand to hear why he has done what he's
done.

Sometimes the easiest thing to do when you don't want to hear something is
to shoot the messenger, but that doesn't mean that there is not a problem out
there that needs to be addressed," Naugle said.

So now he's a victim? Give me a break. This guy is so obsessed with his homophobic ideals that he refuses to see how his actions have affected the economy of the community he is supposed to serve. County Commissioner Stacey Ritter put it best...

"I had hoped that this would die on its own, but Mayor Naugle continues to
push his own agenda and that is having an increasing impact on our community,"
said County Commissioner Stacy Ritter, who proposed removing him. "He has
continued to escalate his rhetoric, and we cannot be silent."

I half expect Naugle to shoot back by reiterating that homosexuals are the only ones with an "agenda," but he's put the nails in his own coffin with this little crusade of his. I sincerely hope the Ft. Lauderdale voters will take steps to either censure or remove Naugle entirely and replace him with someone who truly reflects the gay-friendly atmosphere that the community has worked so hard to establish. I think the closing comment another Commissioner says it all...

"Hate is something that is simply unacceptable and now has become costly to
the county as well," Commissioner Diana Wasserman-Rubin said.

I doubt Naugle will ever agree, but this is one step in a positive direction for both the Ft. Lauderdale community and the LGBT community as a whole.

Babs Not Welcome At Holiday Inn

Peter LaBarbera's organization (Americans For Truth About Homosexuality) had booked a fundraising convention at a Chicago area Holiday Inn, but has since been told they are no longer welcome. Why? The hotel manager feared protests by what Babs calls pro-gay groups.

In an audio interview with Babs, Matt Barber of Concerned Women For America blew the entire situation out of proportion by making claims that the hotel was being anti-Christian by not allowing the group to convene at their establishment.

First of all, the hotel and its corporate officials do have the right to refuse service to anyone. Had this hotel refused service to HRC, PFLAG or any other group Babs despises, he'd be celebrating it on his site...and he knows it.

Second, Pete is known for being abrasive...if not abusive...toward anyone who disagrees with him. Any opponent is instantly denigrated in what I would deem a vicious manner. No wonder the hotel was worried about protests and the effect they might have on their other guests and future business.

Finally, perhaps Babs will come away from this situation with some understanding of what gay and lesbian couples go through. I highly doubt it, because his arrogance is so profound that I doubt anything...even experiencing what discrimination others endure on a regular basis...will be able to penetrate his thick skull.

Listen to the interview at your own risk, lol...it made me sick to my stomach.

Larry Craig This And That

I started out with one post to follow up on yesterday's post, but I found so many examples of ridiculousness that I decided to put together some brief comments here.

** This is nothing more than despicable and cowardly behavior on the part of the folks over at WingNutDaily. Without giving any real comment, the site posted a headline today and linked to an article from the Idaho Statesman in what appears to be an effort to discredit the columnist who wrote the articles documenting the events surrounding Senator Larry Craig...

Columnist who exposed Craig backs 'gay' marriage 'Chance
to make a once-and-for-all statement that we are broad-minded folk' --Idaho
Statesman

I suppose that if you support gay marriage it doesn't matter how many police reports and other credible sources you can produce. In the eyes of the fundies, support of gay marriage instantly damages your journalistic integrity and credibility. Pathetic.

** The Idaho Values Alliance has called for Craig's resignation...no real surprise there, but I had to laugh at this part of their statement...

"The Judeo-Christian tradition says that the standard for identifying the
truth is that “by the mouth of two or three witnesses every fact is confirmed.”
The senator’s guilty plea, when added to the officer’s testimony, satisfies the
biblical standard for confirming the essential truth of what happened, and
unless the senator can provide a compelling and convincing explanation for his
plea, we will need to regretfully accept that the fact of his behavior has been
established. It seems unlikely that he can “unring the bell” his guilty plea has
sounded."

At least this bunch of wingnuts is using their biblical "standards" on one of their own since they are so fond of bashing the rest of us over the head with them, but it baffles me that they think they needed some biblical yardstick to confirm this one.

** Mitt Romney very quickly distanced himself from Craig, and it seems the White House is doing the same. The strange thing is that while statements from Romney, McCain, Huckabee and others are strongly worded, the White House spokesperson made this statement...

"We're disappointed in what's going on. It's a matter for the senator and
the Senate Republican leadership to address," deputy White House press secretary
Scott Stanzel said.

We hope that it will be resolved quickly, as that would be in the best
interests of the Senate and the people of Idaho," Stanzel said.

Is it just me, or does it sound like the Chimperor doesn't want to touch this story with a ten foot pole? This is a matter for the legislative branch of the government to handle (not that that's ever stopped Bush from sticking his nose where it doesn't belong), but the statement from the White House made it look like Bush was much more upset about potentially losing yet another Republican vote in the senate.

Another Ignorant Rant From Matt Barber

Another day, another bleating rant from the resident concerned "woman" Matt Barber. This time, Matt has gone after an Illinois school district over a summer reading list for 8th graders and even goes so far as to list examples of what he deems to be objectionable content from one of the books. Before giving that list, though, he opened by saying...

"Prairie Junior High School’s required reading list for rising 8th graders
gave children six books to choose from over the summer. Parents have complained
that three of the six books contain adult content which is highly
age-inappropriate. Those complaints, however, have fallen on deaf ears. At a
recent school board meeting, school board members said they intend to continue
assigning the books. The following are excerpts from just a handful of the many
salacious passages found in one of the books, Fat Kid Rules the World, by K. L.
Going:"

So, from the outset, Matt has acknowledged that the students were given a list of books from which to choose...argument hole number one. Unless someone was holding a gun to the heads of these students and their parents, it seems that other choices were made available.

Notice also that the objectionable passages Matt printed were from ONE of the SIX books on the list of choices for the students...argument hole number two. It appears that this book wasn't forced on anyone, regardless of what Matt said next...

"To add insult to injury, the school didn’t even have the courtesy to warn
these kids — or their parents — about the adult content within the assigned
reading. And parents are understandably furious. If one of my daughters came to
me at twelve having been assigned this smut, I’d be ticked-off too."

Okay, parents do have the responsibility to be involved in the education of their children, and these parents should have made it a priority to investigate these book choices and guide their children accordingly. Argument hole number three...as Matt pointed out, the students had a choice and none of the six books were specifically "assigned" no matter how much he'd like it to appear that way.

Now, with three holes in his ridiculous argument, let's look at the cute turn Matt makes with this delightful little story. He starts with the following...

"I telephoned Robert Berger, superintendent of schools for District 126,
fully expecting him to assure me that this foolishness would be remedied. But
instead, his response was defiant, defensive and arrogant."

It's a distinct possibility, given Matt's usual tone and attitude toward anyone who disagrees with him, that the conversation with Mr. Berger began with a similarly defiant, defensive and arrogant, and I wouldn't fault Mr. Berger for responding the way he did. I do find it interesting that while Matt provided explicit details about the one offensive book, he didn't do the same regarding his conversation with this superintendent. Only a couple of comments were mentioned in what was, presumably, a much more involved discussion..argument hole number four.

The real axis, if you will, of Matt's argument becomes very clear with these statements...

"Unfortunately the actions of District 126 are symptomatic of a
metastasizing moral malady within our larger system of public education. Kids in
public schools across the country are constantly inundated with material which
promotes profanity, homosexuality, promiscuity and abortion.

The Agenda is pushed and the curriculum set by leftist groups like the
National Education Association (NEA), the ACLU and the Gay, Lesbian and Straight
Education Network (GLSEN). Even the American Library Association (ALA) gave Fat
Kids its “Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature.” The
book also received a rave review from America’s largest homosexual activist
literary organization, Lambda Literary Foundation.
By constantly lowering
the bar on decency, educators are intentionally playing a game of ideological
limbo with our children’s moral well-being as they seek to create little moral
relativists in their own iconoclastic self-image. And they’re robbing kids of
great reading like Oliver Twist, Treasure Island and many others in the
process."

And there you have it, folks...it's the homosexuals who are forcing these poor, impressionable children to read the book Matt keeps blathering about. I will give Matt points for his clever use of alliteration with his, "metastasizing moral malady," comment, but the rest of his bleating is simply that...bleating. For the record, the Printz Award is one of the biggest and most prestigious children's literature prizes and is given, as Matt said, by the American Library Association. Unfortunately, Fat Kid Rules the World didn't win the award, but was one of the honored books for the year 2004...argument hole number five.

As usual, Matt has tried to spin this situation and has succeeded in insulting the parental intelligence of the students in the district in question, assumed that the traditional classic reading choices are being held hostage somewhere, gave false information regarding the one book that seemed to bother him the most and blamed everything on that ever elusive homosexual agenda.

With five glaring holes in your argument Matt...you'd do good to do a little more homework before posting your purposely inflammatory garbage.

Another Case of Convenient Dementia?

The more I've seen on the news and read online, the more I'm convinced that these elected officials who've been caught in these types of acts are suffering from what I'm dubbing convenient dementia. This time it's Republican Senator Larry Craig who's been stricken with this horrible disease. According to a report from The IdahoStatesman, a news source from his home state, Craig was arrested on June 11th in a Minnesota airport men's room for allegedly soliciting sex from an undercover officer. The details of that arrest can be found here.

Since an arrest was made, Craig was required to appear in court...an event that occurred earlier this month. Here's what the Statesman reported...

"News about the June 11 arrest at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International
Airport was reported on Roll Call's Web site Monday. According to police and
court records obtained by Roll Call, Craig pleaded guilty Aug. 8 to
misdemeanor disorderly conduct in Hennepin County District Court. He paid $575
in fines and fees. A 10-day jail sentence was suspended and Craig received one
year's unsupervised probation.

Craig on Monday denied any misconduct. "At the time of this incident,
I complained to the police that they were misconstruing my
actions," he said in a written statement. "I was not involved in any
inappropriate conduct. I should have had the advice of counsel in resolving this
matter. In hindsight, I should not have pled guilty. I was trying to handle this
matter myself quickly and expeditiously."

Craig, through his staff, declined to answer questions."

Of course he declined to answer questions, because the first one would be why in the world would a longstanding Senator go into court and plead guilty without either having a lawyer with him or, at the very least, consulting one before heading into court? The answer is very simple...he was guilty and he was hoping not to handle the "matter" as he described, but hoping it would just go away.

Since the story broke yesterday, Craig has decided to take the dementia route by trying to make it look like he wasn't thinking clearly enough to do what anyone would do if arrested...hire an attorney. Here's the interesting twist I know you're waiting for...

"Craig, 62, was elected to Congress in 1980. Should he win re-election in
2008 and complete his term, he would be the longest-serving Idahoan ever in
Congress. His record includes a series of votes against gay rights and his
support of a 2006 amendment to the Idaho Constitution that bars gay marriage and
civil unions."

He has to claim that everything was misconstrued and that he shouldn't have gone to court without an attorney because his entire political life has an anti-gay record. The Statesman article has links and references to other instances where Craig's behavior has come into question, but this is just another example of convenient dementia...something more and more politicians seem to be catching. Maybe someone should check the water in Washington or, better yet, maybe these guys should just start telling the truth.

Would You Like A Little Cheese With That Whine, Boys?

You know, I sat down this morning and, inevitably, landed on Peter LaBarbera's site (Americans for Truth) only to read what is probably one of the most insidious headlines I've seen in a while.
Referring to last week's article by talk radio host Kevin McCullough, Babs implored his fellow hatemongers...I mean, loyal readers...to support the idea that bloggers who happen to be gay are not only angry but lie all the time. He didn't even have the sense to change McCullough's original headline or, perhaps, he's just that unimaginative...who knows...but while the words, "Why Do Angry Gay Bloggers Always Lie," were there, the proof of those "lies" were nonexistent. Babs starts out...as usual...with the focus on himself...

"As one who has been on the receiving end of too many online “gay” lies to
count, I can sympathize with Kevin McCullough – one of the few radio
conservatives nationwide who doesn’t downplay the homosexual issue. (And there
are some pretty big names in conservative radio who do by going ‘PC’ on
this issue with their silence … so support
Kevin.)"

Awwww, poor little hate-filled fundies! For all the anti-gay comments, campaigns and other efforts Pete has made and been involved in, I find it absolutely incredible...if not a bit nauseating...that he would have the audacity to complain about any legitimate rebuttal to his lame arguments, relegating them to the level of "online 'gay' lies." And, yes, I'm still wondering what's with the damn quotes around the word gay.

The only thing I could find in both articles (which are posted on AFT's site and can be read using the first link I gave in this post) that refers to a "lie" is the same, tired argument that fundies have been making all along...their belief that a person's sexual orientation is a choice and not a biological predetermination. I suppose the idea here is that if you don't agree with the fundies, you're a liar...plain and simple.

In his article, McCullough laments the name-calling he's endured...

"NGBlog
[WARNING: NGBlog has a hard time making his point without cussing–Ed.] and OutsideTheTent
have had me in their sights for sometime.

And when the towering intellects that they both are come up short
against an actual point of substance the best they can do is call me stupid, or
poopy pants, or whatever brilliant turn of phrase pops into their skull.

They are so desperate to make me appear stupid they slow down the video of me discussing the
Mary Cheney pregnancy on CNN to the one frame where in the middle of
speaking I appear half-inebriated. [See an AFTAH post on the Mary Cheney
baby story HERE.]

Classy…

They also lie a lot… the lying liars they
are."

The lying liars they are? Honestly, you'd think that a popular conservative talk radio host could do better than that! I won't stoop to any silly name-calling, but I will say that we do have an actual point of substance...one that will not vanish regardless of any vilification thrown our way. I and the other members of the LGBT community stand by our biological sexual orientation regardless of the obviously phobic and/or hateful misrepresentations of our identities. Since that seems to be the only point of contention for these two, I simply have to suggest they stop whining and accept the fact that we will continue to disagree...fundies will continue to try and paint us as the root of all evil, and gay bloggers will continue to poke holes in their arguments. As for this particular argument...seems you boys are the ones guilty of lying. So, take your cheese and curl up in a corner to whine some more...I know I'm not going to lose any sleep over it!

Monday's This And That

After a much needed vacation and computer changeover (I HATE Windows Vista!!!), I'm back to reading my news feeds. So, here are a few things to get your week started...



** In case you haven't heard, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has resigned after several months of turmoil and controversy. I suppose it's better late than never, but this should have happened long ago. The question now is who will the Chimperor try to push for confirmation? Speculation suggests that Michael Chertoff (head of Homeland Insecurity who not only contributed to the botched Katrina "relief" efforts, but recently announced he had a "gut feeling" about an impending terror attack here in the states) will be up for the job, which would not only further diminish what little integrity the Attorney General's office has left but would also pave the way for yet another Bush appointee in the Homeland Security Department and, no doubt, a very heated confirmation process in Congress. How long until the next election?

** Michael Vick held a press conference where he seemed to apologize for his participation in a dog-fighting ring. I use the word "seemed" because let's face it...he is taking a plea agreement which doesn't fully cover everything in which he was involved, and he's far more upset with the fact he got caught than anything else, I would imagine. As for the bonuses he received from the Atlanta Falcons...it appears the franchise will attempt to go after about half of what they gave Vick. Forgive me for not feeling sorry for him...if and when he serves any time, he'll still be a multi-millionaire.

** Westboro Baptist Church has added Mexico to their ever growing list of countries that God apparently hates. Fred Phelps (aka The Rotting Cryptkeeper) either has a direct line to God or thinks he is God...I'm leaning toward the latter, lol. As usual, I refuse to give them a link, but if you find yourself wanting to develop a bad case of nausea, their site can be found on Google.

Summer Hiatus

Due to illness and a much needed need for a vacation, I will not be posting until around August 22. Until then, be well and take some time to browse the archive.