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Today's Cultural Warfare Update
Jul. 21st, 2007 12:14 am"Murder suspect says he was doing God's work" - he went looking for a gay man to kill, found one, and did. He insists he did the "right thing." This motive is, for those who are curious, exactly what kind of motive the fundamentalists are defending. Exactly. And I'm saying that as someone who is ambivalent about "hate crimes" laws. But I have the decency to be ambivalent about them in general, not just for some particular group I hate. (The various opposition groups are all fine with Federal hate crimes laws based on things like race and religion.) Anyway;
Fred Thompson lurches - harder - to the social right, trying to pick up theocon rank-and-file support;
NSA blamed two defector's traitorous activities on behalf of the USSR on their homosexuality - but oh look, turns out? Straight. And the NSA knew it;
I heard that the disturbing Nebraska judge declared a second mistrial in rape case after the woman who says she was raped used the word "rape" in testimony; here's Salon's article, on the whole thing;
Focus on the Family sends out a special Editor's Note with Friday's Focus on the Family political news update: an explanation that James Dobson still hates Harry Potter as much as any upright fundamentalist should, particularly for its "magical characters" such as "witches, wizards, ghosts, goblins, werewolfs, poltergeists, and so on," condemning "the trend towards witchcraft and New Age ideology";
Focus on the Family opposes any Israel "promise to give up land;" it's not clear whether they oppose any two-state solution or not; the reasons, of course, are "biblical";
Focus on the Family condemns Obama, Edwards for pledging to support legal abortion;
FotF applauds House of Representatives vote supporting amendment to ban Federal funds from being spent on "mandatory" HPV (cervical cancer) vaccination; given that they were calling the non-mandatory listing of the vaccine with standard school vaccination lists "mandatory" - this was a lie - I wonder what got passed here, as well;
Focus on the Family promotes "Revival Fires Ministries," which sends Bibles sent to US soldiers stationed in the middle east;
Focus on the Family sells their talking points against GBLT marriage rights for $15 a pop;
FotF condemns National Education Association for support of GBLT rights and also adding "sexual orientation" to Federal hate crimes law; Focus on the Family, as is standard, calls it "creation of a thought crime," ignoring that motive has always been a key part of law, period, end of story, and calls the bill an attempt "to muzzle people of faith who dare to express their moral and biblical concerns about homosexuality";
Focus on the Family reports a Zogby poll stating that 97% of US adults say "professor bias" is a problem; support for the statement is wildly political, with 91% of conservatives calling the problem "serious" vs. 3% of liberals. FotF supports state "legislation that would protect students from professors who have conflicting opinions." This is another permutation of wanting to avoid even being presented with conflicting data - c.f. the recent case of a fundamentalist suing the state of Massachusetts for asking about same-sex marriage in Massachusetts on their state bar exam; he demands the right not to be asked the question because the law conflicts with his religious beliefs. Zogby, interestingly, links to the Focus on the Family story;
FotF continues the Bush judicial nominee drumbeat;
FotF continues the Bush judicial nominee drumbeat, part II;
FotF condemns Democratic presidential candidates for attending the Human Rights Campaign's debate, declaring "Democratic Presidential Candidates Pander to Homosexual Lobby," asserts that there should be no such debate and that no one should attend it;
FotF supports both attempts to pass marriage bans via initiative in California, supports both, but links only to the one they like better; they quote their sockpuppet California Family Council, which is their state affiliate - they describe it as "associated" with Focus;
FotF news story against U. Florida having Dr. Jack Kevorkian speak on campus; "Bobby Schindler, brother of the late Terri Schiavo" is organising protests. You should remember Terri Schiavo and the brutal - and crazy - battle that Congress got into a couple of years ago. She's held up as a totem/martyr by the fundamentalist movement as "a handicapped woman starved to death";
FotF condemns one school's rejection of "ex-gay" bullshit, declaring that "'tolerance' equals censorship"; Focus on the Family condemns tolerance of queers again, of course; the anti-gay Alliance Defense Fund is getting involved.
Focus on the Family ACTION ITEM to support amendment by Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN) to bar all Federal funds from going to Planned Parenthood in any capacity;
Focus on the Family promotes "Modesty Movement" and "Pure Fashion," which has as its motto, "from the shoulder to the knees, nobody touches, nobody sees." I can't wait to see their swimwear - or their new line of burkas; oh, and by the way, women not wearing enough clothing causes the decline of cultures;
Focus on the Family promotes the discredited "Gangs of Lesbians Raping Our Children" scare-story aired on a couple of local stations, then inflated by Bill O'Reilly to "hundreds of incidents"; Focus's story quotes liberally (GET IT?) from various versions, condemns GBLT groups for opposing the story. "They don't want this type of information to get out... because then they know people's eyes will be opened, they'll begin to see this whole situation for what it is really is," which, pulling out the barely-contained subtext, is the old newtype blood libel of queers raping your children for their devient sexual desires;
FotF condemns Oregon court for ruling that both lesbian partners have parental status of their child; also promotes attempt to repeal Oregon DP law by "Defense of Marriage and Family," DMF appears to consist of a Republican former state senator, "Restore America," of whom I'm not aware, and the chair of the Constitution Party of Oregon, which has moved sharply to the theocratic over the last several years;
FotF credits anti-abortion laws for lowering abortion rates in Alabama, is very happy about that;
FotF condemns Amnesty International for wanting "to be free of fear, threat and coercion as they manage all consequences of rape and other grave human rights violations," which they declare to be a statement in support of abortion, despite AI's position that it does not "promote abortion as a universal right and Amnesty International remains silent on the rights and wrongs of abortion," saying that if you're doing the former, you're endorsing abortion;
FotF promotes David Limbaugh's book, Persecution: How Liberals are Waging War Against Christians, condemns tolerance, describes the separation of church and state as "mythical" - not just a bad idea, but outright mythical - and urges people to fight for the "true religious freedom" of, presumably, official government support of their religious beliefs over others;
Faith and Freedom Network condemns gay vets working to overturn the ban on lesbian and gay soldiers in the military;
Faith and Freedom Network condemns allowing a Hindu clergyman to deliver the ceremonial opening prayer before the US Senate, quoting well-known fraud David Barton (a fundamentalist historian who has been caught faking source material and then defending the fakery as thematically accurate) as an authority; remember, when dealing with these guys, it's not "is it actually true" that matters, it's "does it support our position";
Faith and Freedom Network is one of the many groups repeating the "GAY ACTIVISTS TRY TO STOP TV NEWS STORY" line - the completely discredited story promoted on Bill O'Reilly's Fox TV show claiming that dozens to hundreds of lesbian gangs were gang-raping straight girls to turn them gay in schools across the country. This story was complete bullshit - but FFN is promoting as true, just as was Focus on the Family and LifeSite and all that, and condemning GLAAD and other GBLT groups for protesting the completely fictional story as news. FFN's repeat of the story is vaguely interesting as there's an extensive rebuttal first up in the comments which hasn't been deleted. However, the True Believers are supporting Gary, of course;
Faith and Freedom Network condemns makeup of American Psychological Association panel reviewing APA guidelines for treating GBLT people, because it has gay people on it. Also, who is PFLAG (Parents and Friends of Lesbians And Gays) according to FFN? They're "the folks who actively recruit young children under the guise of sex education";
Concerned Women for America's Matt Barber condemns Holsinger's distancing of himself from his previous statements; he (and CWA) wants a surgeon general who will condemn GBLT people, and to proclaim that queers are "demonstrably unnatural and unhealthy";
Concerned Women for America's Matt Barber condemns Democratic presidential candidates for showing up at the Human Rights Campaign's debate, condemns "the radical homosexual agenda," the "high-risk and destructive homosexual lifestyle," claims that "the CDC has determined that homosexuals — especially males — are by far at greatest risk for nearly all forms of sexually transmitted disease as well as other lifestyle related injuries" ("especially males" is clever excerpting there as lesbians are known for lower-than-average STD rates, but hey, what's a little reality got to do with "diseased fags" propaganda) and! and! invokes NAMBLA as a parallel. "Are presidential candidates going to be asked to participate in a debate on how to garner widespread acceptance of adultery or incest? Are members of the growing polygamy lobby and the pedophile group NAMBLA going to tap candidates for a televised debate to promote their chosen lifestyles?" What a dickweed.
( Articles and excerpts below )
Fred Thompson lurches - harder - to the social right, trying to pick up theocon rank-and-file support;
NSA blamed two defector's traitorous activities on behalf of the USSR on their homosexuality - but oh look, turns out? Straight. And the NSA knew it;
I heard that the disturbing Nebraska judge declared a second mistrial in rape case after the woman who says she was raped used the word "rape" in testimony; here's Salon's article, on the whole thing;
Focus on the Family sends out a special Editor's Note with Friday's Focus on the Family political news update: an explanation that James Dobson still hates Harry Potter as much as any upright fundamentalist should, particularly for its "magical characters" such as "witches, wizards, ghosts, goblins, werewolfs, poltergeists, and so on," condemning "the trend towards witchcraft and New Age ideology";
Focus on the Family opposes any Israel "promise to give up land;" it's not clear whether they oppose any two-state solution or not; the reasons, of course, are "biblical";
Focus on the Family condemns Obama, Edwards for pledging to support legal abortion;
FotF applauds House of Representatives vote supporting amendment to ban Federal funds from being spent on "mandatory" HPV (cervical cancer) vaccination; given that they were calling the non-mandatory listing of the vaccine with standard school vaccination lists "mandatory" - this was a lie - I wonder what got passed here, as well;
Focus on the Family promotes "Revival Fires Ministries," which sends Bibles sent to US soldiers stationed in the middle east;
Focus on the Family sells their talking points against GBLT marriage rights for $15 a pop;
FotF condemns National Education Association for support of GBLT rights and also adding "sexual orientation" to Federal hate crimes law; Focus on the Family, as is standard, calls it "creation of a thought crime," ignoring that motive has always been a key part of law, period, end of story, and calls the bill an attempt "to muzzle people of faith who dare to express their moral and biblical concerns about homosexuality";
Focus on the Family reports a Zogby poll stating that 97% of US adults say "professor bias" is a problem; support for the statement is wildly political, with 91% of conservatives calling the problem "serious" vs. 3% of liberals. FotF supports state "legislation that would protect students from professors who have conflicting opinions." This is another permutation of wanting to avoid even being presented with conflicting data - c.f. the recent case of a fundamentalist suing the state of Massachusetts for asking about same-sex marriage in Massachusetts on their state bar exam; he demands the right not to be asked the question because the law conflicts with his religious beliefs. Zogby, interestingly, links to the Focus on the Family story;
FotF continues the Bush judicial nominee drumbeat;
FotF continues the Bush judicial nominee drumbeat, part II;
FotF condemns Democratic presidential candidates for attending the Human Rights Campaign's debate, declaring "Democratic Presidential Candidates Pander to Homosexual Lobby," asserts that there should be no such debate and that no one should attend it;
FotF supports both attempts to pass marriage bans via initiative in California, supports both, but links only to the one they like better; they quote their sockpuppet California Family Council, which is their state affiliate - they describe it as "associated" with Focus;
FotF news story against U. Florida having Dr. Jack Kevorkian speak on campus; "Bobby Schindler, brother of the late Terri Schiavo" is organising protests. You should remember Terri Schiavo and the brutal - and crazy - battle that Congress got into a couple of years ago. She's held up as a totem/martyr by the fundamentalist movement as "a handicapped woman starved to death";
FotF condemns one school's rejection of "ex-gay" bullshit, declaring that "'tolerance' equals censorship"; Focus on the Family condemns tolerance of queers again, of course; the anti-gay Alliance Defense Fund is getting involved.
Focus on the Family ACTION ITEM to support amendment by Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN) to bar all Federal funds from going to Planned Parenthood in any capacity;
Focus on the Family promotes "Modesty Movement" and "Pure Fashion," which has as its motto, "from the shoulder to the knees, nobody touches, nobody sees." I can't wait to see their swimwear - or their new line of burkas; oh, and by the way, women not wearing enough clothing causes the decline of cultures;
Focus on the Family promotes the discredited "Gangs of Lesbians Raping Our Children" scare-story aired on a couple of local stations, then inflated by Bill O'Reilly to "hundreds of incidents"; Focus's story quotes liberally (GET IT?) from various versions, condemns GBLT groups for opposing the story. "They don't want this type of information to get out... because then they know people's eyes will be opened, they'll begin to see this whole situation for what it is really is," which, pulling out the barely-contained subtext, is the old newtype blood libel of queers raping your children for their devient sexual desires;
FotF condemns Oregon court for ruling that both lesbian partners have parental status of their child; also promotes attempt to repeal Oregon DP law by "Defense of Marriage and Family," DMF appears to consist of a Republican former state senator, "Restore America," of whom I'm not aware, and the chair of the Constitution Party of Oregon, which has moved sharply to the theocratic over the last several years;
FotF credits anti-abortion laws for lowering abortion rates in Alabama, is very happy about that;
FotF condemns Amnesty International for wanting "to be free of fear, threat and coercion as they manage all consequences of rape and other grave human rights violations," which they declare to be a statement in support of abortion, despite AI's position that it does not "promote abortion as a universal right and Amnesty International remains silent on the rights and wrongs of abortion," saying that if you're doing the former, you're endorsing abortion;
FotF promotes David Limbaugh's book, Persecution: How Liberals are Waging War Against Christians, condemns tolerance, describes the separation of church and state as "mythical" - not just a bad idea, but outright mythical - and urges people to fight for the "true religious freedom" of, presumably, official government support of their religious beliefs over others;
Faith and Freedom Network condemns gay vets working to overturn the ban on lesbian and gay soldiers in the military;
Faith and Freedom Network condemns allowing a Hindu clergyman to deliver the ceremonial opening prayer before the US Senate, quoting well-known fraud David Barton (a fundamentalist historian who has been caught faking source material and then defending the fakery as thematically accurate) as an authority; remember, when dealing with these guys, it's not "is it actually true" that matters, it's "does it support our position";
Faith and Freedom Network is one of the many groups repeating the "GAY ACTIVISTS TRY TO STOP TV NEWS STORY" line - the completely discredited story promoted on Bill O'Reilly's Fox TV show claiming that dozens to hundreds of lesbian gangs were gang-raping straight girls to turn them gay in schools across the country. This story was complete bullshit - but FFN is promoting as true, just as was Focus on the Family and LifeSite and all that, and condemning GLAAD and other GBLT groups for protesting the completely fictional story as news. FFN's repeat of the story is vaguely interesting as there's an extensive rebuttal first up in the comments which hasn't been deleted. However, the True Believers are supporting Gary, of course;
Faith and Freedom Network condemns makeup of American Psychological Association panel reviewing APA guidelines for treating GBLT people, because it has gay people on it. Also, who is PFLAG (Parents and Friends of Lesbians And Gays) according to FFN? They're "the folks who actively recruit young children under the guise of sex education";
Concerned Women for America's Matt Barber condemns Holsinger's distancing of himself from his previous statements; he (and CWA) wants a surgeon general who will condemn GBLT people, and to proclaim that queers are "demonstrably unnatural and unhealthy";
Concerned Women for America's Matt Barber condemns Democratic presidential candidates for showing up at the Human Rights Campaign's debate, condemns "the radical homosexual agenda," the "high-risk and destructive homosexual lifestyle," claims that "the CDC has determined that homosexuals — especially males — are by far at greatest risk for nearly all forms of sexually transmitted disease as well as other lifestyle related injuries" ("especially males" is clever excerpting there as lesbians are known for lower-than-average STD rates, but hey, what's a little reality got to do with "diseased fags" propaganda) and! and! invokes NAMBLA as a parallel. "Are presidential candidates going to be asked to participate in a debate on how to garner widespread acceptance of adultery or incest? Are members of the growing polygamy lobby and the pedophile group NAMBLA going to tap candidates for a televised debate to promote their chosen lifestyles?" What a dickweed.
( Articles and excerpts below )
