On the Facebook support group for “ex-gay” poster mom Lisa Miller, several people — including the group’s creator — are praying for the success of Miller’s ongoing contempt-of-court and the apparent kidnapping of her daughter, just days before Miller was due to turn over the seven-year-old Isabella to ex-partner Janet Jenkins.
Ex-gay activist Debbie Thurman, creator of the support group, today cheered the disappearance of Miller sometime earlier this month. Thurman’s blog called this apparent kidnapping an example of “true motherhood”:
So, the blogosphere and the mainstream media are now abuzz with the news that — gasp! — Lisa and Isabella Miller are nowhere to be found, just days before the court-mandated transfer of custody of 7-year-old Isabella to Janet Jenkins. Ya reckon?
Were I in Lisa’ shoes, I could only hope to have the faith and courage she has displayed for the past six years. …
Lisa obeyed God in seeking to raise Isabella in the Christian faith. Isabella learned Scripture, apologetics and the art of prayer at her mother’ knee and in church, to the extent that she found her Christian school Bible classes boring and “childish.” This is an intelligent, precocious 7-year-old, who knows her mind and can speak it. She would have given Janet Jenkins nightmares had she consented to live under the same roof.
I cannot answer the burning question on everyone’ lips: Where are Lisa and Isabella? Somewhere safe, I pray. How and when did they get there? Only God knows. ..
What happens now? A lot of frustration, recrimination and more lies on one side and a collective sigh of relief on the other. The courts still have a huge task set before them, meanwhile. Lisa and Isabella represent only one of many similar cases waiting to be resolved. We need precedents that honor the prevailing states’ rights, laws and constitutions. The majority of Americans overwhelmingly support traditional marriage. If the tyrannical minority wants to push against that, it can and will be met with civil disobedience. There is no other way.
Lisa Miller is a mother who would give up her life to save her child. Of that there is no doubt. She apparently has chosen to forfeit a large measure of her liberty, personal property and pursuit of happiness in assuring that child her God-ordained future, much as a group of patriots pledged their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor more than two centuries ago to establish this nation.
I say God bless and long live Lisa and Isabella Miller. All who have known them are the better for it.
Thurman’s statement seems to confirm allegations that Miller is being used by Thurman and Christian Rightists at the Liberty Counsel as a test case for their Manhattan Declaration, which is a vow to violate any law that fundamentalists happen to disagree with.
Thurman’s statement and those of many others on the Facebook group are saturated with the false piety of people who believe themselves to be unaccountable to any law and answerable only to self-serving reinterpretations of the Bible.
Drew Taggart prays “that people ‘along the way’ are brave enough and smart enough to render the necessary assistance to Lisa and Isabella so this girl can be raised in a healthy environment. I just hope Lisa did her homework and did this disappearing act properly.”
In a subsequent defense of this statement, Taggart says:
I doubt she’ll ever see a day of jail. Once word of this gets out, millions of people are going to be outraged. And there are plenty of local and a few state law enforcement agencies around the country, who will not waste a minute trying to find her. William Cohen is a leftwing hack and this ruling is a joke. Without the support of law enforcement, especially wherever Lisa opts to call her new home, this ruling is going nowhere.
Several other deluded supporters “pray” that the state of Virginia is given a fundamentalist special right to ignore the family-law jurisdiction of other states and to harbor kidnappers and their children.
Then you have officially become a parody of yourself. And if you have no idea why that’s funny, then I can’t help you. Seriously, I couldn’t even read the piece, because I was laughing too hard. I think it’s something about how so many GOP politicians are oh-so-gay, yet oh-so-closeted. Peter doesn’t like that, but he somehow (inexplicably) fails to understand how the very knuckle-dragging worldview he props up contributes to the existence of said politicians who are “pro-family” in public, yet are gay gay gay gay gay in private.
Oh, also, Peter, the “gay” “closet,” as you “call” “it” in your “piece,” is “enabled” by people like “you,” who encourage people to “lie” to themselves about who “they” “are.”
Two Argentine men were joined Monday in Latin America’s first same-sex marriage, traveling to the southernmost tip of the Americas to find a welcoming spot to wed. Argentina’s Constitution is silent on whether marriage must be between a man and a woman, effectively leaving the matter to provincial officials.
The ceremony upset the Roman Catholic Church, which had to take a break from its pedophile priest scandal to condemn the love of this happy gay couple.
“The decision took me by surprise and I’m concerned,” Bishop Juan Carlos, of the southern city Rio Gallegos, told an Argentine news agency. He called the marriage “an attack against the survival of the human species.”
I just checked my newspaper and took a walk around the block. Apparently, the human species is still alive and well. I don’t suppose, given the facts, that Gallegos will issue a “correction” for his embarrassingly idiotic statement. In my view, the church is inviting violence against this couple by claiming they will essentially destroy the world.
Same-sex civil unions have been legalized in Uruguay, Buenos Aires, Mexico City and some states in Mexico and Brazil, but marriage generally carries more exclusive rights such as adopting children, inheriting wealth and enabling a partner to gain citizenship.
Only seven countries allow gay marriages: Canada, Spain, South Africa, Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands and Belgium. U.S. states that permit same-sex marriage are Iowa, Massachusetts, Vermont, Connecticut and New Hampshire.
Earlier this month, lawmakers voted to make Mexico City the first in Latin America to legalize same-sex marriage. Leftist Mayor Marcelo Ebrard was widely expected to sign the measure into law.
Well, it appears the United States continues to fall behind other civilized nations as our Religious Right continues to drag this country down in its quest to take us back to the Dark Ages.
Ron Buckmire has created a list of the 10 most significant GLBT events of the decade. Somehow, he left off me getting my cat, Critter, but I can forgive him.
I put the sodomy ruling at number 1. These laws, in my view, were ticking time bombs, sitting quietly on the books in wait for a fundamentalist tyrant who would enforce them with zeal. Having these archaic laws overturned was a massive victory for the GLBT community and officially made it so we are not outlaws.
Number 2, was Massachusetts legalizing same-sex marriage – which made the concept tangible and definitively showed that the sky would not fall, as anti-gay activists had predicted.
We’d love to know your thoughts on the top 10? Here’s is Ron’s list:
10. The Vermont legislature enacts nation’s first civil unions law, signed by Governor Howard Dean, in response to the Vermont Supreme Court’s Baker v. Vermont ruling, 2000.
9. California legislature passes Assemblymember Jackie Goldberg’s AB 205, the first comprehensive domestic partner statute granting almost all the rights and responsibilities of marriage in state law (signed by Governor Gray Davis, went into effect January 1, 2005), 2003.
8.Democrats retake congressional majorities in both the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate, 2006.
7. Voters pass ballot measures amending 11 state constitutions to ban recognition and validation of same sex marriages while re-electing President Bush, 2004.
6. U.S. House of Representatives passes Employment Non-Discrimination Act prohibiting discrimination in employment based on sexual orientation nationwide after gender identity protections are dropped, 2007.
5. Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court rules marriage for same-sex couples is a fundamental right that can not be constitutionally denied, 2003.
4. United States Supreme Court overturns the homophobic Bowers v. Hardwick (1986) precedent, ruling that sodomy laws are unconstitutional, in Lawrence v. Texas, strengthening privacy rights for all Americans, 2003.
3.Proposition 8 is passed by California voters, stripping the recently-granted right to marry after an $83 million electoral campaign filled with lies and deception, 2008.
2. President Barack Obama signs the federal hate crimes bill, the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr Hate Crimes Prevention Act, into law, 2009.
1. George W. Bush is (s)elected president after U.S. Supreme Court intervention in Florida recount results in defeat of Vice-President Al Gore, 2000.
TWO’s Mike Airhart has written about the drama involving the unscrupulous “ex-lesbian” Lisa Miller who broke up with partner Janet Jenkins after becoming born again.
In a fit of holier-than-thou zeal, Miller went on the lam and absconded from Vermont with the child the couple were raising together after having a Civil Union. (Nothing like teaching a child the family values of honesty, integrity, honoring commitments, law and order and respect for others)
As a result of Miller’s poor parenting and criminal behavior (she was cited for contempt of court), a Vermont court transferred custody to Jenkins (after a five year legal ordeal that will surely leave emotional scars for their child Isabella) and refused a motion to delay transfer, as requested by Miller’s law team.
People for the American Way’s Right Wing Watch reports today that the location of Miller and 7-year-old Isabella Miller are presently “unknown”. This is highly problematic because the court order takes effect on New Year’s Day.
Right Wing Watch reports:
The whereabouts of Miller couldn’t be determined on Monday. Jenkins’ attorney, Middlebury lawyer Sarah Star, said she didn’t know where Miller was, but hoped she was still at her home in Virginia and was simply not communicating with her attorneys.
Let us hope this is the case. If Miller continues to flout the law and make a mockery of the system and her parental responsibility, there should be a heavy price to pay. No one is above the law and even fundamentalist fugitives who obstruct and abuse the rules have to suffer the consequences.
If Miller can’t obey the law, than this case should be transferred into the hands of law enforcement officials. Perhaps, some time in the clink will clear Miller’s mind and let her reflect on the miserable morals she has taught her daughter, while she has been dodging her responsibility as a parent and decent human being.
Late on Wednesday, the Supreme Court in Pakistan ordered that the government officially recognize a separate gender for Pakistan’s hijra community, which includes transgendered people, transvestites, and eunuchs. The court told the federal government to begin allowing people to identify as hijras when registering for a national identity card.
Such cards are necessary for everything from voting to more informal situations; patrons must present the card at cybercafes before surfing the Internet, for example. Not having an identity card, or having one with incorrect information, leaves a person vulnerable and easily excluded from society.
(…)
In addition to the order for government recognition, Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry also issued a warning that the hijras’ rights of inheritance, which are often informally ignored, would be enforced, and that police harassment would not be permitted, a sign, perhaps, of rulings to come.
The article also points out that India has recently made similar provisions.
It’s unclear whether this is a giant leap forward for the recognition of Pakistanis who don’t fit neatly into the binary gender construct, especially since, as Charli Carpenter points out, women still face such institutional discrimation in Pakistan. My instinct is that it’s a definite step, since in so many societies (including, ahem, American society), transgender people still have to fight tooth and nail to be recognized as a legitimate minority worthy of protection.
Of course, the situation can be turned around and viewed quite differently. Ever reliable for spot-on snark, curv3ball at The Poor Man Institute assesses the situation as such: “Pakistan has suffered a costly setback in the My-Taliban-Is-More-Retrograde-Than-Your-Taliban Olympics.”
“As a Christian organization, Focus on the Family Action encourages pro-family policies. As such, we respect the desire of the Ugandan people to shield their nation from the promotion of homosexuality as morally equivalent to one-man, one-woman marriage. That said, the purpose of laws is to make societies safer, and there is legitimate concern that the legislation being debated in Uganda will incite violence against homosexuals. That is morally unacceptable, as is enacting the death penalty for homosexuals, which some versions of this bill are reported to require.”
In a dramatic move, University of Florida’s legendary football coach, Urban Meyer, abruptly quit the sport on Christmas Day. His decision came after a hospitalization for chest pains and a realization that he had nearly worked himself to death building a championship team. Meyer’s prodigious work habits included neglecting his family and e-mailing recruits in church.
“I’m a person of faith and I wanted to make sure I had my priorities straight,” said Meyer. “A lot of times, coaches do not have their priorities straight. You put business before God and family, you have a problem.”
Of course, this is wishful thinking. If Meyer had actually prioritized God and family before the pigskin, he’d make a fine deacon and a great father…..and a mediocre Division II coach. Those who reach the pinnacle in sports have a rare combination of natural gifts and an obsessive need to win. For example, the two most successful basketball players in my lifetime are Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant – both of whom are pathological competitors. Their need to win likely crosses over into a disorder – but that is what it takes to be a champion.
For all his talk about God, it was the text messages and e-mails from the pews that catapulted the coach into sainthood in Gainesville. The choice was to worship on Sunday or be worshiped by adoring fans each Saturday – and Meyer chose the latter. This is not a criticism, just a reality check on Meyer’s message that he could have reversed his priorities and still had the same successful career. I doubt he could have.
When Meyer announced his retirement, his 18-year old daughter hugged him and said, “I get my daddy back.” The coach said that he was retiring because God had told him to quit and his daughter’s reaction was confirmation of this divine intervention.
Two days later, following an afternoon on the practice field, Meyer changed his mind and switched his retirement status to a “leave of absence.” He expects to coach next fall.
So, did Meyer misinterpret God, confuse God’s voice with his own desires or is the coach defying His will by returning to the sideline?
In sports, it seems, God is always on the winning side, ready to snatch victory from the presumably heathen team, and deliver the game to the good guys. However, the notion is quite offensive and in some ways ruins the game. Why even watch, after all, if the sport is fixed and a victory is already preordained by God?
In any case, I think that athletes and coaches should get back to scoring touchdowns or drawing up plays on chalkboards. The whole “catch a ball for God” routine is getting quite stale. Just once I’d like to see an athlete say, “I dropped the ball because Jesus doesn’t like me.”
Why not? Does He not get the credit for touchdowns, with an increasing number of spoiled, solipsistic athletes pointing towards the heavens after each score?
It is also outrageous to think that God gives a damn about football when children are starving and wars are raging. On my block in New York City, there are about a half-dozen hobos who are exposed to the harshness of winter. I’d like to think that a just deity would end such injustice before traipsing off each Sunday to the New York Giants game.
For selfish reasons, as a University of Florida alumnus, I am glad Meyer is returning. I like to win and gator chomp and it makes me feel good to marinade in victory. It was exhilarating to crush Cincinnati 51-24 in the Sugar Bowl.
But can we finally keep God off the goal line and have a separation of sports and Scripture? Can former Gator quarterback, Tim Tebow, an incredible athlete and a seemingly decent person, complete one sentence without mentioning Jesus and turning it into a prayer?
The fact that an athlete is gifted, does not mean he is God’ gift to the universe. Fundamentalist athletes and coaches alike aren’t special and should stop acting like Moses, just because they get to appear on ESPN’ Sports Center.
Although, after watching Tebow pass for a career-high 482 yards and three touchdowns while rushing for 51 yards against Cincinnati, I wouldn’t rule out that he could part the Red Sea.
In a harsh rebuke of the increasingly extreme United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, a major Catholic health group backed the Senate’s health-care compromise on abortion. The Catholic Health Association said that the most important thing that Congress could do was pass a bill that would cover the nation’s uninsured.
Needless to say, the uncompromising, obstinate Bishops proclaimed the compromise “morally unacceptable.
I suppose the Bishops believe that leaving people uninsured to die in the cold in order to use health reform as a platform for abortion politics is the moral and ethical route.
The current crop of conservative Bishops appear hardhearted and clueless to the concerns of real people who desperately need help. They seem to believe that priestly polemics will solve the health care problem in this country.
“The Catholic Health Association does not represent the teaching of the Catholic Church on the non-negotiable defense of innocent life,” the conservative Catholic activist Deal Hudson said in a statement, calling the association’ move “utterly offensive.”
The difference between The Catholic Health Association and ideologues like Hudson, is that the hospitals actually deal with uninsured sick people. Well, Hudson and his ilk also deal with sick people – but in their case, a good shrink and medication is all that is needed.
Good for the Catholic Health Association for standing up to the extremists in the Catholic Church and the Republican Party.
In other Catholic News:
The Associated Press reports that two more Roman Catholic bishops in Ireland have resigned in the wake of a damning investigation into decades of church cover-up of child abuse in the Dublin Archdiocese.
The bishops, Eamonn Walsh and Ray Field, offered an apology to child-abuse victims as they announced their resignations during Christmas Mass on Friday. Priests read the statement to worshipers throughout the archdiocese, home to a quarter of Ireland’ 4 million Catholics.
In his Christmas sermon, Archbishop Martin said the church for too long had placed its self-interest above the rights of its parishioners, particularly innocent children. “It has been a painful year,” he told worshipers. “But the church today may well be a better and safer place than was the church of 25 years ago ‚Äî when all looked well, but where deep shadows were kept buried.”
Of course, we know this is nonsense. Until the Catholic Church does the following, there will be abuse:
1) Allow openly gay, sexually active priests. Doing so will attract psycho-sexually healthy gay men who will not use the priesthood to hide their sexuality – and in many cases use their power to take advantage of the young and vulnerable. Out gay priests will look for age-appropriate partners.
2) Allow women into the priesthood. This would immediately break up the good old closet boys network.
3) Allow married heterosexual priests. Just as it is imperative to attract sexually mature gay people, it is just as key to attract sexually healthy heterosexuals. Having a team of immature, pent-up priests is a recipe for disaster.
Until these rule changes are made, the Vatican is just spinning us.
Thanks to amazing The Cross Eyed Iguanas for this witty little ditty about Porno Pete LaBarbera. I think they did a pretty darn good job capturing the essence of this bizarre, sexually stunted man. For the unacquainted, Porno Pete is an anti-gay activist who goes “undercover” to gay sex clubs and leather conferences to expose alleged naughtiness.
What people find odd is that he goes to the same exact events year-after-year, as if he will find something new. But, as far as I can tell, leather looks the same in 2009 as it did in 1999. So, why does this man keep returning to the same venues? I suppose it is possible that he may find it titillating, on some level. Revealingly, he never goes to heterosexual events that have a similar level of debauchery. Indeed, one rarely finds him pictured with the opposite sex and, for some unexplained reason, it appears he is exclusively fixated on the homosexual arena.
