One of Jim Inhofe’s constituents wrote him concerning the draconian “Kill the Gays” legislation in Uganda, and got the following reply:

Thank you for contacting me regarding anti-homosexual legislation being considered in Uganda. As your voice in Washington, D.C., I appreciate you taking the time to share your views with me.

As you know, the Ugandan Parliament is currently considering legislation that would impose strict penalties for homosexual acts. The Anti-Homosexuality Act of 2009 would require severe prison sentences for someone caught in a homosexual act and for helping or counseling another person engage in a homosexuality. Additionally this legislation would allow for the death penalty if someone is convicted of having sex with a minor or disabled person, if the offender is HIV-positive, and for “serial” offenders.

I was shocked to learn that this legislation was being considered in Uganda. I do not, nor have I ever, supported or condoned this legislation. It is my hope that Uganda will abandon this unjust and extraordinarily harsh legislation.

I have worked closely with Ugandan President Museveni on many important issues. In fact, I have made over 100 visits to the African continent and have met with and built relationships with people from all walks of life. During my time on the continent, I witnessed first-hand the significant and strategic place in the world that Africa holds. It is the world’ second-largest and second most-populous continent, comprised of 53 nations and over 900 million people. Africa has largely been ignored and neglected by the rest of the world — initially seen as the impenetrable “Dark Continent,” then colonized and exploited, and then neglected. However, I believe there is much hope for the future of African countries and better days are ahead.

Please do not hesitate to contact me again regarding issues that are important to you.

Interesting. The constituent notes that there were some formatting inconsistencies in the third paragraph, which leads him to suspect that there might be several versions of the paragraph, depending on the nature of the constituent’s concerns. There’s no proof for that, but it’s a realistic possibility. The constituent also adds:

I don’t really have much editorializing to do, but frankly for someone who is “shocked” and who hopes for the abandonment of such “unjust and extraordinarily harsh legislation” it seems odd that he, who has “worked closely with Ugandan President Museveni on many important issues”, has decided not to work with him on this one.

It would also be nice if he would make more public his “shock”, but even that might be too much to wish for from the man who practically (if not literally) invented the “God, Gays, and Guns” platform.

Well said. That seems to be the pattern, though, with conservative Christian legislators, when they’re called on this. They express shock, shock, utter shock and say that the legislation is awful (so awful), but then make no discernible moves to do anything about it. They just don’t want to look like complete ghouls in the public eye.

(h/t Jeff Sharlet)

Emphasis on the “claims to…”

CitizenLink reports that a new study in the Journal of Marriage and Family has found that not only are same-sex parents just as fit as heterosexual parents, and not only that, but sometimes lesbian couples even outperform straight parents. (The data has backed this up for a while, actually.)

The headline for their piece is “Experts Debunk Study Claiming Two Moms Better Than Mom And Dad.” Notably missing in the piece, however, are any experts doing any actual debunking. There is simply a baseless assertion from Glenn Stanton:

“They’re just completely overreaching their hand,” he said. “Are we to think that nature has really sent each one of us down a second-rate road of having to be raised by a man and a woman?”

(…)

“The research is very, very clear and it backs up what God has put into process,” Stanton said, “that a man and a woman are the best people to raise that child to healthy adulthood.”

Stanton says the findings appear to reveal an agenda on the part of the researchers and not scientific conclusions.

Right, Glenn. Whatever. Perhaps in the fundamentalist Christian world that passes for an “expert opinion.” As we’ve seen in the Prop 8 trial, when anti-gay “experts” are put under oath, the results are nothing short of hilarious. But note that Glenn doesn’t link to any research, doesn’t cite any studies, or anything. In short, he lazily throws out some meaningless fundamentalist catchphrases and anti-scientific BS and assumes that (maybe because he believes it himself) he’s won the argument. Maybe that flies with the average Focus on the Family wingnut, but in the real, grown-up scientific world?

Sadly, no.

Play again next time, Glenn.

UPDATE: It seems Glenn has issued a (slightly) more detailed response to this study. As it is late, I will not be dealing with it tonight, but I’ll stomp it into the ground sometime tomorrow, I promise.

UPDATE: There seems to be some degree of misunderstanding on what’s going on here. See the comments below for more discussion, specifically from the representative himself. The bill seems to already be on the law books, and thus needs to be removed, even if it’s not enforced, as it very obviously violates religious freedom as guaranteed in the United States Constitution. My example, below, of a legislator trying to suddenly ban communion rites in a church stands as an obvious parallel to this law that exists on Oklahoma’s books. As Louise pointed out, there are already clergy all over the nation who perform same-sex weddings, regardless of whatever civil marriage is recognized in their jurisdiction. Representative Nelson explains that this is a “shell bill,” which contains an amendment to the text (reflected in the quote below), which would change the reading from “imprisonment in the State Penitentiary” to “custody of the Department of Corrections.” The Representative states that this is not a bill that he plans to advance in this session, but that he has filed as a shell bill, just in case he decides to advance other legislation related to marriage. So, it’s good news (?) that this is not new, but it’s grotesque that it exists. It’s a simple fact that in many Christian denominations, a large percentage of Jewish congregations, and several other religious entities, that they include same-sex couples in their sacrament of marriage. So my question to the representative is this: Do you support repeal of this provision, however unenforced it may be, and why or why not?

_____

Yes, as opposed to simply banning state recognition of same-sex marriage, Rep. Jason Nelson, a fresh faced knuckle dragger wearing an ill-fitting knit shirt, has put forth a bill that would criminalize performing same-sex weddings:

Rep. Jason Nelson of Oklahoma City has introduced HB 3408 “An act relating to marriage.” It would make it a felony for a minister of the Gospel to solemnize a marriage not recognized by the state of Oklahoma.

Here’s the text of the bill:

Any minister of the Gospel, or other person authorized to solemnize the rites of matrimony within this state, who shall knowingly solemnize the rites of matrimony between persons prohibited by this chapter, from intermarrying shall be deemed guilty of a felony, and upon conviction thereof shall be fined in any sum not exceeding Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) and imprisonment in the State Penitentiary custody of the Department of Corrections for not less than one (1) year nor more than five (5) years.

Jason. Hi, Jason! This is Evan. I need to explain something to you. The separation of church and state? It goes both ways. You, wingnut, have proposed a bill that would legislate, from the secular government, what rites and sacraments a church may or may not administer.

Let me provide a hypothetical counter-example that might illustrate how utterly stupid and unconstitutional your idea current Oklahoma state law really is:

Hi, Jason. Now I’m your representative! I have just put forth a bill in the Oklahoma legislature that states that your church may not perform the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper. Why? I don’t know, I just don’t like it very much! I think it’s weird! And Jesus was 100% human, and we outlawed cannibalism in Oklahoma at least five years ago.

Now, Jason, how would you like that particular bushel of apples? I have a sneaking suspicion that you might have a problem with it.

How many times do we have to explain that the government does not recognize your religious marriage in the first place?* They recognize your signed marriage certificate. Therefore! It’s absolutely irrelevant whether or not the state allows or disallows state-sanctioned civil marriage for same-sex couples! The church may offer the sacrament to whomever it will. I mean, give me a break! I know of certain Episcopal churches that have special days when they bless peoples’ various ponies and kittens for them. Because inside the church walls, they can do whatever the hell they want, as long as it doesn’t hurt anybody. That’s called religious freedom!

Clear now? If you need pictures or something like that, maybe a pop-up book, you just let me know.

(h/t Louise at the Blend)

*Yes, there are common law exceptions, but that’s way beside the point.

What happens when your child stumbles across the term “oral sex” at school? No, it wasn’t a Catholic school, and it wasn’t an extra credit assignment.* A child in Menifee, California, found the term in the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary, and the child’s mother has requested that the book (again: the dictionary) be banned from the school. Worse? The Menifee Union School District pulled the dictionaries, not just from that school, but from the entire school district! From Judy Molland:

District officials said on Friday that they are forming a committee to consider a permanent classroom ban of the Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary. District spokeswoman Betti Cadmus said that school officials will review the dictionary to decide if it should be permanently banned because of the “sexually graphic” entry. “It’s hard to sit and read the dictionary, but we’ll be looking to find other things of a graphic nature,” Cadmus said. (Isn’t that just what those fourth and fifth graders like to do?!)

Apparently some parents and free-speech advocates believe that district officials are overreacting. No kidding! Let’s put this in perspective: every year, public schools across the country receive hundreds of requests from parents, public officials and activists to remove books they consider inappropriate. Between 1990 and 2008, the American Library Association logged more than 9,600 requests to take books away from library shelves, summer reading lists and school classrooms. Most of these challenged books remain on the shelves.

I do not know where to start here, so I’m just going to go with a numbered list, and hopefully I’ll rant everything out of my system.

1. A parent requested a ban on…the dictionary?

2. The dictionary?!?!

3. *This is my head hitting the desk*

4. It’s one thing to ask for literature to be banned because parents find it objectionable. It’s ridiculous, and it’s the antithesis of creating a climate conducive to real education, but the dictionary?!?!

5. Like, for instance, the braintrust at PFOX are all about banning some books, and working to get “alternate viewpoints” on homosexuality into libraries. They usually fail miserably at this task, because libraries are about education. As soon as they come up with a credible argument, libraries will become a bit more receptive to their foolishness.

6. Raise your hand if you, as a child, never flipped through a dictionary looking for dirty stuff. It’s sort of a part of childhood, from what I can tell. Usually, by age 13 or so, you’ve processed the knowledge that even grown-up stuff is in the dictionary, and you’ve pretty much gotten over it.

7. What kind of a dishonest, anti-education message does this send to those kids? Not only that the parent requested it, but that the school district complied! This is a moment where the school district should have politely informed the sub-literate mother that dictionaries are part of learning, and that if she doesn’t like it, she’s free to home-school her little darling. (Why? Because, from my experience, even Evangelical-run Christian schools have the frickin’ Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary! We may disagree on a lot of things, but Americans across the board tend to agree that when you need to know what a word means, how to say it, or how to spell it, you look it up in the dictionary. So, yeah, if Mommy doesn’t like it, she can take the poor dear out and teach it whatever kind of intelligunt desine form of spelling she wants.)

Horrifying. Absolutely horrifying.

As P.Z. Myers points out, this is all part of a larger trend, as Texas (the second largest textbook purchaser in the nation) is currently banning books right and left and trying its damnedest to remove actual history from the books and replace it with a made-up fantasy narrative — e.g. Take out all the business about Martin Luther King, Jr., and replace it with Rush Limbaugh! Uh huh. One of P.Z.’s commenters raises a very interesting point about the very nature of the American Right’s crusade to ban knowledge:

Knowledge is offensive to people like this, I notice. It’s only particular knowledge, however: when was the last time you heard about someone protesting dictionaries because they contained entries like genocide, torture, rape, famine, war, and faith-based initiatives?

Why, of course not! Republican gun-toting Jesus loves all of those things!

I am truly worried for the future of this country, because there is a subset of the population that is absolutely hellbent on raising a new generation of sycophantic morons.

*Ha ha! I kid the Catholics.

That’s my takeaway from her piece about the Massachusetts election. Every wingnut has an opinion on this, and they’re equally unformed, yet each is strikingly unique! Matt Barber, despite all polling evidence to the contrary, found it to be a rebuke of Obama’s healthcare reform plan, despite the fact that Massachusetts already has universal healthcare of a stronger variety than anything being considered in Congress.

Phyllis, though? Well, you see, it was because Martha Coakley is a feminist!

It was not so great when Coakley was disdainful about Brown campaigning in the cold outside Fenway Park, the fabled home of the beloved Boston Red Sox. It was not so great when Coakley dismissed one of the biggest Red Sox stars as a “Yankee fan.”

Those comments fit the profile of feminists who have contempt for men’s sports and therefore have eliminated hundreds of men’s teams from college athletic programs under a misinterpretation of Title IX. Howard University even canceled both wrestling and baseball on the same day, giving double pleasure to the hateful feminists.

Boston University is the largest school in Boston, but it no longer has an NCAA baseball team. Nationwide, feminist opposition to anything masculine has forced the elimination of more than 450 wrestling teams.

Brava, Mother Schlafly! Lady candidate makes a dippy gaffe about sports and Phyllis is able to tie it all back to the mean feminists who want to take the wrestling teams away from our burly manly men! But, Phyllis, how are you going to tie this to abortion?

Coakley insulted people with religious values by declaring that those who oppose abortion probably shouldn’t work in emergency rooms because an occasional patient might demand an immediate abortion. Feminists refuse to allow respect for a right of conscience because that might get in the way of their ideology that abortion is women’s premier right.

Oh, I see. That’s how it’s all about abortion. What does this mean, Phyllis?

It’s no wonder that non-college-educated men voted overwhelmingly for Brown against Coakley by a massive 27-point margin. The Democrats are lucky enough to elect some feminists, but feminists are just too unappealing when running against a masculine man such as Brown.

Faced with a hot guy, Massachusetts’ uneducated straight men go weak in the knees and forget all about the lady running for the seat. Tr?®s int?©ressant! Does Mother Phyllis back any of this up with polling data? Ha ha, of course not. But she still thinks she proved her case!

Commentary about Brown’s appeal to women is diversionary — it was male voters who overwhelmingly pulled the lever for him. Men are fed up with the feminist mindset and delivered a clear message in the Massachusetts election: give us a candidate who stands up to the feminists, and we will cross over from Democrat and independent to elect a Republican.

Gotcha. Men pulled their levers for Scott Brown because they’re fed up with ladies with minds of their own.

How this squares with the fact that Massachusetts repeatedly elected Ted Kennedy, who fought for feminist issues throughout his career, is beyond me, but it’s Phyllis. She doesn’t spend any time doing research on the issues she holds forth on, so why should we spend an inordinate amount of time analyzing Phyllis?

It’s a bit revelatory that wingnuts are finding such diverse reasons for the election of Scott Brown, all reflecting their own biases. Perhaps it’s because Scott Brown is exactly the blank naked slate I think he is.

Time for Peter to weigh in on how the Massachusetts election was a rejection of gays.

(h/t Right Wing Watch)

In a Wall Street Journal op-ed, Richard Socarides makes some excellent points about ending the military’s disastrous Don’t Ask/Don’t Tell policy. Socarides was special assistant to President Bill Clinton and senior White House adviser on LGBT equality from 1997-1999. Of special interest to our readers, he is also the son of NARTH co-founder Charles Socarides.

Occasionally, I run into Richard around the neighborhood – like at Joe’s Coffee in the morning. He’s a very nice guy, as well as someone who is extremely smart and articulate. We are fortunate to have him fighting on our side.

Here are a few excerpts from his Wall Street Journal commentary:

As a candidate for president, Barack Obama told the country’s leading gay rights group, the Human Rights Campaign, “America is ready to get rid of the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy. All that is required is leadership.” Now he is about to decide whether he will make good on his promise to end what he called a “policy of discrimination.”

….

What is especially troubling, however, is Mr. Obama’s oversensitivity to a dwindling minority of bigots on this issue. Hundreds of military careers have been destroyed on his watch for no valid reason. The country has been deprived of the talents of these service members and has wasted millions of dollars on their training.

….

Gay Americans have been among the president’s most ardent supporters. Their enthusiasm, and that of their families and friends, could be crucial in this year’s elections. The president’s action‚Äîor inaction‚Äîon Don’t Ask Don’t Tell will be noticed.

An increasingly frustrated bloc of gay voters‚Äîangry over marriage setbacks in California, Maine, New Jersey and New York and emboldened by Ted Olson’s and David Boies’s high-profile effort to declare unconstitutional laws that prohibit gay marriage‚Äîare growing impatient for equality. As Mr. Olson said in federal district court in San Francisco recently, discriminatory laws serve only to “label gay and lesbian persons as different, inferior, unequal and disfavored.”

Cute:

MOSCOW ‚Äî The mayor of Moscow, known for his overtly homophobic statements, said Monday that he would never allow a gay pride parade in the city, calling it “Satanic” and saying marchers should be punished.

“A gay parade… cannot be called anything but a Satanic act,” Yury Luzhkov told an education conference, quoted by Interfax news agency. “We haven’t permitted such a parade and we won’t permit it in the future.”

Luzhkov called for gay marchers to be punished. “It’s high time that we stop propagating nonsense discussions about human rights, and bring to bear on them the full force and justice of the law,” he said.

Gay rights campaigner Nikolai Alexeyev reaffirmed that plans for this year’s gay pride parade will go ahead despite the ban.

Good for them. By the way, how’s that whole “catching up to Europe” thing going?

(h/t AMERICAblog Gay)

Yippee!

Matt Barber looks upon the Massachusetts election of Naked McGee and finds vindication! Let’s check out his latest “right hook,” line-by-line:

So much for that whole “hopey-changey” thing; cute while it lasted, but the American people — like Bernie Madoff investors — now realize they’ve been duped. “Change” for the mere sake of change is simply chump change.

The American people wanted a solid quarter and all they got was these pennies.

The seismic political shift that occurred in Massachusetts Tuesday night can’t be overstated.

You’re doing it right now, Bam Bam.

Obama’ Marxist, secular-humanist agenda — shared by Pelosi, Reid and the rest of the elitist, Eurocentric left — just ain’t gonna fly in the good ole’ USA. Not even in liberal Massachusetts.

Yeah, that French Mormon Harry Reid and that crazy secular humanist Catholic mother of six Nancy Pelosi! Elite Europeans, both of them! Also, Obama’s approval rating among voters in the special election is 61%. Details, details…

(I’m a right-wing “redneck,” you say? Well, tough tea party!)

I really wouldn’t know how tough your teabagging is, Matt. I guess we’ll have to ask Peter.

Old Teddy’ baby, of course, was socialized medicine, and Brown’ election may well force both Teddy’ and Obama’ signature issue off the duo’ Faux-topian “bridge to nowhere.” (Let’ call it “Mary Jo’ revenge.”)

Dead people don’t need healthcare reform, you see. And where DID that “bridge to nowhere” phrase come from again? I never can remember.

Those of us who prayed for a miracle to derail this ObamaCare monstrosity — passage of which seemed a foregone conclusion just weeks ago — have witnessed, along with the rest of the world, perhaps the greatest political upset in American history. It’ just that: a miracle. (God really does have a sense of humor, doesn’t he?)

Right hook from the JC, holla!

Many social conservatives (of which I’m one) have complained that the senator-elect is woefully flawed on social issues — particularly abortion. This is true.

Ha ha, God does have a sense of humor! Here, wingnuts! It’s a Republican, but it takes its pants off all the time and supports reproductive rights!

Still, to my pro-life, pro-family compatriots, I offer this: While bleeding to death, one may be left no choice but to apply a tourniquet. A tourniquet is less than ideal. It may even cost a limb; however, it’ also likely to save one’ life. Obama has sliced open America’ wrists with his cutting political agenda. Time is of the essence. By providing Senate Republicans the crucial 41st vote needed to filibuster, Scott Brown supplies the tourniquet.

Wait, who is the tourniquet in this mangled metaphor? And why is Obama slitting our wrists? He doesn’t want to kill us, but he just wants attention? Maybe he just wants to be blood brothers, like Michele Bachmann said.

Consequently, ObamaCare may well wither on the vine. From a practical standpoint, countless innocents may be spared. How? We know that Obama’ preferred Senate plan would require taxpayer funding for abortion on demand.

No it doesn’t, you dingbat. Therefore the next few paragraphs you’re going to type are absolutely meaningless. Two words: Hyde Amendment.

Therefore, it’ no stretch, in my opinion, to conclude that Brown’ election — should ObamaCare go down as expected — may have saved untold thousands, if not millions, of lives.

It’s no stretch when you’re lying! So true, so true.

I and others will not rest until he, and all who have been so deceived by the euphemistic language of “choice” and “reproductive freedom,” likewise recognize that all persons — whether born or pre-born — share an “inalienable right to life” that in every instance trumps another’ phantom “right to choose” premeditated murder.

Heh, right. Scott Brown lives in a house full of women. I have a sneaking suspicion they’d bust his teabags if he all of a sudden decided they shouldn’t have the freedom to make their own choices.

One, two, skip a few paragraphs, because they’re boring. It’s basically a bunch of crap about how this special election against a really awful Democratic candidate somehow was a HUGE repudiation of Obamunistofascisosexualistislamopelosiism, and specifically healthcare, even though the citizens of Massachusetts already have universal healthcare, which they sort of like, and polls show that 82% of Obama voters who went for Brown supported a public option in healthcare (i.e. MORE SOSHULIST! when translated into Teabag). Also, the public option still sports a 22% advantage among American voters. More details!

Still, we mustn’t ignore the enormity of Scott Brown’ victory.

Rawr! It is hard to ignore that kind of, erm, enormity.

Massachusetts Democrats, Independents and Republicans alike — and the American majority by proxy — are, once again (remember November’ GOP sweep in NJ and VA) rejecting Obama’ radical leftist agenda generally and the government takeover of healthcare specifically.

Latte-sipping Massachusetts elites have their finger on the pulse of America. Bam Bam said it, not me. Also, two governor’s races are a sweep against what’s going on at the federal level!

They remain determined “to do that voodoo that they do.” Yes, Democratic leadership appears undaunted, evidently intending to sprinkle pixie dust on their pet healthcare zombie in hopes that it may yet claw its way back from the grave (sorry for the mixed metaphor).

That’s the only one you’re sorry for?

Democrats defiantly insist that they will instead hit the accelerator, rushing the ObamaCare freight train yet more rapidly toward the cliff’ edge.

Pixie dust-bedazzled pet zombie is now on a choo-choo in Thelma and Louise, I think.

So, it would seem that, despite Tuesday’ crushing blow in Massachusetts, both the Obama administration and congressional leadership — in dogged defiance of America’ expressed will — have, nonetheless, made a political suicide pact. It’ Socialism or bust.

Okay, so time for some facts. Public support for healthcare reform tanked when the public option (TEH SOSHULIZMS) was taken out. It tanked when they started buying off Conservadems like Holy Joe Lieberman and Ben Nelson. Before that, despite the fapping and moaning of the teabaggers, public support for comprehensive healthcare reform was consistently over 50%, and support for a public option was even higher, as long as it was explained correctly. (Screaming like crazed crack addicts about “gubmint takeovers!” doesn’t count as “informing the public.” Sorry.) Polling did not change after the sweatiest, teabaggiest August on record, when grunting hordes of fail descended on town hall meetings and stunk up the place for everybody. In fact, much of the change in polling results on the Senate bill came from progressives who were pissed off that the public option and more progressive reforms had been bargained away. If Matt had been paying attention to the healthcare debate on the internet (I mean, don’t work too hard, Matt…just check in with Memeorandum every now and then), he might have noticed that progressives have been fighting like cats and dogs (and fires and lakes) ever since President Lieberman started hovering over the proceedings like a…well, like a teabagger.

Again, details!

Anyway, ’til next time, Bam Bam…and I’m sure there will be a next time.

Man, where the hell is Lisa Miller anyway?

Attend an American Prayer Hour Event….Or, Host an APH event in your hometown.

Learn More Here

Dear Friend:

We are about to embark on a historic mission to stop persecution of LGBT people in Uganda and we want you to be a key part of our vision. (www.AmericanPrayerHour.org)

Uganda’ parliament is now debating what has become known as the “Kill the Gays Bill.” David Bahati, a member of the secretive fundamentalist group The Family, sponsored the draconian legislation. On February 4, he will appear at The National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, alongside world leaders and members of Congress.

Most people think of The National Prayer Breakfast, which is hosted by The Family, as innocuous and have no idea that the event’ sponsors are linked to the anti-gay death bill in Uganda. We believe it is time to inform people and let them know the truth about The Family and its toxic influence overseas.

Equally important, it is time we present a loving and compassionate view of spirituality so intolerant groups like The Family do not define people of faith. This is why we are launching The American Prayer Hour on February 4^th, the same day as The National Prayer Breakfast.

The American Prayer Hour will consist of a series of decentralized events across America and be anchored by key events in Washington, DC, Dallas, Chicago, South Florida, Minneapolis, San Jose, Birmingham, Anchorage and Berkeley.

If you are in these areas, please attend an American Prayer Hour event.

If not, please consider hosting such an event in your city.

Our goal is to have people from around the country speak out against intolerance, stand up for inclusive values and do everything in their power to derail the “Kill the Gays” bill in Uganda.

Please, understand, we may be all that stands in the way of blood flowing down the streets of Kampala. I pray that you will link hands and help us do everything we can to save the lives of our Ugandan LGBT brothers and sisters. If the situation were reversed, we’d sure hope they would be there for us, wouldn’t we?

If you have questions, please contact Lisa Darden at wbesen@truthwinsout.org.

Sincerely,

Wayne Besen
Founder & Executive Director
Truth Wins Out

Apparently, “ex-gay” activists don’t like to work very much.

Since the temperature dropped below 50 degrees, Exodus International’s staff has noticeably gone into hibernation. Consider the evidence:

• The group’s last press release posted on its sluggish website is dated November 16, 2009. Memo to Exodus, the New Year’s ball has dropped. You can come out of your slumber.
• The “recent” Nov. 16th press release was titled “Exodus Sends Letter Opposing Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Bill.” How nice of Exodus to get around to denouncing calls for genocide, considering the bill was introduced in mid-April 2009. It took the group 7 months to gin up the energy to crank out a single media release on Uganda. Such inaction is particualrly appalling, because Exodus played a key role in fomenting anti-gay sentiment in Uganda, which set the stage for the introduction of the “Kill the Gays” bill.
• The front page of Exodus’ website still lists an Oklahoma City event from October 2009. Um, Exodus, the leaves have changed colors, they have fallen to the ground, they have been raked up and there is snow on the ground. It’s okay to update the site before the beaches reopen.
• The only steady work from Exodus comes from its low-impact vanity blog with infrequent posts (maybe one or so per day) from its Vice President Randy Thomas.
• There is no mention on Exodus’ front page of Love Won Out (LWO) – the “ex-gay” roadshow that Exodus recently took over from Focus on the Family. This is odd, considering the next ex-gay LWO circus is scheduled for March 6th in San Diego.

Exodus has a budget of more than $1 million dollars and a staff of more than a dozen people, yet, they can’t even update a website or write a press release?

Pathetic.

The Board of Exodus ought to launch a formal investigation to see how President Alan Chambers (pictured left, clowning around on the company dole) and Randy Thomas (pictured left, chilling out below) are spending contributions. They certainly aren’t using the money to “educate” or “inform” people on the Internet.

It seems that in 2010, Exodus has silently backed away from genuine public outreach. The group has retreated into American fundamentalist churches and taken its roadshow overseas – where people are not as informed of the groups dubious history and astronomical failure rate. All we have to do is look at the Uganda nightmare (after Exodus spoke at hate conference in Kampala on March 5 and 6) to see the disastrous results of the group’s global efforts.

Who can blame Exodus for its bunker mentality? Their lies were increasingly unconvincing to thinking people in the United States. This is why they now prefer to take their propaganda to more receptive fundamentalist churches where people are told how to think and what to believe.

In any case, Exodus’ sloth has been noticed and duly noted. The fact is, my chubby, slumbering cat seems to do more work of late than the clearly overpaid staff of Exodus International.

However, the award for laziest anti-gay extremist goes to Peter LaBarbera (aka Porno Pete). (Read More)