About time.

(h/t Right Wing Watch)

Metro DC Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) and the Rainbow Youth Alliance (RYA) sent the following letter this week to the Montgomery County Public Schools’ Board of Education.

Here’s the letter: (Read More)

By Patrick McAlvey

Prior to August 2009 I had probably told the story of my experience with ex-gay therapy to a total of 50 people. When it came up with friends I would share some of the details of how Mike Jones, an ex-gay “therapist” in Lansing, MI had robbed me of years of self-esteem and confidence with his lies and predatory practices. It wasn’t something I was overly eager to bring up — it’ not necessarily polite, feel-good conversation and I felt more than a bit embarrassed I had fallen for the ex-gay lies in the first place.

Since going public with my story last summer with the help of Truth Wins Out, things have changed. Thousands of people have now seen the video in which I tell my story and the man who performed my “therapy” has seen his Board of Directors dissolve and Exodus International remove their affiliation.

In early February I had the opportunity to travel to Des Moines, Iowa and share my story with over 100 strangers — including a State Senator sitting front-and-center. A group called First Friday Breakfast Club invited me to Des Moines to speak at their monthly meeting. As part of the trip I also spoke with 25 students at Iowa State University at an event hosted by the LGBTA Alliance and the Office of LGBT Student Services.

I was overwhelmed with the support and kindness with which I was received at both events. But I was also shocked at the number of people who were unaware the ex-gay industry is still alive and actively victimizing the most vulnerable members of the LGBT community. Since sharing my story publicly it has become evident that many people, including many LGBT folks, aren’t aware of the activity and dangers of the ex-gay industry.

It is more important than ever the LGBT community at-large understands the real threat the ex-gay industry represents to all of us. The US ex-gay industry’ connection to the Ugandan “Kill the Gays Bill” is a stark example of the danger these groups represent. They use the “fact” that sexual orientation can and should be changed to deny basic rights and to actively discriminate against LGBT folks.

In addition the ex-gay industry spreads false and defamatory lies that all gay men are addicted to drugs, alcohol and random sex and that it is impossible to be gay and happy and/or gay and religious. This is what I was led to believe and these false characterizations certainly perpetuate homophobia and discrimination experienced by gay men in particular.

And most obviously, the ex-gay industry continues to rob vulnerable and scared people of their dignity, self-esteem and identity. While in Iowa I got to meet several other survivors of ex-gay therapy and was touched to hear their stories. It was inspiring to meet other survivors who are also finding healing and strength by sharing their experiences and fighting to prevent others from similar abuses. I’m glad to be healing and fighting beside them.

As Joe Jervis points out, GOProud are “complete douchenozzles,” which is true, but I agree that the hysteria over their presence at CPAC from the usual suspects is a good thing, as it separates the wingnuts from the, er, other less harmful wingnuts. Here’s Cliff Kincaid, typing with angry fingers:

GOProud’s commitment to constitutionally protected homosexual sodomy (i.e., anal intercourse) is not a position that appears on the agenda of any conservative groups. Hence, using the term “gay conservative” to describe these people is either a deliberate deception or an oxymoron that doesn’t stand up under scrutiny.

(…)

GOProud, the organization at the center of the storm, claims to be “conservative” but supports the Obama policy of putting active and open homosexuals in the military, supports homosexual marriage, and even advocates a foreign policy of promoting acceptance of sodomy abroad. The latter is referred to as “Standing strong against radical regimes who seek to criminalize gays and lesbians.”

These “radical regimes,” such as the Christian-dominated government in Uganda, are trying to prevent the spread of AIDS and protect traditional moral values by toughening laws against homosexuality.

Under these “gay conservatives,” one can imagine gay soldiers being deployed to overthrow “homophobic” regimes.

GOProud also says it wants to “defend the Constitution” in the U.S. by “Opposing any anti-gay federal marriage amendment.” It doesn’t explain how protecting the country against out-of-control judges legalizing gay marriage without a vote of the people is unconstitutional.

Giggle. So angry.

Note that he’s defending the Ugandan anti-gay genocide bill again. Take note, SPLC.

Later in the piece, Cliff shares that Ryan Sorba wants to debate Rachel Maddow and Andrew Sullivan, in reply to which we can only spit our collective coffee at the computer screen, laughing, and say “PLEASE?”

Because it’s funny to watch stupid closeted white men intellectually overpowered by gays and lesbians with PhD’s.

They need you to take a survey so they can figure out how to reach YOU better! GO HELP THEM!

(CLICK TO EMBIGGEN)

(h/t The New Civil Rights Movement)

UPDATE: Lookit, the American Family Association ALSO needs your help to decide whether or not gays should be able to serve in the military. GO HELP THEM!

During CPAC, in a desperate last-ditch effort to claim the mantle of “cool” among…well, anyone really…CPAC enlisted the help of the super-lame, super-moron Baldwin brother, the “Stephen” one, and held a special “cool” event for the “young hippity hoppity fly” conservatives, called XPAC. This one passage, and the accompanying article, should give you a reasonable gauge for how much steam the conservative movement has left, demographically:

“I know you don’t hear the word gnarly too much in conservative circles, but you’re gonna start hearing it in the future!” the 44-year-old ex-actor told a crowd of about 200 assembled youths. “We’re gonna just keep this kind of loose and fun.” The potbellied Baldwin‚Äîbrother of Alec and, well, Billy and Danny, too‚Äîwore a gold necklace and green striped v-neck under his sports jacket, which was over his jeans and chunky skater shoes. He soon yielded the stage to Mike Huckabee, who in a pre-recorded message, introduced one of the evening’ main attractions, his daughter Sarah. The smell of Chick-fil-A filled the air, as attendees noshed on chicken fingers and meatballs, the sounds of Guitar Hero emanating from behind them.

Welcome to the playpen.

Wow, we are going to be hearing “gnarly” in the future in conservative circles? WITH CHIKIN SAMMICHES?

Well, hold me, Jesus! It’s frickin’ Romper Room with Stephen Baldwin!

Can you handle another passage? NO SERIOUSLY, CAN YOU HANDLE ANOTHER XTREME PASSAGE?

As Carroll talked, the night’ “jam session” was beginning‚Äîthey had moved it up from the originally scheduled time of 11:00 p.m., realizing that no one would come‚Äîbut most people had already filtered out as the rapper Politik took the stage. “I see y’all leaving over there!” he shouted at back of the room. “I’ve got a message!” One mom sat bobbing her head to his tea-party-centric rhymes (“two-thousand-nine, dangerous times, socialist agenda that they want us to sign!”).

What what what!

“You can clap if you want to, it always makes me feel better,” Politik told the sparse audience.

The miggity miggity miggity miggity mack daddy…

By 9:45, it wasn’t the kids hanging out, but the adults. The event’ co-host, Christian radio talk show host Kevin McCullough, played Wii bowling, while Baldwin chowed down on McDonalds. “Whee! We having fun yet?” he said.

T-Bird that’s just my baby daddy!

Harris admits that Republicans have a youth problem‚Äî”It’ the most uncool, lame thing to be a Republican when you’re 20,” he says.

Any age, really. Don’t limit it to the 20-something set!

But it’ not clear that the CRs have a better plan than Baldwin and McCullough. I asked how young Republicans can make inroads on their campus, and the answer, according to Harris, is “stuff.”

Seriously, read the whole thing. It just gets worse (for them) and funnier (for us).

(h/t Kyle)

Having looked at all the available evidence and having determined that gays are completely capable of bombing things he wants bombed, Joe Lieberman basically said “Gays in the military? What the hell, why not?”:

“I will be proud to be a sponsor of the important effort to enable patriotic gay Americans to defend our national security and our founding values of freedom and opportunity. I have opposed the current policy of preventing gay Americans from openly serving in the military since its enactment in 1993. To exclude one group of Americans from serving in the armed forces is contrary to our fundamental principles as outlined in the Declaration of Independence and weakens our defenses by denying our military the service of a large group of Americans who can help our cause.”

As TBogg said, “This means that we can start bombing Iran on Tuesday, say about noonish?”

Heh.

Anyway, support is support.

Molotov Mitchell thinks he is really, REALLY, super-duper cool. He acts as though his extreme right shtick is unique and original. But, upon closer inspection it appears that he may be a poseur.

Could the extremist be attempting a right wing knock-off of the comedian Penn on the Showtime hit “Bullshit” with Penn & Teller?

It appears that he apes the real comedian in mannerisms and delivery. Visually, he copycats the show with extraneous people and objects popping up randomly on the screen. Take a look at the two videos – compare – and judge for yourself. Is Molotov Mitchell a phony who is trying to steal Penn’s gig without giving him credit?

As Penn might say – that’s bullshit!

I really don’t have time to write, so here is another crazy video from Molotov Mitchell, which I haven’t watched yet (because I do not have time to write). In it, Joe Jervis reports that he “talks about one of these fictitious men, mocking his manner of speaking while simultaneously claiming to have “really loved him.” Riiiiight. Sounds about right.

If you forgot, Molotov was the one who defended the Ugandan genocide in a very well-produced video, the kind that is meant to evoke the wingnut notion of “We are hipped hopped too, like the all the cool kids (who beat us up)!”

Enjoy your Sunday Funday humor video!

It seems like a gay conservative at CPAC, Alex Knepper, got into a little personal altercation with the little gay sex-obsessed wingnut who calls himself Ryan Sorba. Here’s his account, via Andrew Sullivan:

My recollections are not perfect, of course, but Nate Gunderson should be able to help me fill in the details. The exchange is roughly as follows.

“So, you’re the infamous Ryan Sorba,” I said.

“Yep!”

“You’ve made quite a name for yourself.”

“Haha, yeah. Where are you from?”

“I go to college around here, American University.”

“What are you studying?”

“I was double-majoring in Political Science with a political theory focus and International Relations with an Islamic Studies focus, but I think I’m going to drop the latter. I can’t take the relativistic preaching, the whitewashing of the burqa, Sayyid Qutb, the entire religion.”

“Yeah, I know what you mean. So what did you think of my little tirade, then?”

“Oh, I thought it was quite evil, actually. I’m gay.”

“You mean you think you’re gay.”

“No, I’m gay. Do you think it’ a choice?”

“I think it’ the result of a complex process of social and environmental factors, but that it’ reversible.”

“So, like, why is it that over one hundred animals have been observed engaging in homosexual sex in nature?”

“Well, only 0.2% of animals are known to do that ‚Äî ”

” ‚Äî I mean, mammals, obviously, not ants, birds ‚Äî ”

” ‚Äî you know, animals masturbate, your dog humps your leg. Does your dog talk with a lisp?”

“Do I talk with a lisp?!” I yelled.

“A little bit.” (I later asked a couple of gay friends if I have a small lisp; both of them said I have no lisp whatsoever. Aron, who is straight, has said my voice is sometimes theatrical, but that I don’t have a lisp.)

“Rudy Giuliani has a lisp ‚Äî is he gay?”

And then he went off on what he affectionately called “his tirade” ‚Äî giving the same mangled pseudo-Aristotelian spiel about how natural rights have to be grounded in natural law, meaning substance, and the final result of the reproductive organ must be a reproductive act, and all of that.

“Yeah, yeah, I get your argument, I understand it, ” I tried to interrupt, But he said that I didn’t, and he finished.

“But the vast majority of married couples partake in sodomy ‚Äî oral sex, anal sex, fetishes. Hasn’t your girlfriend ever given you a blowjob? I think the government should just get out of the whole marriage business!”

Everyone around us agreed with that statement. Sensing some momentum, I went on: “I’m the one who says that my values shouldn’t have anything to do with government. It’ you who wants to impose his own biases upon the rest of the world!”

Nate Gunderson pondered why it was such a burning issue for Ryan.

“Because conservatives should not be upholding groups who support homosexual marriage and sodomy.”

I said something I don’t quite recall, and he mentioned something about how he could “take me on” physically if he needed to, to which I mentioned that his quick resort to force and threats said a lot about his political philosophy.

He said at around this point that he needed to go, and put out his hand to say goodbye. I stared at him, refusing to shake his hand, and he said “Well, I don’t really want to shake your hand, you’re intrinsically evil.”

We all started walking away, with him talking to his girlfriend, and me talking to Nate, blasting Sorba more.

Someone who was with him asked Sorba: “Really, though, he had a point: why do you care about this so much when the economy is in shambles and the debt is growing and spending is out of control?”

“Because it corrupts the youth and the culture,” he replied.

When we reached the area near the escalator downstairs, he turned on his camera. I put out my arms, striking a mocking pose, but realized he kept holding the camera at me.

“Wait, are you recording or taking a picture?” He was recording.

“Ah! OK…Well, I’d like to say, then, that the person behind the camera is a Hitler Youth waiting for a fuhrer to sweep him off his feet into a grand national project so he can sacrifice individuals like stock-fodder to his own biases.”

He turned off the camera and approached me. I told him he should get his girlfriend to give him a blowjob so that he could experience the joys of sodomy. He put two of his fingers an inch from my face and said that he’d want to fight me if a girl wasn’t around. “Ah, the use of force!” I said again.

It essentially ended, there.

Hot damn!

Alex adds some thoughts of his own at the end of his post:

It’ pretty clear that this kid is deep in the closet. When he says he’ never had a blowjob, I’m not sure what would be more pathetic: if he’ lying to me, or if he’ telling the truth. But any young guy so obsessed with homosexuality, so obsessed with maintaing that it’ reversible, is clearly a closet gay guy. Imagine when this closet case marries and his wife wants to make love to him: “Sorry, honey! Sex is only for reproduction, after all!” I’d feel somewhat sorry for the poor boy, but alas, he’ making everyone else’ lives more difficult in the meantime. So, screw him.

*Snaps!*

It should come as no surprise to any of you that overgrown man-child Peter LaBarbera watched Sorba’s speech with pride. One day maybe you’ll be that well-spoken, Peter! One day!

Here’s Ryan Sorba’s little poopypants tirade again, if you missed it the first time: