Coburn made it clear that he won’t be on Newt Gingrich’s 2012 presidential bandwagon.
Gingrich “is a super-smart man, but he doesn’t know anything about commitment to marriage,” he said of the thrice-married former House speaker. “He’s the last person I’d vote for for president of the United States. His life indicates he does not have a commitment to the character traits necessary to be a great president.”
For once I agree with Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.). Of course, Coburn is the guy who once said that the movie Schindler’s List should not be shown on network television because the actors playing holocaust victims were filmed in varied states of nudity. Only a repressed fundamentalist could watch such a movie and see anything sexual about it.
The entire Republican Party, these days, just seems sick. From holier-than-thou prudes like Coburn or hypocrites like Gingrich, it is difficult to respect any of them or find a leader among the sorry lot.
In the case of Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, the initials A.G. might as well stand for, “Agent of God”.
Instead of upholding the law, this self-righteous zealot and religious right rock star has wasted tax payer’s money to go on outlandish moral crusades that have little to do with his actual job. Cuccinelli seems more interested in furthering his political career, than serving the citizens of Virginia.
Case in point: According to an editorial in today’s Washington Post, “Cuccinelli had sought to force the University of Virginia to provide a warehouse of documents and correspondence relating to climate scientist Michael Mann, who used to work at the university.”
The goal was for the Agent of God to use his position of power — and state resources during a time of recession — to try to disprove the science behind the theory of global warming. The problem is, Cuccinelli did not do his homework and his case was left wanting. According to the Post:
Circuit Court Judge Paul M. Peatross Jr. put a damper on a pernicious fishing expedition by Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli II (R). Mr. Cuccinelli, twisting a state law aimed at preventing fraud in contracting….
Judge Peatross pointed out that the attorney general hadn’t provided an “objective basis” to conclude that the scientist did anything fraudulent. That’s because there is no objective basis for the charge. Mr. Mann’s work might be construed as controversial, but it has been heavily scrutinized and found to be legitimate.
The operative words here are “objective basis”. There is nothing objective, fair or moral about Cuccinelli’s vindictive attacks on climate change scientists, academia and LGBT equality. This embarrassing failure is reminiscent of when the publicity seeking Agent of God — according to the Washington Post — urged the state’s public colleges and universities to rescind policies that ban discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, arguing in a letter sent to each school that their boards of visitors had no legal authority to adopt such statements. Cuccinelli went on this crusade, even though it had the potential to harm the state’s well-regarded higher education system:
But some individual college board members and others said Cuccinelli’s action would be highly controversial on campuses, where many argue that such policies are necessary to attract top students and faculty.
“What he’s saying is reprehensible,” said Vincent F. Callahan Jr., a former Republican member of the House of Delegates who serves on George Mason’s board of visitors. “I don’t know what he’s doing, opening up this can of worms.”
The self-appointed Agent of God should get his eyes off higher political office and stop flushing the tax money of Virgina voters down the toilet. If Cuccinelli is unhappy with his current job and wants to engage in dead-end ideological crusades, may I suggest he leaves Richmond and takes a job in Virginia Beach with Pat Robertson or secures a teaching gig at Liberty University? Virgina’s government — which is supposed to serve all the state’s citizens — is no place for Cuccinelli’s unsuccessful morality experiments.
If Cuccinelli is unable or unwilling to perform the tasks required by his day job, he ought to resign.
The friendly crowd at Clem Mikeska’s Bar-B-Q in Temple (across the street from Rylander’s Best Hamburgers, if you’re looking for political omens) ate it up. Standing on a chair under a mounted set of Texas Longhorns, Perry steered his listeners through subject matter that wasn’t a regular feature in his earlier campaigns: gubernatorial and legislative races in other parts of the U.S. “We’ve got good candidates all over the country,” he said. Perry talked his way through New Mexico, Oregon, South Carolina and Nevada with a little detail from each. Regarding Nevada, for instance, he told the crowd he’s for Brian Sandoval, who’s running for governor against Rory Reid, the son of U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. “If you’ve got a little extra money, send it to Nevada,” Perry said. “It’s a two-fer.”
That prompted a question, later on, from someone in the audience who wanted to know if the governor of Texas wants to be the next president of the United States. “No,” Perry said. “I have no intention to go to Washington, D.C., except maybe to go to a museum, like the Smithsonian.”
Social issues might be in the back seat, but they’re still in the car: “There is still a land of opportunity, friends — it’s called Texas,” Perry said. “We’re creating more jobs than any other state in the nation. … Would you rather live in a state like this, or in a state where a man can marry a man?”
Is the average Texan Rick Perry supporter stupid enough to think there is a negative correlation between marriage equality and job growth?
Y’all, this is the funniest thing on the entire internet right now. Kevin Dujan, the gay wingnut writer of Hillbuzz.org, has written a long, meandering whine about how nobody will go out with him on dates or remain in a relationship with him, due to the fact that he loves Sarah Palin so much. It’s basically self-inflicted stigmata:
Now that I no longer consider myself a Democrat, but some kind of independent since the Democrat Party is so unrecognizable to me, I’m proud to be a supporter of Governor Palin’s and have made a personal pledge to do everything I can to see her become our next president. I believe in her. I know she loves this country. I have read everything she has ever written and have been closely following every word she’s spoken since she was announced as McCain’s VP pick. I have yet to disagree with anything she has said or done.
She IS our next president, you betcha, and I will continue, every day, to do all I can to see that happen.
Oh. Lord.
[W]hile I was at that party, and talking to this guy named Keifer, and chatting about just every day things that didn’t matter, I realized Keifer liked me and kept the conversation going hoping for more. I enjoy when people talk about their pets, or when old people ramble through stories that don’t matter to anyone else, because I love how sweetly they all talk about these nonsensical things so close to their hearts. Keifer started in on his cat, and how it does this, that, or the other, and the stories were legitimately boring to anyone but me, but I enjoyed them all the same because it was this little insight into a person I doubt they share with too many others. Jacobi, being gorgeous and in prime physical shape, used to love talking about his cat too (a monster, who was jealous of anyone else getting near Jacobit, so he’d bite and scratch me the whole time I was in Jacobi’s apartment)…the only time Jacobi would talk about anything besides how gorgeous and in-shape he was, or how much people loved and hitted on him. Those cat stories, however, revealed a Jacobi that was surprisingly sweet, playful, and interesting. Which is not the impression he gives off of himself 95% of the day.
So, Keifer’s cat stories had me interested…until he started in how something his cat did was “dumber than Sarah Palin’s retarded baby”.
Oh, no! To be fair, he didn’t say the cat was dumber than Sarah, which would have been too far.
I told Keifer that calling anyone “retarded” is wrong, and that Trig Palin is a hero of mine.
Okay, nothing against Trig, but he’s this guy’s hero? Although, to be fair, he does show a bit more stick-to-it-ive-ness than his mother, Snow Grifter.
So then, the guy ended up throwing his beer at Kevin Dujan, which is always rude, but probably does not merit long, whiny internet posts. To be fair, the “Kiefer” guy sounds like a loser, but really, losers are not in short supply.
Whenever these people bad-mouth Governor Palin or insult little Trig, I know I have a choice to make: either I have to stand up for people I believe in and admire, or I can be a coward and say nothing, allow them to be besmirched, because I am in Leftist territory and vastly outnumbered. This makes me flash to Catholic school, where Sister Francis Borgia taught me in second grade the story of Peter denying Jesus thrice before the rooster crowed one morning. He had three chances to stand up for who and what he believed in, and he took the coward’s way out because he was afraid of the Romans.
Well, I’ll take a beer to the face, or even a punch, for Governor Palin and little Trig any day. I’ll accept whatever nasty thing the Left wants to do today, willingly, because I am tired of seeing people run in terror from these lunatics. I am sick to death of watching Republicans buckle when threatened by the Daily Kos crowd, and I’m so very tired of conservatives allowing the Left to run roughshod over this country because they are scared of the Left targeting them for resisting.
When people make fun of Sarah and Trig, Kevin knows what Calvary must have been like.
There is so much more to this heartbreaking tale, and it is epic. Go forth and read it all!
Glenn Beck, offensively, thinks of himself as a new incarnation of Martin Luther King, Jr., a notion which nobody is buying. So wouldn’t it be handy if we had a way to compare and contrast King’s famous 1963 “I Have A Dream” speech and the 2010 Glenn Beck rally on its anniversary?
Last week, Memphis city councilwoman Janis Fullilove, at the request of the Tennessee Equality Project, pulled an inclusive nondiscrimination ordinance from consideration, because it was not getting a fair hearing. There is always push and pull between the ideals we fight for and the sometimes uncomfortable process of getting the right laws passed, but both are necessary, and sometimes events like last week’s can ignite a spark among people, motivating them to step up and do something about it. Michael Hildebrand, who stayed at that City Council meeting until the bitter end to deliver a memorable speech pleading with the Council to act in a way which would keep people like us from giving up on the city, has decided to take that spark and do something with it. A gay rights march has been planned for October 11, where gay, straight, bisexual, lesbian and transgender people of all races and creeds will speak up for the equal rights of all citizens of the city of Memphis. From the event’s Facebook page:
We are all so different in the gay community. It’s certainly hard as hell to round us all up under one idea or voice. Even though all our voices are different this is the time to speak. Speak loud and proud of your love and your life. We cannot wait anymore for politics to catch up to the way we are already living our lives. It is time to act. Please catch my fever and pass YOUR story on to other friends and family members.
I can only speak for myself, but I will no longer fight quietly, waiting longer and longer for tolerance to arrive in my city. I demand acceptance from the government. I demand my rights as a hard working, tax paying citizen of Memphis. I am Memphis. WE are Memphis.
Sounds good.
Sometimes half the battle is getting people involved, and giving them easy ways to take a stand. If you’re frustrated with The Way Things Are in your city, get creative and do something.
Also, Facebook is your friend for things like this. It’s not always pure evil.
First, the quote, then analysis. He’s got his back up about Glenn Beck here:
A student at Augusta State University has just been thrown out of the school’s counseling program – with the approval of a federal judge, no less – because she believes that homosexual relationships are unnatural. Her opportunity to pursue the career of her choice in a helping profession has now been shot to pieces. What about her, Glenn? You are giving aid and comfort to those who are destroying her vocational future because they want people to be able to use the rectum for sex without criticism.
Glenn, Glenn, Glenn: if special rights are given to people just because they want to use the alimentary canal for sexual purposes, no social conservative will be able to criticize homosexual behavior on biblical or moral grounds without running the risk of legal punishment.
[...]
But Glenn, our “Divine Destiny” as a nation does not include societal approval for people who want to use the anus for sex. The “Laws of Nature and Nature’s God” don’t endorse such behavior. And neither should you.
Note that Fischer isn’t just condemning people who DO use the anus for sex. He’s condemning all the people who simply want to use it for sex. He’s just condemned not only many gay men, but also a probable majority of the straight male population! My goodness, he may have condemned Glenn Beck! Also, his words apply to many Christian female college students who are “trying to keep their virginity intact.” And many, many others!
Bryan, Bryan, Bryan: Why do butts scare you so, and why do you hate everybody?
The rest of the piece is basically lies and insinuations about an imaginary American situation where old ladies are being imprisoned for life for hating gay people, or something. It’s the same four stories (five, now that they’re deliberately lying about the Augusta State story) they always tell about their “persecution,” but since the writer is Bryan Fischer, it’s really melodramatic and queeny. It’s really not worth reading, but if you feel inclined, knock yourself out.
In New Zealand, an Exodus Global Alliance affiliate has been declined charitable status. The Charities Commission made its wise decision saying that Exodus does not serve any “public benefit” because homosexuality is not considered a mental disorder and did not need curing.
Most organizations that apply to the commission are accepted, so far nearly 25,000, but increasingly they are later dumped with 978 rejected this year so far.
In our view, Exodus should also have its tax-exempt status removed in the United States, because the group is practicing fake therapy that damages its clients. As in New Zealand, Exodus has no public benefit in the United Sates and thus should not be given tax breaks that make it easier for the organization to destroy lives.
This weekend, I attended an event on Fire Island that featured Sen. Kirstin Gillibrand. She pledged to fight for the LGBT community in Washington and spoke of her support for equal rights.
At the gathering, there were a few donors who strongly urged the Democratic party to do more on LGBT issues during a Q&A session. While largely supportive of the senator’s work, there was palpable frustration with the pace in Washington for repealing Don’t Ask/Don’t Tell and passing ENDA.
Andrew Tobias, treasurer for the democratic party, made the case for supporting democrats in the upcoming elections, warning of the dire consequences for LGBT equality if Republicans win the House, Senate or both.
Having looked at the scary line-up of Tea Party tools running for office, he certainly does have a point. To paraphrase a lyric from Ani Difranco’s song Grey, “as bad as I am, I’m proud of the fact that I’m worse than I seem.” Does this song not describe this years’ GOP candidates? (Just think Sharron Angle, Rand Paul or Joe Miller in DC)
Still, think how much easier it would be to persuade LGBT voters to show up if ENDA had been passed or DADT repealed? The case AGAINST the more radical elements of the GOP is an easy one. However, the case FOR the Democrats is much more difficult and complicated to make. The Democrats have controlled Washington for two years and while there has certainly been progress on LGBT issues, the big prizes — other than hate crimes legislation — have so far been elusive.
Fear will send many Democratic voters to the polls in November. However, scaring people into voting against the bad guys and Mama Grizzlies in the other party is not a long-term strategy. The Democrats, particualrly on LGBT rights, have to sharply define who they are, what they stand for and then fight like hell for their beliefs.
Now that prominent conservatives are speaking out in favor of marriage equality, the Dems have no more excuse to be timid. Whatever cover they they felt they needed to be bold, they now have, thanks to Ken Mehlman, Ted Olson and even Glenn Beck. A tipping point has occurred in America and the Democrats need to stop fearing a full embrace of LGBT equality. If they hold onto power, great things will be expected. Pointing to the Republican bogeyman will only work so many times before people become dispirited and demoralized.
Unfortunately, this time around, the gay bashing, immigrant hating, Obama smearing bogeyman is all too real and must be addressed.
In the case of Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, the initials A.G. might as well stand for, “Agent of God”.
This weekend, I attended an event on Fire Island that featured Sen. Kirstin Gillibrand. She pledged to fight for the LGBT community in Washington and spoke of her support for equal rights.
