Hurricane Sandy will probably grow into a “Frankenstorm” that may become the worst to hit the U.S. Northeast in 100 years if current forecasts are correct.

Sandy may combine with a second storm coming out of the Midwest to create a system that would rival the New England hurricane of 1938 in intensity, said Paul Kocin, a National Weather Service meteorologist in College Park, Maryland. The hurricane currently passing the Bahamas has killed 21 people across the Caribbean, the Associated Press reported, citing local officials.

“What we’re seeing in some of our models is a storm at an intensity that we have not seen in this part of the country in the past century,” Kocin said in a telephone interview yesterday. “We’re not trying to hype it, this is what we’re seeing in some of our models. It may come in weaker.”

Are you prepared for the potential monster? Is it more media hype or is this the big one? I’m having to cancel some work-related travel plans. What are you doing to prepare?

The editorial board of ABC Newspapers, a group that owns several newspapers in central Minnesota, published an editorial encouraging readers to vote against a proposed amendment to the state constitution that would deny same-sex couples the freedom to marry. Needless to say, that didn’t sit well with Lindquist, a notorious opponent of LGBT rights who publicly refers to homosexuality as a “sexual disorder.” So he wrote a letter to the editor in response, in which he claims, among other things, that gay and lesbian parents molest their children. It’s a doozy:

To the Editor:

This is in response to the editorial from the ECM Editorial Board titled “Marriage amendment would suppress freedom” (Oct. 5).

While they agree with the fact that “Children do best when they are raised by a mother and a father…” they also suggest that “… children will thrive in environments in which they are loved by two parents, regardless of the gender make-up of those parents.” This simply is not true.

University of Texas Professor Mark Regnerus did a study on homosexual parenting. His excellent research was published in the well-respected academic journal, “Social Science Research.”

The Regnerus study is the largest of its kind to date (just under 3,000 interviews of 18- to 39-year-olds), and is the most thorough and comprehensive study ever done on this topic.

Here are some of his findings that reveal greater child endangerment in same-sex households than households headed by a mom and a dad:

• Parental pedophilia:  23 percent of children with a lesbian mother reported having been touched sexually by a parent or adult, compared with 2 percent of those raised by biological parents.
• Higher number of rape cases: 31 percent of children raised by a lesbian mother and 25 percent raised by a homosexual male report that they were forced to have sex against their will, compared to 8 percent from intact families.
• Suicidal tendencies are shocking: 24 percent of children raised by homosexual men and 12 percent of children raised by lesbian mothers admitted to having recently contemplated suicide, compared to 5 percent of those raised by biological parents or even a single parent.

This study proves that children are better off when raised by their biological mom and dad.

The ECM Editorial Board is wrong. Children raised in homes where homosexuality or other same-sex behaviors are present face increased risks.

The social experiment of legalizing same-sex unions will prove disastrous for kids and bring untold dysfunction and damage to children and society.

Vote “yes” on the Marriage Protection Amendment on Nov. 6 and help protect the children in Minnesota.

 

Bryan Lindquist
Ramsey

Of course, the “study” Lindquist cites, that of University of Texas Professor Mark Regnerus, has been widely discredited for its flawed methodology, wildly inaccurate conclusions, and allegations of partiality, to name just three examples. (If you’d like further information, Scott Rose of the New Civil Rights Movement has written extensively about the bankruptcy of this so-called “study.”) In short, it’s junk science. But because it’s junk science that happens to legitimize anti-LGBT bigotry, homophobes like Lindquist are more than happy to cite its bogus statistics in service of their anti-equality agenda.

Think it’s unconscionable that a proponent of such awful anti-gay lies should be entrusted to serve on a task force charged with protecting kids — including LGBT kids — from bullying and harassment? We do too. But Anoka-Hennepin School Board Chair Tom Heidemann, who appointed Lindquist to the task force, apparently doesn’t see it that way. He defended his decision earlier this week when he spoke with a local television station, and again in an interview that aired today on Minnesota Public Radio. Heidemann said,

“[Lindquist] brings a conservative-Christian point of view to the committee and also a commitment to making sure that there’s no bullying and harassment of students in school for any reason.”

Just so we’re clear, the conservative Christian, homophobic “point of view” that Heidemann’s referring to is the same one — religion-based anti-LGBT bigotry — that leaves a trail of dead teens. But in the Anoka-Hennepin School District — one with bullying and suicide problems so severe that the State of Minnesota declared it a “suicide contagion area” — it’s still apparently a point of view worthy of respect and consideration.

Will the nightmare ever end for the LGBT kids of Central Minnesota?

Thankfully, the practice of going undercover to expose fraudulent “ex-gay” programs looks like it’s taken hold, too.

Check it out:

A circle of six men sit in a small cabin. Two blocks of wood serve as a cross. The men’s eyes wander to the walls. My cheeks are slightly flushed – I feel ashamed. I have just revealed something that made me go silent.
The leader of the group opens his mouth but does not look me in the eye.
“Is it all right to pray for you?”
Well, yes.
I hunch over, my elbows on my legs. Four men place their hands on my shoulders. One places his hand on my side. I flinch at the touch.

“Lord, you heard what Jalmari just shared with us. You know what sins he has committed, and you will also forgive them as he brings them here before the cross. Thank you, Lord, for allowing Jalmari to understand and accept his own frailties. Jalmari still has a long road ahead of him, but you already heard his plea. Fill Jalmari now with our love, take him into your embrace, and let him suckle of your love as a child does of his mother’s breast. Heal him. Thank you Lord.”
Two of the men mumble something in tongues, and then it is completely silent.
The head of the group takes a white plastic cup from the table, makes a dipper out of the palm of his hand, pours water into it and touches my brow with it.
“Lord, cast the evil spirit out of Jalmari.”
It is completely silent, and nobody says anything.

It is Sunday morning, the fifth of August. The time is half past ten. The announcement on Intercity 905 sounds out: next station – Jyväskylä. My alarm clock had gone off at half past five in Helsinki. Now I am already here.
I get off the train. My ill-fitting backpack chafes against my shoulders. A fuzzy-haired young woman stands on the platform with a sign in her hand. The text written with a black marking pen on the piece of cardboard reads “Kiponiemi”. I know that the woman is waiting for me. My breath accelerates. Now is the time – now it begins.
I approach cautiously. I wipe my sweaty hand against my thigh, reach out my hand and introduce myself: “Jalmari – you can call me Jamppu.”

Jalmari is the third of my given names. I cannot use the first, because if I did, I might be identified as a journalist.
I place my backpack in the boot, and sit in the back seat. The fuzzy-haired woman starts the car.
Let us sing praises to the lord is the song that comes from the car radio.

According to the Aslan association, homosexuality is a psycho-social disturbance in development – a kind of spiritual damage.
Medicine disagrees. Homosexuality has not been classified as a disease since 1981. However, the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD) still has a classification of “ego-dystonic sexual orientation disorder” – an orientation that goes against the person’s idealised self-image. However, this diagnosis is hardly ever applied.
The reparative therapy programme brought to Finland by Aslan is called Living Water. The expression comes from the Gospel According to John in Bible: He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. Once a year a four-day intensive camp is organised with activities running nearly around the clock. This is what I am taking part in now.

The account by undercover reporter Antti Pikkanen continues. Head over to the website of Helsingin Sanomat, Finland’s largest newspaper, to read it in full.

If you are fed up hearing your Jewish mother and grandparents kvetching that you’ve got to find already a Jewish prince or princess, despair no more – Yenta is here to help.

Yenta, meaning matchmaker in Yiddish, is the Jewish answer to Grindr, it’s a new dating app available on the iPhone that uses GPS to match Jewish singles, straight or gay.

Now you can sing along to fiddler on the roof: ‘Matchmaker, Matchmaker, Make me a match, Find me a find, catch me a catch’ and in seconds you may find your ‘Jewboo’, a term used by the application for a match.

The app so easy to use that even your Jewish grandmother could join without giving you a guilt complex.

Download it (already!) from iTunes here.

A Jewish-only version of Grindr… who’d a thunk it? What do you think about this new app? Good idea? Bad idea? Would you consider using it?

However, the Boston Globe has uncovered extensive documentation showing that then-Governor Mitt Romney, an outspoken opponent of marriage equality who also opposed child-rearing by gay and lesbian couples, refused to accept the Registry of Vital Records plan, opting instead to convey his disdain for same-sex parents by making the process of obtaining accurate birth certificates for their children as difficult and cumbersome as possible.

He rejected the Registry of Vital Records plan and insisted that his top legal staff individually review the circumstances of every birth to same-sex parents. Only after winning approval from Romney’s lawyers could hospital officials and town clerks across the state be permitted to cross out by hand the word “father’’ on individual birth certificates, and then write in “second parent,’’ in ink.

Divisions between the governor’s office and state bureaucrats over the language on the forms and details about the extraordinary effort by the Republican governor to prevent routine recording of births to gay parents are contained in state records obtained by the Globe this month. [emphases added]

According to the Globe‘s report, the practice of refusing to issue accurate birth certificates for the children of same-sex couples without what the paper calls a “high-level legal review” continued for the duration of Romney’s gubernatorial term. A lawyer for the Massachusetts Department of Health, which oversees the Registry of Vital Records and Statistics, warned the Romney administration that such onerous requirements violated state law and could actually harm children of same-sex couples later in life, but the warning was ignored.

Crossouts and handwritten alterations constituted “violations of existing statutes’’ and harmed “the integrity of the vital record-keeping system,’’ the deputy general counsel of the department, Peggy Wiesenberg, warned in a confidential Dec. 13, 2004, memo to Mark Nielsen, Romney’s general counsel.

The changes also would impair law enforcement and security efforts in a post-9/11 world, she said, and children with altered certificates would be likely to “encounter [difficulties] later in life . . . as they try to register for school, or apply for a passport or a driver’s license, or enlist in the military, or register to vote.” [emphasis added]

Most of the birth-certificate reviews appeared superficial, but records obtained by the Globe make it clear that Romney’s office was looking for any excuse to deny these requests:

In one instance, in which a couple asked that the handwritten alteration for the second parent say “wife” instead of second parent, the request was denied. In another, [Romney lawyer] Leske refused to allow a birth certificate to be issued listing a same-sex couple as the parents because they were not married.

That’s right: Governor Romney opposed the right of same-sex couples to marry in the first place, and then his lawyers refused a same-sex couple’s request that both partners be listed on their newborn’s birth certificate – because they weren’t married.

Mitt Romney’s humiliating birth-certificate review requirement apparently only applied to married lesbian couples in which one of the two spouses gave birth. Gay male couples had it even worse — the Romney administration required them to obtain a court order before they would authorize changes to a child’s birth certificate and acknowledge the parenthood of both fathers.

In 2005, the Massachusetts’ Town Clerks Association publicly complained about the Romney administration’s refusal to allow updated birth certificate forms, calling the handwritten alterations mandated by the governor’s policy “inappropriate.” Romney spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom — now a trusted adviser and top aide on Romney’s presidential campaign — claimed that changes to official forms could only be made through an act of the state Legislature; however, Department of Public Health attorney Wiesenberg told the administration one year earlier that the DPH had the authority to make the changes, but a Romney staff lawyer rebuffed her via email, saying that “there appear to be many complicated issues that should be discussed with many different communities before the changes are made.’’

Excuse me?!? The Romney administration believed that acknowledging the children of same-sex couples was a “complicated issue” that needed to be “discussed with many different communities?” Please explain, Mitt: exactly how many “different communities” do you think gay and lesbian couples should have to obtain permission from before you’ll allow both spouses to be legally recognized as parents to their own children?

According to the Globe, the Romney campaign has declined to comment on this story.

LGBT-inclusive parental designations did not appear on birth certificate forms in the State of Massachusetts until Mitt Romney left office to pursue the presidency and Democratic Governor Deval Patrick succeeded him.

I am absolutely stunned and incredibly disturbed by the Globe‘s findings. The fact that Mitt Romney would go so far out of his way to humiliate and degrade same-sex couples, even as they celebrated one of life’s most profoundly joyous experiences — the birth of a child — displays a level of contempt for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered people and our families that can only be described as shocking. Romney’s record, both as Governor of Massachusetts and as a presidential candidate, demonstrates that he’s not satisfied with “merely” opposing the rights of LGBT people to be protected from bullying, to marry the person they love, and to start families. No, his enmity towards us is so deeply pervasive and so viciously fervent that he has no problem actively harming our children.

Such a cruel and heartless man doesn’t deserve to govern anyone, much less serve as President of the United States.

And look who blogger extraordinaire Jeremy Hooper discovered on the official panel: none other than Greg Quinlan, president of Parents & Friends of Ex-Gays and Gays (PFOX).

Quinlan is in rare form. After he’s introduced at the 9:15 mark, Quinlan proclaims himself to be “ex-gay,” then compliments himself for looking three decades younger than his 54 years and jokes that his “chemically-dependent” hair needs to be fixed right now. After that merry romp through the garden of gay stereotypes, Quinlan trots out his usual routine wherein he claims that abuse and sexual molestation made him gay but that Jesus brought him out of “the lifestyle.” He then claims that gays and lesbians are innately sick, alleges the existence of “thousands upon thousands of ex-gays” despite the fact that even Exodus’s Alan Chambers now admits that “ex-gay” programs don’t work, smears Ellen DeGeneres as “Ellen DeGenerate” (48:10), and patronizingly panders to the African Americans in the crowd by adopting a stereotypically black speech cadence. Watch it below; it’s quite the performance.

Quinlan’s presence on an official Maryland Marriage Alliance panel — he’s seated just two chairs away from Maryland Marriage Alliance Executive Director Derek McCoy — is significant because it represents the group’s tacit endorsement of the “pray away the gay” fraud. By embracing the utterly discredited myth that gays and lesbians can (and should) change their sexual orientation, the Maryland Marriage Alliance is showing its true colors and revealing that its real motivation is not the “protection of marriage,” but pure, unadulterated homophobic bigotry. And as I said when we found out about the involvement of “ex-gays” in the push for marriage discrimination in Minnesota, it also shows that they won’t be satisfied with merely preventing same-sex couples from being able to marry. Rather, their goal is the relegation of LGBT people to second-class status in every aspect of society.

Hooper also points out something that’s even more disturbing: on two separate occasions (the first time at the 37:50 mark in the video above, the second time in the video below at around 3:20), the speaker seated immediately to McCoy’s left — identified by Zack Ford at ThinkProgress as Pastor Robert Anderson — says that homosexuality leads to death. In the first clip, this “pastor” even claims that gays and lesbians — and our straight allies — “are deserving of death:”

The Scriptures in Leviticus 18:22 — you know what that says: that a man is not to lay down with another man. If they do that, it’s an abomination. But there is one verse I really wanted to drive home and then I’ll stop. But that’s in Romans Chapter 1, and it’s the very last verse; as you know, Paul addresses this. Listen to the last verse: “Knowing the righteous judgment of God that those who practice such things are deserving of death. Not only do the same” — but watch this — “for those who also approve of those who practice these things.”

If we don’t vote against it, then we are approving these things that are worthy of death.”

That’s right. The Maryland Marriage Alliance is going far beyond mere political campaigning here — their extremist rhetoric puts them in the company of notorious anti-gay extremists like Archbishop John Nienstedt, Australian Salvation Army Major Andrew Craibe, and the Westboro Baptist Church.

Watch the second video below.

These videos from the Maryland Marriage Alliance make one thing abundantly clear: a vote against Question 6, in support of MMA’s agenda, is a vote of support for the belief that those who favor LGBT equality deserve death. Marylanders would do well to remember that when they go to the polls next month.

The ad hopes to scare Mainers into opposing Question 1, the ballot initiative that, if passed, would reinstate a marriage equality law that was overturned in 2009.

Of course, the claims made in the ad are completely false, as the O’Reillys were sued under Vermont’s Human Rights Law, which prohibits discrimination in public accommodations on the basis of sexual orientation. Vermont’s Human Rights Law is totally separate from its marriage equality law, but Question 1 opponents in Maine are hoping that viewers will overlook that little inconvenient truth.

Proponents of marriage discrimination resorting to outright lies in the service of their anti-freedom, anti-equality agenda? I wouldn’t expect anything less.

By the way, the O’Reillys own the Wildflower Inn & Family Resort in Lyndonville, Vermont. If you’re coming to visit our beautiful, LGBT-inclusive state, I recommend you skip the Wildflower Inn and take your business to one of Vermont’s many LGBT-friendly establishments instead.

Referring to Proposition 8, the 2008 ballot initiative that removed the right of same-sex couples to legally marry in California, Dave Silverman, President of American Atheists stated, “The American population is woefully unaware of the implications of a Mormon president because nobody is discussing the issue.  Mormonism is a non-Abrahamic religion that has already used its money and might to impose its beliefs on the non-Mormon citizens of California.”

Religion writer Becky Garrison, who contributes to the Washington Post, American Atheist magazine, and numerous other publications, emailed Silverman seeking further information about the new campaign.

Becky Garrison: Why launch this campaign?

Dave Silverman: This campaign intends to highlight the fact that the American Public is unaware of the possible ramifications of a Mormon president. Important questions are not only being overlooked, but avoided in a misguided effort to be politically correct. One example is the fact that Mr. Romney recruited for this organization when it was overtly and proudly racist. Had Mr. Romney recruited for the KKK, or even some whites-only golf course, we would be asking about his commitment to diversity, and rightfully so. However, as the racist organization is a religion, nobody is asking, so nobody knows.

We are placing a billboard critical of Mormonism’s racist dogma and current anti-gay policies on a truck which will drive around the debate area all day, and follow the Romney bus as it leaves to its subsequent destinations. I will ride with the truck for its launch. Diversity is important. We are hopeful it will start a conversation as to where Mr. Romney draws the line between diversity and dogma, and we are all looking forward to hearing him address this subject before America casts its vote.

BG: Given the activist role of religion in this 2012 presidential campaign, why single out Mormonism?

DS: America knows the implications of a Christian President. Mormonism, on the other hand, is a non-Abrahamic polytheistic religion that achieves its growth via recruitment. They have used their might and money to push their moral tenets on the non-Mormon citizens of California already, and are proud of their success. their role in the Prop 8 Battle As president, Romney will be in the strongest position to allow the Mormon Church to do both on a larger scale. As a Mormon man, he is obliged to do so to the best of his ability, as a primary goal. Will Mormon creationism (God used to be a man living on another planet) be taught in schools? Will Joseph Smith soon be found in the History books? Will more federal funding be diverted to the Mormon church to provide social services without oversight?

We don’t know, because none of these important questions have ever been asked. When JFK was elected, America asked if he would ever say no to the Pope. We need to know if Mr. Romney would ever say no to the Mormon Church, for which he has recruited and to which he regularly donates millions of dollars.

BG: What do you hope to achieve with this campaign?

DS: Awareness of the fact that Mormonism has a very dark side, one of hate and proselytization, which needs to be discussed before we cast our vote. We are by no means suggesting that no Mormon could ever be a good president (nor do we endorse President Obama), but we do expect any president to respect the diversity on the American citizenry, and we think it’s important that  we get Mr. Romney’s stance on these important issues, given his past activities recruiting for a racist organization and his continued commitment to one that is inherently anti-diversity.

BG: Why do you find Mormonism’s positions regarding LGBT folks shameful?

DS: We find their views on homosexuality shameful because it’s 2012. We find it shameful that any religion would cloak their hate and call it morality. As a supposedly modern and moral religion, one would think they would be more inclined to let their people live as they see fit, and not allow gay people in their ranks only if they totally suppress their homosexuality. Instead, they went the way of the Catholic Church, and have spent millions to sway voters to forbid not only Mormons, but also non-Mormons, from living their lives. There are real problems in this country that could be helped by the Mormon Church. How many hungry people could have been fed with the $20 Million they spent helping to defeat gay marriage in California?

BG: What was your reaction to Billy Graham’s sudden turn to the hard right by supporting North Carolina’s Amendment One and Chick-Fil-A followed his blessing to Mitt Romney and now an election ad in The Wall Street Journal that all but endorses Romney for his commitment to “traditional marriage?”

DS: I laughed when I learned that Graham had endorsed Romney. Any way you look at it, Graham’s endorsement of Romney is good for atheism. Billy Graham is a religious leader, not a political one, but he totally abandoned his faith’s primary tenet (there is one god) by endorsing a polytheist instead of a Christian. He went Republican, even though it meant endorsing a member of a cult (even going so far as removing the references to Mormonism being a cult on his web site). This is good for atheism because it highlighted Grahams hypocrisy while moving evangelistic Christianity in the direction of tolerance for cults (by their own definition). It shows that Graham cares about politics more than loyalty to his faith and tenets, and is eager to remain relevant in the political arena. In short, it highlighted the fact that Evangelistic Christianity is so desperate to remain relevant that it is willing to get in bed with its own enemies.

KSTP-TV, the local ABC News affiliate, attempted to contact Lindquist, but he refused to respond. They spoke with Heidemann, who defended Lindquist’s appointment and revealed that he “had the ultimate say on who would be on the task force:”

When Heidemann was asked if he thought Lindquist was looking out for all kids, Heidemann said yes and ‘based on the testimony he’s (Lindquist) had at the board, he’s concerned about the bullying harassment of students,’ Heidemann said.

Aaberg and Thompson disagree. They’ve read and heard Lindquist’s opinion.

For example, when Lindquist was at a January school board meeting where he spoke about overcoming sexual disorders.

‘He talks about this (homosexuality) as being a disorder, it’s not,’ Thompson said.

Thompson’s daughter is an Atheist and Aaberg’s son, Justin, who was gay committed suicide.

Both women say an adult with an agenda should not be on the task force.

Predictably, by the end of the interview Heidemann had retreated into the standard religious-right talking points about how the real victims are not bullied LGBT kids, but rather, anti-gay Christians: ”I think again that in order for us to be effective as an organization, we cannot exclude any person based on their religious beliefs.”

We’ll continue to bring you updates on this story as it develops. Watch the KSTP-TV report below.