Apologies are all the rage with the “ex-gay” set right now! John Smid has been running around apologizing for various things for the past several weeks/months — he even showed up at Memphis Pride with those grotesque “I’m Sorry!” cards distributed by the Marin Foundation — and now Richard “Beat That Pillow With A Tennis Racket Like It’s Your Mom” Cohen has caught the fever as well! Unfortunately, his “apology” is not an apology at all, and nothing seems to have changed about his beliefs or his life’s work.

It comes via a press release on changeispossible.com, so let’s take a look. Here is the headline:

International Healing Foundation Apologizes to the LGBTQ Community on its 21st Anniversary

Organization Expands Mission from ‘Change is Possible’ to ‘Coming Out Loved’

Uh huh. Notice that they are “expanding” their vision, rather than “changing” it. Change is apparently not possible in their world.

The International Healing Foundation has educated and counseled thousands of men, women and adolescents who experience unwanted same-sex attraction (SSA). However, on its 21st anniversary, IHF apologized to the LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning) community for years of unknowingly fueling anti-gay sentiment by simply stating, “Change is Possible.”

That’s not what people are demanding apologies for. It’s more for the years upon years of religious bigotry repackaged as false, discredited “science,” giving people false hope, depression and increasing the suicide risk among vulnerable people who have been abused by religion into believing that “change” is even necessary, much less possible. It’s also for the thousands upon thousands of families which have been damaged further or ruined by such techniques. Moving on.

“We at IHF wish to offer a sincere, heartfelt apology to everyone in the LGBTQ community,” said IHF founder and director, Richard Cohen. “I apologize and ask forgiveness to those who were hurt by our message.” Cohen, a leading expert in the field of sexual orientation and married father of three, knows first-hand how it feels to be ostracized having lived a gay life.

I’m not feeling your apology, Richard.

Beginning today, IHF’s doors are wide open to everyone in the LGBTQ and straight communities. The new mission, “Coming Out Loved,” is the catalyst of true tolerance, real diversity, and equality for all. IHF staff will assist anyone who is conflicted about their sexuality and other challenging issues that arise for many in the gay community.

Wait, they weren’t willing to act as predators for any easy prey in the past? I’m confused.

IHF has adopted therapeutic guidelines from the American Psychological Association for members of the lesbian, gay and bisexual communities; American Counseling Association guidelines for the transgender community; and National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality therapeutic guidelines for anyone questioning their sexuality and/or experiencing unwanted SSA.

Nice! So if you come in and you’re happily gay — why would you go there if you were happily gay? — they’ll at least attempt to use a veneer of professionalism by using APA guidelines. If you’re transgender, they’ll use the guidelines of the American Counseling Association, from which Richard Cohen was banned for life in 2002 for multiple ethics violations. And if you’re their target market, which is, again, people who have been abused so much by religious indoctrination and bigotry that they believe that there are inherently sick, evil and flawed, they’ll continue to use the guidelines of the sham organization NARTH, a group which masquerades as secular and scientific [and which quietly kicked Cohen out of their lives a few years back -- they don't like for their public faces to be that crazy, though they will continue to work with people like him behind the scenes], while being purely ideological in nature, and a group so consistently dishonest, with such a long trail of broken homes in its wake, that I cannot imagine what would constitute an “ethics violation” in their world. Telling the truth? Reporting the results of a scientific study accurately? Not using willful abuse of children as the basis for much of their work?

Cohen asserts everyone should be loved and accepted for who they are. “By opening our doors to everyone in the LGBTQ and straight communities, we are expanding upon our mission and broadening the scope of our services,” he says. For more information, visit www.ComingOutLoved.com.

And that is the end of the press release. Is this anything more than a cry for help out of the ravines of inadequacy and irrelevance?

In case not everybody’s familiar, let’s take a little tour of the failure that is Richard Cohen’s life, and visit a couple of his friends as well, which should clear up any remaining confusion over whether Cohen’s apology is worth anything.

If readers have been following the “kill the gays” debacle in Uganda, it’s important to remember that one of the major backers of that bill is Stephen Langa, who got much of his information on gay people from Cohen’s book Coming Out Straight. Here is Rachel Maddow tearing Cohen apart on her show in 2009, and showing Langa teaching directly from his book.

And here is a picture you may have seen before, of Stephen Langa with other noted unhinged American homophobes and “ex-gay” leaders, Scott Lively and Don Schmierer, respectively. The man in the middle is Caleb Brundidge, who is also on the staff of Richard Cohen’s International Healing Foundation [sic]. The picture was taken in Uganda, right before the “kill the gays” Crusade really got its legs. Thanks for all your help, American hate group leaders/whack-jobs! Cohen definitely has blood on his hands.

Richard Cohen also used to be the president of PFOX, but thoroughly embarrassed himself and his entire movement when he was on The Daily Show a few years back, so they canned him. [Our own Wayne was also on that episode, if you haven't seen it.] He keeps close ties with them, though, and with NARTH. Indeed, his close associate at the International Healing Foundation [sic], the group who issued this crap apology, is Christopher Doyle, a “sexual reorientation coach” who is also on the board of PFOX.

If you don’t remember Christopher Doyle, here is a picture of him queening out and running away from Joe Jervis at the Truth Wins Out protest of the NARTH convention.

Here’s how Joe described that encounter:

The tall bald guy is Christopher Doyle, an “ex-gay” who is on the board of PFOX and who is on staff with “ex-gay” whackadoodle Richard Cohen as a “Sexual Reorientation Coach” at the International Healing Foundation. If that wasn’t enough for this professionally “former” c*cksucker, he writes newspaper editorials arguing against the Day Of Silence. Anyway, I don’t think pillow-whacker Richard Cohen has totally gotten Doyle in touch with his “natural masculine nature,” because when I kept taking photos, Doyle put his hand on his hip and hissed, “I don’t need this. Why don’t you just sssssssstop!”

If you don’t know what Joe means when he refers to Richard Cohen as a “pillow-whacker,” we’ll get to that at the end, so that we can end on a funny note.

Earlier this year, Christopher Doyle, who is, again, the very fey bestie of Richard Cohen, who works with him at the organization which just issued this BS apology, said this:

Putting “ex-gay” in quotes suggested that such a sexual orientation is not valid, not recognized or both. But thousands of former homosexuals collectively identify themselves as such. The D.C. Superior Court ruled in 2009 that ex-gays are a protected sexual orientation class in the District.

Not all persons who experience same-sex attractions choose to live gay lives. Many of us have voluntarily left a homosexual life through therapeutic work or behavioral choice. I did, and I have been happily married to a woman for nearly five years; we have two children. I no longer experience same-sex attraction and have no desire to return to the homosexual life. Please respect this choice.

Left unproven, as he is obviously unwilling to do so, is his assertion that he “no longer experience[s] same-sex attraction.” Wayne and I wait with bated breath for the first professional “ex-gay” swindler to submit himself to testing which would prove that they are no longer gay, but it never comes. Instead, on a fairly regular basis, they admit, as Alan Chambers and John Smid have, that they are still totally into dudes.

To wrap this up, you can have a look at the truly insane things Richard Cohen believes about why people end up gay or lesbian, or you can just have a laugh watching a couple of videos. Here’s Richard Cohen on CNN beating a pillow with a tennis racket and screaming at his mom, just after he cuddles a grown man.

And here is Richard having a bizarre, queeny temper tantrum about how mean gay people are. Listen to him scream!

This is the man who is very sorry for seemingly nothing, and wants you to think he is relevant, and also to give him more money, because his movement is dying and his life’s work is a waste.

How boring.

Peter LaBarbera, leader of the hate “group” known as Americans for Truth [sic] about Homosexuality, is very upset that GLAAD has given an award to the Joe.My.God blog, which routinely makes fun of Peter LaBarbera!  Tone matters, you guys! [No link, you know where Peter's Online Leathersex Amusement Park is.]

Peter LaBarbera, president of Americans For Truth About Homosexuality (AFTAH), today assailed the blatant hypocrisy of GLAAD, a homosexual “anti-defamation” organization, for giving an award to Joe Jervis – who runs a viciously anti-Christian blog.

First off, Joe is an atheist. This is not in and of itself a breach of tone, as religion is not above criticism. EVEN Fundamentalist Christianity is completely fair game when it comes to criticizing religion. Guess who else is an atheist? I AM.

GLAAD (Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) gave its 2011 Media Award for “Outstanding Blog” to Jervis, a New York-based homosexual atheist and creator of the blog “Joe.My.God.” – a daily compilation of homosexuality-related news. JMG is filled with name-calling and nasty barbs directed especially at religious conservatives who oppose homosexuality.

Yeah, but Joe doesn’t actually advocate taking fundamental constitutional rights away from unhinged wingnut conservatives. He just makes fun of them, like I do.

But if GLAAD, like AFTAH, is against hateful name-calling (AFTAH has condemned Fred Phelps of “God Hates Fags” notoriety)

Bully for you. You hold the exact same beliefs as the Phelps clan, so the difference in your rhetoric — Phelps says “God Hates Fags,” whereas you, Peter, are more wordy and annoying about it — is of little consequence.

For example, Jervis routinely uses the atheist term “Jeebus” in the place of Jesus to mock Christians…

Again, religion is not above criticism. Moreover, he’s not lying about Christians, and neither do I. Moreover, he doesn’t broadbrush all Christians with the same stripe, because he understands, as I do, that the idea that Peter LaBarbera speaks for all, most, or even half of Christians is pathetic wishful thinking.

Jervis delights in referring to former Senator and potential GOP presidential candidate Rick Santorum as “Frothy Mix” – repeating a malevolent smear concocted by another Christian-bashing homosexual activist, Dan Savage, who meanly “redefined” Santorum’s last name as the filthy byproduct of anal sex.

Santorum deserved it. He fired the first shot when he decided to compare gay love to “man-on-dog sex.” I find it hilarious how much wingnuts are still smarting from Savage’s campaign to redefine “Santorum.” Creative activism! Oh, and santorum only occurs when you’re having anal sex wrong. That’s the double-insult in the name that fundamentalists don’t understand.

Said LaBarbera: “GLAAD’s slogan is ‘words and images matter.’ We at AFTAH agree. Jervis’ published words reveal him to be an inflammatory, anti-Christian bigot who resorts to ‘defamatory’ smears, lies and despicable, crude putdowns to belittle people of faith. (Jervis smears LaBarbera as “Porno Pete,” falsely implying he is homosexual.)

“Porno Pete” started HERE, dangit! And we call you that, not because you may be a closeted self-hating homosexual, but because you made your “name,” such as it is, photographing leather sex events from sea to shining sea, events which are as straight as they are gay.

“Through its Media Award, GLAAD joins itself at the hip with Jervis’ brand of malicious, demeaning, anti-religious bigotry,” LaBarbera said. “This is the flip side of GLAAD’s ongoing campaign to shut down the voices of pro-family Christians – e.g., ex-“gay” Americans like Richard Cohen – from being heard in the media.

Ha ha, we LOVE it when Richard Cohen is heard in the media! He is the best “ex-gay” of all time! Let’s watch him on teevee right now. Later, Pete.

(Exodus’ Randy Thomas schmoozing with Karl Rove in headier times)

Is the once active “ex-gay” organization Exodus International on the decline?

Those who follow the group have noticed fewer events scheduled and virtually no media presence. The last press release for Exodus was posted on October 6, and the group’s front page promotes an event as far back as June. In terms of messaging, the group appears to be stuck in a rut and its once vital campaigns have grown predictable and stale.

Needless to say, I’m pleased with this development!

It is unclear if Exodus’ woes are a result of an internal shake-up, or if financial setbacks have hobbled the organization. Perhaps, they are not working as closely with Focus on the Family, which augmented Exodus’ past campaigns with creativity and professionalism. Ever since Focus on the Family handed over the flashy “ex-gay” road show Love Won Out to Exodus, it appears that the standing of Exodus has diminished.

The only evidence the group is still alive comes from Vice President Randy Thomas’ blog posts. But, even this venue suffers from inertia and rust, with Thomas posting offensive videos of Chambers preaching hate in 2006. Are there no new videos or messages to highlight?

In 2010 the organization left hardly a footprint. Its sluggish efforts lacked energy, and its impact had noticeably diminished. It will be interesting to see if Exodus comes out of its slumber and recovers in 2011.

The “ex-gay” group People Can Change (PCC) is increasingly filling the void left by Exodus. PCC runs Journey Into Manhood (JIM) weekends, which is a scam that takes gay men into the woods for $650, with the goal of making them more masculine. The group recently gained notoriety after ABC Nightline filmed a puff piece highlighting the group’s work. (A more accurate description of the group might be Journey into Manhunt)

The good news is that PCC is particularly vulnerable to scandal and outright collapse. This heavily Mormon organization adheres to the bizarre therapy model of Richard Cohen, the laughable and discredited “Sexual Reorientation Coach” who runs the bizarre International Healing Foundation. Convicted Wall Street hood, Arthur Abba Goldberg, is responsible for funneling a good number of paying clients into the group. (I’d love to see what’s in it for him) The organization’s senior trainer, Alan Downing, faced credible accusations of sexual misconduct by two clients earlier this year.

The PCC scheme is likely on borrowed time and is making a mistake by stepping out so publicly. Journalist Ted Cox wrote a fabulous expose showing the creepy and peculiar happenings at Journey into Manhood weekends. We had hoped that ABC Nightline would have engaged in real journalism and corroborated Cox’s story. However, they eschewed investigative reporting for cheap access to the camp, leading to a disappointing and woefully incomplete depiction and representation of Journey into Manhood weekends.

Still, it is only a matter of time before committed broadcast journalists with standards of excellence infiltrate JIM to reveal the closety, homo-erotic exercises that are offered in the camp’s “Cuddle Room”. When this happens, the entire program will turn into a punchline. I can hardly wait.

PFOX is also trying to assert itself, but its ties to the colorful and outrageous sexual engineer,  Richard Cohen, will likely retard the group’s progress. The organization’s president, Greg Quinlan, appears angry and unstable, further hindering PFOX’s efforts to have an impact and gain mainstream credibility.  And, Executive Director Regina Griggs is no more than a figurehead who avoids public appearances outside the safety of adoring fundamenalist Christian audiences. Indeed, PFOX may simply be a shell group for the Family Research Council and a number of Christian legal groups that want to show that “ex-gays” exist for political reasons. (To its detriment, PFOX embarrassingly can’t find real “ex-gays” to show, unless they work for the group, like Quinlan)

The National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH) remains a dangerous organization, because their members pose as legitimate experts on homosexuality. However, they consistently underachieve because they fail to produce respectable peer review studies.  Instead, they offer up transparent propaganda that has undermined the organization’s reputation with the public and media.

It will be interesting to see which one of these organizations — or perhaps a new one — comes out of the woodwork to pick up the slack. Hopefully, the answer is “None of the above.”

Richard Cohen, continues to undermine “ex-gay” groups

There is a brochure on the website of Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays (PFOX) that says,”Get Smart, Get The Facts”. Unfortunately, PFOX is fact averse when it comes to accepting that the District of Columbia has rescinded a certificate supposedly honoring the “ex-gay” organization.

On April 28, 2010, a controversy erupted after it was discovered that Adrian Fenty, then the mayor of Washington, D.C., inadvertently signed a “Certificate of Appreciation” for radical PFOX activist Regina Griggs. An ecstatic PFOX plastered the certificate prominently on its website. According to a gushing PFOX press release:

The government of the District of Columbia has awarded a certificate of appreciation to Regina Griggs, executive director of Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays & Gays (PFOX). The certificate, signed by D.C. mayor Adrian Fenty, recognizes Griggs for her “dedication, commitment, and outstanding contributions as Executive Director of Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays and Gays.”

“Regina’s award is well-deserved,” said Greg Quinlan, President of Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays & Gays. PFOX presented the award to Griggs last week in honor of her ten years of volunteer service to parents and the ex-gay community.

Like most everything with PFOX, the dust-up was a combination of grandstanding and smoke and mirrors. As for the certificate, it was essentially meaningless — no more than a perfunctory piece of paper signed by auto pen that virtually anyone could attain with minimal effort.

Nevertheless, PFOX deceptively pretended that the paper was a significant achievement that conferred the endorsement of the DC government. (Yes, the group’s actions are truly as desperate and pathetic as they sound.)

Upon learning that PFOX had received the lame piece of paper and was misrepresenting it as a real accomplishment, the mayor’s office took back the “honor”. The mayor’s office released a statement saying:

“A staff level error was made when the request for the certificate in question was fulfilled. We apologize for the error as it runs contrary to the Mayor’s vision of a more open and inclusive city.”

This very public and humiliating spanking occurred in April 2010. Yet, PFOX still has the certificate proudly displayed on its website.

Clearly, PFOX is an untrustworthy and unscrupulous organization with few morals and little regard for truth. If the group had one scintilla of integrity, it would have taken the certificate down from its site in April. Yet, the group continues to misrepresent itself and mislead the public — including potential clients in which it is trying to hawk expensive “ex-gay” snake oil cures.

To view the rescinded certificate, please visit the PFOX website and scroll down to the right hand corner.

Ironically, PFOX was allowed into the World Bank program as a DC-based charity*, even as it blatantly continues to defy the will of the DC government and parades a certificate that it was plainly told was invalid.

It is impossible to shame PFOX, because the group is shameless.

** PFOX is also fudging its DC credentials in its attempt to access taxpayer money through the World Bank. In reality, PFOX is not even close to DC. Its headquarters is in Reedville, VA — 127 miles and a two hour and forty minute drive  southeast of the nation’s capitol. To be listed as a charity an organziation has to have “a substantial local presence in the Greater Washington metropolitan area.” No one familiar with the workings of this group can claim that PFOX has but minimal ties to the District.

Sign Change.Org Petition HERE

Does the World Bank think that your sexual orientation can be cured? Well, maybe not officially, but that’s not stopping the World Bank from funneling money to an organization that not only tries to convert people from homosexuality to heterosexuality, but also has ties to Uganda’s “Kill the Gays” bill. Perhaps the World Bank is adjusting their mission statement: “Working for a World Free of Poverty … and Free of Gay People.”

As Metro Weekly’s Chris Geidner writes, the World Bank has allowed a controversial ex-gay group — Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays & Gays (PFOX) — to join the ranks of its Community Outreach Program, a workplace-giving campaign that allows employees of the World Bank to give money to an organization, and have that money matched by a contribution from the World Bank. Depending on how many employees decide to give money to PFOX, the World Bank will give anywhere from 50 percent to 100 percent in a matching donation.

Which means that in the months ahead, the World Bank will be giving money directly to an organization that believes homosexuality can be cured. On top of that, as Truth Wins Out notes, a former PFOX board member, Richard Cohen (who still serves as a therapy guru to the organization), was intimately involved in efforts to create legislation in Uganda that would punish homosexuality with the death penalty or life imprisonment.

And it gets even shadier. The director of PFOX’s Speakers Bureau, Abba Goldberg, is a convicted felon who was sentenced to a year and a half in prison for bilking poor communities with bond schemes. And PFOX has also had its tactics condemned by the worldwide psychological and medical profession, with leaders from the organization being thrown out of professional groups like the American Counseling Association for violating ethical protocols.

Wow, if the World Bank is willing to lend credence to an organization like PFOX, what does it say about their overall credibility? For the World Bank, it looks like corporate social responsibility equals corporate endorsement of curing gay people.

What’s also particularly troubling about the World Bank’s endorsement of PFOX is that it looks like the Bank made an exception in order to squeeze PFOX under its Community Outreach Program guidelines. Under those guidelines, a qualifying organization is supposed to have “a substantial local presence in the Greater Washington metropolitan area.” But a 2009 report by the Washington City Paper revealed that PFOX has no presence in D.C.; moreover, the organization’s headquarters are in Reedville, Virginia — a whopping 127 miles from Washington, D.C.

“It is factually incorrect to say that PFOX has a ‘substantial local presence in DC’”, said Truth Wins Out’s Executive Director Wayne Besen. “Either PFOX is committing fraud against the World Bank, or they are receiving special rights from the organization and inexplicably allowed to pass as a local organization.”

The World Bank has some serious explaining to do, Lucy. Of course, if you listen to World Bank spokespeople, they say that their support of PFOX shouldn’t be considered an endorsement of PFOX’s work. And if you believe that, I think there’s a bridge in Alaska that’s for sale, too.

“‘Because Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays (PFOX) met the minimum criteria for inclusion on the Community Connections campaign, they were included this year,” said a spokesperson for the World Bank, according to Metro Weekly. Ah, such bureaucratic speak for such a serious issue.

Send the World Bank a message that their decision to include PFOX in the Community Outreach Program is as offensive as it is tactless. This is an organization that uses manipulation and discredited psychological tactics to “cure” people of their sexual orientation, has ties to an anti-gay bill in Uganda that could wipe out an entire population of gay people, and who has a leadership that includes people with shady criminal ties. Is that really the type of “charity” the World Bank wants to lend credence to?

Sign Petition Now

That’s right, the World Bank has put its name behind a “Sexual Reorientation Coach” — Richard Cohen –who was permanently expelled from the American Counseling Association (March 22, 2002) for multiple ethics violations.

WTF?

Metro Weekly reporter Chris Geidner has discovered that Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays  – PFOX – will soon be able to say that its programming is supported by funding provided to it by the World Bank.

As part of the World Bank’s efforts to ”strengthen communities,” the Community Outreach Program coordinates an annual workplace-giving campaign that includes World Bank matching funds given to various community groups and international nonprofits. Depending on the level of employee participation, the bank’s matching funds are either 50 percent or 100 percent of the employee donations.

Requirements include that the organization be incorporated as a ”not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization,” have ”a substantial local presence in the Greater Washington metropolitan area,” prepare ”an annual IRS Form 990” and adhere to a few other general provisions. The materials also note that the organization must ”[o]bserve and practice a policy of inclusivity and equal opportunity.”

PFOX supports so-called ”conversion” therapy – by which people who identify as gay attempt to become ex-gay – and the National Association for Reparative Therapy (NARTH), specifically.

One of the few videos on the PFOX YouTube channel is a video of an interview with former NARTH president Dr. Joseph Nicolosi. Another shows a televised debate between PFOX’s Peter Sprigg and Truth Wins Out executive director Wayne Besen, who has been writing about the ex-gay organizations for more than a decade.

Besen told Metro Weekly on Wednesday afternoon, ”It’s as sickening as it is scandalous.”

Besen said that the former president of PFOX, Richard Cohen – who Besen described as ”the guru of the organization to this day” – runs the International Healing Foundation and ”sent his protégé to Uganda – and what came from that was the Anti-Homosexuality Bill” that has been the subject of intense worldwide scrutiny and criticism.

”Here’s this group that is tied to what can only be described as an eliminationist campaign, worldwide, against gay people,” Besen said, ”and they’re receiving money from the World Bank?”

The American Psychological Association has studied efforts to help people change their sexual orientation, resulting in a 2009 resolution concluding that ”there is insufficient evidence to support the use of psychological interventions to change sexual orientation.”

The resolution went on to ”encourage mental health professionals to avoid misrepresenting the efficacy of sexual orientation change efforts by promoting or promising change in sexual orientation when providing assistance to individuals distressed by their own or others’ sexual orientation.”

PFOX, however, describes its mission on its website by stating that, ”Each year thousands of men, women and teens with unwanted same-sex attractions make the personal decision to leave homosexuality.

”However, there are those who refuse to respect that decision,” the site tells visitors. ”Consequently, formerly gay persons are reviled simply because they dare to exist! Without PFOX, ex-gays would have no voice in a hostile environment.”

Besen, though, said of the World Bank’s inclusion of PFOX in its campaign, ”It’s unbelievable that they’re putting forth a group that is rejected by every mental health organization out there. This is not a charity – or, is only in the most technical terms – this is a group that’s not designed to help people, but to hurt them.”

Besen said that PFOX’s inclusion in the campaign could raise questions about the World Bank’s commitment to diversity – both in its workforce and in its programs.

”I think it undermines the World Bank’s claim to be a group that cares about diversity, and it really makes all of their programs suspect,” he said.

The World Bank spokesperson disagreed, writing, ”The World Bank Group is committed to a diverse staff, offering Domestic Partner benefits to same sex couples, including for health coverage, for over 10 years.”

He added that the World Bank ”was the first international financial institution to offer health care insurance coverage for same sex couples.

Besen noted that the move has implications for PFOX as well. ”I think what it also does with PFOX – they’re actually using the World Bank and exploiting them and their reputation to promote their agenda. And the World Bank shouldn’t fall for it.”

As for the next steps, Besen said that the World Bank ”shouldn’t endorse this whatsoever. They shouldn’t hide behind technicalities. Hatred is hatred.

”They should make an example of it. Say, this is not – PFOX does not represent our values.”

The World Bank spokesperson, however, told Metro Weekly only that ”Community Connections has made clear that they will take the views of staff, including GLOBE, in their consideration of what charities will be included next year.”

Today, Truth Wins Out threw a fun protest in Philadelphia!  The occasion was the annual convention of NARTH [National Association for the Research and Therapy of Homosexuality], which is most famous for having a board member named George Rekers, who was caught coming back from a European Holiday of some sort with a young male escort procured through Rentboy.com.  Other than that, they have contributed very little to the national discourse, at least from an educational or scientific perspective.  Anyway, as you can see in these pictures, fun was had by all, and if you hop over to JoeMyGod, you’ll see that Joe has a great round-up of today’s events, and a lot more pictures.  He even has a lovely photo gallery of the douchebags who came there because they inexplicably support NARTH, like Christopher Doyle, and Matt Barber, who has the same goatee I have!  The only difference is that I’m cute.  Oh, and I’m not a professional liar?  There is that.

Joe’s comment on Christopher Doyle is awesome, so I have to quote it here, because it made me LOL:

The tall bald guy is Christopher Doyle, an “ex-gay” who is on the board of PFOX and who is on staff with “ex-gay” whackadoodle Richard Cohen as a “Sexual Reorientation Coach” at the International Healing Foundation. If that wasn’t enough for this professionally “former” c*cksucker, he writes newspaper editorials arguing against the Day Of Silence. Anyway, I don’t think pillow-whacker Richard Cohen has totally gotten Doyle is touch with his “natural masculine nature,” because when I kept taking photos, Doyle put his hand on his hip and hissed, “I don’t need this. Why don’t you just sssssssstop!”

And that is why we like to invite Joe to do things.

Anyway, enjoy these pictures and then click on over to JMG.

This is probably the most hilarious thing I’ve ever read from a wingnut making baseless claims about people changing their sexual orientation. Responding to Valerie Jarrett’s poorly chosen words about gay people’s “lifestyle choices,” wingnut Bob Ellis writes:

Yes, what [Jarrett] meant to say was this: “I know that homosexuals are slaves to their lusts and are incapable of allowing their minds or their wills to supersede their desires. Everyone knows that, unlike the alcoholic who can stop drinking or the gambler who can stop gambling, homosexuals are ‘born that way’ and are incapable of free will when it comes to sexual behavior.”

This is what homosexual activists and their “useful idiots” claim to believe, even though countless homosexuals have for thousands of years been leaving the homosexual lifestyle behind.

WOW! I had no idea Richard Cohen was beating pillow with tennis rackets thousands of years ago! Moreover, I bet the Journey into Manhood camps in ancient Greece were even hotter than they are now, what with the little toga things all the guys wore. It’s probably a whole different experience having an “ex-gay” counselor press his boner into your back when he’s dressed in such thin linens!

By the way, in the original piece, Ellis links the word “countless” to a story about 1 [one] guy in the UK who claims he has changed his sexual orientation, but as usual, nobody really knows what gets him sexually aroused but him. For “thousands of years,” he links to a Bible verse which didn’t even include the word “homosexual” in its original text, and for which the word “homosexual” is not only a poor translation, not only a lazy translation, but also just flat wrong. For the word “leaving,” he links to some crap about NARTH, which is funny since one of the “main brains” behind the operation was recently caught coming back from Europe with a male escort, having had his luggage lifted thoroughly whilst on vacation. Etc.

You get the idea. The links are all echo chamber crap which only seems credible to the stupid or easily led.