Thursday, December 25, 2008

Out For A Drive On Christmas Day



We took the Contessa out for an airing on Christmas Day...

Her Majesty's Christmas Speech 2008

Betty has a few words to say on the occasion...

Why Is Same-Sex Marriage Important?



I hope that you were all paying attention to the debate over California's Proposition 8, which took away the right to marry from same-sex couples. At the time Keith Olberman, on his show "Countdown", devoted one of his special comments to the subject. Here is a straight man making the case for same-sex marriage with a passion and eloquence that one would hope that we could bring forth in the debate. I only wish that more people had heard this. Please listen.

Rachel Maddow on Obama's choice of Rick Warren to give the Innaugural Invocation



Rachel Maddow makes it clear that the Rick Warren controversy is not going away and that the choice of Rick Warren is a seriously bad one for the people as well.

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Bailout By The Numbers

From Americablog.com:

Have a great holiday!!

These are the people who bankrolled the Proposition 8 vote in California!

Family Values... right!:

From AP

Texas Report Says Abuse Widespread in FLDS Sect

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Nearly two-thirds of the families living at a polygamist group's ranch — targeted in a high-profile raid last spring — had children who were abused or neglected, Texas child welfare officials said in a report released Tuesday.

The Department of Family and Protective Services concluded there was evidence that 12 girls, ages 12 to 15, were "spiritually" married to adult men in the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, which runs the Yearning For Zion Ranch in Eldorado. Seven of them had one or more children, the report says.

Another 262 children were listed as neglected because the agency said their parents knew there was sexual abuse in the household but did not move to protect their children from possible abuse.

...

The individual investigations, which covered 146 families, concluded that 91 families had children who were abused or neglected. Crimmins said that conclusion confirmed what investigators initially suspected — that girls were being forced into underage marriages and other children were exposed to that harm.

FLDS spokesman Willie Jessop disputed the findings.

And these pedophiles and child abusers think that same-sex marriage will destroy families. Disgraceful!

Tom Tomorrow Strip from Salon

Part 1 of Tom Tomorrow's end of the year review (click on it for full size)...


Tuesday, December 23, 2008

What might it be like if Christians were treated as Gays and Lesbians are?

From Pam's House Blend:

On a Christian denominational discussion board, a person who is gay said "the Christian church is the stated enemy of the gay community"

And a person who is clergy in that denomination said "Or do you mean the gay community is the stated enemy of many Christian churches, the UCC & MCC excluded, at least. "

Which got me thinking:

"What might it look like if someone wanted to treat Christians the way gay people are treated?"

  • For one, tax benefits afforded to other not-for-profit institutions would be denied to churches, probably on the basis of separation of church and state. There are some who advocate for this, but they are not GLBT groups.
  • Christianity would be portrayed as a form of mental illness to be cured. There are some who advocate for this, but they are not GLBT groups.
  • When children gave their lives to Christ, their parents could have them shipped off to programs where they would be taught how not to be Christian, showing tough love for these wayward youth. There may be some who advocate for this, but they are not GLBT groups.
  • There would be programs to help people struggling with Christianity by using aversion and (probably in the 50's or 60's) shock therapy. I don't think that ever happened to Christians.
  • Christianity would be seen as a reason to deny custody - and even visitation in some cases - of children to a parent. There may be some who advocate for this, but they are not GLBT groups.
  • Christians would not be allowed to adopt - or even be foster parents - for fear of indoctrinating children in the ways of Christianity. There may be some who advocate for this, but they are not GLBT groups.
  • Christians would not be allowed to teach for fear of indoctrinating children in the ways of Christianity. There may be some who advocate for this, but they are not GLBT groups.
  • Students would not be allowed to have Christian groups, or Christian-Atheist Alliance groups, probably on the basis of separation of church and state. There are some who advocate for this, but they are not GLBT groups.
  • Clergy would not be allowed to visit patients in the hospital, as they have no legal relationship with the patients. I don't know of anyone who advocates for this.
  • The behavior of a few Christians would be held up as "how Christians act". Some GLBT people do that in the context of how Christians treat them. But it would go much further: examples of beliefs in young Earth creation, the church's historical opposition to cosmology that wasn't geocentric, the bloodiness of the Crusades and the cruelty of the Inquisition, and the deaths of children refused medical attention or having the demons beat out of them based on faith. There are some who regularly portray all Christians this way, but they are not GLBT groups.
  • There are some who treat Christians the way some many visible Christians treat GLBT people. But those some are mostly not GLBT people, and there is no organized GLBT effort to do to Christians what organized Christian efforts do to GLBT people.



John Stewart Eviscerates Elaine Donnelly on "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"