Remembering Matthew Shepard, Then and Now

Saturday is the fourteenth anniversary of the day Matthew Shepard was kidnapped, beaten, tied to a fence outside of Laramie, Wyoming, and left to die.  After being found a day later, he held on for six days until dying on October 12, 1998.  His murder brought hate crimes perpetrated against LGBT persons into the international media and dialogue.

At the time, I was a frightened, closeted seminarian. Here is a link to my essay on The Huffington Post, in which I reflect upon Matthew's murder: "Confessions of an Ex-Priest: Matthew Shepard and Laramie -- Their Meaning Then and Now."

Photo via HRC.

Hate Crimes, Shootings, Guns, Domestic Terrorism, and the History of Ignorant Attacks on American Sikhs

The focus of this blog is most commonly the violence and hatred with which hypocritical religious individuals and institutions shower LGBT persons.  After last weekend's mass shooting at a Sikh gurdwara in Wisconsin, I am again made painfully aware of the violence and hatred that religious individuals and institutions are capable of hurling at those of other religions.  This shooting is another in an endless line of violence that results from the tragic combination of ignorance, hatred, religion, and weapons of mass destruction.  

Hatred:  Since 9/11, hate crimes against Sikhs have risen dramatically.  A recent article on The Huffington Post lists a few dozen of these crimes and the hatred that fueled the perpetrators.  

Ignorance:  The Huffington Post article shares numerous quotes of those who perpetrated these crimes.  One murderer said: “I'm a patriot and an American. I'm American. I'm a damn American," "I'm going to go out and shoot some towel-heads," "all Arabs should be shot," and his desire to "slit some Iranian throats."  There is a common pattern in the listed crimes: the Sikh victims were ignorantly assumed to be Muslims, specifically members of the terrorist organization al-Qaeda.  

Sikhs are not in any way Muslim, nor are they the members of al-Qaeda responsible for 9/11.  Neither are nearly 100% of the world's Muslims and/or Iranians.  Yet, innocent Americans of these backgrounds have now been the victims of eleven years of domestic terrorism perpetrated by self-proclaimed "real Americans."  Ignorance breeds hatred and violence.

Religion:  From what I've been able to research (I'm by no means an expert on Sikh beliefs.), the founders of the Sikh religion, the Sikh Gurus, did not believe in the exclusivity of their teachings or writings.  Contrast this with the founders of Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and Mormonism, who all believed that they had a divinely-inspired, exclusive claim to the one and ultimate truth.  In other words, our god is better than your god(s).  This is a recipe for violence in the name of one's supreme being.

Weapons of Mass Destruction:  Glock semiautomatic pistols and handguns have been usedin  the recent mass shootings in Oak Creek, Aurora, Tucson, and Blacksberg.  The high-capacity magazines that have been used with them have been created with one purpose only: shoot as many bullets in as few seconds as possible. The result is mass destruction, injury, death, and terror.

We live in a nation, where the right of a U.S. citizen to legally buy these weapons of mass destruction trumps the right of every other citizen to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.  After last weekend's attack upon the Sikh gurdwara, we again see that the right to bear weapons of mass destruction also trumps the right to peacefully assemble and the right to worship or not worship as one sees fit.

We accept many limitations on our rights.  It's illegal to drive at unsafe speeds, because the result might be death.  It's illegal to smoke at many indoor establishments, because the result might be cases of lung cancer for those standing nearby.  It's illegal to self-prescribe medications, because one might do harm by means of an overdose or uninformed mixing of drugs.  It's illegal to drink and drive, because one might cause an accident killing others.  

If we accept these limits on our rights to perform these actions, because the result of these actions might be injury and death to others, why can we not accept limits upon the right of citizens to purchase and stockpile the semiautomatic weapons and high-capacity magazines that have been the tools used to reap terror, destruction, hatred and death upon so many innocent Americans?

How many more times must the tragic confluence of ignorance, hatred, religion and weapons of mass destruction be allowed to occur before we legislate concrete, preventative measures to ensure the safety of all Americans? 

In the meanwhile, the ignorance of a few will continue to result in hate crimes perpetrated against the many.  

Here's what Lawrence O'Donnell had to say about the NRA after the tragedy in Aurora, CO:

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FCKH8.com Confronts Opposite-Sex Marriage Double Standards & Raises Money for Marriage Equality in Minnesota

Dan Savage and Keith Olbermann Get to the Heart of the Hatred Involved in Religious Homophobia

     In the video below, Dan Savage and Keith Olbermann get to the heart of how religion conditions gay persons to hate themselves.  So much of what Savage says speaks true to my past experience of being trained to hate myself as "God created me." 

     An example of this is in an Advocate article by John Becker, a married gay man, who went undercover and experienced the "ex-gay therapy" offered at Michelle Bachmann's husband's "clinic."  So much of what they told Becker is what I was told in Catholic seminary "formation."  I'm so grateful that I escaped.

     Back to Savage and Olbermann.  Savage is brilliant at turning homophobic arguments on their heads.  (The first half of the interview is about the Tony-winning The Book Mormon and marriage equality in New York.)  Start the video at minute 11:00 to get the point about the homophobia preached by many religions, Christianity in particular.

Here's a little bonus video: "I Believe" from The Book of Mormon.

Correction to Yesterday's Post, Martin Luther King Jr. Quote Is Not Completely Accurate But Is Still as Scathing

     The quote attributed to Martin Luther King Jr. that I used in yesterday's post and that is being disseminated in the wake of Osama bin Laden's death is not completely accurate.  

Image via Detroit Free Press

     A Facebook user posted her own thoughts followed by King's quote.  Somewhere in the electronic game of "Telephone" that is social media, her original introductory sentence and the actual King quote were combined into a single quote.  Those little things called quotation marks make a huge difference.  (See Eats, Shoots & Leaves for more on the importance of proper punctuation.)

     The actual quote is from King's book Strength to Love, page 53.  It reads: 

     Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that. Hate multiplies hate, violence multiplies violence.

     From Maschable.com:

     The Detroit Free Press reported that the first sentence — the part referencing “thousands” supposedly comes from Twitter user Jessica Dovey, who tweeted this morning at Jillette: “I am the original author of the ‘MLK’ quote. Somewhere my words got mixed with his.” Jillette then retweeted her tweet containing the admission.

     Even if the entire quote didn't come from King's lips, it doesn't devalue the meaning of what's being disseminated.  The unblemished King quote is stronger because it doesn't devalue the feelings of relief and redress belonging to those who lost loved ones in the 9/11 attacks. Also, the actual quote is  more universal and just as scathing of the condemnatory religious comments by Mike Huckabee, etc. and the actions of those who are boasting.

While America Rejoices in the Death of Osama bin Laden...

     "Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that."* 

--Martin Luther King, Jr.
*See Correction

     If only we as a nation could show that kind of intelligence and control.  Instead, the likes of preacher-turned-politician-turned-FOX-personality-turned-politician Mike Huckabee continue the jihad of hatred by welcoming Osama bin Laden to hell.  

     What happened to "love your enemies and pray for your persecutors"?  

     Along with usury, caring for the poor, protecting children, and reaching out to those on the margins, many Christians in the U.S.A. have forgotten their scriptures.  The hatred spewing forth across the nation under the guise of celebration will only breed more hatred for the truly ugly American.

     Am I relieved the world is free of one more religious fundamentalist determined to kill in the name of his god?  Yes.

     But will I rejoice and boast?  This atheist will not.

     Get some class, America.

A Response to Donald Trump's Racism and Disregard for the Dignity of Every Black American

     Baratunde Thurston's heartfelt response to the undying Gospel According to Hate and Racism that fueled the release of President Obama's birth certificate to Donald Trump's Tea Party.

Will Right-Wing Christians Go after Interracial Marriages Next?

      Public Policy Polling recently released a poll of Republican primary voters in Mississippi.  Here's the most shocking result:

     46% of these hardcore Republican voters believe interracial marriage should be illegal, while 40% think it should be legal.

     No, this isn't 1966 when interracial marriage became legal in Mississippi.  This is 2011.   

     But who are these "hardcore Republicans"?

     AOL News shed some interesting light with this tidbit from the polling data:

     The PPP poll also revealed that [Sarah] Palin has more support among voters who believe interracial marriage should be illegal than among those who are OK with it. Mitt Romney's numbers reveal just the opposite. He has a higher favorability among Mississippi Republicans who want interracial marriage to remain legal.

     Interesting.   

     One thing I hear all the time from well-intentioned supporters of marriage equality is "Just be patient.  The next generation is more accepting. Things will change in another ten or twenty years."  Well check out this result from the poll:

     Yes, the 18-29 bracket is nearly as racist as the over 65 crowd. How's that for all are created equal?  Maybe we should cut billions more from education, fire tens of thousands more teachers, and give more corporations tax cuts, so that more and more of our young never learn about the radical nature of their nation's Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and history of civil rights that deplore such racism, bigotry, and hatred.  Dog bless America.

Plural Marriage, Racism, Homophobia, and Armageddon for "Big Love"

     Tonight is the series finale of HBO's polygamist-family drama Big Love.

     Here's a clip in honor of Bill Henrickson and his "true" Mormons:


     Because the other "true" Church of Latter Day Saints knows about the sanctity of marriage:

      Some LDS claim plural marriage is an immutable pillar of their faith.  Others have spent millions of dollars on smear campaigns against same-sex couples in an attempt to prove the Mormon church believes marriage is, has been, and always will be, as their God commanded, between one man and one woman.  But they are hypocrites.  LDS teachings are mutable.   

     Or do they still believe the once-immutable teaching that African-Americans and other persons of color are the cursed descendants of Cain?  Polygamist Brigham Young did. Here's a Young quote from a Utah State University Secular Humanists, Atheists, and Free Thinkers article, entitled, "Why I Don’t Believe: Racism in Mormon History and Doctrine:"

     Shall I tell you the law of God in regard to the African race? If the white man who belongs to the chosen seed mixes his blood with the seed of Cain, the penalty, under the law of God, is death on the spot. This will always be so. (Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, Volume 10, page 110)

     Tonight, as I say goodbye to the Henricksons, I can only hope that someday the Mormon church will say goodbye to its homophobia as it did to its racism.

Image via Entertainment Weekly

     PS.  If gays were as dominant in football as African-Americans, would the LDS drop its teachings condemning homosexuals to improve BYU's chances of winning a national championship?

Lawrence O'Donnell Blasts FOX's Bill O'Reilly and Glenn Beck for Their "Concerns" about Japan

     Here's Lawrence O'Donnell's reaction to Bill O'Reilly's claims that the news media is falsely "hyping" the tragedy in Japan, while O'Reilly's FOX compatriot Glenn Beck invokes Revelation, "these days," and the end of the world as we know it.  Beck's god "may or may not be" punishing Japan with the earthquake/tsunami and "may or may not be" coming to eradicate the human race.  O'Donnell blasts Beck's fear-driven eschatology and hate-based theology.  How refreshing to see reason over religion on the news!

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Wisconsin, Michigan, Washington, Public vs Private Sector, Salaries, Unions, Tax Cuts, Corporations, Greed, Religion, Hypocrisy, & the Republican Jesus Christ of the Upper Class: David Koch -- A Lament for Our Time

     Good Christian white rich men rejoice!  With heart and soul and voice!  If Calvin was right and the Prosperity Gospel is true, then you are on your way to heaven.  Only, you may not want to stay long as your Jesus will be hanging out with the poor people who's rights, benefits, and livelihoods you've crushed.  

     You say it's the middle class and public employees that are bankrupting America, especially those money-hoarding teachers, power-hungry nurses, and lazy road-construction workers.  You hypocrites!  You forget, that we are the poor souls are paying your salaries.

Gov. Scott Walker's  Tax-Funded Housing

• Public employee Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin (Republican/Baptist), who with his Republican congress broke Wisconsin state open-meeting law to strip workers of their right to unionize, receives a state-provided salary: $137,092 (This was also his starting salary.)  Those greedy public school teachers that you, good Baptist Walker, accuse of being overpaid, what do they make?  The starting salary for a school teacher in Wisconsin is $25,222.   The average salary of a Wisconsin public school teacher is $52,644.  Why are you complaining, Walker?  That's a deal, as the teachers and other public workers aren't provided with the same benefits as you, like a governor's mansion.  If you really want equality, then every public employee of Wisconsin should have his/her housing paid for, like you.  Hypocrite.  (For more fun salary statistics see the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.)

Gov. Rick Snyder's Tax-Funded Housing

• Public employee, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder (Republican/Presbyterian), who is pushing for his GOP-controlled legislature to pass a bill that will allow him to appoint an "emergency manager" in "financial emergencies" with the power to throw out the state's publicly-elected officials and replace them with private workers of his choice, has the third highest salary of any governor in America: $177,000--before the mansion.  Those GOP legislators in Michigan each make $71,685.  I wonder, dear legislators, if that would be enough pay were you stuck all day in classroom of thirty clueless kindergarten students or cleaning bedpans for a patient with a highly contagious disease in a state hospital?  Oh, and you wouldn't get your $12,000 expense account for shlepping actual fecal matter.

• Speaker of the House John Boehner (Roman Catholic), who is fighting like a saint to cut programs that serve the poor and middle class, while extending and expanding tax cuts to large corporations and the upper class, is paid a salary of $223,500 of those middle and lower class' tax dollars.  Boehner's left hand, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Baptist), makes $193,400; his right hand, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (Jewish--Okay, so they're not all Christian hypocrites), $193,400. The current salary for "rank and file members" of the U.S. legislature is a measly $174,000.  But you, six-figure politicians, demonize snowplow drivers, waterworks employees, firefighters, postal workers, and police officers for draining the nation's resources.  (And let's not forget, that we tax payers are buying you anti-government-provided-healthcare Republicans the best government-supplied healthcare our tax dollars can buy, even though many of us don't have jobs that provide us with health insurance benefits.)  Speaker Boehner, next time you get teary eyed talking about how horrendous the recession has been on the American people, I will personally bite my thumb at you and your Bush-Obama tax breaks for the wealthy, you members of congress, who during the first year of the recession saw your median personal fortunes rise from $785,515 to $911,510.  Yes, you really do know what it's like to walk in my middle class shoes.

     So, why don't all of you Tea Party/Republican politicians put your money where your mouth is and lower your wages, benefits, and expense accounts to the average made by your fellow public workers?  In Wisconsin, you would drop to a salary of $50,774; in Michigan, $58,801; and in Washington, DC, $82,607 (which is only $457 more than DC's private sector workers.  Hmm.  I wonder if the immense cluster of elected public officials and their six-figure salaries have anything to do with DC leading the nation's average public-sector salary?).  Or better yet, you should all work for free.   When you each average nearly a million dollars in personal wealth, why should we be paying you?

     But the public money that the Scott Walkers and John Boeners of the world are being paid is peanuts compared to the billions their benevolent benefactors are making thanks to unprecedented tax cuts, courtesy of the political lobbying and campaign donations bought and paid for by multi-billionaire heir David Koch (Roman Catholic) and the like.  

     Mister Koch--Or shall we refer to you as "Master"?--you might want to catch up on the social ethics of your own precious Holy (Dysfunctional) Mother Church, who has supported the right of workers to join unions and collectively bargain, not to mention a just wages, universal healthcare, taxation of the rich, and service to the poor, alien, and ill.  Of course, Mother Church is still giving you and your Speaker Boehner communion, which makes her a hypocrite, as well.

     Oh, America, when did you become so ungrateful?  Oh, Middle Class, when did you become so ignorant, so easily duped?  When will you wake up and see that the problem is not that public workers are paid too much but that private workers, whose corporate overlords are stuffing their pockets via tax loopholes they've bought and secured with your votes, are paid too little!  You are fighting over the difference of a few thousand dollars, while the upper class of our nation, Wall Street thieves, and corporate hoarders are transferring wealth from the middle class to the upper 2% at unprecedented proportions.  The Forbes 400, the richest 400 individuals in the nation, have no amassed more wealth than a combined 155 million Americans.

     Yes, 0.0001% of the American public holds 50% of the nation's wealth.  Don't believe me, take it up with Forbes and simple math (although I had to get out my old scientific calculator to divide 400 by 310,964,000).  Trickle down economics--the warrior's cry of the Republican politicians of my youth--has shed it's grace on thee, upper 0.0001%.

     But still, the GOP wants to extend tax cuts to the wealthiest Americans at the expense of the poor and middle class.  This chart from the Center for American Progress says it all:

     If faced with such an immoral disparity, what would Jesus do?  

     Apparently, the Jesus of the United States of America would take back the loaves and fishes he'd given to the middle class of Wisconsin, shake the snow from his sandals, and walk across the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers to Wichita so he could hand-feed David Koch.

Farmers Join Wisconsin Public Labor Protests

     I've heard the middle and lower classes despairing on Facebook and in the streets, "What can we do?"  "We're helpless."  "We don't have the money to influence politicians like the corporations and billionaires do."  Well still have the votes, although the upper class is working pretty hard to take those away from us too.  We have the numbers.  It's time to STRIKE!  If every public employee in this nation stopped working for one or two days, the nation would come to a standstill.  And even David Koch couldn't save the upper class then.

     Postscript: In my years as a Catholic school student, seminarian, and priest, I never once heard a private sector/Catholic school teacher or parish employee, who was making between twenty and forty thousand dollars while trying to feed a natural-family-planning family of four or five children, ever say, "You know, I'm making just the right amount of money for what I do."  So, let's not blame the state for being too generous to school teachers, when it's the private sector who refuses pay its workers a just wage.

Hug a teacher!

Anti-Gay Christian Fundamentalist Rev. Grant Storms Arrested for Masturbating in Public Park while Watching Children

     Hypocrisy alert: Rev. Grant Storms, another outspoken, hate-spewing, anti-gay Christian cleric, goes down in a sex scandal involving children.  

     The Times-Picayune reports:

     The Rev. Grant Storms, a Christian fundamentalist best known for his bullhorn protests of the Southern Decadence festival in the French Quarter, was arrested for allegedly masturbating at a Metairie park Friday afternoon...Storms told deputies that he was merely having lunch at Lafreniere Park, 3000 Downs Blvd., in his van when he decided to relieve himself using a bottle instead of using the restroom, an incident report said.

     But two witnesses said they saw Storms through the open windows of his van masturbating himself while watching children on the playground, the report said.

     Armed with bullhorns, Bibles and picket signs, Storms and a group of followers in 2003 protested against Southern Decadence, the gay three-day festival held over Labor Day weekend in the French Quarter. Storms' efforts prompted the New Orleans City Council to ban megaphones and other amplification devices.

     And we gays are the ones they're calling pedophiles.

Rev. Storms, Masturbator,

and Possible Pedophile

Glenn Beck's Hateful Anti-Christ Theology, Bill O'Reilly's Tide Argument, FOX "News" or the Church of Rupert Murdoch?: a "Scientific" Explanation

     Here's Rachel Maddow's report on Glenn Beck's "reporting" about the connection between President Obama, the "antichrist," and the "end times."  Even ten years ago, this religious nonsense would have been laughed off as crazy by reputable news organizations, but now it's broadcast as "news."  If you don't think they're effective, you might be shocked to discover in the embedded report that 35% of the people polled in New Jersey--not Mississippi, Idaho, Arizona or Texas, but politically diverse New Jersey--think that Obama is either the "antichrist" or don't know whether or not he is.

     What Glenn Beck and FOX are doing is not reporting.  As I listened to him, I recognized his method; I learned to structure such a presentation in seminary, in my homiletics classes.  Beck  is preaching--admittedly poorly--the religious xenophobia of fundamentalist Christians.  FOX is not a news organization, but a church.  (Let's just hope Holy Father Rupert doesn't realize this and apply for religious tax exemption.)

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     In other FOX "News"/Gospel preaching, Bill O'Reilly has been arguing for the existence of his god based on what he claims is humanity's inability to explain the rise and fall of the tides and the origin of the moon and the sun.  The Huffington Post reports:

     In a video for Premium Members of his website, Bill O'Reilly doubled down on his statement that the existence of the tides is definitive evidence that God exists.  

     The Fox News host took a lot of heat for claiming that science cannot explain why the tides occur in such a regular fashion when in fact the tides are the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the moon and the sun and the rotation of the Earth.

     O'Reilly remains unimpressed:

     'Okay, how did the moon get there? How'd the moon get there? Look, you pinheads who attacked me for this, you guys are just desperate. How'd the moon get there? How'd the sun get there? How'd it get there? Can you explain that to me? How come we have that and Mars doesn't have it? Venus doesn't have it. How come? Why not? How'd it get here?'

     In fact, prevailing scientific theory is that the moon formed as the result of a massive impact with Earth; Mars has two moons; etc, etc. 

     And those who continuously say, "See it's just a scientific 'theory'!" need to learn the actual scientific meaning of the term before projecting their colloquial usage.  A scientific theory is a proven scientific hypothesis.  (We should have learned this in middle school science class or even sooner.)

     There's a great explanation of this middle-school wisdom on Wilstar.com.  Here's a clip:

     A theory is what one or more hypotheses become once they have been verified and accepted to be true. A theory is an explanation of a set of related observations or events based upon proven hypotheses and verified multiple times by detached groups of researchers. Unfortunately, even some scientists often use the term "theory" in a more colloquial sense, when they really mean to say "hypothesis." That makes its true meaning in science even more confusing to the general public. In general, both a scientific theory and a scientific law are accepted to be true by the scientific community as a whole.

     Here's the equation of the day.  Don't worry, it's easier to comprehend than E = mc².

     Scientific Ignorance + Religious Fundamentalism = FOX "News" Hypotheses about the Tides, the Moon, and President "antichrist" Obama

Cartoon by Don Addis of St. Petersburg Times

Inhospitable Christian Sodomite Elder Bobby Harries Denies Entry of LGBT Homeless to Church Shelter

     Change.org reports:

     Elder Bobby Harris is the head of the House of Mercy homeless shelter in Columbus, Georgia. If you're homeless or in need, his religious shelter is there to offer you refuge. Unless, of course, you happen to be gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender. If that's the case, Elder Bobby Harris has a few short words for you: "[Homosexuality] is not tolerated here at all."

     So much for that Christian obligation to help all who are in need. At the House of Mercy, there's apparently a sexual orientation and gender identity litmus test.

      Elder Harris spoke to WRBL in Columbus this week, after numerous activists (including over 1,000 Change.org members) wrote the shelter criticizing the House of Mercy's policy to deny gay homeless people shelter. Harris stuck to his guns, and reiterated his previous statement that the reason LGBT people weren't welcome at his center was because "of the Bible."

     In an irony of Biblical proportions, when I studied the Old Testament in seminary, I learned that mainstream scripture scholars concur that the actual "sin of Sodom" was failing to provide hospitality to those in need of a roof over their head.

     Thus, Elder Bobby Harris has revealed himself a true Sodomite.

     Many will argue that it's freedom of religion for Christians to discriminate against LGBT persons, the separation of church and state.  True.  They can use their money to be as cruel and mean to people in their pews as they want to be.  But guess where Elder Bobby Harris gets some of his funding?  You guessed it.  He's using U.S. tax dollars to discriminate.    Change.org continues:

     But as Alex Blaze uncovered at Bilerico, the House of Mercy sure looks like it receives some federal grant money, at least according to its 990 form. Moreover, Georgia's government approved a measure last year that earmarked $75,000 for the House of Mercy, via the state's Special Housing Initiatives program. That's an awful lot of taxpayer money to be giving a shelter that refuses to serve and shelter all who are in need.

     Harris' tax exemption should immediately be revoked.

Anglican Priest Show's up at David Kato's Funeral to Condemn Gay Mourners

     A gay civil rights leader is bludgeoned to death by a hammer in his own home after a local newspaper outed him and called for the hanging of all gays.  Terrified, shocked, and friends, family, and supporters bravely gather to mourn the assassination of their leader.  What would Jesus do?

     The BBC reports (click here for a video report that can't be embedded):

     Ugandan police have escorted a priest away from the funeral of a gay rights activist after he told homosexuals to repent, sparking scuffles.  Anglican priest Thomas Musoke told mourners that homosexuality was "evil".

     Hundreds of people had gathered for David Kato's burial in his home village near the capital, Kampala...hundreds of people - friends, family, colleagues and diplomats - crowded outside Mr Kato's family home in the village of Nakawala in Mukono district, 40km (about 25 miles) from Kampala.  Many members of the lesbian and gay community wore T-shirts with Mr Kato's portrait on the front and the words "La luta continua [the struggle continues]" printed on the back.

     They were shocked when the priest started condemning homosexuals.  "You must repent. Even the animals know the difference between a male and a female," he said, before warning that they would face the fate of residents in Sodom and Gomorrah, the biblical cities destroyed by God.  Gay rights activists then stormed the pulpit and prevented the priest from continuing.

     An excommunicated priest who has in the past called for people to respect the rights of homosexuals then presided over the rest of the service.

     So, let me get this right.  The practicing Anglican priest, who is supposedly his god's vessel of grace on earth and guide to heaven, berated the mourners with death threats of Biblical proportion.  The excommunicated priest, who has supposedly been cut of from his god's grace and will be punished with an eternity in hell, reached out to the mourners, cared for them, and buried the dead.  It sounds like Anglican hell beats out Anglican heaven as the better place to be. .  

Egyptian Muslims Risk Lives to Protect Worshiping Coptic Christians

     Trouthout has reported an incredible story of those, who are supposed to hate in the name of their gods, risking their lives to protect the other's freedom to worship:

     On New Year’s Day, a devastating terrorist bombing at a Coptic church in Egypt killed 21 people and injured 79 others. Although the identity of the culprits was not known, it was assumed that they were Muslim extremists, intent on targeting those they saw as heretics. Religious tensions immediately rose in the country, and angry Copts stormed streets, battled with police, and even vandalized a nearby mosque. The riots and heightened tensions between the Muslim and Coptic communities was likely what the terrorists wanted — to divide the Egyptian community and create sectarian strife between different religious groups.

     Yet by Coptic Christmas Eve, which took place Thursday night in Egypt, things had changed completely. As Egyptian Copts attended mass at churches across the country, “thousands” of Muslims, including “the two sons of President Hosni Mubarak,” joined them, acting as “human shields” to protect from terrorist attacks by extremists. The Muslims organized under the slogan “We either live together, or we die together,” inspired by Mohamed El-Sawy, an Egyptian artist.

     Now, if only we could get American Christians to stop putting targets on their fellow Christians' heads...

Feeling the Hate in Charlotte, County Commissioner Calls Gays "Sexual Predators"

Southern Poverty Law Center Adds NOM, FRC, & AFA to List of Hate Groups; Congressional Republicans Protesting

     The Christmas spirit of love and peace has failed to reach the Republican and right-wing leadership in our nation's Christian community.  On Top Magazine reports:

     The Republicans have joined an online petition protesting the claims of the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC).  The SPLC recently added the Family Research Council (FRC), the American Family Association (AFA) and the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) to the same list of hate groups as the Ku Klux Klan, the Nation of Islam and the Aryan Nations for their opposition to gay rights.

     Republicans aren't pleased.  They are fighting back calling the SPLC "slanderous" and "hateful," saying "Our debates can and must remain civil - but they must never be suppressed through personal assaults that aim only to malign an opponent’s character."

     These are hypocritical words of the greatest degree.  For the right-wing and Christian rhetoric used to strip LGBT persons of their rights been anything but civil.  Ask those in Iowa, Maine, California, and in every other state where the political commercials funded by FRC, AFA, and NOM have maligned the character of LGBT persons, their families and their allies.

     To see the letter of those who support these hate groups click here.  You will find that the Republican leadership in Congress is well represented, so are the leaders of most anti-gay Christian groups.  Some of the signatories include: Majority Leader-elect Eric Cantor, House Speaker-elect John Boehner, Tim Pawlenty, Rick Santorum, Mike Hukabee, Rep. Jim Jordan, Rep. Louie Gohmert, Rep. Michele Backmann, Rep. Steve King, Sen. Jim DeMint, Rep. Joe Pitts, Bill Donahue (Catholic League), Lou Engle (of Uganda's Kill-the-Gays bill), Gov. Bobby Jindal, and Sen. David Vitter.

     To see how "civil" any of these signatories is when it comes to gay rights, just Google search his/her name with the words "gay," "anti-gay," "homophobic," or "hate," and see what comes up.  You might also try substituting "Muslim," "black," "immigration," or "woman" for gay to see what happens.

     In response to the right-wing's letter accusing the SPLC of  being anti-Christian, the SPLC responded:

     Booth Gunter, a spokesman for the SPLC, on Friday rejected the allegations.

     “The bottom line is it's simply not true that we attacked them because of their Judeo-Christian beliefs or their opposition to gay marriage,” Gunter told Fox News. “It's because of their continued propagation of falsehoods about gay men and lesbians that have the effect of demonizing them.” (Via On Top Magazine)

      Merry Christmas, everyone!

Don't Ask Don't Tell Repeal Passes, DREAM Act Dies; So Much Farther to Go in Christian America

     The Don't Ask, Don't Tell repeal passed the Senate over the weekend.  This a great milestone on the way to LGBT equality.  Tragically, the DREAM Act failed, which I'm sure pleased Bigot McCain and our nations' other racist xenophobes.

     But things remain a bit confusing, so let me get straight.  Here's the Christmas-state of the union:  

     The ruling Christian class has now given me the right to kill many men, but still withholds the right to love just one.

     The ruling class did not include transgender soldiers in the DADT repeal.  So these individuals are free to civilly marry a person of the same biological sex (as long as the individual has had his or her legal sex changed), but this person is not allowed to kill transgender people in foreign lands.    

     Children brought to the United States by their undocumented parents can grow up to become soldiers in the U.S. military and kill in foreign countries, but when they get back to the U.S.A., these soldiers face deportation. 

     In some of the United States, I'm forbidden to adopt and care for a child, but in foreign states I can use our tax-funded bullets and bombs to blow children apart.

     All praise and glory be to the just and compassionate god of the Christians, for He is a wonderful counselor, a prince of peace, wisdom and understanding, who wears righteousness as His belt, and cares for the poor, the widow and the orphan (unless they are a different color, religion, orientation, or nationality).  Thank dog that he came into the world roughly 2010 years ago (depending upon the heavily redacted and religiously syncretized source of your choosing).  Dog bless America, where the currency, 90% which is in the hands of the upper 10% of the U.S. population, reads: "In God [sic] We Trust."  No doubt.

     The fight for equality continues.  ENDA died in Congress this year.  Obama's justice department is still fighting to overturn the Federal Court ruling that DOMA is unconstitutional.  We've scored victories on DADT and Hate Crimes legislation, but there's much more to be done in the Land of the Free Institutionalized Homophobia, Hatred, Bigotry, Racism and Xenophobia.

Postscript:

     Update on Lt. Dan Choi; his response to the DADT repeal; how PTSD landed him in the hospital.

Rachel Maddow Interviews David Bahati, Author of Uganda's Kill-the-Gays Bill

     Here's some background on the scientifically-debunked myths still being spun by fundamentalist and Catholic Christians concerning homosexuality:

     Bahati claims to "love" gays, but believes they should be put to death. He goes on to say: "I want to be sure that this law is consistent with god's law."

     Here's part two of Maddow's Bahati interview.   Bahati: "I'm not involved in a hate campaign."  But, he believes that gays should be put to death, because the Bible says, "The wages of sin is death."  He also says that a certain Jewish carpenter agrees.

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