The Gaytheist Agenda

Haim was a staple in the 80s teen movies I grew up on. I’m not entirely surprised at this news, though I rather expected Corey Feldman to be the first to go.

The Lost Boys actor Corey Haim has died aged 38, the Los Angeles coroner’s office has confirmed.

A spokeswoman said he passed away in the early hours of Wednesday morning at Providence St Joseph Medical Centre.

A post-mortem will determine the cause of death and no other details have been released as yet.

The Canadian-born star’s first role was in the 1984 hit Firstborn. In recent years, he appeared in reality TV show The Two Coreys.

The series, which also starred Haim’s friend Corey Feldman, was cancelled in 2008 after two series.

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In recent years, Haim had spoken to press about his battle with addiction.

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Another “family values” crusader bites the dust.

BAD: CBS affiliate CBS13 reports that Roy Ashburn, a state senator from Southern California was arrested for allegedly driving drunk.

WORSE: CBS affiliate CBS13 reports that Roy Ashburn, a state senator from Southern California was arrested for allegedly driving drunk AFTER LEAVING A GAY BAR.
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WORST: CBS affiliate CBS13 reports that Roy Ashburn, a MARRIED state senator from Southern California was arrested for allegedly driving drunk after leaving a gay bar with another man in the car.

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WORSTEST: CBS affiliate CBS13 reports that Roy Ashburn, a married, Republican state senator from Southern California WITH A HISTORY OF OPPOSING GAY RIGHTS was arrested for allegedly driving drunk after leaving a gay bar with another man in the car.

 
Another source indicates that it is unlikely Ashburn was at Faces, since Tuesdays are “Latin Night” at the popular club and “A white guy would stick out like a sore thumb”. However there are reportedly numerous clubs gay and straight clubs in the area so it’s possible Ashburn was at one of them rather than at Faces.

 
After his arrest, Ashburn issued the following statement:

“I am deeply sorry for my actions and offer no excuse for my poor judgment. I accept complete responsibility for my conduct and am prepared to accept the consequences for what I did.

I am also truly sorry for the impact this incident will have on those who support and trust me - my family, my constituents, my friends, and my colleagues in the Senate.”

Needless to say, Ashburn has earned himself an entry on Conservative Babylon.

 

The axial shift is a mere three inches, and the length of time by which each day has been shortened is just over a microsecond, but it’s amazing nonetheless.

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The change is negligible, but permanent: Each day should be 1.26 microseconds shorter, according to preliminary calculations. A microsecond is one-millionth of a second.

A large quake shifts massive amounts of rock and alters the distribution of mass on the planet.

When that distribution changes, it changes the rate at which the planet rotates. And the rotation rate determines the length of a day.
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Richard Gross, a geophysicist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, used a computer model to determine how the magnitude 8.8 quake that struck Chile on February 27 may have affected Earth.

He determined that the quake should have moved Earth’s figure axis about 3 inches (8 centimeters). The figure axis is one around which Earth’s mass is balanced. That shift in axis is what may have shortened days.
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The magnitude 9.1 earthquake in 2004 that generated a killer tsunami in the Indian Ocean shortened the length of days by 6.8 microseconds.
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Apparently the location of the quake played a role in the phenomena.

NASA explained that the key to the shift was due to the location of the quake, with the fault slicing through Earth at a steeper angle, making “the Chile fault more effective in moving Earth’s mass vertically and hence more effective in shifting Earth’s figure axis.”

Fascinating.

 

It turns out Twitter has some truly useful functions. For example we can get real-time pictures from people in Chile (Not all photos are related to the earthquake as the feed is not specific to it.) Naturally I urge you to donate to your charity of choice if you can.

Anyone want dibs on how long it will take Pat Robertson to blame this disaster on the victims and insist “proper” reverence to his sadist of a god would have prevented it?

 
Update: It took less time than I imagined it would. The only response I can even muster to Robertson’s latest pile of offal is a facepalm.

 
Further update: It appears the above report of Robertson’s comments on Chile was satire.

In the twelve years it took to get the Matthew Shepard Act passed, and even in the months since it was finally signed into law, members of the RRRW have whined about how their precious “religious freedoms” will be denied because they can no longer beat and kill homos with impunity. But the MSA didn’t only add sexual orientation and gender identity to existing hate-crimes laws. It also added gender and disability. Of course the RRRW would have gladly seen these individuals go without hate-crimes protections just to see LGBT people do so. Such is the intensity of their hatred for us; that no amount of collateral damage is too much in their quest to see us suffer. Jennifer Daughtery would be part of that collateral damage if they’d had their way.

A bloody metal crutch, a knife, a pair of white high-top shoes and a plastic bag full of hair were among the items detectives pulled from an apartment where a woman was held captive and tortured last week, according to a police report that offers new glimpses into her slaying.
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The items, listed in an inventory of seized property, fit disturbingly with what police said unfolded in the apartment over 36 hours — that the group beat Ms. Daugherty with household items including the towel rack, the crutch and a vacuum cleaner hose, bound her with Christmas decorations, painted her face with nail polish, cut her hair, and forced her to write a fake suicide note.

They fed her medication, oil and urine and stabbed her to death for reasons police said are still unknown. Ms. Daugherty’s body, found in a garbage can at Greensburg Salem Middle School on Thursday, was the first in a string of gruesome discoveries for detectives investigating the crime and the tangled relationships of those charged in it.

Jailed without bond on charges of homicide, kidnapping, aggravated assault and conspiracy are Ricky Smyrnes, 23, Robert Masters Jr., 36, Melvin Knight, 20, Peggy Miller, 27, Amber Meidinger, 20 and Angela Marinucci, 17.

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Still unknown was how Ms. Daugherty came to know her attackers. Her relatives have said she had the mental capacity of an adolescent, a disability that made her especially trusting and kind. She went to the apartment willingly, police said, boarding a bus from Mount Pleasant, where she lived with her mother and stepfather, on Feb. 8.
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Further charges under the recently signed Hate-Crimes Act are being considered though it’s too early to tell if such charges will be added.

I worked for 20 years with adults who had developmental disabilities. I find it despicable that anybody would prey on such vulnerable individuals. I’d like to see the accused, if found guilty, put away for the maximum allowable time–including any hate crimes enhancements.

In the meantime, my thoughts go out to Jennifer’s family. She was a beautiful woman and what happened to her was an abomination.

 

Recently a group of Baptists from Idaho were arrested in Haiti on charges of child trafficking. They claimed they were merely rescuing the 33 children they had attempted to take across the border into the Dominican Republic from dire conditions. They told of their noble intentions to have these precious orphans adopted out once they set up a facility. Of course that wasn’t the entire story, as it never is in such cases.

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The goal, according to her written submission for funds, was to “rescue Haitian orphans” and “share God’s love with these precious children, helping them heal and find new life in Christ”.
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The basics: Steal another nation’s children and convert them to Christianity. Now why is it gay people are always accused of “recruiting children”? Oh yes, that’s called projection.

A little background on the ringleader of this operation:

Laura Silsby’s life had been unravelling fast. Her once-flourishing online shopping business was being chased through the courts for unpaid bills and the four-bedroom home where the divorcee lived with her two youngest children was reclaimed by the bank just days before Christmas.
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Even as her business affairs plunged deeper into turmoil, the church-going 40-year-old had been drawing up plans to build an orphanage for Haitian children and run an adoption programme “for loving Christian parents who would otherwise not be able to afford” the cost.

Over the last year, Mrs Silsby and her live-in nanny Charisa Coulter, 24, made several trips to Haiti and the neighbouring country of Dominican Republic, where she had ambitious plans for an orphanage with resort facilities on a north coast beach.
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Christian parents, of course. Why spend all of that time indoctrinating the children only to have some heathen parents come in and undo it? And what’s an orphanage without a luxury resort so the prospective parents can loll by the sea while they ponder which stolen child to take? I wonder if others appreciate just how much White Christian Folk do for them?

Three other worshippers from Central Valley - including a mother and her 18-year-old daughter - volunteered. So did three members of the Eastside Baptist church 140 miles away in Twin Falls - the pastor Paul Thompson and his son Silas, 18, among them - and two of Mr Thompson’s relatives from Texas and Kansas.
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The 10 were arrested after trying to cross from Haiti into the Dominican Republic with a busload of 33 children, with no paperwork or authorisation to take them out of the country. It soon became clear that most were not orphans at all, but had at least a mother or father who had been persuaded to hand the children over to the Americans on the promise they would enjoy a better life.
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(Emphasis mine)

Lying for the Lord and child trafficking to perpetuate their religion. They’re not humanitarians, they’re predators.

Since then, Silsby’s volunteers have turned on her and are claiming she duped them and they’re innocent of any wrongdoing.

THE group of 10 Americans jailed in Haiti on child abduction charges are splitting up, with eight of them signing a note saying that they had been misled by Laura Silsby, the leader of the group.

”Laura wants to control,” said the scribbled note handed to a producer for NBC News at the weekend. ”We believe lying. We’re afraid.”
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In their note, the Americans, who said they came to Haiti to rescue orphans from the earthquake, complained of general malfeasance in the case but provided no details. ”There is corruption, extortion,” they wrote.
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The note signed by the group, which is affiliated with a Baptist church in Idaho, made it clear that they were emotionally distraught and divided. ”We fear for our lives here in Haiti,” said the letter, which was signed by everyone except Silsby and Charisa Coulter, Silsby’s former nanny and co-founder of the group. ”We only came as volunteers,” the note went on. ”We had NOTHING to do with any documents and have been lied to.”
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It’s entirely possible the volunteers assumed Silsby had all of the proper documentation to take the children. It’s possible (even likely) that she lied to them in order to gain their support. But I find it difficult to find much sympathy for them. Didn’t their god give them any critical thinking skills, and if so why don’t they use them? (That is a rhetorical question, of course, as one of the main purposes of religions such as theirs is to stifle critical thought.)

These people took Silsby at her word when they dropped everything to go to a foreign nation. Then they took her at her word when she asked them to help her gather 33 children, many of whom had living parents, and head for the border. None of them asked her to produce documentation that she had legal rights to do this. None of them thought it a problem that one child was begging to be reunited with her parents, who were very much alive.

But then it all goes back to Silsby’s original plan, the one that lured them all there in the first place: Bring Orphans to Jesus. So regardless of what transpired in the meantime, none of the players in this mess are truly innocent. They’re all predators to one extent or another.

 

Hat tip: The Freethinker

 

The new “whites only” basketball team in Agusta, GA, that is.

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The All-American Basketball Alliance announced in a news release Sunday evening that it intends to start its inaugural season in June and hopes Augusta will be one of 12 cities with a team.

“Only players that are natural born United States citizens with both parents of Caucasian race are eligible to play in the league,” the statement said.
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As if that’s not sick enough, here’s a quote from the team’s commissioner:

Don “Moose” Lewis, the commissioner of the AABA, said the reasoning behind the league’s roster restrictions is not racism.

“There’s nothing hatred about what we’re doing,” he said. “I don’t hate anyone of color. But people of white, American-born citizens are in the minority now. Here’s a league for white players to play fundamental basketball, which they like.”

Lewis said he wants to emphasize fundamental basketball instead of “street-ball” played by “people of color.” He pointed out recent incidents in the NBA, including Gilbert Arenas’ indefinite suspension after bringing guns into the Washington Wizards locker room, as examples of fans’ dissatisfaction with the way current professional sports are run.

“Would you want to go to the game and worry about a player flipping you off or attacking you in the stands or grabbing their crotch?” he said. “That’s the culture today, and in a free country we should have the right to move ourselves in a better direction.”
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Poor trod-upon, flawless white folk. They’re as oppressed as heterosexual Christians. I truly feel for them.

 

Still more discussion about how sexual orientation is defined, how people determine which box they belong in, how many people of each gender one has to bed before they can state what orientation they are (because it’s all about Teh Sex, you know) etc.

So when do we dissect heterosexuality and put straight people under a microscope, making them defend their every thought and action? When will they be forced to beg all of society to allow them to keep the rights they take for granted?

 

The last plaintiff’s witness testified. Gregory M. Herek, Professor of Psychology at UC Davis. Boies examined:

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H: This is about relationships and attachments.
D: Why are these issues important?
H: the need for attachment and intimacy are part of the core of what’s important to humans.
D: Is homosexuality an illness?
H: No
D: Inability to contribute to society?
H: no relationship to sexual orientation and ability to be a contributing member of society.
D: What about in the past?

H: In 1952, APA created the DSM. Homosexuality was included. Over time, that inclusion was disputed and there were many challenges to it. In 1973, the APA removed homosexuality from the DSM, supported by the (other) APA.
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Walker: What led to that change?
H: that’s along story
Walker: Well we have some time

H: It’s important to look at how homosexuality got into the DSM in the first place. It was based onassumptions in the 1940s and 1950s, not empirical research. Later, actual research showed that homosexuals were not suffering from a disorder. Also, other institutions (include psych and psychia) wer understanding homosexuality was not a disorder. This was based on actual research.

Walker: So at first it wasn’t based on research (1952) and then in 1973 it was based on empirical data.

H: Yes, but also the culture had changed. Empirical studies failed to support homosexuality as a mental association. But also, the culture had come to see it as a non-disorder.

Walker: Thank you

D: Do people choose their sexual orientation?
H: my research shows that people when asked say they have experienced no choice or very little choice

D: Are you familiar with reparative therapy or sexual change therapy?
H: Yes, they are types of therapies that try to change people’s sexual orientation
D: Are those therapies effective
H: Let me define effective first: that it achieves it goals and does not harm the person undergouing therapy. And by that definiation, NO it does not show effectiveness.

D: Does the APA have a position?
H: Yes they’ve been around a long time, APA has studied them a lot. Task force was asked to evaluate the current status of these therapires, their effectiveness and safety. Produced a report in 2009: very thorough review of the studies available (there weren’t many worth reviewing) but those that do exist showed that these therapeis are of very limited effectiveness and can do some harm.

D: PX888, what is?
H: Report of the task force, on appropriate therapeutic responses to sexual orientation.

D: Turn to page in Exhibit888?
H: APA concludes that there is insufficient evidence that these therapies are effective

D: Are there specific concerns about these therapies when used around adolescents?
H: Adolescents are just developing their sexuality, and vulnerable in that they are not in complete control of their lives. And, the APA was concerned that the adolescents might not be able to provide true and informed consent; that they were coerced. Also, there is an underlying sense that these therapies view homosexuality as something that is wrong, that needs fixing, and this is especially harmful to adolescents
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D: Same sex couples in CA can be domestic partners?
H: Yes
D: with almost all the rights and privileges of marriage?
H: Yes
D: So it’s just a word difference?
H: Well no it’s a lot more than a word. People in the US are willing to give G&L people all the beneifts and rights and responsibilities of marriage under the word domestic partners. But they won’d give marriage to G&L. So clearly they see something is different about getting married. Just the fact that we are here today shows there is agreat deal of society conflict over whether G&L should be ale to marry.
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D: Are you awaare of any studies of the effect of getting married on same sex couples?
H: MAss Public Health Dept asked a number of questions of Mass married couples (samesex). They concluded that most couples (>70%) said their commitment to their relationship had improved.
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D: What is ’structural stigma’
H: Well, stigma can be expressed by individuals thru violence or prejudice, but society can express stigma as well. Through the law.
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D: How does structural stigma support that?
H: Structural stigma gives permission for individuals to express their prejudice.
D: Does this extend to relationships as well as individuals?
H: Oh yes, researchers use photographs to convey the idea of homosexuality. They get stronger negative reaction to same sex couples photos that opposite.
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Nielsen then cross-examined and tried to start a big row over the definition of “gay” based on book excerpts. Perhaps to he wanted to pave the way for a claim that if we can’t put into little discrete boxes who is gay, lesbian, bisexual, etc. then there’s no need for LGBT people to have legally protected rights. (Yeah, never heard that one before.)

Afterward a very long academic discussion about sexual orientation ensued between Judge Walker, Professor Herek, Detmer and Nielsen.

All for now as I have an appointment this afternoon. More later, and hopefully it will be more interesting…

 

Recorded testimony of Dr. Paul Nathanson and Katherine Young played. The gist; every major professional organization (American Psychological Organization, American Psychoanalytic Association, American Academy of Pediatrics, American Anthropological Association) supports same-sex marriage. A number of churches vehemently oppose it and even engage in widespread persecution of gay people (calling them “evil, deviant, abominations”, claim gays deserve death, etc). The existence of same-sex marriages in other cultures was addressed (no, Rick Warren, marriage hasn’t been between a man and a woman for the last 5,000 years “as gawd designed it”). Wrap up; bias based on religious beliefs is not justifiable in this nation because we have Separation of Church and State.

Moving on. Ryan Kendall gave his moving and heartbreaking account of maltreatment by his parents and others, and his multiple abusive encounters with “reparative therapy”.

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Q: What names were you called?
A: Homo, faggot, queer
Q: What else happened
A: Played keep away with my glasses and broke them
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Q: When did your parents find out you were gay?
A: My parents discovered my journal when i was 13
Q; What happened
A; My parents flipped out, they yelled, it was pretty scary the way they reacted.
Q: Do you remember anything they said?
A: MY mom said I was going to burn in hell
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Q: What therapy did your parents send you to?
A: I was sent to a “christian therapist’ who would make me a heterosexual.
Q: How many times did you go?
A: I went two or three times
Q: Do you recall much?
A: Inconsistent with Christian teachings, disappointed my parents, and that I was a bad person and evil
Q: How did you feel?
A: I always wanted to please my parents, now I was a bad and evil kid.
Q: Was therapy successful? Did it make you heterosexual?
A: No I was still gay
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Q: Next where did you go?
A: NARTH: National Association of Reparative Therapy for Homosexuality, Encino CA …
Q; For how long
A Two =ithree years, 14-16
Q: how was your home life
A: It was like night and day. My parents used to take me to school, make notes and put them in lunch, pick me up. Afterwards they called me names and that they hated me and I was disgusting. My mom told me she wishes she’d had an abortion instead of a gay son, or Down Syndrome or a retarded kid… instead of a gay son, me.
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(Boldface added by me). Let that last sentence rattle around in your head for a few moments. Imagine you are teenage boy and your mother has just told you that.

Q: Who at NARTH>?

A> Joseph Nicolosi, ED of NARTH
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Q: did your NARTH experience help you reconcile your gayness and your faith
A: At NARTH I was told I was dirty and bad, the therapy played no role inmaking me batter or healthier
Q: Were you straight when you were done?
A: Just as gay as when I started
Q: Why did you stop going?
A: My life had fallen apart: my faith, my family, everything. If I did not stop going to NARTH, I wouldn’t survive. I would kill myself.
Q: How were you able to stop?
A: At 16 I surrendered myself to the COlorado DEpt of CHildren
Q: How does that work
A: I told a social worker I was going to kill myslef if I didn’t leave my parents. They started an abuse and neglect proceeding against my parents.
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Q How did you support yourself
A: It was a struggle
Q On public benefits?
A: I had to go to emergency rooms for health care
Q: How long have you worked for the Denver PD?
A: 2-3 years now
Q: Are you stable and can you support yourself
A: Yes, it has been really hard but I have been able to do that
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Next Gary Segura testified about the involvement of the Catholic Church, the Mormons, FOTF and other groups who’ve spent so much time since the election pretending they had nothing to do with Proposition 8. Of note was the unprecedented coziness between the Catholic and Mormon churches, and the use of the Mormons for their “financial, organizational and management contributions”. Do read the entire thing–it’s quite enlightening.

Thompson then cross-examined Segura. Engaged in another line of questioning about alleged political allies to LGBT people and presence of LGBT people on the TV box. Apparently he doesn’t have any new tricks in his bag.