The Gaytheist Agenda

Here is yet another argument for keeping religion and religious questions far away from campaigns. Just listen to the completely asinine rationales these people give to justify their votes.

These are the people who want to determine who will be running our nation? Not a single fact among them yet they’re ready to run to the polls. But then that would describe the majority of the RRRW, now, wouldn’t it?

Is it any wonder the country is as screwed up as it is?

 

Radfringe graciously allowed me to reprint this here:

It’s looking more and more like the repubs will be going with McCain. Speculation is high that McCain’s sidekick will be Huckabee.

Huckabee would bring in the fundies who are reluctant about voting for McCain. And you can bet with the huckster for a sidekick - there will be a lot of rhetoric about family values.

in the past, the family values blather is something the dems have failed to effectively counteract

the repubs have wrapped it up in a warm fuzzy blanket, it sounds good, looks good - but beyond that their actions speak differently.

Kerry mentioned it once or twice back in 2004 that I know of and Clinton touched on it briefly in one speech I saw on C-Span

and I keep bringing it up over and over again

IT’S NOT FAMILY VALUES - IT’S VALUING FAMILIES

I’ve even sent a few e-mails off to the campaigns - explaining what I mean by this, but I fear they were just put in some round file. If you work on Clinton or Obama’s campaign and have some contacts up the ‘food chain’, and agree with this perhaps you would pass it along.

here’s the premise:

reframe it as “VALUING FAMILIES”
show how the family value rhetoric is just that - rhetoric period. that for all the family value talk, nothing the repubs have done show any concern for the health of families, and tend to destroy families by favoring corporations and other big wigs. that all the blather about family values are just empty words. Words do not put food on the table, nor give people jobs, nor do they provide healthcare or education.

- the way to value families is to have a healthCARE system that puts people before profits. A healthCARE system which ensures the medications needed are available, affordable and safe

- the way to value families is to enact legislation that protects families from predatory lending practices and other financial schemes which puts their jobs and welfare at risk

- the way to value families is to have an education system which educates

- the way to value families is to have an emergency management system that is able to respond quickly and effectively. to help families in the most dire time of need (think katrina and the recent tornado outbreak)

- the way to value families is to have a veterans system which helps the the troops returning from war.

- the way to value families is to have a social security system the helps families with with their senior members

- the way to value families is to have a forward looking environmental policy to provide clean air, clean water, safe food for the current and future generation

- the way to value families is to encourage job creation here at home and not reward companies who ship jobs overseas.

- the way to value families is to have a foreign policy which focuses on peace and prosperity, not on war and destruction.

- the way to value families is to have a domestic policy that embraces all families.

- the way to value families is to have a policy that is open to science and research, not one that discourages or rewrites findings.

- the way to value families is to have a justice system based on justice not partisan politics.

- the way to value families is to respect and follow the Constitution of the United States - not by looking for loopholes or weasling around it through the use of executive priviledge or signing statements.

AMERICA VALUES FAMILIES

(too numerous to list, but after each of these points - list the legislation the repubs have defeated)

That was just one of the things we chanted last night as we marched, my SO and I, as we played part of an irate mob of gays in the Castro district of San Francisco. We had signed on as extras for the film Milk and were into our third or fourth hour of yelling, chanting, shaking our fists and marching with Sean Penn (as Harvey Milk) and Emile Hirsch (as Cleve Jones). Director Gus Van Sant provided instructions and prompts. We heard him boom “back to one”, meaning we had to go back to our original positions for a re-take or new take, at least a dozen times.


 

A portion of Castro Street had gone through a time-warp and it was once again the late 1970s. The Castro Theater had undergone a facelift and was restored to its former beauty complete with glowing neon marquee. The advertised movies were All About Eve and Jezebel featuring Bette Davis. Hot Cookie appeared to be the Double Rainbow Ice Cream Shop. (Indeed, while my SO and I were in there later getting coffee and treats an unsuspecting gentleman came in looking for ice cream.). The upscale wine store and wine-tasting bar Swirl had ceased to exist for the time being, and was again a simple wine and liquor store. This transformation was both interior and exterior as some scenes were filmed inside the store. Many other changes were made as well, including a sign advertising Chevron gasoline starting at 63 cents a gallon for Regular (leaded) self-serve.

Now that’s a blast from the past.

 

Now I’d been born and raised on the East coast and had never seen a movie made, let alone been in one, so this was all a new experience for me. Yes we were mere unpaid extras but nonetheless this was exciting, particularly considering the important subject matter of the film. Harvey Milk is a hero in the LGBT world, so my SO and I were thrilled to be able to do anything related to this production. Even though we eventually got cold, hungry, thirsty, tired and achy we were still glad to be there. The fact that we twice got within arms reach of Sean Penn and my SO bumped into Emile Hirsch while marching were added bonuses. Who knows? We might just end up on the big screen for a few seconds.

 

Lisa’s Hair Design is temporarily Alda Yarn

 

At one point I was looking around at the signs the various “protesters” were holding.
I’d Rather Fight Than Change.
Human Rights are Gay Rights.
We Are YOUR Children.
Separate Church and State.
Human Rights Abroad, Human Rights Here.
They were signs that had significance during that long-ago fight for gay rights. I began thinking and realized to my dismay that we could be using those exact same signs today, for though three long decades have passed we have accomplished so very little.

Sean Penn, as Harvey Milk, speaks to the crowd in this scene.

Bigots are fighting harder than ever to force us to change into straight people via “reparative therapy”. They use the language of love now, but the “Ex-Gay” movement is motivated by hate at its heart. We still have no federally recognized marriage rights and only have one state, MA, in which we can legally marry. Seven states allow Domestic Partnerships/Civil Unions which provide some of the same benefits of marriage, but fall significantly short of legal marriage. 19 states have constitutional amendments banning same-sex unions, another six have constitutional amendments banning same-sex marriage. It’s still legal in 31 states to fire somebody because they are gay, as ENDA has not been fully passed (GWB has yet to sign it. Even if he does transgender people will not be covered so it’s a sour victory.) We do not have hate-crimes protection; The Matthew Shepard Act failed in Congress this past year. Across America bigots fight to keep students from hearing that LGBT people exist, or mentioning that they themselves are gay.

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Me enjoying a much needed cup of coffee after nearly five hours of acting.

We still have so far to go in our struggle for GLBT rights. It has not been an easy task thus far, and I don’t imagine it will get easy anytime in the near future. I commend those who came before me and those who have worked alongside me. I also put out a call to any who will join the fight.

Regarding Milk, Friday night my SO and I, along with thousands of others will be back in SF for the filming of the candlelight vigil scene. I anticipate it will be much quieter than last night but no less impressive. Here’s the original for your viewing pleasure.

Until later.

Ava Lowry is the driven teen behind Peace Takes Courage and Ava’s Army. She has also created an amazing series of videos that have drawn both ardent fans and, sadly, vicious opponents.

Ava’s latest video presents some of the hate-mail she has received from RWers over time. Viewers are warned that there is hate-speech, excessively foul language and other content unfit for children and those with delicate constitutions.

The Moral Values Party indeed. Those who threaten or wish harm upon others over a difference of opinion are truly depraved. But I expect nothing more from the party that resorts to bullying at every turn.

I commend Ava for continuing her quest to advance the cause of peace, encourage the youth of America to believe in themselves, and make the world safe for progressive causes. Ava is a true asset to America and the world.

As the caucuses and primaries continue and “Super Tuesday” draws ever closer the remaining presidential candidates continue to debate, rally and woo us in an attempt to win our votes. Along the way they pick up endorsements from newspapers, celebrities, fellow politicians and others. Ted and Caroline Kennedy have endorsed Barack Obama. Bobby Kennedy Jr. and NY Daily News endorsed Hillary Clinton. Chuck Norris endorsed Mike Huckabee. The New York Post endorsed John McCain. And so on, and so on, and so on.

On a message board I sometimes visit the cries will go out from time to time–”So and so endorsed my candidate!”. This will be followed by supporters of that candidate rushing to express their adulation, and detractors attempting to tear down both the candidate and the endorser. The same is true for the opposite side. This bizarre dance is repeated each time a new endorsement is announced.

I’m afraid I don’t quite grasp the fascination with endorsements myself. When I decide for whom to vote I do it based on the candidates platform, merits, behaviors and other qualifications. I want to know what they are going to do for me, the country and the world, and how. How many friends they have on their MySpace page, so to speak, doesn’t factor into the equation.

Are people afraid to think for themselves, or to let others think for themselves? Is that what we’ve come to–that we need to rely on the endorsements of others to determine who we vote for? Will we let celebrities, newspapers and the like make our decisions for us?

I’m open to the possibility that I’m missing something here, of course, and I’m willing to entertain discussion on the matter.

Allegedly the two RRRW groups have produced biased voters guides that clearly advocate for Mike Huckabee in violation of their tax-exempt status. I must say I’m astounded at the news.

The guides, posted on the groups’ Web sites, list the Republican candidates and their alleged stands on a range of issues, such as support for a human life amendment, “traditional marriage,” “business freedom” and “moral education” and opposition to “gay pride.” Only Huckabee is assigned a “yes” stance on all of the issues.

Said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, Americans United executive director, “These guides are not voter education, they’re partisan propaganda. Tax-exempt organizations are barred by federal law from partisan electioneering.”

AU’s Lynn said the organizations seem to have given the candidates no opportunity to respond to these issues and instead assigned stances based on the organizations’ own “research” and subjective analysis.

Footnotes supposedly documenting the candidates’ stances are often irrelevant or old. In several cases, the guides reference sources from 1994 and 1996.

The American Family Association, a Religious Right group based in Tupelo, Miss., is best known for its opposition to gay rights and risqué television programming. Its founder and chairman, the Rev. Donald Wildmon, has personally endorsed Huckabee for president.

WallBuilders, a Religious Right group based in Aledo, Texas, is known for spreading “Christian nation” revisionist historical materials. Its founder and president, David Barton, has appeared at pastors’ briefings that featured Huckabee as a speaker and were intended to promote his candidacy, according to news reports.

…..

“I am particularly outraged that these voter guides indicate that they are suitable for use in churches and other tax-exempt organizations,” Lynn continued. “In fact, they are not. Any church that distributes these biased guides is risking its tax exemption and casting aside its integrity.”

I’m beginning to think it might kill the RRRW if they had to obey the 9th Commandment for even one day. They seem to be unwilling or unable to do so. (Let’s not even get into all of the other violations they routinely commit). Then they claim they’re the party of “moral values”. Their audacity is overwhelming.

May AU get their request fulfilled, and the IRS stiffly penalize both AFA and Wallbuilders. It’s high time these organizations and others that abuse their tax exempt status to spread lies and harm others get what is coming to them.

The NEA (National Education Association) issued a resolution in 1994 indicating their support for equal treatment of LGBT students in school settings. To that end they recommend accurate information on the diversity of sexual orientations and gender identities as well as anti-bullying measures.

But Representative Stacey Campfield of Knoxville won’t hear of it. He filed a bill last week that would prevent elementary and middle schools in TN discussing any sexual orientation other than heterosexuality. Not only would heterosexual students not be told of the existence of LGBT students, but LGBT students (or students with LGBT family members) could not discuss matters of importance to them. Effectively LGBT people would not exist to elementary and middle school students.

“This is the kind of bill that you would have seen introduced back in the 1990s as a reaction to SpongeBob SquarePants or Heather Has Two Mommies,” says Tommie Simmons with the Shelby County Committee of the Tennessee Equality Project. The group advocates equal rights of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered people.

…..

“I think the schools should stick to the basics: reading, writing, and arithmetic. And maybe some civics,” says Campfield. “But teaching transgenderism to middle school students … I don’t think that’s the road we should go down. I think that’s what parents should be doing.”

…..

“Why does [Campfield] feel the need to take control of what’s taught in a school system away from local boards of education and away from local communities?” asks Earl Wiman, president of the Tennessee Education Association. Campfield’s bill allows discussion of heterosexuality because he wants students to learn biology and the science of reproduction.

“If I were to say ‘Jack and Jill went up the hill’ or ‘George Washington and Martha Washington were husband and wife,’ there are groups out there that would say we were pushing a heterosexual agenda. To keep those lawsuits from coming, I thought we should still be able to talk about that side of it,” Campfield says.

Over the years, Campfield has proposed other controversial legislation, such as replacing the state’s food tax with a tax on pornography and requiring the state to issue death certificates for aborted fetuses. In 2005, Campfield compared the state’s Black Caucus to the Ku Klux Klan when they refused to let him join because he is white.

…..

Wiman worries the bill could lead to further alienation of gay students or students of gay parents.

“We have such a high adolescent suicide rate, and a large number of those killing themselves are struggling with sexual orientation,” Wiman says. “It’s a real concern for us that we be able to help boys and girls without some kind of arbitrary restrictions.”

This sounds like another deluded RW attempt to thwart the so-called “Homosexual Agenda” by preventing any mention of the existence of LGBT people to young children. It seems to be analogous to their “abstinence only” sex-education policy whereby they believe that if you merely tell teens don’t do it, then say nothing of birth control or anything else they’ll never consider having sex. The truth is that LGBT people are born every day, and ignoring their existence will not erase them from reality. Nor will it stop them from being L, G, B or T.

I hope that TN does the right thing and tosses this piece of proposed legislation in the wastebasket where it belongs. The teachers and students deserve better.

Article VI, section 3 of the United States Constitution states that no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States. Presumably this means that no federal employee, be they elected or appointed, can be required to adhere to any belief, doctrine or religion.

While that may be the true in the letter of the law, it’s often not the case in practice–particularly with the presidential elections.
Every four years we have a non-stop parade of candidates who try to out Christian one another. Who can be seen attending the most churches and speaking from the pulpits? Who has the strongest relationship with their Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ? Who can infuse their speeches with the greatest number of Christian references?

There is, of course, the more disturbing element to this. LGBT citizens are denigrated and candidates promise to restrict their rights or eradicate them completely. Those of faiths other than Christianity and the non-religious are made to feel like second (or even third) class citizens. More and more promises are made to the faithful while others are left in the dust lest the faithful be “offended”.

Not all of the candidates go unscathed. While some gladly throw people under the political bus for votes, others do it less willingly. They must jump through all the right hoops to please the voting public, much of which is Christian, and a minority of which is comprised of the vocal and demanding RRRW. It is a deep-rooted prejudice among many such individuals that non-Christians, and non-believers in particular, are untrustworthy. Accordingly the potential for any such candidate to win an election is next to impossible. Indeed, if you are not a Christian, and preferably the right type of Christian, you’d best not even consider running for the office of president. Just look at what Mitt Romney has gone through because he is a Mormon, for example.

It is a vicious circle. Certain voters force the candidates to behave as they do, and the candidates act in a way that is harmful to other voters. Cycle after cycle the dance goes on, and it only seems to be getting worse.

Take, for example, this page on Barack Obama’s Website.

Obama Has Never Been A Muslim, And Is a Committed Christian

….

Obama Spokesman Robert Gibbs Issued A Statement Explaining That “Senator Obama Has Never Been A Muslim, Was Not Raised As A Muslim, And Is A Committed Christian.” “Obama’s campaign aides have emphasized his strong Christian beliefs and downplayed any Islamic connection. The Illinois senator was raised ‘in a secular household in Indonesia by his stepfather and mother,’ his chief spokesman, Robert Gibbs, said in a statement in January after false reports began circulating that Obama had attended a radical madrasa, or Koranic school, as a child. ‘To be clear, Senator Obama has never been a Muslim, was not raised a Muslim, and is a committed Christian who attends the United Church of Christ in Chicago,’ Gibbs’ Jan. 24 statement said.”

…..

Obama “Beckoning” Felt At Trinity United Church Of Christ, “Submitted Myself To His Will, And Dedicated Myself To Discovering His Truth And Carrying Out His Works.” Obama said, “So one Sunday, I put on one of the few clean jackets I had, and went over to Trinity United Church of Christ on 95th Street on the South Side of Chicago. And I heard Reverend Jeremiah A. Wright deliver a sermon called “The Audacity of Hope.” And during the course of that sermon, he introduced me to someone named Jesus Christ. I learned that my sins could be redeemed. I learned that those things I was too weak to accomplish myself, He would accomplish with me if I placed my trust in Him. And in time, I came to see faith as more than just a comfort to the weary or a hedge against death, but rather as an active, palpable agent in the world and in my own life. It was because of these newfound understandings that I was finally able to walk down the aisle of Trinity one day and affirm my Christian faith. It came about as a choice, and not an epiphany. I didn’t fall out in church, as folks sometimes do. The questions I had didn’t magically disappear. The skeptical bent of my mind didn’t suddenly vanish. But kneeling beneath that cross on the South Side, I felt I heard God’s spirit beckoning me. I submitted myself to His will, and dedicated myself to discovering His truth and carrying out His works.”

Barack Obama Is Not and Has Never Been a Muslim. Obama never prayed in a mosque. He has never been a Muslim, was not raised a Muslim, and is a committed Christian who attends the United Church of Christ.

…..

OBAMA IS A PRACTICING CHRISTIAN

Obama Has Been A Member Of Trinity United Church Of Christ For Twenty Years. Monroe Anderson stands up for Reverend Wright’s ministry, “For the past two decades, Barack Obama has been a faithful member of the congregation at Chicago’s Trinity United Church of Christ.”

Obama Was Baptized And Attends Church Once a Week When He is Able. In the Audacity of Hope, Obama wrote, “I was finally able to walk down the aisle of Trinity United Church of Christ one day and be baptized.” In 2004, he “attend[ed] the 11 a.m. Sunday service at Trinity in the Brainerd neighborhood every week — or at least as many weeks as he is able. His pastor, Wright, has become a close confidant.” When asked about his decision to be baptized, Obama said “Kneeling beneath that cross on the South Side of Chicago, I felt I heard God’s spirit beckoning me,” he said of his walk down the aisle of the Trinity United Church of Christ. “I submitted myself to his will and dedicated myself to discovering his truth.”

Obama Reads The Bible, Finds Time to Pray On Campaign Trail. The Chicago Sun-Times wrote, “Obama says he reads the Bible, though not as regularly as he’d like, now that he’s on the campaign trail. But he does find time to pray. ‘It’s not formal, me getting on my knees,’ he says. ‘I think I have an ongoing conversation with God… I’m constantly asking myself questions about what I’m doing, why I am doing it.’”

How strong the denials that Obama is or ever has been a Muslim. They even go so far as to deny Obama has ever prayed in a mosque. It’s as if being a Muslim is something dirty, depraved and shameful. Now I’m a mere atheist, but I can only imagine how offensive that page might be to Muslims who might come across it.

Then, of course, we learn how very devout a Christian Obama is. Because in order to prove that he’s not a Muslim he must proclaim his Christian street cred in every manner possible. Hence the myriad sources documenting in minute detail his conversion to Christianity, his weekly church attendance, his swearing into office with his personal Bible, his campaign trail prayers, etc, etc.

Mitt Romney, as I noted before, came under fire because he is a Mormon rather than a Christian. His website makes no reference to his religion that I could find. Better not to mention it, of course, because anything but Christianity is a no-no. In fact competitor Mike Huckabee attacked him with the Jesus and Satan are brothers according to Mormon theology claim not so long ago. Romney found very early that the less he said about his faith the better, and went to great lengths to assure voters that he would not impose “any one faith” on people should he become president. (Funny how Christian candidates never make any such promise, nor do they feel compelled to.) He then turned around and proclaimed that freedom requires religion, just as religion requires freedom. Translation: I won’t impose my faith on people, but I will impose faith on them.

Constitutionally there is no religious test for public office, and that should be enforced both officially and unofficially. Religion should not be part of a candidates race for office in any way, shape or form. Only when candidates are judged solely on their platforms will the races be truly equitable.

There are openly gay and lesbian politicians in America, currently there are no transgender candidates. Last year, Largo FL officials voted to dismiss City Manager Steve Stanton following his disclosure that he would be having sex-change surger and becoming a woman named Susan. A transgender woman served a term on the City Council in GA, but was defeated upon bid for re-election last year.

Chrissy Nakonsky, who until five years ago was Jeff Nakonsky, hopes to change that. She is running for the Minnesota Legislature. What is surprising is that she’s running as a Republican.

Nakonsky said the 2006 reelection of the state’s only openly gay Republican legislator, Sen. Paul Koering of nearby Fort Ripley, gives her hope that Brainerd-area voters won’t deny her a legislative seat because of her gender change.

“If people vote for or against me, it should be because of my values,” Nakonsky said.

Good luck with that. Sadly to many Republicans being LGB or T is in and of itself a “value”, and a bad one at that. They won’t look past it to see what your other qualities are, nor do they care to.

“I’ve voted Republican all my life,” Nakonsky said. “Republicans swear by not raising taxes, and raising taxes would hurt families in poverty, like mine.”

…..

Nakonsky, who grew up in Washington state and moved to Brainerd 10 years ago because her brother lived there, said she knew from the time she was young that she was female at heart. She and her wife, Jennifer, were married seven years ago, when Nakonsky still was “pretending,” she said, to be a man.

Jennifer Nakonsky said, “It’s been a learning experience, but I knew she was the one I wanted to spend the rest of my life with, either as a man or a woman. Our marriage is strong.”

Together they’ve had four children, all girls, now ages 6, 5, 3 and 10 months. While the oldest has had some trouble accepting her dad’s gender change, the rest see it as normal, the couple said.

Today, she identifies and dresses as a woman and gets female hormone therapy, but said she has yet to undergo a sex-change operation because it’s expensive.

The family lives on government public assistance in a cramped mobile home. Jennifer Nakonsky is a stay-at-home mom, and Chrissy Nakonsky hasn’t worked, she said, since quitting as a store cashier and stocker because managers required her to observe the dress code for men. She said she’s filed a complaint with the Minnesota Department of Human Rights.

While she may be at odds with many in the party on issues such as gay marriage, she said she would focus mainly on issues of education and poverty.

I honestly don’t see how Nakonsky thinks she’s going to accomplish anything with the Republican party–assuming she gets elected in the first place. Education, poverty, LGBT rights. None of those issues are strong suits for the Republicans. They cater to the rich and deplore “entitlements”. They favor private education and homeschooling over public education which leaves public schools the short end of the stick when it comes to legislation (and dare I mention NCLB?). And LGBT rights? It’s going to be a long, uphill battle to get those even from Democrats. Republicans certainly aren’t ready to fork them over.

But she’s willing to try, so more power to her. I wish her well in her endeavor, misguided as I think it is.

At least according to this LTTE in the Salt Lake (UT) Tribune.

President-wise, I would vote today for an intelligent, compassionate, articulate, well-read, honest and brave atheist or agnostic over any one of the more-Christian-than-thou bunch pandering shamelessly in the ring right now.
Professions, assertions and declarations of “faith” belong at home and in the church/synagogue/mosque/temple/treehouse/cave of one’s choice. In government, I want common sense and practicality, neither of which is the exclusive preserve of any religion.
However, I have “faith” that no such individual will emerge to save us from our own self-righteousness.

Jackie McCowen-Rose
Roy

I don’t care about a politician’s religion or lack thereof. I just want them to keep it out of politics, political decisions and my life. Sadly too few of them seem to be able to do that so maybe it’s time for an atheist president.