Dec
22
2011
--

The GOP & The Mad Doctor

20111222-jxhyrsaymmx2mi8kir34xwqm3p.jpg It’s almost enough to make you feel sorry for the Republican party in the run-up to 2012. First, the party had a literal embarrassment of riches, in the form of a field chock-full of candidates with something for just about every major faction and minor fringe the GOP has cobbled into a conservative coalition. Then, dragged through a series of debates in which the only thing more embarrassing than the candidates was the audience, the candidates who were bona fide right-wing stars, wilted under hot lights of ever intensifying media and public scrutiny.

Inevitably, the field narrowed. Herman Cain went home to (finally) spend more time with his family. Michelle Bachmann has been asked to drop out — again. Rick Perry is still around, but merely provides comic relief at this point. Yet that hasn’t improved the field. Even Newt Gingrich’s ironic return to relevance as the Republicans’ savior seems to be winding down. Meanwhile, the all important Iowa Caucuses loom. And all eyes turn to Ron Paul — the GOP’s own Mad Doctor.

(more…)

Dec
08
2011
2

Herman Cain & Eddie Long: A Tale of Two Players

It’s rare that two very public implosions occur almost simultaneously or resonate so well with one another as the the crashing and burning of Herman Cain’s presidential campaign and Eddie Long’s marriage and ministry. It’s even rarer that two high profile “players” like Cain and Long (or Long and Cain, or even Long/Cain, if you prefer) have the bluffs called so spectacularly and fold so publicly.

For a blogger, it’s difficult to resist either story, considering “how snide and vicious” one could get “and still write nothing but the truth.” For one such as myself, who’s written about both men, it’s impossible to resist.

Some of the parallels between the two are innocuous: both are black ministers, both are from Georgia, both have amassed significant amounts of personal wealth. Other parallels are innocuous: both, if the allegations against them are true, rose to fame pretending to be something they were not, and both were publicly revealed as frauds.

Ironically, in the long run, neither may suffer much for it.

(more…)

Oct
26
2011
--

Pat Robertson: The GOP’s New Voice of Reason

It was noteworthy when Peggy NoonanOur Lady of the Dolphins — stepped into the role of the GOP’s voice of reason, following the rise of Sarah Palin as its vice presidential nominee in 2008. It was a real eyebrow-raiser when David Brooks took on the task of talking sense to Republicans during the debt deal debacle, before returning to his “sinners in the hands of an angry market” theme.

This summer, in the middle of the debt ceiling debate, I tried to sum up the significance of those two moments.

You can take your pick for the moment the GOP noticably went off the rails. I have two favorites: when it fell to Peggy Noonan to be the Republicans’ voice of reason following Sarah Palin’s VP nomination, and when David Brooks warned the GOP that it “may no longer be a normal party”. Together, they’re the political equivalent of Courtney Love showing up at your intervention and Charlie Sheen offering you a ride to rehab. But this Republican party isn’t likely to heed such sane voices as Noonan and Brooks, and would just as soon throw them overboard.

At the time, I thought it couldn’t get much worse. But now, it’s fallen to Pat Robertson — yes that Pat Robertson — serve as the GOP’s latest voice of reason.

(more…)

Written by terrance in: current events,politics,religion,video |
Oct
18
2011
--

No Apocalypse, But A Chance to Resurrect Progressive Radio?

I’m filing this one under “Things I’d Do If I Won The Lottery.” It’s a long list. The only problem with it is that I never play the lottery, because “buying lottery tickets is an irrational act — the odds are hugely stacked against us.” So, I’ve never won the lottery, because I’ve never bought a ticket.

But if I were a progressive-with-loads-of-cash, I’d buy network of radio stations. If you are a progressive-with-loads-of-cash (or know someone who is), there’s a great opportunity to invest in another shot at resurrecting progressive radio.

(more…)

Written by terrance in: current events,media,politics,religion |
Aug
17
2011
1

Submissive Wives, Gay Husband & Michelle Bachmann, Pt. 2

This entry is part 2 of 2 in the series Gay Husbands, Submissive Wives & Michelle Bachmann

And, no, this two-part series isn’t about that Bachmann story. It’s not about being the submissive wife of a gay husband, but about how gay husbands undermine submissive wifeliness.


Submissive Wives & Gay Husbands

You’ve probably saw this coming already, if the title of this post is what drew you in to begin with. Part of the threat of same-sex marriage is that it both calls biblical gender roles into question, and undermines complimentarity.

(more…)

Aug
16
2011
--

Gay Husbands, Submissive Wives & Michelle Bachmann, Pt. 1

This entry is part 1 of 2 in the series Gay Husbands, Submissive Wives & Michelle Bachmann

Not that it’s going to matter much to Michelle Bachmann

In 2006, Bachmann said her husband had told her to get a post-doctorate degree in tax law. “Tax law? I hate taxes,” she continued. “Why should I go into something like that? But the lord says, be submissive. Wives, you are to be submissive to your husbands.’”

Asked about the comment by CBS News’ Norah O’Donnell Sunday, Bachmann reaffirmed that to her, “submission means respect, mutual respect.”

“I respect my husband, he respects me,” she said. “We have been married 33 years, we have a great marriage…and respecting each other, listening to each other is what that means.”

O’Donnell asked Bachmann if she would use a different word in retrospect.

“You know, I guess it depends on what word people are used to, but respect is really what it means,” Bachmann replied.

“Do you think submissive means subservient?” O’Donnell asked.

“Not to us,” Bachmann said. “To us it means respect. We respect each other, we listen to each other, we love each other and that is what it means.”

But… Well… Here.

(more…)

Jul
13
2011
--

The Bachmann Gaffe … That Wasn’t

The latest Michele Bachmann gaffe once again has eyes rolling and heads shaking among the commentariat. The irony is, it’s not really a gaffe. In fact, it’s not even that far from today’s conservative mainstream. It might even be closer to conservative orthodoxy than right-wing fringe. And that raises a serious question: What — or, more appropriately, WTF — has happened to the party of Lincoln?

By now, everyone has heard about Michele Bachmann’s latest gaffe. This time, it wasn’t a statement she made, but a statement she signed. The Family Leader, an Iowa-based conservative Christian organization led by Bob Vander Platts, introduced a pledge last week — “The Marriage Vow: A Declaration of Dependence upon MARRIAGE and FAMILY” — that Republican presidential candidates campaigning in Iowa were encouraged to sign.

Bachmann was the first to sign the pledge, which included this unfortunate statement as the first bullet point in its supporting argument.

Slavery had a disastrous impact on African-American families, yet sadly a child born into slavery in 1860 was more likely to be raised by his mother and father in a two-parent household than was an African-American baby born after the election of the USA’s first African-American President.

(more…)

Written by terrance in: current events,politics,race,religion |
Jul
13
2011
--

Gingrich Nixes “Marriage Vow” Proposal

So, Newt Gingrich has refused to sign that anti-gay marriage pledge.

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich refused to sign Iowa social conservative Bob Vander Plaats’s anti-gay-marriage pledge, saying through a spokesman that it had a long list of problems.

Mr. Vander Plaats already made one change, removing a sentence that suggested African American children fared better under slavery.

“We told him that we couldn’t sign it in its current form,” said Mr. Gingrich’s spokesman, R.C. Hammond. “We’re happy to work with him to get some more precise language.”

This? From America’s patriotic philanderer?

(more…)

Jun
13
2011
--

Why I Do Not Forgive Tracy Morgan

I was not there to hear Tracy Morgan’s now infamous, hateful anti-gay rant in the middle of a comedy performance in Nashville, as Kevin Rogers was. Had I been in town, it’s unlikely I would have been anyway, as I’ve never found Morgan to be all that funny, going all the way back to his SNL days. But I almost wish I had been, I’m not sure I would have been able to steel myself to stay in my seat for the entire thing, but at least I’d have heard it first hand.

(more…)

May
30
2011
1

Eddie Long Punks Out

Who didn’t see this coming?

Last September, megachurch preacher Bishop Eddie Long stood before his congregation at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church a week after gay sex allegations surfaced between him and four teenage boys, and he told members he was going to fight the allegations.

But Long chose not to fight in court. Instead he reached a settlement and paid off the four young men who accused the mega-church preacher of using his power to influence them into sexual relationships with him.
“You can interpret that any way you want, but usually people do not settle cases unless there is some reason to do so,” said former DeKalb County Prosecutor J. Tom Morgan.
Morgan said he is familiar with cases like Long’s.
“They had to reach a settlement if they did not want any statement by the Bishop on record,” said Morgan.

Well.

(more…)

Written by terrance in: crime,current events,politics,race,religion,sex |
May
20
2011
--

The Devil Made Them Do It

The Catholic Church has finally uncovered the “causes” for its long epidemic of sexual abuse.

A report on the putative “causes” of sexual abuse in the American Catholic Church over the past 60 years is set to be released today. The study, titled “The Causes and Context of Sexual Abuse of Minors by Catholic Priests in the United States, 1950-2010,” claims celibacy and homosexuality were not prime catalysts for mistreatment — arguing instead that many priests were unable to deal with the pressures of the “sexual revolution.”

The report was commissioned by bishops of the American Catholic Church, and compiled by scholars at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. It is thought to have cost around $1.8 billion, half of which was provided by the bishops themselves (the U.S. Justice Department’s National Institute of Justice contributed approximately $280,000, according to the New York Times).

Its conclusions will doubtless be controversial; they will please neither those who argue for an end to clerical celibacy — thus supporting a priest’s right to marry — nor those who claim that homosexuals are more likely to abuse young boys (who have, in clerical abuse cases, historically been victimised more than girls) and thus should not be ordained.

Well, yes and no.

(more…)

Written by terrance in: crime,current events,religion |
May
12
2011
--

Religion Does NOT Equal Morality

This entry is part 2 of 2 in the series Galt Goes Bust

PZ Meyers makes an excellent point about this horrific story.

A young girl was found caged and attempting to eat herself in a mobile home in Virginia, and cops say her parents are responsible.

The malnourished girl, believed to be either 5 or 6, was discovered in a crib that was converted into a makeshift cage after police arrived at the home in Gloucester County to investigate a burglary last week.

The girl’s parents, Brian and Shannon Gore, were arrested and charged with felony child abuse. The mother was also charged with attempted capital murder.

However, the gruesome twosome now faces first-degree murder charges after the remains of what authorities believe to be another child were found buried outside their mobile home

Towards the end of the story we hear from the husband’s ex-girlfriend.

(more…)

Written by terrance in: crime,current events,parenting,religion,video |
Feb
22
2011
--

The GOP & Hopelessness

They’ll never get it.

This:

Mike Beard, a Republican state representative from Minnesota, recently argued that coal mining should resume in the Land of 10,000 Lakes, in part because he believes God has created an earth that will provide unlimited natural resources.

“God is not capricious. He’s given us a creation that is dynamically stable,” Beard told MinnPost. “We are not going to run out of anything.”

Beard is currently in the midst of drafting legislation that would overturn Minnesota’s moratorium on coal-fired power plants, an effort that he backs due to his religious belief that God will provide limitless resources while ensuring that humans don’t destroy the planet trying to get them.

Drawing on his family’s childhood property in Pennsylvania, Beard explained to MinnPost his belief that while resource extraction might cause temporary agitation to the landscape, the effects wouldn’t be longterm.

Made me think of this, again.

(more…)

Written by terrance in: current events,environment,politics,religion |
Jan
05
2011
--

Constitutional Cowards

"Though this nation has proudly thought of itself as an ethnic melting pot, in things racial we have always been and continue to be, in too many ways, essentially a nation of cowards."

- Eric Holder, United States Attorney General

Ed. Note: The second half of this post was written before the reading of the constitution on the House floor, at the opening of this session of Congress, and has since been updated.

Like a lot of people, when the new GOP majority in the House announced that they would begin this session by reading the constitution on the floor of the house, I was both amused and bemused. On one hand, I thought sarcastically, it might be educational. Some of them seem to know less about what’s in it, than about all the things of which they’re fond of saying "That’s not in the Constitution," while waving around the copy of the constitution they keep in their front pockets. (I’d wave around the copy I have on my iPhone, but I don’ thing it would have the same dramatic effect.)

I was bemused, because I wondered how conservatives would handle some uncomfortable parts of our history reflected in the Constitution. When I found out, I was more angry than amused, and more bitter than bemused. Congressional conservatives proved themselves to be callow and cowardly regarding the Constitution — unwilling to understand it in anything except a literalist framework, and unable to face up to the contradictions between our history and idealized image of ourselves, when the Constitution lays them out in black and white.

(more…)

Sep
28
2010
1

The Long Dark Night of Eddie Long, Pt. 1

This entry is part 1 of 3 in the series Eddie Long

Well you may throw your rock and hide your hand
Workin’ in the dark against your fellow man
But as sure as God made black and white
What’s done in the dark will be brought to the light

~ “Run On (For A Long Time)”

The last line in the quote above is one my mother repeated often when I was growing up. She meant that those things we tried to hide, out of shame or deceit, would be found out eventually. Thus, it behooved us to live honest lives, with nothing “done in the dark” that we feared would come into the light.

My mother’s phrase came to mind this weekend, as I caught up on the sexual misconduct allegations against Eddie Long, minister of a black mega-church in the Atlanta area.

Spencer LaGrande, 22, filed suit against Long and his New Birth Missionary Baptist Church and, like the other three alleged victims, accused the powerhouse pastor of forcing him into a sexual relationship while treating him to trips around the world, travel in private planes and stays in luxury hotels.

…LaGrande’s lawsuit alleges he met Long in March 2003 during the very first service at a branch Long’s Georgia-based church that opened in a suburb of Charlotte, N.C.

LeGrande said Long agreed to be a father figure for him because his own father was an absentee father, according to court documents, and that Long began asking LaGrande to call him “dad.”

LaGrande was 17 when, according to the lawsuit, Long first made sexual contact with him during a trip to Nairobi, Kenya. The lawsuit alleges several more instances of sexual contact, both before and after LaGrande graduated from high school.

Long’s accusers have said they believe the bishop abused more young men that eventually will come forward. Many people at the church knew what was going on but covered for Long, victims claimed.

Maurice Robinson and Anthony Flagg were the first two accusers, followed a short time later by Jamal Parris.

Parris alleged in the documents, obtained by ABC News, that the bishop would request he be nude while in his presence and would request “sexual massages” and “oral sodomy” when they traveled.

Eddie Long would probably say that my life — a suburban life, with a husband and two children — is one lived in darkness. He would probably invite me to live in the “light.” That is, the “light” as he defines it.

(more…)

Apr
20
2010
1

Parenting vs. Pork?

This is perhaps one of the most ridiculous things I’ve heard in ages. A Maryland company authorized by the state to place children with foster families has refused a foster license to a Muslim woman, because she doesn’t allow pork products in her home.

Almost two decades ago, Tashima Crudup left her grandmother’s home and entered the city’s foster care system, where she learned firsthand what makes a good mother.

As she shuffled from family to family beginning at age 8, Crudup encountered some attentive and loving foster parents, while others were unsupportive and constraining.

“I always wanted to be a foster parent,” said the 26-year-old mother of five.

In July, Crudup — a practicing Muslim — contacted Contemporary Family Services, a private company authorized by the state to place foster children with families. She cleared an initial screening process and completed 50 hours of training classes for prospective parents. But after a home visit, her application was denied.

The main reason: She doesn’t allow pork in her house.

Are you kidding me?
(more…)

Written by terrance in: adoption,current events,family,politics,religion |
Apr
07
2010
1

Poisonous Parenting: The “Oh Father” Edition

This entry is part 5 of 26 in the series poisonous parenting

It’s been a while since I’ve added to this series. There are probably a number of reasons, among them that I’ve found myself blogging more about other issues and less about LGBT issues. There are any nmber of reasons, including that my writing at work tends to bleed over to this blog because I have less time to write these days to my interest in what’s happening on the national political scene. But I’ve been keeping up with the latest chapter of the abuse scandal swirling in the Catholic church in the past weeks. And found myself thinking more and more about this series.

Besides the Catholic church scandal, there’s the news of the Boy Scouts covering up abuse. I find it, if nothing else, noteworthy that two organizations that have gone to some lengrhs to defend their anit-gay policies and that have inveighed against families like mine have the same problems with child sex abuse, and the same penchant for covering it up — or, rather, keeping it in the closet.

(more…)

Mar
30
2010
--

So Much For "Law and Order Conservatism"

There’s only thing slightly less shocking than the arrest of nine members of the Hutaree Christian militia for plotting to plotting to kill law enforcement officers (with IEDs).

That’s conservative bloggers coming to their defense. Blue Texan at Firedog lake compiles the responses at the preceding link, but this one in particular jumped out at me.

America’s vigilant Anti-Terror Warriors on the right will certainly be relieved and grateful that the FBI nabbed these guys, right?

…Classical Values sees nothing illegal going on.

Last time I looked, wanting to start a civil war (insane as it is) was not a crime.

Huh? That’s not only a defense of the alleged plot, but it smacks of a justification.

So much for “law and order” conservatism, I guess.

(more…)

Written by terrance in: crime,current events,politics,religion,video |
Mar
15
2010
--

Glenn Beck: Conservatism’s Snake Oil Salesman, Pt. 1

(Or “CPAC: Sideshow and Snake Oil, Pt. 2″)

snake oil salesman

The circus sideshow that was CPAC folded its tent and left Washington weeks ago. However, its apparent ringmaster and chief snake oil salesman still sweats, struts, and sobs across the “stage” of conservative media — that medicine show never stops rolling and never stops hawking its “solutions” to Americans who are in desperate need of something to ease their economic aches and pains, and heal their political maladies.

And like the medicine shows of old, Glenn Beck — and others like him — peddle magical “miracle cures” that either poison directly by filling the body politic with toxic bile, or indirectly by distracting us from actual solutions, and aren’t intended to “cure what ails us” so much as to make us think that we feel better even as the illness progresses. Case in point is Beck’s latest attack on the very idea of social justice.

(more…)

Feb
05
2010
3

Kidnapping (Even For Christ) Is a Crime, Pt. 2

This entry is part 2 of 3 in the series Kidnapping (Even For Christ) is a Crime

With reports that of kidnapping and criminal association have been filed in the case of 10 Baptist missionaries from Idaho, accused of kidnapping 33 Haitian children, it seems that several things are — or may be — going on. The news about the background of the groups leader, 40-year-old “businesswoman” Laura Silsby is enough cause for concern.

Court Hearing Held For Missionaries Suspected Of Taking Kids Out Of Haiti

A CBS News employee who witnessed today’s court proceedings says Silsby told the judge: “We were trying to do what’s best for the children.”

When the judge asked, “Didn’t you know you were committing a crime?” Silsby quietly answered, “We are innocent.”

But CBS News correspondent Bill Whitaker reports there are serious questions tonight about Silsby’s motives. The 40-year-old business woman, who convinced members of Idaho’s Central Valley Baptist Church to follow her dream of an orphanage in Haiti, has a troubling financial history.

She’s been the subject of eight civil lawsuits, 14 for unpaid wages, Whitaker reports. Her Meridian, Idaho house is in foreclosure. She’s had at least nine traffic citations in the last 12 years including four for failing to register or insure her car.

It suggests that perhaps Silsby, in convincing the church members to “follow her dream” of an orphanage in Haiti, may have actually have conned them in to becoming accomplices in what sounds more and more like a typical trafficking operation.

(more…)

Written by terrance in: courts,crime,current events,politics,race,religion |

Powered by WordPress. Theme: TheBuckmaker. Bank