I Am the Queen of All Landinia

Love the sinner, hate the sin. How many times have you heard that one? It's always being delivered by some hateful asshat after they've been called on the essential hypocrisy of claiming to follow a person who said that the greatest of these is love and then spewing vile hatred at people different from them.

Now, I could explore the idea that one can separate a person from their actions, which is problematic at best. (Pro tip: if zie tells you zie loves you and continually treats you badly, it doesn't matter whether or not zie loves you, you're still being treated badly.) I could also ask how one could feel hatred for a person's actions without any of that hatred rubbing off on to how you feel about the person themselves.

I could do those things, but it would be a lot easier to simply show you how love the sinner, hate the sin actually works in the really real world.

The below all relates to the commercial above. If you can't watch the commercial, it's from the NBA. It shows basketball players trash talking each other until one of them uses "gay" as a pejorative, at which point various NBA stars unequivocally state that using "gay" as an insult is unacceptable and hurtful. It's quite well done.

Of course the evangelical Christians, who are, at this point, an organization solely devoted to oppressing gays and women, cannot handle this at all.

Watching the NBA semis and I cant believe I'm watching a commercial about not using the word "gay" because it's offensive to gays.

Wow

I can't believe how stupid you are. It is stated in the commercial, out loud, in words, small words, that it is using "gay" as an insult that is unacceptable. Using "gay" as a descriptive is still acceptable. You idiot.

The word "gay" actually originally meant "to be happy". Not sure how the word "gay" began to be used to describe homosexuals. But either way, forget the commercial's message. The gays and lesbians have to be told flat out that their behavior is sin, regardless of what the world says.

Actually, the word "gay" originally meant really, really (hetero)sexually active. So, word origin fail. As to the idea that gays need to be told that their behavior is a sin, (a) I'm sure they all know how you feel about it by now, and (b) I'm sure you'll be fine with me stopping by your house once a day to point out all of your sins, and, oh yeah, (c) not a sin. Get over yourself.

You can hardly watch any shows anymore where there is blatant display of gay talk and behavior. Is not like before where one guy just played to be gay for the funny part of it (the feminist acting that looked awkward funny in a guy) but now is about relationships, kissing, and beyond. And I am talking about just regular channels, not cable.

I have started watching shows where I thought they were really good but had to stop because I saw the direction they were going with.

Sigh....

It was totally okay to have gay people in public as long as they were the punchline of a joke, but gay people as real people doing what real people do? outrageous!

No gays? well we can go back to the word we used as kids - bundle of sticks.

Homosexuals are trying to whitewash our language so as to make their conduct "normal".


It will not work. Yes we can live peaceably with homosexuals. They are sinners just like us - in need of love and redemption.

But sin is still sin. And men will label it what they will. Even if they do not acknowledge the One who defines it.

I'm fairly certain one cannot live peacefully with someone who throws a temper tantrum when they can't call you names. I get the impression this entire group has a list of acceptable insults, starting with "n***er" and ending in "slut", and they cry every time they have to cross out a word.

If someone's named "Gay" can you still call her by her name?

Well, "John" is also a slang term for a prostitute's client and a toilet, can you still call someone named John, John? Clever: ur doin it rong.

Why is it wrong for NBA players to use gay slurs (and get heavily fined for doing so) because they are so worried about offending homosexuals, but its ok to blaspheme God regularly? I cringe every time I hear God's name used in vain. And I have heard players say it and seen them mouth it. I as a Christian am offended. Will the NBA make the players stop?

How backwards is that? When people are more worried about offending gays than God we are in deep trouble folks.

Maybe because the people using "Jesus Christ" as an expletive- assuming this is even true- are Christians themselves expressing frustration, not heterosexuals enforcing second class citizenship on homosexuals? Just a thought.

So if we are not supposed to refer to 'gays' as gays or homosexuals, what?? Surely they aren't advocating going back to the 'q " word, are they? I really hate using the word 'gay' for them because when I grew up 'gay' was a good, 'happy' word. My sister's middle name is Gay, and I had a friend whose first name was Gay. Anyway, just commenting.

You know what word would solve your problem? None. Just refer to people by their names, like you would anyone else. Solves the whole problem.

Okay, I have the solution - let's call them what G-d calls them . . . ABOMINATION

Yeah, that same god called dashing infant's heads against rocks a good thing.

You know, I realized why I'm having trouble writing my book. The main character is supposed to stop the Apocalypse and save mankind. Quite frankly, the more of this sort of thing I read, the more I think, "Let it all burn." Then I read this, from Charles Barkley, and I feel better.

"First of all, every player has played with gay guys," Barkley said. "It bothers me when I hear these reporters and jocks get on TV and say: ‘Oh, no guy can come out in a team sport. These guys would go crazy.’ First of all, quit telling me what I think. I’d rather have a gay guy who can play than a straight guy who can’t play.”

Barkley went on to say that he believes every professional athlete has had a gay teammate.

“Any professional athlete who gets on TV or radio and says he never played with a gay guy is a stone-freakin’ idiot,” he said. “I would even say the same thing in college. Every college player, every pro player in any sport has probably played with a gay person."

It was revealed on Monday that former Villanova basketball player Will Sheridan told his teammates that he was gay during his career.

Barkley told Wise that gay players pose no problem and said, "we need to outlaw guys who suck at sports.”

Thank you, Mr. Barkley. I needed that.

Did You Know Freud Created Lust?

This deeply homophobic post (proving once again that "love the sinner, hate the sin" is sophistry at its finest) gets pretty darn hilarious pretty darn quickly.

Sex is—have you noticed?—a big deal in our world. It seems to be a truism that every person has a right to whatever sexual experience they want, and that putting limits on sexual practice is somehow offensive to humanity. Maybe Freud is to blame for sexualizing our world and persuading our culture that sexual “repression” was a form of neuroticism. While the theistic consensus regarding morality was eroding away, the Freudian imperative arose to take its place as our source for behavioral norms. This—along with the obvious pleasures of sex—added up to making sexual expression a virtual imperative while removing most limits on what form that expression might take.

Yes, there world was entirely innocent to sex prior to the 1880s. Prior to Freudian Theory, no one ever desired sex or enjoyed sex or lusted at all. Babies were produced as part of a perfunctory act not unlike washing the dishes in level of desirability or enjoyment. It wasn't until Freud thought up penis envy that the people of the world realized that they liked sex and wanted sex. Nobody paid prostitutes for sex prior to that, no one was gay prior to that, and . . . look, not even I can keep that up. The theory that Frued sexualized the world is so insane, I'm flabbergasted. I know thinking about people in the past doing it is a bit weird, given our general views on the past, but I assure you, the world was plenty sexualized prior to Freud.

Psychologists and psychiatrists who follow Freud’s sexual theories have become hard to find. The Freudian framework has been discredited by its utter lack of scientific testability and its poor clinical effectiveness. Yet individuals in Western culture still think they must express their sexuality. So when we Christians tell homosexuals they cannot unite in same-sex “marriage,” and that they should not fulfill their sexual preferences, we’re not just being spoil-sports. It’s as if we’re saying they must deny their own person-ness and stunt their own humanity. They can’t join in the game everyone (and if you look at popular media, we mean everyone) else gets to play.

It's not so much that one "must" express one's sexuality, it's that one cannot avoid expressing one's sexuality. Sexuality is deeply rooted and essential to humans. That is, in fact, why there are humans today. Our ancestors just couldn't stop "expressing their sexuality".

You know how I can prove this? Step outside of America, where it's far from easy to be gay, but it usually isn't deadly, and take a visit to Uganda, where "expressing one's sexuality" (or merely being suspected of being gay) means your picture in the paper and a beating and possible killing to go with it. Think about this logically for one moment. If that's what "expressing one's sexuality" as a choice means, why would anyone do it? If it were possible to deny one's sexual nature long term, wouldn't every gay person in Uganda be doing just that? Since they're not, I think we can reasonably say that denying one's sexuality simply isn't possible long term.

Now, the author does admit that "reparative therapy" (google "Exodus International" if you must, but I'm not linking to that) is a crock, but what is his answer? Replace your sex drive with Jesus.

Jesus demonstrated joy (Luke 10:21, John 3:29), taught joy (Matthew 5:12, Luke 10:17-20, prayed for joy (John 17:13), gave reason for joy (Matthew 28:8, Luke 24:41, John 16:22). All of life is available for us to find joy. This is the message of the most misunderstood book of the Bible (in my opinion), Ecclesiastes, whose theme can be summarized as, There is much pleasure in earth that we may justly pursue, yet ultimate delight is in God himself.

Okay, you do it. Seriously, you give up sex altogether and pray instead. Tell me how it goes 80 years from now. Actually, I don't need you to do that. I just need to look at all the "chaste" priests and their multitudinous sex scandals to know that doesn't work. It's not just the sexless Catholic priests, either, it's married Protestant preachers, who can presumably get some at home, boinking their secretaries and doing meth off the asses of prostitutes. Hello, your own holy men can't hack the prayer instead of sex diet, why do you expect that to work for the rest of us? Logic, anyone?

Why do I even ask? This is religion, we don't need no stinkin' reason.

It Gets Purple and It Gets Better

Here's me being purple, because I do stand up for the treatment of GLBT persons as, well, people. I don't think anyone should be bullied, I don't think anyone should be discriminated against and I don't think anyone should be made to feel so desperate and hopeless that they believe death to be the only solution.

I'm not gay, but I have been bullied. Relentlessly. Mercilessly. My entire childhood sucked up into the despair and pain of being bullied.

If you are being bullied, I have been where you are. If you think life will never get better, I've thought that, too. If you think that suicide might be the only way out, well, been there, got the scars on my wrists to prove it.



That was an attempt at a permanent solution to a temporary problem.

Thing is, I'm still here. I'm here because it gets better. So much better you'll have a hard time believing me.

I found love. I found friends who accept me exactly as I am. I cosplay at Starbucks on a Tuesday and I don't care who laughs at me, because I'm having fun. I laugh all the time now. I'm poor and chronically ill and partially disabled- and life is good.






Thing is, high school is bullshit. If high school were the best years of your life, you have a very sad life. High school isn't life. High school is a pressure cooker of crazy. The only good thing is high school ends. And then? You're free to go. You're free to move somewhere else, to never see bullies again, to find people who love you.


And you will. Find people who love you, that is. I know this seems impossible, in the tiny little world that is high school, but the world is a big place. There are over 6,000,000,000 people on this planet and trust me, at least a few of them will get you immediately. At least a few will think you're the coolest, awesomemest, bestest person they've ever met. I know, it seems impossible now, but it will happen. I swear to you, it will get better.

I never think of the bullies anymore, unless I'm reading or writing about bullying. I don't worry what people think of me anymore. So what? Yeah, I wear a Jaegermonster sigil every day, at work, to the store, where ever. You think that's weird? Too bad, it makes me happy. That's how good life gets, I don't have to care what anyone thinks, I have friends who think it's awesome that I'm weird. I get to go home and hang out with people who love me. Bullies? After high school, they don't matter.

So hang in there. It gets better. If you are thinking of suicide, please call 1-800-273 TALK. Right now. If you need encouragement, there are thousands of videos from people who have been in your shoes, and all of their lives are better. If you need me to write you a hundred more essays on how much better it gets, I'll do that, too. Just ask. I don't know you, but I do care. Please, stay alive. It gets better.

Wear Purple on Wednesday

These children deserved better. Let's give it to the others who remain.

This Wednesday, please wear purple in support of the 6 LGBT teens who committed suicide in recent weeks. (Yes, this is real, not a Facebook meme.)

It’s been decided. On October 20th, 2010, we will wear purple in honor of the 6 gay youth who committed suicide in recent weeks/months due to homophobic abuse in their homes at at their schools.


Purple represents Spirit on the LGBTQ flag and that’s exactly what we’d like all of you to have with you: spirit.


Please know that times will get better and that you will meet people who will love you and respect you for who you are, no matter your sexuality. Please wear purple on October 20th. Tell your friends, family, co-workers, neighbors and schools.RIP Tyler Clementi, Asher Brown, Seth Walsh, Justin Aaberg, Raymond Chase and Billy Lucas. You are loved.


Join this event and invite everyone. Don’t let their deaths be for nothing. Let it mean something, and let’s do something to change this country for once.

Hey, it's a pretty colour and you'll be taking a stand. What could be better?

Put Down the Stupid, Ma'am

This is weapons grade stupid right here. So fucking stupid I'm losing brain function thinking about it. So fucking stupid I would think the writer would have been rendered catatonic, except that she's posted blog entries since, so the only conclusion I can draw is that homophobes are so saturated in stupid they have become immune to it.

If you think that sounds unnecessarily mean, keep reading. Just don't complain when you find yourself unable to do basic math or find the US on a map afterwards. I warned you.

(The following is supposed to be the result of DADT being repealed. Keep that in mind. The following is the result of a ruling that allows gays in the military to openly discuss their partners, just like their heterosexual compatriots have always been allowed to.)

Scene: Military base, mess hall. Several male soldiers are seated around a table.

Soldier A: So, yeah, then I got a call from my...

(He pauses, and looks down at the table.)

Soldier A: Sorry.

Soldier B: No problem. You were saying?

Soldier A: Yeah, I was on the phone and she said...wait, can I say that?

Soldier C: Um, I think so.

Soldier B: No, actually. You can tell us what you heard--no pronouns.

Soldier A: Right. Well, anyway...well...oh, forget it.

(There is silence. A female soldier enters and joins them.)

Soldier D: Hi, guys. Why so quiet?

Soldier A: (glumly) Oh...you know.

Soldier D: Let me guess. The Military Personnel Conversational Restriction Act?

Soldier B: Mmm-hmm.

Soldier C: Better know as the Just Shut Up Already Act.

If you are still able, please consider this for a moment. This fucking idiot truly believes that a gay soldier being allowed to say, "I talked to my boyfriend last night" without being kicked out of the military will lead to all soldiers being unable to talk about anything.

I'd ask how fucking stupid any one person can be, but there it is. That fucking stupid.

Guns Don't Kill People . . .

[another h/t to [redacted] who probably needs a good dose of prozac by now]

Remember our friends with the hate filled hearts? Well, now that antigay bullying is in the news again, tragically because of the suicide of a gay teen, they've decided that guns don't kill people*, gays kill themselves. And their hate filled hearts have nothing to do with it.

names have been changed to protect the innocent, and the hateful. (actually, i have no idea what the rule is with FB postings and privacy, so i'm covering my own ass.)

Dexter Peters Protect Marriage: One Man, One Woman:

SHOCK: Gay Texas 13-Year-Old Asher Brown Shoots Himself In The Head After Horrific School Torment /.

www.queerty.com

There is no good news in this story. None. It's sad, and it's endemic of the nightmares today's LGBT youth continue to face every. single. day. [another redacted],

6 hours ago · Share

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[i have approached nazi levels of hate] Yes, it is terrible....for so many young to misunderstand their lives and be so confused as to embrace a life that leads them to these ends is horrible...children like these need all of the help that we can get for them (and don't give malarky about bullying, these kids are depressed without ever being bullied)...they need real love, caring, and concern...as well as a lot of help with their misunderstandings on sex and what is natural.

2 hours ago

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[i'm an evil little man who deserves mockery] ‎"Brown, his family said, was "bullied to death" — picked on for his small size, his religion and because he did not wear designer clothes and shoes." ....I agree with the idiot - NOM's support of designer shoes must end !!!

about an hour ago

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[i am a reasonable person] If the schools don't start addressing the bullying issue and take a stand against bullies and their co-defendent parents there will be more and more suicides among young people. I was picked on my whole 12 years of school for being fat, believe me I know the scars it leaves behind.

about an hour ago

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[i deserve terrible things]

exactly, beth. i was picked on just because i was somewhat smaller than the bullies of the school. i got beaten up, teased, tormented ... you name it.

did i use it as an excuse to end my life? no. now ... that is not to belittle the loss of... the brown family. i don't know asher's mental state, and i guess none of us ever really will. i completely agree with the "co-defendant" idea. if the kids are being bullies at school, the parents shoulder some, if not a lot, of the responsibility, if it can be shown that they're not doing something to alter the bully's path.See More

45 minutes ago

Nothing touches these people, does it? They look at the suffering they help cause and see only another chance to hate. I would say we are doomed, but I look back at history and see times where blacks were regarded as animals, when the Final Solution wasn't viewed as such a bad thing and then I look around today and think, "there is hope, but I doubt I'll live to see it." Well, if not me, perhaps my niece. Perhaps her children.

So we have to keep trying. And never forget about Asher. Ever.

*I despise the argument that guns don't kill people, people kill people. Sure, guns don't leap out of their holsters and fire themselves, but guns make it very easy to kill. If every killer had to kill with their bare hands, there would be a lot less murder in this world. You'd really have to want it and be physically capable of it.

Hate. Filled. Heart.

(h/t to [redacted]. I don't have a facebook account.)

Apparently, the new Catholic answer to the overwhelming evidence of decades (if not centuries) of abuse, the abuse of hundreds, if not thousands, of innocent children, covered up as an institutional imperative, to the point where one can only assume that the leadership of the RCC came to the rather odd conclusion that the organization exists purely to pander to pedophiles is . . . man, that was some sentence . . . seriously, that was alliterative there at the end . . . the abuse is all made up by the Gay Agenda^tm . to punish the Church for supporting Prop 8.

Yes, that's right. Priests didn't sexually molest an entire generation of Catholic children, and religious leaders of every description don't regularly abuse their authority and their followers, it's just those dirty gays and their stranglehold on our culture. The hierarchy of the Church didn't do everything possible to keep those priests from facing repercussions, it's just the Gay Agenda^tm again.

Man, when your religious beliefs require that you view hundreds of victims of childhood sexual abuse as shills for a nonexistent agenda, you are officially fucked. You have no morals. You have no soul. You're a shell, spewing nonsense from your hate filled heart.

Good luck with that.

[name removed because i'm the better person] I believe that Bishop Eddie Long is being falsely accused of sexual abuse because of his strong public objection of the homosexual lifestyle. Let's not judge him. We don't know what proof will be given. Instead, lets pray for justice for the Bishop. I believe this to be just another attack against the children of God who speak out against evil in the world.

20 hours ago · View Feedback (5) Hide Feedback (5) · Flag

• [another asshat] likes this.

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[conspiracy theorist] You know, it's really interesting that you mention that, because a FB friend of mine who is strongly pro-homosexual (and also admits to being a homosexual) posted a link "proving" that Bishop Long actually committed sexual abuse. That's a really good point you make there!

6 hours ago

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[asshat] You know...that they are attacking him and accusing him of this tends to lend credence to the fact that their organizations using the Catholic name ARE indeed as fake as the Bishop reported.

5 hours ago

[original name removed. i'm still the better person] Rennie, I sure hope your fb friend got his link "proving" that Bishop Long is guilty of committing sexual abuse from reliable resources. If he is guilty then he needs to pay the price . A man is considered innocent until proven guilty but I would'nt go around accusing when I know that every word that comes out of my mouth will be judged by God.

4 hours ago

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[yet another asshat] I don't remember where he got the link, but the same source that provided the "proof" also provided a news story a few months ago reporting that a high school here in Mississippi was unfair for not allowing a lesbian girl to bring her girlfriend to the prom. That much I DO remember.

You know, I have to wonder something. If one of their children came home and said that the priest molested them, would they say, "Oh, honey, stop lying for the Gay Agenda^tm."? I think not.

Also, some research shows that

More than 100 reports in the scientific and professional literature, involving more than 35,000

subjects, indicate that rapists, child molesters, incestuous parents, and sexually motivated

murderers are typically very conservative in their sexual and social values and sometimes more

religious than average—suggesting that in many cases traditional sexual morality is a

contributing factor in sexual abuse rather than a deterrent.

Yeah. It's not the Gay Agenda^tm, it's your agenda, asshats.

The Gayspel According to Mark (Praise be to God)

touche, sir, touche

Be Careful What You Wish For

I just know I'm going to end up snarking on something when the title makes me giggle.

My Spouse Struggles with Homosexuality from Focus on the Family

No, your spouse is gay, which is certainly unfortunate, unless you're in a same sex marriage, in which case, that's exactly what you wanted.

One of seven children, Paula was raised on the mission field. She witnessed her parents live by faith and sacrifice a normal family life and worldly possessions for the sake of the gospel. She grew up following their example of loving Jesus and committing her life to Him in service. In Bible College she met Steven. He, too, had a fervent and growing faith. The two of them fell in love and embarked on a life-long journey together in ministry.

Why is it that if a woman works, it's so horrible that she's sacrificing her to daycare, but raising your children on the mission field (i.e., in a third world country without clean water or health care) is just fantastic?

Paula never saw it coming. At the time, Steven was the beloved senior pastor of a 1,000 member church. They had a 7 year-old daughter. Paula says there were no outward signs that pointed to a homosexual struggle in Steven, just a growing uneasy feeling inside of her. Paula held Steven up before the Lord and prayed fervently that God would reveal what was wrong with her husband. She believes that God told her through prayer that Steven struggled with homosexuality.

Um, wow. It's bad enough when someone decides your cheating on them due to a misinterpreted phone call, email or encounter, can you imagine your spouse deciding that you must be cheating based on what god told them during prayer? Of course, in her case, she probably noticed that Steven spend more time checking out other men's asses than other women's asses, but still.

Her worst fears were confirmed when Steven was spotted in a gay bar. Paula's world collapsed.

I feel bad for Paula- and Steven. This is what fundamentalist Christianity, the kind that FotF promotes, does to people. Neither Paual nor Steven would have been in this position if religion hadn't convinced Steven to pretend to be something he's not. Steven could have married some nice man that he was actually sexually attracted to, and Paula could have married some nice man that was actually sexually attracted to her. Everybody would have been happy, but no, that's not what Christianity is about.

Perhaps you have an uneasy, sick feeling that something is wrong with your marriage. Perhaps communication has broken down between the two of you and you suspect infidelity. And perhaps you have discovered questionable e-mail, or sexually explicit ads pop up when you're surfing the internet.

Sexually explicit ads popping up when you're online is a sign that you are online.

Pam Burnett realized something was amiss when her husband began spending more and more time away from home, distancing himself from her and the kids. She says he also took up running and started to pay an inordinate amount of attention to his physical appearance.

Oh, those silly gays and their always looking good! That is, btw, the symptom of any affair, hetero or gay. People having affairs want to look good for their lovers, no matter what sex they are.

But for Pam, Paula and others there could have been red flags all along. In his book When Homosexuality Hits Home, Joe Dallas says that many women are attracted to the sensitivity, astute communication skills, vulnerability and easily expressed emotions that often embody temperament commonly found in homosexual men. And that the lack of sexual aggression first seen as a desirable trait may just be a lack of normal sexual interest.

Well now that's interesting. The reason a lack of sexual interest (aggression is a bit disturbing in this context) is seen as a positive to these people is because fundyism is so obsessed with female virginity. Contrary to popular fundy belief, however, women do have an interest in sex and do enjoy sex, therefore maintaining virginity is very difficult. Hence the rather high teen mother/abortion statistics in the fundy community. So, if you're in this community and don't want to fall prey to temptation, it makes absolute sense to seek out men who are not interested in sex. Especially considering that sex is generally made out to be an embarrassing, dirty, evil thing. If that's what you think of sex, you wouldn't want a man interested in sex. To be honest, I think the percentage of women in fundyland married to men who have no sexual interest in them- or any other woman- is pretty high.

Of course, it wouldn't be FotF if they didn't imply that positive traits, like sensitivity, astute communication skills, vulnerability and easily expressed emotions, are gay/womanly and traits that men shouldn't have. That's right, boys, do you express emotion easily, are you able to open up to the woman you love? Well that's because you're gay.

At Focus on the Family we regularly hear from women who fall into lesbianism when emotionally unhealthy relationships with other women become sexualized.

Because women aren't born liking women, we "fall into lesbianism", probably because of trauma.

Mike knows the pain involved in finding his wife involved with another woman. "Jane still lived in the house with me and the kids, but she became someone I didn't know. The sweet girl I married became a creature of deep, seething, unpredictable rage. We fought loud and often. She worked long hours and often didn't come home. She began a 'ministry' at the gay bar three blocks from the hospital where she was charge nurse." Jane's unrest at home, and unresolved issues from her past, deteriorated into submersion into the gay lifestyle.

Bingo! Jane wasn't gay, she has resolved issues from her past. She's also seething and unpredictable and filled with rage. A "creature", in fact.

Let's see how we can tell if our spouses are gay:

In addition to the ominous feeling that something is wrong, there are a number of telltale signs that your partner might be struggling with same-sex attraction or having a homosexual affair:

None of these indicate homosexuality, what they do indicate is any affair. I guess screwing the nanny is okay as long as your nanny isn't gay.

1. Growing emotional distance between you and your spouse
2. Decreased sexual interest in you over time
3. Behavior that does not add up; inconsistencies in details
4. Withdrawn, depressed, moody, outbursts of anger
5. Spend late nights or great amounts of time on the internet
6. Internet web browser history lists unusual sites
7. Preoccupation with physical appearance that has nothing to do with you
8. Eyes meet with those of strangers in public
9. Claims of working long hours at work or periods of unaccounted time
10. Secretive with the cell phone. Looks for incoming calls at odd hours.
11. Becomes defensive when you ask questions about time or whereabouts
12. Unexplained payments on bank statements.
13. Asks about your schedule more than usual
14. Phone records disappear, bank and credit card statements redirected to work address

Now that you've hung a label on your suspicions, you may be feeling a deep sense of betrayal, sorrow, and fear. It's time to confront your spouse and find out the truth.

I wonder how many very interesting conversations are happening in fundy households right now.

Consequences of Gay Marriage

from GraphJam

Fight to Adopt

Please, pretty please with sugar on top, give all the support you can to Vanessa and Melanie Alenier. (Even just a like on FB would help.) They are attempting to adopt a little boy (who actually is related to Vanessa), whom they have cared for since birth. If it weren't for Vanessa and Melanie, this little boy would have ended up in the foster care system. Unfortunately, Florida law believes that a baby is better off in the foster system than being raised by a gay couple.

This needs to change. You can help.

The Alenier's story:

Our son was 9 days old when he was released to us from the hospital. What a glorious, miracle of a day. We are blessed beyond words to be mommy's to this precious little creature. He is amazing. We love him more than we could ever explain. We are his family. He is our child.

Since his birth in January 2009 we have been fighting the state of Florida every step of the way to prove to them that we are deserving parents of this wonderful child. Not only that, but that he is deserving of our home as well. The 1977 ban is so black and white that those who continue to support it cannot see beyond its walls of homophobia. The road we have endured over the last year and a half has been filled with home visits by DCF once a month, home visits by the Guardian Ad Litem once a month, court hearings, trials, and many hours of e-mails and meetings with our lawyers Alan Mishael and Elizabeth Schwartz. It took several months to finally be heard in our trial for adoption which occurred November 2009. Our wonderful judge, Maria Iglesia-Sampedro, ruled that the law was unconstitutional and granted our adoption in that trial. However, it took DCF until January 2010 to submit all proper documentation in order for the judge to sign off on the adoption. DCF then had 30 days to decide whether to appeal, which DCF did. Since February 2010 we have been moving forward to defend in the appellate court the trial court’s decision that the ban is unconstitutional as to every gay man and woman in the State of Florida. If we win there, our case may then go to the Florida Supreme Court.

Fighting the system has become financially and emotionally draining. We have no idea how much longer this may take. Our home-life hangs in the balance at this point. The only thing that gets us through the motions is knowing that if our case is heard and the law is ruled unconstitutional in the higher courts, then the law will hopefully be thrown out in Florida. That would open the doors for all gay couples and gay foster parents to begin adopting in Florida. So many children need permanent homes and families. Why would Florida want to prevent these children from being adopted by human beings that should have equal rights and equal love to give?

They Sell Burgers, You Know

You made Jesus facepalm

Ah, McDonalds. Home of my favorite french fries, though only when they're right out of the fryer, so hot you can hardly eat them. OM NOM NOM NOM.

Hmm. Maybe this cutting back on salt thing isn't so good for me.

Anyway, because a burger is never just a burger and everything is an assault on someone's religious beliefs, Red Cardigan is deeply offended by a McDonald's ad that runs in France in which gay people are being, well, people. Red Cardigan does not live in France. She lives in the United States, like me. Personally, I don't care if McDonalds uses tentacle porn (go ahead, search that, I dare you) to advertise its products in France, because I don't live there. But not Red Cardigan. Like any good Christian, she's deeply offended by something that doesn't affect her at all.

I realize that a certain segment of the population suffers from same-sex attraction. But the push to normalize homosexual activity, to force a narrative that insists that homosexual acts are normal and that the attraction is a good thing, is an attempt to make positive and good what is contrary to the moral law and to the teachings of many mainstream religions, Catholicism among them.

And that has what to do with burgers? Hey, guess what, gay people buy burgers, too! I know, it's astounding. It's almost like those homosekshuals are people, too. Huh.

France, of course, doesn't have to worry that much about their (largely) nominally Catholic population having any objection to this ad. France's growing Islamic population, however, might, since Islam also views homosexual acts as sinful. At present, the Islamic population in France is not inconsiderable, accounting for about six percent of France's total population.

"I'll tell the Muslims! You'll see!" has to be the weirdest threat from an American Christian, but you see it all the time these days. "We're reasonable, but those guys? Fucking crazy. You do not want me to get them involved."

In America, of course, McDonald's is marketed as a family-friendly, child-welcoming restaurant. A commercial winking at the idea of a father's cluelessness regarding his homosexual teenage son's dating adventures would probably not fly here, given McDonald's market in this country. But that's one of the things I hate about huge multinational corporations--they can play the game of being all things to all people, and show ads with mothers, fathers, and small children in this country, and gay-friendly ads France, without apparently seeing any contradiction between the two.

*headdesk* There is no contradiction, honey. You see, McDonalds isn't selling morality or religion. They sell fast food. In the United States, fast food is automatically considered family fair, being quick and cheap, so of course the advertising is family friendly. France, however, has a different culture, therefore McDonalds' advertising in France is different. That's right, the entire world is not exactly the same. I bet that ad was even in French. Wow! We'll wait while you mull that one over.

McDonald's got into trouble two years ago over their support of a gay organization; pro-family groups organized a boycott at the time. In the present economy, some families have seen McDonald's as an inexpensive, family-friendly restaurant to take the kids to for an occasional treat--but this ad in France may make some people think twice about that choice.

I'm getting pretty tired of multinational corporations trying to override the religious and moral views of huge numbers of people so they can look trendy while selling fat-laden unhealthy food or other wasteful and unnecessary products. You might say I'm not lovin' it.

If by "got into trouble" you mean "nobody noticed our little hissy fit and McDonalds continued to post profits", then yes. But, no, McDonalds isn't trying to "override the religious and moral views" of anyone. They are selling burgers. An ad featuring a gay person doesn't override anything, it simply acknowledges that gay people exist and buy fast food. Which they do. Welcome to reality.

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Strawman, Strawman, Strawman- Poof! I'm Right!*

You know what's easier than logical argumentation involving research and facts? Illogical, emotional, inflammatory nonsense!

I recently listened again to an excellent speech that comedian and author Evan Sayet gave at a gathering of the Heritage Foundation. The speech, entitled "Hating What's Right: How the Modern Liberal Winds Up on the Wrong Side of Every Issue"reminded me of some salient points when looking at the ideology behind modern liberalism. (If you've never watched the speech, take a look at the end of the post.)

Referring to Allan Bloom's seminal work The Closing of the American Mind, Sayet reminds us of Bloom's observation that modern liberalism relies on the ideal of indiscriminateness in direct opposition to the liberal Satan of discrimination. As Bloom puts it, "indiscriminateness is a moral imperative"in the ideology of modern liberalism (pg. 30).

Modern liberalism finds discrimination, any form of discrimination, to be antithetical to modern liberal thought. We must not discriminate against race, we are morally compelled (by political correctness) not to discriminate against culture, lifestyle, moral behavior or indeed any action deemed ideologically pure.

Gee, did I not get the memo on ideological purity? The above is a load of nonsense flavored with sophistry. The English language is, at best, imprecise. "To discriminate" can mean a few things, some of them acceptable- she has discriminating taste- some of them unacceptable- they discriminate against minorities. Then there are things that could certainly be defined, loosely, as discrimination: refusing to hire a 3 time embezzler as your accountant, for example. No one would, in common parlance, refer to that as discrimination, but technically, the word is defined that way. All of which lends itself beautifully to sophistry, an artful play of language to obfuscate meaning and logic.

What Euripides is doing above is engaging in a such sophistry, blurring the line between acceptable and unacceptable, redefining the common parlance and generally obscuring meaning. I'll save you all an entire semester's worth of studying logical argumentation: If you have to redefine words to make your point, you don't have one. (See how good I am to you?)

So, what sorts of bigotry, oh, I'm sorry, let's just call it "roses", does Euripides wish to engage in? The usual.

Airport Security
Even though we know, we know, that a certain brand of young, male, Muslims are responsible for 9/11 and other airplane hijackings and terrorist activities, we must not discriminate, in fact we must be stupidly indiscriminate at airports, taking away rights from everyone during security checks in order to appear not to discriminate against any one.

Why do we do this? Besides the leftist moral imperative of indiscriminateness, we give up our rights so we might not hurt others' feelings or "profile" unsuspecting Muslims. In fact, we must become stupid in our indiscrimination.

Yeah. Because nobody but a Muslim man . . . um, what does a Muslim man look like, exactly? Muslim refers to a religion, not a race. It's not like they're all purple or something. Heck, I could become a Muslim right now. (I probably would if I got to be purple!) Oh, a "certain brand" of Muslim man. Ayrabs, you see. Which is kind of funny, because there are Afghani Muslims and they aren't . . . oh, never mind. We just need to stop searching white people at the airport. It's so obnoxious for blondie. (Seriously, take a look at his profile pic. If he gets any whiter, he'll glow.)

Never mind that racial profiling doesn't work. Why should reality get in the way of Euripides' roses?

Arizona Immigration
Speaking of racial profiling, the loud-mouthed leftists who jumped on the ideological bandwagon, lost no time at all in condemning Arizona's new immigration law because it failed the liberal test of indiscriminateness. Once again, liberals demand that we make ourselves stupid in order to avoid the Mortal Sin of discrimination.

Let's have no doubts, racial discrimination has indeed produced social and legal injustices. However, in their zeal for an indiscriminate society, leftist liberals would have us stupidly ignore illegal immigration or illegal activity in order to uphold an ideological belief instead of exercising common sense. We must be indiscriminate to the point of stupidity.

Nobody said that liberals want to ignore illegal immigration, Euripides. See, this is what we call a false dichotomy. Either we accept a flawed, bigoted law or we just throw open our borders and wait for everything to burn down. There are other options. Lots of them. But reasoned discussion doesn't allow you to call whole groups of people stupid!

Same Sex Marriage
The ultimate in indiscrimination is the leftists invented the ideal of same sex marriage or gay marriage. If discrimination is the Mortal Sin of modern society, then the ultimate discriminate conclusion is that there are any differences at all between men and women. The indiscriminate liberal logically concludes that if we must not discriminate, then we cannot discriminate between the sexes and hence, traditional marriage is a meaningless institution, destined only to become an indiscriminate union.

We must stupidly ignore the differences and complimentary nature of the sexes in order to support a redefinition of marriage to conform to the ideology based on indiscriminateness.

Considering that you completely redefined "marriage" to arrive at this point (marriage as it is today hasn't been around that long), I fail to see the issue here. Oh, and prove "complimentary nature of the sexes" without referencing NOM. Or the Book of Mormon. It's easy to win if you assume x is true and then move on to y and z, but we really should establish x first. Plus, TEH GHEY IZ BAD! isn't really logic.

Sex Education
According to modern liberal ideology, we cannot teach children not to have sex. That's discrimination. We must, instead, stupidly support an indiscriminate system that rewards children for their own indiscriminate sexual activity, despite any consequences of disease, pregnancy, or abortion. In fact, the system actually promotes the lack of self-control by removing, decriminalizing, and in the case of abortion, actively supporting the lack of consequences.

Dude, when could you ever teach children not to have sex? Srsly. My mother graduated high school in 1961. Girls were getting pregnant out of wedlock back then, too. It's nothing new. What I object to is people who have no knowledge of how their bodies work, how to prevent pregnancy, how to prevent the spread of disease going out and having sex anyway, cuz that's what they do. Abstinence only education led to a rise in teen pregnancy, asshat. You can't stop people from having sex, you can just make it more dangerous.

Modern liberals cannot understand other ideologies or moral systems, for the simple fact that the modern liberal ideology holds indiscriminateness as the Holy Grail of some fantastical utopian society. To comply with the moral imperative of indiscrimination, we must make ourselves stupid in order to comply with the moral imperative of liberal indiscriminateness.

None of the above is true, but strawmen are fun to set ablaze, I admit.

*h/t to [redacted]

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