You can purchase an autographed copy of Anything But Straight by sending a $35 check or money order to:
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Wayne Besen
PO Box 25491
Brooklyn, NY 11202
Virginia lawmakers pushed forward a bill to create an anti-gay license plate in the guise of support for marriage. The so-called "traditional marriage" license plate would feature two interlocked golden wedding bands over a red heart.
"We will be giving Virginians who subscribe to the wisdom of 4,000 years of transcendent history a chance to show their support for an institution that is absolutely fundamental to any civilized society," Delegate L. Scott Lingamfelter (R-Prince William) told the Washington Times.
The good citizens of Virginia ought to take back the state house soon before Virginia becomes a full-fledged hick-haven. This state won't even dump its unconstitutional sodomy law. Speaking of which, imagine getting put in the pokey for sodomy, and then having to press these anti-gay license plates! Talk about the ultimate indignity.
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Good for the Fairfax County School Board! They issued a public reprimand last night of Board Member Stephen M. Hunt (At Large) for sending an unauthorized letter to high school principals urging them to include views of so-called ex-gays and to call homosexuality a "destructive lifestyle."
According to the Washington Post, on a unanimous vote, Hunt was upbraided and Board Chairman Phillip A. Niedzielski-Eichner (Providence) released a board statement condemning Hunt:
"The letter sent by Mr. Hunt was not authorized by and does not reflect the views of the School Board. The School Board continues to support the family life education curriculum and its treatment of this sensitive subject."
Personally, I think Hunt should resign. Not only did he make a mockery of the Board, but he was pushing a notion that is ethically and scientifically bankrupt. Before he sits another day on the Board of Education, he should educate himself on the lives of gay people. And if he wants an honest perspective in the schools, he should invite ex-ex-gays to speak. These are people who went through Christian programs to go from gay to straight and now renounce these groups for practicing psychological voodoo.
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I tip my hat to President George W. Bush. This was probably the best week of his presidency. First, there was a seemingly successful election in Iraq - and he didn't even have to send in Katherine Harris.
Second, the president did a masterful job tricking the American people into thinking that Social Security is in dire straights. He has clearly taken the initiative and set the agenda on his sneaky plan to slowly dismantle the New Deal.
Finally, Bush's State of the Union speech was terrific. He was calm, poised, confident and even flirted with moments of eloquence. Take it from a genuine Bush detractor, this was the best speech of his life.
Furthermore, the handpicked guests in the audience were so moving that they almost upstaged Bush. It was touching when Janet and William Norwood fought back tears, as the audience applauded the tragic loss of their son Byron, who was killed in Iraq. Equally dramatic was a weeping Safia Taleb al-Suhail, who voted in Iraq's elections in remembrance of her father who was whacked by Saddam Hussein's thugs.
Perhaps it was a bit over-the-top and a tad goofy to see the stuff-shirt bureaucrats in the crowd, chronically jabbing their purple, ink stained fingers in the air, in a staged show of solidarity with Iraqi voters. These suits looked like out of shape and out of synch John Travolta clones trying to do a Saturday Night Fever dance in the middle of Bush's speech.
I predict that Bush's poll numbers will get a significant boost this week. The approval rating on the war in Iraq will also get a bump. I think we will look back and see this week as the pinnacle of Bush's presidency.
How so?
At this moment, Bush and Rove clearly have the upper hand in the public relations war. The president has the political capital (not to mention the actual Capitol is in Republican hands) to push through a lot of his agenda. If he fails, many of his core constituencies will sour on his presidency.
And what if he succeeds?
If Bush gets what he wants, his policies better work as well as his PR. Bush has taken unusually bold steps and for this he will go down as great or a goat. He has committed himself to undermining Social Security, redistributing tax money to the wealthy, embraced deficit spending, liberally used military force to secure his murky objectives, plans to cut vital programs in the coming weeks and has taken a wrecking ball to church/state separation.
Let's face it. If on Bush's watch Iraq becomes a successful democracy, the Palestinians and Israelis make peace, the economy soars and evangelicals use the faith-based programs to improve peoples' lives, Bush will look brilliant.
However, if there is a civil war in Iraq, the Mid East peace process tanks, more wars break out (Iran, Syria, North Korea etc.), the economy sputters under the weight of debt and America's Religious Right becomes a legitimate threat to a free and decent society, then Bush will go down as one of the worst presidents ever.
I, along with countless others, have been outspoken against his policies. I firmly believe it is downhill from here. So, I hope Bush enjoys his moment of triumph. We know he is good at spin. Now it is time to find if there is substance behind his alarming ideas. While the State of the Union is mere words, we won't know the real state of our union until the smoke clears from Bush's radical, draconian policies.
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I was appalled at today's Washington Times story on a PFOX ex-gay billboard in Maryland. When I was interviewed, reporter Jen Hoffman said that she was aware that the group's President, Richard Cohen, was booted for life from the American Counseling Association. So, why wasn't that key information included in the interview?
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Amazingly, an advanced copy of Bush's State of the Union magically landed in my liberal hands. Here is the text:
"My fellow Americans. I WON THE ELECTION! YOU LIBERALS LOST! GOD LOVES ME AND TELLS ME TO INVADE COUNTRIES. Compassionate Conservative. DEMOCRACY, DEMOCRACY, DEMOCRACY! FREEDOM, osama, FREEDOM, FREEDOM, record deficit, FREEDOM IS ON THE MARCH. LIBERTY, LIBERTY, LIBERTY, torture scandal, DEMOCRACY! LIBERATION, , We love the Saudis, LIBERATION, insurgency, dead Americans, FREEDOM IS ON THE MARCH. GOD BLESS AMERICA. AND FREEDOM, TOO!
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I was thinking of a worst case scenario in the Iraqi elections. What if the voters elect Saddam Hussein for president as a write-in candidate? Would the U.S.have to reinstall him, as long as he agreed to run for reelection in four years?
Of course, this won't happen. It's just a crazy, random thought I had today while driving on I-95 for my move to New York City. I'm at a lovely HOJO in Georgia tonight- AKA, The Highway Hilton. Next stop? My old home, DC!
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In a recent USA Today column, radio host Michael Medved wrote an absurd rant about Hollywood's supposed disdain for Neo-Puritans simply because Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ did not get an Oscar nomination for best picture.
Did it occur to the conservative shock jock that The Passion didn’t get nominated because the profitable movie on the prophet was just God-awful?
According to the New York Times, the United States is pressuring Qatar to sell the controversial Al Jazeera news network.
Vice President Dick Cheney, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, former Secretary of State Colin L. Powell and other Bush administration officials have complained heatedly to Qatari leaders that Al Jazeera's broadcasts have been inflammatory, misleading and occasionally false, especially on Iraq.
Look, I'm no fan of the propaganda producing Al Jazeera. They are the discredited, Fox News of the Muslim world. But before we start a diplomatic crisis, wouldn't it be easier for the Bush Administration to simply buy off Al Jazeera's commentators? After all, spend-for-spin worked wonders with conservatives like Armstrong Williams, Maggie Gallagher and Michael McManus. And these folks were already rich. Just think how easy it will be to bribe the underpaid talking heads in Qatar. As a corrupt, conservative version of the late John Lennon might sing: "All we are saying, is give payola a chance."
CNN has canceled the nightly screaming match known as Crossfire. This is a great opportunity for LOGO, the new gay cable network, to re-create the magic. The exciting new show could be called "Crossflamer".
