More Scare Tactics From Article 8/Massresistance

Latest news from MassResistance aka Article 8 aka Parent's Rights Coalition aka Interfaith Coalition of Massachusetts, phew! seems to be an ambition agenda:

• Making Changes in their own minds (convincing themselves that they are not prejudiced),
• Deciding that "these people" (the majority of people in Massachusetts) are not going to beat us,
• Understanding that we (the right wing fringe loonies) are going to stop them (I guess that's us, the homosexual activists),
• Stopping the legislature from voting this insanity into law (the insanity is additional funding for at-risk youth),
• Stopping the powerful homosexual lobby (and yet they say we're only a very tiny minority in the state...)
• Keeping the hostile Boston media from influencing events (don't they mean they're going to get them to show up at their loony events?)

They go on to rant that we are using propaganda, lies, deception, intimidation, misinformation, false statistics, illogical arguments, emotion, and yes, brainwashing to confuse the public. After their Communist and Nazi's references they end with a Joseph Goebbels, the Nazi Propaganda Minister quote:

If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it....

People, I give you the following propaganda, lies, deception, intimidation, misinformation, false statistics, illogical arguments, emotion, and brainwashing from Article 8:

In a Sept. 2005 email update:

Parker represents absolutely no danger to anyone, and no one suggests he does. This is being done as an instrument of intimidation -- against Parker and anyone else who might want to do what he did. Last April 27, David Parker demanded that he be notified if any adult discussed homosexuality or transgenderism with his 6-year-old in the elementary school. The school's reaction was to handcuff and arrest him.

No mention of David Parker saying he was forewarned of being arrested if he did not leave the school. Then they proceed to give out the Lexington Superintendent's phone number and email address. Of course they constantly give out emails and telephone numbers to encourage people to harress individuals.

The same email:

Fr. Cuenin has been probably the most vocal and in-your-face supporter of the homosexual agenda among Catholic active clergy in the state. He has participated in the annual "Gay Pride" parade.

Yet Fr. Cuenin never marched in the Gay Pride Parade.

Their continuous rant that same sex marriages are not legal in Massachusetts (if you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it...)

Misinformation:

Article 8 Alliance and Parents' Rights Coalition volunteers just spent a weekend at the Vision New England evangelical Christian convention in Boston. They displayed a poster warning the churchgoing attendees that soon, unless they fought for their rights, their churches would be required by the state to perform same-sex "weddings".

No one has ever suggested this. That's why it's called CIVIL marriage.

And it just goes on and on. Just go to their website and see for yourself. Brian, himself said he could "connect the dots" from same sex marriage to quality of life decreasing, homelessness, crime rates and even air quality, if he did some research! To which Comedy Central Report Ed Helms replied:

Yeah, why take time to do the research, when saying it is so much faster?

Believe It or Not!

Geez, if I hear or read Brian Camenker of Article 8 talk about "the boys wearing fishnet stockings and dresses" I'll, I'll, well I'll throw one of my stillettos at him! People, have you ever seen someone so obsessed with women's clothing in your life? Get over it Brian, I'm sure you can find some heels that will fit you.

Luckily we've come a long way from 1642 when a man was fined for wearing women's apparel. Even in 1975, it was still illegal in Houston, TX for people to dress in the clothing of the opposite sex. The law even banned women from wearing fly-front pants. So here is a small gallery of crossing dressers:


America's Mayor Rudy Giuliani

Flip Wilson

Eddie Izzard (thx)

Bugs Bunny

And I have actually seen women wearing men's clothes! Yup, in broad daylight, a woman was wearing pants!!! Can you believe it! It's the downfall of society! I'm sure none of the women in Article 8's office crossdress because that would be hypocritical!

Half Full or Barely Empty?

The numbers look bad. The right wing nuts are all excited over the 900 Episcopal clergy that signed a petition asking the Bishops to “repent” for the ECUSA’s progressive views on homosexuality. WoW! That's alot of clergy! But then we did a little checking...

I guess it must have been one of the "900 clergy" who put out the press release because they seemed to leave out a little number. When you check the ECUSA’s website you can see that there are approximately 17,209 members of the clergy.

Oh my, 5.23% of the Clergy think the Church should repent? In case you’re looking for some context, 5% is the same percentage of Democrats that approve of the President’s job performance.

X-Men = Ex-Ex-Gay?

I never read the comic books, but when the first X-Men movie came out I was hooked! The action, the characters and oh yeah, Hugh Jackman, (I still remember that first shot of Wolverine) yes I was hooked. But it was the story too. A group of people on earth being singled out for something they were born with. They have to keep it secret for fear people will rally against them and create laws to limit their equality.

In the second movie, X2 X-Men United, there is a scene in which a kid tells his parents he's a mutant (that's what these people with special powers are called by the "normal" or rather less-special people") It was priceless.

Well, the third X-Men movie, X-Men: The Last Stand, opens this Friday and it's about a "cure" for the mutants to make them "normal".

In X-Men: The Last Stand, the climax in the "X-Men" motion picture trilogy. A "cure" for mutancy threatens to alter the course of history. For the first time, mutants have a choice; retain their uniqueness, though it isolates and alienates them, or give up their powers and become human. The opposing viewpoints of mutant leaders Charles Xavier, who preaches tolerance, and Magneto, who believe in the survival of the fittest, are put to the ultimate test triggering the war to end all wars.

Within the framework of an epic, action-packed story, X-Men: The Last Stand raises issues with strong contemporary relevance: Is conformity an antidote to prejudice? Is it cowardice to give up individuality to fit in and avoid persecution? Do ends justify means? Is great power a blessing or a curse?

And of course, there are new characters. This up on the new mutant Angel:

Born in to a family of wealth and power, attended prestigious East Coast boarding school. The son of pharmaceutical tycoon Warren Worthington II. Subject and his family have had great difficulty accepting his mutant abilities and have used a special harness to conceal his wings behind his back.

Hmmm...sound familiar? The movie looks great and is expected to be huge. I'm so excited!

Benny and the Jerks

Two weeks ago and again last week Pope Benedict XVI spoke out about same sex marriage. However, while everyone was talking about "how he was condemning same sex unions" no one was talking about the obvious:

Only the foundation of complete and irrevocable love between man and woman is capable of forming the basis of a society that becomes the home of all men,'' Benedict told a convention of the John Paul II Pontifical Institute today. The pope said ``confusing marriage with other types of unions based on a love that is weak'' should be avoided.

Now don't get me wrong, he still seems to be condemning same sex unions, however, in this statement he is still recognizing that same sex unions are based on love. Yep, that's right, he is acknowledging that same sex couple can love each other.

The Catholic church for a long time believed there was no such thing as homosexuals, only disordered heterosexuals. But they have been changing their tune under this Papacy. It is widely believed that the Pope, while cardinal, played "bad cop" to Pope John Paul II's "good cop", hence the nasty statements he made back then.

But nothing happens overnight. People evolve and learn. Institutions change, although some take teeny tiny baby steps in fabulous red Prada slippers.

More Lobbying from the Mass "Family" Institute

I wrote yesterday about the MFI, a supposedly not-for-profit and "educational" business in treading the water of lobbying, which I believe is not allowed. Well, today they sent out another email with the MFI's header telling people to contact their legislators. I believe this IS lobbying:

MFI has created a quick summary about the constitutionality of the Marriage Amendment, and need YOU to send it to your elected officials. This is critical as some legislators may try to hide behind false constitutionality questions to avoid voting for the Marriage Amendment.

Clicking on the link below will quickly guide you through sending an email that already includes the proper information to educate your senator and representative, and asks them to respond to you. Thank you for your help with this important campaign.

I think their tax exempt status should be revoked and their financial records examined.

Addition: When you click on the "continue" button on the MFI you get asked to enter lots of personal information. It is collected by a company called VoterVoice. VoteVoice is apparently charging MFI for this service. This company then sends an email to your legislator just like you sent it (but they retain all your information):

Will governmental offices know that my message is being sent from voterVOICE?

No, any messages sent from the voterVOICE system will look like they are coming directly from the sender's own email address or fax machine. There will be nothing to indicate that the message came from our grassroots advocacy system. Also, the message will NOT be identified as coming from any particular group or organization, unless the administrator of the organization includes that information in the message.

We're Doing It For the Children

This just up from Mass "Family" Institute:

May 17 - Let's reverse today's infamous reputation
The day of May 17 will forever live in infamy (only in very sick individuals minds, for normal people it is either just another day or a cause for celebration) unless ordinary citizens stand up and make their voices heard. Today marks the second anniversary of the day Massachusetts started issuing marriage licenses to homosexual couples. Today marks the day that Massachusetts became the only state in the union to allow homosexuals to marry. (Hmm...they're not towing the Article Hate/Massresistance line about illegal marriages)Today marks the decision of a Massachusetts court to endorse a relationship based on sexual preference.

Is this an anniversary we want to celebrate every year? (Well, if you got married on this day you will) Or is it an anniversary that we want to disappear into the annals of history after 2008? (Kris Mineau, even your pathetic amendment will not remove the marriages that have taken place on this date, or the 8000+ marriages that have taken place since May 17, 2004) This is the decision that we all have to make.

Over 170,000 Massachusetts citizens said loud and clear last fall that they want to vote on marriage, and allow the people to decide whether or not the state continues to allow two men or two women to marry. (That's not really true since some of the signatures were gotten through bait and switch tactics)The petitions have been certified, and the Marriage Amendment is now before the Legislature. They will meet on July 12 to decide not just the future of this Marriage Amendment, but also the future of marriage in the Commonwealth.

MFI is asking each of our supporters to stand up and be counted as a warrior in Massachusetts. This is our last stand. Don't let this be our Waterloo. (Ok, now they're starting to sound like Article 8, but I thought it was the Battle of Britian?)

While we need you to be active, we also need you to activate your friends, neighbors, and church members. We need a full court press. (basketball references, how macho! Call the CYO) Please contact Chanel (Like the perfume?) Prunier at VoteOnMarriage.org today and ask her how you can help the effort. We have less than two months to put the necessary pressure on the Legislature to first assure a vote, and then to win the 50 votes we need to move the Marriage Amendment on to the next phase.

Please join us in this battle. Remember, that we are not doing this for ourselves, but for our children and the future generations. Let's relegate May 17 to a paragraph in a history book.

Chanel Prunier - VoteOnMarriage.org Phone: 617-795-2667

Email: info@voteonmarriage.org

What a tired bunch of bigots. "we are not doing this for ourselves, but for our children and the future generations" Riiiiighhttttttttt. Fortunately for humanity, the children don't see what all the fuss is about. Teenagers and young adults overwhelmingly support same sex marriages and diversity. Have you been to MFI's rallies or seen the people they bus in to the State House? Their average age is about 70 not 22.

I can almost bet some southerner said the same thing while blocking the school house doors and throwing stones.

We're doing it for the children.

Happy Anniversary!

It's been two years since same sex couples started to get married legally and the sky hasn't fallen nor the earth stop spinning. There are over 8,000 same sex couples married and it is cause for celebration! And it stopped raining!

The Floodgates Are Opening...

and I don't mean because of the rain either!

I found this new blog call HateResistance. The blogger started the blog after getting attacked by Ms. Massresistance on her site.

I started this blog after being a target on the MassResistance Blog...(I am the "hardcore transsexual activist" as they called me). I got to thinking who are these guys? Could I be standing next to one one of them at some public event? I didn't think I could be the only one that didn't want to be near such hatred, so I have decided to post up what info I find on them and refute an inaccuracies about their info. The funny thing is a lot of their websites jump all over biased media coverage of issues of same-sex marriage and glbt rights, domestic violence, "activist" judges and feminists, yet their websites, online newspapers, and blogs appear pretty much one-sided about the issues they preach about.

Good luck! We expect good things from you. If you want to find them, just go to any LGBT event and look for the drooling idiots with cameras, it will probably be them.

If a picture is worth a thousand words...a video is worth a library.

That Joke That Is Article 8/Massresistance

Well, stick a fork in them, they're done. The most conservative (and mainstream) newspaper in Massachusetts, The Herald, has called out Article 8 (hat tip to an anonymous poster):

But the administration dealt with this bit of insubordination in the clumsiest of fashions. First mistake was taking policy advice from the Article 8 Alliance, whose claim to fame is a ridiculous effort to fire the justices who ruled gay marriage in Massachusetts to be legal. Romney’s chief of staff then called the commission chairwoman on Thursday and told her the panel was kaput. She called back a few hours later to say never mind.

I guess they didn't get the press release that Article 8 changed it's name to Massresistance now. It used to be Parent's Rights Coalition but then it became Article 8 and, oh, nevermind, just call it Carpetbagger Camenker's group.

Article Hate's Attempt to Close the Closet Door Fails Again

Well Brian Camenker is at it again, trying to take down the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender youth programs. In this carpetbagger's latest attempt at influencing the goings on in Massachusetts he apparently met with Romney's staff to "show them some pictures of youth" from last year's Youth Pride Parade.

These homophobes think that publishing some pictures of glbt youth on their website is going to shame them, "Good God! Eek, they're showing my picture!" Excuse me Article Hate, they're not ashamed of who they are. Go back to where you came from and shut up. Oh, take your video and digital cameras with you. You can also take back any other recording devices you carry around with you too.

Fortunately, their intimidation tactics failed and Governor Willard Flip Flopper Romney didn't even need the "gay activists" to call on him (like Camenker did). I guess he found out that the youth pride march and the youth pride prom aren't funded by taxpayer's money.

Romney spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom insisted that the governor's office received no such calls from gay rights activists, but opted against abolishing the commission because ''the governor thought that was too harsh."

''Instead, we're directing the commission not to use taxpayer money for parades and parties and to refocus their resources on counseling and the development of strategies for the prevention of violence and suicide," Fehrnstrom said. ''That is in keeping with the original mission of the commission.

Commission backers insisted that Romney's ban on use of taxpayer money for parades was hollow because private money pays for those events.

Now you would think that the Governor would know what the State's money was paying for. I guess the hysteria that Camenker brought to the state house must have caught them off guard so instead of looking at the facts they just relied on the things he told them.

And Another One's Gone

BayWindows is reporting that House Majority Leader John Rogers (D-Norwood) is against MFI's anti-gay marriage amendment:

In an interview with Bay Windows at his State House office Tuesday, Rogers, who supported the Travaglini-Lees compromise amendment at the 2004 and 2005 constitutional conventions, said he still holds a “fundamental belief” that marriage should be reserved for a man and a woman, but that he could not support
the current amendment proposal because it does not include a mechanism to provide any legal protections for same-sex couples.

The way this is going I wonder who will be on MFI's side when the ConCon starts up in July. With O’Flaherty of Chelsea and now Rogers bailing on the amendment I find it hard to believe that lesser know Reps will still support it. After all, everyone that voted against the amendment and ran was re-elected the last time.

Here's to Friends!

News has reached us from the West Coast that Maile Flanagan, a friend of my husband's, received and a Daytime Emmy Award. AfterEllen.com reports:

By now, everyone knows that Ellen kept up her winning streak at this year's Daytime Emmys last Friday, but you may not know that another out lesbian won a Daytime Emmy last week, too: Maile Flanagan, who won Outstanding Performer in An Animated Program for the PBS children's program Jakers! The Adventures of Piggley Winks (yes, that's really the name of the show).

Flanagan, who does theater in LA and has had roles in Phone Booth, The Station Agent, 61*, and Grey’s Anatomy, thanked her partner Lesa in her acceptance speech, and was promptly invited by Barbara to join The View "if that other lesbian doesn't work out."

I got to meet Maile last year when she flew in to attend our wedding. She is a HOOT! Patrick and Maile were members of the improv comedy troupe "My Mother's Fleabag" at Boston College.

Congratulations Maile!

My Salute to Single Family Households

It never surprises me when people use odd-ball stories to support their arguments and then make it sound like this is something "completely new" all because of gays and lesbians marrying. Such an example is what they call a rise of single parent households, supposedly because of gay people and the moral fiber of America going down the drain.

Being a TV kid it got me thinking about all the TV shows which featured single parent households. While many of these shows had one "spouse" die and the other spouse left to raise their kids, quite of few of them were silent on where the other parent disappeared to because it wasn't proper to talk about divorce or other reasons for the one parent households. So in no particular order are some of my favorites (there are quite a few more):

• The Rifleman
• The Lucy Show
• Bonanza
• My Three Sons
• The Andy Griffith Show
• Julia
• Kate and Allie
• The Beverly Hillbillies
• Flipper
• Jonny Quest
• What's Happening
• Gidget
• Batman
• Murphy Brown
• Family Affair
• The Courtship of Eddie's Father
• The Partridge Family
• Nanny & The Professor
• Sanford & Son
• Good Times
• Love Boat
• The Hardy Boys Mysteries
• Diff'rent Strokes
• Desperate Housewives
• Land of the Lost
• Archie Bunker's Place
• Benson
• Silver Spoons
• St. Elsewhere
• Who's the Boss?
• My Two Dads
• Full House
• Punky Brewster
• Star Trek: The Next Generation

Since many of these shows featured single fathers do you think they asked in 1950 "Is this the wave of the future: no mothers to raise children?" Did people say it was a direct attack on the family then? I don't think so. It's always so sad when people attack other families because they don't look like they do, be it two mothers, 1 father or 8 children.

Like marriage people forget that love is the most important quality to have in a family not a 50's ideal.

Four Jokers In a Suit

Mass Marrier has a great discussion on the suit brought by the two Lexington couples who object to their children even seeing gay families. I read through the lawsuit and while not being a lawyer, thought it was pretty lame. MM also captured my thoughts on their attorneys:

His attorneys, who brag about defending child abusers, pornographers and drug dealers on their Website, don't talk about their pro bono efforts. Perhaps they specialize here in anti-gay cases or perhaps only Parker-related windmill tilts.

Maybe no one else would take up their lawsuit? Anyway, he does a good synopsis of the case. I was surprised at one thing in the suit: the Parkers moved to Lexington in 2004 and it took them less than a year to cause so much trouble in a town that hadn't seen that much action since the Revolutionary War. What took them so long?

I'm Just a Stupid Elitist Liberal...

I was reading that the "WatchWord Bible" is being released today. What is the "WatchWord Bible" you might ask? I'll tell you, it's a 10-DVD version of the New Testament in response to The Da Vinci Code movie. It's being sold by the Promise Keepers and nationwide by about 140,000 churches through Christian Copyright Licensing International.

David Kirkpatrick, president of Good News Holdings (which I think is some kind of Christian financial group) calls The Da Vinci Code a "great work of fiction" but says it may confuse Christians about biblical history hence the "new" Bible.

DUH! Hit me upside the head with a 2 x 4.

I guess this is where I'm the stupid elitist Liberal because I KNOW it's a work of fiction. I believe it says fiction right on the cover. If you have to put out a 10 volume DVD to counter a fictional movie I think we have more problems in this country.

The reason I mention it here is because these are the people that the folks over at the Mass "Family" Institute want to vote on civil rights. People who cannot even figure out what fiction is. Then again, these are people that the MFI loves because they can force feed them fiction about gay and lesbian people to get them to vote the way they want.

Let's hope the Legislators know the difference.

Truths

Conservative Judaism has been rethinking the idea of lifting the ban on gay/lesbian rabbis. An editorial in USA Today by Rabbi Gerald L. Zelizer talks about the change that is occurring since 1992 when he was the international president of the 1,200 Conservative rabbis in the USA and worldwide.

As we've said over and over again, the more people know gay and lesbian people the more they will reject the anti-gay rhetoric from the right. Zeilzer, who used to believe that gays and lesbians couldn't be rabbis now says:

I feel differently. Since the last go-round, as I have become acquainted with more pious and knowledgeable gay and lesbian Jews, I have asked myself why God would design some people with a trait — for which there is paltry evidence that it can be reversed — and then designate individuals with that characteristic as "sinners?" Even if triggered by a gene mutation, as some argue, what is sinful about that? Too many gays I met suffered in their efforts to engage in heterosexual sex, marry heterosexuals, even bear children, only to realize that their homosexuality was immutable.

Conservative Judaism has always taught that we must upgrade our biblical understanding with new scientific knowledge. Contrary to the biblical assumption that gayness is a sinful choice, our best knowledge today indicates that it is as determined and irrevocable as blue or brown eyes. Of course, adherents of Orthodoxy and even some in my own movement will charge: "How can one be so presumptuous as to think he can improve on the biblical word of God?" Well, Judaism has done that from its inception, especially when moral considerations required it.

The arc keeps shifting...