Okay, I admit it...

I am generally a very empathetic and  caring person,  so  I am  not given to bouts of  Schadenfreude.  (For those of you  whose German is a tad rusty...)

But you know what...?   Fine, I admit it,  I am  really really  enjoying the  epic meltdown that is  currently happening over on the Wing-nutty anti-gay political and religious Right  in the United States, in the wake of last week's historic  Supreme Court Rulings, striking down section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act, and  California's Proposition 8.

It's been more than fun,  frankly it's been a joy to watch.   Last Sunday on Meet the Press, American Taliban  spokesnuts Jim DeMint   and Ralph Reed, were  foolish enough to to think they could come on television and spew their   "think of the Children!!" nonsense.   Unfortunately for little Jimmy and Ralphie  there were grown ups on the panel ...  Cue Rachel with the epic smackdown.

Two interesting sound bytes there.  the first  being  DeMint's  flogging of the talking point that  giving LGBT Americans  equal rights is  somehow "demeaning" to bigots like him, who are angry they are no longer  allowed to  discriminate against Gays and Lesbians.   Oooh... Poor Baby!  

The second  interesting tid-bit  came right at the end of that clip where  Ralph Reed said  he couldn't "just let that go".  Which is one of the few truly honest things Reed has ever said on television.    He, and others like him have made their  considerable personal fortunes stoking fear and hatred of LGBT Americans and then turning that  homophobia in to cash.   Reed, and  his assorted ilk, are now  facing a new reality where  they are staring both unemployment and irrelevance in the face, and boy....  they are NOT happy about it.

You know what...?    GOOD!

The social-political Right Wing in the United States has spend decades demeaning,  demonizing  and attacking  Gays and Lesbians, driving  LGBT youth to suicide and then reveling in those deaths.  They have used the religious pulpit and the political podium to wage a war against an entire group of  Americans,  Men, Women and Children,  all for financial and political gain,  perverting the very religions they claim to profess in the process.

So  yeah,  I  am happy,  actually very happy that these merchants of bigotry and death are now facing  the end of their gravy train of hate.  I am overjoyed that  they feel  that  America has left them behind,  because in fact, it has.   Their day is over.

To be honest,  I am thoroughly  enjoying their pain. In fact,  I  so happy about it ... that I feel a song coming on....

Tony Perkins is REALLY not happy...

Everyone's  favorite oddly effeminate white supremacist   has not been having a good month.   Perkins is  head of the  "Family Research Council".  An organization that the Southern Poverty Law Center  has certified  as an extremist  hate group .

First  there was his recent  disastrous appearance on MSNBC's  Hardball with  Chris Mathews.  Where after numerous past guest spots where he was faced with nothing more than softball questions.   Mathews apparently  noticed  he had been giving  free network airtime to hate mongering  nutjob, and decided  to do an actual interview based on real facts.   Perkins, came on the Mathews' show to vent his standard faux-Christian  outrage over  President Obama's statements  in support of  Marriage Equality.  Instead, he got his anti gay talking points served back to him with a big side order  reality.  The result was not pretty.

Then today, a double whammy.   First  the U.S. Government  released a new  international television ad to  encourage  tourism to the United States.  The Ad shows  a diverse range of people and sights from all over the  USA.

What  could  Perkins possibly find offensive about that ad?   Well if you look carefully at the  0:34 mark,  for less than a fraction of second,  the  ad shows  (gasp!)  a  GAY COUPLE!!!  Aiiiiirrgghhh!   The horror!  The Gays are going to come to America and spend their filthy pink money!   The website  Right Wing Watch  has Perkins'  hyperventilating in all its wing nut glory.

In 236 years, America's never had an international tourism ad. So when Congress passed the Travel Promotion Act, people thought it'd be a great chance to highlight American attractions. What they didn't know is that it would highlight same-sex attractions. That's right. The commercial invites people to America-not to see the Grand Canyon, but to celebrate homosexuality. In one scene, a gay man is sleeping on his partner's shoulder in a trolley. 

Really??

Then if that wasn't enough,   the United States First Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court ruling that declared Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act -- the federal definition of "marriage" and "spouse" -- as unconstitutional. (Hat tip to Metro Weekly)

Writing that "Supreme Court review of DOMA is highly likely," the appeals court has stayed, or put on hold, the implementation of its decision pending any appeal.

Judge Michael Boudin, appointed to the bench by President George H.W. Bush, wrote for the court: "[M]any Americans believe that marriage is the union of a man and a woman, and most Americans live in states where that is the law today. One virtue of federalism is that it permits this diversity of governance based on local choice, but this applies as well to the states that have chosen to legalize same-sex marriage. Under current Supreme Court authority, Congress' denial of federal benefits to same-sex couples lawfully married in Massachusetts has not been adequately supported by any permissible federal interest."

I have blogged regularly and extensively about Tony Perkins and his hate group the FRC. So there really isn't much more I can add to everything I have already said. I know I should not be surprised by Perkins' hysterical rantings in light of today's events. But I find his whining about a split second image of a gay couple in a thirty second television ad , to be over the top, even for him. Yet it's in that I find a refreshing honesty for a change.

Perkins' whole shtick is to go on television and pretend to be this reasonable guy who doesn't "hate" gay people, he just doesn't want them to have any rights.... at all. Now we see that it's not just rights for Gays and Lesbians that sticks in Tony's craw, it's the idea that Gays and Lesbians are visible in anyway that bothers him. He doesn't just think LGBT Americans don't deserve equal rights, he honestly believes Gays and Lesbians don't deserve existence. The idea that Gays and Lesbians should be visible like any other group of Americans really bothers him.

Whether by chance, or by design, the issues of LGBT Rights has been put center stage in the 2012 Presidential race. With Mitt Romney desperate to show the American Talibangelicals like Perkins, just how much he hates the gays. 

All the while desperately hoping people won't remember things like, then Gubernatorial candidate Mitt Romney promising the people of Massachusetts that he'd be more pro-Gay Rights than the late, great Senator Edward Kennedy.

So once again we will see the idea that all Americans should be treated equally under the law portrayed by Tony Perkins and his assorted ilk, as the greatest threat to the country, and to American Families. Desperate to find something they can get scared, angry racists teabaggers to vote against, the GOP will jump on the "Be afraid! The Gays are gonna get you! Aiiiiighh!" bandwagon and try to ride it to a 50.1 % electoral victory this November. 

The bad news for Tony, Mitt, and all the other bigots is the arc of history is clearly bending in the other direction. The trend in  Gallup polling on the issue is not going to make Tony Perkins feel any better .

The ridiculously mis-named  "Defense of Marriage Act", is going to end up in front of the United States Supreme Court.  Maybe not this year,  But certainly  next year.  As the  legal issues  are not different from those in the case of  Lawrence v. Texas,  it would be unusual for the  court to violate its own precedent.   Combine that  with  the likelihood that  President Obama will  more than probably  win  re-election  and  2012 is shaping to be Tony Perkins' own annus horribilis.

Generally, I take no delight from the misfortunes of others, but in Tony Perkins' case, I am more than happy to make an exception.