The Family Research Council is Still a Hate Group...

I debated posting about this. I really did. Part of me really wanted to be the "grown up" here, and just let it go. Ignore it and move on, the little voice of reason inside my head said, there is nothing to gain by engaging with these people. And that little voice of reason is probably right.

But you know what?   Screw it.  There is nothing  reasonable  about any of this.   So let's start with the facts.

Yesterday in  Washington DC, a man named  Floyd Lee Corkins,  walked into an office building.  Allegedly voiced  his opposition to the business that was head quartered there,  pulled out a gun and  fired at a security guard, wounding him in the arm.  The wounded security guard then  disarmed Corkins and held him until Police and FBI agents  arrived on the scene.

In the wake of yet another shooting incident  in a public place in the United States,  you would think the story here would be about another disturbed individual  who  was able with little or no trouble, acquire an incredibly dangerous firearm, along with ammunition and then commit an act of domestic  terrorism.    But in this case,  the who, what  and when  are  just the background for the much bigger issues of  where this happened and the possible reasons  why.

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I have blogged extensively about the Family Research Council, and specifically about its President, Tony Perkins.   Yet  before  we  take hold that  that particular  thread of this story,  it is  important to make one thing perfectly clear.    Domestic Terrorism  is a crime against  the  very  heart and soul of America.  Our right to  the "pursuit of happiness",  the  ability to  go about our lives without living in fear.


Should it be proven that  Floyd Corkins, was not just a crazy guy with a gun who wandered in a random building and opened fire;  Then it would make him  no different than the sick twisted madmen who recently  shot up a Colorado movie theatre, and a Wisconsin  Sikh Temple.  Or for that matter,  no different  than  the sick and twisted men who blew up the Oklahoma City Federal Building, or  assasinated  Kansas Doctor George Tiller as he sat in Church one Sunday Morning.

Terrorism is Terrorism. The idealogical motivation is irrelevant.

We all can wish for the speedy recovery of the wounded FRC employee, and hold him, his family and his co-workers in our thoughts and prayers. Also we all can agree that any act of Domestic Terrorism is a tragedy and the gunman who attacked the FRC offices should face as swift and fair a prosecution as we would do with any domestic terrorist.

Literally moments after reports of the shooting  went out over the airwaves and  internet,  various surrogates and  supporters of the  FRC  began to suggest that this attack on the offices  of  a Social Conservative Advocacy Group  was a Liberal Hate Crime, and  it was  rhetoric critical of the FRC,  by groups like the Southern Poverty Law Center, and  LGBT Rights organizations that  had perhaps motived Corkins to commit this act of  terrorism.

We do not yet know what  Corkin's motives for this were.   Fox News has cited un-named witnesses who claim Corkins  made statements  about his personal dislike for the mission and positions of the FRC before he opened fire.

Sources told Fox New that after guard took away his gun, the suspect said, “Don’t shoot me, it was not about you, it was what this place stands for.”   Authorities were treating the attack as a case of domestic terrorism, although James McJunkin, the head of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, said authorities do not yet know the gunman’s motive.

I have in the last few hours read blog posts and comments where friends of mine, people who I have known and respected for decades; have put forward the notion that this is an example of the "violent radical gay left". The Conservative media and blogosphere has jumped on the "left wing hate crime" narrative with gusto.    Speculating that  "Left-wing hate speech against  Christians " motivated Corkins to do what he did.

The Southern Poverty Law Center,  after careful examination of the words, policies, and actions of the FRC recently added them to their list  of groups that promote hatred and violence against minorities. (From the SPLC Website)

The Family Research Council (FRC) bills itself as “the leading voice for the family in our nation’s halls of power,” but its real specialty is defaming gays and lesbians. The FRC often makes false claims about the LGBT community based on discredited research and junk science. The intention is to denigrate LGBT people in its battles against same-sex marriage, hate crimes laws, anti-bullying programs and the repeal of the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy.

To make the case that the LGBT community is a threat to American society, the FRC employs a number of “policy experts” whose “research” has allowed the FRC to be extremely active politically in shaping public debate. Its research fellows and leaders often testify before Congress and appear in the mainstream media. It also works at the grassroots level, conducting outreach to pastors in an effort to “transform the culture.”

Now in the wake of yesterday's shooting, FRC President Tony Perkins, and numerous surrogates have fanned out across the media claiming, that it was the designation by the SPLC that is to blame for what happened. Brian Brown from the anti-civil rights group the "National Organization for Marriage" went on CNN to try to make the case that it was the FRC being criticised for its hateful speech, rather than the hateful speech itself that was to blame



It is insanity to blame a victim of a crime for the actions of the criminal who committed it. Yet, the Family Research Council  is quite happy to excuse the criminal when the victim of a hate crime or act of terrorism is Gay, Lesbian, Bi-Sexual or Transgender. The FRC in fact, believes the victim had it coming.   So if we are going to talk about hateful rhetoric then fine. I will allow the Family Research Council speak for itself. - in their own words:

” Gays are like a gun to the head of America. That’s what we’re talking about whenever you’re talking about gay rights. You’re talking about giving somebody a gun to put at the head of anybody who disagrees with them, whether it’s the Boy Scouts, whether it’s a local dry-cleaning establishment or a giant corporation like Shell Oil.” – Robert  Knight, FRC http://www.frc.org/net/st96d2.html  

Let's be very clear here.  If Gay Rights advocates ever used the same language  when talking about Conservative Christians,  Tony Perkins  and those like him would be screaming for marshal law and suspension of the First Amendment.   No LGBT rights group has EVER called for conservative Christians to be rounded up, imprisoned and killed. Yet  Perkins and the  FRC have publicly called for exactly that, for  Gay and Lesbians  through their support  for efforts to make simply being Gay a capital crime in places like Uganda.   

I don't know what motivated Floyd Corkins to attack the offices of the Family Research Council.   Latest news reports indicate Corkins has been arraigned, charged, and ordered  held without bond for a mental health evaluation.   Police and  the FBI are not  saying what motive, if any,  Corkins has revealed  for his  actions.   Yet the idea that there is some  pervasive cloud of anti-Christian hatred in America, created by the Political Left, and sustained  through  hateful and violent rhetoric against Christians by LGBT rights groups;   is a load of opportunistic, hypocritical nonsense of such proportions as to truly boggle the mind.

On this very blog,  I have often used strong language when talking about the Family Research Council, and its President, Tony Perkins. Many times I have referred to the FRC as being the "American Taliban" , and made the sarcastic suggestion that Perkins himself may be a closeted Homosexual. Is it possible that the words I have used could be taken to heart by someone like Floyd Corkins, and used as justification for acts of violence against Social Conservatives?  It's possible, but highly improbable.

But having said that, I will make Tony Perkins a deal.   I will own every thing I have ever written or said about him and his organization and its allies. I will accept that my words and writings may have contributed to a member of  the FRC  staff getting shot in the arm. I will concede Perkins'  point that rhetoric critical of  his  point of view and policy efforts may have  directly lead to the events of yesterday. I will agree to it all, but that means the same standard applies to Tony Perkins and the entire FRC as well.

If we all accept the idea that calling the Family Research Council a "hate group" has resulted in a a climate where Floyd Corkins felt it was ok to shoot a member or its staff, that means Tony Perkins and the FRC can and must be held directly accountable for the impact of more than twenty years of their own campaign of hatred and dehumanization of Gays and Lesbians.

So  I am more than willing to  personally apologize to the FRC's wounded staff member and his entire family, If in  return,  Perkins does the same to the families he and his organization have harmed.  Starting with these.

I am willing to stand up, apologize and say I own my own  words, and  the possible role they may have played in what happened at your offices yesterday, but then Perkins and the FRC own all of theirs    At the time these horrific crimes and tragedies against  LGBT people  happened,  what was The response from the Family Research Council? - Silence.

Actually,  I take that back.   Tony Perkins did go on Television to fight  against ANY efforts to address bullying of LGBT kids in schools. Going on to say that it was not the bullies who drove those kids to their deaths, or anti gay hatred that the problem, but rather, "gay activists" who in his view were “exploiting these tragedies to push their agenda."    

Ironic, when you watch Tony Perkins on Fox News yesterday, trying to  do exactly that.

I don't know of anyone who isn't condemning the attack on the FRC. We ALL wish the brave security guard who was wounded, a speedy recovery, and look to see  Floyd Corkins  justly charged and tried for his actions.    Yet the it is hard to get past the glaring hypocrisy here, Tony Perkins wants to create a false equivalency and avoid all accountability for the role of the Family Research Council in the massive litany of violence committed against LGBT Americans on regular basis. While at the same time, demanding those who disagree with him, own the events of yesterday.

Meet Mitt Romney's Running Mate...

American Bridge Paul Ryan Research Book

Wow... Well Done NASA!

To celebrate the successful landing of  the Mars Mobile Laboratory "Curiosity", we give you a stunning photo of a Martian Sunset taken by the NASA rover  "Spirit"

Click on the Photo to enlarge.

On May 19, 2005, NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit captured this stunning view as the Sun sank below the rim of Gusev crater on Mars. This Panoramic Camera mosaic was taken around 6:07 in the evening of the rover's 489th Martian day, or sol.

Sunset and twilight images are occasionally acquired by the science team to determine how high into the atmosphere the Martian dust extends, and to look for dust or ice clouds. Other images have shown that the twilight glow remains visible, but increasingly fainter, for up to two hours before sunrise or after sunset. 

The long Martian twilight (compared to Earth's) is caused by sunlight scattered around to the night side of the planet by abundant high altitude dust. Similar long twilights or extra-colorful sunrises and sunsets sometimes occur on Earth when tiny dust grains that are erupted from powerful volcanoes scatter light high in the atmosphere.   Image Credit: NASA/JPL/Texas A&M/Cornell

You can follow NASA's latest  mission to explore Mars  here.

(From USA Today)

Family spokesman Jason Lee said Hamlisch died Monday after a brief illness. Other details aren't being released. Hamlisch's career included composing, conducting and arranging music from Broadway to Hollywood. The composer won every major award in his career, including three Academy Awards, four Emmys, a Tony and three Golden Globes. His music colored some of film and Broadway's most important works. 

Hamlisch composed more than 40 film scores, including Sophie's Choice, Ordinary People and Take the Money and Run. He won his third Oscar for his adaptation of Scott Joplin's music for The Sting.
On Broadway, Hamlisch received the Pulitzer Prize for long-running favorite A Chorus Line and wrote The Goodbye Girl and Sweet Smell of Success. A news release from his publicist said he was scheduled to fly to Nashville this week to see a production of his hit musical, The Nutty Professor. 

A Blasphemous, Un-American Moron...

Sometimes  you sit down at the  keyboard and  rather than type your thoughts  you just want to rest your head against it, and  hope everything that  is going on in the world, will just go away....

This is one of those times.

Wade Michael Page, a deranged racist,  who would often talk of a coming "racial holy war", bought a 9mm semi automatic handgun with multiple ammunition magazines on July 28. Then two days ago went to a Sikh Temple just outside of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and opened fire.

As a country, and as a culture, America struggles with how to react when things like this happen. Conservatives tend to circle their political wagons and claim Liberals,  and anyone else who says tragedies like these should cause America to examine its  relationship with guns, are “exploiting a tragedy for political gain.” While liberals claim the defence of completely unlimited gun rights by those on the Right, shows how “out of touch” conservatives are. While everyone else just tries to get through the day without wanting to cry, or scream or both.

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Let me get this out of the way first.  As far as the whole Gun issue goes.... I do not believe the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution allows Americans to have whatever kind of , and however many, guns as we want. The line in that often cited Amendment that many Americans like to forget is the first line of it;

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

So many Americans, are convinced, the right to have a gun, whatever kind of gun, and as many guns as they want is as critical to American Identity as our freedoms of speech, press, assembly and religion. Consequently any talk of the right to a gun, being “well regulated” sends otherwise rational people into spasms of  conspiracy riddled indignation.

Trying to have any sort of national discourse on America’s cultural firearms fetish, is pretty much like trying to teach pigs to Juggle. All you are going to accomplish is one group gets frustrated and the other group gets annoyed.   So if you disagree with me on the Gun issue, fine.  But  we both know you are wrong. So don't bother spewing  your supposed love of the 2nd Amendment  in the comment section on here.   I won't read it, and I won't post it.  Go back to forwarding your nut job chain letter emails  claiming that the President Obama is  "coming for your guns".  Because I don't care.

 I didn’t post anything about the recent, horrific movie theatre shooting in Colorado, so I wrestled with writing a post about Sunday’s shooting at a Sikh temple in the Milwaukee suburb of Oak Creek, Wisconsin. I am quite familiar with that part of the world, being from Wisconsin, and having lived and studied in Milwaukee. Still not having lived there for nearly two decades, I really didn’t feel there was anything I could add to the discourse on this, other than my own shock, and sympathy for the victims and their community.

Funny odd thing, life... How one brief encounter on a London Subway, can change all that.

Last night I was on the London Underground heading home after work, Thanks to the Olympics I have found the trains actually less crowded than usual. So oddly enough, I was able to find a seat on the Jubilee Line, while I read the London Evening Standard. I had just finished the article reporting on the shooting in Oak Creek, when I looked up and noticed two young Sikh men sitting directly across from me, reading the very same article. Their distinctive turbans and beards standing out in the crowd of weary evening commuters.

They appeared to me to be at most, in their late twenties. They both were looking at the newspaper one of them was holding, The expressions on their faces growing increasingly solemn as they read the account of the shooting.  The older looking of the two, folded the paper and looked at the other and shook his head and said quietly “Americans think we are all Muslims. That’s why they shot them.” His companion nodded his head, and replied; “Not just Muslims, they shoot each other at the cinema too...”

I wanted to say something.  I wanted to  tell them,  that  Wisconsin  is not a place full of racist gun toting nut jobs who feel  threatened to the point of deadly violence when faced with any religious faith that isn’t their own.  I wanted to tell them  how  Wisconsin   is a  place where  you would want to grow up.  Where you would want to come and study.  I wanted to explain how one  racist  lunatic  with  a gun  did not, could not, and never would  speak for me,  my family,  my friends and  that part of  the United States that  I still to this day,  call  “home”.

I wanted to say all of that. But I didn’t.   Because there is absolutely no reason on this Earth for those two young Sikh men to believe me if I had.  After all,  why should they  believe anything of the sort, when America’s self-proclaimed leaders of faith are saying crap like this.



Page, who was shot and killed by police during the attack, has not been identified as an Atheist, yet this sad, demented hate monger was first out of the gate to go on national television to say it was a lack of belief in God (his God specifically) that is partly to blame for the shooting.

I know habitual viewers of FOX News are going to have trouble understanding this, so I will type slowly.  Try to understand this;  God does not love America more than other nations. We are not God’s favourite kids. If you think that, you are a blashphemous moron. Pat Robertson is an un-American hate merchant who thinks America is better than other nations because of people like him. He could not be more wrong.

The success of the United States as a nation throughout our history has been a direct result of our DIVERSITY - E Pluribus Unum (out of many, one,) THAT is what makes America exceptional.  Not some twisted notion that John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and Ben Franklin,   fought less for the idea that all people are created equal,  and more  for the right of every American to own an Uzi.  Or the even crazier notion that, owning that Uzi is somehow  pleasing to the Almighty, thus granting America special divine favor.

The people of Oak Creek Wisconsin are in my thoughts, and yes.... my prayers.  Prayers that they will survive both this tragedy,  and the idiocy that has followed it.   It is the fact that there is a Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin to begin with,   and there will continue to be, even after this senseless tragedy;   That is what makes America exceptional.

Brilliant...

Jon Stewart's  brilliant take on the  Chick-Fil-A  brouhaha.

Chick-Fil-A Boycott? .... Yawn.

For those of you who have been paying attention to, well,  you know... real news.  You may have missed this one.  A fast food Chicken restaurant chain in the United States called Chick-Fil-A, apparently is owned by someone who doesn't like Gay people and donates money to anti-gay causes and groups.

Pro-LGBT rights activists began an boycott of Chick-Fil-A which led to outrage and cries of "denying Chick-Fil-A's first amendment rights", by social conservatives. Who then declared August 1st   as "Chick-fil-A appreciation day", and  flooded the place in droves to show their support for the company's CEO, and  their collective  hatred of  the Gays, and I guess,  love for deep fried processed chicken parts.  

To be perfectly honest, I had never even heard of Chick-Fil-whatever before all the hubub. Frankly, since I was never going to eat there anyway I really couldn't care what the owner does with his own money. But it's worth pointing out the hypocrisy on the Right is a bit more telling than usual.

When "Social Conservatives"  boycott companies like ,  gee... I don't know.  Companies like  Disney,  JC Penny,  DC Comics,  EA Games, Marvel Comics. Target,  Google,  Apple,  Toys R Us,  and pretty much any other  Fortune  500 Company that includes  sexual orientation in their non-discrimination policies;  THAT is  exercising their freedom of Speech.   But  when LGBT rights activists do the exact  same thing?  That is  apparently  an ATTACK  on freedom of speech. 

You have to love  wing-nut logic.    

I really don't  care  if  people eat  at  Chick-Fil-A or not.    Personally I think  the CEO's anti-gay sentiments are  the least of the reasons  to avoid  the place.   Your health  being  a far better reason to not eat there.  But  what is good for one side is good for both.   I  make it a point to  support the companies  that  make the  Human Rights Campaign pro-equality index.    So if   homophobes  want to stuff their faces  with  greasy hormone filled pseudo-food,  to show  how icky they think  Gays and Lesbians are.  I say,  knock your selves out kids!

Olympic Moments...

Commuting in and out of Central London  during these Olympic Games has been something of a mixed bag. Londoners were inundated  with  dire warnings  of transit  chaos.   "Plan ahead!  Don't get caught out!"; was the slogan we heard and saw everywhere.  

My commute usually consists of three trains. First is the London Overground.  To my friends in  San Francisco,  think of the Overground as kind of like BART.   Then I change to the London Underground  Jubilee Line, and finally the Northern Line which puts me about a block walk from my Office.

The Jubilee Line  is one of the main arteries  in and out of the Olympic Park,  so I have for the most part tried to avoid it, and the London Overground.   But all  the predictions of mass chaos on the trains have not come to pass.  It  seems that  most people  heeded the call and have either left town or,  (like me)  have found alternative routes to get in to work in the Mornings.   So much so that  as it turns out,  the trains  are actually less crowded than normal.    So today I figured I would risk it,  and give my normal commute a try.

It was pretty much  the same as any normal day.  As I  stood  reading my morning paper,  I noticed a worried looking older couple, who were staring intently  at the system map.  They clearly weren't sure where to get off .  I asked if they were looking to change for the Olympic Park. They said  yes, and asked if I knew where to transfer to the Jubilee Line.  I said not to worry,  and  said to just follow me, when I got off the train.  They looked very relieved and thanked me.

As we were chatting,  I asked  where they were from,  and if they were going to see any Olympic events today.  It turns out they were from New Zealand, and were  on their way to see their Daughter compete in field hockey. They were so excited, nervous and very proud of their "little girl".   Suddenly all the other people standing around us , started to congratulate them and wish them and  their Daughter good luck. 

It was,  for lack of a better term for it;  a wonderful  "Olympic Moment".  So my  own countrymen and women  can forgive me if  for one day I find myself  rooting for the New Zealand  Women's  field Hockey team.    

Go Team NZ!

UPDATE! -  The  New Zealand  Women "All Blacks"  won their match today.

Mitt's Charm Offensive...

You have to hand it to Mitt Romney,  when he  turns on a  "charm offensive"  it  is really  offensive!  

Having been here in London less than 24 hours ,  he  has managed  to  show how out of touch, and gaffe prone  he is.   So much so that  even the  conservative  newspaper the  Telegraph weighed in on just how far  down his own throat,  Governor Romney is able to shove his own foot.   The nicest  thing the  Telegraph could manage to say  was this;

Mitt Romney is perhaps the only politician who could start a trip that was supposed to be a charm offensive by being utterly devoid of charm and mildly offensive.

Foreign Policy.com picks up the story on how well Mitt's visit is going over...

Mitt Romney has landed in a spot of trouble here  in London for suggesting that Britain may not be quite ready to host the Olympic Games. Romney has walked back his comments, but it's not the first time Willard "Mitt" Romney  has slagged off the UK. In his book,No Apology, he wrote:

England [sic] is just a small island. Its roads and houses are small. With few exceptions, it doesn't make things that people in the rest of the world want to buy. And if it hadn't been separated from the continent by water, it almost certainly would have been lost to Hitler's ambitions. Yet only two lifetimes ago, Britain ruled the largest and wealthiest empire in the history of humankind. Britain controlled a quarter of the earth's land and a quarter of the earth's population.

Then when it was painfully clear just how much damage he was doing. Mitt reverted to form and went for the inevitable flip-flop.

This trip was to highlight Romney's international credentials. Remind everyone how he "saved" the scandal plagued 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. Yet as with Bain Capital, when you invite people to start looking into things, they tend to find all sorts of interesting tidbits.  (Hat tip to buzzfeed)

As head of the Salt Lake Olympics Mitt Romney became the first Olympic executive to approve a series of commemorative pins in his likeness. (They're in the news right now because they were made in China, but their mere existence is its own indictment of Romney's judgment.)

Romney will be here in town for two more days.  It will be fun to see  just how many  more Brits the GOP nominee can  "charm"  while he is here.

You know things are not going well  when earlier this evening,   London's Tory Mayor, Boris Johnson mocks you in front of 60,000 people in Hyde Park.

Talking Points vs. Reality

Last week  Fox News was giddy..  seriously  giddy.   The kiddies over at  "Fox & Friends" finally had their  PROOF  that  President Obama was a  SOCIALIST!  To that point they showed a clip where the President was apparently disparaging  the hard work small business owners  put in building those business and claiming the Government was really the one responsible for all their success.

They even had a "small business owner" on the show to voice her outrage at the President's  "insult".



The problem if course is that isn't what the President meant, or even said.  Fox News  selectively edited the clip, changing both the context and the meaning of the President's words.  Here is the full quote from the President's remarks.   The text in blue is everything  Fox News cut out of the clip:


OBAMA: [L]ook, if you've been successful, you didn't get there on your own.  You didn't get there on your own.  I'm always struck by people who think, well, it must be because I was just so smart.  There are a lot of smart people out there.  It must be because I worked harder than everybody else.  Let me tell you something -- there are a whole bunch of hardworking people out there. 
If you were successful, somebody along the line gave you some help.  There was a great teacher somewhere in your life.  Somebody helped to create this unbelievable American system that we have that allowed you to thrive.  Somebody invested in roads and bridges.  If you've got a business -- you didn't build that.  Somebody else made that happen.  The Internet didn't get invented on its own.  Government research created the Internet so that all the companies could make money off the Internet.   The point is, is that when we succeed, we succeed because of our individual initiative, but also because we do things together.  There are some things, just like fighting fires, we don't do on our own.  I mean, imagine if everybody had their own fire service.  That would be a hard way to organize fighting fires.  So we say to ourselves, ever since the founding of this country, you know what, there are some things we do better together.  That's how we funded the GI Bill.  That's how we created the middle class.  That's how we built the Golden Gate Bridge or the Hoover Dam.  That's how we invented the Internet.  That's how we sent a man to the moon.  We rise or fall together as one nation and as one people, and that's the reason I'm running for President -- because I still believe in that idea.  You're not on your own, we're in this together.

Sigh.... Normally I wouldn't even comment on stuff like this. But Fox News has spent the last two weeks flogging this little piece of selective editing like a rented mule.   The Romney Campaign, which was desperate to talk about something, ANYthing other than Mitt Romney's taxes, Swiss bank accounts and the fact he lied about when he really left Bain Capital; Jumped on this like a drowning man to a life raft.  

The problem with that of course is we live in a digital age, and sooner or later video of you making the exact same point that that President made, was going to pop up... and lo and behold....

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Here is my problem with Mitt Romney.  I don't blame him for being rich or successful.  I congratulate him for that and wish that every American has the same opportunities for success that  Mitt Romney has had.   That isn't the issue.   My problem with Mitt Romney is that he truly has no core beliefs.  He will literally say anything.  If what Mitt Romney says today, is  a complete 180 degree contradiction of what Mitt Romney said yesterday, he simply ignores it and pretends everything else he has ever said or done, just doesn't exist.


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I have made no secret  of my disappointment with President Obama's first term.  I feel he has been a weak centrist and not the bold progressive agent of change he campaigned as.  Yet  at the end of the day to put Mitt Romney in the White House is a recipe  for social and economic  disaster.

On My Honor...

A small item in the news  the other day has  created a bit of excitement in my email inbox.    As of this posting  no fewer than 33 people have contacted me asking what do  I think of the announcement by the Boy Scouts of America, upholding the  BSA policy prohibiting  Gays and Lesbians from  participation  in the American Scouting program. 

(From theGuardian)

The Boy Scouts of America will uphold the organization's ban that prevents gay people from being members of the organization, after concluding a confidential two-year review.   An 11-member committee formed in 2010 unanimously agreed to uphold a ban that prevents "open or avowed" gay people from being part of the youth organization. In a statement released to the Associated Press, 
BSA chief executive Bob Mazzuca said the policy is supported by most Scout families:
"The vast majority of the parents of youth we serve value their right to address issues of same-sex orientation within their family, with spiritual advisers and at the appropriate time and in the right setting. We fully understand that no single policy will accommodate the many diverse views among our membership or society."

Summer Camp Staff - 1987

Ok then...   If you really want to know what I think,  (and apparently at least 33 of you do...)  then a little bit of history and context  is required.   I  was involved in  Scouting for most of my life up until the late 1990's.   The  experiences  and friendships   that  I have had  while in Scouting  were, and  remain, a pivotal factor in making me the person I am today.   I truly believe that  Scouting is a force for good in  a troubled world, and  participation in  Scouting is  one of the greatest gifts any parent can give their child. 

The decision to keep the current membership policies in place was the right one.     I understand many of you may be very  surprised to hear me say that.  But hear me out...      I understand  the anger many of my fellow  former Scouts and Scouters feel towards the BSA  on this issue.  It is  very easy, and even cathartic to point fingers at  Irving Texas and decry the bigotry  and discrimination  the current membership policies  perpetuate.  

The fact is,  the BSA  is not at present,  able to make that kind of cultural  change.  The reasons for this  are not  because of a “culture of homophobia”  that critics of  the BSA  like claim is behind the decision. The policies  on membership in the BSA  have very little to do with  morals or  social  attitudes, and  very much to do with political and financial realities.

Scout Camp Staff - 1991

I was an active member of  Scouting for over a quarter of a century, and not once, did I ever hear  anyone say  being  Gay or Lesbian was either good or bad.  The subject simply never came up.   The topic of  human sexuality  really  had nothing do  with  outdoor  skills and  leadership development.

The argument that many supporters of the policy make, that banning Gay and Lesbian volunteers is a “Youth Protection Issue”  is equally ridiculous.  Statistics on abuse cases  in organizations  like the BSA  paint a clear and very different picture of who is a threat to kids in Scouting   The majority of cases involve married,  self-identified heterosexuals with children of their own in the program, and not Gay and Lesbian parents. So why is the policy still there?  The answer is complicated but  the reasons can largely be traced back to a deal the BSA made over 30 years ago. 

In the 1970's the Mormon Church (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints) offered to make the BSA an  official youth program for the entire  Mormon church. Meaning EVERY LDS church in America would sponsor a Boy Scout Troop and/or Cub Scout Pack, or Explorer Scout post. This was at a time when membership in Scouting was in dramatic decline and many thought the program had seen it's day. Then the LDS Church  came along with their offer, and with it tens of thousands of kids joined the program. It made the Mormon Church the single largest sponsor of Scouting, which also gave the LDS church a great deal of say over how Scouting is run.

The 2nd largest sponsor of Scouting is the Catholic Church.   The reality is, the membership policy needed to be upheld.  For the simple reason that both the Mormon Church and the Catholic Church have said that should the membership policies in question (the ban on Gay and Lesbians  and the requirement to believe in a God (any God, the policy does not specify, all it says you have to believe in a higher spiritual Power) Should either of those policies be changed BOTH churches would pull out of Scouting completely.

That would mean the end of the Boy Scouts of America. The BSA, at present, would not be able to function without the membership and money that the sponsorship by those two churches provides.   So the question becomes  do you kill the entire program, over this one issue?  

Many in the BSA would in all honestly love to be able to just quietly get rid of both policies , The public relations nightmare that has resulted from keeping in place discrimination is one the BSA would really like to be free of.  But it really is not up to the BSA at this point.   The Boy Scouts of America is for better or worse, a hostage to the financial support of two religious organizations that practice politically expedient  homophobia.  Until that changes,  the BSA is not in a position to make any change in its membership policies.

So what should parents who disagree with the policies do?  Simple you need to take responsibility as a parent and do what  the BSA suggests that you do - "The vast majority of the parents of youth we serve value their right to address issues of same-sex orientation within their family, with spiritual advisers and at the appropriate time and in the right setting...."

The decision by the BSA offers parents of Scouts the opportunity to have a conversation with their kids about the issues of equality and civil rights. And by that, I mean the rights of Gays and Lesbians AND the rights of a private non-profit organization like Scouting to set their own membership standards.  My mother is an ordained Lutheran Minister, so naturally I feel the Catholic Church's ban on female clergy is incredibly stupid, therefore, I am not a Catholic. Yet the United States Constitution protects the Catholic Church's right to be incredibly stupid.

At my last Scouting
 Event in 2000

For me, the decision to leave Scouting was incredibly painful. I love the program and to say it has been a huge part of my life, would be a massive understatement. I have met the most amazing friends  I have ever known  through my involvement in the Boy Scouts of America.  But for me to have remained in Scouting as an adult, meant  I would have had to lie.  Lie about who I am,  and who I love.  So I had to make a choice.   As a result of that choice, some of those friends,  I have lost.   Many however, most however,  understood, and hope one day to see me back in that  Scout uniform.

Likewise if you in good conscience cannot live with the BSA's membership policies,  then you need to make a choice.  Does this one issue negate everything else positive about Scouting?  If for you, it does, then by all means, don't join,  or if you and/or your kids are in Scouting now, the choice may be to get out.  There are plenty of other activities and organizations out there for young people to join.

It is worth noting,  there are groups who are working  to bring about  a change in the policies of the BSA.   Groups like  Scouting For  All,  have worked to educate both the BSA and its sponsoring  organizations.  The fact that  Scouting has spent the last two years  studying the issue is testament to the impact these groups and individuals  are having.    
 Lord Robert Baden-Powell,  the founder of Scouting   once said  "Your influence, like your shadow may reach places you will never be..."    Change for the BSA won't  come through a task force of 11 people, debating for two  years. It will  come through the power of example of people who believe the values of Scouting are not limited only to heterosexuals.  

So if you understand that a movement can be better than, and bigger than the organizations that represent it. If your experience in Scouting isn't defined by this one issue. Then by all means, stay in the program.  Be the example.

To those among my friends who see this week's announcement as a defeat,  my response is,  (as frustrating as it is to hear...)  be patient.  The arc of history bends toward equality.  I honestly believe the BSA will get there.  When it does, I will be first in line to  once again,  put on a uniform, and give of both my time and money.

In the meantime,  I would point out  that  you may be focusing your anger on the wrong target.  It is the bigotry and homophobia of the Mormon and Catholic churches that is at the center of this issue.   Yes the leadership of the BSA does bear responsibility for keeping these policies in place, but I would also say,  don't JUST blame the hostage.  Blame the two groups who are holding the BSA hostage.

Mitt Romney is Losing ...

And the candidate who is beating him is.... Mitt Romney.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

You know you are losing when your inability to answer even basic questions about a particular issue inspires stuff like this...

Ok... this looks really fun!

The Republicans are Starting to Lose it... Seriously.

Faced with the reality that their Presidential candidate really is Mitt Romney, the leadership of the Republican Party has started to panic. Now that the GOP primary process has run it's inevitable course, many in the Grand Old Party have had the chance to take a good long look at what they are left with.

That long look revealed that like it or not, the GOP is stuck with a nominee with all the charisma of a bucket of warm spit. Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Preibus, (seriously, that is the guy's real name... ) recently  went on GOPTV (Fox News) to desperately re-frame the debate not as America should elect Mitt Romney, but rather, America needs to fire President Obama,  "for the sake of Liberty and Freedom",  or fish heads,... or  something.

Meanwhile, the Democrats and the Obama Campaign have had the months of the GOP primary circus to prepare for going up against Willard "Mitt" Romney. From Romney's time with outsourcing giant Bain Capital ...



To the former Governor's off shore tax shelters, the Obama Campaign has clearly found their narrative.




The Republican Party is hoping that hundreds of millions of Dollars in unchecked, untraceable super-pac money will convince 51% of the electorate to vote against Barack Obama, since they clearly won't be able to get even the majority of their own base voters excited about the prospect of voting for Mitt Romney.

They key to the strategy  appears to be  keep  Mitt Romney away from  as many reporters  who are not with  Fox News as possible.  When asked by  CBS's  "Face the Nation"  why Governor Romney only goes on FOX News, the Romney Campaign was quick to point out that  Romney doesn't just talk to FOX,  but he recently also  talked to  to schoolchildren....  Wow.



It is going to be  an interesting campaign...  stay tuned kids!

Happy July 4th Everyone

Ex-Pat Musings... "Home" Again...

Well I  got back to London yesterday from  my two week business trip to the  U.S.  As good as it always is  to get back to the United States, it is  at the same time  a reminder  of  the reasons I had to leave in the first place.

First was a week in New York, which  is always a bit of a blur.   I  do love  NYC but  it is a city that moves at a ridiculous pace.   It is largely why New Yorkers are the  resilient , slightly cranky people that they are.   New York  is an argument.  If you want to live there,  the city is going to fight you most every step of the way.     I forget who it was who once wrote that every person should live in both New York City  and San Francisco once in their life.  But  not stay in  NY  so long as to become hardened by the experience, or  in SF long  enough to become soft.

My week in New York was incredibly busy, but  I did manage to find time to hang out with  my amazingly talented friends Daniel and Gerardo.  They  moved from  SF to NY  shortly before I moved to London.  So getting to see them in their  new NY Life is always  a plus for me.  As Eric was unable to  come with me  this trip,  Daniel and Gerardo prevented me from spending every night in my hotel room watching MSNBC.

After a week in New York,  I  then flew back to San Francisco.   I  spent Pride Weekend  with my incredible Niece Sophie and my wonderful adopted niece (her flatmate)  Sogole.    It was great to get back to  SF, even if only for  a day and a half.    Of course the frustrating part of it was,  being a just a regular spectator  at  SF Pride,  after years  of being heavily involved at a volunteer.   It was the first time since  2004 I had watched the Parade  from the public side of the barricades.

Then after that all too short visit back to SF,  it was on to Los Angeles  where  I spent all of last week.    I will confess,  LA  has grown on me.  I still could never ever see myself living there.  But  I find I enjoy visiting there far more  then I have in previous years.   I think, as with most  cities,  the more you get to know it,  the more comfortable  you feel.  There was very little free time,  but  I did manage to get down to Manhattan beach and dip my toes into the Pacific Ocean.   Then after  some required  shopping at  Walgreens  to  pick up the various odds and ends I can't get in the UK,  I headed back to LAX and  flew home.

While in New York, I was  walking down Broadway with one my co-workers who had accompanied me on this trip.  We were discussing the  pending  Supreme Court ruling on Health Care.   I remarked that   the United States still didn't have a  NHS  "like we do at home".  My colleague  looked at me in amusement and  pointed out that was the fist time he had heard me refer to London as  "home".    He was correct,  during my previous   business trip to the US, back in January,  I  still spoke of  how nice it was to spend sometime visiting "home",  meaning  California .  

The ex-pat existence is an odd one.   It is a life of  living neither here nor there.   London is my home,  but  it is a city where  I am always  a foreigner.  New York and  Los Angeles are  cities I have never lived in, and therefore certainly can't call them  "home", but  even so,  for  two weeks  I will confess it was very nice to not be the foreigner  for a while.    Back in London,  this week I will celebrate yet another  American Independence Day  from outside the United States, looking in.

As the rhetorical battle  over  equal rights for  LGBT Americans  plays out over the coming months of the  U.S. Presidential election campaign,  those of us who live in  DOMA-Exile  will watch from across oceans and borders and continue to hope for the day that all American couples are treated  equally by our own country.

Happy Fourth of July everyone...

That's Gotta Sting...

Let the rending of garments and nashing of teeth in Wingnutistan  begin...

Greetings from New York

Back in the U.S. for  two weeks  on a business trip.   More pics and updates to follow...

Thoughts on the Wisconsin Recall Election...

I have for the most part, not  weighed in on  the effort to  recall Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker.   Mostly  due to the fact that I live in London.  I was born and raised in Wisconsin, but  have not lived there, (and therefore not paid state taxes there),  for more than 15 years.   I did follow the  events  that lead to the recall effort,  via the national media coverage.   The popular movement to oust  Walker had momentum, a great deal of energy and a decent organization behind it.   Yet  as the dust  settled  late last night,  the news from my home state was  that  Governor Walker had won the recall election, and won it  rather convincingly.

  

The reactions have been fairly predictable. People on the left are shocked and depressed, and people on the right are overjoyed, all the while the political divide in Wisconsin remains as wide a chasm as it was before this whole saga started.

Obviously, I am not a fan of Scott Walker, and I would have been as happy to see him go, as many Republican friends of mine are, to see him stay. With the Wisconsin State Senate back in the hands of the Democrats, Gov. Walker will find it a bit more difficult to force through his agenda. So there is at least one bright spot for the Democratic Party this morning.  Yet the overall result of the Recall Walker effort, raises a number of very bright red flags for not just the Wisconsin Democratic Party, but for Democrats nationally, and for President Obama's  re-election campaign.

On the surface the race to recall  Scott Walker should have been a cakewalk.  Nearly one million people signed the petition to hold the  recall vote.   It was a truly popular movement  propelled forward by the largest outpouring of public dissent  since the  days of the  Vietnam War.

Yet the Democrats couldn't seal the deal Why? To a certain extent it highlights the cultural differences between the America's two main political parties. Specially how the two parties relate to their respective base voters.    The GOP pays attention to it's base.  The Democrats put up with theirs. The GOP understands that voters have short memories and even shorter  attention spans.   The Democrats are often far more enamoured of (or more often bogged down in)  the process, than they are focused on the results.

For the Wisconsin GOP/Tea Party faithful the issues were clear;  The hysterical, fat,  greedy and lazy  public employees were in bed with the loony lefty socialist Obama loving Union Thugs, and they were all out to destroy them.

The fact that the policies of  Scott Walker are as equally bad for them as they are for  everybody else really didn't matter.   For The Republican base  this wasn't political it was personal. So they fought back like it was personal.  The Democratic base, started out fired up,  but  there was no real large scale effort to keep them  engaged, so  they soon got bored and  wandered off.   

When Scott Walker came under siege,  the national conservative apparatus  kicked into high gear, funnelling massive amounts of cash into the State.  Millions  of dollars worth of Ads, robo-calls, and op-ed's flooded Wisconsin's  airwaves, phone lines and  blogosphere.    

Meanwhile,  the national progressive apparatus  can never  decide what the core issue  is on a given day.  The  Unions have an agenda slightly different from the Occupy folks, who have slightly different goals than the environmentalists,  who have slightly different goals than the LGBT rights activists, who are odds with the African American Churches,  who  disagree with the Latinos on immigration who  have a slightly different agenda than....than,.. than....    You get the picture.

The Democrats  began this fight with a massive popular movement behind them, and after collecting enough signatures  to hold the  recall election,  they completely failed to use that movement or harness  the energy of it.  Instead they allowed themselves to get bogged down in a tedious primary election battle between Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk, and Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett.    All the while the  Democratic  National Committee and  the Obama Administration  tried  desperately to keep their distance, while  trying desperately to not look like they were trying to keep their distance.

Finally when  the polls were showing that Scott Walker was  actually ahead, and  gaining ground.  Bill Clinton was dispatched  a few days before the election to try to relight the progressive fire  under the Democratic base.

Sadly,  it would be too little, too late.
  

For President Obama,  there are  some  disturbing lessons  from the  Walker victory.   You can't come in  at the last minute to engage the base  and expect the same fire and energy you had in 2008. 

The Democratic loss in yesterday's  recall election has, like it or not, put Wisconsin and its ten electoral votes in play.   Wisconsin is now  clearly a  purple state.

God Save the Queen.

We trekked into Central London for the Queens Diamond Jubilee celebrations. Yes, it rained, yes it was cold, and overall the day was pretty miserable weather-wise. But the enthusiasm of the HUGE crowds more than made up for it.

But the soggy wait was worth it. The Royal Barge went by, we waved, the Queen waved, and everybody felt part of something truly historic.  Even if the idea of  hereditary priviledge seems rather silly in the  21rst  Century,  even  the most  strident anti-monarchist  UK Republican had to marvel at the  spectacle of it all.

God Save the Queen.