The Gingrich Family Feud

Senior Manager of the Human Rights Campaign's Youth & Campus Outreach Department Candace Gingrich went on MSNBC's "The Ed Show" to give her reaction to her brother Newt's comments about Obama's appointment of Harry Knox to his religious council. Harry Knox is the Director of the HRC's Religion and Faith Program.

I can not believe Candace has to put up with this guy on a regular basis - you know at family gatherings. I'm sure Thanksgiving is quite a sight.

Here are Newt's comments on the appointment.




Here is Candace's reaction.




Here is the Press Release from HRC about the appointment of Harry Knox.

Human Rights Campaign’s Religion and Faith Director Harry Knox to Join Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships

WASHINGTON –The Human Rights Campaign Foundation, the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender civil rights organization, announced today that HRC Foundation Religion and Faith Director Harry Knox will join the President’s Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, an interfaith council of religious and secular leaders and scholars. The council will be comprised of 25 members, each appointed to serve a one-year term.

“I am humbled by the invitation to join President Obama’s Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships,” said Harry Knox, director of the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s Religion and Faith Program. “I hope this council will draw upon the richness of our unique perspectives to advise the president on policies that will improve the lives of all the people we have been called to serve. The lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community is eager to help the Administration achieve its goals around economic recovery and fighting poverty; fatherhood and healthy families; inter-religious dialogue; care for the environment; and global poverty, health and development. And, of course, we will support the President in living up to his promise that government has no place in funding bigotry against any group of people.”

President Barack Obama signed an executive order on February 5 to establish the new White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. Led by Joshua Dubois, the office was created to allow religious and community leaders to make policy recommendations to the President’s Cabinet Secretaries and each of the eleven agency offices for faith-based and neighborhood partnerships.

To learn more about the Religion & Faith Program at the Human Rights Campaign, visit: www.hrc.org/religion.

The Human Rights Campaign Foundation is America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality. By inspiring and engaging all Americans, HRC strives to end discrimination against LGBT citizens and realize a nation that achieves fundamental fairness and equality for all.

For more information on Harry Knox's work with HRC listen to Episode 3 of my podcast, Thoughts from a Lezzymom in iTunes or found in the sidebar.

Podcast - Episode 3

The latest podcast episode of "Thoughts From A Lezzymom" is now available on iTunes. You can subscribe and listen to it here. Please use the tell your friends link in iTunes and spread the word about the show.

In this episode of the podcast we are bringing you less news because we have two great interviews for you. The first interview is with comedian Vickie Shaw. Vickie has performed in almost every state in the US and has headlined in various venues including: Michigan Womyn's Festival, National Women's Music Festival, Monterrey Beach Women's Festival; and the Dinah & Lina Shore Golf Tournament in Southern California. In this interview Vickie discusses her family and how she became a comedian. She also gives her thoughts on Proposition 8 and the debate over marriage equality. You can learn more about Vickie at her website.

 

Photo By David Plakke

There is also another great song from the Podsafe Music Network. This time we feature folk artist Amy Speace's song Not the Heartless Kind from her album Songs for Bright Street. You can learn more about Amy's music from her website.

Our second interview is with Harry Knox, Director of the Religion and Faith program at the Human Rights Campaign. Harry talks about using teachable moments to talk educate the community about LGBT issues. Also, how to not be affraid of the religious arguments people try to use.

Finally I give my thoughts on two experiences I had dealing with people telling their coming out stories. Many people shared they still struggle with an internal homophobia. The interesting thing is the contrasting story of a Junior High and High School student.

Thanks for listening and remember you can send me comments and show ideas by emailing me at lezzymom@gmail.com.

Melissa Etheridge Talks About Rick Warren on the Thom Hartmann Show

Melissa Etheridge performed the other night at an event for the Muslim Public Affairs Council. It just so happened that Pastor Rick Warren was scheduled to speak at the same event. Melissa asked to speak to Warren and a surprising thing happened. Melissa came away feeling good. She seems to think there is hope in bringing different sides together through Warren. In fact she wrote quite an amazing endorsement of him for the Huffington Post.

While I am still skeptical she is one of my favorite people and she was on one of my favorite radio shows talking about it. So any excuse to put Melissa with Thom Hartmann on my blog is a good one.

Time will tell just how good Melissa's read on Warren is...

Pastor Warren Has Saddelback Website Updated - But Not Enough

On Friday this screen shot from the Saddleback Church website really got the gays angry

And now it's gone. Apparently after all the heat put on him for comparing homosexuality to incest and pedophilia he has decided to take a look at exactly what it is he is saying. This weekend both he and Melissa Etheridge were an event for the Muslim Public Affairs Council. According to Etheridge in her piece at the Huffington Post Warren had this to say,

He said he regretted his choice of words in his video message to his congregation about proposition 8 when he mentioned pedophiles and those who commit incest. He said that in no way, is that how he thought about gays.

Ok so it appears that progress is being made. However, many gays are still upset that he didn't take the opportunity to say that in a public statement to just to a famous gay person while getting an autograph. Whatever his motive is at least it's out there and there is a chance that the shift has begun.

So then why is this what they are teaching. Below is a clip from the Saddleback website under sexual purity.

Don't you know that those doing such things have no share in the Kingdom of God?  Don't fool yourselves.  Those who live immoral lives, who are idol worshippers, adulterers, or homosexuals will have no share in His Kingdom.  Neither will thieves or greedy people, drunkards, slanderers, or robbers.  1 Corinthians 6:9-10 TLB

The King James wording is

"Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God."

 There is actually quite a bit of trouble getting people to agree on the translation here. In "What does 1 Corinthians 6:9 teach about sexuality, and how should we live in response?" Robert L. Brawley of the McCormick Theological Seminary seems to sum up what many people think.

But is it really so clear that 1 Cor 6:9 is about “homoerotic practice” and is it really so clear who is excluded from being heirs of God’s kingdom? I suggest that there is actually a lack of clarity. The lack of clarity shows up in several ways. One is in the variety among translations. Another is the difficulty we have in making direct correlations between biblical texts and the way we construe reality today. Most importantly, however, the argument about clarity does not adequately consider the context in 1 Corinthians 6, and this context is eye-opening with respect to how Paul deals with sexual behavior among the Corinthians.

Translations. Though malakoi literally means soft, it is often used in Greek to describe effeminate men, and many interpreters suggest that this identifies receptive partners in same-sex erotic behavior among males. One would be hard pressed to deduce anything about a receptive partner from the King James translation which simply says “effeminate” or from Luther’s translation quite literally as “weakling.” The Revised Standard Version combines the two terms malakoi and arsenokoitai into one translation as “sexual perverts,” a questionable move in translating, which the New Revised Standard Version tries to “correct” by reverting to two terms. With respect to malakoi the NRSV translation is “male prostitutes.” When the translation tradition moves between the extremes of “weakling” and “male prostitutes,” this indicates lack of clarity in our understanding of the term. Simply the variety in translations is one indication that the church has no sustained tradition of clarity about the meaning of malakoi in 1 Cor 6:9.

The problem of clarity is perhaps even more difficult with arsenokoitai. 1 Cor 6:9 is the first place we know of in all of Greek literature in which this term is used. Paul apparently coined it. So how does one know what a word means the first time it ever appears? Granted, we know some things from the formation of the word. It is compounded from a term for “bed” and a term for “male” with an agency ending—implicitly one who beds a male. Again, a quick review of
translations shows the uncertainty in the meaning. The King James Version has “abusers of themselves with mankind”; Luther has an equivalent of “violators of boys,” perhaps implying pederasty; and the NRSV introduces “sodomites,” an astonishing innovation in the translation tradition.

Religioustolerance.org goes on to say,

Although "homosexual" is a very common translation, it is almost certain to be inaccurate:

If Paul wanted to refer to homosexual behavior, he would have used the word "paiderasste." That was the standard Greek term at the time for sexual behavior between males.

There are many more places that say the use of homosexual in this passage is incorrect. So if Pastor Warren is so progressive and as he says "loves gays and straights" then why not choose to use a more correct and up to date translation on his site? I am starting to like this pick of Obama more and more. If Warren really is interested in being "America's Pastor" and he truely feels he helps gays by all the work he does with HIV/AIDS then maybe he can learn how the words he chooses are more important than ever at this time.

Hopefully, he'll also start to make his appologies and changes more public instead of just to the rich and famous.

Why The Gays Are Mad About Rick Warren

Ever since Barack Obama announced that Pastor Rick Warren would be giving the invocation at the Inauguration I have been on edge about the decision. My first thought was

"Gee it's been about a month and a half - I guess it is time for us to get slapped in the face."

In case you're wondering what the big deal is and why the gay community would be offended by Rick Warren being asked to have such a high profile moment check out Warren's little video here




I love how he says,

"If you believe what the bible says about marriage you need to support Proposition 8."

Oh really. So then I should look at Deuteronomy 21:15

"A man might have two wives. And he might love one wife more than the other. Both wives might have children for him. And the first child might be the child of the wife he does not love."

Or how about Matthew 19:8-9

8 Jesus answered, "Moses allowed you to divorce your wives because you refused to accept God's teaching. But divorce was not allowed in the beginning. 9 I tell you that any person that divorces his wife and marries another woman is guilty of the sin of adultery. The only reason for a person to divorce and marry again is if his first wife had sexual relations with another man."

Interesting isn't it. Let's hear what Pastor Warren had to say in an interview with Beliefnet about divorce and if it is a big problem today.




I love how he basically says that the reason we make such a big deal about gay marriage is because of "ratings." This is ok to turn the gays into the BIG sinners and second class citizens because the other stuff is too close to home so no one will listen (come to church - or give money).

It's this attitude that keeps suicide amongst gay teens and young adults so high. All because it's easier to vilify such a small minority than deal with real problems, like divorce, that are really hurting families and kids all across this country. Warren and others like him don't want to "redefine marriage". Yet marriage has changed so much over the course of time. Wives used to considered more property than anything. Marriage was a business transaction done by the patriach of the family. Not so long ago bi-racial couples could not marry in this country. Warren says over and over that marriage has been the same for 5,000 years. I wonder if he meant this example from the The Sex Atlas written by Erwin J. Haeberle, Ph.D., Ed.D.,

"The English Puritans in the 17th century even passed an Act of Parliament asserting "marriage to be no sacrament" and soon thereafter made marriage purely secular. It was no longer to be performed by a minister, but by a justice of the peace. The Restoration abolished this law and reverted to the old system, but the Puritans brought their concept of marriage to America where it survived."

Marriage is not a sacrament but secular - well isn't that interesting.

Apparently I am supposed to be ok with Warren because he's not homophobic because he funds AIDS projects. Gee that's about the only good thing President Bush did too. Not the kind of company I'd want to be in.


But wait there's more



I am amazed he can laugh off being homophobic when he compares gay marriage to incest and pedophilia but it's ok because he will talk to gay people and give them water and donuts.

So again I'm back to why did Obama go there. I agree with the reporter in the video. This is political. But I'll let Obama speak first.




So is this a payback? The comment Obama says about Warren having him come speak to his church he considered a big opportunity. So is this his thank you for helping him with some of the religious groups that Obama needed to reach. I can't say for sure. I do believe that Obama is trying to e inclusive and bring people together. I also think that there are those that are not promoting hate and equating LGBT people to pedophiles that can have this kind of a spotlight.

So I know it seems us gays have been yelling a lot lately and this isn't going to help calm us down.

I heard a woman on the radio today and she has given me reason to pause and try to move from this in a different direction.

Rev. Joseph E. Lowery, an African-American pro-gay minister will be giving the benediction. The woman on the radio commented that these two choices were symbolic.

"Pastor Warren represents where we are now. That's why he is going first. Rev. Lowery represents where this country is going.

Like the inauguration will show the journey of change.

This caller saved the day for me. To me it sounds like Obama's thought process and diligent planning. I'm trying hard to buy into it.

Moron of the Week

It looks like I need to start a weekly post called "Moron of the Week". There seem to be plenty of candidates. The Governor of Illinois I have decided to bestow the first award to singer Pat Boone. Now I know what you are thinking how can the person famous for songs like "Tutti Frutti" possibly make this list. Or maybe your thinking, "Tutti Frutti" really explains it all. Just watch and let Keith Olbermann explain it too you.





Here is the response from the Human Rights Campaign. Hope you will consider sending a message to Pat!

"...there is a real, unbroken line between the jihadist savagery in Mumbai and the hedonistic, irresponsible, blindly selfish goals and tactics of our homegrown sexual jihadists."
- Pat Boone, December 6, 2008

Dear HRC members,

Country singer and right-wing pundit Pat Boone has written a column equating the movement against Prop. 8 to the terrorists who tortured and murdered hundreds in Mumbai.

I am not kidding. This is a new low in anti-gay rhetoric.

Boone and his buddies continue to stir up fear, even if they have to lie. It's exactly how they passed the California marriage ban.

We need your help to stop the radical right from painting a movement about love and dignity as violent and radical. We need your support to stay strong, smart, and nimble, to combat these growing attacks with the simple truth: all we want is equality.

Make a donation to HRC on behalf of Pat Boone. Your gift helps HRC combat these lies – and sends the message that our call for equality cannot be silenced.

We'll even send Mr. Boone a note with your first name and gift amount to let him know you've donated in his name.

It's time to say enough to the deception and false ads that defeated marriage equality in three states and banned gay couples from adopting in Arkansas; enough to the attempts to equate peaceful protest with "jihadist savagery"; enough to the lies used to block federal hate crimes laws and workplace protections.

In the face of lies like this, there's only one thing to do: Demand the Truth – and that's exactly what we will be doing in the coming year. HRC will:

• Respond quickly and forcefully to the lies and intimidation with media outreach and grassroots mobilization, as part of an ongoing "Demand the Truth" campaign;
• Organize hundreds of thousands of activists to pass the Matthew Shepard Act and combat the inevitable misleading campaign that will be waged against us;
• Work with religious leaders to encourage LGBT people to come out in their faith communities and create venues for the voices of tolerance and love;
• Continue the march for marriage equality and relationship recognition, especially in key states where new doors are opening right now, including New York, Vermont, New Mexico, New Jersey, and Iowa; and
• Work with the Obama administration to undo years of White House anti-LGBT hostility.

To really go toe to toe with the mouthpieces of bigotry like Pat Boone, we're going to need your support.

If, every time they tell another lie, run another deceptive ad or use more fear-mongering to try and win votes and recruit new members, we respond by strengthening our movement for equality, eventually they'll realize they're hurting themselves more than they're hurting us.

But it only works if we all stand up.

Join us in demanding the truth, by making a gift in Pat Boone's name today!

What's perhaps most disturbing about Boone's rhetoric – painting LGBT people as a threat to society – is that it leads to the very real hate violence directed against LGBT people every day.

We can't stop the Pat Boones of our world from speaking their ugly lies, but together we can make sure that there's a political cost associated with this kind of hateful speech.

Warmly,

Joe Solmonese
President

To see the full article by Pat Boone, click here.

On a side note, I hope I never have to put myself on the "Moron of the Week" list.

John Stewart takes on Huckabee and the Issue of Gay Marriage

This is a great exchange that really shows the religious right's perspective on gay marriage. Stewart of course makes many great points. My favorite is about half way in when Stewart makes the point that the main difference is Huckabee's belief that being gay is a choice. Stewart says, "Religion is far more of a choice than homosexuality." He then asks Huckabee, "At what age did you choose to not be gay?" Watch the whole video below.

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Mike Huckabee Pt. 2

Barack Obama Interview
John McCain Interview

Sarah Palin Video
Funny Election Video