The Progressive Puppy

Pious Sally's Economic Profundity

Oh. My. God.  Everything makes sense!  It was there, right in front of our noses, the entire time!

America's economic woes were not caused by imprudent bankers and greedy Wall Street executives - it's the fault of gays and lesbians!

Professional homobigot Sally Kern has been spending every waking hour peddling her Proclamation for Morality to Oklahoma state lawmakers, claiming that the ravaged economy is a direct result of our country's lax morals.  Sayeth Holy Sal:  "If we will take care of the Morality, God will take care of the Prosperity."  (We already know that Sally's husband, Pastor Steve Kern, wants to "take care" of morality by locking up gays in "treatment facilities."  One wonders if the Kerns' "final solution" for abortion providers might involve similar detention camps with giant gas-fueled Easy-Bake ovens.)

As it was delivered from God's tongue to Sally Kern's ear:

WHEREAS, we believe our economic woes are consequences of our greater national moral crisis; and
WHEREAS, this nation has become a world leader in promoting abortion, pornography, same sex marriage, sex trafficking, divorce, illegitimate births, child abuse, and many other forms of debauchery; and
WHEREAS, my magnificent bosoms are swollen with bountiful purpose for your delight...

Wait.  That last part is from Gov. Mark Sanford's inbox.  My mistake. 

You'll notice that, cleaving to the fundie extremist view, Kern lumps marriage equality to sex trafficking and child abuse.  But divorce?  Divorce is a debauchery?  I guess that means GOP leaders like Newt Gingrich, John McCain, and Rush Limbaugh are also responsible for the financial crisis.    

From Think Progress:  Last year, Oklahoma state legislator Sally Kern (R) drew well-deserved criticism for an outlandish rant against the gay community, in which she compared homosexuality to "toe cancer" and said, "It’s the biggest threat our nation has, even more so than terrorism or Islam.  Studies show that no society that has totally embraced homosexuality has lasted more than, you know, a few decades.  So it’s the death knell of this country."  ...Though Kern denies that her proclamation is timed to coincide with gay pride celebrations across the country, critics say otherwise.  Kern’s proclamation specifically criticizes President Obama for recognizing June as LGBT Pride Month.

The complete proclamaion has been posted on Dispatches From the Culture Wars.  Blogger Ed Brayton notes that the document contains two fake historical quotes, one from Patrick Henry and one from James Madison.  (See, that's how wingnuts operate.  If history doesn't suit them, they just make up shit.)

Sally Kern may be the most loathsome politician in America, and those Oklahomans who keep voting her into office do nothing but draw attention to the hideous face of Christian zealotry. 

I don't know whether or not there is an afterlife.  But I do know this:  Spending eternity with Kern and other religious fundies would be pure hell.

More Pretty Words from Obama at Teh Gay Parteeee...

Responding to ever-growing discontent from the nation's LGBT community, President Obama yesterday addressed a group of 250 POTUS-friendly gay leaders at a White House cocktail party event, supposedly commemorating the Stonewall Riots: 

"I want you to know that I expect and hope to be judged not by words, not by promises that I made, but by promises that my administration keeps."  (And if the president ever gets around to keeping those promises - or starts showing any "fierce leadership" on LGBT issues - we will be thrilled to sing his praises.)

Joe Sudbay writes on AmericaBlog:  The President tells us that he's looking for a "practical" solution to Don't Ask, Don't Tell.  (We've also heard the solution has to be "durable" or "sustainable.")  But, it has to be an Act of Congress.  It really really really really has to be an Act of Congress and not a stop-loss order that could achieve the same thing by executive order immediately.  It's too bad that in the meantime two gay service men and women are kicked out every day... See, we're going to continue to ruin the lives of people who want to serve their nation, but, in the long run, that's okay.  Because we're perpetually at war.  But, someday we'll have a "practical" or "durable" or "sustainable" solution.  Although, it is funny how how "practical" and "durable" and "sustainable" weren't talking points on DADT during the campaign.  They sure are now that Obama is dragging his feet on every major campaign promise to the gay community...  He's the president now, not some candidate.  He can do more than talk...  And, while many of the so-called gay "leaders" in the East Room may be assuaged and bought off by the promise of champagne and a heartfelt "God bless you" from the man who promised much, lots more people are mad as hell and starting to think they're being taken for a ride.

Although Obama didn't actually apologize for that grotesque DOJ brief defending DOMA, he did seem to acknowledge its inappropriateness:  "Now, I want to add we have a duty to uphold existing law, but I believe we must do so in a way that does not exacerbate old divides."  Well, yes, equating committed gay unions to incest and pedophilia is an old divide... for wingnuts.  But it's not something we would have expected of your administration, Prez O.

From the Boston Globe:  His supporters say he does not want to alienate conservative Democrats and moderate Republicans, whose votes he needs to pass major legislation on healthcare and other priorities.  (Which presupposes that these righty Dems and mod Repugs would find equality so distasteful that they'd use it to hold up other legislation.)  But critics and some gay activists say he is turning his back on some of his most loyal backers.  (We're used to it.)  Earlier this month, Obama did sign a presidential memorandum, extending benefits to the same-sex partners of federal employees in the civil service and the foreign service.  (Relocation expenses are nice, but health care would have been something to crow about.  I know I know, hands tied, act of Congress, yada yada.)  ...Boston University law professor Robert Volk says that short of overturning the "don't ask" and anti-gay marriage laws, "Obama is very limited in the steps he can take to reverse discrimination.  Absent repeal of these laws, however, the president could ease up enforcement of the 'Don’t Ask' policy by halting legal actions to discharge gay or lesbian soldiers.  He could also stop defending DOMA in the courts."  

Yes He Can.  But No - snap! - No He Diddent.

UPDATE:  At one point during the event, Obama spoke privately to a decorated fighter pilot who is being discharged under DADT.  The President told Lt. Col. Victor Fehrenbach that even though roughly 75% of the public supports ending the policy, it's hard to accomplish because because of a "generational gap."  (Is Obama waiting for 115% public support before he does anything?  Or do we have to wait until all those elderly warhawks have died of old age?)     

Nutty's Prayer

To the backyard squirrels, I am God ...

Police raid on Texas gay bar leaves man hospitalized.

A surly group of police officers raided the Rainbow Lounge in Fort Worth, Texas, on the anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, leaving one bar patron hospitalized with a fractured skull... 

Tammy Nash writes on the Dallas Voice:  Kristy Morgan, sister of Chad Gibson, just called me to give an update on her brother. Chad is the man who was hospitalized after being thrown to the floor by police during a raid last night on the Rainbow Lounge in Fort Worth... a second CAT scan performed this afternoon showed that the bleeding in his brain had increased.  "We won’t know anything more until tomorrow when they do more tests,” she said.  Kristy said Chad has awake today, but that he has no memory of the incident in the bar and that his memory of events today have been spotty. She said he remembers her being there, but that he doesn’t remember talking to the doctor this morning, and he doesn’t remember visits by some of his friends during the day.  Fort Worth City Councilman Joel Burns has issued the following statement:  "I  am calling for an immediate and thorough investigation of the actions of the City of Fort Worth Police and Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission in relation to the incident at the Rainbow Lounge earlier this morning, June 28, 2009.  It is unfortunate that this incident occurred in Fort Worth and even more so to have occurred on the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall protests... I am working together with our Mayor, Police Chief, the City of Fort Worth Human Relations Commission, and our State Legislative colleagues to get a complete and accurate accounting of what occurred...  Every Fort Worth citizen deserves to have questions around this incident answered and I am working aggressively toward that end."

I'm old enough to remember when the HPD routinely raided gay establishments in Houston.  I was hauled off to jail during one of these raids and my partner and I were present when several others went down.  This harassment was not uncommon even two decades years ago.  Raids usually happened when a bar owner couldn't afford to grease the palms of cops patrolling the area, or wouldn't hire an off-duty officer for "protection."  It was always the same.  HPD accompanied by TABC goons swept into a club, supposedly looking for liquor violations.  They made a big show of examining the club's permit to sell alcohol.  If they couldn't find any infractions, they started arresting people at random - usually for public intoxication.  They would make clubgoers stand against a wall, and one of the cops would walk down the line and point:  "You" and "you" and "you" and "you."  And then it was off to the slammer.  (Yes, the cops were rough, and often there were injuries.)  Thing is, many of the patrons they took to jail were sober.  But the police knew that gays would likely pay their fines and keep quiet.

In Texas, homobigots are more common than cattle.  But something like this happening in 2009, at this particular time of the year, just smells.  It smells like vengeance against the gay community over recent advances in LGBT equality.  (Updates, after the jump...) 

No jail time for cop who assaulted three people.

"It was terrifying to be attacked by such a big man. I tried to protect myself, but I was helpless. I thought about the beating a lot. I had nightmares about it..."  - Karolina Obrycka

A Chicago off-duty police officer who was videotaped savagely beating a female bartender (along with two other people) has been found guilty of aggravated battery.  But thanks to Judge John Fleming, this out-of-control cop will not be serving any time behind bars.  From Chicago Breaking News:  Anthony Abbate was sentenced to two years probation for beating Karolina Obrycka in February of 2007.  He could have gotten up to five years for the attack, which was captured by the bar's security camera and shown around the world.  Judge John Fleming said he decided against jail because he did not believe the crime was serious enough and throwing Abbate behind bars would not be a deterrent to others...  In arguing for prison time, prosecutors produced a previously unseen video from the bar hours before Obrycka was attacked showing Abbate beating someone else.  In the video, a man in the bar can be seen speaking with Abbate for a few seconds, after which Abbate grabs the man, slams him against a wall and then throws him across the room.  The man crashes to the floor and into the bar stools, and Abbate stands over him as the man tries to shimmy away on his back.  Assistant State's Atty. LuAnn Snow said the attack was one of three unprovoked assaults in the span of 6 hours, a violent window into "a day in the life of Anthony Abbate."  ... Snow said it was "by the grace of God" that Obrycka wasn't more severely injured.  (You can see video of the original assault here.)

The article goes on to state that Abbate was facing other charges including intimidation, communicating with a witness, and official misconduct - but that the prosecutors dismissed most of them before going to trial (probably thinking a brutal assault that was taped was enough to put this cretin away).  Judge Fleming himself dismissed the two counts of official misconduct. Thanks, yer Honorful!   

Although the Independent Police Review Authority has recommended that Abbate be fired from his job, an organization called the Fraternal Order of Police is willing to let bygones be bygones.  FOP head Mark Donahue says, "He had his day in court, and like it or not, the results are what they are."

After sentencing, Judge Fleming offered Abbate a chance to say something to his victims.  The police officer declined.  He breezed out of the courtroom with his fiancé, refusing to acknowledge the woman he had assaulted. 

Obrycka said, "I'm very disappointed that he didn't apologize for what he did."  (AP photos.)

Rowdy's Roundup: Sanford, Bachmann, Climate Change Bill, etc.

Republican strategist Patrick Ruffini argues that Gov. Mark Sanford should remain in office and insists that "Sanford's affair cannot be a factor in determining whether he stays or goes."  When Rufffini talks about the hypocrisy of his fellow religious conservatives, he smugly puts the word 'hypocrisy' in quotation marks.  He wails about an imaginary double standard that exists between Gopers and Democrats:  "This is a structural disadvantage that, on the margins, hurts Republican officeholders, forcing them into resignation or disgrace more easily than their equally adulterous Democratic counterparts."   On Alternet, Steve Benen promptly counters that horseshit:  I tend to see this differently.  For one thing, I'm not at all sure that Republicans are forced into "resignation or disgrace" more easily than unfaithful Dems.  In fact, I get the sense that's backwards - the only recently caught adulterer to resign from office was Eliot Spitzer.  Sanford, Ensign, Vitter, Craig, et al were all caught while in office, and each one ignored calls to step down.

Karl Rove and Bill O'Reilly are howling piteously about liberals' reaction to Sanford's adulterous ways.  David Neiwert at Crook and Liars muzzles those two hounds.

During an interview on Fox News, Republican congresswoman Michele Bachmann stupidly suggests that the Obama administration might use census data to imprison Americans in concentration camps, and she says that she will refuse to answer most of the questions on the national survey.  The Census Bureau politely informs Ms. Bachmann that non-compliance is not an option.  Amanda Terkel reports for Think Progress.

Is our new president morphing into George W. Bush?  According to an article in the Washington Post, the Obama administration wants the power to detain terror suspects indefinitely.  On Kos, David Walkman offers an instant analysis.  Ken Guide at Wonk Room calls it "a big step in the right direction."  (It's certainly a step in the right-wing direction.)

Madfloridian takes a look at White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel's "go Right to win" philosophy, and how it relates to legislative inaction on immigration reform.

The former mayor of Gainesville, a Republican who once served as deacon at the First Baptist Church, has been busted for public nudity.  Pam Spaulding sniffs out the story on Pam's House Blend.

Over at Politico, Lisa Lerer and Patrick O'Connor provide a good rundown on the political maneuvers surrounding that historic Climate Change Bill which was narrowly approved by the House, 219-212.

On Bilerico Project, Austin Crowder responds to 5 common arguments made by those who oppose transgender equality.

Greg Laden writes about Bible thumpers getting arrested at the Minneapolis Gay Pride Fest.

Ed Brayton calls it "the weirdest bits of video ever produced by Fox News."  Glenn Beck and Bill O'Reilly affirm their nuttiness by using Barbie dolls to explain ACORN.  (So what's next?  GI Joes re-enacting the Iraq War?)