False Equivalency: Both Sides Do It! And Other Campaign Eye-Rollers

Image from source, MSN

In this ridiculous--and ridiculously long presidential campaign--there are still some old-school rules of thumb that are still in play. There is the media fascination with and desperation to maintain the horse race over substance. And in service to that, there is the need for "balance," accomplished by boiling everything down to "both sides do it," even if it takes a false equivalency to get there. Rarely are we dealing with apples and oranges. In fact, often, it's just Bad Analogy Theater.

Here's how it works. The media, naturally, will focus on whatever has just exploded into the news cycle, this time it's usually something outrageous that Donald Trump either said or did. Often, that something occurs at a time when something negative has happened to Hillary (or at least, the media thinks it ought to be a negative for her). The Trump story has more oomph, and gets more attention, and then Right Wing World starts squawking that the media is "in the tank" for Hillary, and only focusing on Trump's woes (ignoring, of course, the countless hours of free press Trump gets in that same media.

In an effort to try to balance things out though, the media will often play up the Hillary thing. Right now, one of those non-equivalent things is The Clinton Foundation vs. Trump Inc. One is a multi-billion dollar charity that helps poor people, and which has disclosed its donors. The other is a multi-billion dollar for-profit multi-national corporation, that pointedly does not disclose its business ties.

The Clinton Foundation has attracted scrutiny to the point of absurdity over its donors, with so far baseless accusations of pay-for-play access between the charity and the State Department, when Clinton was Secretary of State. Meanwhile, the Trump business has attracted far less focused attention, even though it is hundreds of millions of dollars in debt, and has even bigger financial ties to foreign entities, including the Bank of China. But it's the Clinton Foundation getting clobbered by innuendo, while Trump's businesses get passing mention.

That's par for the course this go-around though. There is so much going on in Trumpland that no one thing tends to stick, or get enough traction. With the Clinton side, it's a one-two-three punch of 1) Clinton Foundation, 2) E-mail "scandal," 3) Benghazi. Throw in a little "Mrs. Clinton has mystery diseases" rumor mongering, and you've basically got the counter-weight to the blizzard of Trump dumps. Donald calls group X a bunch of losers? Pick one of the above about Hillary, and pick at that as a counterpunch. Doesn't matter if it's baseless, pointless, or barely worth mentioning, just make sure it sounds bad for Hillary.

It's really no wonder that Hillary is keeping a relatively low profile these days. I wouldn't give a press conference either, when these old, stale topics keep getting dusted off and asked again. Everything has been asked and answered. Why risk giving a slightly different wording in an answer to have that dissected for three days, when Trump does something obnoxious daily? I'd keep my head down too. Though I'd be mightily pissed off at the double standard. And here we have--again--15,000 more emails. Doesn't matter what's in them, the insulation is that they were bad, and they were hidden. At this point, I really couldn't care less if one or six out of 15,000  maybe, could be interpreted as being classified after the fact. Sick. Of. It.

[Excerpt]

FBI uncovers 14,900 more documents in Clinton email probe

The FBI’s year-long investigation of Hillary Clinton’s private email server uncovered 14,900 emails and documents from her time as secretary of state that had not been disclosed by her attorneys, and a federal judge on Monday pressed the State Department to begin releasing emails sooner than mid-October as it planned. . .

Read more at: MSN

Rush Limbaugh is Still a Big, Fat Pig, Part MCMLXXXVIII

With apologies to Senator Al Franken for stealing his title, Rush Limbaugh just seems to keep trying to outdo himself in piggishness. He's just disgusting.

[Excerpt]

Rush Limbaugh: Liberals will politicize Ebola like they used AIDS to ‘undermine’ Reagan

Radio host Rush Limbaugh warned his listeners on Monday that liberals would make Ebola into a political issue and use it like they had used AIDS to “undermine” President Ronald Reagan. In an audio clip flagged by Media Matters, the conservative talker explained that he had received some complaints from listeners who said that he should not be spending time talking about the Ebola outbreak in Africa. . .

Read more at: Raw Story

Right Wing World: "Obama's Katrina"

 

[Hey, look, it's a Right Wing World trilogy! Moving on to other subjects after this, promise.]

It's interesting, with all of the disastrous things that happened during the George W. Bush administration, that it's Hurricane Katrina that gets called out the most. I guess it did sort of put a button on it, in a way. At the time, there was a lot of poo-pooing of liberal complaints about Katrina, of course. But it's almost universally acknowledged to have been a dark part of the Bush era. And ever since President Obama was inaugurated, Right Wing World has been trying to affix "Obama's Katrina" to virtually everything.

Remember when they used to stage photo ops for everything? This
image was intentionally presented as one, but came to be remembered
for the detachment of Bush during Katrina.

What kinds of things? Well, a) Healthcare.gov, b) Hurricane Sandy, c) BP Oil Spill, d) H1N1 flu vaccine shortage, e) Ft. Hood shootings, f) Haiti earthquake, g) Christmas Day Underwear Bomber, h) Chicago housing policies, i) the financial crisis that Bush left him, and--wait for it--j) Benghazi!!! And now, it's the children immigrant problem. All Katrinas. Apparently.

[Excerpt]

Media Consecrate Their Latest "Obama's Katrina": Unaccompanied Minors Edition

Right-wing and even mainstream media have eagerly pushed the suggestion that the recent increase in unaccompanied minors crossing the U.S.-Mexico border is "Obama's Katrina" -- an inane comparison that repeatedly surfaces inside the conservative media echo chamber. . .

Read more at: Media Matters

Totally Not Gay Rick Perry's Ideas on The GayThing

Rick Perry was once the great GOP hope. I mean after Fred Thompson, who turned out to be a big snooze. Perry was handsome, and rugged. He's been a governor of Texas, which makes him seem even more manly. But he turned out to be something of a tone-deaf goober. And a bit of a dolt.

Now, this isn't the first time Perry has shown a mixture of stupidity/ignorance, mixed with a good helping of homophobia. But I think it's particularly ironic, when you consider that Perry has had gay rumors swirling about him for years. So, it makes me wonder. I mean if Perry is on the "down-low," maybe this is how he's compartmentalized it in his mind? Like a drunk who decides not to drink, he just decides not to acknowledge his true feelings?

Image from source, Think Progress

[Excerpt]

Rick Perry Derides Gay ‘Lifestyle’, Compares It To Alcoholism
 
This past weekend, the Texas Republican Party approved a new platform plank that endorsed ex-gay therapy for those “who are seeking escape from the homosexual lifestyle.” Asked about the platform Wednesday night, Gov. Rick Perry (R) seemed to defend it by suggesting that homosexuality is comparable to alcoholism. “Whether or not you feel compelled to follow a particular lifestyle or not, you have the ability to decide not to do that,” Perry suggested. “I may have the genetic coding that I’m inclined to be an alcoholic, but I have the desire not to do that, and I look at the homosexual issue the same way. . .”

Read more at: ThinkProgress

Lindsey Graham: Putin in Ukraine, Because Benghazi!

I'm convinced that Senator Lindsey Graham is being held hostage, maybe by the GOP, maybe by and even more despicable group of people! No, listen, hear my logic. Graham keeps throwing out the word "Benghazi" in increasingly baffling contexts, most recently saying it has something to do with what's happening with Russia and the Ukraine. I think it's code. He's sending us signals, so that the good guys know he needs rescuing! Okay, maybe that's far-fetched. But it makes more sense than what he's telling us.

[Excerpt]

Lindsey Graham Takes This ‘Benghazi’ Thing Just A Bit Too Far For Voice Of Reason Michelle Malkin

Looks like the “Barack Obama’s weakness let Ukraine happen” trope has reached its apotheosis with this tweet from Sen. Lindsey Graham, with its inescapable logic: Barack Obama let Benghazi happen, therefore Ukraine. It’s just like that time when Reagan knew that somebody had to pay for the bombing of the Marine barracks in Beirut, so he invaded Grenada to show Hezbollah who’s boss. If Obama had just kicked somebody’s ass — anybody’s — we would surely not have seen Russia trying to reclaim parts of the old Soviet territories. Remember how George W. Bush’s swift vengeance for 9/11 completely dissuaded Vladimir Putin from invading Georgia in 2008? . . .

Read more at: Wonkette

Right Wing World: Rush Limbaugh vs. Women, Part 1,347, 864

What is it with Right Wing World and rape? You'd think after several public rebukes, they'd knock it off. Then again, this is Rush Limbaugh we're talking about, and he does get to set the rules the conservatives play by. El Rushbo may be el douchebo to the rest of us, but he's the conservative King, and he's allowed to be crass, crude, very (very) often wrong, and he's still as golden as the false idol calf. And as large. Ha!

Anyway, I've just got to wonder where in the hell Rush's rape analogy even comes from. I mean, even if rape weren't such a radioactive topic, the analogy doesn't go anywhere. It's really, really not analogous. So it would fail on its own, but Rush keeps running with it anyway. If he had an ounce of self-awareness (or a care in the world that a misstep even matters at this point), he would have stopped a third or a half of the way in, and shifted gears. He could have even thrown in a "Nope, nope, shouldn't go there, the Feminazis won't like it, how 'bout this, my friends. . .?"

[Excerpt]

Limbaugh Compares Filibuster Reform to Rape




I don't know how or why this troll is still on the air, but apparently someone out there is listening to him. I think he's been popping too many happy pills again: Limbaugh Compares Filibuster Reform To Vote "Allow[ing] Women To Be Raped". . .

Read more at: Crooks & Liars

Right Wing World Tries to Tie Murder of Australian Man to Trayvon Martin Case (?!)

I really shouldn't overthink some of the stranger things to come out of the Right Wing World alternate reality machine. But it can be so strange what gets them cranked up, and how it echoes through the right-wing blogosphere. Drudge or Rush or some lucky also-ran will come up with a eureka idea--nearly always an over-reaction to something, or even a manufactured outrage--and suddenly it's everywhere, even leaking into the so-called liberal media.

Image from source, the great NewsCorpse

This time, I'm really scratching my head. Three boys in Oklahoma were "bored," and decided to kill somebody. They picked an unlucky Australian young man named Chris Lane, a good looking guy out for a jog. For no other reason than something to do, as far as any report I've seen has to say. Most peoples' reactions were astonishment, disgust and horror. "Wow, what's wrong with kids today," was my initial reaction. Later, the boys (aged 15, 16 and 17) were apprehended, put in jail and charged as adults. Their races--something that hadn't even crossed my mind--were black, black and white going by their photos, though as with any person, there could be other nationalities in the mix.

For some reason, the powers-that-be in Right Wing World have decided that this story is somehow analogous to the Trayvon Martin/George Zimmerman case. It's being pushed all over the place, and causing little flame-wars on Facebook and Twitter. But I completely don't get it. I mean, I know that conservatives can be really, really bad at analogies. But where is the comparison here? George Zimmerman killed an unarmed kid, and the cops let him go, using his flimsy story as justification for "stand your ground." Absent a public outcry and media firestorm, we wouldn't even know about the case. The outrage--initially, and throughout the developing story--was the botched investigation, and lack of scrutiny to the death of the kid, and the sketchy character of the killer.

How this compares to three teenagers killing a guy for sport is anyone's guess. As far as we know, there was no racial motivation. The boys were not let go. There's not much ambiguity about exactly what happened (other than sheer disbelief). Nobody is jumping to the defense of the boys, calling into question Chris Lane's character, or calling him a "thug." Nobody is setting up a legal defense fund for them, and donating money (and guns!) to them. Nobody from any side is sticking up for kids who killed a man just to watch him die! There is almost nothing here to analogize to the Trayvon Martin case.

[Excerpt]

Still In The Dark: Fox News Continues To Misunderstand The Tragedy Of Trayvon Martin

When news broke about the brutal and senseless killing of Chris Lane, a young Australian studying in Oklahoma, there was universal disgust and sympathy. It was the sort of random crime that leaves everyone struggling to comprehend how it could occur. Everyone except Fox News, who immediately set out to politicize it to advance their racist agenda. . .

Read more at: NewsCorpse

Rush Limbaugh Minimizes "Caucasian" Responsibility for Slavery

I put "Caucasian" in quotes because what Rush Limbaugh means by the word is white Americans. Because he seemingly doesn't count ancient Romans and other white slaveholders from history in his rationalization for his latest baffling argument. You know how Bobby Jindal said that Republicans have got to stop being the stupid party, after they got bogged down saying dumb things about rape and abortion (and they totally didn't stop)? This is one of those topics Rush. You might energize some racist listeners, but you're just further galvanizing minorities. . .and rational people.

 

Boston Bombing Doesn't Somehow Negate Gun Concerns

Yep. Special kind of moron.

Bad analogies make me crazy. Oh, I know, I'm sure I've made a few, not every attempt at cleverness is a success. And in a world that is now ruled by social media memes, it seems even the most horrific happening is (quickly) turned into them. Some are truly clever, thought provoking and memorable. Others strain so hard to make their point, they hit you over the head like an anvil. And the conservative attempts at "humor?" Well, they're often better left unsaid.

Several days ago when there was a mass stabbing, there were goofy memes playing off of "knife control," entirely missing the point that nobody died in that unfortunate event.  And now, with the Boston Marathon bombing, the pressure cookers used to make the bombs have become the new "isn't this clever" item to mock gun control. First, let me say that conservative attempts at humor are often  groan-worthy. But it is often difficult to articulate what it is that bugs you about it, the weak attempt at humor, the bad analogy, the poor execution. . . Mostly, it's the actual sentiment behind the "joke," the lame argument that is being made, that is actually believed by a whole group of people.

So, it is wonderful when you find the perfect encapsulation of what bugs you about one of these things. And here it is.

[Excerpt]

If you think Boston is a reason to abandon gun safety laws, you're a special kind of moron

. . .Let's imagine a scenario in which roughly 4,000 Americans have been killed by weaponized pressure cookers between last December and now. I'm willing to bet Campfield would be fairly beside himself demanding we stop bad people from getting pressure cookers, and the idea of letting people who have already have a history of assaulting people with pressure cookers buy more pressure cookers, due only to our own unwillingness to check up on those things, would sound so stupid that nobody would even propose such a thing. Let's imagine a world in which, whenever a child finds a pressure cooker under his parents' bed, there's a good chance that child dies. We'd damn well be figuring out what to do about parents who leave goddamn pressure cookers under their beds. Yes, you can kill someone with a pressure cooker, or a spoon, or a piece of stout twine—but there's nothing better for killing people than an actual weapon. . .

Read more at: DailyKos

Meanwhile on Facebook: Guns vs. Knives, A Bad Analogy

You hear it all the time regarding politics and hot button issues: both sides do it. Meaning, both sides are equal in their horribleness in whatever way they're being horrible right now. As a liberal, but also a somewhat dispassionate observer--at least over topics that aren't my hot-button issues--I think on the gun control/gun rights issue, the right is nuttier than the left. There are exceptions, but liberals don't tend to get as instantly frothy over guns.

One area where both sides can get out of hand though, is memes. These images with words are passed around on social media, and sometimes can be very clever. Sometimes they can be informative, and sometimes they can really grab you. Other times, they only think they're clever, and are in reality deeply stupid. Also frequently in bad taste. Throw in abuses in punctuation, spelling and grammar, and they can really be a mess. Take this image, now floating around on Facebook

The target (pardon the pun) is ripe for parody, were the subject matter not in almost-impossible-to-pull-off comedy danger territory. Hint: too soon. And even though the best humor exaggerates the truth, this one misses the mark (pardon) for a very large, glaring reason:

The crazy guy who stabbed all of those people? He didn't manage to kill any of them.

That's a fairly stark difference between a mass stabbing and a mass shooting. Nobody has ever argued that there aren't crazy people. That crazy people aren't dangerous. That other weapons aren't dangerous in the wrong hands. The aim is to try to do something to prevent mass murder. Most weapons outside of guns and bombs are very inefficient for killing lots of people in a short period of time. Bombs and bomb making materials are subject to pretty tight restrictions and laws. Why aren't guns?*

The other day I posted a very bad analogy between guns and cars. Now this one. I'm sure there are many more, and I'll try to explore those as I find them.




*Come to think of it, there are fast ways to kill lots of people, like toxins, poisons, hijackings, and other terrorism. But last I looked we have a war on most of that stuff, and people don't seem to mind (or at least put up with) controls, restrictions and laws around all of that stuff.

Jon Stewart: Why Do Conservatives Always Bring Up Bestiality?

Over the last couple of days a couple of different conservatives have made extremely bad analogies that culminated in "sex with animals," otherwise known as bestiality. On their way there, they also mentioned things like pedophilia, murder and polygamy, you know the usual. And I mean usual too, because if you've been in the trenches on the blogosphere, conservative keyboard commandos often make these strained and inappropriate analogies.

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart isn't the only host to notice that it's conservatives--always conservatives--who always dredge up bestiality. In recent days, I've heard some pretty good comedy on the subject from both The Stephanie Miller Show and The Randi Rhodes Show as well. And it's a damned good question! By the way, please pay attention to the bit where Jon takes apart Louie Gohmert's inane attempt at comparing limiting gun magazines, and allowing same-sex marriage.

[Excerpt]

Stewart Trashes GOP On Gay Marriage-Bestality Link: ‘What Is It With You People And The Animal-F*cking?’



Jon Stewart tonight took on the GOP’s rebranding efforts, especially with minority outreach. Stewart mocked the short amount of time it took for someone in the Republican party to throw a wrench in those efforts, and found it just a little disturbing how popular the slippery-slope “gay marriage will lead to bestiality” line is on the right. Stewart asked, “What is it with you people and the animal-fucking? . . .”

Read more at: Mediaite

Facepalm: Tea Party Says Obama is America's Hitler

I can't even. . .

Found at: Joe.My.God

Stephanie Miller Show Combats Conflation of Homosexuality and Pedophilia

The issue of whether or not gays be allowed in the Boy Scouts of America as volunteers or members, has sparked much conflation by idiots of homosexuality and pedophilia. On some levels, it's understandable that the issue of pedophilia can inspire visceral knee-jerk reactions. But, it is long past time for this debunked conflation to be common knowledge as false.

Obviously, pedophiles would be drawn to occupations or activities where they will have the opportunity to indulge their criminal behaviors. And, also obviously, there are pedophiles who focus on kids of their own gender, opposite gender, or any gender, depending upon the offender. However, the perpetrator's sexual orientation may or may not line up with that. For instance, many, many pedophiles who prey on boys do so because of opportunity, it being much more likely that they can be in a position of power over boys than with girls. Also, many, many of those perpetrators consider themselves to be heterosexual, indeed often having wives and families. Jerry Sandusky--for example--considered himself heterosexual, and would not have been screened out by the "no gays allowed" policy of the BSA. [Story continues below]

Equally obviously, we do not attach a social stigma to heterosexual men, even though there are more heterosexual male offenders in rape and pedophilia cases then any other demographic. The conflation of gay men with pedophilia is only due to the inability of many to see the difference between healthy, consenting adult behavior, over criminal, harmful behaviors against children. It isn't right, it isn't true, and it isn't fair.

On Friday morning, a caller to Talking Liberally: The Stephanie Miller Show (on Current TV and radio), claiming to have "nothing against" gay people, knee-jerked his way through an incredibly misinformed rant. Fortunately, the talented (and quite funny, even with this kind of serious subject) crew of Stephanie Miller--including Steph herself, Chris LaVoie, Jim Ward and John Fugelsang--took the caller's arguments apart, and hopefully educated some people along the way. Thanks, guys.

Drudge Report Compares Obama to Hitler, Stalin

Actual screen capture from January 9, 2013 Drudge Report

Ok, gun enthusiasts: it's time for the sane among you to speak out against the crazies, who are coming out of the woodwork and becoming the mainstream, public face of your movement. You're losing people like me who were formerly Switzerland on the issue, and turning us against you. When you turn freakazoid nutbags like Alex Jones into right-wing, gun rights heroes? When you start making the ridiculous, above (very shaky) comparisons between President Obama and murderous dictators? You start to look absolutely out of your gourds, and impossible to take seriously.

SIDEBAR #1: I can't help but notice when I visit some right-wing sites, how unusually ugly they are. I'm not talking about their subject matter (though it qualifies), I'm talking about the mid-1990s designs of the things. The Drudge Report is one of the least attractive-looking sites on the web, and yet it is still (unbelievably) one of the most popular sites in the world. FreeRepublic.com might be even worse (in every conceivable way). I'll be the first to say that some modern designs, with too much animated, tiled, abbreviated or self-running content can really blow as well, but these sites are just irredeemably ugly.

SIDEBAR #2: How is it that The Drudge Report manages to remain one of the web's most popular sites anyway. I know that Drudge gives his readers a menu that they love to order from. But it's just a menu! Does Drudge actually write anything besides salacious headlines? He's an aggregator who occassionally inflames with his (brief) words, and his choice of images. How does that translate in to web superstardom? I don't get it.

Hal Sparks' Reaction to Justice Scalia Comparing Homosexuality with Murder

Hal Sparks--if you did not know--is a very funny comedian (Charmageddon) and actor (Queer as Folk, Lab Rats). He's also a talented musician, and a progressive radio host. And though he is quite heterosexual, he's a gay rights activist, and a damned good one. Here he is on Talking Liberally: The Stephanie Miller Show, reacting to Justice Antonin Scalia's bizarre comparison of homosexuality to murder.

Obama, the iPhone and False Equivalency

That's not an iPhone anyway.
Image from Washington Times.

We talk a lot about false equivalency, and it's because we have to. Constantly, seemingly every single day, there is some sort of news nugget that screams, "bad analogy." Today's item is that President Obama can't work an iPhone. And so, it's the same as John McCain's cluelessness with technology in 2008 and George H.W. Bush's unfamiliarity with grocery scanners in 1992. And fine, whatever, have your fun, but. . .

The reason that this is a false equivalency is that Obama isn't clueless about technology. He is widely known to have been a Blackberry fiend on the campaign trail in 2007 and 2008, to the point of being restricted by the campaign. The iPhone came out in 2007, and the President had been in office for most of its lifespan. Anybody--tech head like me or not--will not know how to use the phone instantly upon first picking one up. I'm an Android user, and though I'm the only one in my office that can figure out how to load paper in the fax machine, change the ink in the printer, map a drive, and get the router online, I am unfamiliar with iPhones.

Beyond that, the core of Mitt Romney's base is old white people who are very likely, as a group, unfamiliar with how to operate an iPhone. But as I said, go ahead, have your fun. But you're not going to gain any voters with this one. And you know what? I'll bet that Mitt--unless he's being schooled right now--is unfamiliar with iPhones. . .or Androids.

[Excerpt]
 
Tech challenge: Obama has trouble with iPhone
 
On the campaign trail, President Obama is constantly talking about the importance of technology, but he met his match in an iPhone Sunday. . .
Read more: Washington Times

Michele Bachmann: If You Don't Work, You Don't Eat

You ever listen to Ron Paul? Did you notice that sometimes he seems to be making sense, and you go, "Yeah! We should do that!" And then a little later, after you've noodled it around for a while, you start to notice the flaws in his argument?

That's what I liken this Michele Bachmann moment to. I work to maintain my lifestyle, and if you boil it down, that means I earn my keep. I'm not particularly fond of the idea that some people get to skate by without having to work for it. In fact, I'd say there maybe should be a strict set of standards to be able to receive public assistance.   [Article continues below]



But here's the thing. The Number One fear of hard-core Republicans (besides the gay, of course) is that somebody is going to get something they don't deserve. But when they go all nuclear on the freeloaders' assess. . .they're forgetting something. Well lots of things, but we'll focus on this one:

Many poor people are children. For the most part, children have no say in their economic status. Michele Bachman is obviously not capable of being President of the United States (or "Prez of the 'Nited States" as she often says), based on this video alone.

And as a sidenote, this is just further evidence of how many rabidly "pro-life" politicians don't give a rip about a baby after it is born.

All About Rep. Sally Kern (R-Okla.), Anti-Gay Bigot

I'm still not convinced she isn't a clever
Rachel Dratch character. Image from Mediaite.

As he often does, friend and contributor Stupid Monkey Planet sent me a few blogging ideas (I was running short). But a bunch of them are all on one topic, Oklahoma Congresswoman Sally Kern (R-Obviously). So bear with me, I'm going to try to work them all into one post.

For a while now, Sally has been famous for saying incendiary things about gay people. But like a lot of the tea baggin' GOP these days, when she gets called on her outrageous remarks, she doesn't backpedal, she doubles down.  But also like many of her contemporaries (think Rick Perry's "Social Security = Ponzi Scheme"), Sally goes too big. Prime example:


[Excerpt]


GOP state legislator: Homosexuality worse than terrorism 




Oklahoma State Rep. Sally Kern (R-84) recently defended remarks she made in 2008 that homosexuality was a bigger threat than terrorism or Islam…by explaining that homosexuality is more dangerous than terrorist attacks. . .

Read more at: Mediaite


But what exactly makes Sally so anti-gay anyway? There's gotta be something. You know, like Michele Bachmann's anti-gay comments and migraines must come from (Cough! Marcus! Cough!) somewhere. And you might be right. Much like Mr. Bachmann, Mr. Kern seems to specialize in "praying away the gay." You can let history and intuition be your guide on what drives Mr. Kern.

[Excerpt]


The Untold Story About Sally Kern 

. . .Does it make sense to you to label someone who actually helps people who struggle with homosexuality as hateful, bigoted, anti-gay and an evil homophobe? The untold part of this story – which I delight to tell you now – is that behind the scenes, Rep. Sally Kern and her husband, Dr. Stephen Kern have supported First Stone Ministries for many years. Dr. Stephen Kern is the senior pastor at Olivet Baptist Church, which actually hosts some of First Stone Ministries’ support groups. The Kern’s have a special place in their hearts for our ministry to those who struggle with same-sex attractions and homosexuality. For several years before all this controversy erupted, they had put action to their love for those who are struggling and for their families. The next part of this untold story is from a current staff member with First Stone Ministries. . .

Read more at: First Stone Ministries

Sally Kern would clean up at "Really Bad
Analogy" if it were a game show.
Image of Oklahoma City Bombing from Wikipedia.

Anyway, this is only the most recent rehash from Sally about the gay being worse than terrorism. She said something similar as far back as 2008. It didn't sit well with a high school senior there, who--understandably, being that it is Oklahoma--had personal experience with terrorism, and didn't appreciate the comparison:

[Excerpt]

A letter to Sally Kern from a senior in high school in Oklahoma.

. . ."As you were not a resident of Oklahoma on that day, it could be explained why you so carelessly chose words saying that the homosexual agenda is worst than terrorism. I can most certainly tell you through my own experience that is not true. I am sure there are many people in your voting district that laid a loved one to death after the terrorist attack on Oklahoma City. I kind of doubt you'll find one of them that will agree with you. . ."

Read his letter at: Equality Florida 


Obviously, Sally was not swayed by this boy's letter. But that is not surprising. After all, she very well may be in a serious state of denial and/or cognitive dissonance, because. . .

Not--as far as I know--Sally Kern's Son.

[Excerpt]


Sally Kern Scrubs Gay Son?

Uh-oh! Could foul-mouthed Sally Kern’s secret be out of the bag?
The Oklahoma lawmaker’s homophobic remarks have been the talk of the town recently, especially her assertion that gay folk are infiltrating schools to indoctrinate children. And, sensing a critical national spotlight, Kern made a very suspicious change to her official government homepage. . .

Read more at: Qweerty

Ron Reagan Explains Marriage Equality to Rick Santorum

This past week, Ron Reagan subbed for Chris Matthews on Hardball, and while I don't usually watch the program, I did manage to catch the following clip. In the "Let Me Finish. . ." segment, Reagan--whose radio show I miss a great deal--explains why marriage equality won't lead to polygamous, incestuous or bestial  marriages. What, you didn't think it did in the first place? Me either, but Rick Santorum does. Michele Bachmann and Rick Perry probably do. The entirety of FreeRepublic.com definitely does. So thanks to Ron for making the answer so easy. And thanks to him also for causing a few right-wing brain explosions for being a liberal, since his dad remains a Republican saint.

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Rick (Don't Google Me) Santorum: Gay Marriage is NOT a Paper Towel!

Oh, pity poor Rick Santorum. He's polling so badly, there's actually a gay Republican candidate doing better (Fred Karger). That's bad in today's homophobic GOP. But he's not backing off of the gay, no, no.

He's been prone to bad analogies before. It was his "man on dog" comparison that earned him Dan Savage's wrath, and has made "Santorum" more famous as a sex term than as a candidate. So, he's now picking more innocuous examples. But somehow, "a paper towel is not a napkin" is not likely to catch on with anyone except for those who are unaware that all napkins are not made of cloth.

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