Jim Talent, adviser to the Mitt Romney campaign, on Hardball yesterday: "[Romney]’s always had the same position as to regards to the gay agenda. Look, he wants to know people to know he values gay people as people, okay? But he doesn’t want the militant gays to be able to change the cultural institutions of the country." So here’s my … Read More
Cure For Teh Gay Discovered
And it’s always been right in front of our faces. The cure? Interstate 35, which runs from Loredo (Texas) to Duluth (Minnesota). I’ll let Pat Robertson explain, because if I try, I’ll laugh myself silly: Thanks, Pat. Thank you for your continued weirdness. (Ironically, rightwing nutjobs also attribute I-35 as part of the secret government conspiracy to make Mexico, Canada, … Read More
Abstinence-Only Education
Here’s the video: …which serves as the launching point for this great comment by Amanda Marcotte: Watching videos of representatives of organizations like the Abstinence Clearinghouse, the CWA, and the IWF always makes me tense, and I finally realized that it’s the women themselves (and women are the official faces of all these misogynist groups) that make me nervous. The … Read More
Questions For Huckabee
In his GQ interview, Huckabee says: I don’t think the issue’s about being against gay marriage. It’s about being for traditional marriage and articulating the reason that’s important. You have to have a basic family structure. There’s never been a civilization that has rewritten what marriage and family means and survived. So there is a sense in which, you know, … Read More
Women Are Wimps
Although primarily a law blog, there is an interesting post up at The Volokh Conspiracy about the psychological differences between men and women. Well, actually, most of it is unsurprising. First we learn that women are more risk-averse than men (duh!), that men are more aggressive than women (duh!), and that women are more nurturing and empathetic than men (duh!). … Read More
Hmmmmm
Conservapedia, for those who don’t know, was created (by Phyllis Schlafly’s son) as a response to the supposed "liberal bias" of Wikipedia. I’ve written about it before — it’s unintentionally hilarious. Wonkette looks at the most viewed pages on Conservapedia, and concludes that conservatives must "harbor secret gayness". UPDATE: Balloon Juice analyzes this: Let’s unpack this a bit more. If … Read More
Looks Like The Stem Cell Controversy Is Over
Scientist have discovered a way to get stem cells without destroying embryos or cloning: In the quest to treat difficult diseases, researchers have created human embryonic stem cells without destroying embryos or using hard-to-get eggs. The technique may prove to be easier, cheaper, and more ethically appealing than an alternative approach that requires cloning.
And Once Again, The Evangelical Right Is Wrong
Abstinence-only programs fail to curb teen sex: Programs that focus exclusively on abstinence have not been shown to affect teenager sexual behavior, although they are eligible for tens of millions of dollars in federal grants, according to a study released by a nonpartisan group that seeks to reduce teen pregnancies. "At present there does not exist any strong evidence that … Read More
“Think Of The Children!!!”
Carol Platt Liebau is concerned about morals, particularly those of young girls. The sky is falling. Seriously, it is. Before we get to her column, let’s first look at something written a few years ago in the San Fran Chronicle: Teen suicide is more than a personal tragedy; it’s a powerful reminder of adults’ own fear of the future. Ninety … Read More
Porn For Soldiers
I’m with Steve Benen — if you are fighting wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and risk get shot at or blown up at any moment, then by God you really should be entitled to read whatever the hell you want. Yes, including Penthouse. But the American Prude Family Association isn’t all that concerned about the soldier’s dying. Nope, what bothers … Read More
Kentucky To Become As Gay As San Francisco
That’s what Pat Boone is worried about. Seriously. With the Democrat ahead in the governer’s race in that state, and with election day being tomorrow, the GOP is playing the "gay paranoia" card that worked in 2004. Pat Boone has been solicited to make robo-phone calls to Kentucky voters. Full story (and the Pat Boone recording) here.
Jury Verdict Against Phelps’ Church
Finally. This guy is a creep: A jury on Wednesday ordered an anti-gay Kansas church to pay $10.9 million in damages to relatives of a U.S. Marine who died in Iraq after church members cheered his death at his funeral. Church members said Marine Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder’s death was God’s punishment of America for tolerating homosexuality, and they attended … Read More
Yet This Is The Harangue
I’m warming up to the writings of Pastor Swank. First of all, he’s prolific. Second of all, he butchers the English language like no other Renew America columnist (except for, of course, Kaye Grogan). Take, for example, the opening graf in yesterday’s column: It is stupid for supposedly intelligent persons so flippantly to blame parents of children who murder or … Read More
Tort Reform
From Feministing: "German playboy" Rolf Eden is suing a 19-year-old woman for ageism because, after he wined and dined her, she refused to sleep with him. Despite a night on the town with Eden, which ended back at his place, she refused to have sex with him, saying the he was too old for her. "That was shattering. No woman … Read More
New Rules For Relationships
It’s not that I disagree with Cosmo’s seven "new rules for keeping your man" or whatever it’s called. (In fact, most of these relationship tips are quite sound and common-sensical.) It’s just that they’ll be publishing, in six to seven months, another set of rules which totally contradict these ones….