Max Blumenthal’s visit to the Value Voters Summit has to be seen to be believed: Just when you think that the Rev. Lou Sheldon — “Remember, homosexuality could strike you” — is as whacky as it could get, Max introduces us to Star Parker. After stating that “abortion is the No. 1 killer of black women between 25 and 34” (i.e., the 76th through 103rd trimester), Parker says this: “We want Sodomites quarantined.” Besides demonstrating that she doesn’t know what... Read more
I’ve been asked to revisit the backlash theory, giving more weight to the perceived seriousness of the threat. In doing so, it has been suggested, I should also revisit the demagogue theory, giving more consideration to the possibility that there really are barbarians at the gate — big, gay, fabulous barbarians, apparently. Those who have asked me to reconsider this — in a series of e-mails that included some which were quite civil — seem to think I’ve been going... Read more
I thought I was done with the “Gay-Hatin’ Gospel” series, but it seems not quite. First there are some questions and criticisms I’ll need to address, and then there are a host of other factors and considerations that I hadn’t thought of which arose in the comment threads. In particular, Brel raised an excellent point about the way the obsession with homosexuality in evangelical churches is another manifestation (or, they would say, another “battlefront”) in those churches’ agenda of “supporting... Read more
Please go read hilzoy on waterboarding: That we are even having a debate about this question, and that it is not a foregone conclusion that someone who claims not to know whether waterboarding is torture cannot possibly be confirmed as Attorney General, is a testament to the moral degradation of our country, and of our political discourse. … Imagine what we would think of a country where candidates for high office and nominees for the highest law enforcement position in... Read more
In just a few short hours Daylight Savings Time will end for real. Half the clocks in my apartment automatically “fell back” last weekend, which was annoying, but a useful excuse all week for showing up late. – – – – – – – – – A bit of perspective: Thousands of people, including 170 official delegates from 44 countries, are gathered in Delhi, India, for the World Toilet Summit: Worldwide, an estimated 2.6 billion people have no access to... Read more
Left Behind, pp. 355-359 Buck and his boss are trading theories about the disappearances. “I’ve got an uncle who thinks it was Jesus,” Stanton Bailey says, “but he also thinks Jesus forgot him. Ha!” That “Ha!” — a reflexive bark of derisive, mocking laughter — is a fine bit of projection here. For all of his talking like a gangster, Bailey is the authors’ stand-in for East Coast, media-elite intellectuals. Such people, they imagine, sit around sneering at Jesus and... Read more
I never was a cautious man … “Kiss,” Prince “Kiss Me,” Sixpence None the Richer “Kiss That Frog,” Peter Gabriel “Kissers and Killers,” The Choir “Kisses for the Misses,” Richard Swift “Kitchen,” The Lemonheads “Kite,” Patty Griffin “Kite,” U2 “Kites Without Strings,” The 77s “Knife,” Aztec Camera “Knife,” Grizzly Bear I appreciate that the Sixpence song above isn’t the cutting-edge of hipitude, but it is as well-crafted a pop song as the Prince tune just before it. Its selection by... Read more
According to research by the Barna Group: The most common perception is that present-day Christianity is “anti-homosexual.” Overall, 91 percent of young non-Christians and 80 percent of young churchgoers say this phrase describes Christianity. As the research probed this perception, non-Christians and Christians explained that beyond their recognition that Christians oppose homosexuality, they believe that Christians show excessive contempt and unloving attitudes towards gays and lesbians. One of the most frequent criticisms of young Christians was that they believe the... Read more
All heresy is innovation, but not all innovation is heresy. Read more
Turning clay into gold can sometimes get you down “Just,” Radiohead “Just About Glad,” Elvis Costello “Just Another,” Pete Yorn “Just Friends,” Chet Baker “Just Going Blind,” Vigilantes of Love “Just Like Heaven,” The Cure “Just Like Heaven,” Katie Melua “Just Like the USA,” Aztec Camera “Just One of Those Things,” Ella Fitzgerald “Just One Thing,” Jeffrey Gaines “Just Remember,” Mightyhead “Just Someone I Had in Mind,” Amy Rigby Read more
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