I don’t think you can watch this movement without just having such pity on these poor men and women who are so gender-confused. It just makes my heart grieve. I think Christians everywhere need to reach out to these people and tell them that the body that God gave them is what God intended to give them.
–Americans for Truth About Homosexuality Executive Director Peter “The Peter” LaBarbera, in OneNewsNow

I remember reciting the pledge of allegiance as an elementary school student, and especially remember the ending phrase:

…And liberty and justice for all.

I also remember what Christ was reported to say about genitalia in Matthew 19:12:

For there are eunuchs who were born that way from their mother’s womb; and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men; and there are also eunuchs who made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. He who is able to accept this, let him accept it.

Yet, The Peter doesn’t see transsexuals getting bottom surgery as possibly doing it possibly “for the sake of the kingdom of heaven,” but instead appears to see transgender people like me as being super-homosexuals, and as such fall within The Peter’s hate of the “homosexual agenda.” Not exactly a Galatians 3:28-ish way of looking at sex and gender, but hey — it’s The Peter’s way of blessing God and cursing his fellow humans, and for not supporting liberty and justice for his neighbors.

He pities us “poor men and women who are so gender-confused,” and then argues against the National Center For Transgender Equality’s Congressal Lobby Day 2008 to provide laws that would protect transgender men and women’s ability to earn a legitimate, legal wage.

[Peter LaBarbera quote deriding NCTE's Lobby Day 2008, and his past use of the pejorative "she-male," after the fold]

Read the rest of this entry »

And not from what Olivia St. John is concerned about, as I see it. A resident WorldNetDaily gadfly (to use a relatively polite term), St. John is at it once again this morning (”Homosex in a public park near you“) over “the homosexual agenda,” longtime staple fare at WND …

But in the midst of all this, the reality is that children are at serious risk as the homosexual agenda proliferates in our nation’s public schools and continues invading our public space. The homosexual movement does not view moral people as friends, but our children are strongly desired, and they represent a hub around which the homosexual movement spins.

…

Those influenced by the “rulers of the darkness of this world” are doing their best to “call evil good and good evil” by using the public airwaves, public parks and public schools to push deviant sexual practices into the faces of our innocent children.

An entire generation is at risk.

Talk about fiddlin’ while Rome burns, I wish the Ms. St. Johns out there paid more attention to what the “rulers of the darkness” are leaving for future generations — 4,000 down and a helluva payback. Yup, nevermind death and taxes, let’s worry about “transsexual sex in public parks.” Sheesh …

Perhaps, but, as Bil Browning at Bilerico points out, loss of LGBT support has Barney Frank looking for love in new places …

Now that Congressman Barney Frank has lost a sizable portion of his LGBT support, he’s apparently turning to pot smokers to shore up his base. The openly gay Congressman came under fire for abandoning transgender folks in an attempt to get some form of “gay rights” passed in this session of Congress. While protecting trans rights doesn’t make the cut, he is willing to sponsor legislation making small amounts of marijuana legal.

Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against pot or dope smokers. I think weed should be legal. I just think Barney Frank has his priorities a little “altered.”

Asked by [Bill] Maher as to why he would push a pot decriminalization bill now, Frank said the American public has already decided that personal use of marijuana is not a problem.

“I now think it’s time for the politicians to catch up to the public,” Frank said. “The notion that you lock people up for smoking marijuana is pretty silly. I’m going to call it the ‘Make Room for Serious Criminals’ bill.”

Anyway, apropos “bad trips” (i.e., what happened with a trans-inclusive ENDA), a bit of comedy from Cheech & Chong …

From the New York Times: The U.S. military said four American soldiers were killed by a bomb in Baghdad, raising The Associated Press’s count of the U.S. death toll in the war to at least 4,000.

How many more for this war? What a waste.

Why would you want to date someone who may care more about your chest than about what’s inside it? Good question …

A Chinese woman forced her boyfriend to have breast-reduction surgery because his man boobs made her look flat.

Xiao Feng, of Chongqing, threatened to break up with Zhang Jianguo unless he underwent surgery.

Zhang, who is 5ft 7ins tall and weighs 15 stone, explained: “She said that whenever we went out, she felt embarrassed because my breasts were eye-catching compared to hers.”

Doctors at the First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University sucked out more than 200ml of fat and tissue from his breasts, reports Chongqing Business News.

Man forced to have breast reduction

I’m looking for intelligence and decisiveness where it really matters …

Barack Obama and John McCain are picking the University of North Carolina to win the national college basketball championship, while Hillary Clinton told reporters she needs to check with her sage, Bill Clinton.

Where have you gone John Edwards?

Good luck to the men’s and the women’s basketball teams. Go Tar Heels!

~~~

I wonder if the CRG (Citizens for a Responsible Government) will be taking on another “shower issue” …

As Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett works to raise taxes and eliminate 225 jobs, a construction crew is installing a bathroom in his locked suite of offices, complete with a small sitting room and shower. The cost to taxpayers: $65,225.

Leggett’s aides said yesterday that his security detail did not want him using the public restroom because walking to and from the facility could expose him to harm. The shower was included, an aide said, because Leggett lives about 40 minutes away from the Rockville office and regularly attends evening events without having time to freshen up at home. “I don’t see this as a big expenditure,” Leggett (D) said. Describing himself as “the guy who flies coach and spends sparingly,” he said, “It’s not something I asked for.”

The timing of the project could be politically problematic. The bathroom budget was approved in June, but the construction coincides with his proposal to raise property taxes, offer employee buyouts and trim spending to close a $297 million budget shortfall.

“I can’t believe they would do that now. We’re taking it on the chin, and we’re looking for every dime we can find,” said County Council member Valerie Ervin (D-Silver Spring). “I think this is an extravagance, not something that has to be done.”

Ervin said she uses the public restroom on the sixth floor of the council building, although there is a bathroom with a shower available to council members and their aides in their secure suite of offices.

For almost all of his 12-year tenure, Leggett’s immediate predecessor, Douglas M. Duncan (D), used a public restroom. He had a private bathroom when he was first elected but scrapped it to create a kitchenette for employees. A major renovation of the executive’s floor in Duncan’s first year cost more than $1 million.

“We had perfectly good bathrooms right at the elevators,” he said yesterday. When asked whether he ever felt unsafe using the public restroom, Duncan chuckled, “Heck no.”

The rest of “County Executive to Get $65,000 Bathroom” can be read here.

British actor Paul Scofield, renowned for his stage and screen portrayal of Sir Thomas More in “A Man for All Seasons,” died yesterday. Mr. Scofield, the New York Times noted …

… made his debut as Juliet in “Romeo and Juliet” on the school stage. “I had to wear an embarrassing blond wig,” he said. “But it was a turning point, because thenceforward there was nothing else I wanted to do.”

The Thomas More Law Center was also in the news yesterday. The TMLC has frequently been at odds with trans people, including …

• Opposing transsexual marriage in Kansas
• Opposing legislation against discrimination based on gender identity in Michigan
• Opposing trans-inclusive sex education in Maryland

I haven’t kept up with figure skating (since wanting to be just like Peggy Fleming … a long, long ways back), so until yesterday I had never heard of Mark Lund. Well, now I know that Lund evidently is not a fashion maven like Dick Button …

Weir’s outfits often sparkle like disco balls; in his short program he pretends to be a seagull. His total package has not only led to assumptions that he is gay — something not as taboo in figure skating as in other sports — but a controversy over his not being the right type of gay. During a figure skating broadcast last year, the announcer Mark Lund, who is openly gay, said, “I don’t think he’s representative of the community I want to be a part of,” and, “I don’t need to see a prima ballerina on the ice,” before praising Lysacek’s masculinity.

Figure Skating Rivalry Pits Athleticism Against Artistry

There must be some of the same something in the water in Ottumwa, Iowa as in Montgomery County, Maryland (JimK at the Vigilance blog today describes the most recent doings there)…

Listen, reconsider and amend. That’s what the City Council did Tuesday concerning the sexual orientation ordinance.

The ordinance was on Tuesday’s agenda for its second reading. At least 50 people packed council chambers and several spoke, for or against, the proposed city law, which was the last item on the agenda.

Those who favored the ordinance said it’s needed to prevent discrimination in housing and employment.

Citizens who spoke against it said the ordinance would enable a man to put on a dress, enter a women’s restroom and molest or kidnap a female youngster.

Ed Ball of the Ottumwa Human Rights Commission said the people doing that are pedophiles, not gays.

“These crimes are done by ‘normal’ people,” Ball said.

After public comment, Councilman Gordon Aistrope said he was also concerned about who would enter the restroom because the proposed ordinance includes “gender identity” as part of the protected classification.

“This does bother me. Sexual orientation, OK. Gender identity, no,” Aistrope said.

He moved to delete “gender identity” and Councilman Mitch Niner seconded the motion.

Councilwoman Shannon Addison said current medical journals and psychology publications have “clearly stated” it’s “not transgenders, not cross-dressers” who would molest youngsters in restrooms.

“A pedophile is a pedophile,” she said.

Police Chief Jim Clark also told the council that pedophiles and sexual predators are a “kind of their own.”

Clark said he hoped the council would delete either “gender identity” or “public accommodations” from the proposed city law.

Then the question was what happens next to a proposed ordinance that was just amended.

City Attorney Tom Kintigh said if the amendment passes, then the ordinance would move back to the first reading.

Addison said pulling “gender identity” out of the ordinance “won’t hurt.”

“If we do have an issue with gender identity, they can handle it at the state level,” she added.

The council voted unanimously to remove “gender identity” from the proposed ordinance.

On the first reading of the amended ordinance, Aistrope, Addison and Niner voted for it and Meyers and Councilman Keith Caviness voted against it.

Ottumwa City Council amends proposed ordinance — ‘gender identity’ deleted; law moves back to first reading

Speaking of water …

It’s in the Water: We’re All Transsexuals Now

Some of the trans people and happenings in the news the past week or so …

People …

• Former British paratrooper Jan Hamilton
• Transgender teen Rika Navarro
• Trans activist Jenn Burleton
• California administrative law judge Victoria Kolakowski
• Race-car driver Terri O’Connell
• British surgeon James Barry

Law, legislation …

• Philippine woman will have to remain a ‘he’ in birth certificate
• Legislation to bar discrimination in employment, housing or public accommodation on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity was introduced in the Ohio legislature.
• Legislation to add sexual orientation to the state’s Human Rights and Fair Housing acts advanced in West Virginia.
• In Georgia, an anti-bullying bill, one which does not specifically address bullying based on sexual orientation or gender identity, advanced, while a hate crimes bill (which includes gender identity and sexual orientation) remains stalled.
• Council Bluffs, Iowa is considering adding the protection of sexual orientation and sexual identity to the city’s civil rights code.
• In Massachusetts, advocates turned out for a hearing on a transgender civil rights bill.
• In Montgomery County, Maryland, election officials have cleared the way for voters to decide whether to uphold broad protections for transgender individuals passed by the County Council in the fall. Proponents of the trans rights legislation said they expected to file a lawsuit to overturn the petition and stop the referendum.
• New York has a new governor, a man who has been supportive of trans rights.

Arts & media …

• The Lambda Literary Foundation announced its nominees for the 20th annual Lambda Literary Awards.
• “She’s a Boy I Knew” documents the transformation of Steven Haworth into Gwen Haworth.
• Out magazine focuses on trans lives and culture in the April issue.
• Mercedes Allen continues her series on trans history at the Bilerico Project.

Features …

• “Is society ready for this pregnant husband?” in The Advocate.
• “Transgender people step out” in the Dayton Daily News.
• “When Girls Will Be Boys” in the New York Times.

Remembering our dead …

• Luna

The Los Angeles Times has two articles up of note on bullying this past week. The first is entitled Meaner bullying is leading schools to find new tactics. I’m not going to quote from it, but it’s well worth the read.

The second is entitled A deadly clash of emotions before Oxnard shooting. That article is a particularly hard read — it turned my stomach. So if get-wrenching stories upset you, this is your warning to stop reading here. From the article:

For teens living in a shelter for abused and neglected children, school can provide a daily dose of normalcy, a place to fit in, a chance to be just another kid.

It didn’t turn out that way for Lawrence King.

According to the few students who befriended him, Larry, 15 years old and openly gay, found no refuge from his tormentors at E.O. Green Junior High School.

Not in the classroom, the quad, the cafeteria. Not from the day he enrolled at the Oxnard school until the moment he was shot to death in a computer lab, just after Larry’s usual morning van ride from the shelter a town away.

…The anti-gay taunts and slurs that Larry endured from his male peers apparently had been constant, as routine for him as math lessons and recess bells. The stinging words were isolating. As grieving friend Melissa Reza, 15, put it, Larry lived much of his life “toward the side. . . . He was always toward the side.”

She and others recall that the name-calling began long before he told his small circle of confidants that he was gay, before problems at home made him a ward of the court, and before he summoned the courage to further assert his sexual orientation by wearing makeup and girl’s boots with his school uniform.

His friends say the verbal cruelty persisted for months, and grew worse after the slightly built Larry pushed back by “flirting” with some of his mockers. One of them was Brandon, who seethed over it, the friends say.

Brandon has been charged as an adult with premeditated murder and a hate crime, and he is being held in juvenile hall.

[More on Lawrence's life after the fold]

Read the rest of this entry »

Would Jesus approve of baring false witness against transgender people? Is that what conservative Christians now support — baring false witness to make “Christian” points?

Well, if you’re Theresa Rickman of the Citizens For A Responsible Government, it’s apparently okay to bare false witness against transgender people. If you’re a professional Christian like Matt Barber or Martha Kleder — both with the Concerned Women For America (CWA) — it’s apparently okay to use pejoratives like “she-male” (Matt: here; Martha: below) — and suborn baring false witness by not pointing out that your podcast guest created a media stunt, specifically to slander transgender people with false allegations of bad behavior in bathrooms and locker rooms.

In the breathless words of Martha Kleder: “Oh my goodness!”

Here’s a partial transcript of the recent CWA Podcast, surrounded by some commentary by JimK of TeachTheFacts.org’s Vigilance Blog:

But here’s the interesting part. A while back, a man in a dress went into a gym at Rio. He signed in, went to the ladies locker-room, and came out again. Channel Seven responded immediately with a breathless account. We found out later that Theresa Rickman was actually in the lobby of the gym when this happened, but the Citizens for Whatever have consistently denied that the event was staged.

Until now.

MARTHA KLEDER: Well Theresa, I also heard that someone tried to test this. Was there some event where a transgender or a shemale or someone tried to use the opposite sex bathroom?

THERESA RICKMAN: Yes, at Rio Sport and Health up in Germantown. A guy dressed as a girl went into the ladies bathroom. And, ah you know, essentially what uh, that was meant to get some media attention, you know, and the guy left immediately apparently, I mean but there was, this is the Rio Sport and Health Club, you know and Sport and Health has steam rooms, and there are ladies changing in those locker rooms, people in various stages of undress [laughing] all the time, so there’s lots a guy can see.

Yes, that is just what we were saying: this was meant to get some media attention. Greta Kreuz from Channel Seven sent an email saying she was “offended by suggestions that this incident was fabricated by this group and that Channel 7 got sucked into reporting it as part of an ‘agenda.’” We don’t know if she was fooled by it, or if she was part of the plan in the first place, but Channel Seven was the only outlet to tell their public about this “test of the new law.”

Well well well. Wasn’t that some seriously Christian behavior on Theresa’s, Martha’s, and Matt’s part now, eh?

I would call again for organizations like the American Family Association, Americans For Truth About Homosexuality, or Focus On The Family/CitizenLink to renounce the CWA for their use of the “she-male” pejorative, as well as now for the CWA suborning the false witness baring of Theresa Rickman, but I won’t bother. Frankly, I doubt any religious right organization will look past their hate of LGBT people to condemn the bad public behavior by one of their peer “Christian” organizations.

~~~~~
Further Reading:
* Good As You: Audio: But what about your bath? Is that off-limits also?

~~~~~
Related:
* When It Comes To Transgender People & Civil Rights, It Really Is Always About The Bathroom
* The TVC & CWA Dump On Dana Beyer; Amy Contrada Warns Of The Transgender Apocalypse
* Apparently, Transgender People Are Many Bad Things
* Tired
* It Looked Like Sh*t, It Smelled Like Sh*t, And By Golly It Apparently Was Sh*t
* This Story Smells A Little Foul
* Group seeks to repeal Maryland county gender identity and expression protections