Well it seems that the Wing Nuts were out seemingly in droves this week with absurd pronouncements bursting forth left and right. Let's start with Mission America Wing Nut Linda Harvey, who in a column pushing her new book Maybe He's Not Gay, makes the outlandish claim that all gays are closeted heterosexuals in a new quacky WorldNetDaily column. Where is a straight jacket when you need one? Not to be out done, a Republican congressional candidate in Chicago believes God controls the
weather and that tornadoes, autism and dementia are his punishments for
the gay rights movement and abortions. With two previously failed runs for office, Susanne Atanus jumped way off the deep end in an interview with the Daily Herald proving to one and all that she has a rampant case of diarrhea of the mouth. She was roundly chastised by Republican leaders who called for her to end her candidacy. Illinois Republican Chairman Jack Dorgan said in a separate statement "The offensive statements by Susanne Atanus have no place in the modern
political debate, and she has no place on the ballot as a Republican.
Her candidacy is neither supported nor endorsed by the leaders of our
party, and she should withdraw from the race immediately.” Is common sense breaking out in the Chicago GOP?
Republicans don't hold all the Wing Nut cards however, as Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto ( a Democrat?!) in her brief to the current court case challenging Nevada's ban on Marriage Equality linked Gay Marriage to bigamy and incest. Has she been listening a little too much to Linda Harvey and Susanne Atanus or what? Not all Attorneys General are certifiably insane however, as Virginia's newly elected Democratic Attorney General Mark R. Herring said he would support gay couples who have filed lawsuits challenging the state's ban and will not defend the ban in court. Heretofore a bastion of Republican Conservatism, Virginia has turned the corner and seems ready and willing to progress beyond the rhetoric and anti-Gay animus so prevalent before now.
There was some good news in the Marriage Equality realm as retired Methodist Minister, the Reverend Bill McElvaney, announced Sunday that he will officiate at the weddings of same-sex couples, telling WFAA in Dallas, "I think we need to speak out about this. We are long overdue in the United Methodist Church." Reverend McElvaney was pastor of the Northaven United Methodist Church in Dallas for 40 years, a congregation that includes a sizable LGBT community. The Reverend could lose his credentials and his retirement if the Methodist Church wants to be vindictive in the matter, however he says he is "too old to worry about such things".
Meanwhile, in response to the machination in the Indiana House of Representatives I told you about yesterday, Andy Markle, a gay Republican running for state representative in Indianapolis, announced he is leaving the Republican Party. In a Facebook post Markle wrote "As an openly gay male and a conservative, I find it deplorable that the state would choose to take such extraordinary measures to disenfranchise me and my fellow LGBT brothers and sisters. In an era where my party declared that it was the party of "small government" and "less intrusion", it has been confirmed that it is not the party of small government or less intrusion." Markle joins GOProud founder Jimmy LaSalvia in denouncing Republican extremism causing them to disavow their previous ties to the GOP.
Moving on to more Wing Nuttery, whack jobs Mat Staver and Matt Barber of the Liberty Council praised Russia, Uganda and Nigeria for their anti-LGBT laws, respectively, in a recent "Faith and Freedom" radio broadcast. "[These nations are] rejecting this notion that you can take the institution of marriage and radically redefine it by sanctifying what every major world religion and thousands of years of history and uncompromising human biology have long held: that homosexual behavior and conduct is both immoral, unnatural and self-destructive to the individuals engaged in the behavior," Barber noted in the broadcast. Staver and Barber are in lockstep with the American Family Association's Bryan Fischer who has said the Russian law should not only be supported, but celebrated, too. These fine 'Christian' men have obviously been partaking of the same hallucinogen. Either that or they all hail from the same province on the Planet Hate.
While we are on the subject of the Russian Propaganda Law, there is a hilarious parody that has been posted on You Tube by some of Broadway's best and brightest. The parody, citing the homosexual propaganda law, has the Russian government outlawing theatrical performances which prompts the Russian Broadway community to respond. I have posted the video below for your amusement and entertainment.
Republicans don't hold all the Wing Nut cards however, as Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto ( a Democrat?!) in her brief to the current court case challenging Nevada's ban on Marriage Equality linked Gay Marriage to bigamy and incest. Has she been listening a little too much to Linda Harvey and Susanne Atanus or what? Not all Attorneys General are certifiably insane however, as Virginia's newly elected Democratic Attorney General Mark R. Herring said he would support gay couples who have filed lawsuits challenging the state's ban and will not defend the ban in court. Heretofore a bastion of Republican Conservatism, Virginia has turned the corner and seems ready and willing to progress beyond the rhetoric and anti-Gay animus so prevalent before now.
There was some good news in the Marriage Equality realm as retired Methodist Minister, the Reverend Bill McElvaney, announced Sunday that he will officiate at the weddings of same-sex couples, telling WFAA in Dallas, "I think we need to speak out about this. We are long overdue in the United Methodist Church." Reverend McElvaney was pastor of the Northaven United Methodist Church in Dallas for 40 years, a congregation that includes a sizable LGBT community. The Reverend could lose his credentials and his retirement if the Methodist Church wants to be vindictive in the matter, however he says he is "too old to worry about such things".
Meanwhile, in response to the machination in the Indiana House of Representatives I told you about yesterday, Andy Markle, a gay Republican running for state representative in Indianapolis, announced he is leaving the Republican Party. In a Facebook post Markle wrote "As an openly gay male and a conservative, I find it deplorable that the state would choose to take such extraordinary measures to disenfranchise me and my fellow LGBT brothers and sisters. In an era where my party declared that it was the party of "small government" and "less intrusion", it has been confirmed that it is not the party of small government or less intrusion." Markle joins GOProud founder Jimmy LaSalvia in denouncing Republican extremism causing them to disavow their previous ties to the GOP.
Moving on to more Wing Nuttery, whack jobs Mat Staver and Matt Barber of the Liberty Council praised Russia, Uganda and Nigeria for their anti-LGBT laws, respectively, in a recent "Faith and Freedom" radio broadcast. "[These nations are] rejecting this notion that you can take the institution of marriage and radically redefine it by sanctifying what every major world religion and thousands of years of history and uncompromising human biology have long held: that homosexual behavior and conduct is both immoral, unnatural and self-destructive to the individuals engaged in the behavior," Barber noted in the broadcast. Staver and Barber are in lockstep with the American Family Association's Bryan Fischer who has said the Russian law should not only be supported, but celebrated, too. These fine 'Christian' men have obviously been partaking of the same hallucinogen. Either that or they all hail from the same province on the Planet Hate.
While we are on the subject of the Russian Propaganda Law, there is a hilarious parody that has been posted on You Tube by some of Broadway's best and brightest. The parody, citing the homosexual propaganda law, has the Russian government outlawing theatrical performances which prompts the Russian Broadway community to respond. I have posted the video below for your amusement and entertainment.
Your Musical Moment for this Friday features a piece of Music I heard on the local classical music station while I was making my way home from work last night. Kurt Masur conducts the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra featuring Maxim Vengerov on Solo Violin in their performance of the Violin Concerto in E Minor, Opus 64 by Felix Mendelssohn. You may also want to listen to Mendelssohn's Octet for Strings in E Flat Major over on my tumblr. Hot on the heels of today's Musical Moment is this week's salute to Bears, Cubs and Cougars in this edition of Furry Friday. Be sure to check out the Hottie of the Day! also to be found on my tumblr. Thanks sharing part of your Friday with me, see you again soon. Until next time as always, Enjoy!
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