September 10, 2009

Brian Brown’s Very Bad Week

By Fred Karger, Californians Against Hate

Poor Brian Brown. It has not been a good week for him and his Mormon front group, the National Organization for Marriage (NOM).

With two more states (Maine and Iowa) considering investigations of his organization for improper reporting of campaign contributions and money laundering, plus the on-going ten month investigation by the California Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC Case #08-735), Brian went on the offensive on Friday and sent out the email below to all his supporters and the media.

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September 1, 2009

Maine Ethics Commission Hits Hard on Opponents of Same-Sex Marriage

AUGUSTA, ME — September 1, 2009 — Jonathan Wayne, Executive Director of State of Maine Commission of Governmental Ethics and Elections Practices, sent a strongly worded four page letter to Stand for Marriage Maine PAC (SFMMP) and the National Organization for Marriage (NOM), seeking more information on the charges of “money laundering” against them in their campaign to repeal Maine’s same-sex marriage law.

The letter sent to Joseph Keaney, Stand for Marriage Maine PAC’s Treasurer and Brian Brown, NOM’s Executive Director, called upon both organizations to respond in writing by September 17, 2009 “…concerning whether the Commission should conduct an investigation.”

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August 26, 2009

Formal Request for Investigation of Money Laundering Filed in Maine Gay Marriage Election

AUGUSTA, Maine — August 26, 2009 — Fred Karger, founder of Californians Against Hate, an LGBT watchdog group, sent a letter detailing alleged election law violations by Stand for Marriage Maine to the Maine Commission on Governmental Ethics and Election Practices. The request for an immediate investigation was sent yesterday to the Jonathan Wayne, the Commission’s Executive Director and a copy to attorney General Janet Mills.

The nine page complaint (below) and fourteen attachments spell out how the National Organization for Marriage (NOM), the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland, Knights of Columbus of Washington, DC and James Dobson’s Focus on the Family had contributors give the money to their organizations, and then they in turn gave the money to the Stand for Marriage Maine in order to hide the identity of the donors.

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August 13, 2009

Speaking of Doug Manchester’s Money Troubles…

…and we were, the boycott of Manchester properties only continues to gain momentum.

Karma’s a bitch, ain’t it, Doug?

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Karger Warns Maine of Money Laundering by NOM, Mormons, Dobson, & Others

LOS ANGELES, CA / AUGUSTA, ME — August 13, 2009 — Californians Against Hate founder Fred Karger sent a letter today warning top Maine election officials of possible money laundering by opponents of same-sex marriage.

The organization trying to overturn Maine’s same-sex marriage law, Stand for Marriage PAC recently turned in 100,000 signatures to place the question on the November ballot. These gay marriage foes hope to repeal LD 1020 — the law passed by the Legislature and signed by the Governor allowing same-sex marriage in Maine.

Of the $343,689.50 raised to pay the Brighton, Michigan-based National Petition Management, Inc. to collect the signatures, only $400, or a mere .001 of that total came from individuals. The remaining $343,289.50 was given by various religious organizations and James Dobson’s Focus on the Family. The National Organization for Marriage (NOM) gave nearly half of that total, $160,000. The remainder came from Catholic organizations ($150,000) and James Dobson’s Focus on the Family ($31,000).

“It sure looks like they are trying to hide the donors in their latest effort to strip away marriage equality,” said Fred Karger. “There is no way these organizations like NOM and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland had all this money sitting in their treasuries (except for possibly Focus on the Family). They went out and raised it expressly for this campaign. It’s very expensive to hire these signature gathering firms to collect 100,000 signatures in a short period of time.”

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Karma Strikes: Marriage “Defender” Doug Manchester in Midst of Ugly Divorce

We’ve been hearing the rumors (and so have many of you, judging by the number of Google queries for “Doug Manchester” and “divorce” we’ve been getting for months), and now we have the facts: Doug Manchester — the hotelier who donated a whopping $125,000 to Proposition 8, who has been suffering the backlash via a boycott of his properties (by gay folks and union workers and lawyers and other groups who don’t cotton to propping up the bigot brigades with their hard-earned money) for more than a year (and he is suffering), and who tried to buy off the LGBT community with a token donation to HRC (which was rejected; well done, HRC) and hotel credits for queers — is getting a D-I-V-O-R-C-E from his wife (and $1,000 Prop H8 donor), Elizabeth:

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August 5, 2009

Overheard

“We aren’t supposed to talk about religion, but it was a Mormon that tied Matthew Shepard to a fence, a Baptist who beat him to death, and a Catholic (Rep. Foxx) who called it a hoax.”

— “Chance,” responding to
Jay’s claim of culpability
in the Tel Aviv murders

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August 1, 2009

Italy OKs RU-486, Pope’s Head Explodes

MoJo:

The Catholic Church lost another round today when Italy approved the use of RU-486, the abortion drug. The Vatican warned of immediate excommunication for doctors prescribing the pill and for women taking it.

Yeah, like, women are going to tell the Vatican they used it? So what happens if a Catholic woman confesses her “sin”to her priest? Does he keep his mouth shut, or is she bounced out of the confessional with a scarlet “R” on her cheek before she can finish the Act of Contrition?

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July 24, 2009

Rhode Island: You Can’t Get Married, But You Can Send Your 16-Year-Old Out to Work as a Stripper (As Long as She’s Home by 11:30)

And what’s most often blamed for Rhode Island’s reluctance to legalize same-sex marriage? Why, the state’s heavily-Catholic population, of course. But apparently those same Catholics take no issue with whoring out girl-children to clubs full of drunken slobs cracking a fat.

We couldn’t make this up:

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July 14, 2009

When They Tell You Marriage Has Been Ordained by God Since the Beginning of Time…

There was no Christian marriage sacrament until the sixteenth century. A Catholic scholar writes that “nothing is more remarkable than the tardiness with which liturgical forms for the marriage ceremony were evolved.” In fact they were not so much evolved as copied from the common law long established under paganism, and had more to do with the sharing of property than the sharing of love. One authority says that in the modern Greek Orthodox Church, the religious wedding service is “intrusive, no real part of the ceremony of marriage, but an elaborate way of calling down a blessing on the ceremonial, or what is left of it, which constitutes the real wedding.”

— Barbara G. Walker
“Heresy”

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July 3, 2009

Pappa Ratso Wants American Nuns Back in Burkhas

I was seven at the time of Vatican II, and, like all my classmates, was stunned and amazed the day the nuns came to class with modified habits that 1) didn’t drag on the floor, and 2) actually showed a tuft of their (head) hair.

“What d’ya think thiss mee-yans?” roared the Irish brogue from the depths of Sister Francis, the hundreds-year-old seventh-grade teacher (who for some reason that first morning was babysitting the second-grade class), as she pointed to the shock of salt-and-pepper peeking out of her headdress that no longer wrapped her head almost entirely in a black-and-white cocoon.

“That… you’re old?” we babies offered hesitantly, expecting admonishment — either for our brass, or in fear of failing to be truthful (we didn’t know which).

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June 21, 2009

Dear Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz: Your Top Priority Should Be Reining in Child-Molesting Priests

Of course, it isn’t:

Kurtz: Marriage laws top priority

Fighting same-sex marriage is a top priority of Roman Catholic Bishops, according to a report by Louisville Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz.

Kurtz, who leads the bishops’ Ad Hoc Committee on Defense of Marriage, made the statements at the meeting this week in San Antonio of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. He noted the spread of gay marriage in the past year, in which Iowa, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine joined Massachusetts in legalizing the institution. Other states and jurisdictions are considering more limited legal status to same-sex couples. At the same time, dozens of states such as Kentucky have laws or constitutional amendments defining marriage as between a man and a woman.

In his role, Kurtz has encouraged efforts such as California’s Proposition 8, which repealed a court ruling legalizing same-sex marriage. He made a YouTube video to that effect before that vote in November, and he said the bishops are planning another such video. …

With each new day, another reason to be overjoyed I escaped the life-sapping clutches of the Catholic Church.

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June 20, 2009

Pius XII Sainthood: Pappa Ratzi Versus the Jews

What, is Benedict Arnoldine going to start denying the Holocaust ever happened?

(Btw, if our headline isn’t clear, make no mistake: We’re on the side of the Jews. Always. You want to f*k with Jews, you’ll have to go through us first, especially in a war waged by the Catholic Church. So sayeth this ex-wafer chewer.)

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June 18, 2009

Nebraska Catholic Conference Wants Shrinks to Be Able to Deny All Help to Gays, Including Referrals

What scumbaggery. What’s next, excusing racist emergency room doctors not only from treating black people, but from sending them to non-racist hospitals?

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June 6, 2009

Archdiocese of San Francisco Hiding Behind Front Organization to Shield Assets from Seizure in Sex-Abuse Suits?

Mark the date: Appeals hearing slated for June 16, 2009:

S.F. accuses church of dodging taxes

San Francisco’s tax assessor believes the Archdiocese of San Francisco has moved the ownership of various assets to a new nonprofit organization in order to shield the properties from being seized or sold for potential lawsuit payouts.

Yet the church has refused to pay the taxes for transferring the 232 properties, Assessor-Recorder Phil Ting said. The tax bill, which the church has appealed, could reach $15 million - one of the largest in city history. …

Nonprofits are exempt from property and federal income taxes but subject to property transfer taxes, which are collected if they sell or transfer properties.

At issue is whether the church, in moving those San Francisco properties from one Catholic nonprofit organization to another, was transferring the assets to a separate entity, as the city argues, or simply undergoing internal reorganization, as the church contends.

The properties in question include some of the diocese’s most famous, such as Mission Dolores, Old St. Mary’s Cathedral and St. Francis of Assisi, as well empty lots and commercial land throughout the city. …

More at the link.

All we have to say is: Tsk, tsk, TSK!

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June 5, 2009

Obama Appoints Radical-Right, Anti-Abortionist Catholic to Faith-Based Council

“While the administration favors reducing the need for abortion by reducing unintended pregnancies, Kelley has made clear that she seeks instead to reduce access to abortion. That is an extremely disturbing development, especially coming this week in the wake of George Tiller’s assassination.”

— Sarah Posner

Much more after the press release:

WASHINGTON, D.C. — June 4, 2009 — Jon O’Brien, president of Catholics for Choice, issued the following statement today about the announcement that Alexia Kelley had been appointed to be Director of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships at the Department of Health and Human Services:

The antichoice organization Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good (CACG) has announced that Alexia Kelley, its co-founder and former executive director, has been appointed to be Director of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships at the Department of Health and Human Services. Ms. Kelley’s appointment would be a defeat for reason and logic and calls into question whether President Obama’s administration is serious about reducing the need for abortion. And, while it may not gain many headlines, the impact and significance of this appointment should not go unnoticed.

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June 4, 2009

Hey, Oregonians! Is Your New Sex Ed Law A Good Thing Or A Not-So-Good Thing?

Among the 24 bills Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski signed into law a couple of days ago:

HB 2509: Directs school districts to provide age-appropriate sex education courses in all public elementary and secondary schools as part of health education curriculum. Requires that sex education instruction be medically accurate. Mandates that schools promote abstinence, for school-age youth, and mutually monogamous relationships with an uninfected partner, for adults, as the most effective way to prevent pregnancy and the transmission of STDs. Requires that the course include a discussion of the characteristics of the emotional, physical and psychological aspects of a healthy relationship and the benefits of delaying pregnancy beyond the adolescent years. Requires that students be provided statistics-based and up-to-date medical information regarding the efficacy of all methods of sexual protection in preventing HIV and other STDs. Directs schools to provide students with information about Oregon laws that address young people’s rights and responsibilities related to childbearing and parenting. Establishes applicability to the 2009-2010 school year. Declares an emergency, effective July 1, 2009.

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May 30, 2009

If You Think the Wasilla Pastor is Nuts, Wait “til You Read the “Catholic Priestess’s” Letter to Obama (Plus: A Serious Caveat Re Mental Illness)

Backstory:

Hysterical Homophobe Tries to Crash Air Force One, Secret Service Carries Her Away, May 28, 2009

More on “Catholic Priestess” Brenda Lee: “Gay” Secret Service Agent, Not Mental Illness, to Blame, May 29, 2009

As “Grateful Atheist” wrote in response to Wasilla preacher Ron Hamman’s whackjob-o-nutter-rama-lama-ding-dong op/ed in the Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman, “Will the Antichrist be a homosexual?“:

As an atheist, Ron, I really have to thank you for your honest opinion.

By making Christianity look stupid, hateful, and dishonest (yeah, I saw what you did with that elided quote from the book of Daniel), you do all the heavy lifting for us.

Again, thanks.

Ready? Read on…

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May 29, 2009

More on “Catholic Priestess” Brenda Lee: “Gay” Secret Service Agent, Not Mental Illness, to Blame

Backstory:
Hysterical Homophobe Tries to Crash Air Force One, Secret Service Carries Her Away, May 28, 2009

The OC Register caught up with her after she went batpoo on the tarmack, and learned it was all A Ghey’z Fault!:

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May 28, 2009

Hysterical Homophobe Tries to Crash Air Force One, Secret Service Carries Her Away

“Crash” as in “crash a party,” not crash the plane. Not that that diminishes the threat to Obama; seriously, how did this Looney Toon get so close to AF1?

“On what grounds does Rev. Lee speak for GOD? Her credentials out weigh that of Benedict XVI and every other Christian, or religious leader in the world. They have not heard the VOICE of GOD and they do not have the gift of prophecy or healing. None are willing to meet her face to face and call upon the name of GOD, as of the days of old because they know that she ranks with John the Baptist and Saint Peter.
By the GRACE OF GOD elderly people with a Black Catholic priestess have united GOD’S CHURCH and there is nothing anyone can do about it.”

— Self-described “Black Catholic Priestess” Brenda Lee

Video of this whackdoodle going batpoo crazy, and details of who she is and why she has a beef with Obama, after the jump.

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May 16, 2009

Remember Father Farrow?

Backstory: Fresno Priest Comes Out Against Prop 8 During Sermon — And Comes Out, October 6, 2008

Q&A with Father Geoffrey Farrow

Fr. Geoffrey Farrow, who was fired from his Fresno, CA parish after preaching against California Proposition 8 last October, has agreed to deliver the homily during the Eucharistic liturgy at our DignityUSA Convention 2009. He will also be participating in a newly-added pre-convention forum on Marriage Equality, which will be held on Thursday, July 2, 2009.

. . .

Dignity: How have you remained engaged with your Catholic faith since your dismissal?

Farrow: The word dismissal implies rejection on some level. Many LGBT people have experienced this from their families and from their faith communities. As I mentioned earlier, I am blessed with a loving and supportive family. As far as the Catholic Church is concerned, on one hand, if you think of the Catholic Church as the hierarchy, then there is very little reason to remain a Catholic. On the other hand, if you see the Church as the People of God, a living community of faith, then there are many reasons for hope. Catholics in the pews disagree sharply with their bishops on a host of social issues and tend to be far more progressive than their Protestant counterparts. Eventually, the bishops will get it or, will die off and be replaced by bishops who do get it. Pope John Paul II apologized for the hierarchy’s decisions regarding Galileo, the Crusades and treatment of Jewish people. No one in the hierarchy stood up and rent their garments because this represented a rebuff of the hierarchy. They simply nodded in agreement and hoped that the apology would be accepted and that everyone would simply forget. Considering that many in our society do not know what Vietnam is, I believe that their hope is reasonable.

More at the link.

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May 15, 2009

Best Take Yet on Doug Manchester’s Backhanded Blood-Money Buy-Off

Or, as my lovely wife just snarked when she walked into the room and saw my headline: “Buy-off: ‘Gee, honey, if I buy you a dozen roses, will you forget I smacked you around last night?’“

Backstory: Fred Karger Nails Doug Manchester’s Plan of Attack: “Divide and Conquer”, May 9, 2009

The Gay & Lesbian Times has an excellent, must-read editorial on homophobic hotelier Doug Manchester and his insulting, transparent, and ultimately futile attempt to buy off gay and lesbian Californians and stop the gay-and-labor union boycott of his properties.

The piece also offers some new revelations, such as the fact that Manchester’s “new gay step-child” Howard Bragman is an even bigger tool than we imagined: Bragman married his husband last summer, yet continues to make lame excuses for Manchester’s appalling actions.

What do you call someone who degrades himself and betrays his people for money? We can’t decide on just one word — there are so many that fit. “House Dorothy” will do for now.

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May 11, 2009

I Stopped Reading at “Transphobia? That would be an irrational fear of men dressed as women, I guess.”

…and skipped down to the end paragraph to see if it was a joke. It wasn’t.

Since when did the UK’s Independent Correction: Telegraph (thanks, Rob! see below) start running blogs by gay-bashing Catholics who project their own “self-pitying, self-congratulatory … embarrassingly outdated” activism onto gay people, who threaten nothing more than said Catholics’ claustrophobic closet of insecurity?

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May 9, 2009

Fred Karger Nails Doug Manchester’s Plan of Attack: “Divide and Conquer”

Rex Wockner took this pic of
the word BOYCOTT projected
in light against the Manches-
ter Grand Hyatt hotel during
a pro-marriage equality rally
in San Diego this spring.
Click for the original story.

The good news is that Doug Manchester, the hotelier whose $125,000 donation against equal rights prompted a boycott of his properties, is starting to understand a wee bit of the indescribable pain he helped inflict on gay and lesbian Californians, to the point that he’s willing to spend money to try to lure us back into his hotels.

The bad news is that not all LGBTs recognize this lame gesture for what it is — a buy-off designed to pit gay against gay — which Fred Karger so rightly terms a “surprise attack” of “divide and conquer.”

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May 7, 2009

Bad Catholic! No Wafer! Mel Gibson’s New Girlfriend KU’d Before Mel’s Divorce is Final?

“If Martin Riggs sounds crazy,”
thinks Danny Glover,
“wait ’til you get to know
the guy who plays him.”
 

It seems like only last month — hey, it was only last month! — when we mused: “Why She Married an Anti-Semitic Homophobe in the First Place, We’ll Never Know.”

But it sounds like this is the reason she finally ditched the creep at long last:

Mel Gibson wife sued for divorce after hearing that his Russian lover is pregnant, Britain’s The Sun reports.

Robyn Gibson, 53, ended their 28-year marriage after Oksana Grigorieva told pals she was expecting.

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