raywhiting.com

Coming Out — is it worth it?

Posted on 29 April 2013 by Ray

Wow… I just saw Russ’s video from last month. His dad is getting married again, and Russ was not invited, because he’s out.

And yeah, it DOES suck to be actively excluded from what would be a family event, because you have come out as gay, or atheist, or other-political-party, non-drinker, whatever.

If you are excluded because you don’t fit the expectations of this or that in-group (family, neighbors, office clique, etc.) it does suck, but you are honestly and openly YOU. And being excluded from a circle leaves you open to be surrounded by those who DO want you, who DO think you matter, just as you are.

And, really, it is better to be accepted for who you really are, than rejected for not fitting in.

Leaving a Trail of Bread Crumbs

Posted on 28 April 2013 by Ray

On a whim I decided to try my hand at making my own croutons. This was after already making my own little version of chicken-veggie-pasta soup.

I started by turning on the oven to 350F, and grabbed the loaf of unsliced bread that I got on sale at Kroger ($1.99)

Cut off a few slices (7, to be exact):

Removed the uneven crust parts, and cut the slices into really unequally sized cubes. There were a lot of crumbs and sunflower seeds on the bread, so I collected those and added a small packet of sunflower seeds.

Then I collected the bacon grease from this morning’s bacon

And then, because it was so little, I added corn oil to make 1/2 cup all together, added in some garlic powder and Italian Seasoning spices, all stirred up together, which I gently drizzled over the bread while tossing to even distribute the seasoned oil, along with the crumbs and other stuff in the little bowl above.

By this time, the oven was plenty heated.

I distributed the bread over an ungreased baking sheet (I use foil out of habit, but you can just use the baking sheet plain and ungreased).

Popped it into the oven for 15 minutes. When the timer went off it was almost-but-not-quite what I liked, so I returned it to the oven for another 10 minutes. I think I used more oil than necessary; I think next time I will use about 1/4 cup.

But it tastes REALLY good. Here, grab a handful, tell me what you think!

So basically, God is a Bully

Posted on 14 April 2013 by Ray

I saw this being passed around on Facebook:

It is supposed to be some sort of inspirational message: ”God allows you to be knocked down, so that you will look up (presumably look to God) for help.”

What utter ignorance, on so many counts.

If God is supposedly everywhere, you shouldn’t have to look “up” to find him; he should be lying there next to you at your own level.

If God is so fucking great, he should have been there to catch you if you get tripped or knocked down, but if you are knocked down he obviously either wasn’t paying attention or just couldn’t be bothered to help.

This concept of God is no better than the bully who trips you in the hallway at school just to watch you fall on your face, or a bystander who does nothing to intervene but rubbernecks to laugh.

If this God actually existed, he would be an ass, not someone to look to for help. Thankfully this God does not exist. He’s just a figment of an overactive imagination invented by superstitious people to explain their own sense of helplessness.

If you get knocked down, pick yourself up or call on friends who actually DO care enough to be there when you need them.

Because they told me so

Posted on 5 April 2013 by Ray

“I know the Tooth Fairy is real, because when I put my tooth under my pillow at night, I wake up the next day and there’s a quarter.”

“But were you awake in the night to see who traded your tooth for money?”

“No.”

“Then how do you know?”

“Because I asked my parents, and they told me so.”

oh.

“I know Santa Claus is real, because I go to bed on Christmas Eve and when I wake up the next morning there’s all these presents under the tree and the tag says ‘from Santa’.”

“But were you awake in the night to see a bearded man in a red suit putting presents under the tree?”

“No.”

“Then how do you know?”

“Because I asked my parents, and they told me so.”

oh.

“I know the Easter Bunny is real, because when I get up on Easter morning, there are eggs hidden all over the house.”

“But were you awake in the night to see an Easter Bunny hiding eggs in the yard?”

“No.”

“Then how do you know?”

“Because I asked my parents, and they told me so.”

oh.

“I know Jesus is real because …. ”

“Because why?”

“umm… because they told me so.”

Don’t take someone else’s word for it. Jesus is not real, there is no evidence; there’s just a bunch of made-up stories to explain the world for simple-minded people to understand. Now that you’ve grown up and have the capacity for learning and research and critical thought, it is time to let go of the fairy tales.

There is no Great Physician, just modern medical science and technology; they do the best they can, they aren’t always perfect, and sometimes they fail to save a person who is dying. That doesn’t mean medical science is wrong or bad; it just means there are more questions to explore. There is no place called heaven to go meet loved ones who already died.

I feel sad for people who get excited about going to a placed called Heaven instead of relishing their lives here in this world. This is the only world for us to live in. It is harsh and cruel, and was not created for our care. We have adapted to survive in it, and we have created cooperative societies to sustain our species. This is all there is that we can be sure of. Those who look forward to going to some imaginary “better place” are truly to be pitied for their inability to accept reality on reality’s terms.

Claims require Evidence

Posted on 23 March 2013 by Ray

I saw this image being passed around on Facebook. I do not know the attribution, so if you know who originated it, please let me know so I can give proper credit.

Over and over, Christian theists attempt to assert their position by saying, “But, the Bible says …”

And the only intelligent argument to that is, “Yeah, that’s what it says, but SO FUCKING WHAT?”

Most intelligent people can read the Bible. And most people would agree on what it says. Arguments begin as people discuss what it means. And still more people would disagree over whether any derived meaning has any authority or relevance.

For example two people can read the story of Abraham about to kill his son Isaac on God’s command, in Genesis 22:

Genesis 22

Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!”

“Here I am,” he replied.

²Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah.Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.”

³Early the next morning Abraham got up and loaded his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about. ⁴On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. ⁵He said to his servants, “Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you.”

⁶Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together, ⁷Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, “Father?”

“Yes, my son?” Abraham replied.

“The fire and wood are here,” Isaac said, “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”

⁸Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them went on together.

⁹When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. ¹⁰Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. ¹¹But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!”

“Here I am,” he replied.

¹²“Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God,because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.”

¹³Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. ¹⁴So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.”

¹⁵The angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time ¹⁶and said, “I swear by myself,declares the Lord, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, ¹⁷I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, ¹⁸and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.”

¹⁹Then Abraham returned to his servants, and they set off together for Beersheba. And Abraham stayed in Beersheba.

You can see how Richard Dawkins schools Howard Conder on what an absolutely evil prick this God is, listening to this brief clip:

The Bible does not come with any automatic instrinsic authority. The only authority it has is the authority given to it by the believer.

The Bible has no more and no less authority for the Christian than the Koran has for Muslims. The neither volume has authority over me.

Genuine authority for the Bible (or the Koran) must come from OUTSIDE the writing itself. The fact that many of the stories and “facts” in the Bible are simply wrong is evidence that it is NOT an authoritative volume. We know for a fact that Adam and Eve never existed as real people, they are simply fiction, an allegorical myth to explain how people came to exist — a story made up long before we had the science to figure out where people came from. Now that we know how people came to exist, we can dismiss the silly tale of Adam and Eve and the snake in the Garden of Eden and all the rest that comes after it.

Even if we didn’t know where people came from, we have to dismiss the story anyway. Supposedly God was pissed at Adam for eating the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, after Adam had been told not to eat from it. Before eating from it supposedly he didn’t know about “good and evil” or “right and wrong” or “obedience and disobedience”. He was innocent in his action — simply innocent curiosity. If anyone was at fault, it was God. God supposedly created Adam; it’s not Adam’s fault God gave his a curious mind.

It’s all a made-up story anyway. Throughout the Bible it is clear it was written by ill-informed superstitious people without a clue. There was no Flood and no Ark. There was no Jesus and no crucifixion-and-resurrection. And even if you take the story literally, supposedly Jesus KNEW in advance it would just be for 3 days. He did not sacrifice his life for anyone’s sins. At worst, he had a rough weekend.

But it all depends on whether you believe the Bible or not, whether you give credence to it, whether you give authority to it. The Bible has no authority and no power over you. You, and you alone, decide your path and your fate. When you die, you will be just as dead and lifeless as the rest of the dirt in the yard. We have no proof and no evidence of a heaven or a hell, regardless what you believe. So why waste your time trying to live up to ridiculous nonsensical demands from the Bible? Or preachers?

Nope, no miracles were involved here.

Posted on 20 March 2013 by Ray

This has been making the rounds on Facebook:

I have a real problem having to hold my tongue when people talk about their god “creating life”, like having a baby is a genuine miracle. It’s not. We know how it works, so it cannot be a “miracle”.

The idea that a god creates life is flawed at several points:

Life is not created at conception. The egg is already alive; the sperm is already alive. Together they combine to begin the cell division that will form a new human zygote, embro, fetus, person. But that is not the creation of Life. It is merely the start of a new human body, a human life. Comprehensive sex ed would remove all the silly notions about this part of it.

Sure, making babies is “fun”, it is wonderful and awesome, and not everybody gets to do it. And that’s where the idea of “the miracle of birth” likely comes from — since not everybody gets pregnant it “must” be some god or goddess favoring a particular couple, “entrusting” them with the care of a new life. That’s just nonsensical superstitious bullshit from a time when people didn’t know how babies are made.

First, there is no god or goddess involved. Life IS. Life doesn’t need to be created. We haven’t unlocked all the answers for abiogenesis, but we are coming ever-closer to find out how life began on earth. Current speculation includes the possibility of a living organism travelling to earth on a meteor. this has merit since we know that all the necessary elements for sustaining life were formed by the death of other stars. Life is passed from one living thing to its own offspring. No ‘creation’ involved.

Second, crediting a god or goddess with creating this or that baby requires that there must also be a god or goddess blamed when couples cannot conceive. It is simply cruel for those who can’t have a child to be forced to consider there is a god or goddess who doesn’t see them fit and worthy. No god worthy of the name, much less deserving of worship, would be so cruel as to pick and choose without rhyme or reason.

Third, considering the number of truly bad and undeserving parents, it is clear that no rational god would entrust a tiny child with such fucked up people, while turning a cruel and deaf ear to couples who very much want and deserve a child.

People who follow superstition and believe babies are a miracle are simply ignorant and superstitious. Or they don’t know that “miracle” means something that cannot be explained, something defying the laws of physics and the natural world in which we live, something from a supreme being that supposedly exists outside of time and space. And people who say “well maybe science can explain it but I can’t so to me is IS a miracle” are doubly-wrong because when they say that sort of thing they not only admit they are ignorant about certain facts, but they prefer to remain ignorant in order to hang on to their superstition.

So why bother praying??

Posted on 14 March 2013 by Ray

This has been on my mind a few days, so maybe writing it out and posting it will help shape it better.

Christians say, “God is in control.”

When shit happens, Christians say, “God has a plan.”

Christians say, “God’s timing is always perfect; God is always on time.”

Christians say, “God’s will is always done.”

So, what the fuck are you praying for?

If someone is sick, isn’t that God’s will? If it’s not God’s will, then God’s will is NOT always done. If God wants to “use” the sickness for some greater good or important lesson, what sick fucked up mind allows people to suffer in order to teach a lesson? And if you think God is using the sickness for some larger purpose, why the fuck are you rushing to doctors and hospitals to get OUT of God’s will??

And what about other prayers? Would it be appropriate to pray for someone to die? Maybe put out a contract on someone – pay $50,000 to a person to pray for someone to die. If that person does actually die, did the person praying commit murder? Did the person who paid the contract commit conspiracy to commit murder?

Of course we know that praying for someone to die has no effect, beyond the inevitable fact that everyone does eventually die, but not at the direction of, or as a direct cause of someone praying for it to be done.

Nobody with an ounce of empathy, compassion, humanity, morals, or ethics, would pray for someone to die, even if it did work. But we know that it does not work.

So, because we know that prayer for negative results does not work, no matter how hard you pray or how much you “believe”. So knowing that prayer does not work, why do people pray for anything anyway? Either God’s going to do what God’s going to do, and your pathetic little whining won’t change anything, or there is no God involved because no God exists, and praying still won’t change anything.

Prayer, in the manner of asking favors of a deity, DOES NOTHING. EVER. Never has, never will. Prayer, as a form of self-hypnosis, might change your attitude and the way you cope with things. But that’s not God doing anything. That’s just you talking yourself into or out of things. That’s why prayer is just self-hypnosis.

What “Rights of Christians”??

Posted on 20 February 2013 by Ray

Unbelievable! Apparently Janet Mefferd has this crazy idea that Christians have an constitutionally protected right to not see gay people!

“Whether the homosexual activists like it or not, and I know this isn’t politically correct to say this, but not everybody wants to see that. I know that that’s offensive to the activist crowd, they want us all to see it, they want us all to approve of it, they want us all to call it blessed and okay and rejoice and have parties and throw confetti in the air over this whole thing. But the fact of the matter is it’s a moral issue. You will always have Christians who will disagree with this and why should the rights of the activists trump the rights of Christians?

via Mefferd: Gay Rights Should Not ‘Trump the Rights of Christians’ to Not See Gays | Right Wing Watch.

Seriously? That’s a hip-wader level of hyperbole. Yes, we have a right to be out in public, just the same as everyone. Nobody is asking you to approve it or bless it or rejoice in it. Quite frankly it is just none of your damn business what other people do. Being gay is no more a moral issue than being straight. It’s all just part of human sexuality. HOW one behaves or expresses their sexuality may or may not be a morals issue, but one’s sexual orientation is definitely not a morals issue.

There are Christians who object to drinking and piercings and tattoos, but they aren’t whining about some imaginary “right” not to see other people minding their own business. So why are they pretending they have a “right” not to see gay people minding their own business. There are Jews and Muslims who don’t approve of pork, but they aren’t legislating to make pork illegal for the rest of us.

I think Ms. Mefferd needs to keep her nose out of other people’s business.

Wow… so many lies and such fear!!!

Posted on 14 February 2013 by Ray

I received this email from Eugene Delgaudio
President, Public Advocate of the United States
(the URL is http://publicadvocateusa.org/)

But there is no such thing as Public Advocate of the United States. It’s just another hyper-fundie religious organization.

I have to say this is one of the most hyperventilating, scare-filled, money-pleading, lie-filled emails I’ve received. Ever. I’m putting it here for your entertainment. It needs no further comment.

From:	Eugene Delgaudio
Date sent	02/14/2013 09:02:16 am
Subject:	This is hard to write
Dear Pro-family American, It’s hard to write you this. My office is in trouble. And I need your help. I have been fighting overtime against the radical Homosexual Lobby and they are making huge gains in Washington. Today, I’m worried. It’s taking everything I have to fight the Gay Bill of Special Rights, the Homosexual Classrooms Act, and the Offense of Marriage Act as the radical homosexuals revel in my struggle. Last year alone, my office was forced to spend over $1,100,000 stopping the radical Homosexual Agenda. And now we’re in trouble… This is a painful letter for me to write. I feel as if my pro-family supporters are letting me down. I have prayed about this matter. And I am sure that I am doing what is right. It is our duty as decent God-believing adults to fight against the tyranny and immorality of the radical Homosexual Lobby. But many good Christian supporters aren’t coming through. It seems some people want to just give up. And with our failing economy, many of my best supporters haven’t been able to help like they used to… In fact, money is so tight here that I have had to scale back important pro-family campaigns. And now, the Board of Directors is considering freezing my activities. Critical petition drives, grassroots lobbying campaigns, and citizen outreach programs may be closed down. And as the radical homosexuals gain more and more ground in Congress, my hands are tied… Life here in Washington has been a virtual Hell for me… I put off sending you this letter for a while because I didn’t want to worry you. You see, I’ve gotten death threats and I never take them lightly. But when they go beyond threatening and actually try to kill me, it’s a whole different story. There’s more my friend… In the past, strangers followed my family around town… Idling cars sit across the street at all hours of the night… …the threatening phone calls, the death threats and the outrageous lies… oh, it’s endless… but thank the Lord for He truly blessed me with a family so strong, so brave… and yes, so supportive! I’ve taken precautions to protect my family. Some things I’ve told you about, but some things I must keep confidential or they’d be in more peril. Will you pray for my family and me? That the Lord would keep us safe? I covet your prayers! I have fought on… and my family is safe now. I believe talking about some of these incidents helps. But I desperately need your help right now. Please don’t let me down. Fighting against the radical Homosexual Agenda has put my office tens of thousands of dollars over budget. And at the same time, it’s getting harder and harder to raise the money to keep our campaigns going. I am expected to expand programs to stop radical Homosexuals from tempting the Congress to allow homosexuals to run rampant over this country in an election year payoff… To stop the Gay Bill of Special rights from forcing churches and schools to hire crossdressers… To stop the Homosexual Classrooms Act from turning our schools into laboratories of perverse homosexual social engineering. And it’s up to you and me alone to stand against homosexual “marriage” when the Obama Administration is so eager to appease the Homosexual Lobby for their part in his re-election last November. …Yet, donations to my office are not keeping up and now I am in a dilemma like I’ve never been in before. You see, my office does not receive any tax funds for its important campaigns. And while the radical Homosexual Lobby is bilking the U.S. Treasury of billions of dollars, I raise every dime of my office’s budget from concerned citizens like you. I can’t fight on without your help. Right now, at what may be a turning point in our fight against the forces of evil, I don’t have the funds to fight on. What can I do? I must ask you to keep the information I am about to give you confidential. If it gets into the hands of the Homosexual Lobby, they will use it to destroy me while we are weak: My office owes $70,483 to Larry and other small businessmen in Virginia. I hope you don’t think badly of me. Some of this is past due. It’s not a major crisis for the small businessmen or me. Not yet. You see, I really don’t have a choice. How could I have said “no” when I was needed to counter massive Homosexual lobbying campaigns? Could I have stood by and watched as radical Homosexuals spread lies and deceit about their true goals? Who else would have exposed the truth about the “Gay” agenda? These people admit that they want to corrupt our children. They admit that they want special rights that no American has. They admit that they are deviants. And just as Jesus showed us by example and could not have stood back and done nothing at the Temple, I couldn’t stand back and do nothing in the face of the growing power of the Barney Frank-Homosexual “Unholy Alliance.” But now, my friend, I need to count on you. I absolutely must raise over $105,983 in the next 25 days to pay past bills and keep programs going. My friend, I need to be able to count on you for a special gift of $15 or more. If I am not able to raise the money, I don’t know what I will do. I don’t know how I can keep fighting. Tammy Baldwin and her cronies in the radical Homosexual Lobby have gone into overdrive to seduce Republicans in Congress into backing their perverse agenda. If your Public Advocate falters now, the radical Homosexual Lobby may get everything they want. You see, it really is you and me, and the other Public Advocate supporters that are standing in their way. When I sat down to write this email, I thought back to all we have accomplished. I remember when I first packed up my car and drove down to Washington from New York. The President of Public Advocate had offered me a position as the full-time Executive Director of this organization. It was a dream come true. I had the opportunity to lead one of the most influential organizations in the country. I resigned my position on the staff of the Legislature, I packed my few belongings into my yellow Ford Pinto, and I drove to Washington. President Reagan had just been elected… I knew we could change America. And one of the things I was overwhelmed by during those golden days in 1981 was the outpouring of support from people all across this great nation. Who could have known 32 years ago what the future held in store for me? Just days after coming to Washington, I met Sheila Hobbs, the woman who was to become my wife. Sheila, at the time was working for the White House… When I met Sheila on that cold winter day, she seemed to me to be the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. She still is. That day when Sheila and I first met, we were at a meeting of the leaders of the Conservative movement. But Sheila and I stood off to the side and talked about our Faith. I knew I was in love with Sheila that day. People said a woman as beautiful as Sheila would never marry me — the man the newspapers were already calling the “Ichabod Crane of the Right.” And then as I got to know her (she came over to my office to help stuff envelopes), I realized she was as beautiful in her spirit and her faith in God as she was in physical beauty… In those early days of the Reagan Administration, Sheila and I were married and started our family. I will never forget the great sacrifices Sheila made to our cause in those early days of our marriage – and throughout our marriage. After working long hours at the White House, she would come over to my office to help with our important projects. And Sheila wasn’t alone. People all across this great Nation pitched in. And we made a difference. You and I and thousands of other Americans stood up to be counted. We told the liberal media, the University Elite, and the Hollywood Crowd we didn’t care what they thought anymore… We would fight for what is right. And we did, my friend. Who could forget the shocked look on liberal network TV news reporter Sam Donaldson’s face when I showed up at the White House with hundreds of Americans to support Jim Watt as Secretary of the Interior. Sam Donaldson said that minorities and the handicapped opposed Jim Watt, President Reagan’s Secretary of Interior… …So I found handicapped, Hispanic, and Black Americans to come to the White House to testify in favor of Jim Watt… And we won… …And remember back in 1982 when the first horrible “Gay Bill of Special Rights” was introduced? We stopped it dead in its tracks… (I only wish it was so easy to stop it now. It has cost me over half a million dollars to keep it from coming to a vote this Congress.) …On Inaugural Day, 1993, my supporters and I alone stood up to Clinton and his “Queer Nation” friends as they declared war on America’s children… …And at the “Gay March on Washington” we openly confronted the radical Homosexuals… despite death threats and the overwhelming number of self-proclaimed radical Homosexuals who descended on Washington… …And on Easter as members of the radical Homosexual group ACT-UP planned to attack Christians, my supporters came through and formed human barricades to keep ACT-UP out of the Churches (one man drove up on the sidewalk to try to kill me during that confrontation)… Working together, we were able to be such a strong force in American politics. Jesse Jackson, Al Gore, National Public Radio’s Nina Totenberg, Barney Frank, Jim Wright, Mike Dukakis, Dan Rather, Bill and Hillary Clinton, Nancy Pelosi and — yes — President Barack Obama have all come to despise me. But my father always told me that you can judge a man by his enemies. And I have these enemies because of our fight. Because for 32 great years, you and I have held these people accountable for their actions… I need your help again right now. Please send an urgent gift right now by clicking this link. Because I can’t go on fighting against the radical Homosexual Lobby if I do not raise the money to pay the bills. I shudder to think of what will happen if radical Homosexuals are left unchecked to whisper in the ears of vulnerable members of Congress… Radical homosexuals have teamed up with liberal Senators to introduce a sick and disgusting agenda: * Massive hiring quotas for homosexuals in every private business including churches and schools… * “Gay adoption,” K-12 gay sex-education curricula, and special rights for homosexuals. * Turning America’s schools into homosexual indoctrination centers, its classrooms into social laboratories and its playgrounds into homosexual breeding grounds… The Gay Bill of Special Rights is picking up steam in both the House and Senate. This will force Daycare Centers, Churches, Schools, Camps, Nursing Homes, Hospitals, and virtually every other employer in America to hire practicing homosexuals… It gets worse and worse, my friend. Last year, Obama became the first president in history to openly embrace homosexual “marriage” for America. And now the Homosexual Lobby is charging hard to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act before the 2014 elections. If repealed, homosexual “marriages” will be legalized in all fifty states… I worry that America is turning into a modern day Sodom and Gomorrah. What kind of country allows men to marry men, and women to marry women? What kind of country teaches its children that prayer is wrong but homosexuality is just another ”lifestyle?” What kind of country funds homosexual child/adult pornography but arrests teachers who dare to talk about God in their classrooms? And what kind of country funnels millions of dollars of tax money into the coffers of the Homosexual Pornography Lobby? It isn’t a nation I’m always proud of… But it’s my country and I love it. And when I look at the photo on my desk of my six children, I worry about the nation they’re growing up in. It’s not the nation of my youth… And it’s just not right. I won’t allow my children to grow up in a nation where police are forced by law to allow sex perverts like “Uncle Eddy” and Jeffrey Dahmer to rape and murder young boys in the streets… And I won’t stand by while pro-homosexual schoolteachers expose our children to “gay” filth and call it “AIDS education.” The truth is we are in a fight for the very future of our children. And for our future. As a Nation under God. Together, you and I have kept the evil “Gay Bill of Special Rights” from becoming law. You and I got rid of the wicked John Frohnmayer from the National Endowment for the Arts after we caught him funneling our tax money into homosexual child/adult pornography. We fought side by side to keep Ed Meese’s Anti-Child Pornography Unit at the Justice Department open. And we won. Then we stopped Bill Clinton’s plan to throw open our borders to AIDS-infected foreigners so that they could fill up our hospitals. But these last few years have been the hardest ever. Radical Homosexuals have infiltrated even the Republican Party. Tricking good conservatives into accepting the “Offense of Marriage Act” as a “politically necessary” compromise to keep their majority in the House. The Homosexual Classrooms Act is on the fast track to passage in the rush to “do something” about so-called “student discrimination.” And, my friend, I discovered the inner sanctum of the radical Homosexual Conspiracy. Just outside of Washington, D.C., a fanatical gang of pushy “gay rights” workers have a secret warehouse where they have been generating hundreds of thousands of petitions. When I first saw it, I was convinced that we could never stop the “Gay Bill of Special Rights” from becoming Federal law. And, once again, you came through. My friends and supporters all across the country signed petitions and helped fight the Homosexual Lobby. And I just can’t fight on without your help. Before I can do anything else, I must pay the bills my office owes. Now, this may shock you — it did me. A few weeks ago, I mailed my most loyal Christian supporters a letter about the hate campaign the radical Homosexuals were waging against me… About how they once threatened Sheila and the kids… In fact my wife and children were forced to go into hiding to escape a series of attacks at one time… And then I had to call in police to consider protection for my children after a man in a black car was caught taking photographs of them. I refuse to let them scare me off. My family and I have been through so much. Adult Homosexual Lobbyists who see me in the Halls of Congress and other public places ask about my male son by name and age: “How is your young son, (his name)?” It reminds me of the Homosexuals who clamored for the angels at Lot’s door before they destroyed Sodom. In my letter I asked my friends to sign an important petition. And I asked my friends for their prayers. And I am so thankful to my friends who signed their petitions. But fewer than 2 of every ten people I wrote to responded. That was less than I hoped for. I felt as if I was nearly alone. And it hurt. And today as I look at the bills my office owes and all of the work that is ahead of me, I feel alone again. I need to know you are with me. If only 2 of every ten people who receive this email respond, I can’t fight on. I need to count on you and each and every friend today. I need your help this time. But you stand with me don’t you my friend? If you will continue to stand with me, I know we can beat them again. Please click here to send a generous contribution to help my pro-Family campaigns. My friend, please give an emergency contribution of $15 or more today. And if $15 is simply too much right now, please give something. I would not be human if I didn’t tell you that sometimes I cry from all the pain. But the support you have given me keeps me in this fight… a fight that does make a difference for the Family and our values. Supporters like you and other pro-Family Americans have joined me and given me so much encouragement. I hope and pray that I do not demand too much. My friend, I pray constantly. Hoping that I have told you everything about what we are up against and what is needed to stop this evil. And Public Advocate keeps on bringing petitions, visiting Capitol Hill, the White House, the courts and federal agencies. I am not stopping my daily and nightly efforts to speak out. Believe me, continuing this fight against the radical Homosexual Lobby isn’t easy for Sheila or me. But Sheila and I recognize God’s will. And we will make the sacrifices. She backs me all the way and has faith in me meeting every challenge. The news media reports our long marriage under these circumstances. And attempts to mock our sacred bond while praising “gay marriage.” But the radical Homosexual Activists know there is something about a couple like me and Sheila who are so dedicated to each other… and committed to traditional marriage like we are. That’s why they viciously attack us when no one else in Washington is attacked like Sheila and I are. It outrages me… sickens me… that there are people like the Homosexual Lobby who would go after my family and my wife like this. As Sheila has said over and over to me, “You and I must be doing something right if they would come after me and our kids.” Now, I need to ask you to make a sacrifice also. One that may seem too big: Please give Public Advocate a one-time emergency contribution today. I know I’m asking for a lot and I hope you know it’s not easy asking for it. You have been so generous to the causes we believe in. If I could go without ever asking you for money again, believe me, I would. But you and I both know better than that. It’s expensive to run national campaigns like these. And my office has never received taxpayer funds for its pro-Family campaigns. I need to count on my friends and supporters all across America. And right now, I need to count on you. Please give a one-time donation of as much as you can afford. I’m sure you have a lot of people asking you for help. I know that some days it seems like my mailbox will overflow with letters from deserving organizations asking for needed funds. And I’m sure that, just like Sheila and me, you have given a lot of money to fight for morality in America. But this is so important. We must fight on. I must have your support. In coming days, you and I will have to redouble our efforts against the radical Homosexual Lobby. With Barack Obama still in the White House and Republicans looking to “expanding the tent” after the last election, the Homosexual Lobby is poised to shove its evil hate-filled legislation down the throats of the decent, God-loving American people. This year may be a turning point for this country. This nation’s moral future may be decided over the next few months and we must be ready to defend traditional family values. But first we have to pay our bills. That’s only fair. And I need your help, my friend. You see, I’m counting on you to help me take our country back. So I need to ask you again, please send a one-time gift of whatever you can afford today by clicking here. I’m not saying I won’t ask again. I’ve never been one to make promises I can’t keep. But if you can help me today by letting me know you are still with me, it will mean that we can continue to fight. And that we can win. It will mean that you and I can stop the radical Homosexuals from making tremendous gains in this Congress. It’s up to you. Every day this world becomes less safe for America’s children, every day the radical homosexuals gain more control. I cannot continue this fight without your help. Please make your donation today**. Sincerely, Eugene Delgaudio President, Public Advocate of the United States P.S. I will watch my mailbox for your response. It is so important that you help today. This is a life-and-death struggle, and there can be no compromise with these political monsters. You and I face a Democrat White House and an increasingly powerful Homosexual Lobby seeking to tempt the Republican majority with promises of campaign contributions in exchange for giving the radical Homosexuals everything on their wish list: the Gay Bill of Special Rights, the Homosexual Classrooms Act and the Offense of Marriage Act. Our important work must go on. The Senate could vote any day to pass the Gay Bill of Special Rights. I must have Public Advocate’s debt paid and be ready to fight. Please help today. I ask you to prayerfully consider a one-time contribution of $15. That’s a lot to ask, but this is critical. God bless you and keep you from harm. Because Public Advocate of the U.S. is a non-profit, charitable organization that fights the radical agenda of the homosexual Lobby, contributions are not tax deductible for IRS purposes. This email was not produced or emailed at taxpayer expense. Public Advocate’s phone number is (703) 845-1808, its address is 5613 Leesburg Pike, Suite 17 Falls Church, VA 22041, and its website is http://publicadvocateusa.org/. To help Public Advocate grow, please forward this to a friend. View online.

Those dang Special Interest groups and their damned agendas

Posted on 12 February 2013 by Ray

I make a point each morning to catch up on news. It is part of what I do to stay informed of things that shape the world I have to live in. Two areas of concern for me are: “Separation of Church and State” and “Marriage Equality”.

These issues have been debated for decades, of course, and most conservatives simply refuse to be educated on either the facts OR social conscience. One of their frequent ‘dog whistles’ used for rallying sheeple support is the way they throw around the term “special interest group” and the term “agenda”.

Instead of moving forward into the 19th Century, they dig in their heels and whine about having to give “special rights” to “special interest groups”. It’s just another way to dismiss people as “other”. But that is not a valid argument.

I’m not going to argue the issue here. Conservatives are wrong, they know they are wrong, and they know they deserve to be on the receiving end of what they’ve been dishing out. That is a given, beyond debate.

No, what I am going to do is eliminate the issue of “special interests” and “agendas” when used as a way to dismiss the call for progress and action. It is very easy:

In all American history, has there been ANY progressive change in social policy, safety regulation, expansion of rights or protections that was NOT advanced by those most affected by the lack of protections? Has there been any changes without “special interest groups” taking the initiative to work for change?

The Americans with Disabilities Act came about because people with disabilities were not being treated fairly.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 came about because people of color were not being treated fairly.

Child Safety Seats, and the laws required them, came about because parents who had lost their children in car accidents spoke up and demanded better safety.

The 19th Amendment came about because women (and their allies) insisted on having the right to vote.*

And on and on and on. So when you hear people whine about “special interest groups” or radical gangs with their “agendas”, don’t assume people in that group are wrong — they are usually the ones who are right to speak up and bring change because nobody else will.

Not that other people are evil or bad, necessarily. Most people are simply unaware that changes need to be made because the things that need changing don’t affect them. When I was growing up, it didn’t occur to me that people with disabilities needed anything special.

So-called “special interest groups” are an essential part of American society, and usually they work to improve the lives of everyone. Of course, not all special interest groups are good (like, the NRA, or the Association of Christian Athletes, or the National Republican Party), but most of them are useful.

__________
* it amuses me that they first had to pass Prohibition as the 18th Amendment, ratified on 16 Jan 1919, in order to get the men folk sober enough to get the 19th Amendment ratified on 18 Aug 1920. There was probably very little connection between the two in real life, but the sequence amuses me anyway.