Jim Pence September 6th, 2007
[Message from Matt: Jim's work is ever provocatively ornery, but there are times when it not only captures the humor and mood of the moment when making its point, but also is elevated, quite frankly, to the level of art. If ever MOMA does an exhibit on folk blogging, then Jim Pence and his HillbillyReport will be Exhibit A.]
Terri Whitehouse August 1st, 2007
The Courier-Journal today ran an insightful piece written by E.J. Dionne Jr. on the myth of “big government.” Big government is, of course, a scare tactic used to justify lots of awful things, from lax gun control laws to not providing for the nation’s poor. Just exactly how big our government has actually gotten under the leadership of a Republican president, however, is worth a closer look.
In slightly unrelated news, Mark Hebert reports that nearly two-thirds of Kentuckians want some sort of U.S. troop withdrawal in Iraq.
Also, I’ve been meaning to blog about abstinence-only (mis)education for a number of weeks now, but Mary Q. Burton at the LEO does such a first-rate job in “Sex, lies and abstinence” that I’ll just quote in part:
Teri Lloyd was surprised when the sex education books her children brought home from school seemed woefully incomplete. The books omitted certain parts of the female anatomy — specifically, the clitoris.
“That’s got to be a shame, fear-based thing,” says Lloyd, 49, whose daughter, now 23, attended school at Myers Middle. “We just failed to educate them about their own bodies. What we leave out can be shaming, too. I wondered why that part wasn’t mentioned. I’m not opposed to teaching abstinence; what I’m opposed to is pairing it with shame or with lack of information about birth control and the human body.”
They can give enough of my tax money to fund religious anti-choice pregnancy centers, but can’t find a few hundred bucks for an accurate scientific rendering of the female anatomy? Nice.
Joe Sonka July 2nd, 2007
I’m not really sure how many supporters John Edwards had in Lexington on Friday morning, but I know that he has a lot more now. The line on John Edwards that is making the rounds is that his best asset in the campaign to win the presidency is not his humble Southern background, health-care platform or charm, but his wife, Elizabeth Edwards. After watching her performance during Friday’s Small Change for Big Change event in Lexington, I think that statement isn’t too far off base.
Elizabeth Edwards performed a rather spectacular hour+ Q & A session with over 200 contributors, fans, and potential voters. And due to the online outreach efforts of the Edwards campaign (thanks to Tracy and Amy, via DMKY’s Shawn Dixon) and the southern charm of DMKY’s own Jim Pence, Jim and I were able speak with Elizabeth face to face for roughly 10 minutes before her public Q & A session.
Though the Edwards staff thought we had a decent chance of chatting with her for a couple of minutes, shortly after we entered the venue and set up our cameras (Jim and fellow film guru Erica), we were told that there was no time for an interview. After Jim disappeared for a few minutes to chat up the Edwards folks, he came back saying that she might be doing a short “meet and greet” with some people.
“What’s a meet and greet?”
“I’m not sure”
“I’ve never been to a meet and greet”
“Yea, me neither”
Ten minutes later, Jim pulled me backstage and one of the staff stopped us and asked if we were the guys from DitchMitchKY and told us that we could speak with Mrs. Edwards in a few minutes, but not on camera or on tape. So while all of the slick, dolled up TV reporters waited for Elizabeth to come out for the Q & A, the blogger in ratty Chuck Taylors and ripped pants, and the hillbilly with the Acapulco shirt were whisked upstairs to meet her.
Joe Sonka June 25th, 2007
Our favorite mustached bigot writes an editorial in the Courier-Journal about how domestic partner benefits will destroy, I say DESTROY traditional marriage.
I think I’ve finally figured this out, correct me if I’m off base. We have Stan Lee, who obviously has had some issues growing up about his sexuality. In order to defend himself from anyone who might catch on to his sexual confusion, he puts on a lifelong front of virulent hatred of homosexuals, so that no one will question his hetero manliness. But why this fear of something as innocuous as health benefits for domestic partners? As Ned says, the universities are trying to "systematically dismantle marriage in our society". I think what Ned fears is that sexually ambiguous married folk like himself, when presented with the public and visible acceptance of homosexual couples, will be unable to resist their urges. Therefore, waves of such men will be forced to divorce their wives, now presented with the option to follow their repressed sexual urges.
Well, at least that’s the only explanation that makes sense to me. Maybe I’m wrong. That, or he’s just a crude, hateful and immoral politician that is making political gain by tapping into hatred of unpopular people.
(crossposted at BlueGrassRoots)
Joe Sonka June 9th, 2007
I went to the truly insane “Creation Museum” last Saturday and have my full report up on BlueGrassRoots.
I’m a big fan of dark, unintentional humor, and that’s exactly what I got in my visit. What’s certainly not funny is that I could definitely see certain “Christian Academies” across the State (that teach Creationism in their school) bringing their students here on field trips. To call that child abuse would be appropriate in my opinion.
It also reinforces many, many negative stereotypes about Kentucky.
Another relevant question is how do our representatives stand on the museum? Do they endorse its views? Would they take their children there? Is this an appropriate field trip for students?
I haven’t heard any politicians take on this yet, and I’d be interested to hear it.
Anyway, I leave you a picture of Pebbles Flintstone and her pet Velaciraptor, Dino.
Matt Gunterman June 7th, 2007
Polwatchers blog is reporting that a conservative blogger posted this statement today in regards to the growing furor over Dr. James Holsinger and his consistently homophobic agenda:
And who are we supposed to believe about the health effects of homosexuality anyway: some guy with a list of medical credentials a mile long? Or the medical geniuses over at places like the Fairness Alliance, Soulforce, and the Human Rights Campaign?
As an historian of medicine, I can tell you that the past of the modern American medical profession is littered with people who had all sorts of nice degrees and credentials but who carried out terrible injustices and painful experiments against other human beings. In the United States, these sorts of medical horrors were usually carried out against slaves, blacks, the mentally ill, and very much so homosexuals.
The most extreme example in history of this sort of phenomenon was no doubt the Nazi doctors, like Dr. Josef Mengele, who did a number of medical experiments using twins at Auschwitz. None of the twins came out alive. Or there was Dr. Carl Clauberg, who in his experiments aimed x-rays at people’s sex organs until they were cooked. Or Dr. Herta Oberheuser, who injected toxic chemicals into the bodies of patients to the point of death. Or Dr. Karl Brandt who carried out executions of invalids that he “medically” diagnosed as a burden on the Nazi machine.
Just because a person has an education and credentials doesn’t mean that he or she can’t be driven to dangerous extremes by ideology or religious fervor.
Take for instance Kentucky’s most rabid bigot in elected office: Republican State Senator Richard “Dick” Roeding, who had this to say about homosexuals when the University of Louisville was discussing overing domestic partner benefits to same-sex couples in order to be unfettered in its ability to attract and retain top academic talent:
I don’t want to entice any of those people into our state. Those are the wrong kind of people.
Yes, Dick Roeding is a churlish bigot, but he’s also a churlish bigot with a degree in pharmaceutical chemistry.
Matt Gunterman June 5th, 2007
What will hate-monger Representative, candidate for Attorney General, and Elder at Hill-n-Dale Christian Church Stan Lee (R) have to say about this?
The organization Faith in America is using the marriage of Senator Mitch McConnell and Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao as an example of the sort of marriage that wouldn’t have been legal just a few decades ago in many parts of the United States. And, for what it’s worth, it’s my understanding that McConnell — like Dick Cheney — has a lesbian daughter. The advertisement is part of its “Freedom to Marry” campaign.
Here’s the group’s mission statement:
FIA’s Mission Statement
The mission of Faith In America, Inc. is the emancipation of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people from bigotry disguised as religious truth. The world’s great religious traditions practiced within the United States of America emphasize the love of neighbor as well as the love of God. Compassion, justice, freedom, and respect for the dignity of all people are their most authentic and noble expressions.
However, in the United States, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people are victims of religious teachings based on ignorance and fear instead of knowledge and respect. This abuse of religion influences all aspects of public life in America, including civil laws and social attitudes. Because of it, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people are denied equal rights and protection under civil law. They are discriminated against and socially ostracized. Physical violence against them is incited. In order to end the persecution of gay people in America, religious teachings that justify bigotry must be publicly exposed and denounced.
This expression of religion-based bigotry against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people has historical precedents, including violence, intolerance, and inequity toward women, people of color, and people with religious traditions different from those of the majority, such as Jews, Roman Catholics, Mormons and others. These precedents are recognized today by the mainstream of America to have been misguided, wrong and evil. To end the persecution of gay people engendered by religion-based bigotry, its common link with these historical precedents must be acknowledged. Faith In America, Inc. is confident that, just as Americans have rejected the distorted religious teachings that sanctioned these injustices, Americans will reject the religion-based bigotry against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people when it is exposed.
Faith In America, Inc. also has confidence in the democratic ideals embodied in The Constitution of the United States. These ideals guarantee equality, freedom and protection to all U.S. citizens without regard to religious teaching. By exposing and rebuking religion-based bigotry, Faith In America, Inc., appeals to and honors both the authentic religious and democratic ideals that rest in the soul of the American people. Faith In America, Inc. is working with churches and other organizations across the country to publicly expose religion-based bigotry against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people and to inform the public how women, people of color and people of minority religions have been mistreated similarly by religion in the past.
Joe Sonka June 5th, 2007
Aurthur Leonard at New York Law School has an excellent discussion concerning the recent AG opinion on the compatibility of UK and UL’s domestic partnership benefits with 2004’s horrific Marriage Amendment to the KY constitution. The good news is that while the benefits appear unconstitutional, the assistant AG James Herrick states that UK and UL would only have to slightly alter the wording of the benefits plan to make it constitutional.
KY Rep. and AG candidate Stan Lee, of course, freaked out. He requested the opinion in the first place and responded that the expansion of eligibility for benefits “could be a tremendous waste of resources”.
Right.
What he meant to say was “I have doubts about my own sexuality and therefore I put up an over-dramatic front of homophobia” “I hate gay people”.
I wonder how Mitch feels about all this.
Nooooo…I didn’t mean that.
(crossposted at BlueGrassRoots)
Matt Gunterman April 24th, 2007
I can’t help but laugh. Here in Connecticut — where there’s a Republican governor, no less — legislation has been passed and will become law to allow full-blown same-sex marriage. Not cheap-imitation “domestic partnerships,” but the real marriage deal.
Oh, and did I mention Connecticut is among the wealthiest states in the union? And, of course, this isn’t the first “liberal” thing the state has done, and there’s apparently been not much wrath of God showered down here yet. In fact, I’d say most residents of Connecticut don’t conjure up an image of paradise when Kentucky comes to mind.
So in a few months’ time, all the married gay couples in Connecticut will be merrily skipping the streets here hand-in-hand making their above average salaries and paying their above average taxes. In short, they’ll be adding more to Connecticut prosperity.
Meanwhile in Kentucky (from Joseph Gerth in today’s Courier-Journal)…
3 in GOP discuss benefits for gays
LEXINGTON, Ky. — The Fletcher administration may include the issue of domestic partner benefits for gays and lesbians working for state government in the call for a special legislative session.
Robbie Rudolph, who is running for lieutenant governor on a ticket with Gov. Ernie Fletcher, said the administration talked about it yesterday. Fletcher has said he wanted to call a special session to deal with the state’s retirement system.
Both Fletcher and Rudolph oppose domestic partner benefits.
“We’ll take care of this once and for all,” Rudolph said while discussing the issue during an hourlong debate on KET featuring the three Republican candidates for lieutenant governor.
He later declined to say specifically what the bill might say.
The University of Louisville’s board of trustees voted last year to extend health insurance to unmarried partners of all staff and faculty members.
The University of Kentucky is preparing to vote today on a plan to do the same thing.
A bill that would have prohibited state agencies, including colleges and universities, from offering the benefits passed the Senate during the recent General Assembly session but wasn’t considered by the House.
House Minority Leader Jeff Hoover said Fletcher hasn’t spoken to him about what he intends to place on the call for a special session, but he said adding it to the agenda might not have been needed if Fletcher had shown more leadership during the regular session.
“If they hadn’t closed their door every day at 5 o’clock — there wouldn’t be a need for a special session,” Hoover said in an interview later.
Hoover, who is running on a ticket with Anne Northup, said he opposes such benefits for unmarried domestic partners, which would include straight couples as well as gay and lesbian couples.
Dick Wilson, who shares a ticket with Paducah businessman Billy Harper, said he also opposes domestic partner benefits, but he questioned whether the timing is right to add it to the special session agenda.
The Fletcher administration has said it has concerns about the cost of extending such benefits to unmarried partners.
Only a handful of staff and faculty members at U of L have taken advantage of the policy since it became available at the beginning of the year, a university spokesman has said.
Rudolph said the issue is “a special issue” that warrants it going on a call for a special session. Usually only the most pressing issues are considered in a special session.
He added that Fletcher would try to get a consensus in the House and Senate before he decides to include the issue.
Rudolph wouldn’t speculate when that session might be held.
[...]
My favorite is this Rudolph guy: “We’ll take care of this once and for all.” Didn’t he not even graduate from high school, or something?
I think it’s instructive to see that what regressive Republicans in Kentucky think of as a problem that needs to be taken care of, progressive leaders of both parties in other states see as an opportunity that needs to be courted.
I wonder which states will come out ahead in the end?
Ditch Mitch KY
