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   Dan Savage, the brilliant and foul-mouthed sex columnist, has become one of the most important ethicists in America. Are we screwed?
 The federal government is supposed to issue new rules about debt levels for students in for-profit colleges. In the meantime, the states are working on their own regulations.
 Washingtons budget hawks want to decimate the federal workforce to shrink the deficit. It will have the opposite effect.
 There arent nearly enough counterterrorism experts to instruct all of Americas police. So we got these guys instead.
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July 3, 2009
FRC CONTINUES TO CONFOUND.... The Family Research Council, arguably D.C.'s most influential religious right organization on social and cultural issues, picks its battles carefully -- and applies its principles selectively. For example, the FRC had closely allied itself with South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford (R), right up until his sex scandal, at which point the group no longer had anything to say about the governor. The FRC has apparently been saving up its outrage for Kevin Jennings, an Obama appointee to the Department of Education who (cue scary music) happens to be gay.
The far-right group has gone through a book Jennings wrote a few years ago about his life experiences, including his belief that the religious right movement should "drop dead," to try to create a controversy where none exists. The Family Research Council, which insists Jennings supports "indoctrinating even elementary-age children in pro-homosexual ideology," even put together talking points (pdf) on why Jennings should be excluded from employment in the Department of Education. Amanda Terkel had the patience to fact-check the whole thing, and not surprisingly, the right-wing arguments don't stand up well to scrutiny. The bottom line, though, remains the same: the Family Research Council is virulently anti-gay, is angry that Obama appointed a high-profile supporter of gay rights to a key government post, and wants to engage in some ridiculous demagoguery about gays and kids. GLSEN has worked for years to make public schools safe environments for students, and the FRC's attacks notwithstanding, I'm delighted to see the administration bring Jennings on board. —Steve Benen 11:20 AM Permalink | Trackbacks | Comments (67)
Comments
The FRC pretends that it is an organization whose mission is to promote values. It is not. It is a political outfit, pure and simple. The FRC will turn its back on the Mark Sanfords and David Vitters of the world, but it will do so silently. It will not risk alienating its fundamentalist base of donors by speaking out against Republican family-values hypocrisy. Tony Perkins and his FRC cohorts reserve their vocal wrath for Democrats, liberals, and Teh Gay. Why? They make for easy caricaturing and scapegoating in fundraising appeals. Posted by: UncommonSense on July 3, 2009 at 11:42 AM | PERMALINKI would love to see the salaries these clowns take home. I'm willing to bet that their supporters would be in for a shock. Imagine if they had to get real jobs. Posted by: Liam J on July 3, 2009 at 11:51 AM | PERMALINKThe Family Research Counsel hates gays and loves adulterers? Got it. I'm relieved in the knowledge I can go have some extra-marital heterosexual affairs and still enjoy the quiet support of this family oriented organization. After all, to be silent is to grant your consent. Posted by: oh my on July 3, 2009 at 11:56 AM | PERMALINKThe Family Research Council, which insists Jennings supports "indoctrinating even elementary-age children in pro-homosexual ideology," The Family Research Council, which insists that Jennings fails to support "indoctrinating even elementary-age children in anti-homosexual ideology," even put together talking points (pdf) on why Jennings should be excluded from employment in the Department of Education. Fixed. Posted by: trex on July 3, 2009 at 12:05 PM | PERMALINKA male friend of a female friend of mine was vetted a couple of months back for a position at DOJ. This guy applying for the DOJ job is gay. The FBI guy questioned my female friend about him, paying particular attention to his gayness. She kept asking why all the questions about his sexual orientation since he was openly gay and thus could not be blackmailed about it. But the FBI guy kept trying over and over to find more details about his sex life. She thought it was weird, particularly since the FBI guy wasn't that old. This group isn't the only one obsessed with homosexuality. And given how the FBI guy hounded my friend about her gay friend, I can understand why anyone would want to stay in the closet. Posted by: mlm on July 3, 2009 at 12:32 PM | PERMALINKI guess the family Research Council thinks it's fine and dandy to destroy a heterosexual family with lies, cheating, and sexual perversion as long as it's between consenting heterosexuals. The family unit ideation will remain secure. But Gays? Those deviate lowlifes will be the ruination all all that is good. My guess is that now-a-days one is more likely to meet/encounter a member of the opposite sex who has been divorced, remarried and divorced a second time than a happily married person. One is more lkely to become engaged to a person who came from a single parent family or one who has two or three sets of "parents" than not. Those Gay couples. Where do they get off pissing off the FRC. Don't they know the damage they are doing to traditional marrage mores? Nauseating... Posted by: stevio on July 3, 2009 at 12:43 PM | PERMALINKjeebus should come back right now, kiss jennings on the lips and tell FRC they are to stfu -- quit turning the gospel pie of love into a hate cake... Posted by: neill on July 3, 2009 at 12:44 PM | PERMALINKI am still waiting for the Arevosians to come up with their explanation on this one, since, if there is one visceral fear in many homophobes it is 'fear for the children.' Obama didn't HAVE to make this appointment. There was no overwhelming campaign among the gay community to make this appointment -- most of us (if I may include myself under the B of the LGBT) probably never heard of Jennings before the appointment unless we had a particular interest in education policy. He deliberately called down a firestorm, and not on a matter such as an ambassador, or a policy advisor -- and remember, Obama could have made use of Jennings' expertise in ways that would not 'expose' either Jennings or himself to the criticism he will get by appointing him to a DoE post -- and, again trying to think like a homophobe, a post involving 'safe schools' when the safety they want is the safety from homosexual contacts with their dear darlings. But don't be silly. It's all a political ploy by that Master of Deceit. (I'm taking bets as to how long it is before arevois demands to see Obama's birth certificate.) That Jennings is to be involved with drug issues and not other, general "social policy" makes his previous positions and actions less relevant. Also, he's an Assistant Dep Sec and not head honcho. Finally, should someone who said that e.g. MoveOn or anti-war activists should "drop dead" not be fit for government administration either? Posted by: N e i l B on July 3, 2009 at 12:57 PM | PERMALINKRegrettably, Amanda Terkel has failed to address key criticisms that have been lobbed against Jennings and GLSEN over the years. Not discussed: -- Defamations regarding GLSEN's connection to the religious right's so-called "fistgate" scandal The chronic coyness of Jennings, GLSEN, and Terkel in directly refuting these slanders is partly responsible for their longevity. Posted by: Mike A on July 3, 2009 at 2:10 PM | PERMALINKUm, so why DIDN'T Jennings notify the authorities about the adult who was having an affair with an underage pupil? Posted by: daniel rotter on July 3, 2009 at 7:47 PM | PERMALINKThe efforts of the FRC in this case is yet another reminder that a large segment of society, especially the religious right and those influenced by it, still regards gay men and women as second-class citizens - or worse. That is the salient point of my recently released biographical novel, Broken Saint. It is based on my forty-year friendship with a gay man, and chronicles his internal and external struggles as he battles for acceptance (of himself and by others, including fellow Mormons). More information on the book is available at www.eloquentbooks.com/BrokenSaint.html. Mark Zamen, author Posted by: Mark Zamen on July 4, 2009 at 8:35 PM | PERMALINKIt is the coolest site, keep so! Posted by: tramadol hcl medication on August 1, 2009 at 11:38 AM | PERMALINKPerfect site, i like it! Posted by: adipex or similar metabolism increasing drugs on August 4, 2009 at 2:41 AM | PERMALINKIt is the coolest site, keep so! 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