Fundie Fun

As Columbo Says, “Oh . . . And One Last Thing”

The Mark June 22, 2006 No Comments

Archpundit should be back today, but I hope he’ll indulge me in one last post, especially on an issue that really burns me up.

For those of us who have progressive or liberal views on social issues, it’s no secret that the cultural right lies. It doesn’t matter whether the discussion is about evolution, homosexuality, women’s rights: the Right simply refuses to accept the world as it is, relying instead on their version of reality.

Here’s yet another example:

In a groundbreaking study that could influence the debate over sex education, researchers have found that consistent use of condoms significantly reduces the risk of contracting a sexually transmitted virus that can cause cervical cancer.

University of Washington researchers will report Thursday that female college students were 70 percent less likely to become infected with human papillomavirus, or HPV, if their partners always wore a condom during sex than those whose partners used condoms less than 5 percent of the time.

For many years now, pro-life-anti-sex fanatics have attacked comprehensive sex ed programs by arguing that condoms are ineffective against sexually transmitted infections. Their only basis for this argument was that HPV — Human Papilloma Virus — is transmitted skin-to-skin, and thus condoms do not prevent transmission. In fact, some conservative congressmen pressured the FDA to require warning labels on condoms.

Well, they were wrong.

In the meantime, how much damage did their scare campaign do? How many kids were taught that condoms were ineffective? How many kids believe this and stop using condoms, when they clearly prevent the transmission of disease, including HPV?

There’s a cost to the war on truth waged by the Right. And I think that young people are paying the highest price.

More Fun With Conservatives

The Mark June 21, 2006 1 Comment

Since Arch is out of town and can’t make light of Petey’s investigations into the homosexual lifestyle, I thought we can examine another right-wing darling: pro-life nurse Jill Stanek.

A couple of weeks ago, Jill posted the following observation:

“Abortion proponents attempting to answer that question should run into a problem. By trying to protect one flank, they’ve exposed another.

“To be consistent, the abortion industry’s definition of when a pregnancy begins should agree with its definition of when it ends. But the two don’t jibe.”

She then argues that the pro-choice stand on abortion procedure bans (what the pro-lifers call “partial-birth-abortion”) is hypocritical.

Well, since when is the end of something the exact converse of its beginning? Following that logic, pro-lifers believe that life begins at conception — the moment when an organism has a full set of chromosones. So, does life end when the chromosones are finally separated? Does that mean that life ends when the last cell containing chromosones has finally decomposed?

There are plenty of other fun logical fallacies in both her post and the original article. Today’s challenge: who can list the most obscure logical fallacy made by Jill.

On a side note: I will give Stanek credit for her willingness to engage in debate with those who disagree. Her exchanges with Eric Zorn are a particularly good example. So, I fully expect Jill to stop by here. Hi, Jill — welcome. Don’t blame Arch for this post; I’m just a lowly guest poster having a bit o’ fun.

UPDATE: I lied about leaving Petey alone today. I found a new technique in reparative therapy that he can investigate:

Christian psychotherapist Richard Cohen, board president of the ex-homosexual education and outreach organization known as Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays and Gays (PFOX), is addressing criticism leveled against certain therapy techniques he uses on clients with homosexual desires.
. . .
Cohen’s methods have raised some questions, however; and he has lately taken sharp criticism over a May 23 appearance on Cable News Network (CNN), in which he demonstrated a technique that involves cuddling a male client in his lap.

Can You Name All Ten Commandments?

BackupPundit June 14, 2006 1 Comment

A while back Roll Call ran a story (for those of you with Roll Call subscriptions) about how excited a Georgia Republican named Jack Kingston was to get interviewed by Stephen Colbert for his “Better Know a District” series.

Kingston was so enthusiastic that his office sent out an e-mail to some of his GOP colleagues encouraging them to appear. He also offered Colbert a ticket to the State of the Union address, which Colbert declined. Kingston even took advantage of his interview to get his daughter, Betsy, a college senior, an internship on the show.

Boy should Lynn Westmoreland not have listened to him.
Read More

Sigh…Petey’s Trolling

ArchPundit June 14, 2006 4 Comments

“Peter L.”

Larry, I didn’t know you were a gay activist…

…now it all makes sense: the finger, etc. Hope in the future you can criticize my ideas without resorting to sophomoric putdowns. Best–pl

========

Consider this an open thread—my biggest concern is that this is Petey’s desperate way of getting attention, sort of like boys in about sixth grade pestering the girls. Mostly that’s really icky, not because it would be gay, but because it would be LaBarbera.

Second, someone has to tell Ms. ArchPundit, I guess.

The oddest thing about this is that putting up a picture flipping off Petey for his little attempt to out someone who says he is not gay and only seems to be suspicious because he is middle aged and single, but voted differently than Petey liked is called by Petey as sophomoric, while the entire outing someone who says they can’t be outed was perfectly rationale and grown up.

HPV Vaccine Approved By FDA, but….

ArchPundit June 8, 2006 1 Comment

There may be opposition at the Centers for Disease Control to actually recommending it because of religious conservatives concern about people having sex.

You can find directions to submit your written comments at Feministing’s link above.

Make no mistake about it, this is another form of attack on women controlling their bodies combined with a nice attack on realistic health education. You can see it in the Pharmacists for Life’s attacks on the Governor and you can see it in trying to deny people access to effective vaccinations because it has something to do with sex.

Dr. Finger is the guy who suggested an HIV vaccine might be a bad idea because it might encourage sex.

Or save lives. Which is more important?

Nevermind….

Petey Goes Polygamous

ArchPundit June 5, 2006 10 Comments

Any chance he’ll head out to Utah to do some of his undercover research?

There’s a small problem with his article:

The endgame of gay activists is to strip the Boy Scouts (and by extension, any other organization that morally opposes gay marriage) of its tax-exempt status under both federal and state law.

Except 501 (c) 3 status isn’t what the Boy Scouts have been prevented from being sponsored by government entities in some places.

Scouts have been prevented from being sponsored by government agencies because of their discrimination policies. Even then they get equal access to government property under federal law that any other group gets, they just don’t get government sponsorship given they have specific religious tenants they require members to hold.

Churches would still have equal access to public facilities as they do now, but just as now, they couldn’t be sponsored by a government agency–the same restriction on the Boy Scouts in some states. Furthermore, churches may choose to marry only who they wish including the ability to discriminate on interracial marriages. No law prohibits churches from discrimination based on race even if they choose 501 (c) 3 status.

Where organizations are discriminated upon based on policies towards race is if they choose to accept federal funding such as Bob Jones University when it banned interracial relationships or if a church wants to carry out a faith based charity that is funded by government funds.

And the Right Wing Wurlitzer Plays On

ArchPundit June 1, 2006 4 Comments

Pinney’s Crusade Against Critical Thought has caught the attention of two of the Pioneer Press reporters in Barrington and Elk Grove.

From Corcoran:

In her successful bid to join the District 214 School Board, Leslie Pinney raised more than $20,000 while none of the four incumbents — Bill Blaine, Lenore Gonzales Bragaw, Miriam “Mimi” Cooper and, the board member Pinney replaced, Stanley Eisenhammer — raised enough to meet the fund-raising threshold that would have required them to register with the Illinois State Board of Elections.

How? In part because her campaign — like that of former U.S. Senate and GOP gubernatorial candidate Jim Oberweis — was backed by Carpentersville-based Family Taxpayers Network, a conservative organization headed by businessman Jack Roeser of Barrington.

Although now it is largely her opposition to nine books included in District 214’s curriculum setting her apart from fellow board members, Network executive director Lidia Downs said Pinney’s financial background led the Family Taxpayers Network to support her over other candidates.

“One of the things we were very impressed with was that she was very capable in the area of finances. We thought that was one area of expertise that she would be able to bring to the board,” said Downs.

According to Downs, Pinney was identified as a candidate the organization would support after she was vetted during a formal interview.

So read between the lines, the continuing attack on public education by Roeser is being done through recruiting and backing local school board candidates who will lead a crusade on any issue that will lessen public support for schools, and thus lessen support for taxes to pay for said schools.

From the Mohrman article:

She said her actions have not been influenced by the Family Taxpayers Network or Illinois Family Institute, two conservative organizations that supported her campaign and book proposal.

“They’ve never asked me to do anything,” Pinney said. “When I began my campaign, they saw what I stood for and wanted to help me. They aren’t asking me to do anything, but when … our goals intersect, then we’re working together. It’s certainly not something that’s coordinated (in advance).

All which is potentially true, but the larger point is that a well organized right wing machine is picking its battles through the funding of wingnut candidates and while they insist there is the big bad educational establishment against them, the problem is no one is taking the fight to them. This is where fighting a right wing intolerant agenda begins.

Elmhurst is Searching for Gay Sex

ArchPundit May 22, 2006 No Comments

Heh.

It must be the horror of his hometown being the modern day home of Sodom that has driven Petey to be so concerned over homosexual practices.

Of course, the General weighs in

bowl haircut fundamentalists

ArchPundit May 16, 2006 3 Comments

Steinberg is on fire, but not as much as some other people,

But here come the conservatives, toting their boxes of signed petitions, so we can have the question on our ballots next November. Let’s keep out the gays!

Can’t these religious types fixate on something else? Doesn’t their faith have rituals beyond loathing and fearing gays that they could occupy themselves with? Or is mesmerized fixation with man-on-man sex their entire liturgy and holy writ? Because it sure seems that way. No Halsted Street twink, tumbling to the bars with his pals on a Friday night, is obsessed with gay sex to the degree that these bowl haircut fundamentalists pushing their protect marriage act seem to be.

IFI takes issue with this

Petey, of course, has well coifed, if receding hair. But they are upset that someone might suggest IFI has an obsession with man on man sex. Who would ever get that impression from Peter “the undercover homosexual lifestyle investigator” LaBarbera?

Don’t we all go to Mr. Leather and Gay Bathhouses to be disgusted by what is going on there…over and over again…

And statements like this don’t help:

“I have monitored the homosexual movement for 15 years, with special focus on its campaign to penetrate schools…Most parents, especially those living near big cities, simply have no clue as to the many ways that the ‘sexual orientation’ agenda works its way into their children’s education.”
(backing the Southern Baptist’s call to investigate the influence of the homo agenda in public schools)

— Peter LaBarbera

Keep protesting IFI. How could Steinberg ever suggest such a thing…

Too Beautiful

ArchPundit May 15, 2006 1 Comment

Abraham Lincoln has some fun over at Illinoize:

If this doesn’t show what a joke the protect marriage amendment is, then I don’t know what does.

From Bernie’s column in the State Journal Register:

A spokeswoman who discussed the merits of the “protect marriage amendment” with reporters at the State Board of Elections this week has an interesting status for somebody pushing an issue identified with family values.

CATHY SANTOS lives with, but is not married to, DOUG IBENDAHL, a former lawyer for the state GOP who also represents the Family Taxpayers Network, a group led by conservative activist JACK ROESER. The FTN helped spearhead the petition drive to get the anti-gay marriage advisory referendum on the state ballot.

Santos, a former contract worker for the state treasurer, is a volunteer spokeswoman for the FTN. She said she and Ibendahl have been a couple for 10 years and have lived together for five years.

However, she said she does not think that conflicts with their advocacy of a constitutional amendment to declare that the only legal marriage in Illinois should be between a man and a woman.

Pro-family groups can take heart in this though:

Santos said she’s been writing and illustrating children’s books.