A spokesman clarifies Pope Francis's announced concerns about the "gay lobby" in the Vatican

Eye of the Tiber

Is it any wonder that the Holy Father is so
concerned about the gay lobby in the Vatican?

by Ken

The issue of a reputed "gay lobby" burst into public consciousness when its existence was offered as a possible reason for the sudden resignation of Pope Cardinal Ratguts (aka Benedict XVI), who was said to have cut and run rather than risk the fireball resulting from public exposure of this allegedly powerful coterie within the Vatican. More recently, his successor, Pope Francis, made disparaging reference to the supposed gay lobby.

Just yesterday Howie was speculating about the dark significance of the pope's outside-the-Vatican living arrangements. Now, thanks to the investigative blog Eye of the Tiber ("Breaking Catholic news so you don't have to"), we have new insight into the much-rumored-about gay lobby.

"Pope Literally Meant A Flamboyantly Decorated Lobby," Vatican Clarifies

VATICAN -- Being interviewed via Skype hours ago, spokesman for the Vatican Press Office Monsignor Bernard Hopkins clarified recent remarks made to a Latin American Church group by Pope Francis admitting the existence of a "gay lobby" in the Vatican.

"It is true what the Holy Father said about there being a gay lobby in the Vatican, but it is not as many have speculated," Hopkins told Eye of the Tiber from inside the site of the gay lobby in question. “The Holy Father was literally complaining about the posh, overly decorated, overly flamboyant lobby located at the southwest entrance of the Vatican, where we meet many foreign dignitaries.

"As you can see there is just too much pink . . . too much pizazz, as they say. This has bothered the Holy Father, who much prefers pastels and neutrals."

Hopkins went on to point out a couple of examples of dazzling chandeliers, glamorous floor-to-ceiling mirrors, and a painting of Liberace. “Of course he wants to destroy the gay lobby. You know how embarrassing it is for him to greet the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church while standing on a plush pink carpet?"

IN AN UNRELATED VATICAN CONTROVERSY --

Unconfirmed reports have Pope Francis "at wit's end" over reported "overstepping" by his desanctified predecessor, the former Pope Cardinal Ratguts, who is said to be behind, or at least a party to, the recent appearance of bands of unruly teenagers inside the Vatican selling hall passes and validating parking, on the ex-pontiff's authority.

A source close to the investigation, who declined to be identified because it "made [him] uncomfortable," said that the former Cardinal Ratguts' position is that "while he may have given up the powers of the papacy, he still has the authority to oversee administrative matters like hall monitoring and on-site parking."


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Confidential to anti-educationalist "reformers": If you're pretending not to be a right-wing stooge, be careful about hobnobbing with other RWS's

This video featuring 11-year-old Marcel Neergaard and his parents helped set in motion the revocation of StudentsFirst's "Educator of the Year" award to Tennessee's energetically homophobic State Rep. John Ragan.

by Ken

There's a certain entertainment value in the spectacle of right-wing stooges pretending not to be right-wing stooges. Some of them are better at it than others, naturally. Like term-limited outgoing VA Gov. Bob McDonnell, who until recently has had more success than he deserved at parlaying his stylish coiffeur and polished demeanor into an image of noncraziness -- as compared with, say, the state's attorney general, "Cuckoo Ken" Cuccinelli, who has made his political bones boasting of rather than trying to hide his insane right-wing extremism, to the frequent embarrassment of the governor. (Ironically, even as Governor Bob's future political aspirations are being burdened with burgeoning scandals, the Cuckoo Man, running to succeed him, is having to put on a show of non-craziness to broaden his electoral appeal. It's kind of like a lumbering giant brown bear trying to dance in a tutu and ballet slippers. But against a wisp of a candidate like useless slut-Dem Terry McAuliffe, it may be good enough.)

Former DC Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee, a heroine of the educational-deconstruction racket that has somehow gotten itself called an educational "reform" movement, is no stranger to DWT. Back in October, for example, Howie wrote, in "GOP Education Policy: No More Pencils, No More Books, No More Teachers' Dirty Looks":

Eliminating public education and selling it off to their for-profit, corporate contributors is the entire basis -- implicit and explicit -- of conservative education policy. It's no coincidence that corporate shill Michelle Rhee is working for the most reactionary right-wing governors in America like Scott Walker, Tom Corbett, John Kasich and Rick Snyder and being financed by anti-public education fanatics like the fascist-oriented DeVos and Koch families. Their long-term goal, according to a People for the American Way report "is to make all schooling an activity supplied by private sources: for-profit management companies, religious organizations and home schools. The movement believes that targeted voucher plans, such as those in Florida, Milwaukee and Cleveland, give them a foot in the door en route to achieving this goal. While many of those who want to privatize education choose their words very carefully, others are more candid about their goals. The Heartland Institute’s Joseph Bast has urged others who share his group’s extreme agenda to be patient. 'The complete privatization of schooling might be desirable, but this objective is politically impossible for the time being. Vouchers are a type of reform that is possible now, and would put us on the path to further privatization.'"

What's really insidious this anti-educational hoax is that it has reached partway across the political spectrum to ensnare a portion of the center to slightly-left-of-center that traditionally thinks of itself as vaguely progressive -- especially in the business community, people who have somehow taken it into their heads that they have discovered the secret of education, when you'd be hard put to find any people who have less experience of or insight into what actually happens in the process of teaching and learning.

Basically their idea is to scapegoat teachers and advocate systems, relying heavily on standardized testing, that contradict almost everything that contributes to actual learning but can be expected to produce a new supply of little corporate tools. (I've written about this a number of times -- for example, "When we put the plutocrats in charge, we get their crackpot ideas on matters like education," September 2011, and "In NYS's education war, Diane Ravitch asks: 'Will we ever break free of our national addiction to data?'," February 2012.) The thing to remember here is that you not just crackpot ideology but a massive industry into which huge sums of money are poured, making it an obvious target for ideologues besotted with greed.

Rhee now runs an outfit ironically called StudentsFirst, yet another of those masterpieces of right-wing nomenclature which name a thing the exact opposite of what it actually is. And in that capacity, she just got caught in an embarrassing booboo: bestowing an organizational gold medal on a creepy-crawly Tennessee pol of amoeba-like primitiveness, State Rep. John Ragan, House sponsor of a creepy-crawly piece of legislation, introduced in both 2012 and 2013, which would have prevented teachers from talking about any aspect of sexuality unrelated to reproduction. It has been popularly known as the "Don't Say Gay" bill, and it was a cause of consternation among segments of the population who felt themselves targeted, like the LGBT community. Happily, the bill died in both sessions, but the ever-hopeful Representative Ragan plans to introduce it again, on the "third time's a charm" theory.

Oh yes, the awkward StudentsFirst connection: In 2012 the group bestowed an "Educator of the Year" award on none other than John Ragan. HuffPost's Cavan Sieczkowski tells the story of what followed (links onsite):

Gay 11-Year-Old's Petition Against
Homophobic Politician Succeeds

The Huffington Post  |  By Cavan Sieczkowski
Posted: 06/05/2013 3:34 pm EDT  |  Updated: 06/05/2013 7:08 pm EDT

An openly gay 11-year-old boy's campaign against a homophobic Tennessee representative has succeeded.

Marcel Neergaard is a Tennessee boy who was home-schooled for sixth grade and even contemplated suicide due to severe anti-gay bullying, bullying that many lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender advocates say could have been fostered in public schools throughout the state if the "Don't Say Gay" bill had actually passed.

The bill, rejected in 2012, aimed at banning talk of sexual activity other than "related to natural human reproduction." It was resurrected by Representative John Ragan (R-Tenn.) this year as the "Classroom Protection Act." It included an amendment requiring school officials to inform parents if they have reason to believe the child might be gay. The bill also required schools to provide counseling for such students so as to prevent “behavior injurious to the physical or mental health and well-being of the student or another person.”

The proposed "Classroom" bill failed in March, but prior to that, back in 2012, Ragan scored a victory when he was honored with the educational "Reformer of the Year" award by StudentsFirst, a group dedicated to defending the interests of children in public schools and pushing for transformative reform.

Neergaard didn't think Ragan deserved such a title. So he started a petition on MoveOn.org to get the accolade revoked. And it worked. After getting more than 50,000 signatures, the bullied youngster's campaign caught the attention of StudentsFirst and today the group reneged Ragan's award.

"I'm very proud," Neergaard told The Huffington Post in an email Wednesday. "I want to make sure to thank all the people who signed my petition, because without them, it would not have been possible."

"I had my petition up for less than a week, and it actually worked," he added. "When I pressed the victory button [on MoveOn.org] I actually got my brother to put his finger over my finger, because he really wanted to push it."

StudentsFirst founder Michelle Rhee responded to the group's decision to revoke Ragan's award on Wednesday. As a mother of two daughters, she wrote, she realizes that a safe and nurturing school environment is a top priority. Not only did she rescind the recognition, but Rhee also denounced Ragan's bill as "ill-conceived and harmful legislation" that would have "cultivated a culture of bullying."

Tim Melton, Vice President for Legislative Affairs at StudentsFirst, made it clear that the group has never supported the "Classroom Protection Act."

"When it comes to this kind of legislation, StudentsFirst is clear that we stand strongly opposed to policies, statements, or actions that could create an unsafe or unwelcoming environment for any student in any school," he said in a press release sent to HuffPost. "In Tennessee and elsewhere, we remain committed to that and to working with parents, teachers, and administrators to ensure every student has a great teacher, parents have access to great schools, and that policymakers are making effective use of public dollars."

The New Civil Rights Movement's David Badash sought comment from StudentsFirst, asking "if StudentsFirst is asking Rep. Ragan to return the $6500 StudentsFirst donated to his campaign, and if StudentsFirst will make a public pledge to not donate to any lawmaker who opposes LGBT civil rights." He got this response from a spokesperson:

We appreciate you reaching out. The short answer to your questions is no and here's why, in Michelle's own words from the blog post:

StudentsFirst is a single-issue organization. That means we focus on improving education for kids, and nothing else. We're proud to have worked with legislators on both sides of the political spectrum and to have found common ground supporting meaningful reform policies. This oftentimes means we build relationships with and support legislators whom we fundamentally disagree with on other issues -- even sometimes on issues within the education policy arena.

As StudentsFirst continues our fight to ensure every child is given the best possible opportunity to succeed in school, we know it is also important to help educate lawmakers and our members about the importance of promoting safe school environments for our students.

Sounds swell, unless you look behind the pretty words to StudentsFirst's actual "single issue": to turn the educational system into a cash cow for entrepreneurs promoting the indoctrination of robotic capitalist toolettes. It's hardly surprising that they find themselves making kissy-face with the likes of Representative Ragan.

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Not Jennifer Garrison Again! The DCCC Is Trying To Recruit Ohio's Sarah Palin To Run Against Bill Johnson

Steve and Jennifer-- a match made in hell

Clearly, the DCCC should be going after powerful Republican policy makers in vulnerable seats like Paul Ryan (where Obama scored 47%), John Mica (where Obama scored 47%), Ileana Ros Lehtinen (where Obama scored 53%), Peter King (where Obama scored 52%), Fred Upton (where Obama scored 49%), Mike Rogers (where Obama scored 48%), Buck McKeon (where Obama scored 48%), John Kline (where Obama scored 49%), and Darrell Issa (where Obama scored 46%). Instead Steve Israel is all about targeting pointless GOP backbenchers no one's ever heard of and wasting all the DCCC's resources on them even if they're in tough red districts. The Republicans above-- all powers for evil within Congress who Israel won't seriously pursue-- are in MUCH easier districts for Democrats than, say, ridiculous Republican nonentity Bill Johnson. His district has a PVI of R+8 and Romney beat Obama there 55-43%. But that's the kind of place Israel is trolling for conservative Democrats to shower money on. By way of comparison, here are the PVIs of districts who's Reps the DCCC hasn't-- so far-- been allowed to target because of Israel and Wasserman Schultz:

• Ryan- PVI-R+3
• Mica- PVI-R+4
• Ros-Lehtinen- PVI-R+2
• Peter King- PVI-R+1
• Upton- PVI-R+1
• Mike Rogers- PVI-R+2
• McKeon- PVI-R+3
• Kline- PVI-R+2
• Issa- PVI-R+4

A Midwest congressman with as much contempt for Steve Israel as I have alerted me to the fact that the DCCC has been trying to recruit former state Rep. Jennifer Garrison to run against Johnson, who won the seat against Blue Dog Charlie Wilson in the Great Blue Dog Apocalypse of 2010. Garrison, as we'll see in a moment, is far to the right of Wilson, who was defeated because the Democratic base couldn't bring themselves to vote for someone who had disappointed them by voting against the progressive agenda so consistently. His initial 135,628 votes (62%) in the 2006 midterms when he first won, shrunk down to a dismal 92,823 votes (45%) in the 2010 midterms-- while the GOP candidate grew from 82,848 (38%) in 2006 to Johnson's win in 2010 with 103,170 (50%). Last year the DCCC encouraged a rematch and Wilson was defeated by Johnson again-- 144,444 (47%) to 164,536 (53%). The DCCC, looking to restock the caucus with Blue Dogs, wasted just under $2.5 million on that race.

So what did the DCCC learn? Not to find a mainstream progressive Democrat to run against a colorless, dull Republican obstructionist-- but to find someone even further right-wing than Wilson (who died in April). Enter Jennifer Garrison, Ohio's Sarah Palin. Garrison can be best described as a vicious, homophobic, anti-union, anti-choice, pro-coal, anti-minimum wage, reactionary stooge. In other words, the perfect candidate for Ohio political boss, Chris Redfern, and DCCC chairman Steve Israel.

Garrison beat a Republican incumbent in 2004 to win a state house seat from Southeast Ohio, by ATTACKING HER GOP OPPONENT FOR BEING TOO PRO-GAY. Yes, you read that right. From the Gay People's Chronicle: Garrison already has a rocky relationship with the LGBT community. She won her House seat by gay-baiting her predecessor, Nancy Hollister, in 2004.

Earlier that year, Hollister was the only Republican to vote against the so-called “defense of marriage act.” It was considered a courageous vote.

Garrison sent out mailings that read, “If you believe marriage is between one man and one woman, there’s something you should know about Nancy Hollister.”

The other side of the card said, “DOMA was enacted precisely to protect Ohioans from having to accept ‘marriages’ or ‘unions’ entered into in other states. Despite the value of DOMA, Nancy Hollister voted against it. Jennifer Garrison believes marriage is between one man and one woman and will fight to protect our values.”

In 2006, as a member of the House Education Committee, Garrison helped to kill an amendment that would have required Ohio schools to protect students from bullying for their sexual orientation or gender identity.

The anti-bullying bill passed without the LGBT protections.

An attorney, Garrison opposed EHEA last year, saying it is wrong to single out classes of people for protection. This is a common talking point that anti-gays use against equality laws, and is legally flawed.

From the Akron Beacon Journal (November 11, 2004):

Garrison turned the Hollister vote [against the Ohio Defense of Marriage Act] into something seemingly sinister. She told the Parkersburg (W.Va.) newspapers that "the big difference between Nancy and I is the gay marriage issue. I am against it. She is for it."Garrison sent mailings into homes that read: "If you believe marriage is between one man and one woman, there is something you should know about Nancy Hollister." The mailing then all but declares that Hollister embraces gay marriage, concluding Garrison will "fight to protect our values." Karl Rove would be proud. Clearly, Garrison rode the wave of state Issue 1. She and her pals should be ashamed.

But not only content to have the LGBT community exist as second-class citizens, Jennifer Garrison also wants her own gender to subist that way. From a NARAL email yesterday:

Last week, Jennifer Garrison, a Democrat from Marietta, officially entered the race for Ohio’s Secretary of State. Jennifer Garrison currently serves in the Ohio House of Representatives and has a 0% rating from NARAL Pro-Choice Ohio.

Rep. Garrison showed just how extreme her anti-choice position is when she filled out the 2008 candidate questionnaire for Ohio Right to Life, saying she would:

• support legislation in Ohio to outlaw abortion (with only an exception to save a woman’s life),

• support legislation that would allow pharmacists to refuse to dispense emergency contraception, and

• support state funding for so-called “crisis pregnancy centers” that lie to women about the risks of abortion and never refer patients for abortion or birth control services.

Representative Garrison does not share our values.

She has also voted against the minimum wage, has counted coal interests as a top-ten funder and would like to protect the rights of criminals to get their hands on guns.

Ohio Progressives finally drove Garrison out of politics in 2010. We may have finally found a conservative Democratic woman who is actually too conservative even for EMILY's List, but Steve Israel wants to get her back in again. Why doesn't he go do something vaguely useful instead-- like finding someone to run against Darrell Issa?

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Bronze Age Morals-- Roberto De Mattei Teaches Hatred And Bigotry As History

Backwardness in a suit and tie

Roberto De Mattei isn't some redneck from rural Tennessee, Georgia or Alabama. He's not from Mississippi or Utah. In fact, he's a Rome-based professor, well known for his anti-Science perspective and as an apostle of religious hatred and bigotry. He's also the president of a right-wing outfit in DC-- the Lepanto Foundation, an anti-gay operation that manages to cow the IRS enough so it pays no taxes. Lately the history professor with strong ties to Italy's criminally corrupt former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, has been running around declaring that European public opinion is in the midst of an anti-gay renaissance. "I say Latin because in France you’ve had enormous protests against same-sex 'marriage' and in Italy we have the March for Life, where we are of the same mind as the American March for Life. Each is characterized by being spontaneous, grassroots movements." A real right-wing dirt-bag, this guy.

He's facing calls to resign as the vice president of the Center of National Research after his latest outrageous statements that twist history for his own hate-fueled ideology. Sounding like a garden variety evangelical huckster from the South, he blamed the Japanese tsunami on "Divine Punishment." And now went on the radio to tell people that "The collapse of the Roman Empire and the arrival of the Barbarians was due to the spread of homosexuality. The Roman colony of Carthage was a paradise for homosexuals and they infected many others... The invasion of the Barbarians was seen as punishment for this moral transgression. It is well known effeminate men and homosexuals have no place in the kingdom of God. Homosexuality was not rife among the Barbarians and this shows God’s justice comes throughout history."

Actual historians are outraged that De Mattei's close ties with the Vatican, with Berlusconi and with education minister Maria Stella Gelmini put him into unmerited positions to spread his calumny and hatred.

Historian Emilio Gabba, a leading light in Roman history, said: "It is highly improbable homosexuality led to the fall of the Roman Empire."

Professor Lellia Cracco Ruggini, an expert on Roman history from Turin University, said: "There is no proof Rome had a high number of homosexuals. I can safely say Rome did not fall because it was gay." However research would seem to suggest homosexuality was rife in ancient Rome.

The 18th century expert Edward Gibbon wrote that "of the first 15 emperors, Claudius was the only one whose taste in love was entirely correct."

Homosexuality is widely portrayed in ancient Roman art and was seen as acceptable 2,000 years ago.

This marriage equality demonstration at the Vatican is , apparently, not part of De Mattei's "Latin Spring:"



In the new issue of New York, Frank Rich has a long, emotive piece on ancient gay history. Except "ancient" is more like the pre-Stonewall 1960s than Roman times. The new Out deals with a very different straight man than Roberto de Mattei, with a very different message. De Mattei is clearly stuck in Bronze Age superstitions filled with fears and hatred but Ben Haggerty is... well, a more modern kind of guy. You may know him as Seattle's white rapper, Macklemore.

Handsome, fabulously dressed in a bright red suit that fits snugly on his slender frame, with perfectly cropped and coiffed hair. At first glance, one could take Macklemore (real name: Ben Haggerty) for the nation’s first mainstream gay rapper. He is, after all, a flashy 29-year-old dandy who saunters around in $450 blue velvet Stubbs & Wootton slippers, an MC who struck gold with a number 1 hit about vintage shopping, and a flamboyant showman who cemented his arrival in March with a rousing performance on Saturday Night Live in which he literally skipped across the stage (it drew 5.8 million viewers). But such an assumption would be relying too much on the same stereotypes Macklemore himself tackles in his breakthrough single, “Same Love.” No, he’s not gay. (In fact, he’s engaged to his tour manager and girlfriend of seven years.)

I hope this video of "same Love" will help you wash the satanic ugliness of Roberto de Mattei out of your consciousness.

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Re. the Boy Scouts' "compromise": Compromise with crackpots isn't compromise, it's capitulation

Lord Baden-Powell, inventor of the Boy Scouts: Would you entrust your burgeoning lad to this man? Would you want your burgeoning lad anywhere near this man?

"President Obama praised the Boy Scouts of America's decision to lift its ban on openly gay youth, but added he hopes the organization will take further action to allow openly gay Scout leaders, according to the White House."

-- the lead of Chris Johnson's Washington Blade report

"Allowing gay scouts but not adult scout leaders . . . was a step backward, because it reinforced the most vile stereotypes and misconceptions deliberately peddled by anti-gay activists."

-- Truth Wins Out Executive Director Wayne Besen

by Ken

The president's take on yesterday's vote by the Boy Scouts of America overturning the ban on membership by openly gay boys but maintaining the ban on openly gay Scout leaders, is the moderate middle-of-the-road position enunciated by many in the LGBT community and our sympathizers. It is the traditionally honored incrementalist response.

It's not my reaction, though. I find myself generally more comfortable with the statement issued by Truth Wins Out Executive Director Wayne Besen:

Today's Boy Scout's decision was insulting and pandered to ignorance and bigotry at the expense of  gay people and their families. Allowing gay scouts but not adult scout leaders was a compromise -- only in the sense that BSA compromised its integrity and decency. Let's be clear — this was not a step forward, but a step backward, because it reinforced the most vile stereotypes and misconceptions deliberately peddled by anti-gay activists.

Today's decision was degrading, dehumanizing, and disgraceful. It stigmatized LGBT people and their families and sends the dangerous message that they are inferior and a threat to society.

The new policy continues to tarnish the organization's image and TWO urges increased pressure on the BSA.

Homosexuality is not a moral issue, but a natural expression of who some people are. However, bigotry is a moral issue -- one which places the BSA on the wrong side of history.

TWO does applaud those who fought and victoriously ended the cruel ban on gay scouts. Now is the time to begin the next phase of this fight and bring down the final wall of BSA discrimination.

Of course way over on the other side of the issue, worshippers of the depravevd and bigoted status quo are having conniptions, announcing the end of civilization. Still, I'm with Wayne B -- "compromise" with degenerate fiends isn't really "compromise," it's capitulation.

I should add that I'm out of my comfort zone when it comes to the Boy Scouts, which were never part of my reality. My parents never explained it as such, but when I noticed other kids in school turning up in blue Cub Scout uniforms, it was communicated to me in some vague terms that no, we didn't do that. The "we," I came to understand, was Jewish folks.

I'm not saying there are no Jewish scouts, but I'm going to guess that the numbers aren't large. And anytime I read anything about arch-scout Robert Baden-Powell and what he thought he was up to with the youth of the British Empire, the freakier it all seems to me. Man, that was one weird dude. It's hard to imagine anyone less suitable for deciding what constitutes healthy physical and mental development for burgeoning lads.

My first thought is that the tradition-bound folks who think they're fighting for Baden-Powell's vision don't know much about that vision. My second thought is that quite possibly they are. Basically, the way i read yesterday's "split decision," it says:

Fagotry is of course a filthy preversion, but given the mounting pressures of political correctness, we can't afford to dump all the burden on the budding preverts but instead have to welcome them in the hope that it's just a phase and we can help them come out the right side of it so that just possibly they don't grow into the preverts we so rightly revile.

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Midnight Train To Georgia-- Tbilisi Not Safe For Tourists

Barbaric, primitive priests spread fear and hatred in Georgia

Yesterday I wrote about how primitive, Bronze Age notions regarding the subjugation of women in the patriarchal societies of the 3 major Abrahamic religions, still leads to thousands of brutal murders and barbaric treatment of women all over the world. Friday saw a demonstration related to that mentality in Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia. This time the victims of the primitive religionists, though, were gay people.

The first thing an international traveler notices on arriving in Tbilisi, capital of Georgia, is that the road leading from the airport to downtown is George W. Bush Avenue. It's a warning. Although rated a "safe" city, many people are backward and very primitive so there is always a certain danger, like the violent conservative riots that broke out Friday against the LGBT community in which 30 people were injured, several seriously. WikiTravel points to "a land filled with magnificent history and unparalleled natural beauty" and asks you to "[i]magine cities with narrow side streets filled with leaning houses, overstretched balconies, mangled and twisted stairways, majestic old churches, heavenly food and warm and welcoming people. All of this with a backdrop of magnificent snow peaked mountains, and the best beaches of the Black Sea." The news reports this weekend pointed to a savage, xenophobic and dangerous people led by primitive, hate-filled priests instead.

Of course, deranged religionist hate-mongers aren't confined to Georgia

A raging mob in Tbilisi chased away a downtown rally designed to commemorate the May 17 International Day against Homophobia. “Kill them! Tear them to pieces!” yelled the agitated crowd as police struggled to evacuate a handful of gay-rights supporters from the Georgian capital's central Freedom Square.

It was a scene of medieval mob violence, as thousands of Georgians-- mostly young men, but also robed priests and women in headscarves-- stormed through a police cordon and went pursuing the activists. “Where are they? Don’t let them leave alive!” screamed frenzied men, as they took over the square, outnumbering and overpowering police troops.

Police barely managed to herd some of the LGBT activists into municipal buses, before angry protesters surrounded the vehicles. The crowd hit, threw stones and followed the buses as they pushed their way out of the square.

The pursuit continued on the side streets. Just outside the square, a mob tried to storm a house, where several gay rights activists had sought refuge. “Drag them out, stomp them to death,” screamed one woman as  she tried to push her way through a group of policemen, who wrestled with the mob at the entrance of the house.

Youngsters swore, beat and threw various objects at police officers, who eventually pulled the activists into a car. A stampede occurred as the mob tried to chase the car down the narrow street, with some falling into ditches.

At the different corner of the downtown, several activists sought asylum in a grocery store and police managed to fight off the mob that tried to break into the shop.

Very few civilians dared to speak against the violence. “Look at yourselves! You call yourselves Christians?” objected one elderly woman in tears, speaking from a balcony. “Go ahead, kill everyone you are told to hate in the name of God and national values.”

Government officials from both the ruling Georgian Dream and President Mikheil Saakashvili's minority National Movement condemned the violence and blamed each other's policies for it.

“Both groups have a full right to hold peaceful rallies. Violence is unacceptable,” said Justice Minister Tea Tsulukuani.

Appearing on Rustavi2 television, senior National Movement parliamentarian Gigi Tsereteli called the violence "anarchy," and noted that "This is not the state we were building..."

On the eve of the clash, the highly revered leader of the Georgian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Ilia II, called on the city government not to allow an LGBT demonstration in Tbilisi.

The patriarch also urged restrained conduct, but gay-rights activists claim that the church fomented the display of violence by speaking out against the rally.

In what some participants described as a voluntary initiative, gay-rights opponents, led by priests, gathered in the morning of May 17 and marched toward Freedom Square with posters like “Stop Promoting Homosexuality in Georgia” and “Homosexuality is the Worst Sin.” Parish women held strands of nettle in their hands.

“Nettle has curative properties,” one woman commented to EurasiaNet.org. “A few hits in the right place and it will kick those demented thoughts out of their heads.”

As the rally degenerated into violence, protesters screamed verbal abuse at Georgia’s National Ombudsman Ucha Nanuashvili and a US embassy official, who also showed up at the demonstration.

Brawls broke out in several parts of town and dozens were hospitalized. The tensions that continued for hours steamed off after the church called on the believers to relocate to the city’s main cathedral, Holy Trinity.

Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili earlier had emphasized that sexual minorities have equal rights with other Georgians under the law, adding that "Society will get used to it." So far, it doesn't look like it has.

Americans, Canadians and citizens of the European Union don't need visas to visit Georgia. The water isn't safe to drink there but "it is a very ingrained and idiosyncratic characteristic of Georgian hospitality that Georgians wish nothing more than to hear that foreigners are enjoying their experience in Georgia. Expect to be asked whether you enjoy Georgia and its cuisine. And it is expected that you respectfully reply in the affirmative. Otherwise your 'hosts' will look terribly dejected as if expressing a feeling of collective failure to show visitors enough hospitality." Watch the video to get a better insight into the national character.

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Not Every Homophobe In Congress Is Republican-- And The DCCC Wants To Spend Your Money On Anti-Gay "Democrats" Running For Reelection

Jim Matheson (D-UT), a face of the Mormon bigotry against the LGBT community. Last year the DCCC funneled $1.3 million into reelecting him

When you contribute to the DCCC, most of the money that gets earmarked for candidates goes to Frontliners, vulnerable incumbents viewed as having the worst chances to be reelected. There's a list. Most of them, though not all, wind up on the list because they vote like Republicans and local Democrats hate them and don't contribute to them or even vote for them. Like Mike McIntyre... who came within 650 votes of losing in November, will face a primary from Jonathan Barfield next year and, if he survives that (and doesn't retire or try a career Hail Mary pass with a pointless run against Kay Hagan), will be challenged by Republican David Rouzer again. Democrats in North Carolina may abhor Rouzer, but McIntyre usually votes exactly the same way he promises to vote-- last month against minimum wage, for example. Only 6 Democrats joined the Republicans to defeat a proposal to raise the minimum wage-- John Barrow (Blue Dog/New Dem-GA), Jim Matheson (Blue Dog-UT), Mike McIntyre (Blue Dog/New Dem-NC), Bill Owens (New Dem-NY), Collin Peterson (Blue Dog-MN) and Kurt Shrader (Blue Dog/New Dem-OR)-- and, like with any reactionary initiative, Boehner and Cantor know they can count on McIntyre. So if you responded to one of Steve Israel's desperate and unending pleas for contributions last week, you just helped finance the several million dollars the DCCC will waste trying to defend McIntyre's seat next year. And if you're gay or pro-LGBT rights it's doubly ironic because McIntyre is one of Congress' most virulent and hateful bigots.

The last time the Republicans made an anti-gay push-- with a homophobic amendment to the Violence Against Women Act on February 28-- 164 Republicans + Mike McIntyre (NC) and nominal Democrat Dan Lipinski (IL) voted for it. It wasn't enough to carry the day. 60 Republicans (not to mention the 197 other Democrats) seem to have decided homophobia is on the way out and the GOP leadership amendment was defeated despite McIntyre's treachery.

Democrats have evolved mightily on LGBT equality-- at least most Democrats have. In July 1996 when DOMA first passed 118 Democrats joined with 224 Republicans to pass it. Only 65 Democrats (+ Independent Bernie Sanders and one gay Republican, Steve Gunderson, voted against it). Last year crazed GOP homophobe and hatemonger Steve King (R-IA) attached an amendment to the 2013 defense appropriations bill to prevent same sex couples from marrying on bases. It passed 247-166. There were 17 Democrats who also voted with the hate-mongers. Here's the list. The ones bolded were singled out by the DCCC, not for retribution but for special financial support in their reelection bids. They were on the DCCC's Frontline list for 2012 and their faltering reelection campaigns were top priorities for DCCC spending last cycle. Because millions of dollars were spent on them, there was no money to go after vulnerable Republican policy makers like Paul Ryan, Buck McKeon, Fred Upton, Eric Cantor, etc:

John Barrow (Blue Dog/New Dem-GA)
Sanford Bishop (Blue Dog-GA)
Ben Chandler (Blue Dog-KY)- defeated
Jerry Costello (IL)- retired
Mark Critz (PA)- defeated
Henry Cuellar (Blue Dog-TX)
Joe Donnelley (Blue Dog-IN)
Gene Green (TX)
Tim Holden (Blue Dog-PA)- defeated in primary
Larry Kissell (Blue Dog-NC)- defeated
Dan Lipinksi (IL)
Jim Matheson (Blue Dog-UT)
Mike McIntyre (Blue Dog/New Dem-NC)
Collin Peterson (Blue Dog-MN)
Nick Rahall (WV)
Mike Ross (Blue Dog-AR)- forced to retire
Heath Shuler (Blue Dog-NC)- forced to retire

Over the weekend The Hill counted 11 Democrats left in Congress who are unevolved gay hating bigots. Obviously McIntyre is one of them. Their list includes the 9 Democrats who voted in 2011 to uphold the Defense of Marriage Act that denies federal benefits to gay couples who have neither left Congress nor publicly changed their positions: Barrow, Bishop, Cuellar, Green, Lipinski, Matheson, McIntyre, Peterson and Rahall plus two freshmen Democrats who voiced opposition to same-sex marriage during their 2012 campaigns: Bill Enyart (IL) and Pete Gallego (Blue Dog-TX). Of the 11, Israel has vowed to pump immense sums of DCCC money into the campaigns of Barrow, Enyart, Gallego, Matheson, and, once again, McIntyre.

The Hill also counts 9 Democrats who haven't taken a position on marriage equality yet: New Dem chairman Ron Kind (WI), Jim Costa (Blue Dog-CA), Cedric Richmond (New Dem-LA), Kurt Schrader (Blue Dog/New Dem-OR), David Scott (Blue Dog/New Dem-GA), Terry Sewell (New Dem-AL), Bennie Thompson (MS), Pete Visclosky (IN) and freshman Filemon Vela (New Dem-TX).

The Hill contacted all 20 offices this week as the Supreme Court considered two gay marriage cases and several Democratic senators made headlines by announcing their support for gay marriage.

Matheson, Rahall, and Gallego’s offices said they continue to oppose legalizing gay marriage.

Green said the choice should be left to the individual states but didn’t address DOMA, which he’d voted to uphold, or say whether he personally supported gay marriage.

Richmond told The Hill in a statement that he is “a firm proponent of equal rights” and thinks DOMA is unconstitutional, but didn’t expressly endorse legalizing gay marriage. His office said they had nothing more to offer on the matter when asked if that meant he backed gay marriage or just civil unions.

The rest of the offices did not respond to requests for comment.

Sewell said in 2010 that she supported gay rights but expressed a preference for civil unions over gay marriage.

Thompson and Scott voted for an amendment to the Constitution that would have banned gay marriage in 2006. They also are among the 29 Democrats who didn’t sign a 2012 "friend of the court" brief urging the Supreme Court to strike down DOMA, though both voted against DOMA when it came up for a vote in 2011.

Nine of those 29 Democrats now say they support gay marriage: Reps. Frederica Wilson (D-Fla.), Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.), Ben Ray Lujan (D-N.M.), Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.), Rick Larsen (D-Wash.), Mel Watt (D-N.C.), Jim Cooper (D-Tenn.), G.K. Butterfield (D-N.C.) and Ruben Hinojosa (D-Texas).

“Like many Americans, my views have evolved over time and I believe that committed adults-- be them gay or straight-- deserve to marry the person they love,” Butterfield told The Hill in a statement this week that represented his first public support for gay marriage.

Hinojosa was in Congress in 2006 but didn’t vote on the amendment, and voted against DOMA in 2011. His office this week said he supported gay marriage, the first time he appears to have publicly done so.

Important: if you contribute to the DCCC, you are contributing to reelecting Blue Dog hatemongers like Matheson, McIntyre, Gallego and Barrow who vow to vote with the Republicans to make sure there will never be equality for the LGBT community. Is that where you want your money to go? May I suggest an alternative? Every candidate on the Blue America list is publicly committed to LGBT equality.

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Far Right Democrat Stephanie Herseth Sandlin Is Lusting For A DC Comeback

The shady lobbyist husband wants the shady wife politician back in Congress

Blue Dogs like to say they're "just" fiscal conservatives. They are fiscal conservatives and almost always vote against economic justice, against the interests of working families and in the interests of the Wall Street banksters and corporations that subsidize their cushy careers. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin was a 3 term Rep from South Dakota and Blue Dog chairman until she was defeated, 48.1% to 45.9%, in the Great Blue Dog Apocalypse of 2010. She managed to amass one of the most right-wing voting records of any Democrat in Congress-- and not just on fiscal conservatism. She could almost always be counted on to back the Republicans on nearly their entire reactionary agenda. Let's take LGBT equality, since it's so much in the news lately. She's wasn't just against equality. There is no other way to describe Stephanie Herseth Sandlin than as a vicious homophobic bigot and hatemonger and dedicated, gratuitous enemy of LGBT families.

In September, 2004, soon after Herseth was elected to Congress, the Republicans proposed a Constitutional Amendment to prevent gays and lesbians from ever marrying anywhere inside the United States, regardless of what any states decided. It failed to get a 2/3s majority in the House but did "well," 227-186. 191 Republicans voted for it and 27 Republicans voted against it. 158 Democrats (+ Independent Bernie Sanders) voted against it and 36 Democrats voted with the GOP majority. Herseth was one of them, of course. Almost all of the Democratic bigots and hatemongers who voted for the amendment that day have since been defeated or otherwise driven out of politics, some in primaries, some in general elections and at least one so he could serve time in prison on bribery charges, conservatism and corruption being historically inseparable.

The only Democrats still serving in Congress today who voted for the Anti-Gay Constitutional Amendment are Sanford Bishop (Blue Dog-GA), Jim Cooper (Blue Dog/New Dem-TN), Jim Matheson (Blue Dog-UT), Mike McIntyre (Blue Dog-NC), Collin Peterson (Blue Dog-MN), Nick Rahall (WV), David Scott (Blue Dog/New Dem-GA), and Bennie Thompson (MS). The rest no longer have political careers (unless you consider lobbying a political career). At the time Herseth was quoted by the Associated Press as saying that "I agree with the President [George W. Bush] on this issue. Marriage should be between a man and a woman."

And the Republicans and their allies didn't give up in 2004. Two years later, hatemonger Marilyn Musgrave (R-CO) was back with another constitutional amendment to ban marriage equality. Herseth was still waving her "I Hate Homos" flag from the backbenches and was one of 27 Democrats-- again almost all Blue Dogs who, like herself, went on to defeat at the hands of grassroots Democrats unwilling to bother voting for reactionaries in 2010.

Of course, it's not just on equality that Herseth Sandlin is unqualified to run for office as a Democrat. She worked with the GOP to try to sabotage both health care reform and environmental legislation, voting against both the Affordable Care Act and Cap-and-Trade, and she was a shill for the NRA the entire time she served in the House. They gave her $5,000 during her 2004 campaign and supported her with hefty contributions against Republicans every time she ran. Besides giving her money flat out, the NRA Political Victory Fund endorsed her and spent $16,889 in 2010 on independent expenditures for her. Yesterday Greg Sargent did a column about wealthy Democratic donors who have had it with NRA shills like Herseth Sandlin and would no longer contribute to their campaigns. Kenneth Lerer of NY and David Bohnett of L.A. are done being suckered by right-wing, pro-NRA Democrats and the money faucet is shut. Hopefully, they're both savvy enough to figure out when they donate to the DSCC and the DNC that money goes right into the campaigns of faithless Democrats like Herseth Sandlin. Last year alone, Bohnett contributed $219,500 to Democratic candidates and PACs. In the same period Lerer gave over $80,000, including $30,800 to the DNC.

Normal Democrats in South Dakota, including several county chairmen, are circulating a petition to draft U.S. Attorney Brendan Johnson, the son of Senator Tim Johnson, who's stepping down, well aware that Herseth Sandlin is a proven loser who, as a candidate, will simply hand the Senate seat over to the GOP.

We believe that South Dakota needs someone in the U.S. Senate who will continue and expand upon Sen. Tim Johnson’s record of fighting for everyday people in Congress – even when that means standing up to big health insurance companies, Wall Street executives, Ag corporations, and oil tycoons.

We need a senator who will stand up for core Democratic values-- someone we can rely on to do the right thing without fear, especially when it comes to fighting for people who work for a living.

We need someone who believes that the role of government is to help people, and who is not afraid to ask the rich to pay their fair share. Someone who will make smart investments in our future and grow the middle class.

We believe Brendan Johnson should run for Senate.

As South Dakota’s U.S. Attorney, Brendan is our state's chief federal law enforcement officer. He has used that power to fight for the little guy.

Under Brendan Johnson’s leadership, South Dakota is the national leader in cracking down on deadbeat dads-- with over 50 percent of the nation's total federal prosecutions happening in South Dakota. Brendan Johnson was named 2013 Prosecutor of the Year by groups combating violence against women. And Johnson has played a national role in fighting on behalf of Native Americans.

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