Creating Change Notes - Friday Afternoon

Well, after a short tri to the X-ray guys, I made it to Creating Change. The keynote by Rea Carey was great. She took a few well needed jabs at President Obama and then acknowledged the passage of the Hate Crimes Bill. More to the point she encouraged everyone to become ambassadors for the movement. Talking to people each week about who we are and why we need to have the same rights as everyone else.

I also attended a workshop on Sexual Liberation that was interesting. I am glad to see sex becoming part of the LGBT movement again. For a long time activists seemed like eunuchs and it was not PC to talk about sex. Assimilation was the vogue, but I am glad to say that detour is behind many of us.

Tomorrow much more in the way of workshops and speeches, and then Sunday I get an award! (download the nifty poster with me on it here.)
Anyone interested, please attend the Leather Caucus this Saturday at 6:00 pm. It should be fun and enlightening.

Obama Calls Ugandan Anti-Homosexuality Bill "Odious"

Well it is a start anyway. Today at the National Prayer Breakfast, President Obama dropped a bomb when he called the pending Ugandan legislation "odious". It is significant since that event is sponsored by the Fellowship Foundation, a far right religious group.

From Think Progress come these quotes:

CLINTON: And I recently called President Museveni, whom I have known through the Prayer Breakfast, and expressed the strongest concerns about a law being considered in the parliament of Uganda.

– OBAMA: We may disagree about gay marriage, but surely we can agree that it is unconscionable to target gays and lesbians for who they are, whether it’s here in the United States or as Hillary mentioned, more extremely in odious laws that are being proposed most recently in Uganda.

I have criticized the President for attending this fake official event, but if he uses it to give these guys a nice verbal spanking, then I recant!

"National" Prayer Breakfast Includes the President

Sad, but true. Obama succumbed to political pressure and spoke at the fundamentalist propaganda fest, the National Prayer Breakfast. This event, which masquerades as some sort of official gathering is actually sponsored by the Fellowship, a shadowy fundamentalist group. The Fellowship has had it's fingers in the Uganda Anti-Homosexual laws, as well as numerous scandas in the infamous "C Street House".

It is politically difficult to not attend, since it would immediately garner attacks from right winders, but still to have Obama, Biden and Clinton at this gathering is disturbing.

I have no problem with prayer, I pray daily. I have a problem with associating with far-right fundamentalists who have worked to spread their radical brand of Christianity through our military and government. I put them right up there with the radical Islamists who have infiltrated Middle Eastern governments.

It's time Christians took their religion back from the far right.

Colin Powell Comes Out - In Favor of DADT Repeal!

General Colin Powell, once mentioned as a possible Republican candidate for VP and former top military officer in the 1990's has come out in favor of repealing Don't Ask Don't Tell.

“In the almost 17 years since the ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ legislation was passed, attitudes and circumstances have changed,” General Powell said in a statement issued by his office. He added: “I fully support the new approach presented to the Senate Armed Services Committee this week by Secretary of Defense Gates and Admiral Mullen.”

More from the NY Times.

Why President Obama Should Not Attend The National Prayer Breakfast

It is no secret, I am a Christian. Now, before you go imagining fire breathing evangelists, let me assure you I am not that kind of Christian. The Bible thumping fundamentalists have hijacked the word "Christian" and it's almost impossible to identify as one without the negative stereotypes getting in the way.

Well here is one reason those stereotypes exist. It's a group known as the "Fellowship Foundation" or sometimes "The Family". They are a strange group of people who hang out at the infamous "C Street House" in Washington DC and their members include Senators and Congressmen. My problem with this bunch is their subversive attempts to integrate religion with the government.

For example, Senator James Inhofe(R-OK)evangelizes while traveling at taxpayer expense. That is pretty clearly a violation of that whole church/state separation. More importantly, this group sponsors the National Prayer Breakfasts which have become almost mandatory for politicians wishing to score points with the fundamentalist right.

It is because of that group and their activities that CREW, the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington is urging everyone from the President on down to avoid the breakfast. You can read their letter here.

If you want more proof of the Fellowship Foundation's dirty deeds, look to Uganda and their anti-homosexual law that is before the Ugandan legislature. It was inspired by a visit from Fellowship members.