NOM Has The Money Laundering Sadz

"NOM vigorously denies that it violated any disclosure laws during the 2009 campaign opposing same-sex marriage. We worked with legal counsel to understand the law, and we followed that advice. The Commission staff has drawn improper inferences from the circumstances of the campaign environment that they wrongly interpret as meaning that if someone gave to NOM somehow they designated their gift to support the Maine campaign. However, we have submitted direct sworn statements from donors saying they had no such intention and any inference from the Commission staff to the contrary is false. We intend to appeal this decision in court because it is wrong as a matter of law and because the evidence supports our position, not that of the Commission staff.

"Moreover, we appear to be a victim of selective prosecution since major groups on the other side of this same campaign engaged in the same approach we did. In short, while we are disappointed in today's decision, we are not surprised by it and we will continue to resist the idea that somehow we failed to disclose donors to the Maine campaign. We disclosed our contributions to the Maine campaign committee, as Maine law requires. But we did not disclose our entire national donor list because those donors did not donate 'for the purpose of influencing' the Maine campaign, which is the trigger for reporting contributions that Maine law imposes." - Hate group leader Brian Brown, via press release.

RELATED: Earlier today an ethics committee ruled that NOM had violated Maine's campaign finance disclosure law and assessed the highest fine in state history.

Maddow BUSTS E.W. Jackson

Cardinal Dolan Sought Vatican Permission To Shield Millions In Assets From Lawsuits Filed By Victims Of Pedophile Priests

He has denied it for years, but today the truth came out. Via the New York Times:

Files released by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee on Monday revealed that in 2007, the diocese’s archbishop at the time, Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan, requested permission from the Vatican to move nearly $57 million into a cemetery trust fund in order to protect the assets from victims of clergy sexual abuse who were demanding compensation. Cardinal Dolan, now the archbishop of New York, has in the past emphatically denied seeking to shield church funds as archbishop of Milwaukee, and he reiterated in a statement on Monday that these were “old and discredited attacks.”

However, the files released Monday contain a letter he wrote to the Vatican in 2007, in which he explained that by transferring the assets, “I foresee an improved protection of these funds from any legal claim and liability.” The Vatican moved swiftly to approve the request, the files show, even though it often took years to remove known abusers from the priesthood. Abuse victims demanding transparency and accountability have long pressed for the release of the documents, and the victims’ lawyers had asked a judge to compel their release.

Bolding above is mine. The Archdiocese of Milwaukee declared bankruptcy in 2011.  Dolan has responded to today's revelation on his blog.

Unfortunately, we have already seen how the release of these documents will cause some to raise old and discredited attacks – like priest-abusers having been “paid” to apply for laicization, (like it or not, bishops do have a canon law obligation to provide basic support like health care and room and board for their priests until they have finally moved on) or that establishing a perpetual care fund from money belonging to cemeteries and designated for that purpose – as required by state law and mandated by the archdiocesan finance council – was an attempt to shield it from the bankruptcy proceedings. While certain groups can be counted-upon to take certain statements or events out of context, the documents released show plainly that the bishops have been faithful to the promises made over a decade ago: permanent removal from ministry of any priest who abused a minor; complete cooperation with law enforcement officials; and, strict child-safety requirements.

Catholic League blowhard Bill Donohue:

Under questioning by Jeffrey Anderson, an activist lawyer, Cardinal Dolan gravely disappointed the enemies of the Catholic Church: they were denied their “gotcha” moment. Indeed, pint-sized Anderson didn’t lay a glove on the big guy. Boring. That is the most accurate word to describe the deposition. Here is a list of the topics that Anderson pursued: the statute of limitations; a public list of accused priests; the process of handling deceased and elderly priests; laicization; false and substantiated allegations; compensation for priests let go from ministry; cemetery funds; parish finances; the scope of an archbishop’s authority; the effect of the scandal on Catholics. In short, there was nothing new—it was another fishing expedition conducted by a man who believes there should be one standard for the Catholic Church, and another for the rest of the world.

NOM Busted In ANOTHER Whopping Lie

NOM has been busted in one of their most stupid lies yet - and that's really really saying something. From the Chicago Tribune:

The Chicago Bears and former linebacker Brian Urlacher denied any involvement Wednesday with the Ruth Institute -- an affiliate of the National Organization For Marriage, which opposes same-sex marriage -- after an online promotion for the institute stated a clear involvement of the team. In an advertisement for its June gala at an upcoming conference, the California-based group stated, "For now, you should know that we have two fabulous raffle items from the Chicago Bears Organization (and a huge THANK YOU to the Bears for supporting our message)." Below the statement are images of an autographed Urlacher jersey and an autographed black-and-white photo of deceased Hall of Fame running back Walter Payton. "I sign a lot of stuff for charity and I don't always know where it goes," Urlacher told the Tribune. "If I would have known it was for this cause, I wouldn't have done it."

The Chicago Bears issued an official statement: "The two items featured in The Ruth Institute gala invitation were personal donations to (President) Dr. Jennifer Roback Morse. Neither was a club donation, nor do they represent the team's view on any social issues. Any remarks stating otherwise are false."

NOM's Jennifer Roback Morse, as you would expect, tried to weasel her way out of it.

Reached by phone Wednesday afternoon, Morse initially declined comment. But her website later dropped all references to the Bears at the team's request, and Morse issued a statement: "The Ruth Institute is not working with the Chicago Bears organization or any of its players past or present to promote our upcoming auction. The memorabilia we are auctioning off was acquired by me personally, not through the team or players. We understand that the Chicago Bears organization takes no position on social issues, and we regret any confusion we may have caused on this point."

It appears that NOM's story was first questioned earlier today by Equality Matters blogger Carlos Maza.  And once again we see that there is NO LIE, no matter how insanely petty, that NOM is not willing to tell. (Tipped by JMG reader Steven)

Headlines Of The Day

The shit is really hitting the fan for Tucker Carlson's wingnut Daily Caller and its months-long campaign to bring down Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ).  The Daily Caller writer who launched the story and followed up with daily outraged updates is Matthew Boyle, who recently jumped ship for Breitbart.   Boyle and I have occasionally exchanged tweets on various subjects, but after the Menendez story began to fall apart a few weeks ago, he stopped responding to my questions about it.  Since then Boyle, usually a many-times-per-day tweeter, has gone almost silent.  Hit any of the above headlines for the stories.

Arizona Attorney General Tom "Sanctity Of Marriage" Horne Exposed As Adulterer

Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne, one of the state's most vocal opponents of same-sex partner rights, has been exposed (by the FBI, no less) as an adulterer.

Tom Horne caused more than $1,000 worth of damage when he clipped another car in a parking garage and just drove off, in order, according to FBI agents, to conceal an affair he was having with his passenger. Phoenix police records obtained Tuesday include detailed witness accounts by FBI agents who were following Horne, Arizona's attorney general, on March 27 as part of a campaign finance investigation. They said they watched him back his borrowed vehicle into a white Range Rover in the parking garage of a Phoenix residential complex. FBI agents said that after the fender-bender, Horne and the woman, since identified as Carmen Chenal, who works for Horne, walked off and entered the residential area of the complex where Chenal lives.

In August, Horne filed a lawsuit with the U.S. Supreme Court, demanding that Arizona be allowed to repeal domestic partners insurance for state employees. In his suit, Horne claimed that rescinding benefits for gay employees would be good for Arizona tourism because doing so "furthers the State’s interest in promoting marriage." In addition to the investigation into Horne's campaign finances, there are charges that the employee he's been adulterously fucking was hired despite having no qualifications for the job. (Tipped by JMG reader Homer)

Overheard On Second Avenue

Second Avenue, Wednesday, 9:45PM

Woman On Cell Phone: "You're still at the office? What's that music? I can hear music. Why is there music at your office? Where are you really? OK, fine. Send me a photo of your desk right now and I'll believe you. I'll wait. Hello? Don't you fucking hang up on me! Hello?"

Submitted Without Comment

Quote Of The Day - Rick Green

"I am not aware of anything from our broadcast that was inaccurate. Nothing in the transcript you sent is wrong or false. We may disagree on what constitutes 'leading,' but neither David or I said the ACP was the largest. As often happens, the larger associations become either stagnant or politically correct and lose the leadership qualities that make an organization 'leading' in their profession. Meanwhile, a perhaps smaller, but more professional and cutting edge organization begins to lead by stating facts and putting forth truthful research the older organization is afraid to release due to political correctness." - Dominionist Rick Green, after Warren Throckmorton called out Green and David Barton for lying about their fake-ass pediatricians group.

The Pastor Is SO Busted

If you're going to lie about having been a war hero and Navy SEAL, you totally shouldn't use the plot of Steven Seagal's Under Siege to tell your story. PennLive has the humiliated confession of Rev. Jim Moats.

Google Busts Microsoft's Bing

Google has busted Microsoft's Bing for stealing search engine results.

Google first suspected foul play in May 2010. By October 2010, with Bing results beginning to look uncannily like Google's, it knew something had to be done about it -- and so, in true, nerdtastic style, Google set up a sting to prove that Microsoft was actually behind the wholesale mimicry of Google's search results. Google injected "synthetic" results into its search engine -- fake queries and results that no real user or engine would ever generate. Then, on D-Day, December 17, about 20 Google engineers were asked to run the test queries with Internet Explorer 8, Bing Bar and Suggested Sites. By December 31, some of these fake results began appearing on Bing.

Bing is lame anyway.

Rekers & Geo: In Flagrante Delicious

Since the ho is out of the barn, the Miami New Times has released their photo of NARTH/FRC fuckweasel Dr. George Mekers at MIA with his hired male prostitute, the barely legal twink Geo. The New Times properly notes that Geo doesn't seem to be fulfilling his duties as Rekers' paid luggage lifter.

CAPTION THIS PHOTO.

Anti-Gay Christian NARTH Leader And Gay Adoption Opponent George Rekers Found Vacationing With A Male Prostitute

Happy Happy Joy Joy! Notorious NARTH member and vigorous gay adoption opponent Dr. George Rekers was caught by the Miami New Times as he returned from a ten-day vacation with a young male prostitute that he hired on Rentboy.com.

On April 13, the "rent boy" (whom we'll call Lucien) arrived at Miami International Airport on Iberian Airlines Flight 6123, after a ten-day, fully subsidized trip to Europe. He was soon followed out of customs by an old man with an atavistic mustache and a desperate blond comb-over, pushing an overburdened baggage cart. That man was George Alan Rekers, of North Miami — the callboy's client and, as it happens, one of America's most prominent anti-gay activists. Rekers, a Baptist minister who is a leading scholar for the Christian right, left the terminal with his gay escort, looking a bit discomfited when a picture of the two was snapped with a hot-pink digital camera. Reached by New Times before a trip to Bermuda, Rekers said he learned Lucien was a prostitute only midway through their vacation. "I had surgery," Rekers said, "and I can't lift luggage. That's why I hired him." (Though medical problems didn't stop him from pushing the tottering baggage cart through MIA.) Yet Rekers wouldn't deny he met his slender, blond escort at Rentboy.com — which features homepage images of men in bondage and grainy videos of crotch-rubbing twinks — and Lucien confirmed it.

Rekers is part of the fake pediatricians group created by NARTH.

Rekers is a board member of the National Association for Research & Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH), an organization that systematically attempts to turn gay people straight. And the Huffington Post recently singled out Rekers as a member of the American College of Pediatricians — an official-sounding outfit in Gainesville that purveys lurid, youth-directed literature accusing gays of en masse coprophilia. (In an email, the college's Lisa Hawkins wrote, "ACPeds feels privileged to have a scholar of Dr. Rekers' stature affiliated with our organization. I am sure you will find Prof. Rekers to be an immaculate clinician/scholar, and a warm human being.")

Congratulations to the Miami New Times! Here's Rekers' Facebook page, should you care to write him a note congratulating him on his excellent taste in boy hookers.

UPDATE: I've just put a call in to the Family Research Council to see if Tony Perkins has anything to say about their co-founder. I'm not holding my breath, but it was a fun call to make.\

UPDATE II: I have revealed the identity of the male hooker.

UPDATE IV: My click-out thingy tells me that thousands of you have hit Reker's Facebook page. Gee, could that be why it's now GONE. Snork!

Mike Huckabee: My Words Were Distorted (But The Tape Proves Otherwise)

Mike Huckabee says that his words were "grossly distorted" when he was recently quoted comparing gay marriage to incest, drug abuse, and polygamy.

The young college student hopefully will find a career other than journalism. I would ask that he release the unedited tape of our conversation. I believe that what people do as individuals in their private lives is their business, but I do not believe we should change the traditional definition of marriage. Not only did he attempt to sensationalize my well known and hardly unusual views of same-sex marriage, he also inaccurately reported my views on Michael Steele as GOP chairman - I offered my support and didn't "Rip into Steele" as his article asserted. I had a candid and frank conversation with the group about health care, education, the economy and national security while the young journalism student, instead, chose to focus on the issue of same-sex marriage and grossly distort my views.

The student journalist in question promptly posted an audio clip confirming Huckabee's exact words.

Ranker's Top Ten Anti-Gay Activists Caught In The Act Of Being Gay

Ranker.com has posted their list of the top ten anti-gay activists who've been caught in the act of being gay. Go to the site for photos and how each were caught. Here's their list of self-haters, all of whom have been exhaustively covered on this here website thingy.

1. Troy King
2. Jim West
3. Richard Curtis
4. Bruce Barclay
5. Roy Ashburn
6. Larry Craig
7. Ed Schrock
8. Robert Allen
9. Ted Haggard
10. Mark Foley

List-topper Troy King's story was hilarious, but my personal favorite remains Richard Curtis' night of shame.

Focus On The Family Employee Busted For Focusing On Underage Sex

Somebody at Focus On The Family was clearly thinking of the children.

A man who narrates Christian CDs has been arrested on suspicion of using the Internet to arrange sex with a teenage girl. Juan Alberto Ovalle, 42, thought he was corresponding with a girl under the age of 15, but instead it was undercover officers with the Jefferson County District Attorney's office, according to court documents. Ovalle works for a Spanish-speaking arm of the Colorado Springs Christian group Focus on the Family and narrates Biblical text for CDs, according to Internet Web sites that sell the products. "We're shocked," said Gary Schneeberger, a spokesman with Focus. Schneeberger said the group "is beginning its own process of looking into the allegations" and that it "will work with authorities" if asked. Ovalle serves the Trans World Radio ministry and also the Spanish broadcasting department of Focus on the Family, according to one of the sites. "He founded Spanish Christian Audio in 2001 to help Christian organizations with their audio needs," the site said. Ovalle was arrested Friday when he drove to Lakewood to meet the young girl, who was actually an undercover officer, to have sex, the DA's office said in a media release.

Ovalle was charged with two felony counts: attempted sex with a minor and internet luring of a child.

PFLAG: Sally Kern Is A Liar

And they have the tape to prove it. Remember when we got all misty-eyed when PFLAG met with Sally Kern and reported that she told them that gay folks shouldn't be fired for being gay? And then she denied having said it?

On Wednesday, Parents, Family and Friends of Lesbians and Gays will be releasing an audio recording of a March 27th meeting that took place between Oklahoma House Rep. Sally Kern and a group of Oklahoman PFLAG parents. PFLAG has confirmed with PageOneQ that the recording, which was made with Kern's consent, will contradict her account of the discussion.

The meeting was arranged in the wake of Rep. Kern's controversial remarks about gays and lesbians at what she thought would be an off-the-record meeting exclusively for her supporters. Afterwards, the organization's national office released statements that indicated the lawmaker believed no one should be fired for being gay or lesbian. Additionally, said PFLAG, Kern agreed to consider another meeting with PFLAG parents in her district. Following the accounts of the meetings, Kern denied two things: stating that she would mull another meeting, and saying that gay and lesbian workers should not be fired.

"Representative Kern launched a personal attack on the credibility of Oklahoma's PFLAG families," said PFLAG Director of Communications Steve Ralls. "Yet the audio recording of her meeting with our Oklahoma City supporters tells, quite clearly, the real story of what she said.

"The evidence – in Kern's own words – leaves nothing in doubt," Ralls added. "It's another classic Kern moment caught on tape, and an undeniable validation of PFLAG's report from our families' sit-down with Sally."

PFLAG will release the entire 40-minute audio of the tape so that Kern cannot claim her remarks were edited. Another good Christian bearing false witness. Anybody shocked?

UPDATE: Here's part one of the audio. Get the rest here.


(Via - PageOneQ)