The Polite Bigotry of Peter LaBarbera

photo: Todd Winters

“I sincerely believe that nobody has to be ‘gay."

Savannah, Ga. Peter LaBarbera lives for conflict. For all of the neo-Puritans, there is always an ongoing battle in the cosmic war for Gideon against the forces of Satan and Hell. His crusade pour la vie is against the Leviathan Homosexual, homosexual activists, homosexual agenda, homosexual fanatics, and anything smacking of "normalizing homosexuality in the culture."

LaBarbera really puts himself out there as the go-to guy for All Things Considered Homosexual. From his website: "He has done over a thousand interviews on the [homosexual activist movement] and written extensively on most aspects of the homosexual, bisexual, and--(in quotes)--"transgender" agenda--with special focus on the inroads that the pro-homosexuality movement has made among America's youth." Further, his website states: "LaBarbera has debated the top[sic] homosexual advocates while appearing on hundreds of TV and radio news programs." Despite this veritable trove of exposure, LaBarbera politely demures that he is not in any way "obsessed" about homosexuality. Far from the fact. The site points out that "LaBarbera has been falsely accused of being a repressed homosexual more times than he can remember." Might this be selective memory loss? For a man who writes "thousands" of articles and appears on "hundreds" of on-air media programs all addressing a homosexual agenda, and at the same juncture claiming a non-fixation of the subject, then perhaps topic hobbyist would be a better choice of words, or homosexual dilettante a better turn of phrase. In any event, Peter the 'pro-family' activist spends quite a bit of time away from Le Mme et cinq enfants trying to pin scarlet Lambda's on homosexual chests in Op-Ed pages and TV/Radio studios across the land.

No "liberal caricature of the angry 'homophobe'" he, LaBarbera prides himself in damning homosexuals with civility. He's even dinged Fred Phelps for having an "unChristian message." Bully. Phelps is a bit too flamboyant, too red-meated, for the muted LaBarbera, who nonetheless believes that "homosexual practice is always wrong," "rejects the notion of inborn "gay" identity," denies the idea of transgender issues, and believes a radical, harmful, homosexual agenda is a force of evil to be engaged in holy struggle. Like the title of Bernard Henri-Levy's 1977 book, Barbarism with Human Face, the very mannerly and always civil Peter LaBarbera prefers to show all of us his affable facade. But mistake him not: LaBarbera is a barbarian, a modern Cromwell, who in the name of his god and the ego of his belief will force compliance, his order, and his radical religious agenda upon us all.

The battle is enjoined.

Great Balls O' Fire!

James Hartline and Prop.8

Savannah, Ga. There he goes again; Hartline's god likes to torch things in California. According to self-professed prophet Jimmy:

Today, people are running for their lives as 800 California homes have burned down and the firestorm is spreading like a nuclear holocaust. Yet, the radical homosexual anarchists rampage upon the streets of this state demanding the destruction of marriage and family, and the establishment of their socialistic dark vision for society.

This bluster is par for the course when it comes to the sybyl of San Diego. In October of 2007, the seer that Doth Protest Too Much breathlessly wrote:

Governor Schwarzenegger signed into law the heinous SB777 which bans the use of "mom" and "dad" in the text books and promotes homosexuality to all school children in California.

And then the wildfires of Southern California engulfed the land like a raging judgment against the radicalized anti-christian California rebels.

Eeek. Fire, fire, faggots cause fires and make a cranky desert god play with matches.

For the less belittling and more pure of heart among us wishing to engage the vociferating sooth-sayer in a dialectical discourse within ideology, wily James will likely say something like this:

I have taken a number of courses in Biblical studies at a well-respected Christian college.... you clearly have not had any systematic theology training from which you could form a trustworthy conclusion on these important matters. The Bible teaches believers that YOU CANNOT discern the teachings of God as He has conveyed in the Bible unless you have a divine encounter with His Holy Spirit. The Bible teaches that the Word of God is foolishness to those who are devoid of His Spirit. You cannot put God's laws and teachings into their proper context unless you have been filled with the very Spirit of God who inspired men to write those matters God deemed important to communicate with mankind.

Fair enough. And fair is fair. To freely use his own reasoning--and some of his own words--James Hartline demonstrates time and time again that his particular spiritual education and knowledge regarding the construct of same-sex relationships is based on biblical reasoning, as well as being devoid of any real, current, correct same-sex partnership. He clearly lacks any present systematic, committed, loving, homosexual experience from which he could form a trustworthy conclusion on this important manner.

His problem is that he is working from a foundational place of seeking to discredit homosexuality so that his radical agenda of promoting and accepting his lifestyle choice of faith can occur without secular challenge. Hartline's sad sin in his endeavors is that he is eliminating the critical and eternal role that love provides mankind to help resolve the issues of ignorance, prejudice, bigotry, and hate.


via the always steamin' Pam's House Blend and the incomparable Towleroad

The American Experiment Reboots

For Future Generations: A Brave New World

Shall We Leave the Gods Out of it, for Chrissakes?

Crabby race-baiting HIV-denying hysteric vs. Nutbar witch-hunting self-proclaimed prophet

Savannah, GA One full day to go until this never-ending campaign finally turns into a pumpkin, and the Republicans in the fullness of time are at last running ads in Pennsylvania (at least) targeting Sen. Obama's decades-old association with Rev. Jeremiah Wright. So it's officially fair game in the faith department. The Reverend Wright's rhetoric gives me the heebeegeebies, but the Rapture-tastic, Pentecostal, witch-hunter Thomas Muthee takes the whole Halloween cake.

For the less superstitious, there is very little time, and even less tolerance, to listen to believers debate the merits of cranky desert gods, but Sarah Palin--surprise!--has the gall to say,

"[Obama] sat in the pews for 20 years and heard Rev. Wright say some things that most people would find a bit concerning."

Gov. Palin may be correct in her assumption. But Sarah was raised a Pentecostal, and bathed in issues regarding the 'End of Times.' Care to wager even more Americans might be even more concerned to know her answers to these questions?

Gov. Palin:

1. Do you believe in the anti-Christ?
2. Do you believe we're living in the end times?
3. Do you believe that Jesus will return in your lifetime?
4. Do you believe that true Christians have to battle Satanic agents in the End Times?
5. Do you see yourself as a warrior for Christ as part of a new Apostolic movement?

via Talk To Action

Oh, and that distant beat you hear? Sen. McCain's 72 year-old heart...

A Minute on the Lips; Forever on your Hips

Sometimes these spots just write themselves

via Sullivan