Pedantic Political Ponderings

16 July 2012

16 July 2012: Marriage News Watch

15 July 2012

Praise: The DISCLOSE Act

There are a few responses to the Citizens United decision that are underway. Some seek a constitutional amendment to declare that corporations are not persons and thus deny them the right to contribute to campaigns and PACs, but a constitutional amendment is notoriously difficult to achieve. Legislation is much, much easier. One of the legislative approaches I started to look at following today's e-mail from Eugene Delgaudio, who regularly lies about legislation that is usually directed at equal treatment of gays and lesbians.

Mr. Delgaudio's paranoia goes in a new direction with today's e-mail. As always, he thinks that my first name is "Some". Here we go.

Dear Some,

There is a dangerous bill before the U.S. Senate right now.

And unlike the other legislation the Homosexual Lobby is pushing, this one is not designed to give radical homosexuals special privileges...

Of course, there is no "Homosexual Lobby" and there are no "special privileges" sought by the LGBTQ Community. We want equality. But that is not what has Eugene Delgaudio scared this time.

This bill, the DISCLOSE Act, will be used to attack Public Advocate directly.

Let's pause and look at what the Democracy Is Strengthened by Casting Light On Spending in Elections Act of 2012, also called the DISCLOSE Act of 2012, really is. According to the Library of Congress

Democracy is Strengthened by Casting Light On Spending in Elections Act of 2012 or DISCLOSE 2012 Act - Amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (FECA) to redefine the term "independent expenditure" as an expenditure by a person that, when taken as a whole, expressly advocates the election or defeat of a clearly identified candidate, or is the functional equivalent of express advocacy because it can be interpreted by a reasonable person only as advocating the election or defeat of a candidate, taking into account whether the communication involved mentions a candidacy, a political party, or a challenger to a candidate, or takes a position on a candidates, qualifications, or fitness for office.

Expands the period during which certain communications are treated as electioneering communications.

Prescribes disclosure requirements for corporations, labor organizations, and certain other entities, including a political committee with an account established for the purpose of accepting donations or contributions that do not comply with the contribution limits or source prohibitions under FECA (but only with respect to such accounts).

Prescribes disclaimer requirements for public communications that include functional equivalent of express advocacy.

Requires any communication transmitted through radio or television to include an individual or organizational disclosure statement, together with: (1) the Top Two Funders List of the persons providing the largest and second largest aggregate payments of $10,000 or more for a radio communication, and (2) the Top Five Funders List of the five persons providing the largest aggregate payments of $10,000 or more for a television communication.

Repeals the prohibition against political contributions by individuals age 17 or younger.

So, this would force Mr. Delgaudio to disclose his donor list when he is trying to use his tax exempt, non-profit organization to influence elections. Here is more of Mr. Delgaudio's e-mail.

The DISCLOSE Act is being disguised by the radical left as an attempt to level the playing field.

But in reality, it will force every non-profit lobby organization -- like Public Advocate -- to reveal their complete lists of donors!

My friend, the Homosexual Lobby will not hesitate to use this information to attack all the Public Advocate’s donors; pro-Family Americans who have given generously to see the Homosexual Agenda stopped.

So, this is today's paranoia. If their names are revealed, the bigots who contribute to Eugene Delgaudio's organization, certified as an active anti-gay hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, will stop giving so generously. They won't want their bigotry to be known by others.

That’s why we have to join with millions of other conservative Americans in telling the Senate to vote no on the DISCLOSE Act.

Mr. Delgaudio goes on to beg for money as he always does.

Regarding the DISCLOSE Act, it should be obvious that I am biased and want to have Mr. Delgaudio's group and all hate organizations exposed to more sunshine. The League of Women Voters, usually seen as non-partisan, has published a FAQ on the DISCLOSE Act. They even address Mr. Delgaudio's fear directly.

Q. Won’t disclosure of large contributions expose funders to unfair retaliation by disgruntled activists?

A. The Supreme Court has held that the value of disclosure to informing voters outweighs any minor or imagined retaliation against funders. The Court has said that in real, demonstrated cases of retaliation, an exception to disclosure may be granted.

They also address the notion that this might be aimed at solely conservative organizations.

Q. Aren’t unions given special treatment in the DISCLOSE Act so that Democrats can protect their funding sources?

A. We don’t believe so. Unions are covered by the DISCLOSE Act, just as for-profit and non-profit corporations and trade associations such as the Chamber of Commerce are covered.

Q. Isn’t the DISCLOSE Act just a way to limit Republican funding sources so that Democrats will have an electoral advantage?

A. When campaign finance loopholes are created, both political parties typically do their best to exploit the loophole. The disclosure loophole created by the huge spending unleashed by Citizens United will be no different. The voters are the ones who will lose because without disclosure, they can’t know who is trying to influence their votes.

While I like the idea that corporations should not be legally recognized as persons in terms of our election system, I also like sunshine. If we don't know who is attacking us, there is a huge problem.

But I am writing anonymously. Well, if I have full equality, including having no risk to my employment for being gay, then I will be happy to have sunshine on myself as well.

13 July 2012

Response to Anonymous Bigot

Yesterday I wrote a response to Eugene Delgaudio's lie-filled e-mail. An anonymous user responded with a different pack of lies. There are enough lies that I am responding in a new post.

Anonymous13 July, 2012 16:20

All he is saying and informing others is that the gay movement is very strong and lethal.

Very strong and lethal? Neither.

First, gay movement implies that one chooses to be gay. Sorry. If that were true, most of the gays of my generation would be straight. They are not. We'll look at some of the science of this a little later in this post.

The strength of the LGBTQ Community is that we are second class citizens who are begging for equality. If we were "strong" we would already be equal. We are not. If we were so strong, it would not be legal to fire a person for being gay, as is the case in most states. As noted in the graphic, below, it is legal to fire someone based solely on their sexuality in twenty-nine states (thanks to GLAAD). This is why ENDA (the Employment Non-Discrimination Act) is so important.

What is lethal about being gay is the environment that bullies and liars create. Most gays and lesbians who are not confronted with unnecessary challenges would live normal lives. The myth of short lifespans was published as a now discredited set of studies by Paul Cameron. There was also a Canadian study exploring lifestyles in Vancouver thirty years ago which has its authors asking that it not be used to spread homophobia.

Bottom line, is that the LGBTQ Community exists in a struggle for political and legal equality, not strength. Our lifestyles are varied, but not inherently lethal.

It has, in many states, inforced homosexual lifestyle education to be taught as an alternate way of life "and should be tried and experienced by everyone to truely see if this is something that could be a way of life for you or not". They teach this from grade 1 and up. Are you kidding me. We don't teach normal sexual activity between male and female until jr high and you want to get to the kids at a younger age to twist and confuse their thinking.

Not at all true. First, the goal of the LGBTQ Community is acceptance, not coercion. Even if we wanted to sway people to a different sexual orientation, it is unlikely that we would often succeed. This is not hyperbole. This is the belief of our major medical and psychological organization.

On Tuesday of this week the American Psychological Association, the American Psychiatric Association, the National Association of Social Workers, the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Psychoanalytical Association, and several of the California chapters filed an Amicus Curiae Brief with the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

II. Homosexuality Is A Normal Expression of Human Sexuality, Is
Generally Not Chosen, And Is Highly Resistant To Change.

That is the title from a section that starts on page 17 of the pdf. A little more from that section:

Current scientific and professional understanding is that the core feelings that form the basis for adult sexual orientation typically emerge between middle childhood and early adolescence, without any necessary prior sexual experience.

The Brief goes on to refute claims of reparative therapy.

Wake up. Homosexual activity is as sick and twisted and pedophillia.

I am wide awake. Unlike pedophilia, homosexuality is about sex between consenting adults. Children cannot give legal consent. Even if children appear to be consensual, one cannot assume that they understand sexuality and its benefits and consequences. Sex with children is wrong. Correlating adult homosexuals with pedophiles is wrong.

The most famous pedophile so far this year is Jerry Sandusky, with all of the information not yet in. Please note that Mr. Sandusky appeared to be a heterosexual. In fact, buried in the FBI statistics, most pedophiles are male and most of their victims are female (not that any sexual abuse of a child should be seen as heterosexual or homosexual, it is child abuse period.)

IT'S A WAY OF LIFE THAT HAS BEEN CHOSEN AND ACCEPTED BY THOSE THAT LIVE IT TO BE NORMAL and ACCEPTABLE.

No. Making this all caps does not make it more true, only more annoying. Our sexuality is inherent. Yelling that it is chosen does not change the medical and psychological facts.

I am not condeming those into those live styles, it's like a drunk.... a person who needs help.

In fact, you are condemning me and all other gays. What I need is not help but to be left alone to live my life without your harassment.

Dont' tell me it's natural if all the gay lobbiest do is to force it down the publics throats and try to make it legal to be force and taught to school children of all ages.

No one is teaching children to be homosexual or heterosexual in our schools. That is among the big lies of those who have been challenging California's SB-48 legislation, the The Fair, Accurate, Inclusive, and Respectful (FAIR) Education Act. What is being taught is that we should tolerate and accept each other, both in what we have in common and in how we differ.

I will be damned if I would let my 4 boys be taught life and told that, that is an alternative way of life. If you want to live that lifestyle keep it to yourself.

I don't know what you mean by "taught life". Schools are expected to teach children to become adults and handle the variety of situations that life will throw at them. To prepare students, we teach them about math and language, physical exercise and sports, and the complexities of society. We don't teach children how to be sexual. We teach life skills, not life styles.

I can only assume that you want schools to ignore parts of society that you don't like. So, you want your sons to be taught lies. Homosexuality is real and there are homosexuals in every culture and have been for all of recorded history. Pretending otherwise is a lie.

There is no single "homosexual lifestyle". Just as for heterosexuals, some attend more parties than others; some do more community service and give to charity more than others; some work to save the world while others waste the resources we have. Stereotyping of either homosexuals or heterosexuals is not useful.

Don't pay off government officials to pass and enforce all kinds of laws that will force the 97% of the public that want nothing to do with this lifestyle for themselves or their families to be a manditory taught practice in school.

We agree that bribery is awful. It is awful no matter who is doing so. When the National Organization for Marriage is offering two million dollars to New York State Senators that is wrong.

Using phrases like "this lifestyle" and "a manditory taught practice in school" is lying. Not useful for any meaningful dialogue.

Rather than continue the hyperbole, let's look at the real information about LGBTQ people and their relationships. The following is from section III of the Amicus Brief we talked about previously.

III. Sexual Orientation and Relationships.

Like heterosexuals, gay and lesbian people want to form stable, long-lasting relationships, and many of them do: numerous studies of gay and lesbian people show that the vast majority of participants have been in a committed relationship at some point in their lives, that large proportions are currently in such a relationship (40-70% of gay men and 45-80% of lesbian women), and that many of those couples have been together 10 or more years. Recent surveys based on probability samples support these findings. Data from the 2010 US Census shows that same-sex couples headed more than 600,000 US households and more than 90,000 in California, including more than 18,000 married couples in California and more than 130,000 married couples in the United States.

Empirical research demonstrates that the psychological and social aspects of committed relationships between same-sex partners closely resemble those of heterosexual partnerships. Like heterosexual couples, same-sex couples form deep emotional attachments and commitments. Heterosexual and same-sex couples alike face similar issues concerning intimacy, love, equity, loyalty, and stability, and they go through similar processes to address those issues. Empirical research also shows that gay and lesbian couples have levels of relationship satisfaction similar to or higher than those of heterosexual couples.

Perhaps I should have simply deleted the hate and lies of "Anonymous". I was tempted to do so. But, it is sometimes important to respond to lies with truth instead of ignoring the hate and just moving on.

12 July 2012

FollowUp 6: Eugene Delgaudio Lies About Legislation Again

Dear Some,

So begins the latest lie from Eugene Delgaudio. This time it is a lie regarding potential litigation.

Another attack came sooner than even I feared.

I have just found out the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) is launching another attack on myself and Public Advocate as a whole.

No. The Southern Poverty Law Center is not launching an attack. They are responding, yesterday in the linked blog post, to Mr. Delgaudio's appropriation and modification of copyright materials without attribution or payment. They are responding to Mr. Delgaudio taking that material, an engagement photograph, a shot of love, and turning it into a tool for hate. It is Mr. Delgaudio who launched the attack. The Southern Poverty Law Center is the defender of what is right. The following in bold is from the linked site.

It was supposed to be a reminder of one of the most special days shared by Brian Edwards and Tom Privitere – their engagement photo.

The black-and-white photograph shows the two men kissing with the New York City skyline in the background. The picture was one of several that Edwards posted on his blog to allow friends and family unable to attend the couple’s wedding to share their joy. But what was supposed to be a symbol of the life-long commitment between two people in love was hijacked by an anti-gay hate group.

Recently, the men discovered their photo had been taken from the Internet and used in an anti-gay mailer to attack a political candidate in Colorado. The city skyline had been removed from the background and replaced with snow-covered trees one might find in Colorado. Bold words, on a red background, were added: “State Senator Jean White’s idea of ‘Family Values?’” White supported Colorado’s civil union legislation.

“This photo represented our love and commitment and the many challenges we have overcome in order to share our lives together,” Edwards said. “When I first saw how our photo had been publicly destroyed and used against gay and lesbian families, I was shocked, heartbroken and livid. I don’t want this to happen to another gay or lesbian couple.”

Neither the couple, nor the photographer, knew about the doctored photo until a friend of the couple informed them. The mailer was the work of Public Advocate of the United States, a Falls Church, Va., organization the Southern Poverty Law Center has designated as an anti-gay hate group.

Today, the SPLC sent a cease-and-desist letter to the group and Eugene Delgaudio, its president. The letter, sent on behalf of the couple and photographer Kristina Hill, warns that the SPLC is investigating the unauthorized use of the copyrighted photo and demands that Delgaudio, Public Advocate and anyone acting on their behalf immediately stop using the photo. It asks Delgaudio to confirm within 10 days that he and Public Advocate have stopped using the photo.

The rest of the article, including the original and the doctored photographs, can be seen at the Southern Poverty Law Center. Mr. Delgaudio's e-mail continues.

Last week I sent you several emails warning that the SPLC was determined to destroy our organization and our cause.

Together, you helped me raise a decent amount of money for the coming fight, but I must admit that we fell short of my goal...

And with the enemy so suddenly upon us, I am very worried.

So, again, Mr. Delgaudio is after money. He enriches himself at the expense of the happiness of others. Evil.

This attack is forming quickly -- I have not even received anything in writing, but they have already leaked it to the press.

Leaked it? No. Released it. A leak implies that there is something to keep secret.

They again claim that Public Advocate is a “hate group” simply because you and I refuse to embrace the Homosexual Agenda.

No. You don't need to embrace anything and you will not be labelled a hate group. Mr. Delgaudio makes money by encouraging hate and working actively against equality.

And they are demanding I “cease all operations” in this fight.

Almost. This is close to true. The Southern Poverty Law Center's cease and desist letter calls on Mr. Delgaudio to "immediately cease and desist any further unauthorized use of Brian and Tom’s images and likenesses, and any further unauthorized use of Kristina’s copyrighted photos or other intellectual property." It would be good if they could call upon Mr. Delgaudio to cease all operations, but that's not what's happening in this particular case. Mr. Delgaudio chose to start this fight and the Southern Poverty Law Center is attempting to end it. That is what a cease and desist letter is all about.

Public Advocate could soon be facing a serious legal battle for supposed “hate crimes” against the Homosexual Lobby.

The particular cease and desist letter is about intellectual property rights, not hate crimes. Mr. Delgaudio is, again, imagining future scenarios. (He is a liar).

My lawyers have warned me not to go into anymore details, but I can assure you this:

As long as I am able, I will continue to fight for the Family.

That is to say, he is going to continue to fight against my family, against the family of Brian Edwards and Tom Privitere, and against all other LGBTQ families. The supposed warning from his attorneys does not make sense. Any reasonable attorney would simply tell him to stop using the copyrighted material.

I will send you more information once I receive their letter and my legal team has a chance to review it.

He received it by e-mail before he sent his letter to everyone on his mailing list, begging for more money.

Your public advocate,

Eugene Delgaudio
President, Public Advocate of the United States

P.S. Please prayerfully consider chipping in with a donation of $10 or more to help Public Advocate fight for traditional values.

Sorry to remove the link where he begs for money. That is Mr. Delgaudio's obvious goal.

Because Public Advocate of the U.S. is a non-profit, charitable organization that fights the radical agenda of the homosexual Lobby, contributions are not tax deductible for IRS purposes. This email was not produced or emailed at taxpayer expense. Public Advocate's phone number is (703) 845-1808, its address is 5613 Leesburg Pike, Suite 17 Falls Church, VA 22041, and its website is http://publicadvocateusa.org/.

It is obnoxious that his hate is not taxed.

19 December 2011, Original Pedantic Political Ponderings post.
11 January 2012, FollowUp 1.
14 January 2012, FollowUp 2.
16 February 2012, FollowUp 3.
15 March 2012, FollowUp 4.
13 June 2012, FollowUp 5.

Various Direct Links