Box Turtle Bulletin

Porno Pete’s Headline Of The Day

Jim Burroway

May 15th, 2008

Whenever I write a post, my worst struggle is with the headline. I’m rarely satisfied with what I come up with. In a word, I suck.

But at least my headlines aren’t as bad as this one:

How Will California Homosexual Couples Consummate their Counterfeit ‘Marriages’?

Poor Peter. His mind really is in the gutter, isn’t it?

Anti-Christian Bigotry

Timothy Kincaid

May 14th, 2008

Today I ran across some anti-Christian bigotry of a particularly nasty sort. As I was recently accused by Peter LaBarbera of being an anti-Christian bigot, this caught my attention.

I’m including a selection here. I hope no one is offended as it is pretty hateful and vile.

yet another connection between the United Church of Christ (UCC) and perversion.

We hear that the UCC is still searching for a partnering church that cater to swingers.

For the sake of accuracy, we also recommend a name-change to UCS: United Church of Sodom.

Enough with this phony “Christ” talk.

We envision a host of liberal Protestant mergers under the UCS banner beginning with proud homosexualist bishop (Vicky) Gene Robinson and his wayward Episcopal Church.

It’s been quite a while since I’ve seen such a venomous attack on Christianity and Christian churches. But, surprisingly it wasn’t atheists or agnostics that were spewing hate. It wasn’t Wiccans or Muslims or “homosexualist Jews”.

Nope, all this anti-Christian bigotry was brayed out by Peter LaBarbera. Ah Pete, it’s no wonder you didn’t accept our challenge to point out Box Turtle Bulletin’s bigotry. You forgot that it was you who wrote it on your own site.

LaBarbera rants on like… well, LaBarbera

Timothy Kincaid

May 13th, 2008

In response to our criticism of his alliance with racists, Peter LaBarbera has lashed out in his usual way, ranting and frothing and void of all reason or accuracy.

Pete doesn’t rebuke his allies David Duke and Ted Pike for their racism and anti-Semitism. He doesn’t admit that he is fearful of the story that might come out in court if VanAdslen is prosecuted. He doesn’t allow that “the homosexual”, the witnesses, and the police just might be telling the truth. He doesn’t acknowledge that his language contrasting Velasquez with the “strapping, clean-cut, All-American looking young man” lends itself to racism.

Ah, but if he did any of that, he wouldn’t be Peter LaBarbera.

No, instead Pete identifies me as “the Left”, accuses me of hate, and calls me an anti-Christian bigot like Barney Frank (I don’t know why he brings up Barney Frank, but I’m guessing it’s because he’s Jewish and we know what Pete’s allies think about those radical homosexual Jews).

Oh, and to prove that LaBarbera is not a racist he posts a picture of a Black ex-lesbian (yes, he capitalizes “black”). If it wasn’t so tragic it would be funny.

OK. Sure I question the theology of exclusion and condemnation. Yeah I point out when conservatives twist Scripture, logic, and truth to fit their anti-gay agenda.

But “the Left”?

Anti-Christian?

Now that’s what I call irony.

So we have a challenge for LaBarbera: Hey, Pete, give us an example of how our writings here at Box Turtle Bulletin show that we hate Christians. Provide us an example of the anti-Christian bigotry that you think is so prevalent on this site.

Racists Gain More Allies from the Anti-Gay Movement

Timothy Kincaid

May 12th, 2008

The defense of homophobic violence that started with an article by Ted Pike on David Duke’s virulently racist and anti-Semitic website has now been taken by Peter LaBarbera to his fellow anti-gays: Concerned Women for America (CWA)’s Matt Barber, and Bob Knight of the Culture and Media Institute.

Bob Knight and Peter LaBarbera are old friends from when they were part of Concerned Women, but I really don’t know if either Barber or Knight also share Pike and Duke’s racist and anti-Semitic agenda. They may just have been brought into the alliance by LaBarbera.

Have You Heard? We Won The Culture Wars!

Jim Burroway

April 10th, 2008

That’s according to Peter LaBarbera anyway. Me, I’m not seeing it. But LaBarbera sees defeat and he’s in a full blown panic:

My friend Laurie Higgins below has hit on a microcosm of why our movement is on the brink of an astounding cultural defeat — the triumph of immoral same-sex behavior as a “civil right.” …

About three years ago, I sat in a roomful of evangelical leaders at a major ministry where it was taught that you should not criticize homosexual behavior in advocating against “same-sex marriage.” The “expert” speaker cited poll data and negative audience reaction to the issue being raised. [Emphases his.]

LaBarbera’s also upset that a recent poll found that “80% of Christians polled picked “anti-homosexual” as a negative adjective describing Christianity today.” His solution? Be even more “anti-homosexual.”

Good plan, Pete.

Porno Pete Wants To Out Gov. Crist

Jim Burroway

March 27th, 2008

A few years ago when Florida Governor Charlie Crist was running for office, allegations surfaced that Crist was gay. Crist has repeatedly denied it — not that there’s anything wrong with that. After all, he isn’t opposed to civil unions, and he did direct the state Republican Party to halt funding of the anti-gay marriage initiative.

But now Governor Crist has a new girlfriend, and Crist’s father, Dr. Charles Crist is vouching for him as well:

Dr. Crist said his son, married once from 1979 to 1980, has always enjoyed the company of women: “Always! I mean, I can’t keep up with him,” Dr. Crist laughed. “And they like him, too.” 

I guess he’s really straight after all. Good timing too, now that Gov. Crist is being talked up for as possible GOP vice-presidential slot.But none of that is enough for Peter LaBarbera. He still thinks all the as-yet unsubstantiated rumors by themselves are enough to disqualify Gov. Crist from the ticket. What’s more, Petey is intent on outing him:

You won’t believe the amount that’s already been written and discussed in the media about Crist’s sexuality and related issues in the homosexual and liberal press … In our view, that’s a reason right off the bat not to consider Gov. Crist for the highly visible and important position…

We called the Florida’s Governor’s office to ask if the governor is a homosexual or bisexual, and whether he has ever engaged in homosexual behavior — odd questions, to be sure, but necessary ones in this situation. We did not hear back. 

Imagine that. The Florida Governor’s mansion isn’t returning Peter’s calls.

Peter’s Obsession

Jim Burroway

February 21st, 2008

We’ve often been bemused and perturbed by Peter LaBarbera’s peculiar obsession with all things gay. We’re not alone. Fellow Christians also find him an embarrassment:

…I will faithfully be waiting for the following websites to emerge, if these people are really trying to get biblical truth out there

Americans for Truth about Lying
Americans for Truth about Gossip
Americans for Truth about Bitterness
Americans for Truth about Slander
Americans for Truth about Poverty
Americans for Truth about Widows

MRSA Update: UCSF Creates Task Force To Study Overhyped Scare

Jim Burroway

February 7th, 2008

If you remember from last month, we saw the mainstream media and anti-gay extremists hype a study by scientists from the University of California, San Francisco by reporting that a “flesh-eating superbug” was sweeping the gay community and threatening to spread into the”general population.” This drug-resistant staph infection, known as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), has actually been spreading among straights for decades (especially among professional athletes and military personnel). But that didn’t stop the usual band of anti-gay extremists, who are never ones to be sticklers for truth or accuracy, to exploit the misery of others to blame gays for once again being a threat to the “general population” — all with their cynical brand of “love,” of course.

The hype eventually retreated somewhat — some members of the mainstream media took a deep breath and sought out some second opinions as UCSF offered a half-hearted apology. But that did little to clarify the situation, and the hype of the “flesh-eating superbug” has continued to take on a life of its own.

That’s why three local San Francisco activists, Michael Petrelis, Clinton Fein, and Hank Wilson, sought a meeting with UCSF to discussion the events of last month. That meeting took place on Tuesday, and Petrelis and Fein have reported the results. Here are some highlights:

The following people were present at the meeting: Barbara French, Associate Vice Chancellor, University Relations; Kieran Flaherty, Director of State Government Relations; Shane Showdon, Director of LGBT Resources; Aimee Levine, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Public Affairs, Beth Mooney, assistant to Barbara French and Dr. Chip Chambers, a scientist and professor involved in the MRSA study. …

…

The core problem presented by the press release was a misapplication of epidemiological terminology that implied that gay men were about to unleash a MRSA strain on the “general population” instead of acknowledging that the strain already exists in the “general population,” despite findings that it seems to have a higher preponderance among men who have sex with men.

This misconception was fueled by comments by one of the lead authors of the study, a postdoctoral scientist, Binh Diep, who expressed grave concern about “a potential spread of this strain into the general population.”

…UCSF was quick to acknowledge the boundaries breached by Binh Diep. As a postdoctoral scientist, while excited about communicating the findings of his study, and whilst genuinely hoping to communicate the information in the interests of promoting health, he was unequipped to recognize the extent to which his comments could be misconstrued….

…Ms. French acknowledged that an internal task force had been created in the wake of the MRSA fallout, to streamline and coordinate efforts between and among various departments relating to the dissemination of news and public communications. This is an important and significant development.

It looks like Peter LaBarbera’s the one who could use some fact-checking.

LaBarbera Babbles on about MRSA

Timothy Kincaid

January 29th, 2008

Peter LaBarbera has yet further musings about MRSA. But because there’s nothing new and they really aren’t very interesting, I think I’ll just illustrate for you the limitations of my artistic abilities.

Close the San Francisco and Boston Bathhouses!!!

Timothy Kincaid

January 23rd, 2008

Update for Peter LaBarbera’s readers: The post you’re really looking for is here: Is MRSA The New Gay Plague? It’s the post he doesn’t want you to see.

As we reported earlier, the usual crowd of anti-gay activists jumped all over the faulty stories about outbreaks of MRSA in San Francisco and Boston. Although subsequent reporting (and our indepth analysis) clearly shows that the anti-gays were completely wrong in their accusations, rather than repent of their false accusations, they simply changed directions.

Concerned Women for America issued a press release quoting their own Matt Barber “inviting” the gay community to join his campaign against bathhouses

Therefore, these groups should publicly condemn those specific ‘high-risk behaviors’ which this study has concluded are responsible for spreading MRSA among homosexuals.

“In light of this behaviorally related MRSA outbreak,” said Barber, “we additionally ask HRC and other groups to call on local health agencies to shut down the many bathhouses and sex clubs around the country where men meet for anonymous sex with other men, often multiple partners, on a daily basis. These places create the ‘perfect storm’ for infectious disease, including MRSA.

Peter LaBarbera printed Concerned Woman Barber’s press release with the heading

CWA Invites Homosexual Groups to Work to Curb Spread of MRSA

and put in his own support for the effort

Well, folks, I’m not exactly expecting Human Rights Campaign and the rest of the “gay” lobby to hop on this request for cooperation from my good friend Matt Barber of CWA, but it sure would be progress if they did.

So will Box Turtle Bulletin join the cry to close down those bathhouses in San Francisco and Boston that were so integral to the spread of MRSA? Well, we might consider the question, if they existed!

What the anti-gays failed to notice is that neither San Francisco nor Boston has a single public gay bathhouse. San Francisco closed down bathhouses in 1984 at the outbreak of the AIDS epidemic and the closest bathhouses to San Francisco are in Berkeley and San Jose. Bostonites can head down to Providence.

So yet again we see that the claims of anti-gays have no basis in reality.

Mainstream Media Retreats From MRSA Hysteria

Where are LaBarbera's and Barber's apologies?

Jim Burroway

January 20th, 2008

The mainstream media is now beginning to recognize that the MRSA hype was overblown:

• New York Times: “After linking new strain of staph to gay men University scrambles to clarify.”
• Newsweek: “A new ‘gay disease’? A drug-resistant staph is infecting some gay men, but experts say a lot of media got it wrong.”

Peter LaBarbera and Matt Barber couldn’t conceal their glee when the lead researcher’s ill-conceived statements landed on their lap. Now that UCSF has apologized and denounced LaBarbera’s and Barber’s statements and major news outlets are correcting initial reports, will we see a similar apology from LaBarbera and Barber? After all it would be the Christian thing to do. I somehow doubt it. They’ve built a career by exploiting the suffering of others to score cheap political points. “With love,” of course, as they like to say when they remember it’s what they’re supposed to say. But in the end, this is just another day at the office for them.

You can read more about the overblown hype in our latest report, Testing the Premise: Is MRSA The New Gay Plague?

Is MRSA The New Gay Plague? Not According To The Medical Literature

Jim Burroway

January 19th, 2008

A new study came out last week from researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, which found a high rate of drug-resistant staph infection among “men who have sex with men” in San Francisco and Boston. The sensational reporting surrounding this report suggests that once this drug-resistant infection known as MRSA “reaches the general population, it will be truly unstoppable.” That line has probably become the most quoted line among our favorite anti-gay demagogues. Lead researcher Binh An Diep also told the San Francisco Chronicle:

We probably had it here first, and now it is spreading elsewhere… This is a national problem, and San Francisco is at the epicenter.

The Toronto Star said that this latest study “discover[ed] a new strain” of a super-bug “hitting gay men” Headlines in Britain screamed, “Flesh-eating bug strikes San Francisco’s gay community,” while Australians panicked over the more widespread, “Flesh-eating bug spreads among gays.”

But there’s a problem with all of this. None of it is true!

In our latest report, “Testing the Premise: Is MRSA The New Gay Plague?”, we examine some of the medical research on MRSA over the past two decades — there are over 750 articles listed in the PubMed Database on community-acquired MRSA — and reach several conclusions which should be obvious to anyone familiar with the subject:

• San Francisco is not the epicenter of the new disease,
• this disease in fact is not new,
• and gay men are not spreading it into the “general population.”

The overwhelming medical evidence actually shows the opposite — it’s the “general population” that’s responsible for spreading MRSA into the gay community. In our report, we examine some of the communities that have been hardest hit by MRSA, including:

• Cities all across the U.S. and around the world.
• American Indians, rural Alaskans, Native Hawaiians, prisoners, and kids in day care;
• A religious community in upstate New York;
• Soldiers and sailors in the U.S. and on a ship at sea;
• And athletes. Lots of athletes. The USC Trojans, St. Louis Rams, Miami Dolphins and Washington Redskins were all hit in recent years, as were other professional, college and high school programs around the country. (One study blamed “cosmetic body shaving and turf burns,” and the Clinical Journal of Sports Medicine described MSRA as “the latest sports epidemic.”)

But for some reason, there has not been a hue and cry over a “flesh-eating jock staph” threatening the “general population.” In fact, none of this has anything to do with gay men. But that doesn’t keep the popular press and anti-gay demagogues from accusing disease-ridden gay men of spreading filthy diseases to an innocent, unsuspecting population. Sound familar?

In our latest report, you can:

• See the actual medical evidence — including direct links to the medical research so you don’t have to take our word for it;
• Examine the statements by lead researcher Binh Diep which helped to fuel the hysteria about the latest “gay plague”;
• Look at how the usual suspects have used the researcher’s comments to flame anti-gay bigotry;
• Learn what the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention really say about MRSA and gay men.

You will find all of this in Testing the Premise: Is MRSA The New Gay Plague?

Peter LaBarbera Updates His Pathetic Mess

Jim Burroway

December 28th, 2007

After we reported on LaBarbera’s disgusting twist of a Cicero, Illinois assault, we now learn that he decided to retract his original story:

NOTE TO READERS: When we made our initial comments on our story, we were relying on what turned out to be a sloppy and erroneous Chicago Tribune story (see bottom), and we had not seen the Chicago Sun Times story on this crime, which conflicts with the Tribune account. I apologize for reporting this so quickly and for foolishly relying on a single Chicago media story for accurate news (not a good idea).

It’s not a good idea to rely on LaBarbera for “the truth” either. Anyway, his sole “evidence” that the attacker is gay now gone. But when your name is LaBarbera, who needs evidence anyway?

Regardless, what we still have with this case is a maniac who sexually assaulted another man, while later claiming to hate “faggots.” Strange. Most men would never think of sodomizing another man, and last I heard anal sodomy was seen as the defining act of male homosexuality.

So, we come back to this: if this criminal — who is so crazed that his own mother put out an order of protection against him — is a violent “gay-basher,” then he’s one with a homosexual problem.

Right is wrong, black is white, and he’ll stick to his story even when the evidence evaporates. News flash for LaBarbera: You don’t have to be gay to sodomize someone with a broom handle. That’s not a “defining act of male homosexuality” any more than raping a woman with a beer bottle is a “defining act of heterosexuality.” But saying so is a defining act of stupidity. What a pathetic creature. If only we had an award to give him…

Possible Hate Crime Assault In Chicago

And Peter LaBarbera couldn't be happier

Jim Burroway

December 28th, 2007

It appears that an horrible hate crime near Chicago a few days ago, and already one anti-gay extremist is positively dripping with glee as he takes a shot at twisting it to his advantage.

According to the Chicago Sun-Times:

Felipe Rivera, 43, is charged with a hate crime as well as aggravated criminal sexual assault and other offenses, said a spokesman for the Cook County state’s attorney’s office. If convicted, he could face more than 30 years in prison, a source said.

… “Mr. Rivera got upset apparently because he believed the victim, No. 1, didn’t respond to a female and then, No. 2, somehow winked at him — made what he perceived as a sexual advance,” said Cicero police spokesman Dan Proft.

According to police, Rivera punched the unnamed victim in the face and was asked to leave the party. According to another report, Rivera offered to pay the victim $50 for sex, an offer that the victim refused. Rivera then waited outside for the victim to leave the party, and then followed him to the outer staircase of a basement apartment, where he raped him, punched the victim in the head rendering him semi-conscious, and then sodomized him with a metal broom handle.

Rivera then confessed the entire crime to the police, saying he did it “because he hates f - - - - - s, and this is what they get,” according to police spokesman Proft. Proft also said that Rivera claimed that the whole reason he did this is because the victim winked at him, which the victim denies.

Rivera then went to his mother’s home. His mother — his mother! — called the police on him because she has a protective order against him. Even his own mother won’t have anything to do with him. But Peter LaBarera sees Rivera as being unjustly accused of committing a hate crime — all because of a mere allegation that Rivera offered $50 for sex.

What LaBarbera doesn’t seem to understand however is that 1) we don’t know whether Rivera really made the offer, 2) we don’t know Rivera’s sexual orientation (was the offer real or a taunt?), and 2) Rivera’s orientation has no bearing on whether this is a hate crime or not. If a Black man who holds White supremacist views (and believe it or not, a very few of them exist) attacks an African-American solely because of his race, then it’s a hate crime.

But I guess one thing we can be sure of. We certainly know who LaBarbera sees as the victim in this case.

Update: LaBarbera’s evidence for Rivera’s supposed homosexuality evaporated, but he’s sticking to his story anyway.

Why We Have A LaBarbera Award

Jim Burroway

December 5th, 2007

Peter LaBarbera invited the world to attend a news conference at the National Press Club today to premiere his documentary on the Folsom Street fair. Fewer than ten people showed up, and most of them appeared to know LaBarbera or Concerned Woman Matt Barber. There were maybe two journalists, one of whom was the Washington Blade’s Rebecca Armendariz. Amazingly, Rebecca lived to tell about it. This part was my favorite:

And Peter REALLY hates the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, who were a prevalent force at Folsom Street. …LaBarbera, though, said that even though the Sisters do charity work, “We wouldn’t tolerate a Nazi charity fund.” NEWSFLASH: The Nazis killed millions of people. This gay rights organization raises money for AIDS research, breast cancer and the arts, among countless other charities. When he made that comparison, my mouth dropped.

You see, statements like that are why we have a LaBarbera Award. There are many imitators and pretenders, but Peter’s the real deal.

Ft. Lauderdale Doesn’t Want Your Tourist Dollars

Timothy Kincaid

August 21st, 2007

Mayor Jim Naugle is on a crusade to defend Ft. Lauderdale’s morals.  First he wanted an automatic toilet to stop gay men from having sex.  Then he declared that gay people are unhappy.  Next he tried to block a collection of gay themed material from being housed in a city owned building.  Finally, he staged an “apology” for not warning the residents of this terrible epidemic of public sex in bathrooms.

Now Naugle has support for his efforts to fight the “public heath crisis” - the usual collection of anti-gay activists that make bizarre and untruthful hyperbolic claims about the evils of “the homosexual lifestyle”. 

• Americans for Truth (Peter LaBarbera)
• Christian Anti-Defamation Commission (Gary Cass previously of Reclaiming America for Christ)
• Christian Interaction Network (I think they just made this one up)
• Concerned Women for America (Matt “Bam Bam” Barber)
• Coral Ridge Ministries (Jerry Newcombe)
• Faith2Action (Janet Folger, previously of Coral Ridge and Center for Reclaiming America)
• Stephen Bennett Ministries (ex-gay gadfly Stephen Bennett)
• Worldwide Christian Center (O’Neal Dozier)

Naugle brought Dozier into town to give this message to Ft. Lauderdale’s residents:

God hates the act of homosexuality.

This, of course, is the same Dozier who shared with us this theological gem:

“Why is it one of the paramount of sins?” he poses. “Well, it is a very bad kind of sin because it really hurts society in so many ways.” God, however, found a way to punish the homosexuals through HIV-AIDS, he says. “It is a type of judgment for such a sin as this one, homosexuality.” 

Naugle and his merry band of haters blared out their denunciations of the gay citizens of Ft. Lauderdale but, as  Chanel 6 noted, “many lacked statistics to back up their claims”.  In fact, the mayors claim of “eight arrests of people engaging in sexual activity in public restrooms over the last two years” is refuted by the police who report two arrests in the past three years.  It’s hardly a “public health crisis” in either case.

But the mayor seems to have an most unusual intention for a city that thrives on tourism dollars.  Here are a few comments of Naugle’s that suggest that some imaginary public health crisis of bathroom sex is not his real concern:

But the ironic thing is is that the Convention and Visitor’s Bureau is even advertising in their vacation planner, the bath houses, which are one of the worst places for the spread of AIDS. And that’s another thing that I’m going to try to get changed here in Fort Lauderdale so that we can be a healthier community. We welcome homosexual tourists to our city, as long as visitors, whether they’re gay or straight, don’t engage in these activities.

In this case “these activities” are not public sex that threatens the kiddies at all… but sexual activity in a private context.

In a New York Times article, Naugle is clearer about what who he doesn’t want in his city:

A “climate of permissiveness” has developed in the city, he said, similar to when Fort Lauderdale was a magnet for rowdy spring breakers several decades ago.

“It has become kind of like the days of spring break,” he said, “when we ended up clamping down because people were jumping off balconies and other things. We are kind of going in that direction with the gay tourism.”

By surrounding himself with imported homophobes (Janet Folger, O’Neal Dozier, etc.) using language intended to be offensive, Naugle has given a very clear message to gay and lesbian travelers across the nation:  we don’t want you in our city. 

And until the local citizenry removes him, I’m inclined to honor his wishes.

UPDATE: The Sun-Sentinal has a story about Naugle’s little circus of bile.  They mention that one of his speakers was NARTH’s Dr. John Diggs, the author of The Health Risks of Gay Sex which we parody here.  His conclusion:  “Approving same-sex relationships is detrimental to employers, employees and society in general.”  His contribution to today’s nastiness:

“It should be clearly seen that homosexual acts have a key role in the spread of all sexually transmitted diseases,” Diggs said, adding that “homosexuality is an act, it’s not the nature of a person.”

My favorite response to the “facts” presented by Naugle and his moral crusaders came from a heath department official:

“if you torture a statistic long enough, it will confess to anything”

Shaming Gays - What The Onion and Peter LaBarbera Have In Common

Daniel Gonzales

August 8th, 2007

The current issue of The Onion satire newspaper features the headline “Small Town Holds Annual Gay Shame Parade” accompanied by this image:

While The Onion clearly intends for the idea of shaming gay people to be satire Peter LaBarbera has increasingly been using the term in all seriousness. Here’s a Google inventory of LaBarbera’s use of the term “shame.”

Peter LaBarbera: Despicable Coward

Jim Burroway

July 15th, 2007

Peter LaBarbera is upset that Dr. James Holsinger’s nomination for Surgeon General hasn’t gone the way he had hoped. In his latest shrieking screed, parts of which are directed toward me, LaBarbera withdraws his support for Holsinger’s nomination, and blames Holsinger’s shortcomings on “homosexual activists (who) threw everything but the kitchen sink at the doctor’s 1991 paper,” singling out yours truly by name.

But instead of trying to rebut my findings that Dr. Holsinger’s “scientific paper” is not scientific, LaBarbera uses his disappointment with Dr. Holsinger to do something that Dr. Holsinger himself would never do. He cynically exploits this young man’s untimely death in his lead:

Russell Groff, 1978-2004

Russell died at age 26 of HIV/AIDS after living in a homosexual relationship. How many future men will die young if the politically correct silence on homosexual health risks is not broken? Groff’s mother wants to use his life to warn other parents and children about the perils of embracing a “gay” lifestyle.

Further down in the post, LaBarbera picks up on Russell’s story this way:

Statistics are easier to dismiss than the human victims of homosexuality: just ask Carolyn Groff, whose son Russell died at age 26 from AIDS after getting involved in a homosexual “relationship.” (I suppose ”gay” apologists like Burroway would ascribe Russell’s premature death to “unsafe sex” — anything to avoid implicating homosexual behavior as especially risky.)

LaBarbera is wrong about me. I do not ascribe Russell’s premature death to “unsafe sex.” I ascribe it to a staph infection following gall bladder surgery. Whether his HIV status had anything to do with it one way or the other, I have no idea. Nor does it matter. Unlike LaBarbera’s characterization of me, I don’t speculate about any aspects of anyone else’s life, not even LaBarbera’s. I go only by the facts as they are reported. I’ll leave the speculations to those who have nothing else to offer.

But this really isn’t about me. Instead, what I want you to do is go to that link that LaBarbera so helpfully provided in the previous quote. Do you see what I see? As of Sunday morning (July 15th), it said this:

I have deleted content from my web page because I learned that someone was using it to further a cause I DO NOT believe in. I will not allow my love and compassion to be twisted into anything else. I will no longer add anything to this site for fear of its misuse. Thank you.

Just last night, that page had an obituary posted as a loving tribute to Russell Groff by a friend of his. It was certainly not provided by his mother, as LaBarbera says in his lead.

Russell Groff’s parents have been virulently anti-gay. They participated in what’s describe as a “Fred Phelps-like protest” during Knoxville, Tennessee’s LGBT “Come Out Knoxville” celebration, where their Baptist Church carried signs saying that gays are destined to hell. Russell’s mother never accepted his relationship with his partner, Kevin-Douglas Olive. She was estranged from her son during his adult life.

Russell died November 23, 2004. Kevin was with him throughout his illness, emptying Russell’s bed pan and attending to his needs. Now Russell’s parents are engaged in a legal battle with Kevin to overturn Russell’s legally-written last will and testament, in which he expressed his wish to be buried in a Quaker cemetery outside of Knoxville, Tennessee. His parents want him dug up — two years after his death — and moved to a family cemetery against Russell’s expressed wishes.

Russell’s brother, Walter Groff, joins Kevin in defending Russell’s last wishes. But the expensive legal battles have sapped Kevin’s finances. He’s had to put his car up for sale and raise funds to ward off his continuing legal battles. His legal fees are currently running $22,000, of which he has raised only $5,000. I would encourage you to contribute to the cause:

Kevin Olive Defense Fund
c/o Homewood Friends Meeting
3107 N. Charles St.
Baltimore, MD 21218

LaBarbera says, “We live in a cowardly and confusing age,” but he engages in a very cowardly act by not telling the full story. He expresses great wailing and gnashing of teeth because Dr. Holsinger didn’t turn out to be the great anti-gay standard bearer he had hoped for. He’s angry that I demonstrated that Dr. Holsinger’s 1991 “scientific paper” is not scientific. But since he can’t address the arguments I put forth on its merits, he cynically demeans the memory of Russell Groff and hides behind a dead man.

Coward. Despicable coward.

Hat tip: Alvin McEwen and Scott H.

Update: Jeremy, at Good As You, knew Russell personally back in his Knoxville days, and posted a beautiful remembrance.

LaBarbera Withdraws Support

Jim Burroway

July 14th, 2007

Peter LaBarbera apparently looked around among his friends and decided to withdraw his support for Holsinger after all. No word on whether he’s doing this because he fell victim to the “media distortions” of Holsinger’s hearing, or because he now believes the media’s account of the hearing.

He’s also sending God my way to have a chat with me. ‘Cuz, you know, he and God are tight like that.

Update: I have much more to say about this.

Holsinger’s Nomination Hearing: More Opposition Than Before

Jim Burroway

July 13th, 2007

I was just sitting down to write this observation about yesterday’s Senate committee hearing on Dr. James Holsinger’s nomination for Surgeon General when I saw that Frank Lockwood’s observations run very similar to mine.

Frank, at Bible Belt Blogger, compares Holsinger’s nomination to that of Harriet Myers’s failed nomination to the Supreme Court. Her nomination was immediately opposed by the political Left, and the more the Right learned about her, the less enthusiastic their support for her became. It looks like Dr. Holsinger’s nomination may be following a similar trajectory.

Dr. Holsinger had already raised flags with the Family Research Council over his previous support for stem cell research. And so during the nomination hearing he backed away from that stance and implied that his position is now more in line with the Bush administration’s.

But he also backed away from his 1991 paper, “Pathophysiology of Male Homosexuality”, saying, “That paper doesn’t represent where I am today, who I am today. It is not a published paper. It was not meant to be a scientific paper, not meant to be published.”

Frank noticed that this did little to endear Holsinger to the Christian Right. Concerned Woman Matt Barber responded, “We’re left not knowing whether Dr. Holsinger will put scientific substance over political correctness in dealing with the issue of homosexual behavior.” And the Family Research Council’s Tony Perkins complained that Holsinger is “changing his tune”:

Dr. Holsinger’s confirmation should not fail because of his views, but because of his seeming lack of conviction on any of them.

But Peter LaBarbera’s not giving up on Holsinger yet. While he’s disappointed that Holsinger gave what he called “artful non-answers” when asked about his 1991 paper, he chalked that up to Holsinger’s political handlers in the White House. He and Matt Barber also smell a media conspiracy:

Enter the Mainstream Media. They are widely reporting that Holsinger has “disavowed” his belief that homosexuality is “unnatural” and “unhealthy.” They’ve apparently made that extrapolation based upon Holsinger’s above referenced quote (quite a stretch I think). Brit Hume, reporting on the Fox News Channel, said, “Holsinger also told senators in a confirmation hearing that he no longer holds the views about homosexuality that he expressed in a controversial paper in 1991, in which he called it unnatural and unhealthy.” Unless I totally missed something, he never even came close to saying that. [Emphasis in the original]

At any rate, it looks like Holsinger emerged from the confirmation hearing with less support than when he went in.

Update: Peter LaBarbera joined the rest and threw in the towel.