Excerpted from Southern Decadence Returns To New Orleans, published Aug 31, 2006, by the pro-homosexuality 365Gay.com:

A year after hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans forcing the cancellation of the biggest gay party in the South, Southern Decadence is back and organizers say it is living proof the city is well on its way to recovery.

Hotels and guest houses are reporting near capacity bookings for the weeklong event that gets underway Friday and culminates with the traditional flamboyant parade.

…While much of the city’s gay population is back, many have opted to stay in communities that gave them shelter in the aftermath of Katrina – like Baton Rouge and Houston. Organizers of Southern Decadence say that a lot of those people are coming back this weekend, if only for a visit.

After all, Southern Decadence is a tradition. Not only in the Big Easy but throughout the South. It is such a big deal one conservative religious leader blamed the event for Katrina.

…Pre-Katrina about 100,000 people a year attended Southern Decadence…

Continue reading at 365Gay…

Excerpted from Toronto School Board to Ask All High School Students Their Sexual Orientation, by Gudrun Schultz, published Sept 5, 2006, by LifeSite News

The Toronto District School Board is introducing a survey asking high school students to self-identify their sexual orientation, the Canadian Press reported last week.

Ontario students will be asked to provide voluntary information on a variety of questions—for students in grades nine to twelve, those questions will include whether they identify as straight, gay, “lesbian, transgendered, bisexual, queer or two-spirited (an aboriginal term).”

Experts in the field of children’s mental health have suggested the trend in schools toward determining child sexual orientation is dangerously misplaced. George A. Rekers, Ph. D., research director for child and adolescent psychiatry at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine, stated that children are particularly vulnerable to confusion in the development of their sexual identity.

Continue reading at LifeSite News…

Excerpted from Gay Republican Tests Party Faithful in Minnesota Primary Fight, by Patrick Condon, published Sept 4, 2006, by Associated Press:

…[Minnesota Senator Paul] Koering, 41, a former dairy farmer and lifelong resident of the area, …often describing himself as a good Catholic boy. He’s an abortion opponent, a supporter of gun and property rights, and an outspoken supporter of veterans.

But in 2005, Koering was the only Republican in the Senate to join Democrats in opposing an effort to force a floor vote on a constitutional gay marriage ban.

That vote stirred up longstanding rumors at the Capitol about Koering’s own sexuality, and within a few days he revealed to the media that he was gay…“We are seeing more instances of openly gay Republicans, but there are still going to be significant parts of the country where that’s going to be difficult to pull off,” Dison said. Like Koering, most prominent gay Republicans came out only after they were in office, including U.S. Rep. Jim Kolbe of Arizona and former U.S. Rep. Steve Gunderson of Wisconsin.

Continue reading in Duluth News Tribune…

By Peter LaBarbera

Fox News and Wal-mart are among the high-level ($10,000) sponsors of the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association’s (NLGJA) 2006 Convention in Miami (Sept 7-10 at Loew’s Miami Beach Hotel). Every year, the NLGJA garners hundreds of thousands of dollars in Big Media sponsorships for its convention; this year it appears (based on the sponsorship list below) that the total is around half a milliion dollars in corporate support.

The NLGJA bills itself as merely a professional organization for journalists who “happen to be gay,” as the liberal cliche goes. But the organization advocates a pro-homosexual “spinning” of the news not unlike the activist group GLAAD, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. Note, for example, the NLGJA’s advice to the media regarding coverage of Lance Bass, the ‘N Sync band member who recently publicly revealed his homosexuality:

• The term “gay” is the preferred adjective that has largely replaced “homosexual” in referring to men who are sexually and affectionally attracted to other men. “Homosexual” should be used only if “heterosexual” would be used in parallel constructions, such as in medical contexts.

• Whether in headlines, teases, or body copy, try to avoid using forms of the word “admit,” which is typically used in the context of something shameful or illegal. Some examples of less potentially charged words are “announce,” “disclose” and “say.”

While it is true that the “mainstream” (read: dominant liberal) media is so pro-homosexuality these days that it is hard to discern between media activism and plain old homosexual-group activism, that does not make it right. The media should play it down the middle on homosexuality and other controversial issues, not serve as a cheerleader for the “gay rights” cause.

Yet over the years, NLGJA members have repeatedly suggested that covering “both sides” of homosexuality-related issues is like quoting the KKK on stories about African Americans–a preposterous analogy especially considering that Blacks and minorities poll stronger against “gay marriage” than whites. Thus, if you think the Lance Bass advice above is tendentious, try this from NLGJA National President Eric Hegedus (a page designer for the Philadelphia Inquirer), who repeats the spurious white supremacist comparison on the journalist group’s website (emphasis added):

How appropriate is it to quote interviewees whose ideas could be considered homophobic?… Certainly, news organizations have written extensively about white supremacists and other hate groups. For instance, in October we saw a flurry of stories about 13-year-old twins Lamb and Lynx Gaede, who use entertainment to promote the supremacist movement (“Young singers spread racist hate,” said a headline on the ABC News Web site). But I doubt that any journalist is adding them to a source contact list for bringing “balance” to future stories about reparations, interracial marriage, the Holocaust or immigration. That same ethic needs to extend to LGBT coverage, too.

Although not all NLGJA members may share Hegedus’ view on this, clearly the NLGJA is an activist organization with a strong institutional bias against those espousing traditionalist views on homosexuality.

Our question for Fox News executives is: if you are truly “fair and balanced,” will you now give an equal and corresponding grant to Americans for Truth or another pro-family organization, say, Accuracy in Media, that counters the ubiquitous pro-“gay” spin in the media? We’ll be awaiting your answer.

The following are corporate sponsors for this year’s NLGJA conference in Miami:

“Groundbreaker Level” – $35,000

• Miami Herald
• El Nuevo Herald
• McClatchy Co

“Headliner Level” – $25,000

• Planet Out
• Harrah’s
• Jet Blue

“Editorial Level” – $15,000

• MGM Mirage
• BELO
• CBS
• CNN
• Gannett Foundation
• Hearst Corp
• Coca Cola
• Orbitz
• US Newswire
• ESPN
• Verizon
• Microsoft

“Feature Level” – $10,000

• NBC Universal
• Key West
• Gilead
• Toyota
• IBM
• Passport
• (illegible)
• Bloomberg
• Wal-Mart – [That’s right, the same Wal-Mart that recently gave $25,000 to National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce is also sponsoring NLGJA–Ed.]
• Sam’s Club
• Fox News

“News Brief Level” – $5,000

• ABC News
• GM
• Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau
• Hill & Knowlton
• Kimpton Hotels
• Nielson Media Research
• Q Syndicate
• UBS
• China Grill

“Source Level” – up to $5,000

• Los Angeles Times
• Page & Author
• South Florida Black Journalists Association
• South Florida Sun-Sentinel
• Washington Post
• Tribune Company

Pray for Jerusalem.

Excerpted from Jerusalem Gay Pride Parade Set for September 21, by Gudrun Schultz, published Aug 29, 2006, by LifeSite News:

The International Gay Pride Parade has been rescheduled to take place in Jerusalem on September 21, Israel National News Arutz Sheva reported today.

The weeklong homosexual celebration was originally planned for August, but was postponed due to the outbreak of violence in Lebanon.

The homosexual activist organization Open House announced the date for the planned event in defiance of concerted international opposition from Jewish and Islamic religious leaders, and the Vatican. The event has been condemned as an affront to the millions of faithful worldwide who consider Jerusalem to be a holy city.

“The event is scheduled to take place literally days before the Jewish New Year, a time of deep spiritual introspection for all Jewish people,” Rabbi Yehuda Levin, with the organization Jews for Morality, told LifeSiteNews.com. “It is inappropriate, so inappropriate, for them to flaunt their disrespect for thousands of years of Jewish tradition.”

Rabbi Levin called on Jewish, Muslim and Christian faithful to exercise passive resistance to the event by joining ranks and physically blocking the parade route, “to protect the holy soil of Jerusalem against this spiritual rape.”

Be sure to read AFT’s response to the “Out in Scripture” Sept 3 commentary.

Excerpted from Human Rights Campaign provides gay Bible insights, published Aug 29, 2006, by the pro-homosexuality PinkNews.co.uk:

The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) has announced the launch of Out In Scripture, a free weekly online resource for clergy and lay people.

The website will provide distinct insights into the Bible, week after week, from a lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) and straight-supportive perspective.

The debut of the site marks the first and only major online preaching resource devoted to assisting clergy in planning their sermons and spiritual discussion groups.

…”The Bible should not be used to beat up our community, but as a tool to lift us all up. Inside the Hebrew and Christian texts there are messages of liberation and justice. We hope Out In Scripture provides inspiration and insight to a broad array of people and will help change the conversation we’ve been having in our churches on Sunday morning about GLBT people,” said Harry Knox, HRC’s director of the religion and faith programme.

Continue reading at PinkNews…

Excerpt from Ivy League Professor in Third Sex Pinch in 11 Years, published Aug 31, 2006, by Associated Press:

…[L Scott] Ward, 63, was arrested Sunday after arriving at Washington’s Dulles airport on a flight from Brazil, federal authorities said. He drew the attention of federal agents because of his unusual number of trips to Thailand, a destination for people seeking sex with minors, according to an affidavit released Monday.

Agents examined his laptop computer and found a video showing two children who looked to be as young as 8 engaged in sexual activity, authorities alleged in the affidavit. Agents also found video recordings of Ward involved in sex acts with boys who look to be about 14 to 16, the affidavit said.

Continue reading at CNN…

The excerpt below is from an article about “barebacking” (condomless anal sex) that reviews two books that assess the health risks of homosexual sex. It was written by a homosexual physician and was published in a homosexual NY weekly newspaper (emphasis added).

WARNING: OFFENSIVE SUBJECT MATTER

Excerpted from “Crystal, Barebacking in Perspective: Two front-line warriors for public health offer balanced assessments of risks facing gay men,” published Jan. 5-11, 2006, in Gay City News:

By Lawrence D. Mass, MD

… At sex parties, which have grown steadily since the closing of back rooms in the bars, and at the bathhouses in Fort Lauderdale, one of them a beautiful, state-of-the-art spa, another trend was emerging. Barebacking is not new to South Florida or elsewhere, but it’s in Fort Lauderdale that I first became aware of what I myself might have called—before reading Michael Shernoff’s “Without Condoms”––barebacking with a vengeance. On any given night at the baths, you’re hard put to find anyone with bedside condoms. And if you bring your own, you are likely to be rebuffed. Even if you find a willing partner, you better have brought your own, because unlike the leading bathhouses in New York City, the Fort Lauderdale baths don’t provide them with your towel, or otherwise promote them. You have to ask for them. For what may be a minority but a sizable one, barebacking has become the norm and if you don’t like it, you can go shove it elsewhere.

… Different people are barebacking for different reasons in varying circumstances, not all of them diabolical. Not every barebacker is like [Bearyrnz2bpoz: need to be married to HIV, to be born-again into the brotherhood]. And even someone like [bearynrz2bpoz], as Shernoff demonstrates, is not necessarily psychotic, criminal, or evil. His choices might make a degree of sense for him not immediately apparent to the rest of us.