For the past couple of election cycles, I gave a significant amount of money to various politicians (all Democrats) and groups (all progressive). I have gotten quite used to the mailings from the DNC, DSCC, DCCC, and various particular Democrats from all across the country sending me funding pleas in the mail. However, over the past year, I have started to get mailings from (cue sinister music) the other side. Yesterday, I received a fundraising letter from an entity called the Alliance Defense Fund. Boy are these people nasty!
For details, follow me over the jump.
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For the life of me, I don't know why conservatives think they're going to get a dime out of me. If they actually looked at the politicians and organizations I gave money to, they'd realize that I was a hard case and not waste their postage on me. (And I really do love wasting their postage. If they include a post-paid envelope, I'll be sure to send it back with a snarky note, sans return address.)
Probably the most obnoxious case was when I made the mistake of answering the phone. I've been screening my calls for a while now to avoid the Democrats, but damned Republicans have started calling me now! The telemarketer put on a recording of f*cking Dick Morris explaining about how Democrats were screwing up the country. Usually I hold out until the end of the pitch for the sake of the guy or gal at the other end of the phone, but Dick Morris was just too much to take. I hung up.
But yesterday in the mail was this thing from the Alliance Defense Fund, sent by one Alan E. Sears. At the top of the letter, it reads:
Fed up with the ACLU? Your support for a new $150,000 Matching Grant will help stop its attacks on your values!
Whoa. For the record, I am not fed up with the ACLU. I give to them every year.
Why should you support ADF? Let me ask you a few questions...
Are you tired of the ACLU telling Christian students they can't publicly say a prayer at their high school graduation?
Have you had it with the ACLU aiding activists to go to public schools and tell little kids that homosexual behavior is not only okay, but good--and that two men living together is a "family"?
(cough)
I really didn't need to read any further once I got to that last sentence. Given that I live in precisely that sort of "family," and as member of a minority group that still has not achieved full civil rights, I find it grossly offensive for this organization to ask me for money when one of its goals is to at least make us invisible, or worse, to wipe us out entirely. Did they actively seek out to offend me? While asking for money? What were they thinking?
Checking their website, it was interesting that their most recently listed news update was all about, you guessed it, teh gay.
Alliance Defense Fund allied attorneys in North Carolina are uniting in their objections to a proposed policy revision which would add “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” to the list of “non-discrimination” ethics rules for attorneys. In a June 22 letter to the North Carolina Bar Association, Bryce D. Neier, one of nearly 1,700 attorneys in the ADF alliance, noted that attorneys could be forced to compromise their religious beliefs in order to avoid professional sanctions.
Because the religious beliefs of all Christians require discriminating against LGBT people. After all, Jesus said so, right? Didn't he say something like: "Love your brother as you love yourself, unless of course he's homosexual"? Oh, wait, I guess he really didn't have anything to say on the subject, did he?
Here is where I acknowledge that the views pushed by the ADF are clearly not the views of all Christians. Their implicit assumption that those views do, in fact, reflect the views of all mainstream Christians ought to be offensive to any progressive Christian.
Then there was the additional note included in the letter from James Dobson, explaining how he and a group of other rich Evangelicals got together to form ADF. I should have known Dobson's fingerprints were on this.
Lest I appear completely unbalanced, the ADF has other issues besides dumping on LGBT people. They also seek to end choice, and to break down the separation of church and state wherever possible. However, once you start looking, it is way too easy to find evidence for what appears to be a crusade against LGBT people. For example, I searched the dkos archives to see if anyone else had written a diary about this group. I found this from Christian Dem in NC from last November. I'll give you one guess what it was about.
"The people of D.C. have a right to vote on the definition of marriage," said ADF Senior Legal Counsel Austin R. Nimocks. "The D.C. Charter guarantees the people the right to vote, and the council cannot amend the charter for any reason, much less to deny citizens the right to vote. ADF will defend the right of the residents of our nation’s capitol to participate in a legitimate democratic process in the district."
Teh Gayz! Teh Gayz! They're ruining America! They're terrorists!
On the other hand, I imagine Counsel Nimrocks (how I love that name!) is currently wailing and gnashing his teeth over the decision out of Massachusetts District Court today stating that the Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutionall. Take that ADF!
I'll be sending these clowns a longer-than-usual note in their post-paid envelope. I know it will change no one's mind, but I need to get it off my chest.
Now to the comments:
From JanF
In Thursday's Morning Feature, NCrissieB's reply about the "choice" to be homeless describes the reality: "We all make bad choices and meet with misfortune, so you can examine the life of any homeless person and find mistakes. But you could examine the life of any wealthy person and find similar mistakes. One lives on the street and the other in luxury, not by better choices but by having the resources to ride out bad events."
From winterbanyan
From LI Mike in Morning Feature: You're on your own, a great rant about "rugged individualism" and how we got into our current economic hole.
(Also submitted by JanF.)
From Dragon 5616
terrypinder has the first and best comment about what it means when David Vitter (Idiot-LA) names a domestic violence practitioner as his spokesman on domestic violence issues in Jed Lewison's front page story LA-Sen: Vitter aide who stabbed ex-girlfriend worked on domestic violence legislation.
From bronte17:
One of the best diaries to read here on dkos for a long time... Detroit Mark's diary Art Irritating Life. Some quotes from that Heidelberg Project video linked by dengre so aptly wraps up the reason we love artists as Lize in San Francisco says.
This art responded... and responds to... its place.
Creating something can change the world. And that's the beauty of the art.
Banksy has certainly changed the world with brushstrokes on our discarded humanity.
From carolita
Responding to a photo posted by BlueJessamine, libdevil inquires why we are parachuting in relief supplies to Hawaii, eliciting a prompt reply from earicicle and an hilarious thread ensues.
From your humble diarist:
In mille147's recommended diary, BREAKING: MA District Court Finds DOMA Unconstitutional, two responses to this comment by jpmassar, one by jpmassar him/herself, and one by CajunBoyLgb.
In Jed Lewison's front page article NV-Sen: Angle Blasts Reid for creating jobs, the irrepressible droogie6655321 pegs Sharon Angle, and many pithy and entertaining comments follow.
In TomP's recommended diary The Rich: "Lazy" Unemployed Should Get A Job And Cut My TAXES Now!, Inland posted a comment demonstrating that Arthur Laffer is still an idiot.
In Something the Dog Said's recommended diary Time To Say It Loud - Republicans Are Unpatriotic, Eryk posts a concise definition of America and patriotism.
In Nulwee's recommended diary, Who Ronald Reagan Was, indiemcemopants describes why comparing Obama to Reagan is completely off-base.
On to Top Mojo!
Top Mojo (cskendrick/sardonyx-style) excluding search-identifiable tip jars, first diary comments, Cheers and Jeers, and various pooties:
1) Don't understand by riftt — 103
2) REPUBLICANS ARE UNPATRIOTIC! by cultjake — 99
3) the link you actually want is: by G2geek — 98
4) I've had enough by fou — 83
5) I am so sick of these phony tough guy by Jeff Y — 74
6) LOL. VIncent is funny. by Christin — 73
7) here's idle: by bob zimway — 70
8) I have had enough of these diaries... by David Kroning II — 69
9) A salient matter that hasn't been discussed... by APA Guy — 66
10) I thought he offered some by Joieau — 66
11) Congress especially! by Fishgrease — 65
12) You do EXCEPTIONAL service to all of us ... by understandinglife — 63
13) Thank you. by oxfdblue — 62
14) Hey riftt... by Randall Sherman — 62
15) I see speech like that when I mix it up by zenbassoon — 59
16) Ah, Republicans by wiscmass — 59
17) Dems need moral values based frames by FishOutofWater — 58
18) I'm actually issuing a warning to BP here. by Fishgrease — 57
19) stupid by taylormattd — 57
20) Heh reminds me by LaFeminista — 57
21) Awesome work... by ekyprogressive — 56
22) "What the hell is the Obama White House doing..." by marabout40 — 55
23) Long needed change. by sceptical observer — 54
24) Either gross incompetence or subterfuge. by goinsouth — 53
25) Deeply offensive to call this small news by dansac — 51
26) I hope this quick look at carbon chemistry will by Wee Mama — 50
27) "the problems in (his) mind..." by G2geek — 50
28) Time for everybody by MadRuth — 49
29) The perfect topic by Eddie C — 48
30) My Guess is that you know the answer already by Pluto — 48
31) Greed gets the greedy by Nailbanger — 48
Top Mojo with No Exclusions:
1) Tip Jar by kpominville — 418
2) Tip Jar by Fishgrease — 350
3) Tips? Flames? by Something the Dog Said — 344
4) Tip Jar by George Lakoff — 343
5) Tip Jar by TomP — 332
6) Tip Jar by dansac — 303
7) Bonus pic of builder Terry, who is camera shy... by Patric Juillet — 238
8) Tip Jar by mille147 — 217
9) Tip Jar by Detroit Mark — 202
10) Tip Jar by Forrest Brown — 154
11) Tip Jar by Adept2u — 153
12) Tips for real liberty. :) by NCrissieB — 144
13) Helpful Tip: by Brazoria Plays Its Hand — 134
14) Don't understand by riftt — 103
15) REPUBLICANS ARE UNPATRIOTIC! by cultjake — 99
16) Scritchie Jar by triciawyse — 99
17) the link you actually want is: by G2geek — 98
18) I find peace and comfort in contemplating the by Gulf watchers — 98
19) Tip Jar by Cenk Uygur — 98
20) Tip Jar by SuperBowlXX — 95
21) Tip Jar by brooklynbadboy — 86
22) I've had enough by fou — 83
23) I should be doing other things by teacherken — 82
24) I celebrate many by gchaucer2 — 78
25) I am so sick of these phony tough guy by Jeff Y — 74
26) LOL. VIncent is funny. by Christin — 73
27) here's idle: by bob zimway — 70
28) I have had enough of these diaries... by David Kroning II — 69
29) I thought he offered some by Joieau — 66
30) A salient matter that hasn't been discussed... by APA Guy — 66