Conservative Silence on P&G

So far, we've heard nothing from conservative groups about P&G's inclusion of gender identity and expression in its non-discrimination policy, a fact that the Washington Blade also picked up, as well:

Conservative groups have no plans to boycott Procter & Gamble, the world’s largest consumer products maker, after the business amended its anti-discrimination policy to include gender identity and expression.

Lisa Popyk, a Procter & Gamble spokesperson, downplayed a policy update the Blade first reported last week, saying the categories were long intended to be included.

“For us, it was just a clarification of a long understanding of treating everyone equally and with respect,” she said...

But the policy change drew no immediate ire. Devon Williams, a Focus on the Family publicist, said Wednesday that “at the current time, we don’t have any plans to encourage a boycott of Procter & Gamble.”

Peter LaBarbera president of the conservative Americans For Truth said he remained concerned that “someone who expresses their gender identity as female and he is a biological male” might use the policy to assert “his civil right” to use a female restroom.

He stopped short of calling for a boycott, but noted the issue “has a lot more traction than even gay debates.”

“I think it garners a lot of attention from people who have a hard time with the idea that civil rights should be based on what we would say is gender confusion,” LaBarbera said.

The American Family Assoc-iation did not respond to requests for comment. Phil Burress, president of Citizens for Community Values, a conservative organization based in Cincinnati, declined to comment for this article.

Oh? There was a time, not many years months ago that this would have flown across the conservative newswire, and there would be some sort of absurd boycott started against the home goods giant.

I wonder what's changed?

Update: Hrm. Methinks I have figured out where Wolfie at Back2Stonewall.com always gets his excellent news from :-). I swear, Wolfie, I found them too, I'm not just stealing! LOL! But, for all of my readers, Wolfie covered both the P&G issue and the Beauchamp indictment before I did, so check it out!

Focus on the Family Cuts Staff...

...at the same time they donated nearly $1.251 milion (or, if you're keeping track, about 7 times the amount of the Mormon Church) to the anti-equal marriage forces in California.

Colorado Springs-based Focus on the Family gave $727,250 in cash and services to the anti-gay marriage Proposition 8 campaign in California, according to records released by the California secretary of state, including a $100,000 check in late October, just days before the evangelical media empire announced it planned to lay off nearly 20 percent of its employees.

While there has been public scrutiny of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for its attempts to influence the campaign to reverse a California Supreme Court ruling allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry, Focus on the Family and related donors pumped more than six times as much as the Mormon church did into the ProtectMarriage.com campaign, records show.

Altogether, donations supporting Proposition 8 from Focus on the Family, one of its major benefactors and an offshoot lobbying organization totaled more than $1.251 million — just shy of the $1.275 million contributed by ProtectMarriage.com’s largest donor, the Knights of Columbus, the Connecticut-based political arm of the Catholic Church. In addition to $727,250 reported by Focus on the Family, major backer and board member Elsa Prince, the billionaire heiress of Holland, Mich., donated $450,000 to ProtectMarriage.com in two cash chunks and the Washington, D.C.-based Family Research Council, a Christian-right lobbying organization spun off from Focus on the Family and founded in part by Prince’s foundation, chipped in $74,400.

“People are keenly aware of how much money was put in by the hate groups,” said Rick Jacobs, chair and founder of the Courage Campaign, a progressive California organization leading the charge to overturn Proposition 8 in court. “It’s good to get the facts finally out about how much Focus did put in.”

So... this is my impression of the people out there in Colorado Springs:

"We must save marriage by defending it from faggotry!"
"Yes, but where?"
"California, of course."
"Oh." (I'm assuming there's a slow office worker, it is FotF)
"How much will it take though?"
"At least a
bajillion dollars! Those Californias are wacky liberals!"
"Let's make it a
real number... let's say, over a million dollars!"
"But do we have that kind
of money?"
"No, but that's ok, we can lay off about 200 people to make up that money."
"Won't that hurt their families?"
"Who cares! Jesus said
there will be poor always, so long as we protect the world against two loving, consenting individuals, engaging in a private, socially acceptable contract that
acknowledges their relationship."
"God, Jesus is cool."

Jesus is cool. Oh yes, Jesus is one cool motherfucker.

I wonder how many people $1.251 million would feed? I wonder how many sub-Saharan Africans could receive HIV drugs for $1.251 million? I wonder how many inner city schools could buy computers or books for $1.251 million dollars?

Hell -- let's look at the whole silly campaign. I wonder how many other states could have gay marriage rights by now for the $43 million the pro-gay people spent on the campaign; and I wonder how many genuinely Christians things the anti-gay people could do if they used the $40 million otherwise?

But no, so long as we are talking about faggotry, we have your attention.

GLAAD's Worst of 2008 Awards

The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation has posted the 10 worst anti-gay voices of 2008. Very few surprises, actually, but good to remember:

• Bill O'Reilly, of FOXNews' The O'Reilly Factor -- For being Bill O'Reilly, but specifically for making statements that Americans don't want to see "homosexual behavior legitimized.
  
• California's Yes on 8 Campaign -- Um, duh.
• Greg Guttfield, of FOXNews' Red Eye -- Because you couldn't turn on his show without hearing homophobic remarks, such as "turning a hole into a pole" in regards to sexual reassignment surgery.
• James Dobson, of Focus on the Family -- Surprised? Isn't he on lists like this every year?
• Jim Quinn, of Clear Channel's The War Room with Quinn and Rose -- For being the kind of enlightened and intelligent person who would state, "Gay sex produces AIDS, which the state doesn't have – or should have an interest in. They should charge homosexuals more for their health insurance than they charge the rest of us." Charming, really.
• John Gibson, of FOXNewsRadio's John Gibson Show -- Because he was sensitive enough about Heath Ledger's death by making anti-gay jokes regarding his role on Brokeback Mountain. Love you, mean it.
• Laura Ingraham, of FOXNews' Laura Ingraham Show -- There's a lot of FOX on this list. I'm sure that means nothing.
• The New York Post -- I mean, that's kind of a big target, but apparently they're sensationalistic... or something. (No, not modern American journalism... it's never sensational. HA! American Journalism - Rarely Exceptional, Always Sensational ... I should be in marketing).
• Pastor Rick Warren -- If you don't know why, you haven't been paying attention.
• Rep. Sally Kern -- Because gays are trying to take over the country, including her own son. But she'll only say it when she thinks no one is listening.
• Sean Delonas, cartoonist of the New York Post -- More specific at the Post. He drew the cartoon above.

Anyone they missed? I really can't think of anyone else. Locally, I think Bill Cunningham should top the list. He said something particularly vitriolic this year, if I remember correctly. Honestly, I don't feel like looking it up. HA! :-)

A prize to the person who finds what nasty thing Mr. Cunningham has said about gay people in 2008.