Mike Tidmus

It’s not the latest dance craze. It’s just plain crazy! 
(Photo: Rex Wockner, PhotoShoppery: mine)

In addition to his excellent coverage of the candlelight rally in Hillcrest last night, veteran writer and reporter Rex Wockner has some very disturbing photos from yesterday’s freakshow at Qualcomm Stadium.

If you think freakshow is a biased and unfair assessment of a mob of militant Christianists gathered to prey away rights that currently exist in California, and, if victorious, ensconce their religious bigotry in the state’s Constitution, you haven’t been over to Good As You to listen to the audio files from yesterday’s end-zone hate fest.

Pay particular attention to the militant, violent, over the top, anti-gay rhetoric of Pastor Jim Garlow (mentioned previously here). This man is delusional enough to call his homophobic ranting love. Then give a listen to Pastor Miles McPherson who, good book in hand, compares those of us who exist in the visible world, better known as reality, to satanic demons and roaches in need of extermination.

Last night, The San Diego Union Tribune posted two film clips, Foes of Proposition 8 hold interfaith service and Answering TheCall, that contrast the two faith-based events that took place in San Diego yesterday. Only one of these involved compassion, fairness and love, and it wasn’t the food-deprived, sun-baked, deliriously chanting and swaying crazies out at Qualcomm. 

Pam Spaudling, over at the House Blend, has additional links to tasty tidbits about yesterday’s doings and reactions from around the internets.

And finally, in this morning’s Los Angeles Times, the sleight-of-hand artists behind Prop 8 are called out for their unctuous scheming.

From The Los Angeles Times:

Clever magicians practice the art of misdirection — distracting the eyes of the audience to something attention-grabbing but irrelevant so that no one notices what the magician is really doing. Look over at that fuchsia scarf, up this sleeve, at anything besides the actual trick.

The campaign promoting Proposition 8, which proposes to amend the state Constitution to ban same-sex marriages, has masterfully misdirected its audience, California voters. Look at the first-graders in San Francisco, attending their lesbian teacher’s wedding! Look at Catholic Charities, halting its adoption services in Massachusetts, where same-sex marriage is legal! Look at the church that lost its tax exemption over gay marriage! Look at anything except what Proposition 8 is actually about: a group of people who are trying to impose on the state their belief that homosexuality is immoral and that gays and lesbians are not entitled to be treated equally under the law.

That truth would never sell in tolerant, live-and-let-live California, and so it has been hidden behind a series of misleading half-truths. Once the sleight of hand is revealed, though, the campaign’s illusions fall away.

[ ... ]

Religions and their believers are free to define marriage as they please; they are free to consider homosexuality a sin. But they are not free to impose their definitions of morality on the state. Proposition 8 proponents know this, which is why they have misdirected the debate with highly colored illusions about homosexuals trying to take away the rights of religious Californians. Since May, when the state Supreme Court overturned a proposed ban on same-sex marriage as unconstitutional, more than 16,000 devoted gay and lesbian couples have celebrated the creation of stable, loving households, of equal legal stature with other households. Their happiness in no way diminishes the rights or happiness of others.

Californians must cast a clear eye on Proposition 8′s real intentions. It seeks to change the state Constitution in a rare and terrible way, to impose a single moral belief on everyone and to deprive a targeted group of people of civil rights that are now guaranteed. This is something that no Californian, of any religious belief, should accept. Vote no to the bigotry of Proposition 8.

(Emphasis: mine)