Our Public Opinion Pollster is Paul Murky of Murky Research

Yes, I steal jokes from the Car Talk Credits. Wanna make something of it?

Actually looking for research assistance -- and if anyone has any suggestions for Neogrammarian, those're also appreciated -- from people with a higher ignance tolerance who can actually read right-wing blogs. Know I saw one of 'em poppin' off at the mouth fingers about how being GLBT isn't at all like being a Negro, and am fairly confident the author was neither GLBT nor a Negro. And, being a right-winger, probably has fairly little experience dealing with anyone who is.

Anyone got a link to such a thing?

Or, if you are a visiting right-winger, if you'd care to explain this position to a reading audience consisting in large part of people who are some combo platter of GLBT/Negro (not sure about the T, actually, and noticed that Windy City Media Group's new mag identity [combining Blacklines, En La Vida. . . and more] includes an I for Intersex, but I digress), please, feel free. I promise not to rip you a new one if you manage to sound even halfway informed.

Not too worried about making this promise because, frankly, not seeing you managing to hold up your half of the bargain.

Want to know more? See Love is Love is Love, the Marriage Equality Resource Page of the lovely and talented Miss Margaret Cho.

Update: And yet again, I fail to state my opinion on the subject at hand.

Yes, it bloody well is.

Yeah, I know, Colin Fucking Powell said:

[In testimony before Congress on gays in the military], I said, “I think it would be prejudicial to good order and discipline to try to integrate gays and lesbians in the current military structure.” Congresswoman Pat Schroeder quoted a 1942 government report and claimed that the same arguments used then against racial integration in the military were being used against gays today.

She had her logic wrong. I responded, “Skin color is a benign, nonbehavioral characteristic. Sexual orientation is perhaps the most profound of human behavioral characteristics. Comparison of the two is a convenient but invalid argument.

The linking of gay rights and the civil rights movement got a mixed reaction in the African-American community. The Congressional Black Caucus favored removing the ban on homosexuals in the armed services. But other leaders were telling me that they resented having the civil rights crusade hijacked by the gay community for its ends.

-- Source: My American Journey, by Colin Powell, p. 533 Jan 1, 1995

(Failure to close the quotes in the second para where I ripped that text off from, so don't go blaming me.)

But see, he ain't here to expand on that. And God knows the right wingers don't listen to a damn thing he says on most issues, so it's hard to be impressed with the sudden re-embrace of him on this one. . .

Update 2: Apropos of nothing, from an article in identity:

Organized religion is the enemy – at least it is a lot of the time! Nothing radical or weird about that statement, not even coming from a clergy person. Challenging the legitimacy of what organized religion had become was a beginning point for the founders and shapers of a number of faith movements in history: the prophets of the Hebrew scriptures, Jesus, Martin Luther all were among that number.

None of those challengers wanted to tear down anything – except the distortion they felt was corrupting the truth. To the extent that organized religion served the God of justice and life, they were willing to support and be part of it. To the extent that organized religion forgot the real character of God, the founders and shapers were more than willing to throw out the "bathwater" in order to claim the "baby."

That’s an important beginning point for talking about faith and religion, maybe especially when we look at Gay Marriage. Organized religions have been main players in building resistance to Gay Marriage. The irony is that the faith those organized religions profess is one of love and inclusion!

First, let’s be clear about what religion doesn’t do. The church, synagogue or mosque has never "married" people. People marry one another. The role of religious institutions has been to celebrate that God’s gift of love and commitment has once more become real. The church is called to offer an affirmation of God’s blessing and presence whenever love is claimed. For organized religion to say that faithful love is EVER wrong is a betrayal of what organized religion is supposed to be about! It is an expression of bigotry, not faithfulness.

What shall we do? Some of us will choose to stay within organized religion. We will refuse to allow the distortion of faith to become the rule. Those who understand the gift of love must never tolerate the denigration of that gift. We’ll fight for the authenticity behind the distortion that has crept into the religion.

That's Rev. Greg Dell, of Broadway United Methodist Church here in Our Fair City of Chi.

Those wacky Methodists. I swear, they're practically Unitarians. . .