Frothy Rick Santorum opened wide and embraced Mike Huckabee’s “National Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day” claiming that for the left:

There can be no dissent from what their position is.

Kinda like conservative Christians’ position on marriage equality and ENDA. And LGBTQ overall, because the conservative Christians feel there can be no dissent from (their interpretation of) God’s word. Think Progress sums it up:

The rise of the Christian Right is due for a 40th anniversary to mark the appropriation of Christianity by conservatives like Pat Robertson, Phyllis Schlafly, Jerry Falwell, James Dobson, and Ralph Reed. This coalition of mostly evangelical Christians, Catholics, and Mormons has largely succeeded in reducing the cultural definition of being Christian to those who share their beliefs. The present-day ravings of faux-historian David Barton seek to push even farther and erase the religious diversity at the heart of American patriotism. The “culture war” over LGBT equality presents one of the clearest dividing lines, with anti-gay talking heads like Tony Perkins over-dominating the media on behalf of “Christianity” while LGBT-affirming Christians are severely under-represented. [emphasis mine]

Santorum, who spoke Thursday on CNBC, further confused the issue of the interpretation of religious texts by saying

“This is why the Huguenots came to America,” Santorum said, adding the Dutch Reform Church and Catholics to that list.

“They didn’t want the government telling them what to believe and that they couldn’t say things in public, that they had to keep it to themselves,” he said, or be “barred from doing business.”

America was founded by dissenters, that’s true. Some were Catholics, some were Jews who played vital roles in the Revolution,  some were from various Protestant sects.  Let’s not forget the Freemasons! Various interpretations of  God’s word/s, as evidenced by the differences between the Torah, the Catholic Bible, Masonic texts, the various Protestant translations and heck, even the Book of Mormon indicate that there’s a lot of room between the letters. And at one point or another the foundational Christian groups, the Catholics and Protestants, imprisoned, tortured and killed dissenters, including other Christians along with Jews, which is why they all bailed to America and other places. And Mormons were massacred by people calling themselves Christians.

America also has a free market, and if people don’t like how business donates profits,  they don’t have to spend their money there.  Chick-fil-A corporate donates to WinShape, the Chick-fil-A family charitable foundation, which in turn funds anti-LGBT organizations. Some of these organizations have themselves called for boycotts of businesses who beliefs run contrary to what is claimed by specific groups of  Christians to be traditional Christian/Biblical values.

Focus on the Family, which received funding from WinShape, has urged boycotts on businesses and groups which support LGBT rights, including the Disney companies (since lifted), Kraft, United Way Charities and Big Brother/Big Sister, Proctor & Gamble, and most recently, the 2010 Super Bowl. What LGBTQ and their allies are doing by urging a boycott of Chick-fil-hAte is the exact same thing that Family Research Council, which received funding from WinShape, did this year when they promoted boycotting Girl Scout Cookies.

Goose/gander.

LGBTQ and allies are not calling for a boycott because Dan Cathy is a Christian. Or even a mean jerk.  The boycott is because corporate funds from Chick-fil-A are being funneled to his foundation. A percentage of these tax-free funds goes to support organizations which promote anti-equality measures and also call for boycotts of other groups with whom they disagree. If Cathy wants to fund these groups, he should use his own salary, not money that comes from his corporation which is sheltered in a tax-free foundation. We all spend our earned money how we choose; we choose to whom we donate, where we spend our paychecks.

In other words: This is not about “free speech” or “freedom of religion.” Or about how Dan Cathy chooses to spend his corporate salary. It’s about a corporation funding a tax-free organization that in turn donates to groups that support hostility and oppression.

Oh, and if Richard Nixon had to confront LGBTQ issues, he’d repeal DOMA and EDNA–remember, he’s the guy who passed the EPA, OSHA and affirmative action.  So take that! you GOP-presidential wanna-bees Huckabee, Santorum, and Ms. Palin.

Kudos to “Lucien” as he calls himself, the “travel assistant” who hoisted bags for anti-gay activist George Rekers during a ten-day all expense paid vacation to Europe. “Lucien” has given an in depth interview to New Times Miami which broke the sack-lifting story earlier this week, clearing the air and admitting that intimate contact occurred between the blond student/escort and his outwardly, professionally homophobic psychologist patron.

Seems Rekers liked “the long stroke,” a special nude massage “down there”  which Lucien administered once a day. Rekers also asked Lucien to prepare a document hopes of preventing any future disclosures. Lucien told New Times:

It’s a situation where he’s going against homosexuality when he is a homosexual.

Lucien decided to speak with New Times after a friend explained to him the harm that Rekers’ anti-gay proselytizing has caused for countless LGBT. Lucien said:

In all honesty, he should disassociate himself from these [anti-gay] groups

The Family Research Council, the rightwing Christian group Rekers co-founded with James Dobson has removed Rekers from  their website, despite the turgid Facebook page explanation for his frequent flier frolics:

Like John the Baptist and Jesus, I have a loving Christian ministry to homosexuals and prostitutes in which I share the Good News of Jesus Christ with them (see I Corinthians 6:8-11). Contrary to false gossip, innuendo, and slander about me, I do not in any way “hate” homosexuals, but I seek to lovingly share two types of messages to them, as I did with the young man called “Lucien” in the news story: [1] It is possible to cease homosexual practices to avoid the unacceptable health risks associated with that behavior, and [2] the most important decision one can make is to establish a relationship with God for all eternity by trusting in Jesus Christ’s sacrifice on the cross for the forgiveness of your sins, including homosexual sins. If you talk with my travel assistant that the story called “Lucien,” you will find I spent a great deal of time sharing scientific information on the desirability of abandoning homosexual intercourse, and I shared the Gospel of Jesus Christ with him in great detail.

Dr. Rekers, you didn’t have “homosexual intercourse.” You had homosexual foreplay. Either way, it’s still gay sex. Admit it, admit you’re gay, embrace your fabulousity, repent from the sins of having harmed countless LGBT with your BS theories and practices, and come over to the rainbow side. It’s a lot more fun.

Colbert’s take on Rekers’ folly

Dr George Reker–who hired a handsome young man off Rentboys.com to handle his bags while the two of them toured Europe–blogs about teen sex as part his DrGeorge.com website. And parts of it are really appalling

Take this story for example: Teen Girl Agrees to Have Sex for $50, Then Gets the Surprise of Her Life

Surprise of her life indeed–the girl was murdered! That sort of blithe insensitivity is found throughout Dr George’s Teen Sex Today blog where Rekers makes sure you know he is an experienced psychologist, psychiatrist, and professor, as well as a foster and adoptive father:

Not only have I successfully raised a bunch of teenagers into adulthood as a father, but as a clinical psychologist, I’ve spent many years counseling teenagers about their questions about sex. And as a university professor for many years, I’ve been teaching medical students, psychology students, and psychiatry trainees on how they can help teens with sexual issues.

Along with issues of abstinence and porn, Rekers also addresses “gender identity.” As founder the National Association for Research & Therapy of Homosexuality, Rekers thinks gays should and can be cured.

Rekers also addresses the Rentboys.com scandal, claiming:

A recent article in an alternative newspaper cleverly gave false impressions of inappropriate behavior because of its misleading innuendo, incorrectly implying that Professor George Rekers used the Rentboy website to hire a prostitute to accompany him on a recent trip. Contrary to Internet stories based on this slanderous article, following medical advice Professor George Rekers requires an assistant to lift his luggage in his travels because of an ongoing condition following surgery. His family, local friends, and even another university professor colleague have offered to accompany him on trips to assist him in his travel. Dr. Rekers found his recent travel assistant by interviewing different people who might be able to help, and did not even find out about his travel assistant’s Internet advertisements offering prostitution activity until after the trip was in progress. There was nothing inappropriate with this relationship. Professor Rekers was not involved in any illegal or sexual behavior with his travel assistant.

So if friends and family members offered to accompnay him, why did Rekers hire this travel assistant, who confirmed ot New Times Miami that they met via Rentboys.com?

Rentboy.com, a NSFW site

(NB: Rentboy.com–a site favored by at least one Evangelical minister–is most definitely, incredibly NSFW!!!)

“Homo-hater exposed as hypocrite” has almost become a routine story–kinda like family-values politicians who get busted with some not-their-wife-type–but ooooh, it’s still such delish fun when an anti-gay Evangelist is caught red-handed with a rentboy from Rentboy.com!

And that’s what happened to the Rev. George Alan Rekers, Maimi-based Baptist minister, co-founder with James Dobson of  the virulently anti-gay, rightwing Family Research Council; a state’s witness in favor of Florida’s gay adoption ban; board member of the National Association for Research & Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH) a reparative therapy organization looking to turn gays straight; and author of such anti-gay screeds as Growing Up Straight: What Families Should Know About Homosexuality.

Seems Rekers met a blond twenty-something described on Rentboy.com as

sensual…wild..up for anything

with some rather nice sounding body parts. For rent.

And Rekers took this sexy chap to Europe to hold his bags. Yup, according to an interview with New Times– conducted after the couple was spotted and photographed at Miami International Airport returning from their foreign romp–Rekers hired the dishy young man because

I had surgery and I can’t lift luggage. That’s why I hired him.

Neither Rekers nor the foxy fellow deny meeting through Rentboy.com, which is clearly a site dedicated uniting men who are willing to pay for sex with  very fit, very naked men who would like to make some extra cash by having sex.

One would think if Rekers wanted his luggage carried–versus his sacks handled–he could have found the help he needed through an employment agency or a church group…

[HT New Times]