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crossposted on Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters
We haven't heard anything from the right about Obama appointee Kevin Jennings since their pathetic attempts to get him removed last year.
But according to Media Matters, World Net Daily is making up for that silence:
A homosexual congressman from Colorado has proposed a law critics say would give controversial federal school safety czar Kevin Jennings – a longtime homosexual-rights advocate – almost unlimited authority to mandate indoctrination in public schools at taxpayer expense.
“It doesn't get much more fascist than this! It's a sexual revolutionary's dream,” wrote Linda Harvey of Mission America.
Under the legislation by Democrat Rep. Jared Polis, Jennings “can create pro-homosexual programs and policies to their hearts' delight,” Harvey wrote.
Jennings founded the “Gay, Lesbian Straight Education Network” and now heads the office of “Safe and Drug Free Schools” at the Department of Education.
Polis' proposal would provide special protections for students who claim they are discriminated against because of their “perceived sexual orientation.” The bill would call down the wrath of the federal government on offenders by classifying “actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity” alongside race, color, sex, disability or national origin as factors on which protections are based.
The irony of Harvey's statement accusing Jennings of having a hand in this bill is that she later contradicts herself in the same article:
“While I have no hard evidence, it's got Kevin Jennings' fingerprints all over it,” Harvey said. “His safe and drug free schools plan can take full advantage by creating new rules schools would have to follow.”
America is such a great country in our freedoms but Harvey being quoted about this bill is proof of the fact that freedom of speech must come with a little discernment. Not everyone who voices an opinion about an issue has the facts.
Or in this case, will let the facts stand in the way of a good lie.
Remember, Harvey has no expertise in anything but rumor mongering. She is a former ad executive who “found the Lord.” She also believes that anyone who supports lgbt rights in any form shouldn't be around children because they will cause those children to be molested. In other words, Harvey is clueless. She doesn't what the hell she is talking about.
Media Matters gives accurate clarifications about the bill:
Jennings not referenced in bill. The bill at issue, the Student Nondiscrimination Act of 2010, does not specifically reference Jennings, his position, Assistant Deputy Secretary for Safe and Drug-Free Schools, or his office, the Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools.
Bill does not “mandate indoctrination.” The bill does not “mandate indoctrination” in public schools, but rather bans discrimination based on “actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity” in public schools, and defines “harassment” on those bases as discrimination
Bill does not grant anyone “almost unlimited authority.” The bill directs federal departments that provide funding to public schools to promulgate rules allowing for the termination of that funding if that school fails to take action to prevent discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. Those rules are subject to approval by the president.
Bill is has a Republican co-sponsor. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) is listed as an original co-sponsor of the bill.
However, we know how the oppositions works – pour on innuendo and outrage and while omitting the facts. I'm pretty sure we will hear more lies about this bill.
My guess is that we can expect another series of phony exposes from Big Government and more ugly attacks on Jennings and Polis from right-wing sites and blogs.
And who could potentially suffer from this? Lgbt students. Again they will done the most harm by those (i.e. Linda Harvey, World Net Daily) who claim to have their best interest at heart.
Editor's note – the Media Matters piece has more information on Harvey's anti-gay history. Read it with a strong stomach.
5 Comments
Projection.These are the kinds of stories that remind me that these people are far more wrapped in their own worldview and fantasyland than I usually tend to think.
It seems to me that this is yet another example of the idea that everybody operates solely via blind obedience to authority figures. That all life experience is ideology, and all ideology is given from on high, to be swallowed whole.
Gay and lesbian people can’t possibly just be operating from our own life experience. Our allies can’t possibly be thinking for themselves and applying logic and compassion. People, seeing a need, or having common issues, cannot possibly come up with similar solutions to similar problems. (“Hey. let’s stop people from beating up kids!”)
No, all action, and all thought, has to come from a central authority. So they go out looking for who they think our central authority is. In this case, Jennings. In other cases, they go looking for our Holy Scriptures, and keep turning up things like After the Ball or some obscure HRC press release.
It really looks to me like, seeing sweeping changes across the country with regards things like anti-bullying policies and gay-straight alliances, they are incapable of conceiving that there is actually a widespread grass-roots belief that they are good things. Instead, it just proves to them that our Homo High Command is that much more powerful than they dreamed.
Some hope in the darknessThis past Tuesday at a counselor conference here in TN, I had the pleasure of hearing Mr. Jennings talk as our keynote speaker. He talked at length about the bullying problem in our school. While he didn’t mention his work with GLSEN or the research they had done, he didn’t shy away from talking about his partner on two occasions and made sure to mention that GLBT students are one of the top two groups bullied relentlessly in school (next to students harassed for their appearance). The gentleman is articulate and positive and hopeful. He has a genuine presence. By the end of the presentation, he had me crying and he got a standing ovation from the crowd. To put that in perspective, I live in TN where we have passed anti-gay marriage laws, where Republican legislatures try every year to pass anti-gay adoption laws, and where they are even making an attempt to pass a “don’t say gay in schools” law (yeah, you can’t even talk about homosexuality, at all!). In this state, a gay man got a standing ovation from probably 700-800 people talking about stopping bullying in our schools. To me, that’s a damn good sign and we just need to keep spreading the truth.
The really interesting thing…is that this bill protects equally. There are no special rights given. It addresses common school problems like abusive football coaches who use words like “fag” and “girl” to berate their players. It protects the straight boy who is smaller and slow to develop from the jerks who will beat him up and call him a “fag”. It protects the girl with a mohawk from being bullied as a perceived lesbian.
Bullying based on PERCEIVED sexual orientation and gender identity is the same as bullying based on PERCEIVED religious affiliation. Laws against such bullying protect every child. Obviously, the wingnuts want to declare bullying legal as long as the bully is bashing.
I love “Homo High Command”I just consulted with them earlier today on the latest rallying efforts to further indoctrinate the kids.
Good grief! I wonder what it must be like to be Linda Harvey and wake up every morning with hate on the brain.
Where do I get news?One thing I’m finding frustrating about all this is that Mr. Jennings has a fairly high position in the Department of Education and whenever I try to find any day-to-day news about him all I find is a long list of hate pieces by these right-wing asshats. Can anyone steer me to a reliable news source about what he’s doing (and, hopefully, where his speaking engagements are!)?