Ted Cox is a Sacramento writer who follows the gay “conversion” movement: Organizations that claim to “cure” gays of their homosexuality. This week we’ll be running excerpts from his report of an undercover visit to a weekend retreat held near Phoenix last year. The entire article is available online.

I don’t remember exactly when I felt his erection pressing into my back. It might have been while he whispered in my ear, “Long ago, you were the Golden Child. But, somehow, that Golden Child was hurt, and you put up a wall to protect yourself.” Or it might have been when other men in the room broke out in song:

How could anyone ever tell you
That you’re anything less than beautiful?
How could anyone ever tell you
That you’re less than whole?

I sat on the floor between the outstretched legs of a camp guide, my head leaning back against his shoulder. The guide sat behind me, his arms wrapped around my chest. This hold was called “The Motorcycle.” Five men surrounded the two of us, their hands resting gently on my arms, legs and chest.

Read more »

Just when we thought we were done with all the amusing unintended consequences of Census paranoia, another one turns up: When it asks whether you’re married, it doesn’t make sure you’re opposite-married…

Some conservatives have complained that the eventual count of same-sex unions will be legally inaccurate while serving as ammunition for homosexual-marriage advocates. Gary Randall, president of the Bellevue, Wash.-based Faith and Freedom Network, complained in a blog posting last month that the census “is leaving it to responders to characterize their own relationships, regardless of legal status.”

“Will homosexual numbers be inflated by this ‘you decide what you are’ policy? Probably,” Randall wrote.

Then again, they’ll probably also be inflated by wingnut boycotts and Erick Erickson pulling a shotgun on government workers.

Conservatives fear census will inflate ‘gay’ numbers [AP/OneNewsNow]

Kos splooges over his new iPad. First comment after the post: “Hard to understand how liberals can be in favor of a draconian company that restricts freedom.” Geeks are sillier than wingnuts.

Is there a chance the little fucker will be arrested?

LONDON (Reuters) – British author and atheist campaigner Richard Dawkins will try to have Pope Benedictarrested to face questions over the Catholic church’s child abuse scandal when he visits Britain later this year, one of his lawyers said Sunday.

Dawkins, a scientist and outspoken critic of religion, has asked human rights lawyers to examine whether charges could be brought against the pope.

Covering up child rape.  So Catholic.

British Campaigners Threaten Pope With Arrest [NYT]

This is from last week, but it’s worth a read as it reminds one how deeply ignorant most of our elite class is …

Since then, I have often wondered why nobody in Washington showed any interest in hearing exactly how I arrived at my conclusions that the housing bubble would burst when it did and that it could cripple the big financial institutions. A week ago I learned the answer when Al Hunt of Bloomberg Television, who had read Michael Lewis’s book, “The Big Short,” which includes the story of my predictions, asked Mr. Greenspan directly. The former Fed chairman responded that my insights had been a “statistical illusion.” Perhaps, he suggested, I was just a supremely lucky flipper of coins.

And Ayn Rand?  Fuck you.

I Saw the Crisis Coming. Why Didn’t the Fed? [NYT]

My pal oyster checks in from the SRLC in New Orleans:

Most importantly, there was no word yet on whether potential Senate candidate Stormy Daniels will make a surprise appearance at the conference. (Wild rumors were circulating yesterday that she wanted to meet Sarah Palin and perhaps lay some groundwork for an eventual endorsement.) Stormy recently made a highly publicized switch from the Democratic party to the Republican party in the wake of the embarrassing RNC/Voyeur club scandal.

From another post:

Read more »

Title: “Original Intent: The Courts, the Constitution, & Religion”

Author: David Barton

Rank: 10

Blurb: “David Barton is founder and president of WallBuilders, a national pro-family organization which distributes historical, legal, and statistical information, and helps citizens become active in their local schools and communities. He was appointed by the Texas State Board of Education and the California Academic Standards Commission to review their History/Social Studies standards.”

Review: “The first clue that Mr. Barton is telling the truth is the torrent of scathing reviews from the Secularists.”

Customers Also Bought: “The Question of Freemasonry and the Founding Fathers,” by David Barton

Footnote: 103 reviews, only three mentions of deism.

Original Intent [Amazon]

Buy or Die [Stinque@Amazon kickback link]