• Michael B. Keegan @ Huffington Post: Angry at Komen? You Should Be Furious at Mitt Romney and the GOP.
• Igor Volsky @ Think Progress LGBT: Santorum To Gay Man: You Don’t Deserve ‘Privilege’ Of Marriage Because Gay Unions Don’t ‘Benefit Society.’
• Warren Throckmorton: Media report: Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Bill on Parliament’s Agenda Next Week.
• Tommy Christopher @ Mediaite: Odd Romney Gaffe: Americans The Only People Who Put Hands Over Hearts During Anthem.
• TPM Livewire: Gingrich: Romney 'Didn't Deserve' Congratulations After Florida Win.
• Pam Spaulding @ Pam's House Blend: LaBarbera, Wooden tell me to find Jesus – and a man to breed with to ‘rock my world.’

• Bill Donohue is warning the NFL that Madonna had better behave during her Super Bowl halftime performance.
• Peter Wehner, former Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of the White House Office of Strategic Initiatives under George W. Bush, is outraged about "Barack Obama’s Divisive Theology." Seriously.
• Pamela Geller isn't about to let a slain woman's family stop her from misusing said woman's name to further her anti-Muslim agenda.
• Is anyone surprised to learn Opus Dei was responsible for Lila Rose's conversion to Catholicism?
• Finally, the quote of the day from James Robison: "Substituting ineffective government programs for godly living will always prove damaging to every citizen. Government will properly serve or will seductively enslave our population. More often than solving our problems, it adds to them."

In an action alert to members today, the Family Research Council is blaming “the Obama Administration’s continuing track-record of hostility toward Christianity” for William ‘Jerry’ Boykin’s decision to withdraw from a scheduled speaking event at West Point, calling members to sign a petition “to ensure that America's brave warriors have access to free and full expression of their faith.”

This is pathetically ironic for two reasons:

Firstly, the Obama Administration had nothing to do with Boykin’s decision. Boykin was facing severe criticism not due to any “hostility toward Christianity” but from groups representing veterans, Muslim-Americans and civil liberties advocates who did not find it suitable that West Point should give a platform to someone who calls Islam a “totalitarian way of life,” claims that “there is no greater threat to America than Islam” and believes the U.S. should wage a holy war against Islam. As the group VoteVets noted, Boykin’s speeches directly contradict the military’s efforts to reject Al-Qaeda’s frame that the U.S. was in a war against Islam.

Moreover, it wasn’t the Obama administration who formally rebuked Boykin for his over-the-top rhetoric. In fact, it was the Bush administration that rebuked Boykin because his speeches broke military rules, and President George W. Bush publicly reprimanded Boykin.

Secondly, while the FRC wants service members to be guaranteed the “free and full expression of their faith,” Boykin has called for the exact opposite, arguing that Muslim-Americans should not have rights under the First Amendment and demanding the government ban mosques.

We all know the Religious Right loves finding new ‘victims’ for fundraising and political purposes, but this has to be one of their most pitiful and laughable attempts of all:

It's happened again.

In a move that's reflective of the Obama Administration's continuing track-record of hostility toward Christianity, Lt. Gen. William Boykin (USA, Ret.), was recently pressured to withdraw from speaking at the United States Military Academy at West Point. General Boykin had been preparing to speak at the West Point Prayer Breakfast about the importance of prayer in a leader's life. The Academy moved Boykin to pull out of the event when a handful of atheist and Muslim cadets complained about Boykin's beliefs. The message to this elite, three-star warrior was obvious: You and your faith aren't welcome.

General Boykin is an American hero. There are few who would be more qualified to speak at a West Point prayer event. A former Delta Force leader who has faced danger for his country on missions in places like Iran, Somalia, and Grenada, General Boykin is also a man of deep Christian conviction. It is his outspoken faith that has made him a target of groups like the Council on American Islamic Relations, who lodged a complaint with West Point, which led to Boykin not speaking at the event.

This isn't the first time that an outspoken Christian has been booted from military events. Just over a year ago, I was disinvited from an event at Andrews Air Force base because of my biblical views. Before that, evangelist Franklin Graham's invitation to a Pentagon prayer service was rescinded because he too spoke the truth about his faith. These high-profile snubbings of religious expression are only the tip of the iceberg. The Obama Administration is advancing an environment of religious disarmament among the military -- and it must be stopped quickly for the sake of our soldiers' spiritual lives.

You can help the brave men and women of our military. Please join with me in signing our petition that calls on Congress and the Obama Administration to take action to ensure that America's brave warriors have access to free and full expression of their faith.

We have written several posts in the past about how Newt Gingrich's leading Religious Right supporter, Jim Garlow, manages to straddle the increasingly thin line between the more traditional Religious Right movement and the growing New Apostolic Reformation spiritual warfare movement.

It was at a Cindy Jacobs' conference in 2010 that we first learned that Gingrich had tapped Garlow to run his Renewing American Leadership organization.  It was Garlow who brought Lou Engle in to lead the prayer and fasting as they pressed for passage of Prop 8, which might explain how Gingrich ended up in Virginia in 2009 being prayed over by none other than Engle himself:

Garlow is deeply tied to various leaders within the New Apostolic Reformation, promotes their agenda, and has worked tirelessly to bring them into the wider Religious Right movement.

Tonight, Garlow will be introducing Gingrich at a "Pray for America" event at a church in Nevada; an event that is also being promoted by Cindy Jacobs' US Reformation Prayer Network:

On Friday, February 3, 2012, 7pm – 8:30pm, there will be a Pray for America prayer meeting at International Church of Las Vegas (ICLV) hosted by Pastor Paul Goulet. Many local leaders and media are expected to be attending. Also, Newt Gingrich has confirmed his attendance at the prayer meeting.

So it will, of course, come as no surprise to learn that Paul Goulet is himself a member of the International Coalition of Apostles and affiliated as a North America sphere leader with the C. Peter Wagner-founded, Chuck Pierce-run Global Spheres organization:

Lead Pastor, Summerlin Campus Pastors Paul and Denise Goulet are the senior leaders of International Church of Las Vegas. With decades of shared experience in ministry, this dynamic couple has a desire to change Las Vegas and the world. With a strong apostolic anointing, Pastor Paul has made it his mission in life to impart the power of the Holy Spirit into leaders worldwide. He travels extensively and has established an international network of churches, Bible schools and pastors, with the ultimate goal of building 2000 churches by the year 2020. As Senior Pastor of ICLV, the host of a weekly television program, and the author of many books, Pastor Paul's messages of vision and destiny are heard by tens of thousands around the world.

In the world of Religious Right activists, waging a campaign to convince the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation to cut funding to breast cancer exams at Planned Parenthood clinics is an admirable exercise of public advocacy, but when people join a campaign to convince the Komen foundation to continue their partnership with Planned Parenthood to fight breast cancer, it’s “gangsterism.”

After Komen released a statement that opened the door to maintain its ties to the women’s health organization, Planned Parenthood said it is “heartened that we can continue to work in partnership toward our shared commitment to breast health for the most underserved women” and “enormously grateful that the Komen Foundation has clarified its grantmaking criteria.”

The uproar not only resulted in a huge black eye to Komen but also helped Planned Parenthood raise over $3 million to protect their breast health program from cuts. Moreover, the controversy exposed the Religious Right’s unabashed glee that tens of thousands of women would lose access to breast exams and gave them another opportunity to rekindle the debunked claim that abortion is linked to breast cancer.

But their excitement at women losing access to cancer screenings seems to be fading with the new statement from Komen.

Mona Charen of the National Review Online lamented that “it’s extremely disappointing that Komen has caved” but “it’s hardly surprising given the onslaught they’ve endured over the course of the last few days,” and NRO’s Daniel Foster charged Planned Parenthood with “gangsterism.” Of course, just days prior Kathryn Jean Lopez on NRO hailed Komen’s initial decision as a major victory, noting “this Komen-Planned Parenthood relationship has long been a target of pro-life activists.”

Catholic Family and Human Rights Initiative (C-Fam) president Austin Ruse told LifeSiteNews called potentially successful effort to have the Komen foundation reverse their decision defunding Planned Parenthood a “mafia shakedown”:

Pro-life leaders say that the exact import of the statement is not yet clear, and that Komen seems to be asking for breathing room, possibly with the intention of caving in definitively to pro-abortion pressure.

Austin Ruse of C-Fam told LifeSiteNews.com Friday morning that, “The mafia shakedown tactics may have worked, but we’re not sure.”

Ruse advised that pro-lifers should “take a wait and see attitude” to discern whether the pro-abortion pushback against Komen would succeed.

Kristen Walker of Live Action called it a “terrible shame that Komen has caved in to political pressure from pro-abortion fanatics who demand obeisance to Planned Parenthood” and wondered what will happen to all the money people gave to Komen to reward them for dropping Planned Parenthood:

If raising money to cure breast cancer were their primary concern, they would not have reversed this decision. Their donations went up 100% in the short time since they announced the halting of grants to PP as pro-lifers who have refused to donate to Komen opened their wallets to thank them for their decision, happy to finally be able to give to their good work of fighting breast cancer with a clear conscience. I wonder if Komen has given any thought to the fact that those people gave money in good faith believing it wouldn’t be used to fund abortions. Will they refund that money? I guess we’ll see.

…

It is a terrible shame that Komen has caved in to political pressure from pro-abortion fanatics who demand obeisance to Planned Parenthood. It is a terrible shame they’re allowing PP and its followers to compromise their mission to cure breast cancer.

Evangelist Bill Keller warned that the latest move by the Komen foundation may well lead to “the wrath and punishment of God unleashed on this wicked nation at any moment”:

Keller said, "It only shows the level of spiritual decay in this nation when a private foundation who made a decision to stop giving money to the world's largest abortion provider, Planned Parenthood, causes the media, politicians, and the supporters of killing babies to go into a wild frenzy. The Catholic Church has always stood for the sanctity of life, yet Catholics like Nancy Pelosi, John Kerry, Joe Biden, and MSNBC's Chris Matthews, were livid that the Komen Foundation decided to stop giving a $250,000 annual grant to Planned Parenthood."

…

Keller concluded, "You don't have to be a Biblical scholar to know that we are on the verge of seeing the wrath and punishment of God unleashed on this wicked nation at any moment. Every 24 hours we slaughter approximately 4,000 innocent babies. Where is the outrage about that in the media, in the halls of Congress? Sadly, society doesn't even give it a second thought and has fully embraced this 'culture of death' which hangs over this nation like a black cloud."

UPDATE: Liberty Counsel Action is now urging its members to cancel any donations they made to Komen, with Matt Barber arguing that the group should change their name to “Susan G. Komen for the Cause,” pushing the discredited charge that abortion is linked to breast cancer:

The reversal comes on the heels of news that Komen’s donations jumped 100% after deciding to defund Planned Parenthood, the nation’s leading abortion provider that is currently under criminal investigation in multiple venues. Liberty Counsel Action is encouraging its members to cancel any checks and credit card contributions made in the wake of Komen’s initial decision to defund Planned Parenthood and asking any pro-life participants in Komen’s June 2 Global Race for the Cure run in Washington, D.C. to withdraw.

Matt Barber, Vice President of Liberty Counsel Action, says that anyone who sincerely wants to contribute to the fight against breast cancer has dozens if not hundreds of other options from hospitals to other nonprofit organizations, but Komen should be off the list.

“It’s a sad day for those who both seek a breast cancer cure and who respect the dignity of all human life,” said Barber. “Susan G. Komen for the Cure should recognize that abortion is not a cure for anything. Perhaps they should change the name to Susan G. Komen for the Cause. What a tragic paradox. There is mounting medical evidence that indicates abortion significantly increases the risk for breast cancer.”

Calling Komen’s decision “the coward’s way out,” Barber said that the decision to once again partner with Planned Parenthood was nothing more than capitulation to “tremendous left-wing political pressure.”

“They have chosen death over life – cancer over cure,” said Barber. “Instead of showing courage, they caved. Komen is now part of the breast cancer problem rather than the solution.”

Amid the news that the Susan G. Komen Foundation may (or may not) be reversing its decision to cut off funding to Planned Parenthood, it is worth taking a moment to realize just how ridiculous yet effective the right-wing campaign against Planned Parenthood has been.

For instance, back in 2010, the Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute alleged that during a United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, the Girl Scouts "hosted a no-adults-welcome panel at the United Nations ... where Planned Parenthood was allowed to distribute a brochure entitled 'Healthy, Happy and Hot' [which] contains explicit and graphic details on sex, as well as the promotion of casual sex in many forms."

The only problem was that it wasn't true.  As the Girl Scouts explained, all the organizations at the conference had been using the same rooms and so if there were any Planned Parenhood brochures present in the room when they held their meeting, it was only because they had been left behind after previous sessions.

As we pointed out back in 2010, the enitre allegation doesn't even make sense as the purpose of the brochure in question is aimed at teaching people about how to lead sexually fulfilling lives while living with HIV?  Are we really supposed to believe that the Girl Scouts kicked everyone out of the room so that Planned Parenthood could present this information to a bunch of young girls? 

But the fact that the entire thing is fundamentally absurd, all of the Religious Right's anti-Planned Parenthood crusders ate it up and have repeated it ad nauseum until it has gotten to the point where it is now so accepted as fact that Girl Scout leaders have to spend time repeatedly swatting down the rumor while losing sales:

For decades The Girl Scouts of America has been dedicated to helping young girls learn life skills. But now the organization is having to defending itself against a rumor that they say is disrupting sales of their biggest fund raiser - cookies.

The rumor started two years ago and connects the Girl Scouts to Planned Parenthood.

The CEO of the Silver Sage Girl Scouts Council, Shelli Rambo Roberson says the rumor has been fueled by social media sites and blogs, and for some reason, it's gaining traction this year.

Roberson says the rumor started at a global forum in Europe about the status of women in the world.

“Out of that came a rumor that there was some training given to girls from Planned Parenthood, and there is absolutely no merit to that,” said Roberson.

The rumor claims sexually explicit information was given to the Girl Scouts by members of Planned Parenthood.

“There's no partnership or interaction between Girl Scouts and Planned Parenthood,” said Roberson.

Even though the incident allegedly happened two years ago, they're now seeing more people reacting.

“We have girls report to us that people have said they won't support them,” said Roberson.

Within the four Girl Scout offices in south Idaho, they've received over 200 phone calls from concerned citizens and e-mails continue to fill their in boxes.

And it is no wonder that the Girl Scouts have to keep dealing with this considering that groups like the Family Research Council, which employs the wife of the president of the Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute which started the rumor in the first place, continue to spread it:

It looks like liberals finally got caught with their hands in the cookie jar! After people like FRC's Cathy Ruse started exposing the connection between the Girl Scouts and Planned Parenthood, more customers are pulling their support from the annual fundraiser. One news outlet in Idaho, says more than 200 people have complained, bringing cookie sales to one of their lowest points. Shelli Rambo Roberson, the CEO of the local Council, claims there's no partnership. It's just a "rumor," she told reporters.

Not so, says Cathy, who has plenty of documentation from a special U.N. "Girls Only" workshop co-hosted by Planned Parenthood and the Girl Scouts. The workshop included a graphic sex manual called "Healthy, Happy, and Hot," full of ideas too pornographic to repeat. It's part of a joint project to bring "better sexual health" to girls as young as 10. And while some troop leaders are committed to raising women of integrity, we can't turn a blind eye to the Girl Scout headquarters, which is bombarding girls with topics like abortion, contraception, and homosexuality.

JC Penney quickly shot down the American Family Association’s campaign through its subgroup One Million Moms to have the retailer fire Ellen DeGeneres as their spokesperson because she is openly gay, but that hasn’t stopped the organization’s efforts. Instead of calling JC Penney’s corporate office, now OMM is telling activists to call local managers. OMM accused the corporate office of “insulting” them by not bowing to their anti-gay pressure campaign, and now hopes that store managers will be easier targets:

OMM began contacting JC Penney after the store announced that comedian Ellen DeGeneres would become the company's new spokesperson. Funny that JC Penney thinks hiring an open homosexual spokesperson will help their business when most of its customers are traditional families. As consumers, what we find tragic is a corporate office and customer service department that not only transfers customers to voicemail, but even hangs up on them rather than verses hearing their concerns.

It is absurd to think that a company would find treating customers in this fashion an acceptable behavior. Our members stated their concerns in a kind, professional manner. Insulting customers by ignoring us will not be tolerated. OMM members can shop elsewhere if JC Penney does not appreciate our business. Unless JC Penney decides to be neutral in the culture war and listen to customers in a considerate fashion, their brand transformation will be unsuccessful.

Degeneres is not a true representation of the type of families who shop at the retailer. The small percentage of customers they are attempting to satisfy will not offset their loss in sales by offending the majority.

Since JC Penney won't listen to us nationally, it is time we let them hear from us locally!

Since the corporate office doesn't consider your call important, please call your local store manager. Local managers are more likely to listen to your concerns and pass them along to the corporate office.

Please be kind when you ask them to tell corporate that Ellen DeGeneres is a poor choice for spokesperson and should be replaced with someone who more represents your family values.

OMM spokeswoman Monica Cole, last seen attacking Glee, told the AFA affiliated OneNewsNow that DeGeneres doesn’t make a good spokesperson because of the small size of the openly gay community:

But Monica Cole, director of American Family Association's advocacy groupOneMillionMoms.com, tells OneNewsNow the campaign might backfire since only an estimated 1.7 percent of the population is homosexual.

"Yes, DeGeneres is not a true representation of the type of families that shop at their store," says Cole. "And they're going to be gaining a very small percentage of liberal customers. This will not satisfy or offset their loss in sales. They will be losing more than they'll be gaining."

In hiring a lesbian to sell the public on the idea of shopping at J.C. Penney, the company is making the mistake of turning its back on its base of customers, says Cole.

"[We're] asking J.C. Penney to hire a spokesperson who's more representative of the type of the customers that shop in their stores, such as traditional families," she concludes.

OneMillionMoms is asking people to call J.C. Penney to politely ask that DeGeneres be replaced -- and that instead of "jumping on the pro-gay bandwagon," the firm take a neutral stance in the culture war.

In his daily radio bulletin, Family Research Council president Tony Perkins used a series of puns to express his outrage at Starbucks over the company’s support for legislation in Washington state to legalize same-sex marriage. The National Organization for Marriage and Liberty Counsel have also attacked the coffee company for supporting gay rights, and one pastor even said that the decision is proof that “Starbucks Hates God.” Perkins lashed out at Starbucks’ “attack on marriage” and “radical agenda,” warning “if Starbucks wants to focus on politics, then its profits are on dangerous grounds”:

Perkins: There's more than coffee brewing at Starbucks. There's controversy too. Hello, I'm Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council in Washington, D.C. Starbucks is stirring the pot all right, but with a liberal agenda that's got customers shaking their heads. In the fight over marriage in Washington State, the Seattle company is picking sides. Last week, the chain announced it'll join the attack on marriage and endorse homosexual unions. Spokesman Karen Holmes said, "This important legislation is aligned with Starbucks business practices... It is core to who we are and what we value as a company." Well, it may be at the core of who Starbucks is, but it's not at the core of who America is. Voters overwhelmingly believe in man-woman marriage--and they've passed 30 straight amendments to prove it. If Starbucks thinks people like their radical agenda, I hate to spill the beans. But people can get their caffeine fix anywhere. So if Starbucks wants to focus on politics, then its profits are on dangerous grounds.

Romney wrongly assumes that it is the role of government to provide more entitlements to help the poor. In fact, that is not the role of government. The historical biblical view of helping the poor is that they are best helped by individuals and the faith community. Government programs tend to enslave the poor in an endless cycle of poverty. The biblical model is that both, the giver and the recipient, are blessed. When government steps in between the giver and the recipient, the giver loses the blessing of giving and the recipient is often left in a worse, rather than better, position. Romney's statement that he would rely on government programs to help the poor indicates his intent to continue the same failed big government programs and policies….it is the duty of the church, the faith community, to look after the poor, the orphans, and the widows.

It seems like all we ever hear from the Religious Right is how important it is for our political leaders to let their faith influence their public policy decisions.  But apparently that only applies when it leads politicians to support the conservative political agenda because when President Obama cites Jesus, it seems to make the Right lose their minds.

Yesterday, during the National Prayer Breakfast, President Obama cited a passage from the Book of Luke to support his view that the well-off should be expected to contribute more:

And when I talk about shared responsibility, it’s because I genuinely believe that in a time when many folks are struggling, at a time when we have enormous deficits, it’s hard for me to ask seniors on a fixed income, or young people with student loans, or middle-class families who can barely pay the bills to shoulder the burden alone. And I think to myself, if I’m willing to give something up as somebody who’s been extraordinarily blessed, and give up some of the tax breaks that I enjoy, I actually think that’s going to make economic sense.

But for me as a Christian, it also coincides with Jesus’s teaching that “for unto whom much is given, much shall be required.”

And now right-wing leaders and Republicans are outraged, with Sen. Orrin Hatch lashing out about it on the Senate floor and Rep. Phil Gingrey walking out in protest while Ralph Reed, of all people, is saying that Obama went "over the line":

Ralph Reed of the Faith and Freedom Coalition said that for the president to tie his tax policy to Jesus’s teachings “is theologically threadbare and straining credulity.”

“I felt like it was over the line and not the best use of the forum,” Reed said. “It showed insufficient level of respect for what the office of the president has historically brought to that moment.”

And of course Bryan Fischer, who thinks the Bible ought to be the foundation for all our public policy, including putting animals to death, was incensed that Obama would dare to claim that the teachings of Christ support his agenda when, in fact, his agenda "is in the spirit of Joseph Stalin" and Karl Marx:

As we have said before, it is amazing President Obama even bothers to talk about his Christian faith because nothing he says will ever be acceptable for the "real" Christians in the Religious Right.

It’s been a tough few years for prosperity gospel televangelist and anti-gay activist Eddie Long. In 2010, four male members of his New Birth mega church accused the Word-Faith preacher of coercing them into sex, and after settling out of court with a confidentiality agreement, some accusers spoke out nonetheless. Long’s ex-wife accused him of abuse and his second wife filed for divorce, then rescinded her divorce petition until ultimately going through with the divorce, and a star member of Long’s congregation, Bernice King, daughter of Martin Luther King Jr., resigned and left the church. After taking a leave of absence, Long eventually returned to New Birth and last month a Messianic Jewish rabbi, Ralph Messer, who “actively teaches the Hebrew Roots of the Christian Faith” and claims to have “an Apostolic and Evangelistic anointing,” crowned Long king on Sunday by wrapping him in a Torah scroll he says was found in the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp “on behalf of the Jewish people, the land of Israel and the God of Israel.”

“He is a king, God’s blessed him, he’s a humble man, but in him is kingship, in him is royalty, in him was the land of Israel,” Messer declared: “He’s no longer a commoner, he’s not on the earth, he’s raised from earth into a heavenly realm, he’s raised in a prophetic position, he’s released by God, he’s breaking pagan traditions, breaking into areas of God, he’s releasing Atlanta, Georgia, it’s not him, it’s the king in him.”

Dr. Will Gafney of Lutheran Theological Seminary offered a 27 point refutation of Messer’s preaching, and naturally, the crowning is not sitting well with Jewish leaders and even Messianic Jews:

Jewish leaders are criticizing a ceremony that involved a controversial megachurch leader being wrapped in a religious scroll and exalted as a "king" to the applause of his parishioners.

…

Rabbi David Shiff of Congregation Beth Hallel, a Messianic Jewish synagogue in Roswell, condemned the actions in the video.

"Ralph Messer in no way represents Messianic Judaism," Shiff said. "He is not affiliated with any legitimate branch of Messianic Judaism. His actions in no way reflect the position of Messianic Judaism. I found the presentation to be repulsive and inappropriate."

The Torah is one of Judaism's most sacred objects and Jewish groups said the notion that it was used in a ceremony at the church was offensive.

"The notion that he wraps Bishop Long in a Torah is horrifying simply because it's completely inappropriate. It's an awful way to use the Torah," said Bill Nigut of the Anti-Defamation League. "And it doesn't in any way approximate any Jewish ritual."

• PFAW: People For the American Way Calls on Susan G. Komen for the Cure to Restore Funding to Planned Parenthood.
• Jodi Jacobson @ RH Reality Check: Can You Trust a Breast Cancer Organization Whose Staff and Board Members Lie About Breast Cancer?
• Political Correction: Meet Dutch Sheets, Another Gingrich Faith Adviser.
• Anthea Butler @ Religion Dispatches: Watch the New Birth Throne: Eddie Long Declared ‘King’ by ‘Rabbi.’
• Michelangelo Signorile @ HuffPost Gay Voices: From Stupid to Dangerous.
• Alex Seitz-Wald @ Think Progress Economy: Oops: Florida Republican Forgets To Remove ALEC Mission Statement From Boilerplate Anti-Tax Bill.
• Sabrina Rubin Erdely @ Rolling Stone: One Town's War on Gay Teens.
• Finally, Right Wing Watch will be down for maintenance for a few hours this evening, but back up and running in time for tomorrow.

• What on earth makes Mitt Romney think accepting Donald Trump's endorsement is a good idea?
• Sharron Angle had endorsed Rick Santorum.
• Speaking of Santorum, here is video of James Dobson joining him at a campaign event in Colorado yesterday.
• On a related note, Dobson will receive Rick Scarborough's "2012 Hero of Faith" award.
• We genuinely have no idea what Randall Terry is talking about in this statement.
• Newt Gingrich taking advice from Joe Paterno does not inspire confidence.
• Finally, Ralph Reed does not approve of President Obama citing his faith in support of his political agenda in the remarks he made during the National Prayer Breakfast: "I felt like it was over the line and not the best use of the forum. It showed insufficient level of respect for what the office of the president has historically brought to that moment.”

Roy Moore, the former Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court who was removed from office for failing to follow a court order to move his replica of the Ten Commandments, is now in a four-person race for Chief Justice following his two failed gubernatorial bids and an aborted run for president. Yesterday on City on a Hill Radio, Moore said it seems that the government has become “the enemy of the people” because of its promotion of “tolerance and diversity,” which he described as dangerous concepts. He went on to say that the legalization of same-sex marriage is proof that “our government is doing a lot that is to destroy this country and it is against the people”:

Moore: When you said ‘the government can become the enemy of the people,’ I don’t know that the government is not already the enemy of the people. When it denies the faith upon which the Constitution and our country was founded, when it is de-educating our children with some of these schools teaching them tolerance and diversity, just think of those concepts: should we praise diversity? We’re one nation under God, that’s not diverse, that includes all people, black, white, yellow, red, it includes all people, people are one under God, and that’s what it’s supposed to be, you should love your neighbor as yourself despite if you know he is different than you are that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t love him. Diversity is celebrating a division among people.

Tolerance, is tolerance a good concept? We’re not to tolerate sin. There is nothing in the Bible, nothing in our culture that says we are to tolerate sin, in fact, you’re supposed to oppose sin, you’re supposed to hate sin. But does that mean you hate people? No. You love people, but you hate the sin, and that’s always been the truth. But we’ve got these concepts sneaking into our school and the government is mandating the teaching of them.

They are approving same-sex marriage, fortunately not the United States government yet but they are trying to get that established across our country, that you could marry somebody of the same sex. Our government is doing a lot that is to destroy this country and it is against the people. Unless we wake up and speak out...we’re going to lose our country.

A public high school in Montgomery County, Maryland, is being criticized for distributing literature of Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays and Gays, a group tells gay youth to “transition out of a homosexual identity” even though the American Medical Association, the American Psychological Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the National Association of Social Workers and the American Psychiatric Association all deny the effectiveness, safety and ethics of reparative therapy. While Religious Right groups have sued for the right to distribute literature in Montgomery County schools, like the PFOX flyer which propagates discredited and harmful misinformation about sexual orientation and gender identity, they have also sought to deny this right to groups they disagree with.

Their pamphlet Preventing Bullying at Your School says that kids become gay because people call them gay, and that later in their lives gay people bully those who “decide to pursue alternatives to homosexuality”:

Many people, especially during adolescence, are called “gay” or other names even though they do not have same-sex attractions. Appearance is not a reliable means to know what another person feels. No one should be labeled “gay,” “sissy” or “queer” based on the perception of others. They may begin to believe what others tell them about themselves, which may be completely false labeling and cause gender confusion for the victim.

Moreover, a number of teens who do have same-sex attractions choose not to be identified based on who they are attracted to. Others are working to overcome their unwanted same-sex attractions and should not be called “homophobic,” “pretender,” or “fake” – derogatory words often used to describe ex-gays. Such name-calling can lead to depression, fear and feeling unsafe.

Students who have transition out of a homosexual identity, or decide to pursue alternatives to homosexuality, deserve compassion and respect. Their decision should not subject them to discrimination, ridicule, fear or hate.

Another PFOX pamphlet, Feelings Change, encourages kids to seek reparative therapy:

Lots of our friends had same-sex attractions when they were young and later on descovered [sic] they weren’t gay. You yourself may have heard, “You must be gay!” But no one should be labeled “gay” based on the perception of others. Get Smart! Explore the origins of your same-sex attraction. Why do I have these feelings/ Where did they come from? Why should I pre-label my life?

…

A growing number of teens with same-sex attraction are looking beyond a gay identity to define who they are.

Although your same-sex attraction may feel like a gay identity, a gay identity may not fit into who you are. If you are not happy with same-sex attractions or a gay identity, there is help. Find out for yourself. Get the facts! Find out who you truly are! Be informed before you decide. Before adopting a gay identity, get smart! Get the facts!

The PFOX board [pdf] is also composed of some of the most stringently anti-gay voices in politics today, including Matt Barber of Liberty Counsel, who claims gay youth are more likely to commit suicide because they intuitively know homosexuality “is wrong and immoral;” Robert Knight of the American Civil Rights Union, who thinks there is a conspiracy among gay Hill staffers to control Congress; Peter Sprigg of the Family Research Council, who has called for gays to be deported from the U.S., and of course, Greg Quinlan, who was once married to a fellow “ex-gay” woman until she divorced him. As Amanda Hess of the Washington City Paper notes, very few people serving on the PFOX board are actually “ex-gays,” but that hasn’t stopped them from promoting dangerous “ex-gay” reparative therapy to children.