Accuracy in Media

As I was reading through Cliff Kincaid's latest anti-gay column, I had to ask myself if he had always been obsessively anti-gay or if this was a relatively new development.  But then a quick search through out archives made me realize that Kincaid has a long history of militant hostility toward all things gay, which puts his recent obsession with defending Uganda's "Kill the Gays" bill in perspective and explains why he's dedicated his latest column to attacking CPAC for allowing GOProud to participate and praising Ryan Sorba for attacking them from the stage, bizarrely claiming that gay conservatives want to use the military to overthrow anti-gay regimes: 

California Young Americans for Freedom (YAF) chairman Ryan Sorba generated a media controversy when he was shown at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) denouncing the organizers for inviting a homosexual Republican group, GOProud, into the event as an official sponsor. In "controversial" remarks, Sorba said homosexuality was unnatural and that he welcomed more debate and discussion about the subject from his political adversaries.

But what many people don't realize is that Sorba's "outburst" was provoked by a speaker who preceded him, Alexander McCobin of Students For Liberty (SFL). McCobin went out of his way to use valuable time from the podium to thank the American Conservative Union, the main CPAC organizer, for making the controversial decision to approve GOProud's participation.

David Keene, a lobbyist, is the chairman of the ACU and personally approved GOProud's involvement in CPAC.

Sorba told AIM, "I think CPAC went overboard this year. I don't think he [Keene] should be sitting at the top of CPAC." He noted that CPAC over the last several years has also allowed groups such as the ACLU to have exhibits at the event.

"What's next?," Sorba asked. "Are they going to have Republicans for Obamacare? Republicans for free abortions?"

...

GOProud, the organization at the center of the storm, claims to be "conservative" but supports the Obama policy of putting active and open homosexuals in the military, supports homosexual marriage, and even advocates a foreign policy of promoting acceptance of sodomy abroad. The latter is referred to as "Standing strong against radical regimes who seek to criminalize gays and lesbians."

These "radical regimes," such as the Christian-dominated government in Uganda, are trying to prevent the spread of AIDS and protect traditional moral values by toughening laws against homosexuality.

Under these "gay conservatives," one can imagine gay soldiers being deployed to overthrow "homophobic" regimes.

Accuracy in Media's Cliff Kincaid has become a one-man cheer-leading squad for Uganda's "Kill the gays" bill, having come out in defense of the legislation twice in the last two days.

Of course, Kincaid won't say that he supports legislation's odiously draconian punishments, claiming instead that the bill is being misrepresented by gay activists with an agenda:

Journalist and media critic Cliff Kincaid said today that coverage of the so-called "Kill the Gays" bill in Uganda has been completely one-sided, inaccurate, and distorted beyond belief. Kincaid, president of America's Survival, Inc., and editor of Accuracy in Media, says the legislation is designed to save lives by discouraging homosexual practices which spread disease and death.

"The purpose is completely at variance with what the U.S. media have reported," he said. "It is not a 'Kill the Gays' bill. Rather, it is designed to kill the disease that some homosexuals spread through their reckless and irresponsible conduct and lifestyle."

Kincaid said that the much-publicized death penalty provision in the bill is for deliberately spreading AIDS and engaging in homosexual behavior that threatens children and society.

Let's just take a look at the text of the legislation, shall we:

The offence of homosexuality.

(1) A person commits the offence of homosexuality if-

(a) he penetrates the anus or mouth of another person of the same sex with his penis or any other sexual contraption;

(b) he or she uses any object or sexual contraption to penetrate or stimulate sexual organ of a person of the same sex;

(c) he or she touches another person with the intention of committing the act of homosexuality.

(2) A person who commits an offence under this section shall be liable on conviction to imprisonment for life.

Aggravated homosexuality.

(1) A person commits the offense of aggravated homosexuality where the

(a) person against whom the offence is committed is below the age of 18 years;

(b) offender is a person living with HIV;

(c) offender is a parent or guardian of the person against whom the offence is committed;

(d) offender is a person in authority over the person against whom the offence is committed;

(e) victim of the offence is a person with disability;

(f) offender is a serial offender, or

(g) offender applies, administers or causes to be used by any man or woman any drug, matter or thing with intent to stupefy overpower him or her so as to there by enable any person to have unlawful carnal connection with any person of the same sex,

(2) A person who commits the offence of aggravated homosexuality shall be liable on conviction to suffer death.

(3) Where a person is charged with the offence under this section, that person shall undergo a medical examination to ascertain his or her HIV status.

Attempt to commit homosexuality.

(1) A person who attempts to commit the offence of homosexuality commits a felony and is liable on conviction to imprisonment seven years.

(2) A person who attempts to commit the offence of aggravated homosexuality commits an offence and is liable on conviction to imprisonment for life.

As the legislation makes clear, conviction for any homosexual act carries a life sentence, while conviction for committing such an act with someone under 18 or with any sort of disability or for doing so if one has HIV carries the death penalty, even if such acts were entirely consensual.   The mere "attempt to commit homosexuality" carries a seven year prison term.

Only to rabidly anti-gay bigots can draconian legislation aimed at harshly punishing and killing gays be presented as a noble effort "designed to save lives."

Accuracy in Media's Cliff Kincaid, tapped to introduce Rep. Mike Pence, regaled the audience with tales of CPACs past, when the country had a president who was not a communist and was actually born in the United States ... oh, how times have changed.

He also praised Pence for being a conservative before it became "stylish and popular for ... House Republicans and others to suddenly discover fiscal sanity" under Obama.  And to prove it, Kincaid hailed Pence as one of the few Republican members of Congress willing to stand up to "pseudo-socialist president George W. Bush."  Pence then came out and thanked Kincaid for his kind words:

“If you continue to believe that the illegal alien invasion is the biggest threat to America, you will never understand that there is something far more dangerous to our country called the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America,” said Daneen Peterson at a small rally in Washington, D.C. last Friday. Peterson explained that “the overwhelming human tsunami of illegal aliens and MS-13 gang members” will cause “complete anarchy,” which in turn will “allow the shadow government to step forward and visibly take over this country. They will use martial law to install a fascist One World Order, dictatorial government in plain sight instead of operating clandestinely as they do now."

Peterson’s warning is familiar to a significant faction of the anti-immigrant movement, who believe that President Bush, an obscure college professor, and the Council on Foreign Relations are secretly plotting to create a European Union-style government in North America. While the supposedly well-advanced march to a “North American Union,” featuring a new flag and a unified “Amero” currency, has not been taken seriously outside of far-right and nativist web sites and news sources, the theory has had major backing from “Swift Vet” co-author Jerome Corsi, CNN host Lou Dobbs, Phyllis Schlafly, Judicial Watch, Accuracy in Media’s Cliff Kincaid, right-wing news site WorldNetDaily.com, long-shot Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul, and the grandfather of right-wing conspiracy-mongering, the John Birch Society.

And while Peterson called the immigration debate a “diversion” from the “North American Union” scheme, many activists see them as of a piece: Rep. Virgil Goode (R-Virginia), who has introduced a resolution to oppose the vaporous plot, has also stated that immigration reform is just the first step: “It will lead us on a path to likely have a North American currency, will further break down the borders between our countries, and it really undermines the concept of the United States of America in favor of something called North America.”