crossposted on Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters
Via this blog entry, I am officially announcing a new undertaking. From time-to-time, I intend to look at the material of various "legitimate medical groups" affiliated with the religious right in order to see how they view lgbt issues. It's nothing big, just something worth knowin.
Last month, I took a look at a supposed legitimate medical group, the American College of Pediatricians, and made the case that the organization is a phony group which acts a conduit for laundered religious right inaccuracies about the lgbt community.
As my entry today will prove, the American Academy of Pediatricians isn't alone when it comes to smearing the lgbt community under the guise of concerned physicians.
The Christian Medical and Dental Associations (CMDA) claims to have been in existence since 1931. It is made up of two groups; the Christian Medical and Dental Associations.
There is nothing wrong with a group of Christian medical professionals getting together and forming a group.
But there is something seriously wrong when these medical professionals put their beliefs above their work. And after reading the mission statement of this group, I can't help but to wonder about that:
The Christian Medical & Dental Associations exist to motivate, educate, and equip Christian physicians and dentists to glorify God by:
•living out the character of Christ in their homes, practices, communities and around the world;
•pursuing professional competence and Christ-like compassion in their daily work;
•influenc ing their families, colleagues, and patients toward a right relationship with Jesus Christ;
•advancing Biblical principles in bioethics and health to the Church and society.
Please note that there is nothing in this mission statement about fulfilling the needs of the patient.
It gets worse because now I get to the crux of why I have a blog entry on this group.
The Christian Medical and Dental Associations has a mission statement on homosexuality, addressing the sexual orientation on a Biblical, medical and social level.
I am going to skip the Biblical level because it is purely subjective. Religious beliefs are complex. However homosexuality on a medical and social level should be addressed using facts.
And the CMDA clearly does not use facts because its Biblical view has tainted any discussion of homosexuality on these levels.
According ting to the CMDA, homosexuality is not good on a medical or social level for several reasons, including:
•Some homosexual acts are physically harmful because they disregard normal human anatomy and function. These acts are associated with increased risks of tissue injury, organ malfunction, and infectious diseases. These and other factors result in a significantly shortened life expectancy.
On a social level:
•Homosexual relationships are typically brief in duration. Homosexual behavior is destructive to the structures necessary for healthy marriages, families and society. Men who commit homosexual acts have a high incidence of promiscuity, child molestation, and sexually transmitted infections. Homosexual behaviors burden society with increased medical costs, increased disability, and loss of productivity.
•Homosexual behavior can be self-propagating. Some homosexual groups and individuals engage in active recruitment. A child who is sexually molested has an increased likelihood of later engaging in homosexual acts. There is also an increased incidence of homosexual activity among children raised by same sex couples. Adoption into such environments puts children at risk.
You read that right. The CMDA is pushing the religious right line about the lgbt community (i.e. gay men have lots of ugly sex, get a lot of diseases, have a short life span, put children at risk.)
The CMDA has a lot of information regarding the lgbt community in its Issues and Ethics section.
And much of this information is highly suspect, including Homosexuality & Psychiatry: Testimony of Psychologist George Rekers.
Rekers, a former professor at the University of South Carolina and a founder of the Family Research Council, has testified against the lgbt community in adoption cases.
In 2004, he was an expert witness in a case involving gay adoption in Arkansas. The state had banned gays from adopting in 1999. In January 2005, Pulaski County Circuit Judge Timothy White ruled against the state of Arkansas. Furthermore, he called Rekers' testimony "extremely suspect." He also accused Rekers of testifying solely for promoting his "own personal agenda."
In 2008, Rekers was also an expert witness in a case defending Florida's gay adoption ban. Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Cindy Lederman ruled against the state. In her decision, she said "Dr. Rekers’ testimony was far from a neutral and unbiased recitation of the relevant scientific evidence. Dr. Rekers’ beliefs are motivated by his strong ideological and theological convictions that are not consistent with the science. Based on his testimony and demeanor at trial, the court can not consider his testimony to be credible nor worthy of forming the basis of public policy."
In addition, Rekers uses the work of discredited researcher Paul Cameron in much of his data.
The CMDA also uses the work of Cameron, particularly in the piece, The facts about gay adoption: What you need to know.
In addition, the CMDA relies on the standard lies about the lgbt community which I have talked about in my blog entry, How religious right groups distort legitimate research to demonize the gay community, including the distortion of the 1997 Canadian study to claim that gay men have a short lifespan and the distortion of a book published in the late 70s to make judgements on present day sexual behavior of gay men.
But there are two final things you should know about the CMDA.
First, according to its webpage, the group has a voice in the media and in Washington:
CMDA experts have been featured in such national media as CNN, NBC, MSNBC, FOX NEWS, Washington Post, Washington Times, LA Times, USA Today, Christianity Today, National Public Radio, Janet Parshall's America, Prime Time America, America's Health Network and The Odyssey Channel.
CMDA also represents its members as a trusted voice in the nation's capitol. Members interested in public policy have opportunity to provide bioethical expertise and testimony for legislators. CMDA experts testify before the US Congress, provide Supreme Court briefs on bioethical issues and conduct grassroots campaigns to promote life-honoring legislation at the state level.
Secondly, according to Ministry Watch.com, CMDA has a total revenue of $9,973,611 with net assets of $12,261,643.
In addition:
CMDA sponsors student chapters at two-thirds of the nation's medical and dental school campuses. CMDA provides discipleship and outreach programs and assists students in integrating Christian principles with professional practice.
If none of this scares you, then you need to check your pulse.
It's relatively easy to have loud protests, but what can you do when those who lie about you make stealthy entries into circles of power and influence as well as equip future generations with more dis tortions?
Other related blog entries:
The American College of Pediatricians and the Laundering of Junk Science
Homophobic 'researcher' Paul Cameron in all of his repulsive glory
How religious right grot groups distort legitimate research to demonize the gay community
'Pro-family' phony would consider banning Native Americans from adopting children
This past week a new name popped up on my radar: Dr. Allan C. Carlson of The Howard Center for Family, Religion and Society based in Rockford, IL. I had never heard of the guy before, but apparently he's been staging something called the World Congress of Families every two to five years, starting in 1997. This year it was held in Amsterdam.
The Howard Center's manifesto can be found here. It boils down to this: There is something called "natural family", which is one man and one woman married for life, having many babies that are forbidden sex ed or access to birth control and abortion so that they too will have many babies. Homos are sick fucks and need not apply; Carlson links to numerous Paul Cameron works of anti-gay defamation on his website. And he spake these words of Christian charity a few years ago
Governments don't create families. They can recognize and nurture them, or destabilize and delegitimize them. Homosexual marriage is the most potent weapon yet devised for the latter.He doesn't much like feminists either. Yes, I'm shocked too.
Not surprisingly, World Congress of Families is co-sponsored by the usual suspects, including: Alliance Defense Fund, American Family Association, Concerned Women for America, Family Research Council, Focus on the Family, Watchmen on The Walls and several Roman Catholic organizations. LDS reps were also featured on the speakers list.
In 2004, Ms. Magazine summed up the mission of these conferences
The WCF is more than just a meeting place for likeminded conservatives to share their fears about gay marriage and abortion; its objective is to reverse progressive social initiatives on reproductive rights, gay rights and ts and population issues, particularly those negotiated at the United Nations.Ms. went on to describe how the Bush administration crawled into the womb of the 2004 conference.
At this year's World Congress of Families, for the first time, the U.S. government gave its explicit endorsement of the so-called pro-family agenda, with [Ellen] Sauerbrey [then-U.S. representative to the U.N. Commission on the Status of Women] speaking forcefully about Bush administration efforts to counter "attacks" on the "natural" family, including the nascent movement in favor of gay marriage.In stark contrast, Dr. Carlson doubtless was taken aback by the reception he got from members of the Dutch government representing Christian parties that he invited to speak at the 2009 conference in Amsterdam. After reading a local newspaper report, one wonders if the conference organizers knew anything at all about their host country. [Note that this is my translation. See link for original Dutch text.]Sauerbrey also announced that the U.S. is working within the U.N. to prevent documents that support the "family in its various forms" from being codified. Sauerbrey's reference to "family in its various forms" was one of the conference's more oblique allusions to the issue of homosexuality and gay marriage, topics that dominated many talks.
The CDA [Christian Democrat Party] in contrast defended before the controversial congress the liberal Dutch way of dealing with abortion, euthanasia and homosexuality and received an icy reception. A painful silence fell in the RAI [conference center] when CDA parliamentarian Mirjam Sterk said that abortion must really remain available in some circumstances.In all honesty, I was taken aback too. Can any American imagine that members of a center-right Christian party would have platform positions that support marriage equality and access to abortion? And now imagine them standing their ground and defending federal equality laws before a world talibangical conference. Swoon!"Also if men and women of the same sex want to raise children together in loving, safe surroundings, we call that a family," she said further in her brave speech. Really she said exactly what D66 parliamentarian Boris van der Ham had wanted to hear Monday from minister [of Youth & Family] Andr? Rouvoet in his opening remarks. "It is a caricature that the elderly here live uncertain lives," she said for example about euthanasia.
Christian Union [a very conservative party] parliamentarian Jo?l Voordewind...remarked that the congress also needed to address the problems of single-parent families. "Also single-parent families deserve our support."
By the way, Allan Carlson pays himself and his VP a VERY nice salary. Gary Randall will drool over the numbers below the fold.
Here is the annual compensation for the President and VP of The Howard Center (EIN 54-1788267) for the past 5 years. Compensation figures include salary, benefits and expense allowances. Between 2004 and 2008, compensation for Carlson and his VP represented 29% of the annual total expenses (TE) for the organization, on average. Yikes! No wonder they can't afford to throw their world party more often.
| Year | President Carlson's Compensation ($) | VP Lawrence Jacob's Compensation ($) | TE ($) | Officers' comp as percent of TE (%) |
| 2004 | 155,582 | 85,467 | 837,724 | 29 |
| 2005 | 158,254 | 94,521 | 686,124 | 37 |
| 2006 | 136,936 | 87,298 | 816,206 | 27 |
| 2007 | 134,369 | 87,489 | 1,354,424 | 16 |
| 2008 | 133,214 | 98,486 | 619,533 | 37 |
By the way, the Netherlands does have at least one theocratic party, called the Staatkundig Gereformeerde Partij. The SGP currently holds two seats in the lower chamber of parliament. When I tried to access their website this past Sunday, this is what I found:
Beste bezoeker,Didn't quite get that? Here's my translation:Fijn dat u belangstelling hebt voor de SGP en de standpunten van onze partij.
E?n van die standpunten betreft de zondag. Dat is de eerste dag van de week, de dag van de opstanding van Christus, die we in het bijzonder wijden aan de dienst van God. Bovendien is de zondag een rustdag, een geschenk van God waar we dankbaar voor mogen zijn in een jachtige tijd als de onze. Een dag om op adem te komen. Tegen deze achtergrond is de SGP-site op zondag 'gesloten'.
Uiteraard bent u van maandag tot en met zaterdag hartelijk welkom op onze SGP-site.
Staatkundig Gereformeerde Partij
Dear Visitor,Have to give them credit though - they even kept their site closed on a Sunday before a majora major election in 2006. I wonder if the candidates also refused all calls.We're happy that you have an interest in the SGP and the positions of our party.
One of the positions relates to Sunday. That is the first day of the week, the day of the resurrection of Christ, which we in particular dedicate to the service of God. In addition Sunday is a day of rest, a gift from God for which we should be grateful in these frenetic times. A day to catch one's breath. Accordingly the SGP site is "closed" on Sunday.
Of course you are most heartily welcome to return to our site Monday through Saturday.
Political Reformed Party
Someone please tell me what would be the chances that at a Bush protest we'd see a man packing this kind of heat?
A man toting an assault rifle was among a dozen protesters carrying weapons while demonstrating outside President Barack Obama's speech to veterans on Monday, but no laws were broken. It was the second instance in recent days in which unconcealed weapons have appeared near presidential events.
...Arizona law has nothing in the books regulating assault rifles, and only requires permits for carrying concealed weapons. So despite the man's proximity to the president, there were no charges or arrests to be made. Hill said officers explained the law to some people who were upset about the presence of weapons at the protest.
"I come from another state where 'open carry' is legal, but no one does it, so the police don't really know about it and they harass people, arrest people falsely," the man, who wasn't identified, said in an interview aired by CNN affiliate KNVX. "I think that people need to get out and do it more so that they get kind of conditioned to it."
The article goes on to explain that a site becomes federalized by the Secret Service, so, for instance, the inside venue where the President might be would be off-limits to Mr. Assault Rifle. However, that doesn't help very much if the heat-packer is an unbalanced individual who decides to spray a crowd of, say, health care reform supporters. Nice.
www.GayTalkRadio.org
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