Two online discussions started by parents concerned about their sons' sexuality:

• How can I tell if my son is gay?
• I'm concerned that my son has a secret girlfriend?

I'm not sure if the latter letter from the concerned parent is satire or beyond satire. Any opinions?

Photo credit: mtsofan

The so-called National Organization for Marriage issued a strange ad against legalizing same-sex marriage:

While Human Rights Campaign has issued a rebuttal of the ad's claims, the ad has more effectively been countered by a number of ridiculous videos, including the original ad's audition tapes, clips of which can be seen with Rachel Maddow's entertaining commentary 2:08 into the below clip from her show:

Many video responses have been made to the easily parodied ad, such as the below spoof from Shoot the Messenger:

My favorite parody is Stephen Colbert's:

I think it's encouraging that acceptance of same-sex marriage has grown so much that its opponents have to argue against specious consequences rather than against gay marriage itself.

Update: The April 19 New York Times had a great op-ed column by Frank Rich, entitled The Bigots' Last Hurrah:

What would happen if you crossed that creepy 1960s horror classic "The Village of the Damned" with the Broadway staple "A Chorus Line"? You don’t need to use your imagination. It’s there waiting for you on YouTube under the title "Gathering Storm": a 60-second ad presenting homosexuality as a national threat second only to terrorism....

Far from terrifying anyone, "Gathering Storm" has become, unsurprisingly, an Internet camp classic. On YouTube the original video must compete with countless homemade parodies it has inspired since first turning up some 10 days ago. None may top Stephen Colbert’s on Thursday night, in which lightning from "the homo storm" strikes an Arkansas teacher, turning him gay. A "New Jersey pastor" whose church has been "turned into an Abercrombie & Fitch" declares that he likes gay people, "but only as hilarious best friends in TV and movies"....

What gives the ad its symbolic significance is not just that it’s idiotic but that its release was the only loud protest anywhere in America to the news that same-sex marriage had been legalized in Iowa and Vermont. If it advances any message, it’s mainly that homophobic activism is ever more depopulated and isolated as well as brain-dead....

It is justice, not a storm, that is gathering. Only those who have spread the poisons of bigotry and fear have any reason to be afraid.

One of my favorite satirical sites is The Peoples News, which describes itself as "a satirical look at the lives of Black folks....While the stories are intended to be humorous and entertaining, they are also designed to spark discussions and make people think."

Here are some recent stories:

• Undercover Democrat Michael Steele Sabotages GOP
• African Americans Thankful Multiple-Birth Mom Isn’t Black
• March 16: This Day in African-American History (1621): Samoset, a Mohegan Indian, arrives at the Plymouth Colony with a message to the Pilgrims that he thinks says "Welcome, my name is Samoset." But tragically, his prankster friend, Leroy, had actually taught him to say "Please tell your countrymen back home to come steal our land and wipe us out."

The site also contains occasional true stories that are beyond satire, such as this one about child abuse and welfare fraud that is too tasteless for me to post here.

This is a real photo of Barack Obama and John McCain at the end of the 3rd presidential debate. You can verify this by going to 1:29:58 in the C-SPAN debate video.

Caption, anyone?

Update

Here's a real search screenshot from Google:

Here is a photoshopped picture found at AMERICAblog:

And here are some from Democratic Underground:

Source: fubar at Needlenose

According to the Associated Press, San Diego businessman Doug Manchester "gave $125,000 to a group backing a California ballot initiative to ban gay marriage". When threatened with a boycott, Manchester said "that he welcomes gay guests at his properties but as a Catholic believes marriage should be reserved for a man and a woman".

I applaud Manchester for living by his principles and expect him to soon initiate efforts to:

• ban marriage between Catholics and non-Catholics.
• ban remarriage by anyone whose divorced spouse is still living.

Doubters who accuse him of prejudice against homosexuals, instead of being a man of consistent religious beliefs, will then have to apologize for criticizing such a principled saintly man.

On a personal note, such an amendment would dissolve my ten-year marriage to my dear husband Keith (who, unlike me, was baptized), but it is vital in a democracy that couples' freedom and happiness be subordinated to others' religious beliefs.

The July 21 New Yorker features the above cover, satirizing the racist coverage of the Obamas mentioned in my previous post. According to the BBC, the Obama campaign called the cartoon "tasteless and offensive", and the McCain campaign also criticized the cartoon.

In a statement, The New Yorker magazine said the cartoon "combines a number of fantastical images about the Obamas and shows them for the obvious distortions they are."

The New Yorker said the cover, called "The Politics of Fear", was a critique of unfounded allegations that have tried to portray Mr Obama, a Christian, as a closet radical Muslim.

"The burning flag, the nationalist-radical and Islamic outfits, the fist-bump, the portrait on the wall? All of them echo one attack or another. Satire is part of what we do, and it is meant to bring things out into the open, to hold up a mirror to prejudice, the hateful, and the absurd. And that's the spirit of this cover," the statement said....

The New Yorker said that this week's edition carried two "very serious" articles about Mr Obama.

But Obama spokesman Bill Burton dismissed the cartoon, saying: "The New Yorker may think... that their cover is a satirical lampoon of the caricature Senator Obama's right-wing critics have tried to create, but most readers will see it as tasteless and offensive. And we agree."

Fox News has earned a place in Beyond Satire's Hall of Fame with its coverage of Barack and Michelle Obama, including:

• Displaying a graphic referring to Michelle Obama as "Obama's baby mama". (For those of you who don't know the term, it indicates a lower-class unwed mother.)
• Calling the couple's fist bump a "terrorist fist jab".
• Fox pundit laughingly wishing for Obama's assassination (after mixing his name up with Osama).

See also the below compilation video from Fox Attacks.

The July 9 Onion has an Infographic entitled "Fox News Racism: Intentional?", listing satirical incidents, such as:

• Estimated the amount of time Obama has spent on front porches during the course of his life
• Repeatedly called Obama by one of his middle names, "Hussein," while omitting the other, "Christopher Horowitz"
• Scored footage of Obama visiting a Russian mobile launch missile dismantling facility with the theme from Shaft
• Generally biased news reporting

Even The Onion seems to have realized that Fox News is beyond satire.

Rather than spoil the jokes or violate copyright, I'll just link to my favorite single cartoons on racism:

• Tom the Dancing Bug
• The K Chronicles

If you have favorites, add links in the comment section.

Same-sex marriage is much in the thoughts of me and other like-minded Californians excited about its upcoming legalization. Here are some items on that theme.

Defenders of Marriage song

I heard this song on the radio tonight on This Way Out. For those who don't want to listen to it on YouTube, here are some of the lyrics:

Every time we think about same-sex marriage
Makes us sick to our guts
I mean, two people who want to commit to a
stable monogamous life-long relationship
What are they, nuts?
It's unnatural!
Now a man should not lie with a
person who is a guy
He should only lie to his wife,
the bible is clear

Homosexuality is a choice?

Opponents of gay rights often claim that homosexuality is a choice. Let's think about that for a moment...

Anyone who makes that claim is implying that they consciously chose not to be homosexual, presumably due to their moral superiority. If these people were only attracted to members of the opposite sex, however, they wouldn't have needed to make such a choice. Thus, they're unwittingly making a confession about their own sexual orientation.

Flashback to 2004

Here's a reprint of my February 2004 email to family and close friends about my experiences around San Francisco's unilateral (later overturned) decision to allow same-sex marriages:

As you may know, San Francisco has been allowing gay couples to marry over this holiday weekend. As you may also know, Keith and I support gay marriage. I want to share with you how this has touched our lives. I know not all of you support gay marriage, but I know you support hospitality and standing up for what one believes in, even if you choose different causes.

Saturday, which was Valentine's Day, Keith and I stocked up on tchochkes and headed to City Hall in our little electric car. There was a huge line of people waiting for marriage licenses. We went down the line, giving out Hershey's kisses ("A kiss for the bride?"), champagne ("genuine Trader Joe's"), fancy-schmancy picture frames, and our best wishes. I loved Keith more than ever, seeing him heartily congratulating brides and grooms (which, analytical as always, I figured he wouldn't do if he regretted his state of matrimony). We spoke with a reporter from New York Newsday. After giving our names, I told her that Keith and I were married -- that the (temporary and local) legalization of gay marriage hadn't destroyed ours. We weren't quoted in the article; instead, the writer focused on the celebrants, which I think was appropriate.

Sunday morning, I went shopping again for more goodies, including some rainbow candles from the Castro. Unfortunately, the store that sold same-sex cake toppers wasn't open yet. Keith and I went to City Hall in the afternoon. After hearing a bride talk about her Jewish wedding at her grandmother's nursing home, I gave her a pair of big rainbow candles for Shabbos (Sabbath) and mentioned how Keith and I couldn't marry either under strict Jewish law. While we were able to give away all the candles and drinks, there were so many people handing out snacks that we went home with chocolate kisses.

That evening, I read online about people camping out at City Hall so they could be sure of getting married the next day. I made another trip out, with blankets and sweaters, because it was a wet chilly night. When I got home, Keith melted down the leftover chocolate kisses and made us warm chocolate pudding. Yum!

On Monday, I showed up at City Hall at 9:30 to volunteer inside, but they had more than enough people, and I was turned away, despite professing computer expertise. After getting over my disappointment, I assisted people who were handing out coffee, food (bagels and doughnuts), and stickers, and asked people in line what else they needed. I wasn't able to help with the request for a catheter, but I was able to come back later with dry socks and gloves, which were appreciated. By this time, some people in line recognized me, either from previous days or repeated appearances that day.

Everyone expects the courts to issue an injunction today stopping the granting of marriage licenses. We don't know whether this weekend's marriages will be voided. In any case, it will be the start of a state-wide and federal legal battle. For the friends of ours who married this weekend and didn't get a present from us, we'll make a donation to a legal fund in their honor.

I know that several of you participated in the Civil Rights movement. I'm proud and happy that I was able to participate in San Francisco's civil disobedience and civil rights movement.

Historical note: The weddings were halted by court order on March 11, 2004, and legally voided on August 12, 2004 [1].