Foolishness Alert: Johnny Weir is an Evil Foreign Agent from Mother Russia!

I read this article on AmericaBlog about Johnny Weir and basically, it's interesting.

Here's a piece of it:

NBC Sports recently hired former professional figure skater Johnny Weir to provide commentary on the upcoming 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, without disclosing that Weir claims to be an agent of the very country he’s covering for NBC – Russia.

Johnny Weir’s bio says he “works” with the Russian consulate in NYC

Journalist Andy Humm recently discovered Weir’s, and NBC’s, apparent conflict of interest while reviewing Weir’s bio (which has suddenly been removed post-publication of this story) at Premiere Speakers Bureau. Weir’s bio reads in part:

Due to his ability to understand global art and culture and his sporting expertise, Weir has recently begun working as a Goodwill Sports Ambassador to Japan and also works with the Russian Children’s Welfare Society and Russian Consulate in New York City.

Funny, because AmericaBlog claims that Johnny works for the Russian Consulate, even though both bios says he worked WITH, not FOR them.

Anywho,  this is PSB website with Johnny's bio:

Then they took it down. Possibly, after hearing how this page branded Johnny as a RUSSIA DOUBLE AGENT.  No, actually, they recognized it as a typo and took it down. However, if anyone bothered to check out JW's website, you will see what he actually does with Russian Consulate:

Russian Children’s Welfare Society. In collaboration with the General Consulate of the Russian Federation in New York, RCWS hosted its annual Benefit Gala in September 2010 in New York City, with Johnny among the celebrity guests in attendance to support the charity. Proceeds from the event were used to purchase sports equipment for orphanages in Russia as well as to support other RCWS efforts.

Go here, to see the gala he was involved with. Now, many folks jumped to conclusions and called Johnny all types of names. But the sad part is, they did it without knowing everything or the truth. As some folks know AmericaBlog is good for race baiting and misinformation. However, this particular post was a prime example of assumption making and bad research.

Luckily, folks are questioning AmericaBlog's article and calling them out for this mess. But really, this type of foolishness is getting out of hand. I'm not a super fan of Johnny Weir, but if you going to come for him, use facts not fiction.

Interesting Quotes: David Kaufman

The bitterness and vitriol filling LGBT attacks on the Dems must come to an end, replaced by a respectful and actionable solutions-based agenda. Most crucially, major LGBT institutions must learn from their previous mistakes and work to rectify them, rather than settling for sloppy repeats.

AND...

This includes reckless LGBT leaders concerned more for their own bloated public images than the greater public good. Leaders like Mixner and AMERICAblog who would seem to truly want this White House to fail -- yet fail themselves to offer any sort of realistic back-up plan. Or even explain why.

Interesting article, please check it out. Love to hear your opinions.

Maybe a different approach to this Stupid DNC Boycott

Contributor	Total
Susman Godfrey Llp	$107,700
Nix, Patterson & Roach	$91,200
DreamWorks SKG	$76,000
Dreamworks Animation	$76,000
Blenheim Capital Management	$75,800
Democratic National Cmte	$63,502
Willis	$63,300
Time Warner	$61,800
Time Warner	$250
Paradigm Talent Agency	$60,800
Eton Park Capital Management	$60,800
Wallace Global Fund	$60,800
Keil & Goodson	$60,800
Winner Wagner	$60,800
Burton Snow Boards	$60,800
Gotham Capital	$60,800
Douglas Telecommunications	$60,800
Paramount Corp	$60,800
Abraxis Bioscience	$60,800
Midland Oil	$60,800
DataTreasury Corp	$60,800

Hey DNC Boycotters! While y'all wasting our time with idle threats, maybe you (John Aravosis and other) should look at the top contributors so far for Obama and DNC (2010) .

Maybe y'all should hit them up first considering they are the top donors for now. Or better yet, holla at ActBlue, that's the powerhouse.

Oh, why am I doing this? I want the boycott/pause/foolishness to fail.
It will, but I thought I would "try" to help ;-)


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The Infighting must Cease!

I'll keep this brief.

I know folks want to keep things in check, but these boycotts, idle threats and tired knee jerk reactions are weakening our defenses.

Again, certain gay activists and self appointed leaders are trying stir up foolishness and drama within our community. I have to ask, Do they know who our real enemies are?
Sometimes, I'm not sure. While they are ready to burn Obama on stake, NOM and other groups like them, are beating us at every step.

They are raising record amount of money and gaining tons of support. But what are some of our community members doing? Launching DNC boycotts, threatening to vote Republican and stirring hate at the Obama administration.

We should hold them accountable, yes, but we should be civil about it. This may lead into a backlash we can't come back from. All I ask is for these folks to come up with a more civil way to address this. Let's extend a hand, instead of a clenched fist.

I just don't think this will work. Maybe I'm missing the point. Please share your views on this

John Aravosis launches Don't Ask, Don't Give

Gay activist and blowhard, John Aravosis is launching a new campaign called Don't Ask, Don't Give. Their goal is keep the DNC and Obama on track.

Joe and I are launching today a donor boycott of the DNC. The boycott is cosponsored by Michelangelo Signorile, and soon others. It's really more of a "pause," than a boycott. Boycotts sounds so final, and angry. Whereas this campaign is temporary, and is only meant to help some friends - President Obama and the Democratic party - who have lost their way.

We are hopeful that via this campaign, our friends will keep their promises. So please sign the Petition and take a Pledge to no longer donate to the DNC, Organizing for America, or the Obama campaign until the President and the Democratic party keep their promises to the gay community, our families, and our friends.

You can find our Frequently Asked Questions, below, that explain the entire campaign. You can use our "Tell a Friend" page to tell all of your friends, family members, and coworkers about this effort (and we won't keep any of the email addresses you entire, they'll all be deleted after the emails are sent).

Their FAQ does tackle some legitimate concerns, however it's still snarky at best.

I'm not sure this will do anything, since the DNC always get their money, but it could open the door to more discussion.

But I do like this Q & A:

President Obama has only been in office less than a year, why the rush? In less than a year, serious damage has already been done to the President’s commitments to the gay community. The problem isn’t only that he hasn’t been quick enough to fulfill his promises, it’s that he has actually backtracked on his promises and hurt the cause of civil rights and our community, as detailed above.

Serious damage? Really? So I guess the past 8 years wasn't serious damage at all, no sir, none at all.

I'll tell you this, John could win Best Actor in a Dramatic Role in a heartbeat.


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Double the Mess, Double the Foolishness...AMERICAblog Spawns Another blog

AMERICAblog have launched AMERICAblog Gay. Yes, we have more misconceptions and assumptions to read about.

Yesterday, they blame Obama for sending Dorothy to Oz. Well, not really, but at the rate of their hater party, anything is possible.





I may need to summon the Techno-virus to rid us of this crap

Foolish Article of the Day: AMERICAblog's Brutal murder of gay sailor increasingly looking suspicious, while Obama DOD (surprise) does nothing

I am always amazes at the level of foolishness a person can produce.

Brutal murder of gay sailor increasingly looking suspicious, while Obama DOD (surprise) does nothing

by John Aravosis (DC) on 7/04/2009 12:21:00 PM

"By the time this administration is over, I think you guys will have pretty good feelings about the Obama administration." - President Obama, 6/29/09, speaking to carefully selected gay leaders at the White House

A possible hate crime killing of a gay US sailor on Obama's watch. Navy Seaman August Provost III was gagged, bound by the hands and feet, shot in the head three times, and then his body burned. His relatives say he was repeatedly harassed for being gay, but couldn't seek help from the Defense Department because of the Don't Ask Don't Tell policy. Now he's dead.

Obama administration investigators say it was just a random act of violence. Move right along.

Putting aside my obvious concerns about the Obama administration's lackluster record on gay civil rights, you would think that after the recent uproar over the Obama DOJ's anti-gay DOMA brief comparing gay marriage to incest and pedophilia - and the Obama administration's rushed attempt to play catch up by organizing White House ceremonies, cocktail parties, and an assortment of minor rights - someone in the Obama White House would say "hey, maybe we need to call DOD and tell someone to actually, seriously investigate this murder," rather than blowing off the concerns of the dead US military member's family.

Not so much.

Investigators have called the sailor’s death a random act unrelated to the his sexuality and have taken a “person of interest” into custody. No charges have been filed.

The dead sailor's aunt says the Don't Ask Don't Tell Policy shares the blame in her nephews death:

“He went to the Navy to serve and protect,” she said in an interview with Beaumont’s KFDM News, “he didn’t get protected at all.”

Roy told The Associated Press that the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy discouraged her nephew from asking for help.

“That phrase is just stupid because it tells them they have no one to speak to,” she said.

To our president, and to those gay "leaders" advising him that it's okay to drag his feet on his major promises to our community, the message is clear: Political cowardice comes at a price.

John, this has nothing to do with our president, so stop trying to link this to him. We all heard Obama say that he's working to change DADT and that is what he is doing. They are also investigating this situation.

What happened to August is a horrible, horrible incident, but don't you dare use his death to further you foolish and f**ked up cause!

You have some nerve to do this! I hope others see how blinded you are by your own mess! If you have any decency, you would step back and really check yourself.

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Misleading Article of the Day: AMERICAblog's "Howard Dean pulls out of DNC gay fundraiser"

I'll be nice and change the original title from "Dumb" to "Misleading". But here's the story.

The former chair of the Democratic party now has a "scheduling conflict" for a fundraiser on behalf of the organization he used to run. Dean is one of the four top names on the invite - he's throwing the event, and now even he's not going.



It's interesting that the very heterosexual Howard Dean is willing to take a stronger stand for civil rights than our own gay elected representatives, Barney Frank, Tammy Baldwin, and Jared Polis. That Howard Dean is willing to take a stronger stand for the gay community

So where did Howard Dean say he's boycotting the event? Where is his article stating the crimes of democracy? There is not article, but there is a statement.

A Dean spokeswoman, Karen Finney, stressed that Dean's move was a scheduling conflict due to a "family commitment."

That's his statement. That's the deal. So why would you trick us into thinking Howard dropped out for other reasons?

He said it's a family commitment, then it's a family commitment. Stop creating storylines that don't exist. This ain't Days of Our Lives! Stop playing, John or AMERICAblog or whoever.

I'm telling you, the theme of this mess is Misconceptions, Misinformation and Assumptions.

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Law Dork weighs in On the DOMA Drama

Chris Geidner is known as the blogger, Law Dork. He is a lawyer who writes about LGBT issues, policies and the fun stuff (politics). He's also very realistic which I greatly appreciate.

Today, Chris provided some interesting info that is...well interesting. John Aravosis, from AMERICAblog has been a strong critic of Obama for a hot minute (actually longer than that). However, yesterday the truth was in the pudding or rather in Chris' blog.

According to Chris, John's piece about Barney Frank throwing us under a bus is very misleading and borderline false.

I'll share:

Soon thereafter, John Aravosis published a piece that just went round the bound. I have tried to keep my blog as forward-looking as possible, but it’s clear that Aravosis’s heavy popularity at his blog and media contacts have allowed his false statements about what the filing means to push the debate into the twisted, contorted view he is giving it.

The two main problems that I have with Aravosis’s coverage are:

1. His continued misstatements regarding whether Justice should have filed a brief in this case.
2. His “comparing us to incest and pedophilia” claim is overstated and does not withstand any serious, legal scrutiny.

Also...

The brief does not ever use the words “incest” or “pedophilia.” And, by the way, the American Psychiatric Association Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition Text Revision (DSM-IV-TR), the standard for diagnosis, defines pedophilia as involving “sexual activity with a prepubescent child or children (generally age 13 years or younger).” Under that definition, there is not even a case involving pedophilia appearing in the brief at all — which is likely the reason that no mainstream publication has repeated that claim.

Despite all that, this is what Aravosis concluded this evening about Chairman Frank:

Barney thinks the language of the brief was great. He even, between the lines, defends the invocation of incest and pedophilia.

No, he clearly did not think the brief was great, as his statement made clear. Moreover, he never defended anything that isn’t in the brief, despite your constant claims to the contrary.

It is Aravosis’s spreading of this continued falsity — particularly to demean the smart, legitimate statements of members of Congress — that lead me to continued reporting about why it’s false.

This was helpful and scary. AMERICAblog has a lot of readers and followers, and after I commented on other articles, I was attacked...Big time.

I had to use the Phoenix Force up in there just to survive.

Anywho, with so many folks following that blog, I hope they are checking up on the content. What Chris reveals is disturbing, however I'm glad there's someone looking out for our best interest.

Please check out his blog, here