When will we ever learn? When will we ever learn?

When I was growing up in Oklahoma, sixty years ago, religion was a source of kindness and sympathy. We regarded other Christians (I was Methodist) as friends, and Jews as different, but acceptable friends. Now, especially in the South, religion is a source of division, distrust, and resentment. The slightest variation in belief is cause for distrust and even hate! Religious texts are taken out of context, snipped out of a sentence, and used as fuel for fires of enmity. Only a handful of white males benefit from this. Women and the poor go along, though they are victims. How can people be made to think and reason for themselves? How do we combat voluntary blindness?

Ya know? The article's right. And if we're to get Obama to win in 2012, we need to get as much money as we can put up in order to create a necessary rebuttal against the Christian rant, and we need to re-educate the blue collar people on the absurdity of the Republicans and the true course to financial and health freedoms that the Democrats espouse. It's just that plain and simple. We're going to have to work for it. We're going to have to have a huge showing of voters to vote Democrat at the poles, or else all our freedom and American benefits will be shot to hell.

Hedges is either lying or is sadly misinformed. It is not "worse -- much worse" being a member of the GLTB community today than it was in any previous time in the United States.

Barney Frank has been my Congressman for years and many other Republicans and Democrats are elected without reference to their homosexual preferences.

Many religious institutions do continue to be somewhat discriminatory since most of them are based on Biblical or Koranic law which prohibits homosexuality, but for Christian believers, some protestant sects welcome gays and lesbians in spite of Biblical injunctions.

Gay people now serve openly in the armed forces, in business, and in government positions.

That some social discrimination remains cannot invalidate the fact that American social life has become much easier for GLBT folks.

Hedges again exaggerates his opinions to the point of lying.

Lee Nason
New Bedford, Massachusetts

When will the extreme right admit that it is both anti-American and anti-Christian? Freedom to live and let live are fundamental both to the U.S. Constitution and the teachings of Christ.

Fear and oppression are indigenous to organized religion. Everybody must toe the line or be ostracized or worse.

I have concluded that poor and middle class Republicans MUST BE MASOCHISTS- what other explanation could there be to explain their misguided way of thinking. (By the way,the well-off Republicans are, in turn, greedy narcissists.)

"...sentencing of Dharun Ravi for the hateful abuse that may have driven his gay roommate at Rutgers, Tyler Clementi, to commit suicide, or Barack Obama's public acceptance of gay marriage..."

These were momentary blips in the larger context, and shouldnt have changed anyone's assessment as to the trends Chris is reporting.

We need more counseling options for people in general, and for our youth especially. Suicide usually follows from a lot of prior difficulties.

We need more counseling options for our Presidents too, but that's a different matter...

It is not the religious right wing nut cases alone but it is the cowardice of the "mainline churches" to stand up against the bigotry of these nut cases in general and the Republican Tea Part fascists in particular. The mainline churches refuse to take a stand in support of gay folkes because it can cost them their bottom line-their budgets! The vanilla ice cream liberals call this being sensitive to those who disagree with gay folke being equals and the "Rebecca of Sonnybrook Farm" contingency thinks that "sharing our pain and our stories" will melt the hearts and change the minds of people like preacher Worley! Adding insult to injury they think that anyone calling him what he is, which is a religious bigot, is the problem! Just as in Germany when the liberal elite thought they could reason with Hitler and we all know what happen there so it will be here. If you think there has been progress live in the countryside North South East or West!

I believe the consistent need to taunt people no matter what their choices are is the Writers Frenzy.
I believe as long as people keep the gossip going, no one will have any peace.

I am glad gay people have fought for their rights, so do all people. But it is over writing by people that are keeping the hate mongers out there. If we let the subject go for a couple of weeks, so would the hate mongers.

Rather than write good articles that challenge our mind, Articles that could tell us some nice things happening, even RSN has to continue to publish the same rants as every low rent Media in USA.

I do not have my head in sand, I have done physical work for environment, race, people, animals...but I believe we are the ones who harp on the same subject with no new news, no challenge on starting Organizing so basically most of the articles are boring.

Sad that with all that is happening in the World, USA, we cannot find more to write about. No one would be less gayer or straighter, no one would be affected at all....hope to see some good writing on subjects that can help us instead of inciting us with no where to go.

Want to get people riled up than Organize otherwise, what good is all the rantings and ravings from bloggers or the writers. Some articles are great, others drivel...
How are the Wildlife doin? How about the fires that are affecting lives? Got news on jobs?