{"id":4082,"date":"2010-05-09T19:43:07","date_gmt":"2010-05-09T23:43:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/1boringoldman.com\/?p=4082"},"modified":"2010-05-09T19:43:07","modified_gmt":"2010-05-09T23:43:07","slug":"consequences","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/1boringoldman.com\/index.php\/2010\/05\/09\/consequences\/","title":{"rendered":"consequences?&#8230;"},"content":{"rendered":"<br \/>\n<blockquote>\n<div align=\"center\"><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/sdgln.com\/news\/2010\/05\/06\/californians-against-hate-seek-investigation-george-alan-rekers-associates\" title=\"Californians Against Hate seek investigation of George Alan  Rekers, associates\">Californians Against Hate seek investigation of  George Alan Rekers, associates<\/a><br \/>        SDGLN<\/strong><br \/>        05\/06\/2010<\/div>\n<p align=\"justify\"><sup>MIAMI BEACH &ndash; Californians Against Hate founder Fred Karger has  requested the Justice Department investigate George Alan Rekers, the  rabidly anti-gay figure who vacationed in Europe with a male prostitute. Karger noted that Rekers is a founder of the Family Research Council  (FRC) along with James Dobson, and has raised countless amounts of cash  to fuel the anti-gay movement. Tony Perkins heads the FRC. &ldquo;I wonder just how much this trip cost? Let&rsquo;s see 10 days in Europe,  first class all the way.  I&rsquo;d estimate at least $1000 per day for hotel  and meals &ndash; Europe&rsquo;s expensive + business class air fare for two,  another $15,000.  That adds up to a lot of money,&rdquo; Karger said in an  e-mail.<\/sup><\/p>\n<p align=\"justify\"><sup>&ldquo;Wow, wonder how all the hundreds of thousands of small donors to the  Family Research Council and Focus on the Family feel about paying  exorbitant fees and salaries to George Alan Rekers that he used to fly a  male prostitute and himself to Europe for 10 days?&rdquo; Karger pointed out that Perkins has been trying to persuade  Republicans to pour money into the FRC coffers. &ldquo;FRC head, Tony Perkins just last month attacked the Republican  National Committee on CNN and in a press release, and suggested that RNC  donors instead give money to his Family Research Council.  Will Perkins  now turn down contributions to his tainted organization?&rdquo; Karger wrote  in the e-mail.<\/sup><\/p>\n<p align=\"justify\"><sup>&ldquo;It sounds like these &lsquo;leaders&rsquo; should not be bashing, belittling,  and demonizing gay people.  They will hurt the people closest to them.&rdquo; Karger also took issue with Rekers&rsquo; stance against gay adoption. &ldquo;Rekers is a father and supposedly a Foster Parent, and he has been  the leading advocate against gays and lesbians being allowed to adopt in  Florida and Arkansas.  How dare he judge others?  Just another in a  long line of religious-based hypocrites,&rdquo; Karger wrote.<\/sup><\/p>\n<div align=\"justify\"><sup>&ldquo;Today I sent a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder to formally  request a full and complete United States Department of Justice  Investigation of Mr. Rekers and all his activities. The investigation  should include but not be limited to the finances and involvement of  James Dobson, Focus on the Family as well as and Tony Perkins and the  Family Research Council. &ldquo;There seems to be a pattern here, and with so many problems around  the close associates of James Dobson and Tony Perkins, we need to know  the truth.&rdquo;<\/sup><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>     <\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<div align=\"center\"><strong><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/blogs.alternet.org\/speakeasy\/2010\/05\/09\/far-right-leader-busted-with-gay-escort-got-taxpayer-money-from-gop-gov-candidate-to-bash-gays\/\">Far Right Leader Busted With Gay Escort Got Taxpayer Money from  GOP Gov Candidate to Bash Gays<\/a> <br \/>   AlterNet<\/strong><br \/>   by Steve Benen <br \/>   05\/09\/2010<\/div>\n<p>    <\/p>\n<div align=\"justify\"><sup>&#8230; Yesterday, however, the larger story took on a new angle.&nbsp;<strong><a href=\"http:\/\/tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com\/2010\/05\/rekers_was_key_witness_for_mccollum_in_defense_of.php\">Rachel  Slajda reports<\/a><\/strong> that Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum (R),  currently a leading gubernatorial candidate, used taxpayer money to pay  Rekers to bash gays.<\/sup><\/div>\n<ul>\n<div><sup>[McCollum] paid George Rekers at least $60,900 to be an  expert witness in 2008 while defending Florida&rsquo;s ban against gay couple  adopting children. When a judge called Rekers&rsquo; testimony neither  &ldquo;credible nor worthy of forming the basis of public policy,&rdquo; McCollum  explicitly defended him in following briefs.<\/sup><\/div>\n<p><sup>Rekers is currently embroiled in a scandal for hiring a male escort  to accompany him on a trip to Europe. But he&rsquo;s also a leader in the  ex-gay movement. He co-founded the Family Research Council and sits on  the board of the National Association for Research and Therapy of  Homosexuality. He has, by all accounts, dedicated his life to protecting  children from the &ldquo;harmful&rdquo; influence of gay people.<\/sup><\/p>\n<div><sup>In his testimony for the state of Florida, Rekers testified that  homosexual people have a higher incidence of depression, substance abuse  and break-ups than heterosexual people. This, he testified, made  homosexual partners incapable of &ldquo;providing a safe and secure and  emotionally stable environment for the child.&rdquo;<\/sup><\/div>\n<\/ul>\n<div><sup>Rekers&rsquo; anti-gay testimony was ridiculous, and the judge in the case  rejected his remarks, noting that his conclusions are &ldquo;motivated by his  strong ideological and theological convictions that are not consistent  with the science.&rdquo;<\/sup><\/div>\n<p><sup>But this certainly seems like an area that warrants some follow-up.  Bill McCollum used at least $60,900 in taxpayer money &mdash; more than most  Americans earn in a year &mdash; to pay Rekers to make ridiculous and  unsubstantiated claims against gay people? And then we find out that  Rekers also gallivanted through Europe with a male prostitute?<\/sup><\/p>\n<div><sup>McCollum has been leading in most statewide polls, but this one might  leave a mark.<\/sup><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<div align=\"justify\">You know what? This Rekers scandal may have some repercussions after all. The Family Research Council certainly is trying to distance themselves from Rekers. And Bill McCullom is getting inundated with letters asking about Rekers. The State of Florida paid him over $60,000 for his testimony. and this is what they got for their money from the Judge:<\/div>\n<blockquote>\n<div align=\"justify\"><sup>Dr. Rekers&rsquo; testimony was far from a neutral and unbiased recitation of   the relevant scientific evidence. Dr. Rekers&rsquo; 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.<\/sup><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Californians Against Hate seek investigation of George Alan Rekers, associates SDGLN 05\/06\/2010 MIAMI BEACH &ndash; Californians Against Hate founder Fred Karger has requested the Justice Department investigate George Alan Rekers, the rabidly anti-gay figure who vacationed in Europe with a male prostitute. Karger noted that Rekers is a founder of the Family Research Council (FRC) [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4082","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/1boringoldman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4082","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/1boringoldman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/1boringoldman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1boringoldman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1boringoldman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4082"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/1boringoldman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4082\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/1boringoldman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4082"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1boringoldman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4082"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1boringoldman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4082"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}