The latest Tea Bagger ridiculousness has just given the Democrats some VERY potent ammunition..here's the link to the report of their “protest” on HuffPo:http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/20/tea-party-protests-nier-f_n_507116.html
Calling members of Congress the N word and the other F word, spitting on them, etc. just exposes these anti-American Tea bagger a$$holes for the traitors to this country they really are. They have NO respect for the institutions of the United States of America, and NO respect for their fellow Americans. And if I were a strategist in the DNC, I would be making that quite clear. 
You think the DNC doesn't have video of this incident? They sure do. And we will SEE this video during the campaign. I suspect the Obama administration will make some serious hay of this bullshit. Which means keeping the Dem majorities in the House and a super majority in the Senate. This is going to piss a lot of us REAL Americans right off.
REAL Americans like us on the Blend don't like Congress. We make that quite clear. But-I highly doubt REAL Americans like us like it when some traitorous a$$holes like the Tea Baggers use racial and sexual epithets and physical assault (like spitting) on the persons of our ELECTED representatives. Yeah, we don't like'em either. But there's something called an election with ballots that WERE NOT tampered with that brought the current President in office.
Mark my words. The Tea Bagger movement is the end of the Republican Party. Any organization that's openly calling for a civil war is not something sane Republicans want representing their party-and I highly suspect those sane Republicans will end up taking a walk. Most of them already have.
Stick a fork in the Republicans-they're done. 
 

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Everyone knows about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
A great man who did a lot of great things for this country, specifically the legal disintigration of Jim Crow laws in the South as well as desegregation. But-how many know about the guy who was Dr. King's “bad cop”? HIS name was Malcolm X. Malcolm X was a VERY controversial figure in the African American civil rights movement. Sure, he was a segregationist at one time. Yes, he advocated for violence. And he sure did insult this country every chance he got. He was one justifiably angry guy. 
BUT-Martin needed Malcolm and Malcolm needed Martin. Martin was the 'nice guy' they could work with. Malcolm was the guy that scared the living piss out of them. 
Why do I say this? It's time to look at what WORKED then and still works today. Yes, Dr. King was nonviolent, reached out to white people who had a concience and inspired a movement that changed the country. Most people pretty much consider Dr. King a hero. I'm one of them. 
However, I believe that there's no way Dr. King would have been able to achieve everything he did if it wasn't for him pointing to Malcolm X and the Nation of Islam, and saying; “Listen. You can deal with me, or you can deal with THEM.” 
I highly doubt this was coordinated, although it is reported that Dr. King and Malcolm X did meet once or twice. But, this is a valuable lesson for the LGBT movement today. No, we don't need someone who advocates for anything like Malcolm did. However, we DO need people like Lt Choi and the other people at GetEqual-people who are angry and who are called to action. 
Like I've said several times on this blog-the moderates and the militants need each other. We saw what happened after ACT-UP and Queer Nation stopped protesting in the mid-90's. We were all lulled to sleep by the so-called “acceptance” by the majority because we were all over TV and movies. That wasn't acceptance. When the militants went to sleep, the moderates had no one to point to and say “You can deal with us, or you can deal with them.” That's why there's no ENDA. No repeal of DADT. OR DOMA. That's why it took 11 years to get the Matthew Sheppard Act-AKA the Hate Crimes bill-passed. 
We've now got the militants, thanks to GetEqual.org. Goddess bless them-it's high time we started raising hell again. Hopefully, the moderates in the movement will now be inspired to step up to the plate and tell the Democrats in the White House what MLK did many years ago. 
“You can deal with US or you can deal with THEM.” 

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cross-posted from Sum of Change

I was originally writing something up on the conservative response to Lt. Dan Choi’s arrest when I wrote this sentence: “If conservatives want us to stop equating their homophobia to the racism that the civil rights movement experienced, they should stop using the same talking points.” I decided to write the following instead of a typical conservatives-freak-out-at-liberal-activism post.

Let us play a game. I am going to give you a quote about the bigotry of the armed forces. I will redact all names, dates, and any words along the lines of “homosexual”, “gay”, “sexual orientation”, “black”, “negro”, “race.” You try to guess what kind of bigot these perfectly rational arguments came from, homophobic or racist! Sounds fun, right? Come out and play… (answers below, no cheating, no google)

1) “Somehow we think the United States Armed Forces can thrive in their true mission - fighting wars and protecting our shores - without being diverted into the dubious business of [redacted] ‘pride’.”

2) “To change would destroy morale and impair preparations for national defense…no experiments should be tried . . . at this critical time.”

3) This proposal “would be tantamount to solving a social problem which has perplexed the American people throughout the history of this nation. The Army cannot accomplish such a solution and should not be charged with the undertaking.”

4) “Experiments to solve social problems would be ‘fraught with danger to efficiency, discipline, and morale’.”

5) “The Army is not a sociological laboratory; to be effective it must be organized and trained according to the principles which will insure success. Experiments to meet the wishes and demands of the champions of [redacted] for the solution of their problems are a danger to efficiency, discipline and morale and would result in ultimate defeat.”

6) “A [redacted] survey of…Army personnel revealed that 32% completely opposed [redacted], and 61% opposed [redacted] if it meant that [redacted] would share sleeping quarters and mess halls.
Can you guess which of those quotes are about desegregating the military and which are about repealing Don’t Ask Don’t Tell?

I will give you a hint, only one of them are about DADT. Can you guess which one? Not too easy, right? Here are the answers:

1) Peter LeBarbera responding to Lt. Dan Choi’s arrest.

2-5) Defense Studies Series: Integration of The Armed Forces 1940-1065 by Morris J. MacGregor, Jr.

6) Lesbians and Gay Men in the U.S. Military: Historical Background (the quote I took happens to be from the section on the desegregation of the armed forces)
LGBT rights advocates often take a lot of crap for comparing the two human rights movements. Yet the argument that the two movements are incomparable is as grounded in reason as claiming they are without differences. While the struggles and specific hinderenes differ greatly, the underlying hatred is the same. The fear of a people unknown is the same. The bigots’ arguments, devoid of merit as they are, are the same.

Did desegregation of the armed forces disrupt unit cohesion, as many military experts warned would happen? Not in combat zones. Did African Americans continue to experience prejudice in the armed forces? Absolutely. Was there majority support amongst the armed forces for desegregation? No. Was there majority support amongst civilians for desegregation? No. Was there a fear that desegregation could have a negative impact on the best armed forces in the world? You bet your ass there was. Was there a fear amongst white soldiers of sharing quarters with people of a difference race? Indeed. Was desegregation the right thing to do, even if all those fears came true? Damn straight.

It was the right decision, if for no other reason than this: “Serving with Blacks appeared to make White soldiers more accepting of integration.” If serving with open homosexuals will make straight soldiers more accepting of differing sexual orientations, that would be a beautiful thing.

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We have listened to 16 months of lies, distortions, fear mongering and just plain nutty crap from the Right Wing, from paid corporate funded “grass roots” groups, from Fox News and all their toadies and lickspittles and from rich white men who fear losing control.
 
Well today the entire text was posted for public review, and being the nerd that I am I immediately downloaded the entire document and started looking for the truth. 
If you are like me, and prefer to read the words for yourself - here is the link - 
http://docs.house.gov/rules/hr4872/111_hr3590_engrossed.pdf
If you don't have a spare 6-8 hours you are welcome to read the exerpts I will post below the fold.  These are 'cut and paste' exact words in the bill.   
 
 

******Federal funding for abortion??? Nope. Not here****** 
 PROHIBITION ON FEDERAL FUNDS FOR

2 ABORTION SERVICES IN COMMUNITY HEALTH IN3

SURANCE OPTION.—

assures, in accordance with

15 applicable provisions of generally ac16

cepted accounting requirements, circu17

lars on funds management of the Office

18 of Management and Budget, and guid19

ance on accounting of the Government

20 Accountability Office, that no Federal

21 funds are used for such coverage;
 
 

******State Laws???  Yup, you can keep your Puritanical restrictions -*******

APPLICATION OF STATE AND FEDERAL LAWS RE11

GARDING ABORTION.—

12 (1) NO PREEMPTION OF STATE LAWS REGARDING

13 ABORTION.—Nothing in this Act shall be construed to

14 preempt or otherwise have any effect on State laws re15

garding the prohibition of (or requirement of) cov16

erage, funding, or procedural requirements on abor17

tions, including parental notification or consent for

18 the performance of an abortion on a minor
 
 

******Worried that you might be “forced to perform an abortion?  Nope.  Here it is ********

NO EFFECT ON FEDERAL LAWS REGARDING

20 ABORTION.—

21 (A) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this Act shall

22 be construed to have any effect on Federal laws

23 regarding—

24 (i) conscience protection;

VerDate Nov 24 2008 09:39 Dec 29, 2009 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00125 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\SENENR\H3590.EAS H3590 wwoods2 on DSK1DXX6B1PROD with BILLS

126

HR 3590 EAS/PP

1 (ii) willingness or refusal to provide

2 abortion; and

3 (iii) discrimination on the basis of the

4 willingness or refusal to provide, pay for,

5 cover, or refer for abortion or to provide or

6 participate in training to provide abortion.

 
 
*****”Death Panels for Granny”?  Nope…his is the ONE AND ONLY reference to “end of life care” in the entire document******
 

PROTECTING ACCESS TO END OF LIFE

5 CARE.—A community health insurance option

6 offered under this section shall be prohibited

7 from limiting access to end of life care.

 
*******Illegal Aliens will be covered, though, won't they?  I mean Joe Wilson went to all that fuss during the State of the Union speech and all….******
 

ACCESS LIMITED TO LAWFUL RESIDENTS.—

12 If an individual is not, or is not reasonably expected

13 to be for the entire period for which enrollment is

14 sought, a citizen or national of the United States or

15 an alien lawfully present in the United States, the in16

dividual shall not be treated as a qualified individual

17 and may not be covered under a qualified health plan

18 in the individual market that is offered through an

19 Exchange.

(*****Hmmm. “May not be covered…” that must be code for “Will get free insurance paid for by angry white people…”****)
 
 
 
 

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From Yahoo:
As the House gears up for this weekend’s dramatic vote on health reform legislation, Democrats are taking flak from all sides. In southern Ohio, opponents of the bill have created a blowback effect by airing an ad targeting Rep. Steve Driehaus to stand firm as a “no” vote on the legislation. The ad prominently featured the congressman’s young daughters, in violation of the unwritten law that forbids dragging lawmakers' family members – most especially their underage children – into the fray.
Once Driehaus took note of the ad, and told a reporter from the Cincinnati Enquirer that its content was “outrageous,” the group trying to stymie the bill, the Washington-based Committee to Rethink Reform, issued an apology.
“Politicians' children should not be involved in public political debates and we deeply regret this mistake,” it said. A spokeswoman said the group had also offered a direct apology to Driehaus.

The anti-Dreihaus ad apparently was a print ad that:
included a large photo of him with his two young daughters 
Driehaus was upset by the advertisement, which appeared Wednesday in The Cincinnati Enquirer, his spokesman said Thursday.
“Rep. Driehaus thought the ad was outrageous,” said the spokesman, Tim Mulvey. “He can take more than his fair share of political attacks, but this one crossed the line.”
The ad was paid for by the Committee to Rethink Reform, a Washington-based group. Committee spokeswoman Sarah Longwell said showing the children was a mistake and that the group was taking out another ad to apologize. She said the committee already apologized directly to Driehaus.
Mulvey confirmed the apology. The Enquirer ran its own full-page retraction and apology Thursday.

Of course, lets get real: If it was the candidate - particularly a pro-corporation candidate - using his/her own spawn as props, all would be okay.  
I could go for the low-hanging fruit and and fill up several paragraphs with rants about a certain half-baked-term Alaska governor used all of her minor children (and one child that may or may not be hers; again: if Obama needs to show is birth certificate, I think certain members of the Palin family need to show their DNA.) 
I've always wondered why Norm 'don't you dare question my heterosexuality' Coleman was able to get away with ads like these in 2002:

The fact that anyone was willing to vote 'hollow man' (as Garrison Keillor termed Nahm) after that second one still amazes me. 
Ice cream???
And yet, if the Wellstone campaign (or the successor Mondale campaign) had gone after the little weasel-ette (I leave it to the reader to determine if I'm referring to Nahm or his daughter) for dumbing down the issues even more than anyone thought was possible, that would have been considered out of line.
It just makes me happy that Nahm will go down in history not just as a pathetic Bush-junta rubberstamp, but as the person who lost to both Jesse Ventura and Al Franken.

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 To explain: Rev. Jim Wallis of the liberal Christian organization Sojourners has invited Glen Beck to have an open discussion about his comments about Christians leaving churches that fight for social justice. Beck has not only refused Rev. Wallis' invitation, he's insulted the Reverend and Sojourners on his radio show.Now, Reverend Wallis is not a big fan of our community from what I've heard, but I do think he needs to hear this. So does the President of our country.
Reverend Wallis-Beck is a bully. That's all he is. He has no other discernable talent other than making himself look like a major league a$$hole over broadcast television and radio. And he will bully you through his TV show and radio show until you either cave in to his agenda or shut up and give up trying to bring him to the table-because he'll never show up. And then he'll chortle and call you names that insult your manhood because you DID NOT stand up to him, kinda like he does with every 'progressive' that doesn't challenge him directly. Bullies don't understand reason. They don't understand civility. They only understand someone in their face screaming obscenities at them, at best. 
YOU CANNOT REASON OR DISCUSS ANYTHING RATIONALLY WITH BULLIES. IT DOESN'T WORK. THE ONLY THING YOU CAN DO IS  CHALLENGE THEM. 
We in the LGBT community-which you ignore at best and revile at worst-know all about people like Beck. Most of us either ignore the bullies and do nothing about them, or we rise up-kinda like we're doing now, if you haven't noticed. You think the sit-in at Pelosi's office and the protest in front of the White House with LT. Choi is bad? Just wait. We created ACT-UP. and ACT-UP is now coming back. Maybe not in it's original form, but it will be something similar and with the same tactics. We're about to show you how to handle a bully, Rev. Wallis. Take notes, and hopefully, you'll come to your senses, recind that invitation to Beck, and thank us later. 
 
 

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For the past four years I’ve been blogging about Pittsburgh’s LGBTQ community at Pittsburgh Lesbian Correspondents. I cover political, cultural, and a wide range of general interest topics. I recently spearheaded the second “Blog For Equality Pittsburgh” around yet another attempt to amend Pennsylvania’s constitution to protect marriage for the LGBTQ community (as I write this, the outcome of the Judiciary Committee vote is yet unknown).  Over 20 bloggers, gay and straight alike, contributed thoughts both political and personal on an issue that resonates across the Commonwealth.
The gay establishment in Pittsburgh considers me divisive because I openly talk about how the institutions in Pittsburgh and Allegheny County fail to lead when it comes to LGBTQ issues here in Southwestern Pennsylvania.  I’m generally considered a pain in the ass because I talk and talk and talk about LGBTQ issues which in SW Pennsylvania translate into a lot of admonishing of institutions that fail to lead when we need them. I also like to complicate things by bringing up issues around class, socioeconomic status, gender, race, and so forth.
Given the above, this is my queer perspective on candidate Dan Onorato, currently Chief Executive of Allegheny County. First, the good news about Mr. Onorato. He signed the Allegheny County Non-Discrimination into law in 2009.
Unfortunately, that’s all I got folks. Mr. Onorato has been in office for nearly 20 years, including six at the helm of the County and I can give you one concrete examples of positive support for our community.
It is certainly not for lack of opportunity.
As County Chief Executive, Mr. Onorato had six years to take action. At no point was the creation of a Human Relations Commission on his radar. When the ordinance was introduced in July 2008, it took him until April 2009 to issue a statement of support. I will give him points for attending the signing ceremony!  
Yes, I’ve been told he was working behind the scenes. But that’s easy to say and difficult to prove. He didn’t come to a January 2009 rally that turned out nearly a dozen other elected officials in support of the ordinance. He didn’t respond to questions about it submitted to his cyber town halls. http://www.pghlesbian.com/…
Mr Onorato undoubtably touts the County Non-Discrimination ordinance as a sign of his progressive credentials. That would be more credible had he been a leader on this issue, rather than remaining silent for 10 long months. It would also be more credible if he took care of his own house and put domestic partner benefits in place for his team.
The most glaring example of an Onorato leadership fail has been the fact that Allegheny County employees do not have domestic partner benefits. As noted above, Mr. Onorato is not a new County executive; he has been at the helm of county government for six year. During that six years he has not once mentioned offering County employees domestic partner benefits or even mentioned that he wanted to do so but was unable. Six years at the helm and Onorato has steadfastly refused to take action. Yes, it is a complicated negotiation with labor unions involving fair labor practice standards. Still I maintain that he lacked the political will to expend his political capital to make this happen. The Cities of Pittsburgh and Philadelphia made it happen. The State of Pennsylvania made it happen http://www.pghlesbian.com/… . Even the Court system http://www.pghlesbian.com/… has made it happen.
Domestic partner benefits are not a very controversial topic in terms of LGBTQ issues. This is precisely why a failure on this issue is a very important indicator of a candidate’s sincerity as an ally. A letter of support in 2009 does not an LGBT ally make.
The last time I heard him publicly speak on LGBT issues, Mr. Onorato took refuge behind his “good Catholic boy” upbringing.  This was his justification for coming along so slowly on LGBTQ issues. That translates as someone who will always play it safe when it comes to our civil rights. In spite of his words, his record does not suggest he would extend his “good Catholic neck” on HB 300, hate crimes protections or other statewide issues that require strong allies to help our community step out of second class status.
His position on choice affirms my belief. Mr. Onorato is anti-choice, but crosses his heart that he won’t take action to change Pennsylvania’s legal status quo for women’s reproductive status. That is pandering, not leadership. Pennsylvania’s women and girls deserve better.
It is all well and good to acknowledge that some “good Catholic boy” politicians need to take baby steps, but that’s not an acceptable mentality from the Governor.
Pennsylvania’s LGBT community deserves an ally who believes that we are equal citizens in this Commonwealth. We are realistic enough to recognize that it will be an upward battle to gain our equal rights, but we deserve more decisive action than Dan Onorato has brought to the table in the past twenty years.
For the record, I'm supporting Joe Hoeffel and I believe you'll find many LGBTQ persons in Southwestern Pennsylvania follow suit.

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Last week my partner, Glen Retief, and I flew to Oslo, Norway to present at an international conference that contributed to an on-going discussion about human rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people in a variety of countries. The Norwegian Foreign Ministry decided three years ago to use its influence with NGOs and through diplomacy to address the plight of LGBTI people abroad. In order to do this effectively and sensitively, they have queried LGBTI groups at home and abroad.
One thing that came through loud and clear during the conference was the fact that homosexuality is NOT an European export that came with colonialism. Presenter after presenter offered evidence of same-sex love and gender variance affirmed in their lands throughout the ages as evidenced in archeology, literature and religious texts. Ruth Vanita spoke about Same-Sex Love in India (check out her anthology that includes excerpts from over 60 texts spanning more than two thousand years.)
Later in the afternoon Victor Mukasa, an LGBTI human rights activist from Uganda now living in exile in South Africa outlined the devastating effects of three American Evangelicals speaking against LGBTI rights in Uganda last spring and in spreading lies about people who are not heterosexual or gender-normative, they worsened the plight of an already oppressed group of people. As a direct result of an anti-gay conference where the three Evangelical presented, some lawmakers introduced a bill calling for the death penalty for gays in that country. Victor outlined how things were bad for LGBTI people before the interference of the three American Evangelicals, and how afterward the situation worsened and became horrendous. The Evangelicals stirred up lies, fears and hatred as they used pseudo-science and the Bible to reinforce their authority as experts. They came to colonize–to impose US-sourced ex-gay theories and treatments in Uganda.
Earlier in the day during my presentation I compared the US-based Ex-Gay Movement to the American tobacco industry. For years few questioned the tobacco industry, thinking cigarette smoking benign, but evidence emerged that proved the dangerous effects of tobacco on smokers and those near smokers in the form of second-hand smoke. Yet the tobacco industry ramped up its efforts even marketing its fatal product to young people. (Remember hyper masculine Camel's Joe Cool cartoon from the late 1990's easily recognizable to children as young as five and six.)
Because of effective anti-smoking ads and the growing awareness of the health risks associated with smoking, sales dropped dramatically in the US. More and more states in the US have banned smoking in public places in order to protect public health and safety. In response the US-based tobacco industry set its sites abroad to “developing” countries, pushing their deadly product in countries with less regulations, hooking a new generation in new lands.
Similarly the US-based Ex-Gay Movement had its heyday in the late 1980s and into the 1990s. Like the tobacco industry the anti-gay/ex-gay leaders aggressively targeted queer and questioning youth through Focus on the Family's Love Won Out conferences and Exodus International's Refuge Program operated by John Smid at Love in Action (who recently issues an apology of sorts over mistreatment of young people.) Because of sustained critique by activists, the media, medical associations and concerned citizens, most people today understand that treatments to “cure” gays are not only silly and ineffectual, but often can prove destructive. The last nail in the US-based ex-gay coffin came in the form of the APA's task force findings released this past summer making it clear that changing one's orientation is not a realistic goal and may very well cause harm.
Like the tobacco industry in the US, the promoters and providers of ex-gay theories and treatments have set their sits abroad initiating and increasing efforts in Latin America, Eastern Europe, parts of Africa (especially Uganda, Kenya and South Africa,) and South East Asia. Even the British have been surprised to see inroads of American ex-gay practice in England and Northern Ireland.
In his speech Victor expounded on the dreadful reality of these US-based efforts to undermine the health and well-being, as well at the legal security of LGBTI in Uganda and elsewhere. Those of us ex-gay survivors who had endured these treatment, know about the dangers that can come from these efforts to annihilate same-sex desire and gender variance. Victor justly named these aggressive anti-LGBTI campaign as a gospel of death and destruction.

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Just a little bit more than three months after Beenie Man sang his song “Mi Nah Wallah,” in Uganda (12/05/09) his U.S. tour continues.  In “Mi Nah Wallah,” Beenie Man says that he would like to cut the throats of all gay men. You can read more of his homophobic song lyrics in the “Dancehall Dossier” at http://tinyurl.com/2xax3b      
Upcoming Beenie Man performances are scheduled in Houston, Texas, on 03/19/10 and 03/20/10. He is scheduled to perform in Orlando, Florida, on 04/03/10 with another of the murder music performers, Bounty Killer (see the “Dancehall Dossier” for info on Bounty Killer).
This man, who promotes hatred and violence, should not be welcomed anywhere in the U.S.
03/19/10  Houston  Club Riddims
Club Riddims Inc
8220 West Bellfort StreetHouston, TX 77071-2202Venue: 713-779-0033
www.clubriddims.com
03/19/10  Houston  Royal Hall
Royal Hall  (Royal Palace) 11939 Bissonnet Street, Houston, TX 77099
Venue: 281-561-9191‎   
Promoters:  Nexx Level Promotions and Nyam Cash, 832-443-2434 and 832-215-4228 
04/03/10 Orlando, Florida Firestone Live
Firestone Live   (Club Firestone)578 North Orange AvenueOrlando, FL 32801-1341
Venue: (407) 872-0066
http://www.firestonelive.net/
Promoters: Ghetto Network and Flava Lab Music,  407-970-2431
Polite calls to the venue and/or promoters are helpful as are emails. (Check websites for email addresses).
We can see that they are trying to set something up for Beenie Man in the Baltimore area. Keep an eye out and if you see Beenie Man scheduled at a local club in your area, please contact your local LGBT community center.

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It was probably only a matter of time before this happened, given that Benedict, aka Cardinal Ratzinger, was the author of the Vatican instruction to bishops to hush up the cases.  Now scores of abuse charges have surfaced Germany and Austria, including the diocese where he used to preside as archbishop–while he was in charge there.
The Times has front-paged the story http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03…  And the lead paragraph says it all.
A senior church official acknowledged that a German archdiocese made “serious mistakes” in reassigning an abusive priest during the pope’s  tenure as its archbishop in the 1980s.
It makes for very juicy reading.  Do check out the full story.  Evidently there is no Latin for “It happened on my watch, and I take full responsibility.”  I’m guessing it’s only a matter of time before Benedict tries to defend himself with “I was only following orders.”
The story notes that this could undermine the pope’s “moral authority” (as if he had any) and undo his program for the “re-Christianization of Europe” (make your own joke).  It should all be heaps of fun to watch as it develops over the next few months.  There have to be smoking guns, and we can count on the European tabloids, if not the MSM there, to find them.

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