Via NHS Blog Doctor, a collection of cigarette commercials. Because I was born in ‘83, these commercials fascinate me as cigarette marketing via television and radio was banned in the United States beginning January 1971.
Here are a few from the ’40s and ’50s:
And the ’60s:
Post title is explained here:
I was tidying up my miscellaneous website files yesterday and discovered that I had saved the myspace page of Jacob Robida, the psychotic Juggalo and murderer whom I referenced in this post. To read through the comments is to witness an exercise in rationalization and friendship:
In addition to Robida’s profile, I also managed to save James Dungy’s myspace profile. James, the son of Colts coach Tony Dungy, committed suicide in December 2005. Apparently, soon after James’ suicide, the sports site Deadspin posted a link to a copy of his profile and controversy ensued. The media, however, made frequent references to the emotional darkness of the profile without providing any visual context. So, if you weren’t able to catch it, here it is:
Reflexive morbidity aside, I post these as a warning. The way in which one “cries for help” changes with technology. Robida and Dungy’s display of violence worship were not obvious cries for help relative to, for instance, a purposely unsuccessful suicide attempt. But, if your family member or friend advertises their love for and fascination with guns, drugs, killing, dying, and/or Hitler, something is awfully wrong. And these profiles testify to this fact.
Via Andrew Sullivan:
The above reminds me of:
And:
Contrast those with this Obama anthem:
Is the Obama campaign some sort of creativity vortex? Clinton’s advertisements always seem garish and silly while Obama’s seem down to Earth and genuine. I’ve wondered that for awhile now and, based upon “Hillary in the House,” I can conclude with satisfaction that black holes can be Earth-based phenomena. The discrepancy is just too large to be a coincidence.
Steve Gilbert, the chickenhawk and blogger-without-a-Wikipedia-entry who posts at Sweetness & Light who gleefully believes that the Obama-Uncle-Auschwitz misstatement is an important story, emailed Raymond and Mark Kitchell who are the proprietors of the War World II 89th Infantry Division’s official website:
From: Steve Gilbert
To: markkitchell@yahoo.com
Sent: Wednesday, May 28, 2008 6:14 AM
Subject: Any Record Of Charles W Payne?Mr. Kitchell,
As you may have heard by now, Barack Obama has claimed that his great uncle Charlie Payne was a member of the 89th Div that liberated Buchenwald.
According to records his full name is either Charles W Payne or Charles T Payne (most likely the former), and he was born in 1924 - and he is still alive today.
He most likely was from Kansas at the time of enlistment.
Do you have any record of this gentleman?
Thank you,
Steve Gilbert
sweetness-light.comPS - If you go to my website, you will see that I was probably the first to note the error in Mr. Obama’s first claims about his “uncle.”
Obama Claims His Uncle Liberated Auschwitz | Sweetness & Light
http://sweetness-light.com/archive/obama-claims-his-uncle-liberated-
auschwitz
Raymond’s response? Straight to the point:
Please crawl back under the rock you came out from.
Good day
Raymond Kitchell, veteran 89th Inf Div
A nude maid cleaned up good at a Florida man’s home.
The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office says the maid stole more than $40,000 from a Cheval home despite not wearing any clothes.
The 50-year-old man hired the maid from the Internet on Friday to clean his suburban Tampa home.
Authorities say the woman arrived at the home in a one-piece, light colored dress. She took off the dress and cleaned the house for $100-per-hour.
Sheriff’s office spokeswoman Debbie Carter says the man told deputies he left the maid alone in the bedroom to clean.
When the man’s wife came home from vacation, she discovered $40,000 in jewelry missing from their bedroom.
Police are investigating.
Florida’s ABC Action News tracked down the poor wife and reports:
The wife of a man who hired a nude maid to clean their home while she was away is speaking out over the theft of $40,000 worth of jewelry from the residence.
The wife, who asked not to be identified, says she plans to file for divorce. “My mom is very ill so I was away caring for her and when I came back that is what I came back to,” the wife told abcactionnews.com.
She agreed to the interview hoping it will help investigators locate the stolen goods.
Deputies say Kenna DiMartini is a person of interest in connection with the so-called “nude maid” jewelry theft case. The valuables apparently were stolen from the couple’s Cheval home in northwest Hillsborough County while the maid was “cleaning.”
The husband reportedly located the maid through Craigslist and hired her to clean the home while his wife was out of town. It’s believed the maid cleaned out the jewelry while cleaning up the bedroom.
Deputies say the man’s wife discovered her jewelry missing when she returned to her newly spic ‘n span home.
The husband pointed officers to the woman’s web site and provided a physical description of her appearance, minus clothing details.
The wife says she questions whether the “nude maid” actually “cleaned” the home.
“I’m gonna divorce him because I can’t trust him. He violated every core of marriage and trust, ” she said, adding, “I bleached my whole house because she’s been inside my house, and there’s a stain in my heart that bleach is never going to erase.”
So, being a good blogger, I googled Kenna DiMartini and snapped shots of personal pages before they all disappear. She claims she does porn but does not do prostitution. First, Kenna DiMartini’s sexyjobs page:
Second, her myspace page:
Third and fourth, her modelmayhem and modelingcorner pages:
Fifth, Kenna DiMartini’s NSFW dymondstaffing page:
And, finally, I searched the Tampa craigslist for maids and found this listing which might be the “service provider” that the hapless gentleman used:
Lanny Davis, Bullary Clinton shill, writes in his HuffPo diary:
The follow are four things that the Obama campaign couldn’t resist doing to anger Clinton supporters, supporters that Sen. Obama needs in the general election if — if — he is the nominee.
1. Couldn’t resist waiting one day after Sen. Clinton won West Virginia by 41 points to announce John Edwards endorsement.
2. Couldn’t resist waiting to win majority of ALL delegates (not just pledged delegates) to do victory lap speech in Iowa the night Hillary won Kentucky by 36 points.
3. Couldn’t resist waiting to win majority of all delegates to announce Jim Johnson as VP search committee head — the first candidate in my memory ever to do so while his chief opponent is still fighting for nomination — and winning in last primary in crucial border state by 36 points (Kentucky).
What’s the rush?
Obama wouldn’t confirm or deny the that Mr. Johnson has been appointed to head the VP search effort. That makes many Clinton supporters feel uneasy about Senator Obama.
4. Couldn’t resist listing Bill Richardson as under consideration for Veep - the one Red Flag name that infuriates even moderate Clinton supporters the most — not because he chose to endorse Sen. Obama, but the way he did it, i.e., his inability to avoid making negative comments about Sen. Clinton while doing so — another person who sometimes can’t resist the temptation of not being gracious when he should be, a great disappointment to many of his former close friends from the Clinton camp and which will not be forgotten.
In a perfect response, SusaninIN comments:
The things that Clinton couldn’t resist doing to anger Obama supporters.
- Hillary saying that Obama is not a muslim ‘as far as I know’.
- The campaign releasing a photo of Obama in mideastern garb.
- Hillary’s endorsement of McCain over Obama several times.
- Bill Clinton’s statement marginalizing Obama as the ‘black’ candidate.
- Hillary playing the sexism card over and over again. ie. The boys are ganging up on me.
- Hillary saying that FL and MI primaries don’t count until she needs the votes.
- Hillary making her primary wins somehow more important than the states that Obama won.
- Hillary trying to blame the failure of revotes in FL and MI on Obama.
- Hillary’s comment about hard working, WHITE americans.
- Hillary blaming the media for sexist bias after months of bad press for Obama.
- Hillary getting her digs in at the so-called Fox News debate.
- Hillary supporters saying that Obama supporters are kool-aid drinkers.
- Campaign saying that Obama supporters are latte drinking, pirius driving elites
- Hillary denying there has been racism in primary.
- Hillary bringing up assassination when some fear for Obama.
- Hillary’s campaign calling people ‘Judas”.
17. should be “Being such a goddamned whiny asshole that, for years from now, misogynistic pundits will gleefully ask minority candidates to forswear becoming a Hillary Clinton style sore loser.”
A Juggalo (male or female) or Juggalette (more commonly used for a female) is a member of the group that has grown up around the fanbase of the Michigan rap/horrorcore group Insane Clown Posse (ICP), and related recording artists at Psychopathic Records. Much of the predominant philosophy of the group stems from the Dark Carnival, a mythology that was carried as a theme in six ICP albums known as the 6 Joker’s Cards.
Yuppies, they are not. But, just as yuppies consider themselves the keepers of the finer aspects of American culture, Juggalos consider themselves the keepers of music. I think they consider themselves music’s gatekeepers because the Insane Clown Posse is so amusingly awful that their music is technically conceptual.
The Insane Clown Posse is comprised of these two fine gentlemen who appear to be impervious to the effects of fire:
But, fret not. According to Wikipedia, they are human:
The group consists of Joseph Bruce and Joseph Utsler,
until they take the stage:
who perform under the stage names and personas of Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope, a pair of murderous “wicked clowns.” Insane Clown Posse performs a style of hardcore hip hop known as “horrorcore,” and are known both for their dark and violent lyrics and their elaborate live performances.
in order to help us become better people:
The majority of their work centers on the Dark Carnival, an omnipotent force materialized as stories surrounding a series of characters, each one offering a specific lesson designed to change the “evil ways” of listeners before “the end consumes us all.”
Now, despite the lyrical violence and performative depravity, who are these better people? Ignoring this guy who “attacked patrons at a Massachusetts gay bar, murdered a police officer, shot a female companion, and ultimately shot himself after fleeing to Norfork, Arkansas”, the Juggalo subculture is really a portly and mostly congenial subculture who would be just like you and me if we dressed in black, wore face-paint, and kept our hair plenty greasy:
They have a meet-up every year called the “Gathering of the Juggalos” (FYI, the 2008 gathering will occur in Illinois which is, incidentally, the home of Popeye). Here’s the only photo from a gathering that I could find online:
You can find more on the Juggalo subculture at the Juggalo World website.
There’s a scene in HBO’s Recount during which a main character proclaims how proud he is that the transfer of power occurred peacefully. How nobody died, etc. Funny, even that bar would prove to be too high for the GOP.
[This is a paper I wrote for my Abnormal Psychology graduate class. In it, I review the literature regarding cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) for social phobia. Social phobia, also known as Social Anxiety Disorder (which has the unfortunate acronym SAD), is a controversial diagnosis. A psychopharmacological treatment, which is often considered the "quick fix" solution by insurance groups, may do more harm than good. So what's left? CBT is the favored alternative. It is a long-term, expensive, and time-consuming treatment. As such, it works and what is invested during CBT makes the difference between feeling better and getting better.
P.S. This review is a bit dense. Proceed with caution.]
Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Social Phobic Individuals
“Among normals, the sequence perception-cognition-emotion is dictated largely by the demand character of the stimulus situation. . . [However] the paranoid patient may selectively abstract those aspects of his experience that are consistent with his preconceived idea of persecution, etc. He may make arbitrary judgments that have no factual basis. These are usually manifested by reading hidden significances and meanings into events. He also tends to overgeneralize isolated instances of intrusion, discrimination, etc.”
Aaron Beck (as cited in Minuchin, 1974)
Social phobia is considered by the American Psychiatric Association (2000) to be “a marked and persistent fear of one or more social or performance situations in which the person is exposed to unfamiliar people or to possible scrutiny by others” (p. 456). Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is the most well-documented and well-researched treatment for this debilitating anxiety disorder (Rodebaugh, Holaway, Heimberg, 2004). CBT draws upon two distinct yet inherently coupled theories which produce two types of oft-combined treatments: exposure therapy (ET) and cognitive restructuring (CR). To clarify the terminology, ET refers to exposure treatments-without explicit cognitive interventions-such as imaginal, in virtuo, and in vivo desensitization, relaxation and social skills training, behavioral experiments, and homework assignments (Rodebaugh et al., 2004; Roy et al., 2003). Conversely, CR includes explicit cognitive interventions such as the reduction of self-focused attention, lowered standards of perfection for social performance, the development of positive expectations for social encounters, the development or adjustment of social skills, and the enhancement of overall feelings of self worth (Overholser, 2002).
ET is derived from the classical conditioning paradigm. When paired a sufficient number of times throughout a sufficient amount of time, a neutral stimulus and an unconditioned stimulus will evoke equivalent responsive behaviors separately (Foa, Franklin, & Moser, 2002). This allows for the reduction of the pathological anxiety response through extinction and habituation (Heimberg, 2002). Habituation is associated with a long-term and relatively permanent change in behavior (Leaton & Supple, 1991). According to Foa et al. (2002), there are two conditions that must be met in order for this change in anxiety to be accomplished. First, the individual must be objectively and subjectively experiencing the anxiety response. Second, the information present in the environment must be perceived to be in contrast to the individual’s existing unrealistic and selectively abstracted expectations.
In order for a situational expectation to develop, a previously experienced situation must be subjected to the cognitive processes of perception and reason. When it is formed, the expectation will mediate the thoughts that are had before and throughout any similar situation. This is why a non-threatening social encounter, when preceded by a history of perceived or actual threatening social encounters, may be perceived as threatening and produce anxiety.
This “threatening” perception is reinforced by a socially phobic individual’s tendency, first, to believe that they will behave in an inept and unacceptable manner that will produce unbearable consequences; second, to interpret the symptoms of anxiety as additional sources of danger and anxiety; third, to become preoccupied with their anxiety and negative cognitions within the encounter; fourth, to distort and exaggerate any social cues as being negative; and finally, to interpret these “negative” cues as further evidence of failure (Clark & Wells, 1995). Because of this cyclical process, Stopa & Clark (1993) assert that ET alone does not provide long-term benefits as it is unlikely to change the patient’s negative beliefs and self-defeating cognitions.
In a study conducted by Hoffman (2004), 90 social phobic individuals were assigned to a therapy group in which a modified version of Heimberg’s cognitive-behavioral group therapy (CBGT) was used, an exposure therapy group without explicit cognitive interventions (EGT), or a wait-list control group. The CBGT group was trained in cognitive restructuring and rational thought processing. The EGT group received in vivo exposures, didactic training, and weekly homework assignments. Twenty-one patients prematurely ended treatment. Patients in both group treatments showed significant improvement over the control group on the Social Cost Questionnaire (SCQ) and the Social Phobia and Anxiety Inventory (SPAI) that measure patients’ estimated social cost and symptom severity, respectively. Neither group treatment differed significantly from the other at post-test. However, at the 6-month follow-up, the CBGT group showed more improvement on SPAI than the EGT group.
Mattick and Peters (1988) found that a combination of CBGT and ET is superior to ET alone. In the study, 25 patients diagnosed with social phobia according to DSM-III guidelines were assigned to the combined group, while 26 patients received ET alone. Patients in the ET group were required to stay within repeated exposures until their avoidance desire had fully dissipated. Individualized lists of anxiety-invoking situations ordered from least to most feared were employed within the framework of guided exposure. Patients first engaged in those situations invoking only moderate anxiety and gradually ascended to extremely frightening situations. During each behavioral achievement test session, a therapist was present to conduct an assessment and offer support and praise.
The CBGT-ET group received ET in the same format but was required to use cognitive techniques during the exposures. Patients in the combined group received a combination of systematic rational restructuring and rational-emotive therapy and learned cognitive restructuring techniques which allowed them to assess their anxiety as the product of irrational anticipatory and in-situation processing. Pre- and post-treatments showed that the ability to complete behavioral achievement tests of all patients improved significantly. However, at the 3-month follow-up, only 17% of the ET group could complete 100% of the items listed in their fearful situations hierarchy, whereas 52% of the CBGT-ET could complete 100% of the items. Furthermore, 48% of ET group patients reported continued avoidance of feared situations whereas only 14% of CBGT-ET patients reported avoidance of feared situations.
In continuance of Mattick and Peters (1988), Mattick, Peters, and Clarke (1989) assigned 43 patients diagnosed with social phobia to one of four groups: ET, CR, CR-ET, and a wait-list control group. Results indicated that the ability of participants in the ET, CR, and CR-ET groups to complete behavioral achievement tests improved over time. All three groups improved significantly more than the waitlist control group. At the 3-month follow-up, the CR and CR-ET groups showed continual improvement whereas the gains that had been made by the ET group were reduced. The results of this study combined with the results of Mattick and Peters (1988) and Hoffman (2004) highlight the crucial impact of CBT and uphold the effectiveness of the CR-ET combination in treating individuals who suffer from social phobia.
In a review of five meta-analyses, Rodebaugh et al. (2004) found mixed results. When compared to the wait-list control groups at pre- and post-treatment, all CBT treatments of social phobia, which included ET, CR, CR-ET, and applied relaxation showed moderate to large effect sizes and continued improvement at follow-up. The meta-analyses were inconsistent in reported differences between the effect sizes of the ET and CR-ET treatments. Overall, the effect size of CR-ET was superior to the effect size of ET; however, the different did not reach statistical significance. Rodebaugh et al. concluded that CR and ET are so intrinsically related that both treatments heavily “borrow” from one another and, due to ethical concerns, should not be completely dichotomized for the purpose of a meta-analysis.
In light of Liz Trotta’s hilarious comment that both Osama Bin Laden and Barack Obama should be killed:
It behooves me to break out the News funnies collection:
I know Fox News is just asking the tough questions. As such, my all-time favorite tough question is:
You can find more hilarity here.
[This is my undergraduate Psychology 497 thesis from 2004. The title of the study is not meant to imply an ethnographic comparison. The Greeks in my study were fraternity and sorority affiliates. When I conducted this study I was an active member of the Eta Pi chapter of the Pi Kappa Phi fraternity. A social Greek society membership includes a fair amount of societal stereotyping. Unfortunately, Greeks are one of those least-researched minorities and the research that has been conducted often presents Greek life in the most provocative and simplistic of negative terms. I conducted this study to add to the limited body of knowledge and I found that, although affiliates of fraternities and sororities are similar to male and female non-affiliates in their attitudes toward homosexuality, they experience a strong groupthink style of cohesiveness. I present this in APA format with a few web-worthy modification.]
Greek Versus non-Greek: A Comparison of Attitudes Toward Homosexuality
According to the Center for the Study of the College Fraternity (2000), an average of 17.50% of students per campus are either active members of or pledging into the Greek system. Research into the attitudes toward homosexuality of student members of social Greek societies (fraternities and sororities) has been limited. An ethnographic study conducted by Rhoads (1994) revealed a connection between negative attitudes towards lesbians, gays, and bisexuals (LGBs) and membership in a social Greek society. Further ethnographic research conducted by Rhoads (1995) at a fraternity house revealed that oppressive acts towards homosexuals serve to reaffirm masculinity. Rhoads’ conclusion supported the findings of Sanday (1990) who argues that fraternity members may be hiding “…a deep fear, hatred, and fascination with homosexuality” (p. 122).
Other research suggests that there is no empirical connection between Greeks and non-Greeks and negative attitudes toward homosexuals. With 692 heterosexual students at six liberal arts colleges participating, Hinrichs and Rosenberg (2002) investigated attitudes toward homosexuals and homosexuality as a function of Greek affiliation, sex role attitudes, and contact with and knowledge of LGBs. The researchers found that students who tended to be female with liberal sex role attitudes and positive contacts with LGBs were more accepting of LGBs. The results indicated that on campuses with social Greek societies, Greeks did not have significantly more negative attitudes toward homosexuals than non-Greeks. However, campuses with no social Greek societies had significantly more positive overall attitudes toward homosexuality than campuses with social Greek societies.
Kuriloff and Lottes (1994) investigated the extent to which gender, time in college, and membership in a social Greek society influenced students’ political and social attitudes. The researchers measured attitudes regarding liberalism, social conscience, feminism, male dominance, and intolerance of homosexuality. Subjects were students at an eastern United States university. A questionnaire was mailed to freshman students living in a dormitory in 1987. The same questionnaire was mailed again in 1991 to the same students who were still enrolled at the university. Of the 303 students who completed both surveys, 135 were males, 168 were females, and 35% reported membership in a social Greek society. The results indicated a substantial overall decrease of intolerance of homosexuality for all participants from 1987 to 1991. However, Greeks were not more intolerant of homosexuality than non-Greeks. The researchers concluded that Greek affiliation has little impact on student attitudes over time. Additionally, the researchers concluded that, because only a limited amount research has been conducted on the social and political attitudes of Greeks and non-Greeks, empirical support for the hypothesis that Greeks are more intolerant of homosexuality as compared to non-Greeks may exist.
In a similar study, Pratte (1993) examined differences in attitudes of males and females, college students and non-college students, and subjects of various age groups toward homosexuality. In 1986 and again in 1991, a questionnaire was distributed to 90 randomly chosen subjects. Of the 180 participants, 90 were male and 90 were females. Seventy-five were undergraduates enrolled at a university in the midwest and 105 were from a rural community. Similar to the findings of Lottes and Kuriloff, the results indicated that subjects surveyed in 1986, male subjects, and non-student subjects expressed significantly stronger anti-homosexual attitudes than subjects surveyed in 1991, female subjects, and college student subjects.
An increase in tolerance of homosexuality among college students over a period of time may be a function of proximity and past exposure. Bowen and Bourgeois (2001) hypothesized that knowing LGBs prior to college would contribute to more positive attitudes towards homosexuality. Second, they hypothesized that regardless of past exposures, contact with LGBs in student’s residence halls would result in attitudes that are more positive. Finally, the researchers hypothesized that students would rate their own attitudes as more positive than those of friends or of typical students. Subjects for the study were undergraduates living in two similar coed dormitories in close proximity. One hundred and nine students recruited by mail completed the researchers’ survey. Fifty-one were male and 58 were female. The researchers found that there was a significant positive correlation between the number of homosexuals known before college and current level of comfort with homosexuals. Student’s comfort ratings were significantly higher when they reported LGBs living within their residence hall. Student’s comfort ratings were also significantly higher when they reported LGBs living on their floor. Personal comfort with homosexuals was rated significantly higher than the perceived comfort of their friends and higher than a “typical” student’s comfort. Findings indicated that students who had more exposure to LGBs before college felt more comfortable with LGBs when compared to those with less or no pre-college exposure. However, regardless of past exposure, students who reported LGBs living on their halls or on their floors felt significantly more comfortable than students who reported not knowing any close-proximity LGBs.
In a similar study, Herek and Capitanio (1996) obtained similar results from a two-wave national telephone survey. Subjects were randomly selected and were telephoned between 1990 and ‘91 and were telephoned again one year later. Participants indicated their attitudes toward gay males during the first wave and attitudes toward gay males and lesbians during the second wave. Findings were generally similar between both waves and revealed that heterosexual participants with contact with gay males had more positive attitudes toward gay males than those without contact. Those with more and closer relationships had more positive attitudes toward gay males.
Louderback and Whitley Jr. (1997) attempted to explain why males tend to tolerate female homosexuality more so than male homosexuality. They theorized that males place a high erotic value on lesbianism, place a low erotic value on male homosexuality, and have more “traditional” sex-role attitudes. They further theorized that concurrent control of the perceived erotic value of homosexuality and sex-role attitudes would reveal that males have similar attitudes toward lesbians and gays. Subjects were undergraduates from a university in the midwest. Of the 167 subjects surveyed, 58 were males and 109 were females. Participants completed a test booklet in classrooms in same-sex groups of 5 to 20 individuals. Attitudes toward homosexuals were measures by the Attitudes Toward Lesbians and Gay Men (ATLG) scale, a 20-item survey created by Herek (1984). The instrument includes two subscales, the Attitudes Toward Lesbians (ATL) and Attitudes Toward Gay Men (ATG) scales. An 8-item instrument developed by the researchers measured the perceived erotic value of homosexuality. Two subscales, one referring to lesbian sexuality and one referring to gay male sexuality were comprised of four items each. Sex-role attitudes were measured by the 30-item Attitudes Toward Roles of Men and Women (ATRMW) scale. This instrument has two subscales of 15 items each: the Attitudes Towards Women (ATW) and Attitudes Towards the Male’s Role (AMR) scales. The data revealed that females responded similarly on the ATLG and the perceived erotic value of homosexuality measures. On the other hand, males were more tolerant of lesbian sexuality and perceived it to be more erotic and they were less tolerant of gay male sexuality and perceived it to be less erotic. However, when the perceived erotic value and sex-role attitude scores were controlled for both males and females, the adjusted means closely resembled each other. Female’s scores remained nearly unchanged. However, scores for males were similar to females’ scores towards lesbians and gay males as measured by scores on the ATLG. The researchers concluded that because heterosexual males do not view gay male homosexuality as erotic, heterosexual males may be more likely to discriminate against gay males. Heterosexual females do not view either lesbian or gay male sexuality as erotic and therefore may discriminate equally against both.
In addition to overt intolerance, college students may be unwittingly intolerant of homosexuality. Aberson, Emerson, and Swan (1999) hypothesized that because the descriptor “gay male” may cause a desire to appear sympathetic, participants will overcompensate and prefer a gay male to a straight male in a controlled situation. Bias against a gay male will only become apparent when there is an opportunity to express negative feelings toward gay males in situations where there exists a justification that is not based on sexuality. Participants were undergraduates attending various small, private colleges in southern California. Of the 260 participants, 113 were males and 143 were females. Four subjects did not indicate gender. Participants were randomly assigned to one of four conditions: heterosexual-no justification (55), gay-no justification (51), heterosexual-justification (76), and gay-justification (78). Each group was told that their evaluations of an applicant for a new HIV-AIDS education program would affect the hiring process. The duration of the interview videos was five minutes. The actor described himself as acquiring HIV from a brief but sexually intense relationship with either a man or woman depending upon the condition. In bother justified bias conditions, when asked, “Why do you feel college students can relate to you?” the actor answered, “Look, I was a college students. I know how completely stupid and totally naïve college students are.” In both unjustified bias conditions, the actor answered, “Look I was a college student.” Participants were fully debriefed and duplicity was revealed after participation in the study. The evaluation measure was a 29-item instrument. Subjects responded to items on 7-point scales. The instrument included two subscales: 19 items that indicated positive traits and 10 items that indicated negative traits about the interviewee. A 7-item instrument measured attitudes toward homosexuals. Subjects responded to these items on 5-point scales. The results revealed that the gay male was rated significantly more favorable overall than the heterosexual male. The gay male in the justified bias condition was more favored than the heterosexual male in the same condition. The researchers found that participants did not rate the gay male negatively regardless of condition. However, the gay male tended to be rated higher on negative trait items and the heterosexual male in the no justification condition tended to be rated higher on positive trait items. The findings led Aberson et al. to conclude that there was evidence of a covert form of bias in which the participants elevated the heterosexual man and did not diminish the gay man.
While many strides have been made to afford homosexuals equal rights, prejudice, discrimination, and victimization still exist. In a study conducted by Norris (1992) at Oberlin College, findings indicated widespread victimization of LGBs. A survey distributed by mail was completed by 869 students of whom 26.3% of females and 15.7% of males claimed a lesbian, gay, or bisexual sexual orientation. Of the two groups, 80% of females and over 70% of males either had denied their sexual orientation or were verbally insulted for being perceived as homosexual. On the other hand, 95.5% of students supported the active campus presence of LGBs. Norris theorized that this paradox results from support of equal rights by a majority but the practice of equal rights by a minority.
Due to the lack of prior research in this area and due to the high rate of victimization of homosexuals, the purpose of this study is to examine attitudes towards homosexuals as a function of Greek affiliation. The researcher hypothesized that Greeks would score significantly higher on measures of intolerance towards homosexuality than non-Greeks.
Back when I was canonically obedient, I would worry endlessly about the virtue of my behavior. Would I go to hell for having lustful thoughts? Even if I have these thoughts all the time?
“Yes” was the only answer I could find so my ceaseless anxiety was without purpose. The affirmation that my mind was satan’s conduit should have clarified the destination to which I would arrive post-demise. However, my mind would cycle through the senseless notions that I was a good person despite my sinful nature and that I was a bad person despite my good nature.
Eventually, I realized that it was not a god who dangled the carrot. My so-called mentors and confidants hung the carrot on the rope and dangled it over my head. Once you realize your status as a patsy, you are better able to see the absurd little man who has wrapped himself in curtain that’s adorned with the face of christ.
Keep in mind my commentary as you read this:
[T]here was only one time in history that reflects where we are right now. There was only one time in history, according to these writings, where men were given in marriage to men, and women given in marriage to women.
Want to venture a guess as to when? No, it wasn’t in Sodom and Gomorrah, although that was my guess. Homosexuality was rampant there, of course, but according to the Talmud, not homosexual “marriage.” What about ancient Greece? Rome? No. Babylon? No again. The one time in history when homosexual “marriage” was practiced was … during the days of Noah. And according to Satinover, that’s what the “Babylonian Talmud” attributes as the final straw that led to the Flood.
…
But it can’t be yet, you say. You have a lot going on in your life? You’re getting married? Here’s how the New Living Translation describes that very sentiment in Luke:
When the Son of Man returns, the world will be like the people were in Noah’s day. In those days before the Flood, the people enjoyed banquets and parties and weddings right up to the time Noah entered his boat, and the flood came to destroy them all. – Luke 17:26-27
Happily going about as if everything was fine was what they did, too.
Blah, fucking blah, etc.
The world has been ending tomorrow since man first noticed that the big fiery ball in the sky surreptitiously disappears below the tree line. Countless yokels have fully purchased into this panicked notion and it’s likely that even more yokels legitimately believe that they can do something about it.
Here’s the real deal: You’re going to die. So live happily and reside somewhere where you can marry that man or woman without pappy christ’s watchmen looking over your shoulder. And all the better if he or she consents.
This is the most mind-blowing comic I’ve read all year:
It’s from a 2002 (I think) issue of the Portland Mercury so I’m very late to the game. (I love the hat.) It’s even more mind-blowing than this recent Ziggy (via The Comics Curmudgeon):
Of course, in terms of mind-blowing, Achewood generally takes the cake:
But Achewood must defer to the mind-blowing wackiness of The Perry Bible Fellowship:
which must defer to the mind-blowing simplicity of Buttersafe:
Thus concludes another random post brought to you by Will of The Nappy Cat Chronicles.
Regarding this shit, PayPal has ruled in my favor. So, I should be receiving my $200 in a few days. Now, what have I learned from this experience? Absolutely nothing. I was kept in the dark as to the progress of my claim for more than a week and I have not been given any information as to how in the hell my account was used. There is no way my password could have been obtained as a result of an error on my part.
Anyway, this is welcomed news because, like a good American, in anticipation of my stimulus check I purchased $274 in kitchen appliances via Amazon. I got:
As you can tell, I my big purchases always tend to be big. If I buy a toaster oven, I want to be able to deep-fry cattle. Maybe then I’d cook for myself.
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