[Notwithstanding]

MSNBC'S 'ALAN KEYES' MISTREATS GUESTS, DEFAMES GAY CATHOLICS Write to MSNBC and express your displeasure with the unfair behavior and defamatory anti-gay attacks of Alan Keyes. As the U.S. Cardinals met in Rome this week to devise a solution to  the current Catholic Church sex-abuse controversy, comments by Bishop  Wilton Gregory of Illinois, Cardinal Adam Maida of Detroit, and  Monsignor Eugene Clark (who substituted for Cardinal Edward Egan last  Sunday at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York) have again  demonstrated some church leaders' desire to scapegoat gay priests and  their sexual orientation for the crisis facing the church. Anti-gay comments by these three church leaders -- which built on  earlier, similar statements by Vatican spokesman Joaquin  Navarro-Valls -- have prompted a flood of media coverage focusing on  the issue of gay men in the priesthood and the presence of gay,  lesbian, bisexual and transgender people in the laity. As a result,  the divide between fair, accurate and inclusive media coverage and  defamatory opinion has widened. Most news coverage of these recent attempts to scapegoat gay priests  and homosexuality in general has been fair, accurate and inclusive.  "The New York Times," most notably, has done an exceptional job of  presenting an informed analysis of and discourse on the full  complexity of the controversy. However, among the opinion shows --  many of which have been booking guests who either blame or defend gay  priests -- none has so clearly violated the most fundamental  expectations of fairness and propriety as the April 23 edition of  MSNBC's "Alan Keyes Is Making Sense." From the start, Keyes -- long known as one of the extreme fringe  members of the far right -- and guest William Donohue of the Catholic  League not only attacked and gratuitously insulted the other guests  on the show (Mary Louise Cervone of Dignity/USA, the nation's largest  LGBT Catholic membership organization, and Sister Maureen Fiedler of  Catholics Speak Out), but also insulted gay Catholics in general --  with Keyes lecturing the guests who disagreed with him that their  opinions on the matter were irrelevant because they did not conform  to his religious beliefs. Among the more egregious examples of Keyes  and Donohue's attacks and ill-mannered behavior: ************************************************************************** ALAN KEYES (after having interrupted Fiedler): "Maureen, hold on.  Maureen, stop there please. Don't, don't talk over me. Don't talk  over me! We'll cut your mic off if you don't stop when I start." ************************************************************************** WILLIAM DONOHUE (after Keyes lectures Sister Fiedler then abruptly  asks Donahue a question, at which time Fiedler starts to respond to  inaccuracies on Keyes' statement): "I got the question! I got the  question, lady! Hey, you with the earrings, hold up!" (Donahue  subsequently used gestures like twirling his finger around his ear  on-camera to mock Fiedler and Cervone when they spoke). ************************************************************************** DONOHUE (shouting at Cervone and referring to a priest accused of  child sexual abuse who was a former member of Dignity/USA): "YOU'RE  in denial! [Paul] Shanley's your boy! Shanley is your boy; he's not  my boy! That's your boy! You're concerned about children but you're  in favor of partial-birth abortions! Tell it to somebody who you can  sell the Brooklyn Bridge to! Don't tell it to me, lady!" ************************************************************************** KEYES: "The one problem we have here is that you are acting as if  what your opinion -- we take a vote on it or something in the church  -- that's not what truth is about, especially not according to  Christian and Catholic teaching. If there is a God... (Fiedler  begins to respond) Let me finish please, let me finish. If there  is, as we deeply believe, an absolute supreme being who has by his  will determined the difference between right and wrong, then it  doesn't matter what your opinion is -- what matters is what his will  and law are. And according to Catholic teaching, that will and law  exclude sexual activity outside of God's plan of procreation. You  want to include it? The Catholic doctrine says God excludes it. We  don't take a vote on that! Because you can't vote on God's law. He  makes it; we don't." ************************************************************************** KEYES: "And I have to say to you ladies, I deeply believe you  illustrate the problem perfectly ... And you are, in my opinion, a  great symptom of that crisis. And sad to say, I think the time has  come to tell folks with your view you've got to go elsewhere. It's a  free country; you don't have to be Catholics. But you can't be  allowed to corrupt the doctrine and practice of the Catholic Church." ************************************************************************** As a guest on the program, Donahue's behavior is consistent with his  previous media appearances. However, Keyes' unfairness, given his  position as host, is inexcusable. Keyes clearly was unable to put  aside his own beliefs and biases to allow for a respectful discussion  of the issues. TAKE ACTION NOW! Write to MSNBC and express your displeasure with the unfair behavior  and defamatory anti-gay attacks of Alan Keyes. Let MSNBC know that  it has an obligation to provide better platforms for intelligent,  respectful discussions of important issues. Contact: Steve Lewis Executive Producer Alan Keyes Is Making Sense (201) 583-5000 E-mail: steve.lewis@msnbc.com Please copy your e-mail to GLAAD at glaad@glaad.org.

Questions or Comments? Please write us at glaad@glaad.org or call us at 1.800.GAY.MEDIA

Copyright © 1994 - 2001 Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, All Rights Reserved.
"GLAAD" and "Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation" are registered trademarks of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, Inc.

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[skeeter]

Making Sense is fast becoming by favorite show in the talk news format. Keyes is great.

[freedomcrusader]

We don't take a vote on that! Because you can't vote on God's law. He makes it; we don't.

Game, set, match.

[browardchad]

KEYES: "The one problem we have here is that you are acting as if what your opinion -- we take a vote on it or something in the church -- that's not what truth is about, especially not according to Christian and Catholic teaching. If there is a God... (Fiedler begins to respond) Let me finish please, let me finish. If there is, as we deeply believe, an absolute supreme being who has by his will determined the difference between right and wrong, then it doesn't matter what your opinion is -- what matters is what his will and law are. And according to Catholic teaching, that will and law exclude sexual activity outside of God's plan of procreation. You want to include it? The Catholic doctrine says God excludes it. We don't take a vote on that! Because you can't vote on God's law. He makes it; we don't."

Amazing. Keyes states a point of Catholic doctrine, as usual clearly and concisely, without name-calling or vitriol, and it is characterized as "unfair." Unfairness, to Nambla, gays and their apologists, is what other people call truth.

[RLK]

Alan Keyes, the man who should have been president, or should be sitting on the Supreme Court...

[Askel5]

Thanks for the heads up. I'm proud of Keyes and the folks at Thomas More. Just the sort of thing for which we were hoping from them and a decided breath of fresh air after 13 years of hearing about and watching the Tulane Legal Aid folks at work.

[Diago]

The gay mafia usually wins these battles because conservatives refuse to fight back. I hope freepers will take a few seconds to e-mail MSNBC and show their support for Alan Keyes.

Click Here To Write MSNBC and Show Your Support for Alan Keyes who is being Attacked by the Gay Mafia!

[Aunt Polgara]

Bump for Keyes!

[Slyfox]

This despite the fact that report after report issued over the last several weeks have made it abundantly clear--the overwhelming majority of accused priests were homosexual priests, and many of their victims were teenage boys. Keyes was only stating what has become plainly obvious to many.

Don't it just chafe your hide when all the work you do to to become legitimate in the eyes of society, your 'Ellen's', your homosexuals serving with the Clinton Administration, your speeches that you are "just like the rest of us", only to have it all come back and bite you in the behind.

[LarryLied]

Clinton flake Nancy Soderbergh and Alan had a nice chat last night bashing Bush, Powell and America's war on terror. Maybe Alan can get some of his Clinton flunky friends to talk to GLAAD for him (not that he wants to, he is dying on the vine and probably pleased over the attention).

[FourtySeven]

Sent letter of support.

[geaux]

I did just as they asked; e-mailed the show and cc'd GLAAD.

[Saundra Duffy]

I'm gonna call my cable company and demand that they add MSNBC to my line-up. Right now. I don't want to miss one more Alan Keyes program. For victory & freedom!!!

[3catsanadog]

As a guest on the program, Donahue's behavior is consistent with his previous media appearances. However, Keyes' unfairness, given his position as host, is inexcusable. Keyes clearly was unable to put aside his own beliefs and biases to allow for a respectful discussion of the issues.

Now how much should we bet that GLAAD or whatever this website is from does not bleat this about liberal commentators' shows?

[sockmonkey]

I saw that show, and I was wishing that most of the Cardinals had the grasp of and committment to Catholic teaching that Keyes has. I was cheering him on when he made his comments to the women pointing out their errors-Cervone's statement "I believe God finds homosexual relationships whole and holy" was the corker, and Alan rightly said it may be an opinion, but it's not what the Catholic Church says..I think that he said that, "you're part of the problem thing" after that.

More and more people are watching his show. I would hate if it was moved or taken off the air..I would much rather watch Alan Keyes than the choices on the other two cable news stations during that time slot.

[HowlinglyMind-BendingAbsurdity]

They appear to want all Americans to bend over and accept the homosexualization of American society, including the Catholic Church. When it becomes "defamation" to point out that the overwhelming majority of the current sex abuse allegations involve homosexuals, you know you are dealing with people in denial.

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

The Lavender Jihad continues!

[rohry]

From GLAD:

"The New York Times," most notably, has done an exceptional job of presenting an informed analysis of and discourse on the full complexity of the controversy.

That's because 3/4 of the editorial board of the NY Times is Lesbian or Homosexual! No surprise here...

[Gelato]

From the start, Keyes -- long known as one of the extreme fringe members of the far right -- and guest William Donohue of the Catholic League not only attacked and gratuitously insulted the other guests on the show (Mary Louise Cervone of Dignity/USA, the nation's largest LGBT Catholic membership organization, and Sister Maureen Fiedler of Catholics Speak Out), but also insulted gay Catholics in general -- with Keyes lecturing the guests who disagreed with him that their opinions on the matter were irrelevant because they did not conform to his religious beliefs.

Instead of addressing the issue Keyes raised on his show that night, that the two female guests' opinions were inconsistent with the Catholic Church's position, GLAAD resorts to name-calling and to twisting Keyes' statement. It's telling that they would consider being in harmony with the Catholic Church's mainstream Christian teachings against sexual licentiousness as "extreme fringe."

[Steve0113]

bump

[Dan from Michigan]

I'm usually neutral on gay issues.

In this case though - Hey GLAAD - Stay in the hell away from my church.