Why are so many on the Religious Right gay?

Did anyone else read this in the Herald? Seems a Family First candidate has been disendorsed because of his appearance on a gay porn site, in contradiction with their strongly anti-porn policy. I love his defence, that it wasn't his penis in the photo, that it must have been Photoshopped in.

I found the story particularly interesting because I kinda know that Andrew Quah. He edits on Wikipedia. His main thing is removing accusations of religiosity from Family First's page. In fact, he's probably the best one for such a job because he's not a member of the Assemblies of God. In fact, he considers himself an atheist, no less! (Raised Buddhist, he says, which he considers an atheistic religion. I don't think he practises anymore.) I always found this a little confusing but I suppose there's more than a few non-religious people who appropriate the "Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve" fallacy.

What I don't understand is how such a person can justify such anti-feminism without Ephesians. I'm glad such an insecure individual is not going to hold office. It's bad enough that our PM thinks gay men getting married will make him love his wife less, we don't need any more people like that in parliament.

Is Being a Wizard a Lifestyle Choice or is it Genetic?

Last weekend I was at a party where some drunk guy started trying to tell us that Albus Dumbledore was gay. Turns out he wasn't full of shit after all. Rowling actually said it. In fact it explains his relationship with Grindlewald rather well.

But the interesting thing is that now people are re-reading it as a theme of the whole series, a school in Chicago has banned outright all Harry Potter costumes (not just Dumbledore, the straight characters too) this Halloween.

"It’s school policy that students cannot wear any sexually suggestive costumes during Halloween," said officials at Trinity Lake’s Elementary School in Oak Brook, IL.

"We don’t want students promoting any sexual agenda, gay or straight" said school principal Tom Mannino, "so we’re preempting any issues parents or students might have and banning all Harry Potter costumes outright."

In a letter home to parents, Principal Mannino explained that, "Even though Dumbledore shows no outward signs of being gay, it’s important that we don’t allow other people’s lifestyle choices to be imposed upon our children."

I just love the symmetry, I guess this means that they'll ban every character who has ever been married, so as not to force the heterosexual lifestyle choice on anyone either.

What is is about pontiffs and sex?

That famous homophobe Tenzin Gyatso is in Bloomington, Indiana on his latest speaking tour. Tickets are going for $50 (although I have heard that IU students can buy this ticket to nirvana for as little as $15). That's a pretty cheap price for enlightenment but the Catholic World Youth Day is charging the same $50 price for their cheapest tickets, which includes meals (as part of a 4 tier 'from each according to their ability' scheme). I think Catholicism's better value, who'd have thought!

Anyway, I've seen quite a few Buddhist monks on campus in the last day or two, but not the llama himself.

Voting Overseas

As soon as I arrived in the US and found a fixed residence I registered with the AEC as an overseas elector. (I had been very politically active right up to the time I left, so this was natural.) I remember filling out two different forms and, I swear, the second was to guarantee that I get ballot papers sent to me as soon as they're drawn up (making me a General Postal Voter). Yet when the last NSW election came around I waited and waited for the letter yet never received my ballot papers. (Don't anyone tell John Kaye that he didn't actually get my vote; he was so pleased when I told him I had registered to vote overseas. Besides, he got in without it.)

So this time I'm on top of things, I now realise that I need to ask them for ballot papers every election. But the problem is that I need another Australian to witness for me. The only Australian friend I had here is now living in Idaho. A few months ago I met an Australian professor in the French dept but when I emailed her the other day she replied that she'd moved back to Oz. An Australian friend in Pittsburgh said that he'd sign for me if I sent it to him but the witness is really supposed to watch you sign the paper. I didn't know what to do. (My worries were not helped by that same friend threatening to hold me personally responsible if the wrong party won through me not voting!)

Then last night, at the French table we attend every Tuesday, I met another Australian. I felt just like the Bunyip of Berkeley's Creek when he finally met another bunyip! So now it's all sorted out, we're going to sign each other's forms and we'll both be able to do our civic duty. (We were in complete agreement when we said that we wouldn't want Australia to have a voter turnout like the US -- 40-odd% -- and then a president elected on less than 50% of the vote because of the first past the post system. "20% of the country voted for him. Wow, what a mandate!")