Middlesboro newspaper shamed into making a statement on the KKK rally

By: James-Clifton Spires, Kentucky Equality Federation's Political Advisor

The Middlesboro Daily News was finally shamed into making a statement about the Ku Klux Klan coming to Pineville. Note that they don't say how they were first made aware of the rally, just that it was a "reliable source." If it was so reliable, why not share some details about where it came from. So far, all they've indicated is that they found it on an Internet web site, which could be created by just about anyone. One of the first rules they teach in colleges these days is to not trust something just because you saw it on the Internet.

They take a dig at "The Diary of Anne Frank," and its sponsor, Middlesboro Little Theater, saying that very little information has been released about it --- they never heard of going out and digging for information, apparently. They knew when the audition dates were --- why didn't they send a reporter off to make a phone call to a member of the organization or something? Typical lazy Daily News, expecting to have the public write their news for them in the form of press releases (which the editor recycles and labels "Special to the Daily News") and not actually digging for stories about uplifting community events.

They also make fun of people who oppose racism and other KKK-oriented bigotry as "trying to become martyrs for the cause of their choice." I'm sure these people did not have "becoming martyrs" on thier minds:

• Four little African-American girls were killed in a KKK-sponsored church bombing in Birmingham, Alabama, back in the 1960s


• Emmitt Till, and other persons of various skin colors who were lynched by KKK mobs in the 1950s.


• Three young civil rights workers who were murdered by the KKK and buried in an earthen dam in Mississippi during the same era.

Victims of hate crimes are victims, not people trying to be martyrs. People who commit murder or encourage people to commit murder --- as the KKK is on record as doing --- are murderers. Newspapers who are aware of such evil activities should react with outrage immediately, and not wait until they are forced to do so by an onslaught of public opinion.

They also claim to believe in the cause of the First Amendment --- with that cause also comes the responsibility of knowing what to publicize. Why do they not give Martin Luther King Day activities the kind of publicity that the Daily News gave the KKK rally --- or why not publish an article (for the first time) on the activities of Mount Moriah Church --- a predominately black congregation in Bell County?

The argument that the Middlesboro Daily News is dedicated to upright causes like opposing bigotry is lessened by their actions and their Marisa-Come-Lately editorial stance.

I urge everyone receiving this to write to Middlesboro Daily News editor Marisa Anders at manders@middlesborodailynews.com and express opposition to the presence of the KKK in Bell County and any part of Kentucky and also disappointment with The Middlesboro Daily News' efforts at publicizing this organization's horrible activities and at their wishy-washy editorial stance that focuses on petty issues and not on the fact that hate groups like the Ku Klux Klan are dangerous menaces to society.

Kentucky Equality Federation strongly criticized the newspapers’ handling of this story (more).

Taken from the Middlesboro Daily News

KKK rally unwelcome but still news

Since running the article on the KKK’s planned rally in the area, the Daily News has been inundated with comments — good and bad. The plans for the rally were brought to our attention by a reliable source, and we immediately thought the community should be aware of the event.

We wish we could only print good news. In an ideal world, the newspaper would be full of photos of children’s sports events, business openings, award ceremonies and other wonderful recognitions.

However, our obligation as professional journalists includes the job of bringing all the news to our readers. There are days when only murder, assaults, drugs and assorted arrests are the major news. Unfortunately, that is the reality of the world we live in.

When we were first made aware of the planned rally, no one knew why the group picked Bell County. We still don’t know.

There has been speculation that the Middlesboro Little Theatre’s production of “The Diary of Anne Frank” is the reason for the group’s choice of this area for its gathering. The production is scheduled for the weekend after the planned rally. Very little publicity has been released as of yet concerning the production; as of today, all we have received and published was an announcement of auditions dates which ran in early February. We sincerely doubt that KKK members from miles away would choose to rally the weekend before an event that most of Bell County was not even aware of yet.

Our opinion is that there isn’t a “legitimate” reason for the KKK rally, despite the best
efforts of a few individuals to become martyrs for the cause of their choice — racism, bigotry, etc. There are no legitimate reasons for hatred of any group, whether based on color, gender, sexual orientation, or any other reason.

Hate groups such as the KKK are not welcome in Bell County, but the Daily News will continue to publish their plans as we uncover them in order to best inform our community of any potential peril for our readers.

We will also continue to publish comments on our website, both for and against the rally. However, we will not publish comments that spam our system. Numerous comments from one individual using different names will not be published. Comments intended to slander individuals will not be published. Comments that address the issue on any story are welcome.

We believe in the First Amendment: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

We hope that if the KKK follows through with its plans, the assembly will be peaceful. We trust that our local law enforcement officials will do their best to ensure the community’s
safety.

KKK Rally this month in Southern Kentucky

As many of you know, the KKK is scheduled to have an "Aryan Bash" in Pineville, Kentucky --- one weekend before the opening of Middlesboro Little Theatre's production of "The Diary of Anne Frank" at the Bell Theatre in Pineville. According to an article written by Andrea Schneider, a staff writer for the Middlesboro Daily News, the Appalachian Knights of the Ku Klux Klan and several associated groups plan to rally this month.

Who would have imagined that this type of hate would still be around? I doubt even Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. thought it would go into the next century. LGBT icon Coretta Scott King, his widow continued the fight for universal equality long after her husbands death.

This type of rally and the attention it draws serves no other purpose than to re-segregate our communities; deny them an audience!

For anyone who is interested in doing something positive, here is a suggestion: The Middlesboro Little Theater raises money each year for college scholarships for high school seniors who have participated in community theater during their high school years. These scholarships range from $500 to $1,000, depending upon how much is raised.

UPDATE: We did not post the dates because the best possible thing that could happen is that they be totally ignored by the public. The Anti-Defamation League has posted several dates in Kentucky, but the one in Southern Kentucky is the only event that has received media attention.

Kentucky Family Foundation slapped in the face!

If the House Standing Committee on Health & Welfare vote not to ban domestic partner benefits at the University of Louisville and the University of Kentucky proved one thing (as if we didn’t know)….. the Family Foundation of Kentucky is a bigoted, hateful organization. The Family Foundation of Kentucky hasn’t done anything to stop smoking, mental health, etc. They don’t want to embrace families; they want to divide them. Their sole purpose would seem to be to oppose homosexuality; organizations like theirs are one reason some teenagers in Kentucky are driven to suicide.

I agree with Representative Watkins…. “these [family health such as smoking, mental health] things would seem to be a priority for a family foundation.” On the Family Foundation website, it says “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing" - Dr. Edmund Burke.” We couldn’t agree more; and we’re pleased the House slapped you all in the face!

Thank you to all Representatives and House Leadership who agreed to speak to Kentucky Equality Federation management and agents about the issue during the legislative session.

Watch the video: Click here and select: Mar 20 House Health and Welfare (this is a MUST watch for everyone)!

GLAAD under fire

GLAAD is under fire from various newspapers and bloggers for giving an award to "As the World Turns." The Los Angeles Times was the first newspaper to cry "foul" against GLAAD.

Not only should GLAAD be publicly denounced for giving an award to "As the World Turns," but it should be pressured to rescind the prize.

It's an outrage that an organization devoted to battling gay discrimination in the media would honor a TV show that blatantly and notoriously discriminates against gay romance.

Not only are the program's gay lovers Luke (Van Hansis) and Noah (Jake Silbermann) forbidden to kiss on the CBS soap series, but they were, apparently, even forbidden to kiss at the GLAAD Awards where they were being honored for nondiscrimination! When journalists asked the actors to smooch for the cameras on the red carpet, Hansis and Silbermann coyly dodged the request and — adding insult to injury — would only pucker up on either side of the actress who portrays Noah's bogus green-card wife on the show. When the request for the gay kiss was channeled through reps for "ATWT," it was clear from their grumblings, evasive replies and conspiratorial whispers among themselves that they were the ones squashing it.

"As the World Turns" reps don't admit that they discriminate, but, well, they kind of do, too. Jeannie Tharrington, a spokeswoman for Procter & Gamble Productions, which produces the CBS series, concedes that recent changes in how Luke and Noah are portrayed were "because of some of the feedback that we've gotten, and because of what we thought was best for the show creatively."

Anti-gay violence increases across the nation

There is an alarming increase in anti-gay violence across the nation.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation reports more than 7,000 anti-gay hate crimes in 2005 alone (latest year statistics are available), and since 2003 at least 58 people have been murdered because of their sexual orientation. 6 of those 58 deaths have happened rights here in Kentucky!

Gay/Lesbian/Straight Education Network, is advocating a countrywide vigil in protest against violence toward the gay/lesbian community. This national effort is in reaction to the Feb. 12 shooting at a California school of a 15-year-old gay student that left him brain dead. Another student shot him in the head because of his expressions of his sexual orientation.

In Florida’s Broward County, 17 year-old Simmie Williams Jr, was murdered last week, which Police are investigating as a possible hate crime based on his sexual orientation or gender identity.

In West Virginia, Ricky Williams, 45, was beaten by a man and two women forced their way into his apartment. Williams later died from brain damage.

A Metropolitan Community Church in Washington, D.C. was shot up for the second time in recent weeks and the congregation is worried that hatred could be behind the attacks because of who was worshiping. The Metropolitan Community Church in Northwest ministers to the largest congregation of gays, lesbians, bisexual and transgendered people in the D.C. Area.

Those facts are from an amicus brief that two gay groups — Pink Pistols and Gays and Lesbians for Individual Liberty — have filed in [District of Columbia v. Heller]. Pink Pistols is a shooting group who believes we should take up self-defense with guns).

Gun control laws in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts did not prevent Jacob Robida from acquiring a gun, and hate crime laws did not deter him from entering a gay bar in New Bedford and shooting several patrons. After learning he was in a gay bar, Robida pulled out a gun and shot one person in the face, another in the head (twice), and a third person in the abdomen.

The boundaries of queer-minded comedy also come up once again this past Friday, thanks to a gay punch line and some politically-minded video editing. Canadian comedian Harland Williams, appeared on Conan O’Brien this week and delivered a fairly recognizable joke: Brits call cigarettes “fags” and it’s confusing for North Americans. Williams stated “I’d like to smoke a fag and boil a couple of lesbians myself.”

Oklahoma Representative Sally Kern has received more than 7,000 emails and death threats after making the statement that gays are indoctrinating our children at age two, and are "the biggest threat our nation has, even more so than terrorism or Islam." “Oh and also gayness is a cancer that spreads just like life-threatening toe cancer.”

What can be done to stop this? How does the LGBT community protect itself?

Boycott of Ford ends; They're coming to your town....the AFA

The hateful, anti-gay American Family Association ended its boycott of Ford today after they say Ford caved to their demands. From their website, the hateful American Family Association (AFA) has such things as “They’re coming to your town,” and “If your child's school observes the homosexual sponsored "Day of Silence," keep your child at home April 25."

Who are they kidding with this graphic? LGBT people are in every corner of the world!

The two-year boycott of Ford over the automaker's advertising on Web sites and in publications geared toward the gay community. The conservative group confirmed today that Ford has met all of the conditions presented by the group in fall 2005, shortly before a boycott began in March 2006 over Ford's practice of offering benefits to same-sex couples and its marketing efforts in the gay community.

The AFA, based in Tupelo, Miss., singled out Ford as "the company [that] has done the most to affirm and promote the homosexual lifestyle," according to an early post on the group's Web site, boycottford.com, which is now inoperative. Ford representatives, dealers and AFA leaders were in discussions for several months prior to the boycott.Some Ford dealers, particularly in the South, have said that the boycott impacted their sales.

Ford's ad spending has remained consistent for the last three years: $1.6 billion in 2005, $1.76 billion in 2006 and $1.6 billion last year, per Nielsen Monitor-Plus. Figures do not include Internet spending.

KY will not appeal Cumberlands decision (duhhh)

In April 2006, Kentucky legislators approved a $12 million grant to the University of the Cumberlands, a private school in Williamsburg, Ky., affiliated with the Kentucky Baptist Convention.

The university expelled student Jason Johnson in April 2006 after he posted comments about his sexual orientation on MySpace.com.

Ernie Fletcher, the governor named in the lawsuit, had asked a judge to determine the constitutionality of using taxpayer money for private institutions of higher education. His successor, Steven Beshear, said he agreed with the ruling and his office would not appeal the decision.

This was one of the primary reasons for the Soulforce Equality Ride visit to the Cumberlands in 2007 (story).

In an opinion requested by Governor Fletcher, on March 6, 2008 Franklin Circuit Court Special Judge, Roger Crittenden, issued an order that rendered the appropriations made for the pharmacy school an unconstitutional establishment of religion under Sections 2 and 189 of the Kentucky Constitution. In addition, the court ruled that a permanent scholarship program created for the pharmacy school by the 2006-07 Kentucky Budget bill was in violation of Section 51 of the Kentucky Constitution.

Senator Vernie McGaha, one 13 lawmakers who sided with the university, said he was unsure whether the decision would be appealed.

"Where we go from here will be a collective decision," McGaha told Louisville's Courier-Journal newspaper. "I don't agree with his ruling."

But, people on the loosing side often disagree!

Republicans kill school bullying bill

Just as I predicted to the Herald-Leader in January, the school bulling bill has died in the Kentucky Senate. Thank you Senator Scorsone for trying to force the issue in the Senate.

The House passes this bill every year, and every year the Senate kills it. So long as David Williams is president, nothing with the name “gay” on it will ever make it through the Senate.

I hope Kentuckians everywhere remember this in the next election. Republicans in the Senate don’t want our school children protected, or give educators the tools they need to address bullying problems with gay students. Gay and lesbian people makeup a large part of the Commonwealth’s population, and it would make things much easier for the next generation if students know calling someone names or bullying them because of their perceived sexual orientation isn’t acceptable; teaching tolerance and diversity at an early age could also reduce future hate crimes.

Kentuckians across the Commonwealth should be ashamed of our elected Republican leaders.

The Courier-Journal reports:

Senate Republicans yesterday beat back an effort by Democrats to force the so-called "bully bill" from the Senate Judiciary Committee.

The Democrats, led by Sen. Ernesto Scorsone of Lexington, failed on a party-line 15-20 vote to win approval of a discharge petition to take the bill from the committee and push it a step closer to a vote on the Senate floor.

Senate Bill 12 would require school districts to develop plans to combat bullying, report instances of it to the state Department of Education and identify bullying as a cause for suspension or expulsion of students.

Scorsone said the bill, first filed in the Senate in 2005, has never received a committee hearing. The measure has overwhelming support in the House, where it has passed four times.

"We want kids to learn to read. Well, a scared kid can't be taught to read very well. If a child is worried about going out at recess, they're not going to have any time to figure out a math problem," Scorsone said.

The first version of the bill defined classes of students to be protected under the bill, including gay and lesbian students. But those provisions were removed in later versions to make it more palatable to those who had concerns, said Sen. Julian Carroll, D-Frankfort, the main sponsor of the bill.

Senate Majority Leader Dan Kelly, R-Springfield, said Judiciary Committee Chairman Robert Stivers, who wasn't in Frankfort yesterday, has been working on amendments to the bill. But he stopped short of promising that Stivers, R-Manchester, would allow a vote in the committee.

Kelly said school districts already have the authority to create such bullying plans. He said he's concerned that the law would place a "bully" label on students that would follow them through their entire careers.