Says National Gay & Lesbian Task Force head Lorri Jean, in a
press
release responding to Andrew
Sullivan's criticism of NGLTF's leftwing coalition
building:
I doubt the organization has ever taken any stand on capitalism!
Well, consider this bit of economic
analysis by Urvashi Vaid, then-director of the Policy Institute
of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, in 1999:
Capitalism has worked several inversions on old values of work and old notions of industry and productivity. "capitalism has convinced us that producing and consuming are more important than doing neither, and the worst is doing nothing. What, after all, is the work and activity that most of us engage in? Producing junk that is sold for money that we use to buy more junk that someone else has produced.
And then there's this, from
a past column by IGF contributing author Rick
Rosendall:
Former National Gay and Lesbian Task Force executive director Urvashi Vaid, despite being an avowed anarcho-syndicalist, ... said that America "has taken off its ugly white hood to show its sexist, racist, anti-gay and capitalist face." When this was quoted to her, Vaid acknowledged having said it but accused her interlocutor of "McCarthyite red-baiting."
Looks like NGLTF's been caught red-handed in a two-faced bit of disingenuousness.
Passing It On.
In The
Death Tax for the Other 98 Percent of Us,
David Boaz reminds us that when you shrug off your mortal coil, you
can't leave your accumulated Social Security to anyone other than a
legal spouse. But with privatized retirement accounts, you could
leave those funds to anyone you choose. I'd say that's a good
argument why private accounts are good for gays, in particular.
Make His Day.
Another unconventional view on how liberal left policies may not
be quite so "pro-gay" after all, as Tom Palmer
explains why allowing citizens to bear arms is in the interest
of gay people, as reported by the conservative (and
none-too-gay-friendly) Washington Times:
"It's unreasonable to insist that citizens put their lives in the hands of the D.C. government," said Mr. Palmer, adding that he had been assaulted and beaten several times because of his homosexuality.
Mr. Palmer, 46, a political-science researcher, said that several years ago he and a friend were chased by a group of some 20 young men at night. The men threatened to kill Mr. Palmer and his friend, telling them that their bodies would not be found. Mr. Palmer said he stymied his assailants by pulling out a 9-mm handgun.
"The presence of a weapon changes a situation dramatically, and suddenly people who are full of bravado are brought up short. It's not very fun when the prey can fight back," Mr. Palmer said.
I'm not for selling guns over the counter at 7-Eleven, but I do think there's convincing evidence that allowing licensed individuals to carry concealed weapons does, in fact, reduce violent crime, since criminals have to worry about putting themselves at risk when assaulting others. More guns, less crime, safer gays - now there's a thought to drive liberals into a frenzy!