The Christian Civic League of Maine's Mike Hein calls Pam's House Blend: "a leading source of radical homosexual propaganda, anti-Christian bigotry, and radical transgender advocacy."
He is "praying that Pam Spaulding will "turn away from her wicked and sinful promotion of homosexual behavior."
(CCLM's web site, 10/15/07)
Ex-gay "Christian" activist James Hartline on Pam:
"I have been mocked over and over again by ungodly and unprincipled anti-christian lesbians."
(from "Six Years In Sodom: From The Journal Of James Hartline," 9/4/2006, written from the "homosexual stronghold" of Hillcrest in San Diego).
"Pam is a 'twisted lesbian sister' and an 'embittered lesbian' of the 'self-imposed gutteral experiences of the gay ghetto.'" -- 9/5/2008
Peter LaBarbera of Americans for Truth Against Homosexuality heartily endorses the Blend, calling Pam:
A "vicious anti-Christian lesbian activist." (Concerned Women for America's radio show [9:15], 1/25/07)
"A nutty lesbian blogger." (MassResistance radio show [16:25], 2/3/07)
Pam's House Blend always seems to find these sick f*cks. The area of the country she is in? The home state of her wife? I know, they are everywhere. Pam just does such a great job of bringing them out into the light.
--Impeach Bush
who monitors yours Bevis ?? Just thought I would drop you a line,so the rest of your life is not wasted.
Last week The News Tribune (Tacoma, WA) published a scathing criticism of the anti-domestic-partnership referendum effort known as "Reject R-71". The editorial was built around phrases like "...R-71 opponents' failure to mount anything resembling a viable campaign..." So far the accused, Larry Stickney of Protect Marriage Washington and Gary Randall of the Oregon-based Faith and Freedom Network, have neglected to step forward and take their lumps or refute the charges. Instead, their radical-right colleague Joseph Fuiten has piled on via an e-mail blast, web post and an opinion piece in The News Tribune. "Pastor Joe Fuiten on Referendum 71: Told ya so" is how Janet Tu at The Seattle Times characterized Fuiten's message.
Fuiten is the founder of the Faith and Freedom Network and hired Randall to run it in 2005. Fuiten is also on the board of Family Policy Institute of Washington, the largest single donor to the Reject R-71 campaign and one of Larry Stickney's recent employers. In other words, he's no piddly outsider. Back in May, Fuiten made a splash by splitting from his radical-right colleagues and actively trying to discourage the anti-domestic partnership referendum campaign, saying:
My belief is that it would be a mistake to run a referendum. I know that some will say that I just lack faith. It might be. I don't have any interest in being another General Custer. I also know that when Israel decided to enter the Promised Land without God's blessing they were soundly defeated.If I felt that God was telling us to go ahead, I would do it in a heartbeat. I don't feel the Lord has said not to, but I cannot get any peace about making this effort. ...I would be very disappointed to be dragged into an effort that is unlikely to succeed and very likely to ultimately be counterproductive.
Very disappointed indeed, it would now appear. This early and very public refusal by Fuiten and other radical-right conservatives to involve themselves with the referendum sparked the ongoing public feud between Fuiten, Randall and Ken Hutcherson. By July, Randall had put on his best passive-aggressive and came back hissing
I don't think people understand why he's trying to undermine the whole effort. Some people have said it's because he's not leading the charge. I wouldn't say that, but that has been said.
Soon after Ken Hutcherson, who actually expressed Fuiten-style doubt back in March about the wisdom of running a referendum, took this swipe at Fuiten in, of all things, his "Prayer Warrior" e-mail series:
Thank you for praying for Washington state! Enough signatures have been gathered to try and repeal SB5688 (Everything but Marriage). God proved He doesn't need certain shepherds from certain churches to get His will done!
Randall continued to snipe at Fuiten throughout the campaign. A few examples here, here, here, here, here and here. This looks to be quite the grudge match.
Although Fuiten opposed the referendum, he belatedly endorsed and supported it. A look at his schizophrenic relationship with R-71 and the sometimes apt, sometimes hypocritical accusations he now hurls at his brothers, after the flip.
With God's help and your support, this battle can be won. -- Gary Randall, February 23, 2009
With few votes left to count and Washington Secretary of State Sam Reed reporting an ever-increasing approval percentage for Referendum 71 (currently 53.1% to 46.9%), it is clear that the Washington electorate has APPROVED Referendum 71. Washington is the first state in the nation to approve full domestic partnerships at the ballot box. Starting December 3, 2009, when the law challenged by the referendum goes into effect, Washington will have domestic partnerships fully parallel to civil marriage in state law. Over 6,300 pairs of Washington State Registered Domestic Partners can begin to enjoy virtually all of the state-level rights, responsibilities and obligations that married couples do.
From the beginning, the radical-right evangelicals behind Washington state's Referendum 71, have had the shared delusion that God takes sides, and favors them. Oregonian Gary Randall said on July 1, 2009: (emphasis mine)
With your hard work and God's blessing, I believe we will succeed.
On Wednesday, July 22, 2009 as Randall and Stickney embarked on their campaign to hobble families:
Please join in prayer today that God will bless the effort and give us the needed signatures to put this issue on the ballot.
Upon subsequently obtaining a sufficient number of raw signatures to submit the Referendum 71 petitions to the Secretary of State, Randall jumped to this arrogant conclusion on Tuesday, July 28, 2009:
We are grateful to all of you who worked so hard and to God for His help.
And finally, on November 6, 2009 when it was clear that R-71 would be approved, Randall deployed God in the pursuit of his new anti-gay project:
I believe God has called me to this and I believe He will guide us and provide the necessary funding. Please consider a tax deductible donation to Faith and Freedom Foundation. Thank you and God bless you.
Randall was joined by Mr. "God will get all the glory!" Ken Hutcherson, who undeservedly (and painfully prematurely) wrapped himself in the cloak of God's favor, saying on Monday, July 27, 2009:
Thank you for praying for Washington state! Enough signatures have been gathered to try and repeal SB5688 (Everything but Marriage).
God proved He doesn't need certain shepherds from certain churches to get His will done!
Larry Stickney, Gary Randall's Washington operative, apparently also believes that God was a deciding factor in the referendum effort:
And indeed, Stickney literally exhorted his followers to "pray in a victory" after early returns showed that R-71 was heading towards approval.
As you may know, we have seen amazing things happen at every critical juncture of this campaign. Please join me today in getting down on our knees to lift up this effort to our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
Let's pray the REJECT R-71 effort across the finish line! Every family and church in Washington now and for years to come will benefit from our efforts if we win! Pray that we are in the lead by the end of today's counting!
As I said at the time, for God to influence the election after ballots have been cast would require God to change people's votes. Thus, Stickney wanted God to tamper with ballots. Apparently God isn't into felonious activities, since He did not deliver unto Stickney such ill-gotten gains. I wonder why Stickney has deleted that post from the Protect Marriage Washington website.
If God really does take sides, and given that Randall & Stickney (not to mention Rep. Matt Shea & Sen. Valera Stevens) lied that the referendum was about civil marriage and not about domestic partnerships, the take-away message from the Referendum 71 experience is this:
God endorses marriage equality, and has spurned those who would twist His word into an instrument of judgment and vindictive hate. Perhaps Pastor Joe Fuiten was on to something when he said:
God is not coercive...The idea that people ought to be free to live their life and live the way they want to - I don't object to that.
Too bad Fuiten ultimately turned his back on Him a few weeks before the election by endorsing the referendum Rejects. If you ask me, Fuiten is a lost and conflicted soul to be pitied.
Now that God has eschewed hate and endorsed civil equality for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender couples, Gary Randall and his colleagues have a choice. They can either accept God's endorsement of marriage equality, or turn their back on their Creator and continue to scorn his beloved children.
The Washington Secretary of State's final vote count report for the week continues to validate the conclusion that all of Washington state is moving towards equality. Tonight's numbers of 52.6% to 47.4% are not final, as vote counting is still underway. However, even the Secretary of State seems pretty sure about R-71 since their Friday afternoon blog post was titled "R-71: Effective 12-3-09"!
King [County]'s approval rate has been running 68 percent, and a number of the ballots remaining to be counted are from that county. ... If the vote holds, Senate Bill 5688 will go into effect Dec. 3. The election returns will be certified by Secretary of State Sam Reed and Gov. Chris Gregoire, probably on Dec. 1, but under provisions of the Constitution, a bill referred to voters and approved takes effect 30 days after Election Day, or Dec. 3 in this case.
After failing to pray in a victory, campaign manager for Protect Marriage Washington Larry Stickney was expected to concede defeat earlier today. Stickney has failed in his effort to undermine families and disadvantage children through the repeal of Washington's Domestic Partnership Expansion Law of 2009.
Larry Stickney...told LifeSiteNews.com that they plan to wait it out for the rest of [Friday] afternoon (pacific time) to make fully certain of the result and then "probably at that point concede."
No word yet that Stickney has transmitted his concession message to the press. He very well may choose to not communicate with them at all. He locked the media out of the Reject election night party, even the local Everett Herald. "It's a little lonely in the media room at the Holiday Inn in Everett...", reported Janet Tu of The Seattle Times.
The Washington State Republican Party endorsed Stickney's anti-family campaign, a move even their major candidate this election, Susan Hutchison distanced herself from and that they themselves never apparently backed with any vigor. No reaction from them yet either.
I believe He will guide us and provide the necessary funding. Please consider a tax deductible donation to Faith and Freedom Foundation. Thank you and God bless you.
States with mail-in ballots have the excruciating pleasure of having to wait days or even weeks to learn the result of tight races. Washington is one such state. So here's the latest but not the last word on Referendum 71. Reminder: we want to see R-71 approved because this means that the domestic partnership law will be preserved. As of 6 pm on Nov. 4th, the Secretary of State reports:
Looking good! However, there are still about 400,000 ballots on hand yet to be counted, so if you're cautious you'll want to wait a bit before celebrating victory. Bill sponsor Sen. Ed Murray and is already calling it a win since about 56% of the projected total number of ballots cast have already been counted. Captain Reject (Larry Stickney) hasn't conceded yet, but must be feeling as desperate as Sen. Murray is confident because he asked people this afternoon to do this:
As you may know, we have seen amazing things happen at every critical juncture of this campaign. Please join me today in getting down on our knees to lift up this effort to our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
Let's pray the REJECT R-71 effort across the finish line! Every family and church in Washington now and for years to come will benefit from our efforts if we win! Pray that we are in the lead by the end of today's counting!
Now, for God to influence the election after ballots have been cast, wouldn't that require God to change people's votes? So Stickney wants God to tamper with ballots. Apparently God isn't into felonious activities, since He did not deliver unto Stickney such ill-gotten gains in the 6 pm count.
Microsoft made a big splash a few weeks ago by donating $100,000 to the Approve 71 campaign. Indeed it was a significant and much-needed contribution by a major Washington employer. But the really big story is that Microsoft's gift was only one of 4,175 donations made by Washingtonians from across the state (see map). In fact, 85% of all cash donations to Approve 71 have been made by Washingtonians for a total of $1.16 million. Excluding the Microsoft gift, 89% of WA donations were for amounts below the average donation of $253. In the main, the Approve 71 campaign has been funded by small Washington donors.
In stark contrast, only 34% of donations to the anti-domestic partnership campaign totaling $104,233 have come from Washingtonians. The other 66% comes from James Dobson's Colorado-based Focus on the Family (FOTF) and National Organization for Marriage. FOTF made two cash dumps into Washington state. The first was $200,000 into the PAC Vote Reject on R-71 via the local FOTF affiliate Family Policy Institute of Washington (FPIW). The second was last-minute direct independent spending of $91,852 on radio ads, etc. by Focus on the Family Action. Is it fair to say that James Dobson is the reject campaign?
The anti-domestic partnership campaign has also received an undisclosed amount of in-kind assistance from the undisclosed entity that paid for Protect Marriage Washington's signature gatherers.
~~~Reminder from WAFST: Only 20% of voters have mailed their ballots. Your vote and those of your friends can make the difference. Don't hold onto your ballot, mail it today. Remind your friends. VOTE APPROVE ON REFERENDUM 71
The monthly campaign expenditure numbers came out last night and are reported on the Washington Public Disclosure Commission's website. As predicted, radical-right extremists have dumped last-minute money into the race. Family Policy Institute of Washington plopped $200,000 into the mysterious new PAC called "Vote Reject on R-71" that appeared late last week. FPIW bills itself as an affiliate of James Dobson's Focus on the Family and Tony Perkins' Family Research Council. Dobson is famous for advocating the paddling of children, and Perkins for his connections to the Klan. The Vote Reject PAC is run by Dave Mortenson, a seasoned and savvy conservative campaign consultant.
Referendum 71 is the Washington state ballot measure asking voters to approve or reject the domestic partnership law passed by a wide margin by the Washington Legislature in May and signed by Gov. Gregoire. The law makes domestic partnerships parallel to civil marriage at the state level, providing vital rights to straight senior and same-sex domestic partners that married people have like pension inheritance and the right to use sick leave to care for a seriously ill partner.
First glances indicate that the Approve Referendum 71 campaign has greatly out-fundraised the opposition, and sure enough the David and Goliath comparisons are already being made by Larry Stickney. But don't get too comfortable just yet. Campaigns have 5 days to deposit donation checks, so we won't know until perhaps Tuesday, October 20th just how much the opposition really raked in right before the large donor ban took effect on October 12th. The large donor ban means that the most money any individual can donate after Oct. 12th is $5,000 (regardless of how much they donated before Oct. 12). There is also the distinct possibility that an out-of-state enterprise like National Organization for Marriage will swoop in an provide tv time and ads for the opposition "unasked". You know I've been right about these things before. The Approve 71 campaign still needs your support.
Half of Reject's $200,000 has already been spent on radio ad time. Seven local stations have accepted money to run these anti-child, anti-family radio ads.
Meanwhile, true to form, a substantial proportion of expenditures made by Larry Stickney's Protect Marriage Washington and Gary Randall's Faith & Freedom PAC have gone to salary for Stickney, attorney's fees and maintenance of Randall's redundant website. However, Stickney has spent about $10,000 on yard signs, and Randall about $500 on postage. It isn't entirely clear who paid for Protect Marriage Washington's lurid fliers or theocratic tv ads (here and here).
On the Approve Referendum 71 side, Washington Families Standing Together has received just over one million dollars in cash contributions to date. WAFST has invested about $400,00 of this into tv ad time and smaller but substantial amounts into mailings and phone banking costs.
I've posted a few of the radio and tv ads from both sides below the fold. As you listen and watch, notice how the Approve 71 campaign found real Washingtonians to speak for the domestic partnership law. The opposition had to hire actors.
Floating on a lurid sea of male symbols pornographically piercing female symbols is a picture of the Nelson family of Ozzie and Harriet fame. This is a new leaflet from the opponents of domestic partnerships in Washington state. The page title reads "There is something very good in this picture", with arrows drawn to "Dad" and "Mom". The following is written on the bottom of the last page of the leaflet
On the cover is a photo of the most traditional American Families [sic] from the 1950's television series, Ozzie & Harriet. David and Ricky Nelson really had it pretty good. They had a normal mother and father and grandparents. We simply want this for tomorrow's children and families.
Indeed they made a beautiful family, and for all I know were blissful together. But that didn't result in sons David and Ricky Nelson growing up to be good fathers or husbands.
Ricky's wife Kristin gave birth 6 months after their wedding. After making 3 more children, they divorced.
David had two kids with his first wife, divorced and then remarried.
The leaflet authors would label such people fornicators, adulterers and home-wreckers. Much like several of the leaflet authors themselves. Rep. Matt Shea is divorced, campaign manager Larry Stickney has divorced twice and married three times, and I have it on good authority that campaign attorney and strategist Stephen Pidgeon is on his fourth marriage, leaving children dotted across several states. Did the many children these men produced have the benefit of their biological father at home?
The Nelson family picture and the men politicizing it are proof that being raised by your biological parents guarantees nothing. It is a red herring. But one thing is guaranteed if we fail to Approve Referendum 71: heterosexual seniors may not be able to care for one another in times of crisis, and the children of same-sex parents will be financially disadvantaged and legally vulnerable. Protecting ALL Washington families is the Washingtonian way.
How appropriate that they placed a "close window" symbol on that page. The leaflet should be composted. The other 3 leaflet panels are just as ripe for rebuttal. They're pasted below the fold. Have at 'em.
Protect Marriage Washington has filed their Summary, Full Report Receipts and Expenditures, or "C4 report", for August, 2009. Protect Marriage Washington (PMW) is the political organization forcing a referendum vote on the domestic partnership law passed this spring by the Washington legislature and signed by the Governor. To preserve the law, voters must vote "APPROVED" on Referendum 71.
For the second month running, PMW's C4 has failed to report expenditures related to their paid signature gatherers. Their use of paid signature gatherers has been well documented in newspapers here, here and here, and blogged about here and here.
PMW has also neglected to report their legal expenditures. Attorney Stephen Pidgeon has been providing legal services for PMW since at least May 27, 2009, when The Olympian identified Pidgeon as attorney for PMW and its campaign manager, Larry Stickney. May 27th was the date when Pidgeon and Stickney initiated an unexpected legal challenge to the Referendum 71 ballot language.
Since that time Pidgeon has taken a very public role as PMW's attorney in their efforts to keep donor names secret, and in defense of PMW's collection of signatures from non-voters and PMW volunteers' fraudulent signing of petition circulator's declarations on petitions that they did not circulate.
James Bopp, Jr. of the Indiana firm Bopp, Coleson & Bostrom has been the primary attorney in PMW's efforts to keep their petition signers' names secret, with Pidgeon acting as local counsel. Pidgeon and Bopp continue to be identified as PMW attorneys and sign off on their court documents. Yet not a penny of cash or in-kind payment has been reported to the Public Disclosure Commission for at least 3 months of professional legal services rendered to PMW by two attorneys and probably staff at Bopp's firm.
You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? -- Jesus
All this news about militant heterosexualists fraudulently "signing" R-71 petition declarations with Larry Stickney's signature stamp got me thinking: where had I seen pen-wielding people mulling over the backs of petitions? Aah yes, on Gary Randall's Faith and Freedom website. A few days after the July 25th delivery of R-71 petitions to the Secretary of State (SOS), Oregon Gary posted a slide show commemorating the event. After reading Judge Spector's order this morning, I'm seeing those pictures, and others, with new eyes.
To the right is a screen shot featuring Pentecostal ministers Roy & Valerie Hartwell from Rivers of Glory Church, which meets in a hotel room. Why is Roy Hartwell hovering his pen directly over the declaration box? And why did he even have a pen? There was nothing to write on on that table except petitions. Let's take a closer look at Roy and others, below the fold.
The Washington Public Disclosure Commission just unanimously rejected Larry Stickney's request to seal the identities of donors to his political action committee, Protect Marriage Washington. Anti-gay Protect Marriage Washington is trying to force a public vote to repeal the Domestic Partnership Expansion Law of 2009, which was passed by an almost-super-majority of the legislature and signed by Governor Gregoire.
According to their website, "The Public Disclosure Commission was created and empowered by Initiative of the People to provide timely and meaningful public access to accurate information about the financing of political campaigns, lobbyist expenditures, and the financial affairs of public officials and candidates, and to ensure compliance with and equitable enforcement of Washington's disclosure and campaign finance laws."
The PDC has been listing Protect Marriage's donors on their website since June, but Stickney didn't request that donor identities be sealed until August.
Two key facts were unearthed during today's hearing. First, neither Larry Stickney nor the two additional witnesses who testified with him that they received threats for contributing to the campaign have ever been listed as donors to Protect Marriage in the PDC's online database! Second, neither Stickney nor the other witnesses could provide any evidence whatsoever of any Protect Marriage donor suffering undue hardship as a result of their name being in the PDC database.
PDC commissioners extended their sympathy to anyone who would receive insults due to their political views, but made clear that insults do not rise to the level of "undue hardship", a criterion for sealing donor names. One commissioner, apparently on friendly terms with Stickney, admonished him for being a crybaby in the face of insults, saying "I think you knew very well this was not going to be a cakewalk."
It is heartening to see the PDC stand tall in the face of attempts by Protect Marriage Washington to carve out for themselves a special exception to the law of the land. Let us put Stickney's request in a larger context, and remember that LGBT people are attacked and murdered daily for the simple fact of who we are.
Stickney was represented today by attorney Stephen Pidgeon, the anti-Obama birther.
Joe Mirabella over at the Examiner has a story up about how the Dynamic Duo of referenDUMB have violated the very TRO that Larry demanded to hide the identity of his anti-domestic partnership Referendum 71 petition signers. No stranger to restraining orders, you'd think Larry would know better.
Larry Stickney and Gary Randall, both extreme right wing activists working to repeal the domestic partnership law passed this year, have gone against their own request to seal the names of petition signers from the public. As a result of their litigation a Federal Court Order temporarily prevented the Secretary of State from releasing the referendum 71 petition publicly until a hearing scheduled for September 3. In court papers filed by lawyers representing Protect Marriage Washington, their lawyer argued that alleged threats, "have caused Larry Stickney a great deal of worry for his safety and the safety of his family."
"An Open Letter to Friends of Referendum 71" by Larry Stickney and Gary Randall was posted on three websites this morning, including the Protect Marriage Washington website managed by Larry Stickney. In the letter they disclosed the name* of Larry Stickney's daughter and confirmed that she signed the petition. It begs the question why Stickney and Randall would release her name if they actually believed harm or retribution would result from a public record of the petition signatures? Would a good father willingly put his daughter in danger if he believed the threat was real?
*[Lurleen: correction, they didn't disclose her by name, but identified her as the daughter of Larry and wife Polly.]
I wonder what (or who) Larry Stickney and "Pastor" Gary Randall wouldn't sacrifice to hurt domestic partners and their children? So far, Larry and Gary have thrown Larry's daughter to the wolves on three websites: Larry's Protect Marriage Washington, Gary's Faith and Freedom Network and the bloody-sounding Red County.
Besides making a mockery of their own TRO, the actions of Larry and Gary pull the rug out from under the melodramatic tripe that Stephen Pidgeon wrote in a letter impugning the integrity of Washington Secretary of State Sam Reed
I remind you that R-71 campaigners have faced death threats as a result of their desire to pursue the constitutionally provided-for referendum process in this state.
Oh to what depths have Gary Randall and Larry Stickney been reduced! You know they've hit rock bottom when they resort to quoting a lefty blogger (after misspelling his name) for "evidence" that the Washington Secretary of State is engaged in, as they so prosaically accuse, "skullduggery".
UPDATE on the Unhinged: Gary Randall just posted an "Open Letter to the Secretary of State", which links to this missive penned on his behalf by Obama-birther (twice) attorney Stephen Pidgeon. The letter begins with a quote from Josef Stalin and ends with the accusation, "Apparently, the personal politics of those employed in your office are allowed to trump the integrity of this process. This is an outrage." Huh. I thought the outrage was that when you know you have nothing to show before a court of law, you stoop to the court of public opinion. But what do I know, eh?
Larry Stickney and Gary Randall are apparently concerned about the rejection rate of signatures on their anti-domestic partnership Referendum 71. At about 11%, R-71's cumulative to-date signature rejection rate is the lowest in recent memory, and is still well below the drop-dead rate of 12.4% that would keep the referendum off the ballot. Further, if the 53% of signatures already checked are representative of those remaining to be checked, it is statistically nearly impossible for the referendum not to qualify for the November ballot.
So I have have to ask myself, what do Larry and Gary know about the remaining unchecked signatures that worries them so? Whatever it is, it has moved them to take shocking action. After impugning the integrity of the Secretary of State and his employees with "Please pray that Secretary Sam Reed and the public servants he employs, will have the integrity to carry out their duties on the R-71 count in a fair and honest way, as they are duty bound to serve all the citizens of the state." they put out this "Call to Action"
PLEASE SEND THIS URGENT MESSAGE FAR AND WIDE! Tell everyone you know (especially those who signed R71) to let Sam Reed know that we want all of the signatures carefully checked. He owes it to the people of Washington State.
Both phone calls and e-mails to Sam Reed are needed NOW!: (ph) [redacted] or e-mail [redacted]
Larry Stickney, Campaign Manager
Protect Marriage Washington
If Larry and Gary feel they have a legitimate complaint about the signature checking process, the appropriate avenue for protest is the courts. They surely know this, as they've already brought two lawsuits during the referendum campaign. The first was when Larry challenged in court the ballot language on his own referendum. The second was when Larry wanted special rights to side-step Washington's open government laws. No, the anti-family forces are not shy about going to the courts, so why resort now to trying to impugn the reputation of the Secretary of State's office and influence their official actions via the mob?
UPDATE: Marching orders received! Check out the spate of n'er before seen requests for slow action on the Secretary of State's blog, below the fold.
UPDATE 2: The Secretary of State's Elections Division responds. See text below the fold.
Protect Marriage Washington has filed their Summary, Full Report Receipts and Expenditures, or "C4 report", for July, 2009. Protect Marriage Washington is the organization trying to force a referendum vote to repeal the new domestic partnership law in Washington. To preserve the DP law, voters must vote APPROVED if Referendum 71 qualifies for the ballot. See Washington Families Standing Together for details.
PMW's C4 report contains some items of interest.
1. Larry Stickney again received a handsome salary, and even got his son in on the cash action this time.
2. Protect Marriage Washington failed to name people they accepted cash contributors from in early August. They are identified only by their initials.
3. There remains no indication who their mercenaries paid signature gatherers were, or who paid them.
UPDATE: Washington Families Standing Together statement on the filing (emphasis mine. no link - via email)
Washington Families Standing Together's Statement on the Filing of Litigation by Protect Marriage Washington Against the Secretary of State
Washington Families Standing Together is not a party to the litigation. We understand there are competing points of view on the obligation of the Secretary of State to release names of petition signers. Some are concerned that such disclosure might somehow restrict the right of voters to participate in the initiative/referenda process, some support full disclosure and transparency of any government public records and urge that government be as broad as possible in disclosure of all records. Still others are troubled that everyone who registers as a domestic partner is required to have their name listed publicly on line with the Secretary of State, even as those signing petitions to repeal domestic partnerships don't think their names should be listed.
We want to make sure that this litigation doesn't distract voters from learning about the lives of gay and lesbian and senior families and the important protections that the domestic partnership law provides these families. The domestic partnership law protects thousands of domestic partners across the state, many with children, serving our communities in such roles as firefighters, police officers, teachers or nursing home workers. Referendum 71 would roll back the law, eliminate those protections, and hurt these families. Our coalition of more than 120 organizations and 90 clergy, religious leaders and faith-based organizations is reaching out to voters to make sure they know they have to vote APPROVE in order to keep the law from being repealed.
--
Joshua A. Friedes
Campaign Manager
Washington Families Standing Together
W 206-324-2570
C 206-679-8546
F 206-324-1708
www.WAFST.org
Looks like Friedes will get his wish for the distraction to go away, at least for the next month; a preliminary hearing has been scheduled for September 3rd, according to Seattle Times. It'll go away, that is, so long as the press that Stickney constantly vilifies keeps perspective on who is the injured party if the DP law doesn't get approved in November. Hint: Stickney is trying to divert the conversation from domestic partnerships (which are widely supported), to his overused fainting couch.This just takes the cake. Larry Stickney apparently thinks that he has some right to be free of criticism from people he publicly vilifies and is trying to keep as 2nd class citizens.
Larry is the campaign manager for the anti-domestic partnership organization behind Referendum 71. He is also apparently Exhibit A in the lawsuit recently filed to prevent the release of the public documents formerly known as Referendum 71 petitions.
Ignoring the real story - that his campaign is causing material and emotional hardship to domestic partners, and the likelihood that the anti-gay rhetoric he and his colleagues use inflames anti-gay hatred and violence - Larry is trying to misdirect sympathies and subvert open government by complaining that he's received some angry emails and phone calls because of his referendum.
I personally would never bother to waste a call on a proven liar and false Christian like Larry, and I don't know if there is any real evidence to back up his claims. But presuming the evidence exists, can he really be surprised that he is a focus of criticism when he has made himself a public symbol of anti-gay hate in Washington state?
Let us remember who is the aggressor and who is the victim in the referendum battle. The aggressors are people like Larry, who seek to crush the souls and civil liberties of their victims, gay families. Has a heterosexual ever been lynched or denied pension or survivor benefits for the simple fact of being heterosexual? I've heard of not a one. It is heinous for Larry to play the victim card when he is part of the industry that exists to see gays dead, debilitated and without civil rights.
Links to the complaint and some supporting documents are available at the Everett Herald's Petri Dish blog.
ADDENDUM: I should just remind people that there is a real potential for political and/or financial payoff if Gary Randall and Larry Stickney can keep the names and addresses of the petition signers to themselves. Apparently referendum backers are free to use that information however they wish, such as selling the lists to political campaigns or share with organizations to fundraise off of. But if it's out there for everyone to see, Gary & Larry'll never be able to sell or horse trade on it.
UPDATE: Check out the lies being spewed by signature gatherers in Seattle today, after the jump.
UPDATE 2: Chris Mason has posted the entire 9 minute video (thx Chris!). I've updated the post below. It is clear that the referendum mercenary was telling people that this is a yes/no vote on legalizing gay marriage. That is a baldfaced lie. R-71 is only about repealing an incremental domestic partnership law.H/T Joshalot
Wow. Just wow. This is what false Christianity looks like. Gary Randall and Larry Stickney, sponsors of the anti-domestic partnership Referendum 71, have a lot to answer for. This video was recorded by Chris Mason from Driving Equality a few days ago at the Port Angeles, WA Wal-Mart. While watching, keep in mind that Referendum 71 has NOTHING to do with marriage licenses.
[The paid signature gatherer] approached a woman and asked her if she supports same-sex marriage. When she said yes, he handed her the clipboard to sign the referendum. She though she was signing in favor of equal marriage. He tricked her, right in front of me, on camera. I called him out on it.
He said to her:
Did you have a chance to sign our petition yet? We're giving you an opportunity to decide whether or not you're in favor of giving homosexual couples legal marriage licenses. Not just the same rights as married people, but a marriage license too. Do you have an opinion on that, yes no or don't care?
The woman said yes, that she will sign, and he handed her the clipboard. It was obvious to me that she was signing what she thought was a petition in favor or giving same-sex couples marriage licenses. So I asked her if she supports same-sex marriage. She said that she did.
Referendum 71 has nothing to do with granting marriage licenses. Referendum 71 would repeal an incremental domestic partnership law. It isn't a fluke that this mercenary lied. Randall and Stickney have lied from day one that the referendum was about marriage. In fact, their petition sheets have the lie "Protect Marriage, Protect Children" emblazoned across the top with the following lies printed directly beneath
• The legislature just passed a law that effectively makes same sex marriages legal. By signing R-71 we can reverse that decision and protect marriage as between one man and one woman."
• If same-sex marriage becomes law, public schools K-12 will be forced to teach that same-sex marriage and homosexuality are normal... even over the objections of parents. Sign R-71 to protect children.
UPDATE: Be on the lookout for signature gatherers Friday & Saturday in the greater Seattle area. This just in from Family Policy Institute of Washington:
If you are interested in gathering signatures this afternoon, tonight or tomorrow morning in the Seattle area, please e-mail...
My reading of the 1st Amendment is that it is my right to tell interested petition signers why I think they shouldn't sign.
UPDATE 2: Gary Randall just sent this email
We are receiving a number of emails asking where individuals can sign a petition... You may do so at the Capitol steps tomorrow at 2 PM
I can't help myself: HAHAHAHA!Team Homophobia has a 2 PM appointment Saturday, July 25th with the Washington Secretary of State to turn in their anti-domestic partnership Referendum 71 signatures. But guess what? They don't have enough. Gary Randall states:
Friday, July 24, 2009
R-71: Too Close to Call We feel that by tomorrow morning we will have the 120,577 signatures required, however we also know that some will be invalidated for various reasons. We do not have an adequate cushion of signatures.
We will be turning in the signatures tomorrow at 2 PM.
Gary is so desperate that he's throwing this Hail Mary pass:
We are then asking you or someone you know, to drive the additional signatures to Olympia tomorrow...
I know the situation must truly be dire, because Gary forgot to ask for donations!
While we're waiting to learn the fate of Washington state's anti-family Referendum 71 (all will be revealed by Saturday), let's have a look at Larry Stickney's computational logic.
After flouting Washington state law for 6 days, Oregonian and tax evader Gary Randall finally filed his campaign expense report for June yesterday. From it we learn the same lesson we learned from the June report filed by his Referendum 71 comrade Larry Stickney: Gary and Larry's priorities are apparently to compensate themselves first and foremost.
To date, 49.8% of all R-71 expenditures made by Randall's Faith & Freedom PAC has gone back into Gary Randall's coffers (Faith & Freedom Network). Likewise, 44% of all R-71 expenditures made by Stickney's Protect Marriage Washington were to pay Stickney a rich salary.
Priorities, priorities...
Meanwhile, while these guys kick back and crack a cold one, I hear their worker bees have exhausted the church hives and, still coming up short, have had to come out into the light of day to seek signature gold. So now WalMart is apparently buzzing with bigotry. Are fair-minded Washingtonians letting their own calm and reasoned voices be heard at WalMart? "Excuse me Mr. Voter-Looking-Over-the-Petition, but if you sign that you'll be hurting my family directly. Please don't." The 1st Amendment is a beautiful thing, especially when employed calmly and conversationally.
Of the 31,103 verses in the Bible, what are the odds that Larry Stickney would happen to employ in his political campaign the very one that Tony Perkins (Family Research Council) is using to browbeat Christians into doing his own political bidding? Larry Stickney is the campaign manager of the misnamed Protect Marriage Washington, an organization promoting the anti-domestic partnership Referendum 71. Here's Larry in a July 14, 2009 "press release"
My friends, we are in a grave moral crises as a state and nation. A return to the faith and integrity of our forefathers is the only hope we have. We must recover our vision and put 2 Chronicles 7:14 into practice: "If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways; then I will hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land."
R-71 provides us with an opportunity to draw a line in the sand with those who mock our values and institutions and seek to tear them down. We have the chance to "just say no" to our societal descent into depravity.
Here's Tony Perkins describing the scriptural inspiration for his latest political ploy to manipulate Christians for his political ends
The Call 2 Fall Declaration comes straight from the pages of Scripture:
If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. (2 Chronicles 7:14).
The journey back to God, to His forgiveness and favor, begins on our knees in humility and repentant prayer.
Stickney is clearly letting Tony Perkins do the thinking for him. And perhaps his own pastor too. It can't be coincidence that Larry invoked this Bible verse shortly after his Referendum 71 comrade (and personal pastor?) Pastor Rick Long of Atonement Free Lutheran Church in Arlington, WA built his July 5th sermon around an extensive list of FRC's talking points and linked them to Referendum 71. The sermon transcript is below the fold. Recitation of FRC talking points begins at about minute 12.
It is clear that Pastor Long and Larry Stickney are using Perkins's model of submission to spark and channel political activism. Look how Perkins doesn't stop after merely catalyzing submission, but makes sure that the newly submissive are readied for active duty:
Consequently, we are sensing the need to return to simple but powerful truths like:
* God is sovereign. He is holy and He is love.
* We are sinners. We are saved from His severity of His wrath toward sin only by the fierceness of His love in Christ.
* When we drift away in disobedience, we experience His discipline. His judgments are just.
* The pathway back must begin with:
o A humility and brokenness before the Lord.
o A desperation to find the face of God.
o A heart cry for the mercy of God.
o A desire to turn from our sinful ways.
o A resolve to return to the ways of God.
This is what the ancient words of Scripture are calling us to do when we speak of a "Call 2 Fall."
I emphasized the blue text, because Perkins provides explicit guidance on how to "return to the ways of God" through directives mailed to churches and posted on the internet. The directives fan moral outrage against President Obama, people with "various forms of sexual perversion: homosexuality, cross-dressing, and gender manipulation/mutilation" and pro-choice advocates. And they call for support or opposition to specific pieces of legislation, like the federal hate crimes bill. Likewise, Larry Stickney immediately followed his invocation of 2 Chronicles 7:14 in his press release with an exhortation to act on Referendum 71.
The connection between Larry Stickney and Tony Perkins is clear. The only thing I can't figure out is whether Larry is consciously using Perkins's model, or has simply become another Perkins zombie.
Last week 
If God really does take sides, and given that Randall & Stickney (not to mention Rep. Matt Shea & Sen. Valera Stevens) 
The Washington Secretary of State's final vote count 
Floating on a lurid sea of male symbols pornographically piercing female symbols is a picture of the Nelson family of Ozzie and Harriet fame. This is a new leaflet from the opponents of domestic partnerships in Washington state. The page title reads "There is something very good in this picture", with arrows drawn to "Dad" and "Mom". The following is written on the bottom of the last page of the leaflet
To the right is a screen shot featuring Pentecostal ministers 
The Washington Public Disclosure Commission just unanimously rejected Larry Stickney's request to seal the identities of donors to his political action committee, Protect Marriage Washington. Anti-gay Protect Marriage Washington is trying to force a public vote to repeal the Domestic Partnership Expansion Law of 2009, which was 
Joe Mirabella over at the 
Besides making a mockery of their own TRO, the actions of Larry and Gary pull the rug out from under the melodramatic tripe that Stephen Pidgeon 
Referendum 71 has nothing to do with granting marriage licenses. Referendum 71 would repeal an incremental domestic partnership law. It isn't a fluke that this mercenary lied. Randall and Stickney have lied from day one that the referendum was about marriage. In fact, their petition sheets have the lie "Protect Marriage, Protect Children" 
The Call 2 Fall Declaration comes straight from the pages of Scripture:
