Social liberalism goes on parade in several articles in the Sunday WashPost. In Metro, religion reporter Michelle Boorstein focuses on plans to "ordain" Catholic "womenpriests" in Pittsburgh, including local woman Bridget Mary Meehan. The headline is "Reclaiming the Female Spirit in the Priesthood." Boorstein's article does offer some balancing comments from conservative Catholic bloggers, but it's sad that Boorstein stoops to publishing Nazi comparisons to end the piece. Patricia Fresen, who will preside over the fake ordinations, said she grew up in apartheid-era South Africa, and "If you think of Nazi times, people said they just did what they were told. If you can't get it changed, you must break it."
In my Prince William Extra section today, the center fold carries a large article by Leef Smith on the Gay Games in Chicago, complete with six color photos of openly gay Arlington County Board member Jay Fisette, who competed and won medals in swimming events.
Before evaluating the slant of the article, it's obvious that you could ask the Post some elementary questions here. Why an article on the Gay Games a full week after the Chicago event ended? And why is an article on an Arlington County politician being elaborately displayed in the Prince William County edition? Is the Manassas bureau of the Post on vacation? Or is the decision more political than that? (The website suggests it ran in the Arlington Extra on Thursday.)
The headline was "Making A Statement in the Pool: Jay Fisette's Return to the Gay Games is About More Than Fun and Medals." The text box nearby is a quote from Fisette: "There are so many people who struggle and live in the closet. There's still so much pain. This is about breaking down boundaries and providing healthy experiences."
Smith's story is complete puffery, with no conservative quoted. The only hint of conservatism in Smith's story is Fisette dismissing Gay Games protesters: "How many sporting events can you go to where there are protesters...where people have bullhorns and are telling you homosexuality is a sin?...You feel sorry for them, that they don't understand, but it's still there. It's a constant background noise."
That is how the Post treated conservatism on these pages. Annoying background noise that shouldn't exist.
—Tim Graham is Director of Media Analysis at the Media Research Center.
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In the Boorstein article,
January 2, 2008 - 09:15 ET by motherbeltIn the Boorstein article, it's not until the fourth paragraph that it's mentioned that the Catholic Church doesn't recognize these "ordinations." And that's practically the only rebuttal allowed from the Church. The rest is the women's screed.
As for Fisette and the "gay games" here's a suggestion: If homosexuals want to be treated like ordinary people, not to mention "providing healthy experiences," maybe they ought to quit their parade theatrics with emphasis on bondage, S/M and other perversions, and organize an art show instead of the disgusting Folsom Stree Fair with public group sex, etc.
It would be a start.