Best. Gay. Week. Ever. (May 9, 2008)

SO DID A GAY PARADE IN MYANMAR CAUSE THIS WEEK'S CYCLONE?
In Sunday's New York Times, the almost always gay-friendly Frank Rich discussed the double-standard the media has applied to Barack Obama's big-mouthed Reverend Jeremiah Wright as opposed to John McCain's homophobic (and anti-Semitic and anti-Catholic) supporter Reverend John Hagee. Part of that double-standard is that while the media dredges up every single even slightly controversial thing Wright has ever said, they actually seem to go out of their way to hide the homophobic garbage that comes out of the mouth of the anti-gay Hagee (whose support McCain actively sought and personally pursued for over a year).

Case in point, Media Matters recently covered how CNN's Dana Bash, John Roberts, and Kyra Phillips all reported on Hagee's controversial remarks in 2006 about Hurricane Katrina being an act of God punishing sin, but somehow managed not to mention what Hagee said about it being caused by us gay folks.

Note, this is after Hagee reaffirmed his belief that God was smiting New Orleans for gay sin. Here is what Hagee had to say:

I believe that New Orleans had a level of sin that was offensive to God, and they are -- were recipients of the judgment of God for that. The newspaper carried the story in our local area that was not carried nationally that there was to be a homosexual parade there on the Monday that the Katrina came. And the promise of that parade was that it was going to reach a level of sexuality never demonstrated before in any of the other Gay Pride parades.

So what gives? Why have we seen endless replays of Reverend Wright's comments, but Hagee's anti-gay blather gets a free pass? Perhaps CNN is worried about our delicate feelings? Or is trash-talking about gay folks by religious leaders just accepted discourse in this country and not noteworthy? Or perhaps there is another explanation for Dana's actions:

Actually, there might be a more obvious explanation:

Phillips, Bash, Roberts