Fistgate to be Held Again on March 15

MassNews ^ | March 7, 2003 | MassNews Staff

[ArGee]

So let's see... according to your logic, I could work for the Electric Company for twenty years, save my money, then open an adult video parlor and, according to you, the Electric Company would be "sponsoring" or "funding" my adult video parlor?

It's more like this:

You have $5 to your name and are trying to decide whether to buy beer or dinner. You want some beer but you are very hungry. You have nearly decided to buy dinner when you see me coming your way. Knowing that I don't approve of your drinking you ask me if I will loan you $5 for dinner. I display suspicion that you will actually buy food so you tell me to keep my $5 until we reach McDonalds. Then you order a combo meal and look to me to pay the cashier. I do so and join you for dinner. After I leave, you go buy beer.

Did I fund the beer?

Shalom.

[ArGee]

This is Free Republic, not Dodge Ball.

Shalom.

[EdReform]

"The “Taxpayer funds” were compensation for specific employment completely unrelated to their conference. What’s so hard to understand about that?"

No, many of the Mass DOE projects GLSEN "consulted" on are directly related to GLSEN's conference, especially if you compare the workshop titles to the specific grants provided by Mass DOE ( additional documentation here ).

Here's an example. As I pointed out in reply 196, GLSEN and DOE had a conference partnership, as documented on the Mass DOE web site. It stated specifically:

"Conduct a workshop on the GSA Mentoring Program at one regional conference of the Department of Education and the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN)"

Now consider that the 2000 GLSEN/DOE conference had workshops with the following titles:

Starting a Gay/Straight Alliance in Your School

How to Run Your GSA as a Successful Support Group

A Strategy to Educate Faculty: Lexington High's GSA Presentation to Faculty

Getting Money for Your Organization Through Grantwriting Opportunities

(You can also compare the list of the DOE's "Safe Schools" grants to GLSEN's other workshop titles with similar results. Another thing you'll notice from the workshop list is GLSEN's focus on elementary school programs).

So with GLSEN as a "consultant," the DOE's safe schools program doled out taxpayer funded grants for the creation of new GSA's -a fact clearly documented here. The creation of new GSA's is part of GLSEN's mission in the public schools. Notice any conflict of interest? A homosexual advocacy group should not be consulting on public school programs of any kind. And they definitely shouldn't be having taxpayer money redirected to programs that are part of their mission.

Throw in a wad of taxpayer money and GLSEN "consulting," and watch GLSEN programs "snowball" in public schools throughout the nation. With full support from the state, of course. And the level of federal funding has yet to be discovered.

(Of course you will remember that I stated, "that means many new GSA's were created at taxpayer expense," and you replied "Yeah… ain’t it COOL?!").

[jimt]

This has degenerated into silly semantics. They took tax money to prepare programs they themselves suggested. That makes them taxpayer funded.

[EdReform]

"you’re supposed to demonstrate that GLSEN used taxpayer funds for its conference."

Gay/Straight Alliance Mentoring Program ( Fund Code: 798)

Eight to ten high schools with model gay/straight alliances will be selected to receive grants of up to $5,000…

(How are the grants funded?)

Each grant recipient will:

conduct a workshop on the GSA Mentoring Program at one regional conference of the Department of Education and the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN)

The grant specifically provides taxpayer funding for this workshop. GLSEN does not have to fund the workshop, the state funds it.

[EdReform]

The grant specifically provides taxpayer funding for this workshop. GLSEN does not have to fund the workshop, the state funds it.

It makes no difference that high schools conduct the workshop for GLSEN, and pay for it out of their taxpayer funded grant. GLSEN doesn't pay for the workshop, the grant recipient (high school, in this case) pays for it. That means taxpayers paid for GLSEN's workshop.

[EdReform]

"contrary to the false claims of activist Camenker who said that it was "almost entirely" state-funded."

Here's what Brian Camenker actually said:

Graphic gay sex workshop under fire by Ed Hayward, Boston Herald, Wednesday, May 17, 2000

"Coalition president Brian Camenker disputed the department's assertion no state funds were spent at the conference.

'This is bogus because state and federal monies are so blended together that no one knows where the money is coming from,' Camenker told Massachusetts News, a conservative publication. 'The homosexual group that sponsored it receives money from both the federal and state government.'"

[EdReform]

"Yet he CONTINUES to insist that the conference was “state funded,”…"

Camenker said, "The homosexual group that sponsored it receives money from both the federal and state government." We know that there is a link between the GLSEN/DOE conference and STATE funding.

(Back later…)

[EdReform]

"It is not a “GLSEN/DOE” conference."

The Massachusetts Department of Education says that it is:

Gay/Straight Alliance Mentoring Program ( Fund Code: 798):

"conduct a workshop on the GSA Mentoring Program at one regional conference of the Department of Education and the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN)"