As you've been reading here, the National Council on Family Relations has decided to ignore its own anti-discrimination policy in order to take almost $5 million in taxpayer funds from the Bushies to build a straights-only Web site on "marriage resources."
The Bushies told NCFR that they'd better dare not mention the homos on this Web site or the Bushies wouldn't give NCFR a dime. To that NCFR said, ok - show me the money!
When several non-bigoted NCFR members (and more than a few AMERICAblog readers) told them they shouldn't throw gay families under the bus, the NCFR executive director and Board sent out a pathetic memo trying to justify their hatred. In part, it says,
Being supporting of diversity does not mean that we cannot choose as an organization from time to time to devote our attention to a specific area of study. Many of us as social science researchers and practitioners concentrate in very specific areas of study. What it means, however, is that where there is a variety of views regarding the social and cultural constructions of family forms, NCFR acknowledges (and in so doing, supports) that reality by providing information to the public that recognizes a broad definition of family forms.So just because they engage in anti-gay activity from time to time, they're really not bigots. But here's the real problem -- NCFR has already admitted the National Healthy Marriages Resource Center is NOT research or an "area of study." It's a clearinghouse of public information designed to help people have healthy marriages -- because they say married people have healthier lives. So in effect, it's a public health Web site that specifically excludes certain people. So by their own admission, "academic freedom" is not a valid argument.
Imagine putting together a federally-funded clearinghouse on cancer prevention but specifically excluding information that helps, say, Jews. And the reason you exclude Jews is because the guy footing the bill is a Jew-hater. But you say, what the hell, I'll take the cash and do the Jew-hater's bidding - after all, isn't this all just academic?
That's EXACTLY what NCFR is doing.
The sadly spineless man in charge at NCFR is Michael Benjamin. Let him know what you think at mbenjamin@ncfr.org or (763) 231-2891. His Washington DC office number is (202) 659-1190.
Would Michael Benjamin publish Web sites that intentionally excluded blacks because David Duke offered him a cool $5 mil? Might be a good question to ask him. Then again, we already know what Michael Benjamin is - perhaps it's only a question of haggling over his price.
More soon...
