One of Obama's picks to help solve Gulf spill is a self-declared militant homophobe!

[IndianaGreen]

One of the members of the science team picked by Obama to come up with solutions to the oil gusher in the Gulf is a militant homophobe!

The group convened at BP’s command center in Houston yesterday, where they met with BP leadership, including Chief Executive Officer Tony Hayward, the Energy Department said. BP is using more than 500 specialists from almost 100 organizations and welcomes additional help, Jon Pack, a BP spokesman, said by phone.

Their exact activities are cloaked in secrecy. “We saw some confidential and proprietary information,” said one scientist on the team, Jonathan I. Katz, a physics professor at Washington University in St. Louis.

Katz’s early work focused on astrophysics, but now he consults on a wide variety of physics puzzles, he said. He is a member of the JASON group, a think tank dedicated to researching complex problems for the U.S. Government, including the Defense Department.

http://preview.bloomberg.com/news/2010-05-14/obama-sends-bomb-inventor-mars-expert-to-fix-bp-oil-spill-in-mexican-gulf.html?xid=huffbloomberg

Here is Katz's opinion piece:

Diversity is the Last Refuge of a Scoundrel

Jonathan I. Katz

In America attitudes towards homosexuality changed in the 1970's. It went from a private, furtively practiced, vice to an open and accepted subculture. In many circles, ``sodomite'' ceased to be an insult. This acceptance led to the toleration, and wide practice, of gross homosexual promiscuity. HIV, falling onto that fertile soil, made the AIDS epidemic. Even before AIDS was recognized, practicing homosexuals were notorious for a high rate of venereal diseases.

The religious believer may see the hand of God, but both he and the rationalist must see a fact of Nature. The human body was not designed to share hypodermic needles, it was not designed to be promiscuous, and it was not designed to engage in homosexual acts. Engaging in such behavior is like riding a motorcycle on an icy road without a helmet. It may be possible to get away with it for a while, and a few misguided souls may get a thrill out of doing so, but sooner or later (probably sooner) the consequences will be catastrophic. Lethal diseases spread rapidly among people who do such things.

<snip>

What of those cursed with unnatural sexual desires? Must they forever suppress these desires? Yes, but this is hardly a unique fate. Almost everyone has desires which must be suppressed. Most men and women think adulterous thoughts fairly often, and find themselves attracted to members of the opposite sex to whom they are not married. Morality requires them to suppress these desires, and most do not commit adultery, though they feel lust in their hearts. Almost everyone, at one time or another, covets another's property. They do not steal. Many people feel great anger or intense hatred at some time in their lives. They do not kill.

I am a homophobe, and proud.

http://wuphys.wustl.edu/~katz/defense.html

[VMI Dem]

1. Why would that bother this President, given his own words and actions?

[IndianaGreen]

2. Someone must make Obama aware of Katz's homophobic views

This Administration must disavow and reject Katz's views expressed in his 1999 article.

I don't think Obama was aware of Katz's views at the time the team was formed.

[VMI Dem]

4. He simply doesn't care.

That is reality.

[jenmito]

131. I bet the gay fisherman who may go out of business if the oil isn't cleaned up doesn't care, either.

:eyes:

[NutmegYankee]

3. This may be unpopular, but

If the guy is tasked with fixing the oil spill and not making human rights policy, I don't see a problem. He was hired to use his physics skill to stop the oil gusher, not for his personal views. I'd rather tolerate someone who disagrees with me politically but is very competent to handle a task than to appoint someone who shares my views but is incompetent. We had enough of that with Dubya.

[IndianaGreen]

5. Having DADT while giving militant homophobes a high profile mission

says a lot to LGBT Americans.

[NutmegYankee]

6. I don't disagree with you on DADT.

I just think this physicist being tasked isn't something against LGBT Americans. I doubt the President researched his views prior to tasking him.

[IndianaGreen]

8. I don't think Obama knew of Katz's views then, but be must be told now

This is like having Pat Buchanan picked for a team that will deal with immigration.

[NutmegYankee]

10. His views have no bearing on the task at hand.

The man is a physicist, assisting to stop the oil gushing out of a well at the limits of human technology. That has nothing to do with LGBT rights. Buchanan hates non-whites, so that would affect immigration policy. The two cases are not comparable.

[Moochy]

51. Except that he's an irrational hatemonger

One of the hallmarks of a brilliant scientist!

[NutmegYankee]

59. What does that have to do with being a physicist?

The man was picked for his ability, not his views.

[Moochy]

62. It speaks to his ability to use logic

If he harbors irrational fears of homosexuals, unless you think those fears are rational?

[NutmegYankee]

64. Nice attempt.

The man was chosen for his abilities as a physicist. Physics isn't logical - It requires intense training and good skill in mathematics.

[Moochy]

65. nice attempt?

Do you read what you write before hitting post message?

Physics isn't logical? really? :dunce:

[NutmegYankee]

67. It isn't.

Many people have trouble with physics because they don't understand inverse function like 1/r^2 or the fact that kinetic energy increases based on a square of velocity. Many people think if you hit a wall twice as fast you hit it twice as hard. That isn't the case, hence the comment that physics follows laws of mathematics, not logic.


And nice attempt was in response to you implying I found his views logical.

[Moochy]

72. Accuracy is apparently not important in poltical discussion

"implying I found his views logical"

reread what I wrote.. I asked if you thought his homophobia was rational. much different.

I will accept that much of physics is the proper application of many seemingly obscure formula, but I claim that someone who is an ardent public hatemonger is a worse scientist because of their clear bias.

[NutmegYankee]

74. You implied that since I disagree with you, that I found his views rational

A disgusting action on your part.

As for the statement that he is a worse scientist due to his views, do you have any proof to back that up? The evidence appears to indicate the opposite in this specific case.

[Moochy]

75. A homophobe is someone who is irrational

We agree on that. And again a question is not an implication nor an acccusation.. I think you protest too much.

But you feel that homophobes can be great scientists.

I claim otherwise, because homophobia is a mental state that is irrational.

I'd prefer rational scientists.

The proof that this guy is an irrational shitheel hatemonger is right there in the OP.

[NutmegYankee]

78. Every Scientist has feelings that are irrational.

It is part of the human condition. What you have not presented is evidence that he is not a good physicist because of his views. His views are horrible, but then again, many scientists in the past had horrible views (for today) but still were great scientists.

[Moochy]

79. We disagree

Hatemongers like Katz are not in possession of simple irrational feelings... this is not some quiet harmless unspoken homophobia.

This guy has gone out of his way to spew hatred that harms homosexuals, and I think he should be shunned by those with a conscience.

[totodeinhere]

105. If this guy were not well qualified to work on this problem, why would Obama have hired him? n/t

[muffin1]

118. Hmmm...

Birds of a feather?

[salguine]

153. Only if he was from Goldman Sachs.

[phleshdef]

71. The guy is an accomplished physicist. You can't really argue with that.

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

85. Does anyone on the panel have a religion?

Did anyone on the panel buy a house on 2006-2007?

Did anyone vote for Bush or Bush or McCain (all acts of madness, IMO)?

People, even excellent scientists, do all sorts of irrational things in their spare time.

[Moochy]

86. Sure.... writing public hate speech is ever so equivalent

to other irrational acts like buying a house 2006-2007!

More bullshit false equivalence.

Not surprised at this reaction of DU. Hatemongers who PROUDLY profess homophobia are on par with a Republican who voted for Bush or McCain. No difference eh? :eyes:

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

99. You presume a moral superiority that you do not actually have.

As one of the most stridently uncompromising and somewhat notorious pro-GLBT posters on DU I feel an obligation to counter proposed GLBT-centric Lysenkoism where scientific assets must be valued in terms of irrelevant particulars.

The content of the OP and of your replies is a grave disservice to any pro-GLBT person who would like to be taken seriously.

I was responding to a statement that holding an irrational view is disqualifying of a scientist since his trade is supposed to be rationality.

Bigotry against GLBT is not an irrational position in scientific terms. It is a immoral position... an unethical position. It is a bad opinion to hold.

It is not, however, an automatic determinant of whether a scientist can do good science in his specific field.

Your arguments are not presented in a sound way so I am not really responding to them on their particulars, but rather to the class of argument had you been able to better elucidate it.

Werner Von Braun was fucking Nazi. Did he or did he not make indispensable contributions to our eventually landing a man on the moon? Why was his scientific ability not hampered by being a fucking NAZI?

Gregor Mendel was monk and thus irrational almost by definition. Pythagoras had an irrational aversion to beans. Issac Newton was a numerologist and investor in the South Seas bubble. Shockley (Nobel prize winner for the transistor) was on TV continually during the 1960s-1970s pushing racial intelligence theories. Hoyle (Astrophysicist) believed, on the strength of no real evidence whatsoever, that life on Earth was seeded by space spores.

Tesla believed more gibberish than ten average crackpots combined.

Each of these men was a remarkably gifted scientist/engineer within his field and loony and/or immoral outside his field.

That you cannot understand the distinction speaks only to a paucity of understanding of human beings and of science. Do you honestly believe that there were no truly gifted German chemists who were enthusiastic nazis? The assumption that there were not such chemists follows naturally from your premise yet is dismissible on its face.

As to your bright line distinction between proud homophobia and voting for McCain. Sorry. You haven't a leg to stand on. John McCain was running on freezing federal spending as the nation teetered uneasily on the brink of depression. Voting for McCain was rationally indefensible in the hard-fact real world realm in which scientists are supposed to operate.

Homophobia is repellent but it is not factually wrong because it is not a factual stance. A homophobe may buttress his emotional reactions with distorted facts, but the attitude itself cannot be assessed scientifically.

Slavery was wrong.
2+2=5 is wrong.
The word wrong does not mean the same thing in those two sentences.

[Puglover]

146. Out and proud gay man here.

If this clown can clean up oil he can hate me as much as he wants. +1 on your post!

[muffin1]

115. Thank you.

Katz is insane to believe what he wrote. He is also clearly full of hate.
I should be surprised that people are defending him, but sadly, nothing surprises me here anymore.

If people are not DIRECTLY affected by Obama's actions, they just don't give a shit. I am getting really sick of this.

Mother of god, what in the fuck is wrong with these people?

[Moochy]

119. agreed

[NutmegYankee]

133. There is nothing wrong with us.

I spent 8 years watching Bush appoint incompetent people into positions merely based on their ideological purity. I'm proud that the president and this administration calls upon a team of experts to help solve this problem who are obviously well distinguished in their fields. This is not an endorsement of Katz's views, it is an endorsement of choosing the most qualified people for the task at hand.

The man is not making policy. He is trying to end an oil spill that is doing grave damage to the nation and the environment.


And watch the road you wish to travel down. Republicans could use your logic to force you out of a Job in the future. Don't thread that path - Choose employment by merit.

[jenmito]

135. Also, I bet any gay fishermen/business owners who depend on the mess being cleaned up don't care

about Katz's view on homosexuality.

[cliffordu]

42. REALLY???

Please explain that. I'm not getting how they are equivalents.....

[DevonRex]

50. "This is like having Pat Buchanan picked for a team that will deal with immigration."

OMFG. :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

And :crazy:

And :wow:

And :scared:

[11 Bravo]

80. We definitely need a "facepalm" smilie, don't we?

[DevonRex]

84. Yes we do. I have another idea, too.

We need a ROFL tinfoil hat guy smilie. For those posts that even the crazy hatters think is too hilarious for words.

[NutmegYankee]

87. Heh.

It's a shame the nuclear bomb subthread got yanked.

[DevonRex]

97. I know!!!

I so enjoyed the Buchanan Russian nuclear cowboys. :rofl:

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

91. No it's not....

Pat Buchanan's racist and xenophobic views would have a direct impact on his ability to work on immigration.

Dr. Katz's homophobia has no relevance to his mission to plug a whole in the ocean.

[northernlights]

122. huh? what does the oil catastrophe have to do with sexual orientation?

We need the best possible people capable of stopping the fucking catastrophe focussed on stopping the fucking catastrophe. I don't see Obama nominating Katz to head the military or justice.

He's working on solving the catastrophe. His personal beliefs are his own and irrelevant to the task at home.

[Flying Dream Blues]

144. You must be joking. If the nasty homophobe can fix this

or help fix this disaster, he needs to do it. His homophobia will not be a hindrance in any way I can fathom to doing his job. It's NOTHING like letting Pat be on an immigration team...nothing whatsoever.

[MiniMe]

11. If he is the best person for the job, then hire him

I hate the fact that he is a militant homophobe, but I care about the Gulf ecosystem too. And if he can help stop the destruction, great. I want the best person for the job to get the job in this case.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

156. Bill Clinton and the Bushes are "good friends". I don't see gays and lesbians

going crazy over that. It's amazing the hypocrisy on this forum when it comes to Obama.

What does this person's personal views have to do with whether or not we can get this oil cleaned up.

What is this? Do we now have a litmus test before someone can be hired for a job that they quality for? I don't get the double standards at all.

[MiniMe]

7. I was about to post something very similiar

If he can help fix the oil gusher, I don't care what his views are. He could be a freeper for all I care. Just stop the damn leak. If he were hiring and discriminating, or consulting for some human rights policy, it would be a different story.

[ThatPoetGuy]

14. +1.

This is what I've tried to say to conservatives, over and over. When you're in an airplane, you want the best pilot in the cockpit. It doesn't matter if the pilot is cheating on his wife. It doesn't matter if the pilot is gay. It doesn't matter if the pilot is a socialist. It doesn't matter if the pilot is a Muslim. What matters is, the pilot is going to fly your plane safely home.

I can't believe people here would seriously use a political litmus test in a way that could impede the cleanup -- risking all that devastation of wildlife and environment over opinions that are not relevant to the case.

[jaxx]

19. Yes, common sense over political posturing.

The leak needs stopped, I don't care if Cheney does it as long as it gets done.

[madmax]

27. +1

[muffin1]

109. So...

if Katz was a grand wizard for the KKK in his spare time, that would be fine with you, too?

[northernlights]

124. if you were drowning and the grand wizard of the KKK threw you a rope

would you grab it? Or let yourself drown rather than accept help from somebody filled with irrational, racist hate?

[scheming daemons]

128. If Adolf Hitler could stop the oil leak, then I'd hire him to do so...

Whatever the guy's opinions on LGBTs are, they are irrelevant to solving the problem at hand.


This OP is full of teh stoopid.

[proteus_lives]

150. I'd accept Der Fuhrer's help.....

And as soon as he tighten the last bolt, I'd kick him square in the nuts.

IG buys stoopid wholesale.

[Inuca]

9. So what?

He was chosen for his expertise, hopefully to help solve an extremely urgent problem. It is not a promotion, an endorsement of his views, he was not given a job in the administration, etc., etc. If I am in need or life saving surgery, I want the best surgeon I can get, I don't care if he is a bigot nor of whatever other flaws he may have, all I care about is his expertise.

[IndianaGreen]

12. Immigration reform is also an urgent problem. Should Pat Buchanan be appointed?

Should Pat Buchanan be appointed to a special commission to advice the President on immigration reform?

I don't think so!

[NutmegYankee]

15. False analogy

Buchanan has nasty views on immigration, and would be tasked to implement them. This physicist is working on an oil spill, not on LGBT rights.

[Name removed]

17. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Inuca]

16. Completely different

Katz or whatever his name is has a very specific expertise and supposedly is very good at what he does, hence my analogy with a surgeon. Buchanan has opinions about immigration, he is not an expert in any sense of the word.

[SemiCharmedQuark]

41. I'm sorry, but what expertise does Pat Buchanan have on...anything?

[jenmito]

112. Pat's views on immigration is relevant to immigration reform. Katz's views on gay rights is NOT

relevant to cleaning up oil spills. Are you really that blinded by hatred for Obama that you don't see the difference??? Keep trying, though! :rofl:

[northernlights]

125. no. But then Pat Buchanan isn't an expert on immigration policy

or anything other than shooting off his fat mouth and proving his bigotry, hatred and stupidity.

I also wouldn't appoint Pat Buchanan to help with the oil disaster unfolding in the Gulf, other than maybe trying to stuff him in the pipe, along with Rush, to see if that will stop the geyser.

I also wouldn't appoint Katz to immigration reform. And Obama hasn't. He does have him working on the oil disaster unfolding in the Gulf, because he has a better chance than many, many, many other people of plugging the fucking pipe.

[QC]

13. Jonathan Katz used to post on the Salon boards in the old days.

I knew him there.

He was a big, gaping a-hole back then. Sounds like he still is.

But his attitudes are not that different from Obama's, so I can't imagine that Katz's views will present a problem for the administration.

[VMI Dem]

18. Thats my view. Obama himself has questionable views on gays.

Why would this guy pose a problem?

[phleshdef]

21. You have questionable views on Obama.

[dionysus]

88. gee, what was your first clue?

;)

[QC]

22. Katz was a nut when I knew him, but no fool,

and he could well be a genius when it comes to stopping oil leaks, so I would listen to what he has to say.

I spent many a pointless hour arguing with him at Table Talk back in the 90s. His usual strategy was to say stupid, hateful things and then accuse anyone who took offense of being an anti-Semite. I hope he has learned better debate skills in the past decade.

[Sheepshank]

31. Important to stopping leaks

I hope he has learned better debate skills in the past decade.

I think with skill and ability and creative know how, it may also be important to talk the gusher into cooperating :rofl:

sorry this one liner seemed ripe for the picking.

But otherwise I totally agree, pick the guys brains for technical acuity, not moral standing.

[phleshdef]

20. If he actually helps solve the spill, I don't give a fuck if he eats live puppies.

His bigoted views on homosexuals have absolutely nothing to do with this job. He obviously isn't involved in homosexual rights related policy decisions. This is just overreactive bullshit.

[tranche]

23. There should be a government form asking state's workers to state their position on homosexuality.

Before each contract is awarded, before anyone is elected to or assigned a government office or task their stance on homosexuality should be vetted. He should be pulled immediately from doing any further work to help mitigate this disaster. Additionally each member of this particular team or anyone in the first tier of responders to the oil spill should be brought up and questioned.

[Inuca]

26. Sarcasm, right? n/t

[tranche]

38. It's the only way to rectify the injustice the OP has touched upon.

[DatManFromNawlins]

139. Hate to break this to you...

... but the percentage of people working to clean up and clear up this mess who are NOT homophobes probably hovers at about 10%. Those rig workers and those fishermen are about as right wing as you're gonna find anywhere in this country.

[hulka38]

24. Gotta plug that hole up.

A political/social litmus test for the people trying to do it is counter productive.

[saltpoint]

25. If the guy can help figure out how to plug that goddam hole

then let him goddam help.

[madmax]

28. Silly you

letting logic get in the way. ;)

[saltpoint]

35. Hi, madmax. I'm despairing over the de facto assault on "my" Gulf.

I've spent many deeply beautiful hours in and around that body of water.

The BP execs' greed is not more important than that beauty.

I'm almost equally furious at the Tea Baggers in Maine who trashed an 8th grade classroom during a political meeting.

[madmax]

107. What a world we have now.

:hug:

[DevonRex]

29. The hole has to be plugged as soon as possible. That's the bottom line. nt

[Enrique]

30. he is so gay

someone should try to get pictures of him with his RentBoy, because you know he brought him to Houston.

[Jersey Devil]

32. Obama is supposed to vet scientists for their political beliefs?

If he can help stop the environmental disaster that is occurring in the Gulf that is all that matters. Obama isn't picking a Supreme Court Justice or endorsing a political candidate. He is looking for someone who can stop the oil leak - period. I don't care what his politics are if he can do the job.

[GCP]

33. Exactly

I don't care what he thinks about gays if he can stop this disaster.

[IndianaGreen]

34. What if Katz had written a racist piece?

Would you all feel as forgiving as you are now?

[Sheepshank]

36. only if Katz

considers the oil white vs. brown or black and acts accordingly.

[Jersey Devil]

37. FDR/Truman/Ike/JFK hired a bunch of Nazis for the space/missile programs

They weren't setting social policies. They were solving scientific problems. How is this any different?

[Moochy]

96. Bipartisan outreach to Nazi Scientists! yay!

Not brilliant then, shameful really. The shameful way that guilty Nazi scientists were given blanket immunity for participating in German war crimes is frankly not something to be celebrated.

[cliffordu]

45. Yep - I don't care if they go to the graveyard and dig up John Wayne Gacy to stop this leak,

First stop the leak, then back in the coffin, motherfucker.

If you have a sucking chest wound you don't care who the surgeon is that'll stop you from bleeding out..

What's going on in the gulf will kill the livelyhoods of hundreds of thousands of gay people.

Why would YOU make them want to suffer because you don't like the guy tasked with stopping the leak??


And you're smarter than this argument. I think this is flamebait, or you have truly gone around the bend.

[DevonRex]

49. I was thinking Dahmer. But then he might eat the other scientists

so that might not work out too well.

:evilgrin:

[cliffordu]

54. Yeah.......

:rofl:

[muffin1]

117. No fucking shit..

I am about to puke. If this Katz moron were to drop dead tomorrow, NO ONE ELSE could do the job?

Yeah, I would love to see the reaction if he had hired a white supremacist.

[SemiCharmedQuark]

39. James Watson is a racist and sexist asshole, but he is still absolutely brilliant

If the guy is not crafting policy and just trying to help stop this disaster, his repugnant beliefs don't matter.

[ruggerson]

40. So let him help and assign him to a team run by

some gay specialist/oil spill expert.

[Moochy]

43. Pity the Hatemongers

Jonathan Katz, Expert Hatemonger.

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

44. So we should let oil gush into the gulf?

Because one of the consultants is a dickhead? Isn't that just as stupid as the Army kicking out perfectly good Arabic translators just because they're gay?

What's more, he's part of an independent group that advises the government on scientific matters. So he's not part of "Obama's Team" beyond the fact that the Jason Group consults with the DOD on a variety of subjects. He's not "Obama's Pick" because the group is already under contract with the federal government and has been for more than a decade.

[cliffordu]

47. Goddammit, Jeff, don't disturb teh stoopid here, it flourishes ONLY

when the truth like the ugly one you're swinging around isn't present.

:rofl:

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

48. I apologize....

I sorry...

I'm very sorry...

I'm very, deeply, profoundly sorry...

I don't know what came over me.

:eyes:

[DevonRex]

52. So Obama didn't even pick this guy since he's part of a group that's

been advising the govt for more than a decade? Good grief.

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

66. And this isn't just three or four people

There are, at various times, up to 60 people involved in the organization. And I think I may have misspoken -- the group goes back to to the early 1960's. Katz himself has been involved only since about 1995.

This thread is (another) lame Obama smear.

[DevonRex]

69. Could be a case of PUI.

:beer:

I've just never seen a smear that was this bad before. Or this hilarious.

[dionysus]

90. there you go with that reality-y and fact-y stuff!!

[Lilyeye]

100. Thank you Jeff for posting the facts.

This hit piece on Obama was so transparent.

[saltpoint]

46. "Hell, I'd piss on a spark plug if I thought it would do any good."

-- General What's-His-Name, in the film WAR GAMES

- - -
on edit:

General Beringer.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086567/quotes

[salguine]

53. if my house is burning down, I'm sorry, but I'm not going to worry right then whether

the fireman might be a homophobe. And the house is on fire in the Gulf of Mexico right now. If this guy can somehow help fix this problem, I don't care if he kicks puppies. I'll address that after the oil is stopped. IF it's ever stopped.

[Moochy]

56. but what if the fireman

Thinks you are gay and decides to save your neighbor's house first because of his irrational hatred of homosexuals?

[Swede]

116. And what if the moon is made of cheese?

You are really reaching here.

[Moochy]

137. was trying to match the absurdity of the first analogy n/t

[salguine]

121. He won't, when he sees how badly I dress.

[Dreamer Tatum]

55. Sounds like he hired a scapegoat to me.

Why not a homophobe? Adds to the intrigue.

[jenmito]

57. And??? What's Obama supposed to do-vet everyone to find out their positions on everything unrelated

to the position they're hired to do?

[lunatica]

58. I'd be willing to bet blindfolded that among that group there are gay people too

This isn't a sexuality issue.

[jenmito]

61. VERY good point! n/t

[TwilightGardener]

60. This is an environmental and technical challenge, not a social issue.

His personal assholiness toward gays has no bearing on the science of shutting off the spill.

[Aramchek]

63. you are really flailing around like a madman in your attempts to attack Obama

Keep it up.
The more posts you make like this,
the less people will pay you any mind.

This vendetta of yours doesn't even piss me off anymore.
It just makes me feel sorry for you.
You must be miserable.

[DevonRex]

68. Isn't it fun? Homophobe, Pat Buchanan, Russian nuclear cowboys

working on immigration. Or something. :rofl:

[KansasVoter]

70. So don't appointment him to a job dealing with gay issues. That is fine!

[Moochy]

73. "As long as he plugs the hole who cares who he hates!!!"

Sadly not surprised at the reaction here at DU.

[phleshdef]

76. Petty complaints like this CHEAPEN the fight for equal rights for homosexuals.

The only time someone's personal views should be considered for a job is if the job is related to those personal views. There are those of us like myself, who fully support equal rights that are insulted by this kind of petty foolishness because it makes us all look like complete bullies. Seriously, your point of view is basically that if you don't see homosexuals the way we see homosexuals, then you don't have the right to work in your field. Thats exactly what you are saying. You aren't doing gay Americans any favors with this irrelevant nonsense and if this kind of narrative ever caught any steam in the mainstream media, it would serve to only make the gay right movement look petty and cheap. Luckily, we probably won't see this get any kind of coverage beyond internet chatter. And luckily, our society doesn't generally impose ideological litmus tests as requirements for unrelated employment (because if we did, we probably wouldn't be able to hire half the people that have jobs).

[Inuca]

82. Very well put n/t

[dionysus]

93. + 50

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

94. 100% Correct -- This is a door that swings both ways

If you can dismiss someone for holding a conservative viewpoint, then you can dismiss someone for holding a liberal one. If you can fire Katz for being a homophobe, you're basically justifying the military for hiring people for being homosexual. It infuriates me that people who screamed bloody murder during the Cheney Administration about their ignoring the rule of law are now DEMANDING that Obama do the same thing. It's wrong when they did it. It's wrong when we do it.

[AtomicKitten]

77. Low-hanging fruit that has zero relevance to the magnitude of this environmental catastrophe. nt

[and-justice-for-all]

81. What a piece of shit!!

for a supposedly educated person, he is dead wrong.

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

83. Who fucking cares? This is an absurd issue.

The man is not being consulted to set social policy.

A 1960s task force to design a certain type of desperately needed new transistor would probably have included Shockley (Nobel prize winner for inventing transistor and also some kind of white supremacist crank) whose views were equally objectionable.

Except on transistors. His views on transistors were just fine.

[dionysus]

89. the guy sounds like an asshole, but who gives a fuck if he can help stop the leak?

n/t

[namahage]

92. So I take it that if John Edwards were considered for a "high profile" job

in the area of labor or economics, he should just be rejected outright due to his views on same-sex marriage?

[Moochy]

95. Lying and Adultery is Equivalent to Homophobic Hatespeech?

Very revealing.

[tammywammy]

145. That's not what that poster was pointing to

John Edwards is against same-sex marriage.

[Name removed]

98. Deleted message

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[LeftyAndProud60]

101. LOL. Obama would hire a Klansman to fix this oil spill. I don't think you can judge him for this. NT

[muffin1]

120. So why didn't he?

There is no way that this is the ONLY man in the world who can fix this.

[northernlights]

127. he's not working on it alone. But he is one of the best in the US and the world

one of the best we can turn to. Period.

So get over it. You're very simply full of crap. YOUR hatred and fear would leave the Gulf of Mexico destroyed.

[pundaint]

102. OK Katz will not be allowed to work on social policy, but this is a physics problem

and we need all the available help. Just as it is stupid for anti-gay generals to dismiss the contribution of gay troops, it would be stupid for anti-wrongheaded about sexuality folks to dismiss his possible contribution to fixing this specific problems.

[vaberella]

103. Look, we have a blood letting on hand affecting our ecosystem.

I don't really give a fuck about someone's personal views when their personal views have no affect on the job I'm hiring them to do. You post against Obama's actions in allowing off-shore drilling. Then we have a disaster and now we have complaints on how he goes about trying to end this hemorrhaging. A this point I've decided you just have issues against Obama no matter what.

[totodeinhere]

104. As far as I'm concerned, Obama can hire the Devil himself if that's what is takes to stop this...

environmental nightmare.

[LeftyAndProud60]

108. And he would if his services were offered. He'd hire Bin laden right now if he thought it could work

I can't believe this topic was even made.

[hulka38]

106. The last 30 posts have said the same thing in different words.

The point has been made. Let the thread go.

[boppers]

110. Is the oil leak/geyser/gusher gay?

I didn't know that undersea wells had gender preferences.

[Name removed]

111. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[jenmito]

113. Keep *uckin' that chicken! n/t

[firedupdem]

114. LOL! Damn...we know you hate Obama but this is downright sad.

Try again...this one really failed.

[LiberalAndProud]

123. If he puts an end to the BP disaster, I don't care if he's Genghis Khan.

Really I don't. Sometimes we can't pick ideologies for the job at hand. It is unfortunate that this man has these views about other people. Truly, it shows that intelligence can be miles removed from good sense. Nevertheless, if he is the best man to find a solution and bring an end to the devastation now occurring, then godspeed to him. godspeed.

[SoxFan]

126. And sexuality and petroleum chemistry go together like....

What exactly?

[Number23]

129. Given the type of posts we see here far too often, I don't blame you for thinking this OP

would be a hell of alot more successful and sh*t stirring than it was.

Glad you were proven wrong. :)

[Name removed]

130. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Jackeens]

132. IndianaGreen, you're way, way, way, way, better than this nonsense.

:shrug:

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

134. Really?

I've seen nothing to indicate that this isn't pretty business as usual.

[geek tragedy]

147. After seeing the comparison of Elena Kagan to Roehm, I have to say

you are incorrect.

[proteus_lives]

151. She's really not.

Anyone still pushing communism is all about the nonsense.

[Lilyeye]

152. Considering what I've seen from this poster....I dunno.

[IndianaGreen]

158. DOE just dropped Katz. Unaware of his radical views (climate change denier to boot)

Katz was also among those claiming Saddam had WMD.

Updated post:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=433x299817#302346

[dumpdabaggers]

136. If he can fix the spill I don't care. We can deal with thehomophobe later.

Gay rights and the oil spill are seperate issues.

[krawhitham]

138. If he can fix the oil spill, WHO GIVES A SHIT

I do not care if this SOB thinks he is Adolf Hitler, if he can fix the problem then let him fix it. Then drop his ass like a used condom

[jillan]

140. +1

[proteus_lives]

148. +2

[Prism]

141. It's immaterial

Is he qualified to do the job? Then his bigoted views are immaterial to the topic at hand.

If he were formulating social policy, then there would be an issue. If he were on a medical board making HIV policy, then there would be an issue.

Containing an oil spill? I don't see how the two are connected. I guess if he starts firing LGBT people from the team working to fix the problem, solely because they are LGBT, then we can talk. Until that happens, I'm not sure what we're supposed to do or say.

The man's a virulent bigot. Noted.

[tranche]

142. Boy you really stepped in it this time. Of all the ways you can smear you go this route?

[Name removed]

143. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[proteus_lives]

149. Would you rather have an GLBT-friendly idiot?

[amborin]

154. worst thing is Katz is climate change denier & as astrophysicist, says he's of no help w/ spill

[Old Troop]

155. If he can help fix it, we can deal with him later

[IndianaGreen]

157. BREAKING: DOE drops Katz from the project (unaware of Katz's writings)

http://twitter.com/msignorile

Monday, May 17, 2010

Obama admin picks climate-change-denying homophobe to 'fix' Gulf oil spill disaster

by John Aravosis (DC) on 5/17/2010 02:57:00 PM

The oil industry would be proud of Jonathan I. Katz, the man the Obama administration has chosen to take a stab at fixing the Gulf oil spill disaster. He's an avowed "proud homophobe," who thinks that "sodomites" are responsible for infecting "innocent victims" with AIDS, and he's an Al Gore hating climate change denialist too!

http://www.americablog.com/2010/05/obama-admin-picks-climate-change.html

[Perky]

159. Oh who the Hell cares If this homophobe can stopped the spilling

There are millions of homophobes out there....If this one knows how to work the issue at hand, I would rather he go about his business. Why pick a fight when it has no bearing on the task at hand?

[IndianaGreen]

160. Katz is a climate change denier

and he was among those calling for the bombing of Baghdad because, according to him, Saddam had nukes.

What sort of scientist denies climate change, or evolution?

[SemiCharmedQuark]

162. If they aren't in the field, lots of them. My physics professor is a climate denier

and a nutzo conservative.

[ruggerson]

161. Indiana Green has the last laugh

n/t