100% of Paul Cameron’s statistics are... Meanwhile, Alan Chambers of Exodus...

[Emproph]

2 things here, unrelated. Just so ya know.

I found the following while Googling Paul Cameron (http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=paul+cameron) head of the (Family Research Institute (http://www.familyresearchinst.org/), the source of much of the phony studies and statistics out there. Out of 50 search results, besides the two links to the Family Research Institute and several unrelated links, 100%, as in ONE HUNDRED PERCENT of the websites relating to Paul Cameron were BLASTING him and his “studies.”

Perhaps that statistic is skewed because he just paid to have another one of his “studies” published on the children of Gay parents to make a “case” against gay adoption. I’m sure somewhere in those 37,000,000, as in THIRTY SEVEN MILLION results is a positive review, though I didn’t have time to check.

{Highlights of the search}
Here’s Jim Burroway's Point by Point (http://www.boxturtlebulletin.com/Articles/000,012.htm) (< I like this guy) regarding this latest assault. And here’s my favorite (http://damnstraight.oversampled.net/2006/02/09/how-is-paul-cameron-able-to-sleep-at-night/), the author of one of the books used in the "study."
--------------------
Anyway, I stumbled upon this (http://www.exgaywatch.com/blog/archives/2006/04/wikipedia_page.html) in the process of the above over at ex-gay watch.

It seems Alan Chambers, president of Exodus (http://www.exodus-international.org/), tried to change the Wikipedia information regarding Exodus International in not so encyclopedic ways...

It’s all there on the exgaywatch web page, but this is the relevant page (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Exodus_%28organization%29). Not so scandalous perhaps, but I find it RATHER telling.

(P.S. Jamie, we all link so much, do we have trackback options here?)

[Rick336]

Martin Luther King said that people should be judged by the content of their character.

The American Heritage dictionary defines character as "moral or ethical strength".

The Foundation for a Better Life includes character as one of life's important values along with honesty, integrity, compassion, and tolerance.

In America in 2006 a growing number of conservative religious organizations say that America lacks "values" and is on a moral decline. They believe that homosexuality is proof of this moral decline. They use Paul Cameron's studies to proove that homosexuality is harmful to society. The American Family Association is one of these organizations with a membership close to three million.

Yet, there is overwhelming evidence that Cameron's studies are terribly flawed and contain unproven facts and misinformation on homosexuality.

How can organizations that say they promote values also support studies that are flawed with untruths and misinformation?

If we are to judge people by the content of their character, then what does this say about Paul Cameron's character when he says the following about a group of Americans?

"Homosexuality is an infectious appetite with personal and social consequences. It is like the dog that gets a taste for blood after killing its first victim and desires to get more victims thereafter with a ravenous hunger." - Paul Cameron

Is the American Family Association, who supports Paul Cameron, setting a good example of the values of honesty, integrity, compassion, and tolerance, for its three million members? Or are they an example of the decline in the values that build good character?

Rick

[Daniel]

Here's an article from the LA Times that augurs a new push by conservatives re presenting another 'view' in public schools. I think we can expect a great deal more of this kind of thing in the future. They use the discredited Paul Cameron as their source of information. What disturbs this reader is the lack of curiosity on the part of reporters in questioning the basis for Cameron's 'research'. This may reflect all too well the impetus to get a story rather than the facts.


"Ex-Gays seek a say in schools"
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-exgay28may28,0,536173,full.story

[Emproph]

"Homosexuality is an infectious appetite with personal and social consequences. It is like the dog that gets a taste for blood after killing its first victim and desires to get more victims thereafter with a ravenous hunger." - Paul Cameron Projection at its finest. Just add the word “Hating.”

Try it now.

"Hating homosexuality is an infectious appetite with personal and social consequences. It is like the dog that gets a taste for blood after killing its first victim and desires to get more victims thereafter with a ravenous hunger.” - Paul Cameron

[Emproph]

Paul Cameron and Abigail Garner appeared in this afternoon’s Michelangelo Signorile Show on SiriusQ Satellite Radio. {Box Turtle Bulletin read more... (http://boxturtlebulletin.com/2006/05/25/12)}

Paraphrased:
Paul Cameron said that he read in Abigail Garner’s book that she claimed it was made up of a “fairly representative” sample of gay vs. straight adult children of LGBT parents.

Abigail Garner reminded us that nowhere in her book did she ever make the claim that her sample was the least bit representative.

-She has posted her letters of complaint as an open letter (http://damnstraight.oversampled.net/2006/05/24/garner-letter-to-jbs/) to the journal publication.

“Are you aware that my book Families Like Mine is a mainstream book published by HarperCollins in which I deliberately oversampled homosexual offspring? My book accounts for 50 of his sample of 77.”

In other words, she went out of her way to find homosexual children of homosexual parents for her book. Paul Cameron is now allegedly using this as “research” to show how gay parents produce gay children.

Suffice it to say I think it’s worth the read. There are too many interesting details to list. The rest of this post is pretty much pontification on my part... :D .. So....

This is exactly the type of thing that I think would be effective. Public detailed evidence of the letters, emails, to whom they went to and what the responses were. This is especially credible as it is the author herself who is speaking up. The only thing missing is the publicity.

One of the comments:
Of course, what is a real concern is that if this doesn’t reach the level of the national media, if it stays just under that radar, it is still on the radar of the news-writers of the religious right.
Our only hope (imo) is to draw big attention to it and hope that it’s one of those things that the religious right can’t use because it’s so well known how discredited the “study” was.

-If something like this could get picked up nationally, it could break open investigations into other studies of such ill repute, be they Paul Cameron’s or otherwise. It’s a longshot hope, but to me it seems quite plausible and worthy of gaining momentum if the right attention was paid to it.

ExChristian.net:
At the time, I was unaware of any criticism of the ideas expressed in these mailings, and had no reason to doubt the truthfulness and accuracy of them. I truly believed that the holy spirit was working through these men to help equip christians to "be prepared to give an answer for the hope you have...." (1 peter 3:15) and "contend for the faith" (Jude 3). read more... (http://exchristian.net/exchristian/2005/05/exposing-christian-propaganda-for-what.php)

-I’m NOT suggesting anyone give up their faith, nor is that my intention. I do think it’s a telling example of how unaware some are who are receiving information like this.

They use this argument enough of the time. They rarely cite sources as it is. If you hear “recent study” that sounds like this one in particular please feel free to share.