Ted Haggard

2008-04-23T02:37:58Z

Doubleyoubouche:

'''Ted Haggard''' is a former [[Pastor]] of the [[New Life Church]] in [[Colorado Springs]], [[Colorado]] and a founder of the [[Association of Life-Giving Churches]]. He was leader of the [[National Association of Evangelicals]] from 2003 until November 2006 when he stepped down after a scandal.

In November 2006, he was removed or resigned from his leadership positions after allegations of [[homosexual]] sex and drug abuse were made by Mike Jones, a male [[prostitute]]. Originally, Haggard denied knowing Mike Jones, but later acknowledged that was not the case. He also admitted that some accusations, such as his purchasing [[methamphetamine]], were true. He confessed to "[[sexual immorality]]" in the following days, but still maintained that aspects of Mike Jones' testimony were untrue.

:"The fact is I am guilty of sexual immorality. And I take responsibility for the entire problem. I am a deceiver and a liar. There's a part of my life that is so repulsive and dark that I have been warring against it for all of my adult life," he said.<ref>[http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=2630268] Ousted Evangelist Confesses to Followers</ref>

The man who accused him was quoted as saying afterwards<ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,227159,00.html] Evangelical Leader Admits to Buying Meth, Receiving Massage From Gay Escort</ref> "It made me angry that here's someone preaching about gay marriage and going behind the scenes having gay sex,". (It should be noted that Haggard supported homosexual civil unions, but not marriage <ref>[http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2004/06/04/groups_gay_marriage_issue_not_congresss] Gay marriage issue not Congress's</ref> and had earlier gone on record supporting the court decision in ''[[Lawrence v. Texas]]'' believing that government should not interfere in the private lives of homosexuals. <ref>''Christianity Today'' magazine, Nov. 2005, Pg. 45</ref>)

On February 6, 2007, Tim Ralph, one of four ministers who oversaw three weeks of intensive counseling for Haggard, stated that Haggard "is completely [[heterosexual]]." Ralph later explained himself further saying that therapy "gave Ted the tools to help to embrace his heterosexual side." The long-term efficacy of such therapy, however, is yet to be established as Haggard still was still found indulging in his old homosexual habits.

==References==
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,227159,00.html
<references />

{{DEFAULTSORT:Haggard, Ted}}

[[Category:Ministers]]

Batman

2008-04-23T02:34:45Z

Doubleyoubouche: Batman is gay

[[Image:ARoss Batman.png|right|300px|thumb|''Batman'', by Alex Ross]]
'''Batman''' is a fictional [[superhero]] first appearing in ''Detective Comics'' in May, 1939. The creation of artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, Batman remains one of the most famous and recognizable of the superhero genre, resulting in the creation of several television series, motion pictures, and graphic novels. The original comics are highly-prized by collectors and routinely fetch hundreds of thousands of dollars on the auction block.

==Comics lore==
The man who was to become Batman is Bruce Wayne, a Gotham City multi-millionaire who inherited his wealth from his father, a prominent doctor and philanthropist named Thomas Wayne. A trip to the movies with the family ended in tragedy: Thomas and his wife are murdered by a common thug in front of Bruce, who's childhood is effectively ended at the age of eight. Growing up in the care of his father's butler, Alfred Pennyworth, he inherits a fortune, his father's business and philanthropic empire, and a seething anger directed at the criminal world. Realizing that criminals are superstitious as well as cowardly, he goes after them one by one, costumed as a bat.

==Film and television==
The first film dealing with the Caped Crusader was a 1943 12-chapter serial from Columbia Pictures starring Lewis Wilson and Douglas Croft as Batman and Robin. The plot of the film centered on a nefarious, stereotypical Asian scientist, Dr. Daka (J. Carrol Naish), who has a plan to steal valuable resources from the United States in order to support the Axis during the World War II. Although low-budget, ''Batman'' introduced the concept of the Batcave (called the "Bat's Cave" in the film) and the hidden entry to it, as well as altering the appearence of Alfred from a portly servant to a leaner, robust individual. ''Batman and Robin'' would follow it in 1949, also as a serial, starring Robert Lowery and Johnny Duncan (Muir, 9; 72)

==Homosexual Interpretations==

There has been some controversy over various sexual interpretations made regarding the content of Batman comics. Homosexual interpretations have been part of the academic study of Batman since psychologist Fredric Wertham asserted in Seduction of the Innocent that "Batman stories are psychologically homosexual". He claimed that "The Batman type of story may stimulate children to homosexual fantasies, of the nature of which they may be unconscious". Wertham wrote, "Only someone ignorant of the fundamentals of psychiatry and of the psychopathology of sex can fail to realize a subtle atmosphere of homoeroticism which pervades the adventures of the mature 'Batman' and his young friend 'Robin'".

Andy Medhurst wrote in his essay "Batman, Deviance, and Camp" that Batman is interesting to gay audiences because "he was one of the first fictional characters to be attacked on the grounds of his presumed homosexuality," "the 1960s TV series remains a touchstone of camp," and "[he] merits analysis as a notably successful construction of masculinity."

Creators associated with the character have expressed their own opinions. Writer Alan Grant has stated, "The Batman I wrote for 13 years isn't gay. Denny O'Neil's Batman, Marv Wolfman's Batman, everybody's Batman all the way back to Bob Kane... none of them wrote him as a gay character. Only Joel Schumacher might have had an opposing view". Writer Devin Grayson has commented, "It depends who you ask, doesn't it? Since you're asking me, I'll say no, I don't think he is ... I certainly understand the gay readings, though". While Frank Miller has described the relationship between Batman and the Joker as a "homophobic nightmare", he views the character as sublimating his sexual urges into crime fighting, concluding, "He'd be much healthier if he were gay".[ Burt Ward has also remarked upon this interpretation in his autobiography Boy Wonder: My Life in Tights, noting the relationship could be interpreted as a sexual one, with the show's double entendres and lavish camp also possibly offering ambiguous interpretation.

Some continue to play off the homosexual interpretations of Batman. One notable example occurred in 2000, when DC Comics refused to allow permission for the reprinting of four panels (from Batman #79, 92, 105 and 139) to illustrate Christopher York's paper All in the Family: Homophobia and Batman Comics in the 1950s. Another happened in the summer of 2005, when painter Mark Chamberlain displayed a number of watercolors depicting both Batman and Robin in suggestive and sexually explicit poses. DC threatened both artist and the Kathleen Cullen Fine Arts gallery with legal action if they did not cease selling the works and demanded all remaining art, as well as any profits derived from them

==References==
*Kane, Bob (with Tom Andrae). ''Batman & Me'', Eclipse Books, Forestville, California (1989).
*Goulart, Ron. ''Comic Book Encyclopedia'', Harper Entertainment, New York (2004).
*Muir, John Kenneth. ''The Encyclopedia of Superheroes on Film and Television'', McFarland & Company, Jefferson, North Carolina (2004)

[[Category:Entertainment]]
[[Category:Superheroes]]
[[Category:Comic characters]]

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Ted Haggard

Batman