CNN asks: ‘Is homosexuality a problem in need of a cure?’

[Echo In Light]

In a somewhat stunning segment for America's "best political team on television," CNN anchor Kyra Phillips had guests debate whether homosexuality needed a cure in a broadcast Tuesday.

"Homosexuality: Is it a problem in need of a cure?" Kyra asks. "Grabs your attention, doesn't it?"

To be fair, the CNN anchor poses the question in the context of discussing a 1950s-era California law which requires health experts to seek a "cure" for gayness. But the segment elevates discredited author Richard Cohen as a serious defender of the law despite the fact he was kicked out of the American Counseling Organization and practices without a license of any kind. Cohen was expelled from the American Counseling Association in 2002 for repeated violation of the organization's ethics code. CNN also presents Cohen as a "psychotherapist," which suggests he's a licensed psychologist or psychiatrist -- though he is neither.

The liberal blog ThinkProgress writes:

"Clearly, “the best political team on television” was just not at its best, proving that CNN can’t be “trusted” to do even the most preliminary background research on its guests. The network provided the self-proclaimed former homosexual with a platform to promote his organization, the International Healing Foundation, without once challenging his credentials or claims of rehabilitation. In reality, Cohen has been kicked out of the The American Counseling Association and currently operates without any professional license or accreditation. His views on homosexuality have been discredited by every established medical organization and his ideas about gays are apparently only taken seriously by CNN bookers and producers."

http://rawstory.com/rs/2010/0407/cnn-asks-is-homosexuality-cure/

[ixion]

1. CNN: Never failing to ask stupid questions.

:eyes: Geez.

[no_hypocrisy]

16. Question should have been "Can stupidity be cured?"

[City Lights]

2. CNN is a problem in need of a cure.

:puke:

[icnorth]

8. My thought exactly. n/t

[DevonRex]

18. The cure is loss of viewers. I don't watch CNN even though

I like a couple of people on it. The only exception of late was their Haiti coverage, which was far superior to the other cable channels.

But after this, I don't think I should watch CNN at all. Ever.

[City Lights]

52. Regarding loss of viewers...I'm certainly doing my part.

I haven't watched cnn in years. :-)

[Toasterlad]

3. What Else Can They Do? There ARE No Credible "Experts" On the Other Side

Who are they supposed to get to say that homosexuality is a disease or a mental disorder who has any official accreditation whatsoever?

They're not interested in journalism, or even a debate: they want an on-air catfight. Just like every other TV "news" channel.

[Deep13]

4. WTF is wrong with people? nt

[RKP5637]

17. It's all about money, of course, nothing to do with what is best for the country. CNN sees

Fox make money off hatred and misinformation, so CNN wants some of the cash too. We have pathetic and sick journalism in this country... Our media, for the most part, has dwindled to cash cow propaganda outlets with tabloid journalism, nothing much better...

[Echo In Light]

20. FLASHBACK: CNN'S CIA Connection: New 'Tailwind' Controversy

"E&P has learned that ex-CIA agents from the Vietnam War era participated in the internal CNN review that caused CNN to retract its story about nerve gas attacks in Laos"

http://www.allbusiness.com/services/business-services-miscellaneous-business/4705738-1.html

[RKP5637]

26. Never ceases to amaze... n/t

[BolivarianHero]

5. No wonder Hugo Chavez takes so much pleasure in going after corporate media...

Making people dumber, one question at a time.

[RKP5637]

6. IMO CNN goes further downhill each day... I'm starting to watch local news

more and more, they also cover national. It might be Fox locally, but it's less biased than CNN anymore. At least here they seem to stick to facts. I still prefer BBC, well, and the Internet far more... I hope the FCC reigns in Comcast...

[G_j]

7. Cure? or final solution? WTF are they saying???? nt

[HughBeaumont]

13. Sounds to me like they're saying exactly what they're implying.

And that's exactly inflammatory and shit-stirring. Dare I say, a call for incitement?

[DevonRex]

9. K&R so folks will see just how shameful CNN is. nt

[pinto]

10. And, they've done this before. Same lead in line, same guest, iirc.

:eyes:

[DevonRex]

21. Are you serious? Then surely they received tons of emails

complaining about their "expert." They can't claim they didn't know liberals would react negatively to that charlatan. IMO they're kicking us to the curb quite deliberately.

[BolivarianHero]

11. Allowing this sort of debate makes you an accessory to hate speech...

Period.

[KittyWampus]

12. shameful they'd frame this as something up for debate.

[Echo In Light]

15. +1

[DevonRex]

23. +2. And in so doing, they legitimize the evil people on the other side

of that debate.

[Echo In Light]

27. The motive, 100%

[Ignis]

39. Next on CNN: "Should we nuke the moon to kill the Invisible Pink Unicorn?"

Serious discussions only, please!

:crazy:

[Echo In Light]

44. Mr Show: Blow up the moon

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Csj7vMKy4EI



lol

[Ignis]

46. Yes!

:grouphug: Bob & Dave Appreciation Society meets here!

[Echo In Light]

50. "My shoes hurt, too, dad"

:evilgrin:

[Ignis]

55. Have you seen Run Ronnie Run?

The shoe bit made me think of poor Chow-Chow.

[Zywiec]

14. Do you think deafness needs a cure?

There is a segment of the deaf community that thinks we should do nothing for a child that is born without hearing, even though a cochlear implant would restore that ability.

I think we should stop trying to correct and solve everything.

[FiveGoodMen]

43. Yes it does.

[Zywiec]

45. Deafness is not a handicap per se, but a shared experience

A number of members of the deaf community choose to view their deaf status as a subculture of society, in the same sense as a Hispanic person would embrace his or her Hispanic culture. Deafness is not a handicap per se, but a shared experience which gives the deaf community its unique cultural identity. To members of this deaf subculture, cochlear implants are considered disrespectful and insulting, since the medical community views deafness as a handicap which must be treated or corrected.

Certain factions of the deaf community also believe a deaf person's ability to live a full and meaningful life is not compromised by his or her deafness, so the suggestion that cochlear implants provide advantages over a deaf lifestyle is shortsighted and insensitive. Many deaf people cope very well with their deafness, learning sign language and lip reading and adapting their work and home environments to accommodate their loss of hearing.

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-the-controversy-around-cochlear-implants.htm

Lots of links discussing this.

[dorkulon]

47. So don't cure the ones that don't want to be. Simple.

You can't tell me there aren't deaf people who wouldn't like to be able to hear.

[FiveGoodMen]

53. What about blindness or paralysis?

Denying people one of their senses in order to feel good about one's own limitations should be a capital offense.

[RKP5637]

19. 'Is conservatism a problem in need of a cure?' Let's run that one up the

flag pole and see what they say!

[arcadian]

22. Media obfuscation

For the left, they can claim they were only asking in the interests of intellectual curiosity. For the right, they know the right wing nuts won't get passed the headline and be in total agreement. It's petty and cheap "journalism" and it's dishonest.

[GodlessBiker]

24. Next on CNN: "Killing puppies - Is it a good idea?"

[arcadian]

25. National Geographic did the same thing when they asked, "Was Darwin wrong?"

[Fire1]

28. Fuck CNN. n/t

[Bluenorthwest]

29. Just heard Rick Sanchez asked if 'homosexuals can be cured'.

a few weeks back, and that was the last CNN is seeing of my living room.

[krispos42]

30. Krispos asks "Is obsessing about homosexuality a problem in need of a cure?"

Short answer: Yes.

Long answer: Repeat after me - "People I don't know, in a city I've never been to, living in a house I've never seen, doing consensual intimate acts in private are none of my business"

[Name removed]

31. Deleted message

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

[Ganja Ninja]

32. I don't know, why don't we ask Anderson Cooper.

:banghead:

[WillyT]

33. Jesus... Please Come Back And Cure Teh Stupid

Teh stupid hurt so much.

:wtf:

:banghead:

:argh:

K & R !!!

:kick:

[old mark]

34. I think SOCIETY is a problem in need of a cure. nt

[Supersedeas]

35. CNN is grinding that RW axe -- Dan Senor's wife must be all smiles

[Robyn66]

36. Richard Cohen should get NO attention from the media!

I really wish that the media would quit covering this idiot. Actually I shouldn't say idiot because that is too kind a word for him. Its because of total ASSHOLES like him that gay friends of mine have been to the brink of suicide because they have TRIED not to be GAY at different periods of time in their lives.

Enough is enough, being Gay is NOT a choice, its NOT curable because its NOT a disease!

What is needed is a cure for BIGOTRY!

[defendandprotect]

37. Actually, IMO, male hetereosexuality is a problem in need of a cure -- !!

Hetereosexual males are 100X more likely to sexually abuse children!

[dorkulon]

48. Got a source on that?

[defendandprotect]

51. Hetereosexuals are 100X more likely to sexually abuse children . . . HERE ...

From "same-sex -- marriage in the United States
Focus on the Facts" -- Sean Cahill, PH.D
Lexington Books -- 2004
See: Footnote

A 1998 Study in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that 90% of pedophiles are men, and 95% of these individuals are hetereosexual.

Research has indicated that gay men and lesbians are less likely than heteeosexual to sexually abuse children.

Perhaps the most egregious and damaging claim promulgaed by anti-gay groups is the claim that homosexuality is intrinisically linked to pedophiia and child sexual abuse.
The social science research on sexual orientation and child sexual abuse clearly disproves the claim that homosexuals are more likely to molest children. A 1998 study in the Journal of the American Medical Assocation found that 90% of pedophiles are men, and 95% of these individuals are hetereosexual. One researcher explained this statistic by noting, "Gay men desire consensual sexual relations with other adult men. Pedophiles are usually adult men who are sexually attracted to pre-pubescent children. They are rarely sexually attracted to other adults. In fact, research has indicated that gay men and lesbians are LESS likely than heterosexuals to sexually abuse children. Two studies that examined the sexual orientation of convicted child molesters found that less than 1% in one study and 0% in the other were lesbian or gay. One psychologist reviewed the existing social science literature on the relationship between sexuality and child sexual abuse and found that "a gay man is no more likely than a straight man to perpetrate sexual activity with children." Further, "cases of perpetration of sexual behavior with a pre-pubescent child by an adult lesbian are virtually nonexistent."

Gay rights activists, like all advocates for children's welfare, oppose child sexual abuse and support equitable age of consent laws that help prevent and punish such abuse.

At least 110,000 children are waiting to be adopted in the US. Approximately 588,000 children are currently in foster care. Barring gay men and lebians from adopting or foster parenting decreases the number of potential suitable homes for children in need.
Children who remain in foster care for much of their childhood, as do tens of thousands of American children, are more likely to have emotional problems. Some children in foster care live in 20 or more homes by the time they reach the age of 18. Barring gay men and lesbians from adopting or foster parenting is not simply unjust and unethical; it also decreases the number of potential suitable homes for children in need.
Research shows that children raised by gay and lesbian parents are not disadvantaged vis-a-vis their peers raised by hetereosexual parents.

Footnote 65 -- p.123
A review of 352 medical records of children evaluated for sexual abuse during a 12-month period at a Denver chidlren's hospital found that less than 1% had been abused by a gay man or a lesbian. Of 269 adult perpetrators of child abuse identified among the 352 cases of abuse, only two were gay or lesbian. The vast majority of the children in the study (82%) "were suspected of being abused by a man or a woman who was, or had been, in a hetereosexual relationship with a relative of the child." And the review concluded that in this sample, " a child's risk of being molested by his or her relative's heterosexual partner is over 100X greater by someone who might be identifiable as being homosexual, lesbian, or bisexual."
Jenny, C., and Roesler, T.A. (1994)
Are children at risk for sexual abuse by homosexuals? Pediatrics. 94(1).p.44.
In an earlierstudy of convicted male child molesters in Massachusetts, none of the 175 men were found to have an exclusively homosexual adult sexual orientation orto be primarily attracted to other adult men.
Groth, A.N., and Birnbaum, H.J. (1978).
Adult sexual orientation and attraction to underage persons.
Archives of Sexual Behavior.7(3).pp.175-181.

Also : The right-wing "Family Research Council" notes/confirms findings that "almost all child sexual abuse is committed by men."

[dorkulon]

54. You don't seem to be interpreting those numbers correctly, IMHO

Sure, most pedophiles are men, no doubt. But 95% being hetero seems to roughly correspond with the actual percentage of the population that are hetero. So, I think the right interpretation is that straight men are just as likely to abuse kids as gay men, and all women are much less likely to do so.

[defendandprotect]

56. "almost all child sexual abuse is committed by men" - RW Family Research Council . . .

The right-wing "Family Research Council" notes/confirms findings that "almost all child sexual abuse is committed by men."

The other possibility is that you're not ready to absorb information which works against the
beliefs you hold.

Even in Hawaii, homosexuals have long been celebrated for their care of orphaned children --
they were reliable and well loved and respected caretakers.

Again -- it is hetereosexual males who sexually abuse children.

[dorkulon]

57. Please.

I granted that men make up the vast majority of abusers off the bat. You seem to be implying that homosexuals aren't men. I didn't say that homosexuals can't be trusted near children or anything like that, nor do I think that. But if 95% of abusive men are heterosexual, then 5% are not. That's all. Homosexual child molestation does happen, quite evidently.

[BreweryYardRat]

38. Bullshit. It's not a disease.

There's been a lot of debate on this over the years, and most people aren't sure it's even quantifiable.

[KamaAina]

40. KamaAina asks: ‘Are corporate right-wing media shills a problem in need of a cure?’

:grr: :banghead: :nuke:

[Initech]

41. WRONG!!!! Homophobic bigotry is the real problem in need of a cure!

[marmar]

42. CNN is totally in the crapper.....

..... and somebody needs to flush.

[tallahasseedem]

49. I am completely sick of their shit...

I haven't watched them for quite a while, but MSNBC will be the only news channel I will turn on from now on.