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June 18, 2007

NY Blade column: Speak Out Against Bush’s Pick for Surgeon General

Let Senate know James Holsinger is not a well man

http://www.newyorkblade.com/2007/6-15/viewpoint/opinion/lucas.cfm

By MICHAEL LUCAS
Friday, June 15, 2007

I want to emphasize what we LGBTers can do to protect ourselves from the monumental stupidity of George W. Bush. As if we needed more evidence of just how idiotic he is, this past week in speaking about the “no confidence” vote in the Senate over his thug in the Justice Department, Alberto Gonzalez, Bush said: ”This process has been drug out a long time.”

There’s only so much you can expect from a full-grown adult who, despite being president of the U.S.A., doesn’t know the correct past participle of the verb “to drag.” And it figures that a heterosexual reactionary who knows nothing about drag couldn’t care less about the well being of gay people.

Back on May 24, 2007, Bush nominated James Holsinger as surgeon general. The surgeon general is the U.S. government’s top spokesperson on public health matters. The person in the post can influence public perceptions and government policies related to health issues of specific concern to gays. So it matters a lot that Holsinger has a virulently anti-gay history. Holsinger’s nomination must be rejected, and we have to be part of what motivates the Senate to reject him. Here’s why:

Holsinger founded Hope Springs Church in a warehouse near Lexington, Kentucky. That church runs an ‘ex-gay’ ministry. Enough said about that.

In 1991, Holsinger was on a United Methodist Church panel that attempted to spell out the church’s position on homosexuality. The allegedly medical paper Holsinger wrote for that panel to consider was titled “Pathophysiology of Male Homosexuality.” In it, he actually wrote that because heterosexual sex is so common and pervasive, plumbers even refer to pipe fittings as a male and female (as in, on object fits inside the other). It follows, he argued, that homosexuality in humans leads to “injuries and disease.” As if heterosexuals were not as vulnerable to STDs as gay people.

Some people on the church panel wanted to modernize the church’s stance towards gay people. When Holsinger learned that was so, he resigned from the panel. J. Philip Wogaman, who was on that panel, has said: “Holsinger opposed any recognition of homosexuality as normal. He took the view that it’s pathological, that homosexuality is both a sin and a kind of mental sickness. He was quite vocal about it.”

Not convinced about Holsinger’s unsuitability to the post of Surgeon General yet? In 1998, he was on the board of a Methodist group that criticized the “radical homosexual/lesbian lobby” for trying to force the church “to grant approval to the practice of homosexuality.”

PLENTY OF QUALIFIED medical professionals in this country have no record of bigotry of any kind. That is the sort of person that would deserve the privilege and responsibility of serving as surgeon general. Speaking of medical qualifications, by the way, in 1991, when Holsinger was running the Veterans Health Administration, under pressure he acknowledged that shoddy treatment had caused the deaths of six patients in its hospital in North Chicago.

Sen. Hillary Clinton has announced her opposition to Holsinger’s nomination. Barack Obama has only voiced “serious reservations” about it. This is where you and I come in. All senators have a “Contact Me” page on their web sites. The 21 senators to contact now are those on the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP), which will be the first committee to consider Holsinger’s nomination. You can find the list of the 21 members of the committee by visiting its official web site at http://help.senate.gov/.

Write one message against Holsinger’s confirmation, and e-mail it to all 21 members of that committee. The entire process shouldn’t take you more than a half hour. Your message could be as simple as “I am unconditionally opposed to the confirmation of James Holsinger as surgeon general. He is an anti-gay bigot. We should instead have a modern and open-minded medical professional in this important post.”

The world really works this way, in case you weren’t aware. Many bills before the Senate get passed or defeated because of the communications about them to senators from voters. You can put on some of your favorite music and while enjoying it, e-mail these 21 senators about your opposition to James Holsinger.

It truly is a drag that we are, apparently, stuck with George W. Bush as president until January 20, 2009. That doesn’t mean, however, that the gay community has to hang a “Kick Us” sign around its collective neck until that day. Show Bush that you understand what a democracy is; make your voice heard on this one.

If you have family members and friends who believe matters of public health policy should be decided according to medical science only, and not on religion-based bigotry, have them e-mail Senators expressing that view. It isn’t simply that you can make a difference; it’s that you must.

Posted by Michael at June 18, 2007 11:13 AM

Comments

Posted by: Mike "The Intern" Kashey at June 19, 2007 12:42 PM