Note to the religious right: auto-replace is not your friend
By Steve Benen Monday Jun 30, 2008 2:01pmAuto-correct can be a very helpful feature of any word-processing program. But when conservatives use it, they run the risk of embarrassing themselves.
The American Family Association’s OneNewsNow website, for example, takes its AP articles and replaces the word “gay” with the word “homosexual.” I’m not entirely sure why, but it seems to make the AFA happy. The group is, after all, pretty far out there.
The problem, of course, is that “gay” does not always mean what the AFA wants it to mean. My friend Kyle reported this morning that sprinter Tyson Gay won the 100 meters at the U.S. Olympic track and field trials over the weekend. The AFA ran the story, but only after the auto-correct had “fixed” the article.
That means — you guessed it — the track star was renamed “Tyson Homosexual.” The headline on the piece read, “Homosexual eases into 100 final at Olympic trials.” Readers learned:
Tyson Homosexual easily won his semifinal for the 100 meters at the U.S. Olympic track and field trials and seemed to save something for the final later Sunday.
His wind-aided 9.85 seconds was a fairly cut-and-dry performance compared to what happened a day earlier. On Saturday, Homosexual misjudged the finish in his opening heat and had to scramble to finish fourth, then in his quarterfinal a couple of hours later, ran 9.77 to break the American record that had stood since 1999. […]
Homosexual didn’t get off to a particularly strong start in the first semifinal, but by the halfway mark he had established a comfortable lead. He slowed somewhat over the final 10 meters-nothing like the way-too-soon complete shutdown that almost cost him Saturday. Asked how he felt, Homosexual said: “A little fatigued.”
Now, the AFA has since changed the article back to the way it was originally written by the AP reporter, but don’t worry, Kyle got the screen-grab before the AFA edited the piece back.
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Did the AP just try and sue bloggers for copyright infringement over posting the lede, or even just the first few words? Maybe the AP should look into why some sites are infringing on their copyrights by changing the meaning and intent of the story!
Oh, this is just awesome. More proof that homophobic=stupid.
Boing Boing
I wonder if/when Tyson Gay sues for libel and defamation (assuming he's not homosexual). That's be something to bring a chuckle to me if I were to read it here.....
too funny
bwahahahahahahahahah...hahahahahahaha.
Obviously it gives conservatives a thrill to read the word homosexual. It takes them back to the illicit meeting in [public yet secret place] where some on of the same gender put their [genitalia] into their [orifice] and makes them think about the next time they will do it... probably after voting for the anti-gay marriage amendment since it'll make em feel so fucking HOT when they do it.
Steve, did you write this article for this blog (yesterday), too?
http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/archives/16044.html
It's funny as hell, but is it plagiarized, since there's no mention of the cited URL?
republican = insanity!
I just wrote their editor an email congratulating them on such a boneheaded move......
Note to the religious right: auto-replace is not your friend
But auto-manual is?
What is the religious rights problem with homosexuality? Don't these people have better things to do? Why can't they help with soup kitchens or help the poor. You know, Christian stuff.
also....is this the same site that refers to our current white house administration as George Vagina and Penis Cheney??
But it also demonstrates how the word gay has now become stripped of its original meaning which used to indicate frivolity or happiness. Now it seemingly cannot be used today unless it is used as a synonym for homosexuality. The irony is that the lives of many homosexuals today, even in these alleged liberal times, are anything but gay, i.e. happy and joyful.
Stew Mulligan @ 13:
Ding ding ding ding ding! We have a winner!
Good one Rancid!!! I think it is fair if people & groups get to self-identify, i.e. Blacks prefer African American, anti-abortionists (actually, anti-sex) get to call themselves "Pro Life". But if the AFA insists on this editing, perhaps we set our spell checks to replace "Evangelical Christians" with "religious zealots"
Any recent news about ex-ballplayer Homosexuallord Perry?
It could have gone in another direction: Tyson Chicken or Chicken Homosexual or oh,nevermind.
You know i have been having the same problem.
American Nazi Association’s OneNewsNow
Apparently these people are afraid of the Girls Scouts.
Holy SHIT! An army of Commies are being indoctrinated into Eco-Terrorism!
It gets worse!
Parents! Whatever you do DO NOT let your children advocate for your community! Teach them the values of shopping!
I think they may have just raised stupidity to an art form...
I wonder how the AP feels about being edited? I'm sure this is not permitted in their new bloggers rules.
I hope Tyson Gay will get good trial lawyer counsel. Seems to me to be very purposeful and damaging on the part of American Family Association (AFA); and nothing deserves a major liability loss like the AFA.
At G-A-Y, we've been tracking the AFA's AP wire changes for for over a year. Here's a recent, particularly egregious example in which they changed a gay marriage story so that it was worded in an anti-gay way (such as changing the term "same-sex opponents" so that it instead reads "advocates of traditional marriage"):
http://www.goodasyou.org/good_as_you/2008/06/moral-groups-co.html
bunch of f-tards
When you're with the Flintstones
You'll have a yabba dabba doo time
(A dabba doo time)
You'll have a homosexual old tiiiiiiiiime!!
Heh, stupid is as stupid does.
The Religious Right is neither, they deserve every bit of this embarassment. Hate should not be tolerated, no matter the target.
LOL!!
Reached for comment, an
anal fixated closeted bigotAFA spokesman said, "We'll straighten out whatever gummed up the works so this doesn't bite us again at our next bi-monthly Holy Glory meeting at the airport."(sorry, forgot to turn my autocorrect off)
;-}
General_Rennenkampf @ 27:
Yeah, I really hate those guys...no, wait...ok. Yeah, hate the hate, not the hater...no, wait...now I'm confused, which makes me more mad...so now I'm the Mad Hater? So much Confucian...so little thyme for sage ad vice, but the War Inc. chick is pretty spicy, Generally speaking.
;-}
I may be wrong, but the AFA is very far from a religious-right focus-on-the-Family type organization.
It sounds like the Jesus freaks, but i think they're just overtly PC liberals. Funny though
Have yourself a Merry Little Christmas, make the yuletide HOMOSEXUAL.
Enola Homosexual, you should have stayed at home yesterday
Ah-ha words can't describe the feeling and the way you lied.
These games you play, they're gonna end in more than tears someday
Ah-ha Enola Homosexual, it shouldn't ever have to end this way.
Its 8:15, and that's the time that it's always been
We got your message on the radio, conditions normal and you're coming home...
So the AfA's idea of perfect girl scouts is handmaidens !
homosexual apparel,
fa la la fa la la
la la lahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!
The wacko righ...... errr I mean the religious right is extremely lazy after all, except when trying to destroy peoples lives, so this isn't any suprise.
Watch out, Crystal Homosexualle...you're next.
I am so "homosexual" from reading this. Hilarious!
RancidVenison @ 8:
I should think so, Rancid. It's Steve's Blog. Right there at the top, it says "Politics in America by Steve Benen."
I like your name, but you should drop the "venison" and just be Rancid. That band is awesome.
I bet they don't even see this as embarrassing.
Erroll @ 14:
As are the lives of many heterosexuals. What's your point?
Awesome!! HAHAAAAA!!!!
ROTFLMAO
I thought this story was a joke when I first read about it on Jesus' General. Then, when I went to the source I knew it had to be real. Yes, they're just that dumb and careless. It would be sad if they weren't so dangerous.
Thanks for the chuckle. Idiot homophobic maroons.
Does this mean the town of Gay, GA is now Homosexual, GA?
Town of Gay - Meriwether County, Georgia:
http://gay.georgia.gov/05/home/0,2230,9024284,00.html
Annoyed Canuck @ 45:
In Georgia no less. Where ya frum boy? uhhh, Gay.
Whad djew just say boy? uhh Gay.
Yer What???
Oh shit, that's FUNNY!!
This may be the funniest thing I have read all day!
You gotta love the bible thumpers and their tiny little minds.
Yeah, that Gay dood can sure run fast.
Proud2bHumble @ 28:
I think he meant to say the "Glory Hole-y meeting"...
finally, some news to giggle over!
48 Gryphen Says: This may be the funniest thing I have read all day!
You gotta love the bible humpers and their tiny little penises.
(I fixed it for you.)
Erroll @ 14:
Some people trace the modern usage of the word gay to the movie Bringing Up Baby.
When the mother of the character played by Katherine Hepburn, encounters Cary Grant after an accident with his pants (?) and in her daughter's robe and asks him what he's doing in it he said, "I don't know, I felt kind of gay today."
Stew Mulligan @ 13:
And the legislative branch as the 110th United States Intercourse.
also remember where auto replace screwed up the religious right, in the case of the Dover ID Trial...something about IntelligenCreationism Design...
ysbaddaden @ 53:
Absolutely true.
Saw that scene the other day and my homosexual-dar went up immediately!
Reminds me of FOX News mistakenly replacing "suicide bomber" with "homicide bomber" even when it's supposed to be a verbatim quotation.
Tito @ 30:
Incorect, AFA is the brain(dead)child of another fundie douchenozzle. Donald Wildmon, who along with that love-child of Doctor Zaiuss, L Brent Bozell III and his gang of kool-aid-chugging loons were ever so certain that the display of a small amount of bare ass and naughty language on network TV back in 1993 (NYPD Blue) was going spell certain doom (...DOOM!) for civilization and society in general.
I worry what the future might hold for Dick Van Dyke...
Michael Sova @ 55:
Agreed, this is the funniest fundamentalist mishap with a word processor since cdesign proponentsists.
And I am old enough to remember that previous version of this was ... with "of color" so a .... night became "of color night" etc not to mention chess "of color knight to ..., takes white pawn."
AFA is so gay
I feel pretty,
Oh, so pretty,
I feel pretty, and witty and homosexual,
And I pity
Any girl who isn’t me today.
Funniest thread EVER!!!
P.D. @ 12:
Since you find yourself forced to ask such a question, P.D., you're undeserving of an answer.
Baddog @ 59:
You mean Penis van Lesbian, don't you?
In hard truth, this broad-spectrum Christian organization founded by Wildmon is presently kicking your asses: On any given afternoon Wildmon can easily summon 2-5 million signatures should he decide to lock horns with liberals over virtually any issue--read, in this instance, "homosexual" activists and their debauched drive toward damnation.
And within the next four months, another 37 million Californians will themselves join Wildmon's masses in sweepingly overturning the recent California Supreme Court travesty allowing homosexual marriage. Read 'em and weep, baby!
Don't you cretins have anything better to do than knash your teeth and foam at the mouth whenever Christians attempt to edify or cleanse you?
R.L. @ 71:
Uh, yeah. The AFA is sooooo influential that they can, uh, occasionally get an episode of a TV show pulled off a few cowardly local stations here in north Mississippi.
Look upon Donald Wildmon, ye mighty, and despair!
R.L. @ 71:
Hmmmm....Let me re-phrase that question and direct it back at you.
Don't you cretins have anything better to do than knash your teeth and foam at the mouth whenever sane people try to expose or educate you?
Or is trolling progressive sites with your backward views a rewarding way to spend your time?
It has always been hilarious that many hard core Christian Conservatives are way more obsessed with homosexuality than the general population. The top ten most accessed pages at conservapedia all contain the word homosexual in the title. Half of these folks are just trying to fool the public into believing they are straight and the other half are only fooling themselves.
Clint @ 70:
ROFLMAO
stdyofman @ 76:
You could also go with "Pure Evil Don't Touch van Burn In Hell"
Oh god, these people are so, so stupid.
Funny, the OneNewsNow website seems to have turned off their search engines. I wonder what they are hidding?
R.L. @ 81:
It seems that certain "congressional pukes" have been "outing" themselves for quite awhile now. Case in point...Larry Craig, who made a conscious decision to seek a gay...sorry... homosexual tryst in the restroom of the Minneapolis Air Port. Too bad the object of his desire was an undercover cop who arrested him. Maybe Craig was doing some research into the gay marriage issue. Or maybe Craig is just a closet case. Regardless, the man outed himself, whether he wanted to of not.
The old adage, "None proclaim their innocence as loudly as the guilty" seems to apply here. Craig certainly was and is in the forefront playing the antagonist against gay issues.
RL, you seem to be yelling quite loudly about this... makes one wonder...
R.L. @ 85:
Are you retarted?
Wow RL, I just implied that you might be "in the closet" and then you critique me on my spelling. Talk about holding up the stereotype.
R.L. @ 71:
Hey. According to your own guys ""Judgment is Mine," sayeth the Lord" and "Judge not, lest ( or that) ye be judged" and something about not casting stones unless you are sin-free.
It's not your business or job to edify or cleanse anyone, as you are clearly not 'Christian' according to the teachings of Christ. In fact, you give a group of very wonderful people a very bad name by behaving in the way you are here.
I am amazed at the willingness of so-called Christians to run around and tell everyone else to do, while whining they are oppressed.
STFU. You aren't at all Christ-like. You're frightened little fascist gasbags with nothing better to do than to pick at others and misinterpret the teachings of a guy you SAY you worship.
Who did Jesus beat into submission? Who would your Christ call a cretin? Who would Christ gloat at? Which queer would Jesus hate?
Quit using the guy like some personal baseball bat. You denigrate Him, His teachings, society, our culture and ultimately yourself with your 'Holier than thou' claptrap.
If you're going to call yourself a Christian, try behaving like one. Take the first step toward not sinning and quit bearing false witness about your faith.
And it's 'Gnash,' Holy One. Your spelling is less than perfect too.
Miss Kitty, I think RL crawled back into his closet.
Shoeless @ 92:
Guys like that piss me off. Clearly a closet case with fears of his own homosexual leanings.
Christians are violently insane, hate filled fascists who hate everything that the United States stands for. It's a wonder that Christians bother to live here in the United States when they hate everything the country was founded upon.
mrplow @ 38:
Cool, thanksl. I was just making sure it didn't cause any trouble. I saw it off teh google search link on Kyle's site was hoping to help, if necessary. Wasn't too familiar with the Carpet Bagger Report (despite the occasional reference on C&L and the boards).
Looks like I'll have to bookmark it.
Thanks for the compliment on my name. It comes from a time I found some rotting deer flesh in the back seat while helping a friend clean out her car (serious, it was a friend, I'm macrobiotic and don't know much about hunting). So, I'd like to keep it.
Plus, I'm not awesome.
Anywho, Steve: abso-f@cking-lutely hilarious!
[I guess you aren't smart enough to realize this so I'll point it out for you: Your comments aren't posting any more, and of the ones that did, only 2 remain. 9 others have been removed-Sitemonitor]
Umm RL, my comments are still here. Maybe you are in such a state of denial that you refuse to see that.
MOM, RL's in my closet and wont come out!
Fredric L. Rice @ 86:
Whoa, calm down. I'm sure you know a lot of decent, good Christians, as I do. For me those include my dad, a lot of relatives (okay, I don't care for some of them, but still), and my late mother. It's wrong to paint everyone in a group with the same brush even if you've been understandably frustrated by the actions of the far religious right, or "whited sepulchers" as I like to call them. I don't agree with a lot of Christian teachings or mainstream Christian views, which is why I left the church, but most Christians are anything but insane or hate-filled.
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