Keith Olbermman of MSNBC’s Countdown was invited to speak at the Greater New York Human Rights Campaign Gala on Saturday thanks in no small part to the Special Comment he made  on his program the week after the passage of Proposition 8. Olbermann opened his remarks by thanking everyone for all the things that had been said to him since the commentary, and then apologized for not making that commentary ten days earlier…

And in case we need to be reminded …

No! Of course not. What a ridiculous headline! And I certainly don’t mean to make light of today’s events and sincerely hope everyone made it safely through the tornadoes today, having grown up in Colorado I certainly know the drill.

But follow my line of thought, for just a moment. Oklahoma state legislator Sally Kern and those of like mind have been notoriously intolerant, homophobic and generally un-Christian (in the truest sense of the word), as of late. Have their recent words warranted God’s wrath?

I think not. And the notion is totally outrageous. But only as outrageous as the claims below made by Kern and others like her…

Recent deadly fires in Australia caused by slaughtering innocents in the womb – Pastor Danny Nalliah

Gays responsible for hurricane Katrina – Pastor Hagee

Gays and lesbians are to blame for the current economic crisis – Christian Civil League of Maine Executive Director Michael Heath

Pro-gay legislation provoked floods in Britain – Rev Graham Dow, Bishop of Carlisle

Gays caused the collapse of Rome – Sally Kern

and of course…

Gays, lesbians, sinners, abortionists, feminists and the ACLU caused 9/11 – Jerry Fallwell

The list above is only a handful. Gays and lesbians, and more recently the “pro-choicers,” have been blamed for a multitude of disasters and cataclysms since the beginning of time.

So is the shoe now on the other foot? The Christian one?

I’m sure I’ll get hammered for this, but someone had to make the point.

Welcome to a new segment called Tuesdays with TED. For those of you don’t know TED stands for Technology, Entertainment and Design, and is a yearly, invitation-only conference that brings together “the world’s most fascinating thinkers and doers” to talk about the issues they are most passionate about. Fortunately for those of us who aren’t invited, the talks are available online.

So starting today and on every Tuesday I will highlight a TED Talk from their massive video library, not necessarily because it may be socially or culturally relevant to what’s going on that particular day (though it just might), but sometimes because it may be relevant and important to me, and hopefully to you as well.

This week’s first segment is called Do Schools kill Creativity? by Sir Ken Robinson, a creativity expert who makes the case for changing our education system so that it nurtures and not undermines creativity. This is an issue close to my heart. Enjoy.

Former CEO of eBay Meg Whitman launched her bid today seeking the Republican nomination for California governor.

During the presidential race, Whitman worked in both the Mitt Romney and John McCain campaigns, and was viewed as a possible Secretary of the Treasury pick. Whitman also came out in favor of Proposition 8 as reported in the Sacramento Bee…

“Because she is not yet a candidate for governor, we are respectfully declining to participate,” said Whitman political adviser Mitch Zak. Whitman has not previously made a broad public announcement about supporting Proposition 8, but she has told GOP groups in the last week she supports the measure.

Geoff Kors, Exceutive Director of Equality California had this to say about the announcement…

“Republican and Democratic voters alike know that the only way to win statewide elections in California is to nominate candidates who will work for all Californians and bring people together, not politicians who pit one group against another in an attempt to divide us.

“As our country and our State move forward, Meg Whitman is stuck in the past, practicing the politics of divisiveness by publicly supporting Prop 8. Whitman is wrong for LGBT people and wrong for California.”

Looks like we may have our work cut out for us in 2010. A possible gay marriage proposition to undue the damage of Prop 8 and the defeat of this wingnut, who made her 1.3 billion off the backs of the thousands of LGBT eBay users.