FORMER Miss California Carrie Prejean appeared on the Today Show this morning with Matt Lauer, claiming she was set up and the ONLY reason she was no longer Miss California was because of her answer on same-sex marriage. For a glimpse of the real Carrie Prejean, watch…

Below is a sampling of some leaked emails sent by Prejean to her boss Keith Lewis, director of the Miss California USA pageant:

From: cprejeanXXXXSent: Friday, May 29, 2009 7:57 AMTo: Keith LewisSubject: Re: Messages

You do not cooperate with me, and you pick and chose the the things YOU want me to do. That is not happening anymore. Stop speaking for me. I have MY own voice. What are u gonna do fire me for volunteering for the special olympics hahaha ur crazy No I am doing this appearance. You do not need details. Its for the SPECIAL OLYMPICS!!! You just need to know I will be doing it alright

You will not facilitate this appearance

Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

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From: cprejeanXXXXSent: Friday, May 29, 2009 7:40 AMTo: Keith LewisSubject: Re: Messages

I expect you to be forwarding me ALL email requests and interview requests to me. I know how you are and its not right if you are selecting things for me. Thanks for your cooperation And fyi I am a presenter of medals at the special olympics in a few weeks for the summer games. So now u know I am doing this and I expect your full support. Also I was asked to fill in for a dj on a local radio show.. Ill be reading from a show biz script monday. I am doing this

Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

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From: cprejeanXXXXSent: Friday, May 29, 2009 7:42 AMTo: Keith LewisSubject: Re: Messages

Just as you need details for things so do I. Also nice move trying to make money off of my appearances Also.. Do not try and silence me by saying I do not have a comment about the prop 8 ruling. Maybe you don’t. I do

Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

Doesn’t sound very Christian to me. Wait a minute… Rude. Arrogant. Self-righteous. On second thought…

At a State Department briefing yesterday Department Spokesman Ian Kelley condemned acts of violence against gays and lesbians in Iraq.

Well, let me say that, in general, we absolutely condemn acts of violence and human rights violations committed against individuals in Iraq because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. This is an issue that we’ve been following very closely since we have been made aware of these allegations, and we are aware of the allegations.

Our training for Iraqi security forces includes instruction on the proper observance of human rights. Human rights training is also a very important part of our and other international donors’ civilian capacity-building efforts in Iraq. And the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad has raised and will continue to raise the issue with senior officials from the Government of Iraq, and has urged them to respond appropriately to all credible reports of violence against gay and lesbian Iraqis.

Video of the question and answer begins at the 20:50 mark.

Violence toward gays and lesbians in Iraq has been on the increase in recent months, many tortured or murdered by local militias or by their own relatives for shaming their families. Prominent religious leaders like radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr continue to condemned homosexuality in the harshest terms, inciting the violence.

The growing violence seems at odds with a statement made last April by John Fleming of the State Department: “In fact, it’s [homosexuality] immaterial to Iraqis … Frankly, there are other issues they’re concerned about like basic survival, getting food and water. It’s a luxury for the average Iraqi to worry about homosexuality.”

While homosexuality is not against the law in Iraq, it is forbidden by Islam.

Yesterday a security guard was murdered at the Holocaust Museum in Washington by 88-year-old White Supremacist James W. von Brunn. A WWII veteran, von Brunn was author of an online book called “Kill the Best Gentiles,” and posted to rightwing websites questioning Barack Obama’s birth certificate and citizenship, a standard if tired meme pushed by the right.

A few weeks ago Dr. George Tiller was murdered in his church by anti-abortion activist Scott Roeder for performing late-term abortions. Though quickly denounced by leaders of the pro-life  movement, posters on rightwing sites heaped praise on Roeder for his actions just as many pro-lifers suggested that the murder, while a horrible act, was justified in order to save more unborn babies. The number and intensity of threats to abortion clinics have also increased in the days since Tiller’s murder.

Only a day later a Muslim convert shot and killed an army recruiter for political and religious reasons in Arkansas. Many on the right soon painted Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad (formerly Carlos Bledsoe) as a leftwing extremist out of a need to balance the accusations leveled against Scott Roeder.

Extremism always seems to thrive during economic hardship, as people turn to religion and guns as sources of strength. Extremism was very much on display during the election as McCain/Palin supporters paraded their racism views for all the world to see, while the candidates and their their advocates did nothing to tone down the rhetoric. In fact they often seemed to encourage it.

So where does that leave us? A few isolated incidents or a fertile climate which is now breeding domestic terrorists?

Perhaps the answers lie in the controversial DHS reports that warned of domestic terrorism from both rightwing and leftwing extremists. Widely panned on both the right and left when released, with every murder the reports seems to take on a little more legitimacy. Even on Fox News. Watch the clips below:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hh6DiYA0TOg[/youtube]

Props to Shepard Smith for calling it like it is.

While I am hopeful that these acts are not symptoms of a much larger, growing problem, nothing in media leads me to believe otherwise. The growing hate and intolerance on display by the rightwing and people of faith gives me a lot of pause, as they target gays, people of color and anyone with a contrary point of view.

After losing a lawsuit accusing the city of San Francisco of hostility toward the Catholic Church, Richard Thompson of the Thomas Moore Law Center had some harsh words for the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, drawing on the holocaust for inspiration:

“It is not a stretch to compare the San Francisco board’s actions to that of the Nazi Germany policy of Gleichschaltung, vilifying Jews as an auxiliary to and laying the groundwork for more repressive policies, including the final solution of extermination.”

Filed on behalf of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights (CLRCR), the lawsuit accused a board of supervisors resolution of violating the constitutional requirement of government neutrality toward religion. The resolution which originally passed in 2006, denounced an order from the Vatican to Catholic Charities decreeing that adoptive children could not be placed with same-sex couples because it “would actually mean doing violence to these children.” The resolution called the Vatican order “hateful and discriminatory rhetoric” and asked that local Catholic officials ignore it. They did not, and actually stopped placing adoptive children entirely.

CLRCR is headed by Bill Donohue, a rabidly anti-gay, anti-progressive Catholic apologist who regularly appears on cable news networks promulgating his views. Recently Donohue characterized an Irish report detailing abuse of children by Catholic priests and nuns as “hysterical,” even to one of its victims.

Sometimes hypocrisy is subtle, and sometimes it screams from the rooftops. Mr. Thompson, I’d suggest you and the Thomas Moore Law Center refrain from referencing Nazis and the final solution when defending the Catholic faith, particularly when considering the role the Catholic Church played in Nazi abuses during World War II. And Mr. Donohue, don’t you see the irony in defending your church against multiple cases of child abuse, while at the same time participating in a lawsuit which defends your church’s right to accuse same-sex parents of essentially the same thing? Astonishing.

This case unfortunately is far from over. The Thomas More Law Center has asked for a rehearing and will take their case all the way to the Supreme Court if necessary.