After I got through ROFLMA off over this story, I wondered: Why did AFA select it in the first place?

They're hardly a sports oriented blog, and I don't see other sports stories in its blog. If Gay's name had been Smith, would the story (and several related ones) have been published at all, without the auto replacement of his name?

Do they robo-select the stories from AP headlines with the word "gay" in them, and then reprint them using auto replace? Does anyone even scan them first?

The most superficial skim of that story should have shown even the AFA dimwits that it was about a man who happened to be named Gay, just like 15 people in my local phone book, and nothing whatever to do with homosexuality.

Why to AFA-types seem to *enjoy* saying the word "homosexual" so much? Hmm.

This comes at a time when the AP has announced they are considering new rules by which bloggers are allowed to quote AP stories. AP feels some bloggers violate fair use provisions by quoting too much of an AP article. (As if the AP determines copyright laws!)

I wonder how they feel about someone using the entire piece and rewriting it. One must note, however, that the initial targets of AP's interest are primarily "liberal"/"leftish" bloggers, and that insiders have suggested a conservative/infotainment change at the AP over the last few years, so it's unlikely these Freeper-like fools will get a C&D from the AP.

Simple. It's dehumanizing. When you can paint a segment of the population with a clinical sounding word, the intent is to make "homosexual" people seem somehow nefarious simply through the way that you address us.

Also, the word "gay" has a distinctly positive tone, as it was used to mean "happy" for generations. It's much less threatening a word. Besides, we couldn't have the tough, manly men at Family Research use the word "gay". It might mean that they themselves are gay!

Being gay myself, I always found it a bit strange when people referred to me and other gay people as "homosexuals". It seemed a bit like they were using biological genus-species terminology. Homosexualis tyrannosaurus, or something. :)

From the AP site. This is the closest I came at a glance to finding terms of use:

No political candidate, political party, political action committee, polemical organization, or any group formed for partisan purpose may use AP copy in any publication.

There is no specific mention in the FAQ about altering the text. This is probably because any reputable news organzation should know better. I am excited to see if these AFA assholes finally get nailed on this nonsense.

If I were the AP, I would be ready to go through the archives and find every case of "Democrat Party" being inserted in since it is technically a typographical error and suggests weak writing and lax copy-editing on the part of a world renowned news organization.

If these lunatics do not get their throats ripped out over this direct propaganda, thought manipulation, then the terrorists win.

If I were the author of this article, I would be filing suit against the AFA. They picked up the article from the AP feed, "wordsmithed" to their liking, then posted it with the author's byline still clearly visible at the top. I simply can't imagine that it's legal to put words in somebody else's mouth like this, particularly when that person's livelihood is based on writing. Would it be OK to change references about Obama's race from "black" to the "n word"? How about instead of referring to Hillary as a "woman", we just swap it out the "c word"?

At the very least, the AP should refuse to allow the AFA to continue to receive their feed unless they agree to kill the infantile search and replace activities.

I'm laughing my gay, uh, er, homosexual ass off!

I can always tell a right wingnut on a talk show when they're talking about LGBT issues. He will always use the word homosexual instead of gay, lesbian, etc and stretch it into about 7 syllables.

I figured one of their handlers told them that the old school word is more condemning.

Sort of like The Marx Brothers Meet Samuel Beckett, isn't it? Some fun to distract from Pelosi and Reid Finding Funding.

In other comedy:

Mike Barnacle misstated the gas tax holiday as $30 a week instead of $75 for the whole Summer.

Chris Matthews says, as some dinosaurs will assume, that Republicans still own national security (would you trust McCain's cell bloc to do anything right?) and anti-terrorism (as White House assassins wet work Iran, increasing enemies past counting) as given campaign advantages.

I think they're nuts. And stupid. Uninventive. Challengeable. Obsolete. Finished.

How does a trillion dollar desert bonfire win you votes when most of the country is either flat broke or praying to break even?

As to the word substitution correct, they got that wrong, too.

Gay/Homosexual should read: AIDS Predator.

Obama should read: Muslim Menace.

Hillary should read: Slick Willie's Balls And Reins.

McCain should read: The Legend Of Audie Murphy.

Death: Victory.

Insanity: Calm.

Murder: Rescue.

Cheating: Innovation.

Rich: Divine.

Poor: Accursed.

Truth: Fantasy.

Election: Mob Rule.

Grenade: Vitamin.

Bankruptcy: Ground Floor.

Graft: Icing.

Discrimination: Common Sense.

FISA: HUAC.

Stupid: Traditional.

Genocide: Integrity.

Business: God.

Dick Cheney: Shirley Temple.

Rumsfeld: McNamara.

MLK: H. Rap Brown.

Chicago: Calcutta.

Oil: Wool.

Sex: Teeth.

Crash: Humility.

-that's enough help. Won't work anyway. Off what they read, write, lie, and remember, nobody cares.

I hope a lot of time is spent on it.

They could try it on Seymour Hersch's New Yorker article...

+Hey! Barak may not have us in mind on FISA, nor those whose rights were trampled, or the courage of a feather, but something better happened to Keith Olbermann before he hung himself on amnesty. From Obama, distance, and some free chill. Good, Keith.

You survived your own dare.

+Bush changed Pa Kettle's GI vote!

(Check Variety. I think Vaudeville is back.)

My favorite encounter with auto-filters involved Emily Dickinson and a filter that auto-corrected "dick" to "happy stick."