Where Are They Now?
Remember Christian martyr Matt "Bam-Bam" Barber? You know, the guy who said he was fired by Allstate Insurance simply for standing up for traditional marriage (by denouncing gays as disease-ridden perverts who die young because of their icky sexual practices, and so sued the company for violating his freedom of religion.
Well, it seems that he and Allstate reached some kind of settlement. Neither side can discuss the terms, but Matt did tell WorldNetDaily that because of the settlement, he and his wife can "now move forward" with their lives -- which says to me that Matt didn't get total vindication (nor a really large cash amount). In any case, the deal didn't involve Allstate hiring Matt back, which is what the wingnuts were demanding that the company do. And since I can't find any indication that the AFA, which mounted a campaign against Allstate based on Matt's claims, has said anything about the resolution of the case (let alone trumpeted how their efforts led to the Allstate's total defeat, which is what they do in almost every case they champion), I'm suspecting that this wasn't the glorious victory that they were hoping for.
Oh, and the press accounts seem to indicate that Matt stuck to his story that MensNewsDaily added a bio mentioning his Allstate employment to his column without his permission -- a claim I still find rather hard to believe, since the same bio had been used for his WND columns for the previous several weeks, and Matt apparently didn't complain. If I were MND, I'd sue Matt.)
But back to the WND article about Matt's settlement: I found this part especially interesting:
"I think Allstate saw the writing on the wall," Peter LaBarbera, executive director of the Illinois Family Institute, told the Chicago Tribune. "I think they would have lost a lot of business over this."
Barber now is working for Republican candidate for governor in Illinois, Jim Oberweis. "I'm trying to do my part to get him elected March 21 in the Republican primary," Barber said. "He's the pro-life, pro-family candidate here in Illinois."
Oberweis faces fellow Republican Judy Baar Topinka, whom Barber describes as a "liberal," along with two other candidates. The winner will attempt to unseat incumbent Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich.
Yes, Matt now has a job which involves helping to run the political campaign of a far-right religious conservative. Who would have ever expected that?
(Okay, I did. See, at a ANOTER site where Matt mentioned his Allstate employment in his bio, he also said that his "term goal is to run for Senate or Congress." So, working on Oberweis's campaign seems like a perfect way for him to get his feet wet, especially since Oberweis is a "pro-marriage, pro-life," anti-gay candidate.)
Anyway, Matt has a new column up at Renew America -- you'll never guess what it's about?
Okay, maybe you will. It's about how a group of concerned Republican citizens has started this informative website to let the world know that the Republican candidate running against candidate Oberweis is a gay-loving liberal. Here are a couple of paragraphs from it:
StopTopinka.com provides must-see video of Judy Baar Topinka's annual participation in the Chicago "gay-pride" parade. By virtue of her active participation in the parade, one can only conclude that Topinka endorses its cause and message. This parade features nudity and lewd public displays — even though young children march in the parade and attend as observers. Additionally, it provides facts relative to Topinka's pro-homosexual activism, and her diversion as state treasurer, of $10 million in state taxpayer dollars to build a "gay" community center in Chicago.
StopTopinka.com spokesman Peter LaBarbera said he and other concerned citizens created the website "to get the truth about Judy Topinka's radical pro-'gay' activism out to the voters of Illinois. We know that most Republican voters in Illinois are still unaware of Topinka's liberal agenda, which includes helping hardened homosexual activists achieve their goal of using government power to force others to accept their lifestyle.
So, Matt is once again bashing gays as a way to show his "pro-family" creds. And, interestingly enough, the guy who heads the Illinois group which defended Matt against big, bad Allstate is also the spokesman for another group, one that is smearing Matt's candidate's Republican rival.
Coincidence? YOU be the judge!
But here's more of the Bam-Bam story, from a Nov. 2005 Chicago Herald story:
A year ago, Barber was enjoying life in the business world’s fast lane.
He spent five years with Allstate, mostly with the corporate security department, and was paid a six-figure salary.
His wife, Sarah, was about to give birth to the couple’s third child in four years. And they had just invested tens of thousands of dollars into restoring and renovating their house near downtown Villa Park.
And then, in he got fired, which was especially unfair, in that Allstate should have known that it would be an undue hardship on Matt not to continue to receive a six-figure salary. In fact, it was practically a hate crime (as Matt tells us later).
Being well-known hasn’t prevented Barber from falling into financial straits.
He hasn’t been able to keep up with his $3,000-a-month mortgage and is behind on his property tax payments.
“Barring some miracle, we’re going to lose our home to foreclosure,” he said, noting that he and his wife have been unable to sell their house, despite having it on the market for months.
The couple has had to rely on the generosity of strangers to help pay the bills.
Um, shouldn't a guy who was paid a six-figure salary for five years managed to have put away some savings?
And wouldn't it have helped Matt's finances if he had gotten a job? I mean, sure, it took him almost a year to land his dream job (working for a wingnut political candidate), but shouldn't he have been working at McDonalds or WalMart in the meantime? At least, that's what conservatives always advise poor people who are complaining about not being able to feed their families.
See, I guess it's okay for guys living in c. $300,000 houses to shake down strangers to help pay their mortgages, but it's not acceptable for the unworthy poor to panhandle for food money. That's how conservatism works.
But back to the story:
The Aurora dairy magnate [Jim Oberweis] has hired Barber to coordinate his campaign in DuPage County.
“Anyone who has heard Matt’s story of standing up for traditional family values knows that we have a talented fighter on our team,” Oberweis said in a statement.
Anyone who has heard Matt's story knows that he's a moron. Illinois residents, I don't want to tell you how to vote, but I think you should consider the possibility that candidate Oberweis is not the sharpest wingnut in your state.
The Human Rights Campaign’s Herrschaft declined to comment about others rallying around Barber.
“It concerns me when anyone is misrepresenting gay and lesbian families and demonizing them,” he said. “Because it is the kind of action that, ultimately, does lead to violence.”
As a Christian, Barber says he loves everyone. He insists there is nothing hateful about his beliefs.
“For me to voice my belief that there is sanctity in a marriage between one man and one woman, that’s not hate,” he said. “That’s just the cornerstone of society.
And saying that "the average life expectancy of a homosexual male is only about 45 years old – 30 years younger than that of a heterosexual male," and that gays are largely to blame "for this Country’s skyrocketing health care costs" is what a responsible insurance company executive should do (you know, to show that he loves everybody).
“But for them to snatch away my ability to provide for my young family, that is an act of hate.”
Gays kept Matt from stocking shelves at WalMart? The bastards!
Anyway, we will add Oberweis to our list of wingnut candidates whose campaigns we will attempt to remember to follow in the coming months. But I can tell you right now, 2006 is going to be an awfully stupid year.
3:33:21 AM 
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