Gays remember the last time Mike Pence would not answer a simple question . . .

Trying to build some anti-Hillary Clinton momentum on a comment she made last weekend has probably backfired (at least I hope it does) on the Trump/Pence campaign.

Last weekend during a fundraiser, Clinton said half of Trump's supporters could be put in a "basket of deplorables". She was commenting on various racist, sexist, xenophobic, and all-around nasty comments these folks have made during Trump's campaign rallies.  Even though she had a point, the Trump campaign and various conservatives have been attempting to manufacture a "pivotal campaign" moment from it.

Because of the "magic" of the internet, they have been unsuccessful. Folks have been posting and referring to old videos and articles which proved Clinton's point. However, Trump and company have continued to milk her statement.

They really should have stopped. Today, Mike Pence, Trump's running mate, was interviewed by Wolf Blitzer on CNN and that led to this exchange in which Pence refused to denounce white supremacist and former Klan leader David Duke as "deplorable":

BLITZER: But [Clinton] said, there are supporters, and you know this, there are some supporters of Donald Trump and Mike Pence, who, David Duke, for example, some other white nationalist, who would fit into that category of deplorables. Right?"

PENCE: "As I’ve told you the last time I was on, I'm not sure why the media keeps dropping David Duke's name. Donald Trump has denounced David Duke repeatedly. We don't want his support and we don't want the support of people who think like him."

BLITZER: "You called him a deplorable. You would call him a deplorable?"

PENCE: "No, I'm not in the name-calling business, Wolf, you know me better than that."

The media keeps bringing up Duke because Duke has aligned himself with Trump, including saying that he and Trump share the same voters. Duke also endorsed Trump, who at first, would not disavow the endorsement.

Pence's reluctance to denounce Duke as "deplorable" reminds me of the time last year when he was asked eight times about the anti-lgbt "religious liberty" law he signed as governor of Indiana. Eight times he refused to say whether or not the law could be used to discriminate against lgbts:



And they like to claim that Clinton won't answer a simple question?

'Hate group hoping Trump will roll back lgbt & reproductive rights' & other Mon. midday news briefs

The Family Research has a 'wish list' for Trump if he wins.

FRC's Agenda For President Trump's First 100 Days: Roll Back LGBT & Reproductive Rights - If you don't think this election is a big deal for the lgbt community, think again. Unfortunately almost every election is a big deal for us. Either deal with it or go home and hide under the covers.

New lawsuit demonizes transgender girl for acting like a girl - This is repulsive. The way the anti-lgbt is specifically targeting transgender kids is unlike anything I have seen. And I have seen a LOT.  

My Search For A Lesbian Donald Trump Supporter - Finding an lgbt Donald Trump supporter in general has to be . . . interesting.  

NC Gov. McCrory: Business Lobby Group Helped Shape LGBT Law - McCrory still in the pit of mud over HB2. 

RuPaul Wins His First Emmy! - Batten down the hatches. RuPaul has an Emmy.

Gary Bauer got away with helping to further the AIDS crisis

Religious right talking head Gary Bauer is the classic case of what happens when the lgbt community doesn't raise sufficient hell about those who have harmed us.

In the 80s, Bauer worked in the Reagan Administration.  He also undermined efforts to educate Reagan on the AIDS crisis and efforts to get the president to address it publicly. He was instrumental in undermining Surgeon General C. Everett Koop as the crisis swept through the nation. According to Koop, Bauer felt that AIDS was God's punishment.

So was Bauer ever made to address these issues. No. Not when he was the first president of anti-lgbt hate group the Family Research Council. Not when he ran for president in 2000. And of course not when he gave the following speech last weekend at FRC's nonsensical Values Voter Summit:

I hate to say it but Bauer will probably never have to answer for his efforts in furthering the AIDS crisis.

Related post:  

Gary Bauer - the anti-gay talking head who undermined the fight against HIV/AIDS in the Reagan Administration

'Meet the First Openly Gay Miss America Contestant in History' & other Fri. midday news briefs

Erin O’Flaherty

Meet The First Openly Gay Miss America Contestant in History - If she wins, that would be so awesome. She is Miss Missouri but she is originally from SOUTH CAROLINA!!!!

 A Gay Republican, The Child Abuse He Sanctioned, And The Homophobia Used To Defend Him - An uuuugly situation with the Log Cabin Republicans smack dab in the middle.

 Donald Trump And The So-Called 'Values Voters' - And the bigots and homophobes merrily move along together . . .  

DOJ report spurs police LGBT Advisory Council - There need to be more councils like that, hopefully not after incidents like this one spurring their creation.

Trump cozying up to anti-lgbt hate groups, personalities this weekend

Today is the beginning of the 2016 "Values Voter Summit" put on by the anti-lgbt hate group the Family Research Council. Keeping my description of FRC in mind, it doesn't take a palm reader to guess who attendees and speakers at this weekend monstrosity will be attacking.

This year will be extra nauseating because GOP presidential candidate and self-described "friend to the gay community" Donald Trump will be one of the speakers. With various members of the media seemingly more concerned with Hillary Clinton's "emails" and "optics," it's up to folks like yours truly to highlight the coming visual disaster of Trump's visit.

I've already written a post about the vile homophobia of folks and groups who will be present at this summit. Now let's focus a little more on the group sponsoring it, the Family Research Council. There are very good reasons why FRC has been called a hate group.



Related posts:

Trump a featured speaker at upcoming summit of extreme anti-lgbt groups

16 reasons why the Family Research Council is a hate group

'Lesbian couple in the middle of bakery controversy speak out' & other Thur midday news briefs

The Women Who Challenged Sweet Cakes on the Cost of Their Battle - This battle was not about cakes any more than Rosa Parks refused to stand up simply because she was tired. And it's a shame how this situation was distorted: 

 "We’re not political people, never wanted this attention, and only filed a claim with Oregon's Bureau of Labor and Industries after six months of relentless media attention and harassment. Meanwhile, the Kleins quickly became media darlings of the right wing. Conservative groups flew them out to appear at events, Ted Cruz featured them in a campaign video, and their fundraising page raised over $600,000. In contrast, we became the target of hateful, violent threats and a daily onslaught of negative calls and emails from around the world. Over the past three years, we have received several thousand Facebook messages calling us fat, evil, and dumb — some with threats so violent that we have sincerely feared for our lives, moved houses, and lived in hiding in hopes of protecting our family. "

 
Transgender Students and Parents Say the State Is Putting Children in Danger - Another case in which the anti-lgbt industry and their supporters grab the mantle of concern while those whom we should be concerned about are being put in danger.  

Billboards cause controversy in Waco's LGBT community - 'Ex-gay' billboards. And check out the semantic game of evasion played by the organization behind it. They claim to have no problem with gay folks except for the fact that they think we shouldn't exist.  

10 Quick Lesbian Coming Out Stories That Will Make You Smile - This is a wonderful way to wrap up today's news briefs.

Sia honors victims of Orlando Massacre in wonderful video

Recording artist Sia honors the victims of the Orlando Massacre with this powerful video to her song, 'The Greatest.' 

The clip starts on a black screen with the words #WEAREYOURCHILDREN printed across. Then, we see a crying Ziegler wiping paint under her eyes, as if crying rainbow tears, or perhaps applying warpaint for battle. A large group of kids lies on the ground below her, motionless, and she begins screaming (though we don’t hear her), urging the kids to get up.

Once the music starts, the group begins moving in unison, with Maddie leading the charge. Attitude reports that the children represent the victims killed in the deadliest mass shooting in America’s history ― “49 dancers for 49 lives lost,” as the magazine put it. With lyrics like, “Don’t give up, I won’t give up / Don’t give up, no no no” and “Running out of breath but I / oh I I got stamina,” it’s hard not to draw those parallels.

The kids dance through an old house, eventually coming together as one group. They jump up and down, moving together as a single entity (much like individuals would at a club as music blares through the speakers) before collapsing to the ground, leaving behind the haunting visual of bodies on the floor.

How low will NC Gov. Pat McCrory sink to get a second term?

Behind in the polls, NC Gov Pat McCrory is relying on the old religious right tactic of fear to get folks to vote for him.

Never mind that the ad targets transgender children by implying that they are predators in defense of that awful HB2 law he passed, i.e. the same law which is probably the reason why he has a strong chance of being a one-term governor.

First his re-election campaign exploits a victim of child molestation to attack the transgender community  and now this. With at least two more months left, I'm scared to think how low can McCrory sink:




Hat tip to The New Civil Rights Movement.

Trump a featured speaker at upcoming summit of extreme anti-lgbt groups

Trump to put on the mantle of morality this weekend?

Those who continue to claim that Trump is a friend to the lgbt community deserves a swift kick.  Trump will be a featured speaker at the Family Research Council's "Values Voter Summit," which will be held this weekend.

The organization hosting the program, anti-lgbt hate group the Family Research Council, bragged earlier last month about attaining Trump as a speaker:

 The organizations gathering together for this mess have always claimed that they have been unfairly attacked for their "personal Christian beliefs" rather than the untrue and ugly claims they have made about the lgbt community. According to Right Wing Watch, this is a lie:

It's always about fear with the anti-lgbt right

In the 10 years I have been blogging, the religious right have decreased its reliance on junk and cherry-picked science to denigrate the lgbt community, but the central exploitation of fear still remains.

Case in point - a bill in Pennsylvania, which has a good chance of passing, would add sexual orientation and gender identity to the already existing state nondiscrimination ordinance law. It sounds simple, but the American Family Association fake new site, One News Now, is spinning the bill into a spooky "bathroom bondoogle" attack against the transgender community. It also is claiming that the law has negative consequence for churches, even while admitting that the law has a religious exemption

It even has a poll question, which further exploits this notion:

Junk science or no junk science, with the religious right, it's always about fear.

'That time Mike Pence spread lies about 'gay sex' . . .' & other Tue. midday news briefs

Mike Pence and gay sex . . .

Journal by Pence-helmed foundation described gay sex in graphic detail - See, children. If you spread lies about gay sex, there are no repercussions. You too can go on to be elected to Congress, serve as governor, and be a vice presidential candidate. THAT is the main reason why more needs to be done to not only refute anti-lgbt propaganda but also hold those who spread it in the present and past accountable.  

You Must Read This Amazingly Graphic Gay Sex Article Mike Pence’s Journal Once Published - More about the article.

Hobby Lobby Redux: Transgender Discrimination in Michigan - Here we go again.  

The 'Black, Queer, Feminist' Legal Trailblazer You've Never Heard Of - It's sad to think about all of the folks lgbt history tends to leave out. We can't all be flashy entertainers.  

Phyllis Schlafly, One of History's Worst Homophobes, Dies at 92 - Let's forget this woman's true legacy. 

 Jehovah’s Witnesses new tactic in spreading ‘anti gay’ message - In London but still a drag.

Wacky reactions to SCOTUS marriage equality ruling revisited (in honor of Phyllis)

Anti-lgbt and all-around conservative hagstorm Phyllis Schlafly passed away yesterday at 92. I won't crack any jokes about her age, her life, or the fact that even though she had a gay son, she bent over backwards to be nasty to us. I will just revisit the wackiest reactions to last year's SCOTUS ruling for marriage equality just as a way of demonstrating how yet again the lgbt community has survived and thrived whilst another enemy of our equality is gone:

And then there is my personal favorite:

Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters celebrates 10th year

Happy 10th year anniversary to this blog!!

Tuesday, September 6 will mark the 10th anniversary of this blog. It's come a long way since being than an idea I had to pump up knowledge of a book I was self-publishing. 

For the record, the book was somewhat of a disaster, but this blog has existed on its own to break barriers, get a bit of acclaim and a few awards, as well as put a great spotlight on a issue we've long needed to discuss - how the religious right and morality groups use junk science, cherry-picked science, and outright lies to create a pattern of deceit against the lgbt community. This pattern is then used to manufacture reasons to deny us equality under the law. 

I like to think that I've done well to expose these lies and the entities who tell them. I also like to think that I've made history in my own little way as one of the many tireless lgbt activists and independent news figures. We've all  come a long way from 2006 and have gotten so many victories because of our efforts.

 I've certainly learned a lot about my community and myself. And it will be something I hope to continue  the next 10 years.  

The following is the first post I published here and reading it always pleases me. It reminds me of where this blog is now in comparison to where it began. It also reminds me that anyone willing to work and sacrifice for the better of his or her community will always succeed in their goals.

 There are a bunch of organizations in this country who thrive on ignorance, fear, and a sense of entitlement.

They refer to themselves as "pro family" and even members of the gay community regard them as the religious right


With all due respect, I don't see them as that. They are an anti-gay industry who seeks to gain political power by building on the religious beliefs and ignorance of people of faith. And they have been pretty successful.

Central to this success are their so-called studies on the gay community. In order to prove that gays and lesbians should not have any protection of laws, they have created a written and oral pattern of deception that is not only blatant in its attempts but shameful in its audacity. In their zeal to prove the worst about the gay community, the anti-gay industry runs roughshod over science and truth. They have created a houses of pseudo-scientific studies based on distortions, lies, headless monsters, and legitimate studies taken out of context , which are then pushed by fake experts, Ph.D.s, conservative columnists and bloggers, and ignorant people of faith all willing to sacrifice their integrity on the altar of an alleged higher calling.

We know the claims these studies make:

gays have a short life span
gays molest children at a higher level than heterosexuals
lesbians abuse their partners at a high level
gays are more violent and are prone to crimes
gays are promiscuous and cannot handle the concept of marriage.

For two years, I have studied the methodologies of so-called "pro family" groups (i.e. Focus on the Family, Concerned Women for America, the Traditional Values Coalition, etc) and am glad to say that their claims are rooted in lies, outright deceptions, and legitimate studies with portions cherry picked out.

In 2007, I will publish my book, Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters, detailing just what how the anti-gay industry propagandizes about the gay community. Through this blog, I will publish some of my findings and update everyone as to the progress of my book. I will update this blog on a weekly basis.

Now I must emphasis that I am not attacking anyone's religion. I respect a Christian's right to believe that homosexuality is an abomination. I also respect the right of the Boys Scouts of America to prohibit gays from serving as members. Of course I also believe that if the organization had any integrity at all, it should refuse any form of public monies because some of this money is derived from gay sources via taxes. And isn't accepting money from those who you feel will not conform to your moral code just as bad as allowing them in your group.

But I digress.

What I am saying through my book and my blog is that distortions and lies in the name of God are still distortions and lies. And anyone who knowingly uses them and can still refer to themselves as a person of faith needs to examine themselves. 

Editor's note - I will be celebrating my blog's 10th anniversary with a September 17th party. Pictures will be posted.

New anti-lgbt 'study' latest in religious right habit of cherry-picking science

The anti-gay right has terrible habit of cherry-picking science

Recently, I've written several posts about a supposed new study which disputes the idea that people are born gay or transgender. The supposed study, published by Drs. Lawrence Mayer and Paul McHugh, has been pushed by members of the anti-lgbt industry as a supposed breakthrough and a new development with regards to the lgbt orientation.

However,  others were quick to point out how its credibility is damaged by the motivations its publishers and authors. Last month, The Daily Beast published an article detailing the extensive anti-lgbt bias of one of the authors, McHugh.

On Monday, Dean Hamer, Ph.D. and scientist emeritus at the National Institutes of Health, blasted the report in an issue of The Advocate:

The article claims to be “a careful summary and an up-to-date explanation of research — from the biological, psychological, and social sciences — related to sexual orientation and gender identity.” It claims to show sexual orienation is chosen and not fixed, and that gay people are not "born gay." In truth, it is a selective and outdated collection of references and arguments aimed at confusing rather than clarifying our understanding of sexual orientation and gender identity.

 . . . The authors' review of the role of genes in sexual orientation, the area of my own research, is revealing of their methodology. Of the six studies using proper probability sampling methods that have been published in the peer-reviewed literature in the past 16 years, they include only one — and it just so happens to be the one with the lowest estimate of genetic influence of the entire set.

They then discuss, at great length, an obscure study of 7th- to 12th-graders, published in a sociology journal, that doesn't even measure sexual orientation, instead relying on a single question about “romantic attraction.” It's an odd choice of articles to review given Mayer and McHugh's emphasis on proper trait measurement; perhaps they were driven by the fact that it failed to find any heritability, thus supporting their claim that nobody is “born gay.” A very different conclusion was reached by a careful meta-analysis of all the available twin data, recently published in a large review that Mayer and McHugh fail to even mention.

Hamer's accusations isn't the first time that various members of anti-lgbt and conservative groups have been called out for scientific cherry-picking when making their case against lgbt equality.  Over the years, I've catalogued a few incidents:

In 2012, Seton Hall professor Dr. Theodora Sirota complained that Rick Fitzgibbons of  the NARTH (the National Association of Research and Therapy of Homosexuality) misused her work to make the case that children in same sex households are not raised better than children "in stable homes with a mother and a father."

In 2011, Tom Minnery, a spokesman from Focus on the Family, was dressed down by Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) during a Congressional hearing for deliberately misrepresenting a study. Minnery initially used the study to claim, as Fitzgibbons did in his misrepresentation, that same-sex households are inferior to two parent mother/father households.

In 2010, John Horgan, a science journalist and Director of the Center for Science Writings at the Stevens Institute of Technology, also cried foul about how his work was being distorted.

Other incidents:

Black pastor interviewing Trump involved in controversial video

In his sloppy pursuit of the White House, GOP candidate Donald Trump is getting so many groups angry at him.

You can now add black Republicans to the list. According to Buzzfeed, Trump actually has them enraged regarding an interview he will be having with a black pastor. Initially this was spun as Trump coming to a predominantly black church in a bid to reach African-American voters. But then, it turned into a simple interview. Now, it has become something absolutely comical:

On Saturday, Donald Trump will sit down for an interview with Wayne T. Jackson, a pastor in Michigan as part of his tentative black outreach efforts — and black Republicans are fuming.

For one thing, they say, Jackson isn’t conservative and doesn’t support Trump. But Jackson also presided over a ordination ritual some time ago that became a source of viral controversy.

The video published in 2013 shows Jackson mounting two male bishops on the ground as part of an “consecration” ceremony; the video drew scrutiny, with some criticizing it as sexual, and others saying it wasn’t sexual, but had no place in the church.

That would be this video below:

In the ceremony, Jackson tells the men, “You got to be buried… you got to die.” With the contemporary gospel song “I Give Myself Away” playing in the background, the men first laid face down on the ground. In the video depicting the ritual, Jackson circles them a number of times, appearing to grab their ankles. When the two men were covered, face down, in white sheets, Jackson then covered them in another red sheet, and promptly laid on top of each of them, one at a time, to the audience’s approval. After being helped up, Jackson removed the sheets.

Jackson defended the act to Fox 2 Detroit as nonsexual, saying the bishops were being consecrated under his authority. “For somebody to take that and try to use that, you know, in a perverted way, we pray for them. We walk in love,” he said in an interview with Fox 2 Detroit. He lambasted detractors, saying, “if you’re ignorant about something, you need to shut up.”

The black Republicans quoted in the Buzzfeed article saying that Trump choosing to be interviewed by Jackson, in light of the fact that the pastor does not support Trump and the controversial video, shows that the GOP candidate is not taking them seriously.

If they feel that way about Trump, they need to take a number and get in line.

'Woman using law Mike Pence pushed as a defense against child abuse charge' & other Thur. midday news briefs

Woman arrested for child abuse citing Pence's religious freedom law as a defense.

Woman charged with child abuse uses Indiana Religious Freedom Law as defense - Another case of an anti-lgbt law having consequences far beyond what some folks think. And no, this woman was not simply "disciplining" her child. She put 37 bruises on the body of this seven-year-old using a coat hanger and then cited the Bible. Bang up job pushing that law, Mike Pence! 

New children’s song explains bathrooms and bigots in best possible way - I LOVE it!! 

 Texas Attorney General Jumps Into Lawsuits Over North Carolina’s Anti-Transgender Law - Apparently someone needs to send a copy of the above song to THIS guy.

 Trump’s Sales Pitch To LGBT Community: Islamophobia And T-Shirts - Please! We want more than a t-shirt, jerk! 

 Clinton pushed LGBT rights, despite foundation’s anti-gay donors - And she got criticized for it, no doubt. That's all they do.

This is transgender

NC Gov. Pat McCrory and Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick like to play dumb with regards their verbal and legislative attacks on the transgender community. Both have gone on record claiming that there is no clear definition of a transgender person. They should educate themselves by watching this short video created by the Human Rights Campaign:

'Matt Bomer to play transgender woman and people aren't happy' & other Wed. midday news briefs

Matt Bomer

Again with the transface, Hollywood? Matt Bomer booed for ‘playing’ trans - Though this seems like a negative controversy, it's actually a good thing. As groups of people become more visible, they are quick to demand their due and respect. I'm all for it. And the concerns are valid.  

A New Sense of Pride: Feeling the Heat: New Name Declares SC Pride’s Importance to Columbia - South Carolina is having its 27th's Pride Celebration. What should I wear?  

Groups encourage more gay couples to adopt children, be foster parents - I love this. Same-sex households are wonderful places to raise children. 

Tony Perkins: Obama's Attacks On Religious Liberty 'Just As Dangerous' As Terrorism - Blah blah blah, hyperbole, religious liberty, Obama is evil, Christians good, all "homosexuals" are evil, send money, blah blah blah.

Media Matters creates guide for reporting on anti-bullying & nondiscrimination protections for lgbt students

Media Matters nails it again with this handy guide on The Do's And Don’ts On Reporting On Anti-Bullying And Nondiscrimination Protections For LGBT Students.

If you want to read about these items in more detail, Media Matters breaks it down very nicely:

'VA school district wants SCOTUS to hear case on bathroom policy' & other Tue. midday news briefs

Do the right thing for our transgender children.

Supreme Court asked to hear Gavin Grimm case - When it comes to lgbt equality, particularly our transgender community, our opponents are determined to go as far as they can. They just want to do it the hard way.  

Determining whether or not an LGBT athlete is 'publicly out' isn't always simple - If only anything was simple with regards being out.  

Campus Pride releases Shame List of worst colleges for LGBT students - Take this list to heart.  

Australian Opposition to Push for Gay Marriage Law Reform - Get with the program and do the right thing, Australia. 

Texas LGBT Students Say They Don’t Feel Safe Now That People Can Carry Guns On Campus - I don't blame them. I wouldn't feel all that safe, either.