'Anti-LGBTQ group in TX spending $1 million to scare midterm voters' & other Fri midday news briefs

Anti-LGBTQ group in Houston spending $1 million to scare voters

Anti-LGBTQ Hate Group to Spend $1M on Ads Supporting GOP Candidates in Houston - Well as a gay man, I was beginning to feel left out of the madness that is this year's midterm. I guess I'm not supposed to feel that way any longer.  The old gimmicks of homophobia never really die and never actually go away.

Editor's note - And just in case this story hits big, the following link answers all of your questions about the event in the center of the anti-LGBTQ attack - Drag Queen Story Hour. It's a perfectly harmless, educational event and parents of the children who attend approve. Some of the parents attend themselves.

Justice Dept. Rank-and-File Tell of Discontent Over Sessions’s Approach - Contained in this excellent New York Times article on how AG Jeff Sessions is bringing down morale in the Justice Department (due to his pursuit of his own personal agenda even to the point of ignoring advice from lawyers in the department) is a seriously damaging passage on how he chose to attack the transgender community:

In stripping protections last year for transgender people under the Civil Rights Act, Mr. Sessions consulted no departmental experts, leaving out Diana Flynn, the head of the civil rights appellate division who led the effort to add the protections in 2014, and many of her career staff.The process left little room for debate. “Edicts came down, and it was up to us to try to implement them,” said Ms. Flynn, who has left the Justice Department for Lambda Legal, a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender legal aid organization.

In addition:

 Internal events intended to boost morale have also proved tense. Guy Benson, a Fox News commentator, was chosen to speak at a gay pride event over the objections of the department’s L.G.B.T. affinity group, DOJ Pride, Justice Department lawyers said. DOJ Pride members held a separate event, where one employee spoke about how progress for L.G.B.T. Americans had regressed under Mr. Trump. Department officials would not comment on the episode. 

Men and Christians experience higher amounts of discrimination than other groups, Trump voters claim ...more than women, LGBTQ people, Muslims, or non-white people. - Ahem . . . bullshit!  

This bisexual Republican politician is switching parties thanks to Trump - Way to go, girlfriend!

Navy Officer’s Wife and Daughter Help During Her Promotion Ceremony - This is sooooo cute! I LOVE this!