This right here made my day. Danielle, a Wisconsin voter speaks plainly about children, drag queens, the right-wing media, and what she fears most as a mother when it comes to her kids. No talking points, no rhetorical tricks. She broke it down and went viral. Trust me when I say this is good.
This is a remarkable comment from a mom in the Milwaukee area. pic.twitter.com/FyjVkSreWx
— Dan Shafer (@DanRShafer) September 26, 2024
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| Somehow, I don't think Mark Robinson (right) and Donald Trump (left) are as chummy as they used to be. |
Far-right conservative NC Lt Gov, state gubernatorial nominee, and (if the allegations are true) super sex extraordinaire Mark Robinson is defiant in the face of his latest scandal. He insists that this one, involving him being on a *porno message board years ago allegedly calling himself a 'Black Nazi', expressing pro-slavery enthusiasm and a love of transgender pornography, and bragging about graphically vulgar sex acts - some involving urination and analingus - he allegedly took part in, is a setup by his opponents.
However, he just turned down a chance to prove it.
From WRAL:
North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson rejected multiple offers from supporters to connect him with information technology specialists to help the Republican gubernatorial nominee investigate racist and lewd comments on a pornographic website made by someone with a username that CNN tied to Robinson, people directly familiar with the matter told WRAL on Monday.
Robinson’s alleged rejection of the offers sowed doubt among some staff members, the people said. His response in the wake of the report likely played a role in the exodus of some staff members, they said. At least eight campaign staff members quit the campaign on Sunday, including Robinson's campaign manager and finance director. The people spoke on the condition of anonymity because they feared professional retribution.
. . . CNN reported Thursday that an account tied to Robinson made posts praising Nazis, calling for the reinstatement of slavery and describing pornographic preferences, among other things. Robinson referred to himself in posts as a "Black Nazi" and said he liked "[transgender]-on-girl porn," using a slur for transgender people, CNN reported. The posts appeared on the website “Nude Africa.” CNN connected the posts to Robinson through user names, profile pictures and email accounts, and the network explained those connections in its investigative piece.
To say that Robinson's campaign is hemorrhaging is an understatement. While Robinson has defiantly insisted that he will not drop out, he's freefalling.
Hard.
From The Huff Post:
North Carolina Republican gubernatorial nominee Mark Robinson lashed out Monday against “the false lies” about him in a CNN investigative report Thursday that uncovered years of disturbing comments he made in a forum on a porn website. Except then, in the same breath, he suggested maybe those comments were really by him. During a campaign event, his first since the CNN report triggered a mass exodus of staff on his campaign, Robinson, the state’s lieutenant governor, vowed to take legal action against CNN over its story.
. . .“You’d better understand I am coming after CNN full-throttle,” a visibly angry Robinson told reporters about taking legal action against the news network. “We’re not here to talk about 15- or 20-year-old salacious, false lies,” he continued in a rant. But then, amid his shouting, he suggested those past comments may be real after all: “They want to talk about what possibly happened 15 years ago.
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| NC GOP gubernatorial nominee Mark Robinson |
North Carolina Lt Governor and present GOP state gubernatorial nominee Mark Robinson has made a career out of making homophobic, transphobic and all-around bigoted comments. I guess we can consider the following as karma knocking at his door.
From CNN on Thursday:
Mark Robinson, the controversial and socially conservative Republican nominee for governor of North Carolina, made a series of inflammatory comments on a pornography website’s message board more than a decade ago, in which he referred to himself as a “black NAZI!” and expressed support for reinstating slavery, a CNN KFile investigation found.
Despite a recent history of anti-transgender rhetoric, Robinson said he enjoyed watching transgender pornography, a review of archived messages found in which he also referred to himself as a “perv.”
The comments, which Robinson denies making, predate his entry into politics and current stint as North Carolina’s lieutenant governor. They were made under a username that CNN was able to identify as Robinson by matching a litany of biographical details and a shared email address between the two. Many of Robinson’s comments were gratuitously sexual and lewd in nature.
They were made between 2008 and 2012 on “Nude Africa,” a pornographic website that includes a message board. The comments were made under the username minisoldr, a moniker Robinson used frequently online.
CNN won't publish some of the comments, but I've seen them circulating on Twitter. Needless to say, I won't be publishing them either. They are vulgar, including a very graphic story of him allegedly having sex (complete with urination) with his wife's sister. It is not known whether or not this encounter happened, but let's just say Robinson can tell a story.
What makes this story even more ironic is the rhetoric Robinson has used in the past against the LGBTQ community. According to GLAAD, Robinson has:
—Called for transgender women to be arrested for using public bathrooms and should instead, “find a corner outside somewhere.”
—Said gender identity issues are bringing the country to “hell’s gates.”
—Misgendered Michelle Obama saying, “Michelle Obama is an anti-American, abortion and gay marriage supporting, liberal leftist elitist and I’ll be glad when he takes his boyfriend and leaves the White House.”
—Wrote that people “who support this mass delusion called transgenderism” are trying “to turn God’s creation backwards, and make it into a sickening image of rebellion to glorify Satan.”
—Described the LGBTQ community as “filth.” Then repeated the insult saying, “Yes, I called it filth.”
The above comments highlight the crux of the controversy for many. Prominent trans activist Charlotte Clymer said the following on X (formerly known as Twitter):
Look, I don't give a damn what any consenting adult is or isn't into. It's none of my business, nor anyone else's. If these are the allegations about to drop, the issue is that Mark Robinson enjoys trans porn while publicly calling for us to be arrested for existing.
And believe it or not, it gets worse for Robinson.
From Politico also on Thursday:
An email address belonging to North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson was registered on Ashley Madison, a website designed for married people seeking affairs. An adviser to Robinson, granted anonymity to speak freely, confirmed to POLITICO that the email address in question belongs to Robinson.
The discovery of Robinson’s personal email address on Ashley Madison comes as Republicans in North Carolina on Thursday braced for more potentially damaging news about the scandal-prone nominee for governor, whose chances of winning the seat appear increasingly grim. Robinson has recorded an interview with CNN set to air Thursday evening, denying various allegations against him of other online activities, according to a person with knowledge of the situation.
On Thursday afternoon, CNN reported that Robinson, whom Donald Trump endorsed, had made “inflammatory comments” on the message board of a pornography website, including that he “enjoyed watching transgender pornography.”
Robinson had already foreshadowed the nature of the allegations CNN would highlight, calling them “salacious tabloid trash” in a video his campaign released Thursday insisting he is remaining in the race and issuing a blanket denial of allegations being brought against him. The campaign published the video as political operatives in North Carolina and around the country were in a frenzy over the forthcoming CNN story.
Robinson has denied it all and say he will stay in the race. However, this scandal has been seen as a blow to Donald Trump's presidential campaign. Trump not only endorsed Robinson, but effusively praised him in the past. On one occasion, he publicly referred to Robinson as Martin Luther King Jr on steroids and better than Martin Luther King, Jr. Kamala Harris' campaign has not commented on this except to highlight all of the times Trump has praised Robinson in the past.
North Carolina has been seen as a crucial state for both campaigns in the upcoming election. Robinson was already down in the polls by double digits to the Democratic gubernatorial nominee Josh Stein. The question now becomes if Robinson does not drop out the race, how much damage would it do to Trump's campaign. Or how much damage will be done even if he does drop out.
Camera Bartolotta, GOP state senator from Pennsylvania and self-described Libs of TikTok supporter, is shocked to find out that the site and its founder, Chaya Raichik, unashamedly spins lies.
That, as you can tell, is sarcasm coming from me. The crux of the story, however, is true. Bartolotta isn't happy that the site is helping Trump to spread lies about Haitian immigrants. Not the specific lie that they kidnap and eat pets, mind you. Raichik is spreading a general lie the Trump campaign is trying to weave, i.e. that Kamala Harris is supposedly bussing immigrants in where they are supposedly stealing jobs from people in the area, while putting a drain on resources.
Libs of TikTok:
Incredible footage revealing an operation in Charleroi, PA where Haitians are being bussed in and from food factories operated by Fourth Street Foods.
It is estimated that 90% of workers are made up of Haitians.
Kamala imported 2,000 Haitians in this town of 4,000
Bartolotta:
This is not true. The business owner provides transportation for workers to get to & from his facility. These are not immigrants being bussed in by Kamala.I follow you & repost but you are playing into the hands of people who are jeopardizing the safety of innocent children in our local school. These Haitians are working hard, sending their children to school and opening businesses. They are here legally. They did not cross our border.
Many are professionals who escaped horrific conditions in their home country. There was no workforce in Charleroi a few years ago when a business owner desperately needed them. He advertised and looked for workers for a long time. Before shutting down completely, he hired an agency that connected immigrants who were vetted and LEGAL to work in his facility. Instead of closing, he now has three shifts working around the clock. He also renovated multiple dilapidated apartment buildings and put them back on the tax roll for the town. He’s been vilified wrongly. Please, check the facts before posting information the jeopardizes the safety of good, hard-working people. Thank you.
The last part of Bartolotta's tweet is hilarious:
Please, check the facts before posting information the jeopardizes the safety of good, hard-working people.
Girlfriend, where the hell have you been?
I supposed I should give Bartolotta props for defending the Haitian community and calling out Raichik's lies, but I'm not going to. It's a matter of principle to call her out instead. Bartolotta admits that she supports and has retweeted Libs of TikTok. That means she has helped to amplify countless lies spread about schools, libraries, hospitals, teachers, and any other parties Raichik has chosen to vilify as pedophiles, groomers, and "child mutilators."
That pretty much makes Bartolotta partly responsible - no matter how small - for the personal attacks, bomb threats, unfair firings, and the rest of the terroristic havoc unleashed by Libs of TikTok through its campaign of demonization. Apparently, it was a blast for Bartolotta when she took part in the attacks and the scapegoating when it was others, but now that her city is targeted, folks are supposed to what? Applaud her for calling the attacks out? Hardly. It's like watching someone talk about pest control while ignoring the fact that they were the one who let in the rats and cockroaches in the first place.
I would sincerely hope that Bartolotta learns a lesson from this about how being targeted hurts, but somehow, I doubt it. All I can tell her to enjoy the fleas she got when she laid down with the dogs known as Libs of TikTok and Chaya Raichik.
The rest of us will enjoy watching you scratch.
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| Democratic presidential nominee (and present VP) Kamala Harris (right) enjoys watching Republican presidential nominee (and former president) Donald Trump (left) thoroughly humiliate himself during Tuesday night's debate. |
In case you've been living in a cave and haven't heard about Tuesday night's presidential debate, Vice President Kamala Harris made a lot of people's dream come true. She completely eviscerated Donald Trump. In hindsight, it should have been expected. Harris is a very accomplished woman in spite of all of the lies told about her competence. In contrast, Trump's an idiot, a moron who got into the White House by a combination of a fluke and him being a useful idiot to folks seeing him as a gateway to power.
How good was she? Check out the links:
The debate between Harris and Trump wasn’t close — and 4 other takeaways
The Most Satisfying Moment of the Harris-Trump Debate
Republicans fret Trump debate performance could haunt him at polls in November
Panicking Trump Has Desperate New Excuse Not to Debate Harris Again
What will most likely be remembered as the standout moment of the debate was when Trump attempted to slam Harris on immigration by repeating a debunked claim that Haitian immigrants in Ohio are stealing and eating pets. Days before the debate, far right conservatives on social media spread this awful smear. By the time of the debate, it was already thoroughly debunked. However, no one seems to have told Trump (it probably wouldn't have mattered anyway if they had).
Not only was Trump factchecked by David Muir, one of the moderators, but then Harris proceeded to figuratively pick his bones simply through her facial expression.
And check out just two examples of how folks on Twitter are simply dragging The Donald:
I better go superviral for this... pic.twitter.com/00Laf5QUrx
— Fearghas Kelly (@FearghasKelly) September 11, 2024
A key point missing in a lot of post debate analysis is that Trump’s claim about immigrants eating pets almost perfectly syncs up to the piano in the Peanuts theme song. pic.twitter.com/6icWLe1sPN
— Noah Garfinkel (@NoahGarfinkel) September 11, 2024
From my state of South Carolina comes possibly more payback for those who like to brand folks as "groomers.
From The Island Packet:
Mardy Burleson, a multimedia design and engineering teacher, accused several parents and community members of labeling her as a “groomer” — defined as a predator who builds a relationship with a child to abuse them — on social media and podcasts last year, according to court filings. This followed her distribution of a student survey in her class that included a question about preferred pronouns. Burleson claims the defamation has damaged her reputation and put her safety in jeopardy.
The harassment occurred after the movement to ban books in Beaufort County schools, which garnered national media attention including from CBS News’ 60 Minutes. Many of the defendants supported the ban, claiming the 97 books pulled from school libraries were inappropriate and pornographic. Ultimately, only five books were banned.
Attorney Meg Phelan of the Equality Legal Action Fund, a group consisting of volunteer attorneys and advocates who represents educators, public officials, elected officials and members of the LGBTQ+ community against defamation, took on the case pro-bono.
According to The Island Packet, five people were named in the lawsuit including a state lawmaker, SC Representative for District 10 Thomas Beach. It also said that the lawsuit charges that these individuals of using social media to claim that Burleson sexually grooming kids:
In addition to defamation, Burleson argues that the defendants’ accusations of grooming were particularly damaging because they falsely implied criminal conduct involving sexual abuse of minors. The defendants portrayed Burleson as someone unfit to be around children, which could lead to serious consequences, including the loss of her teaching position, damage to her professional standing and even legal ramifications.
The court filings details how the defendants continued their public campaign against Burleson across social media platforms, podcasts and even school board meetings, calling for her removal as a teacher. Burleson claims that these actions have not only harmed her professional reputation but also caused her personal anguish, fearing for her safety and that of her family, especially after her child was mentioned in these defamatory attacks.
One person named in the lawsuit, David Cook, was banned from Beaufort County school properties last year after he not only harassed teachers but threw chicken feed at board members. According to an August 2, 2023 edition of The Island Packet, Cook had already made a name for himself by stalking and threatening teachers including one in particular, Kathleen Harper:
During the week of May 29, he hand-delivered a “thank you” note to the school accusing Harper of indoctrinating students. It was the last week of school and Cook also posted on Facebook “If you’re in support of giving sexually explicit material to children, it’s important to remember......Dead Pedophiles Don’t Re-Offend.” “I was scared,” Harper said. “I was frightened.”
The Island Packet said Burleson is suing for libel and slander and actual, special, and punitive damages. If Burleson succeeds in her lawsuit, she will be the third person this year who successfully struck back after falsely being accused of sexually grooming children.
In August, a New Hampshire legislator, David Love, paid $200,000 to settle with two drag queens after he falsely labeled one as a sex offender and accused the other of dancing with kids in a sexual manner.
In May, drag performer Eric Posey was awarded a $1.1 million judgement against a far-right blogger who falsely accused him of exposing himself to children during a performance.
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| Moms for Liberty co-founder Tiffany Justice (left) dances with Donald Trump after a town hall conversation in which Trump said that schools are performing surgeries on trans children. Justice later admitted that Trump was lying but also said she was happy for the lie. |
CNN just called out Trump's lie that schools are performing surgeries on trans kids. It's a very good write up. And in the midst of it was something interesting pointed out to me by Joe Jervis (JoeMyGod).:
CNN reached out to four conservative organizations that monitor how schools handle gender issues to check if they had any evidence that might corroborate Trump’s claim. None of these organizations said they had – though the two that responded in detail defended Trump’s remarks nonetheless.
Tiffany Justice, the Moms for Liberty co-founder who conducted the public conversation with Trump, said in a Tuesday interview: “Are kids getting surgery in school? No they’re not.” But she continued that she was still “thankful to President Trump” for making the claim – since, she said, his remark has drawn attention to the important issue of schools facilitating children’s social transitions without parental consent. Justice said of Trump’s claim: “It grabbed your attention, and we’re talking about it now, and that makes me very happy.”
These conservative groups and personalities - Justice in particular - are aware that Trump told a lie, but they don't care because the lie gets people talking. And while they are busy basking in the attention, Justice and the rest also don't seem to care that Trump has wrecked their entire premise They claim that gender-affirming healthcare is harmful to children and that schools are attempting to usurp the right of parents to raise their children by pushing this healthcare and various other nefarious endeavors. But if this were true, then why are they defending an obvious - and absolutely pathetic - lie which damages the credibility of their narrative. Probably because their claims were full of sh!t from the start.
That's the common thread in all anti-LGBTQ propaganda. By design, its intent is to shock and exploit people's fears and prejudices. In the early 1980s, a discredited researcher named Paul Cameron (google him on this site. I've talked about him a lot) told a lie about gay man mutilating a young boy in public restroom. That story garnered enough attention to kill a pro-gay ordinance even though it was proven to be false.
Decades later, we see how this hasn't changed via the various lies told about drag queens supposedly exposing themselves to kids or encouraging kids to fondle them. These stories were proven to be lies, but they were still effective in creating anti-drag laws.
To people like Justice, it's never been about protecting kids. It's always been about garnering power through prejudice and fears. The only good thing I can say about Donald Trump is that he encourages people like Justice to dispense with all of the proper talking points and show their true faces of bigotry.
With the following claim, Donald Trump's desperation to gain ground on Kamala Harris is so blatant.
From The Advocate:
Former President Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, continued to push his transphobic rhetoric during an appearance at the annual Moms for Liberty Summit in Washington, D.C., on Friday.
Speaking with Moms for Liberty co-founder Tiffany Justice, Trump criticized the growing acceptance of transgender Americans in society and opposed transgender inclusion in sports and health care.
During the hour-long discussion, Trump reiterated his belief that transgender women should be barred from participating in women’s sports. He also lied about access to gender-affirming care for minors.
“Think of it, your kid goes to school and comes home a few days later with an operation,” Trump falsely claimed, misrepresenting the complex and highly regulated process of gender-affirming health care for minors in the United States.
“The school decides what’s going to happen with your child. And many of these childs, 15 years later say, what the hell happened? Who did this to me? They say, who did this to me? It’s incredible,” Trump said.
No children are going to school and receiving surgery there for gender dysphoria.
. . .Major medical associations in the U.S. support gender-affirming care for transgender youth and adults. Trump’s appearance comes after significant setbacks for Moms for Liberty. In November 2023, voters across the United States largely rejected candidates endorsed by the group in school board elections. The group saw major defeats in states like Pennsylvania and Iowa.
We all know Trump's propensity for lying but this particular one underscores yet again his lack of style. On this site, I routinely spotlight anti-LGBTQ claims in order to expose them for the lies they are. In this case, I think exposure isn't necessary.
Granted, there are probably some folks out there who actually believe this. But there are times in which belief in the inane isn't power. It's simply a sad form of exhibitionism.
Regardless though, it's going to be a long two months before the election and based upon the "throwing mud at the wall and hoping that it sticks" campaigning he's doing, Trump's fear of losing is palpable.
Good.
From Raw Story
A state Republican lawmaker in New Hampshire must cut checks for a combined $200,000 to two drag queens to settle accusations that he defamed them for falsely calling one a sex offender and claiming the other danced with children in a sexual manner.
State Rep. David Love must pay $100,000 each to Robert Champion, who uses the stage name Monique Toosoon, and Michael McMahon, who uses the stage name Clara Divine. Love must also apologize under the terms of the deal, which was agreed to Thursday. (Editor's note - Thursday of last week)
Love, who represents the Rockingham 13 district. made the comments in 2022 as he introduced legislation to require public libraries to conduct background checks on every staffer and volunteer, according to The Boston Globe. His reasoning: concerns over library events that included drag queens. The lawmaker told a state house committee that one drag queen was a "convicted sex offender" and another was seen "rubbing butts" with children.
Love said in a statement to media outlets under the deal that he failed to vet inaccurate information that he'd received.
This the second time a drag queen has received recompensed after being falsely accused of obscene acts in front of children. In May of this year, drag performer Eric Posey was awarded a $1.1 million judgement against a far-right blogger who falsely accused him of exposing himself to children during a performance.
These lawsuits should be happening more often. However, unlike conservatives, the LGBTQ community doesn't have access to folks with a lot of money and the enormous ego to match to fund them.
Related posts:
Editor's note - As you can probably tell, I've been light on posting. Please bear with me as I get through these rough times.
'Fighting spirit': LGBTQ voters see hope in Harris campaign amid attacks from right - Damn skippy.
Ron DeSantis' political star is tarnished after key Florida primary night losses - While folks are busy going through another election cycle, Ron DeSantis continues to suffer a backlash on his "war on woke."
Moms For Liberty’s School Board Candidates Lose Bigly In Florida - And more details.
Florida quietly removes LGBTQ+ travel info from state website - But don't get too happy. Florida is still a hot mess.
People with HIV cannot be categorically barred from joining the military, judge rules - Good.
Black gay & queer men sound off on what they hope to see at this week’s DNC in Chicago - Nice to see some attention paid to our voices.
Trump-stacked appeals court overturns trans worker’s court victory - It will be heard again. And she will win again.
We lost a good ally on Sunday:
"Groundbreaking TV talk show journalist Phil Donahue died Sunday night at home surrounded by his wife of 44 years Marlo Thomas, his sister, his children, grandchildren and his beloved golden retriever Charlie," his family said in a statement. "Donahue was 88 years old and passed away peacefully following a long illness."
At his peak, his nationally syndicated "The Phil Donahue Show" — later renamed "Donahue" — was a ratings hit and a precursor to similar shows with hosts Montel Williams and Jerry Springer. Oprah Winfrey described Donahue as a trailblazer who invented smart talk in the afternoon and brought startling new ideas into the living rooms and laundry rooms of American women.
“His show debuted nationally, and the whole country came to know his personal brand of issue-driven straight talk,” Winfrey said in 2002. “If there had been no Phil Donahue show, there would be no 'Oprah Winfrey' show. He was the first to acknowledge that women are interested in more than mascara tips and cake recipes — that we’re intelligent, we’re concerned about the world around us, and we want the best possible lives for ourselves.”
What I remember about Donahue the most is how he stood by the LGBTQ community during a time in which we didn't have as much visibility. He gave us respect and extended to us a powerful platform in which we could stand up for ourselves and educate the public about our lives. I think a wonderful way to honor his memory is to showcase various clips from his show in which he extended the microphone to us and our issues.
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| Joel Berry of The Babylon Bee tried to smear Dem VP nominee Tim Walz but instead embarrassed himself. |
Berry, however, is using the traditional right-wing smear of implying that Walz sexually groomed boys because he served as a faculty advisor of high school GSA (Gay/Straight Alliance) when he was a Minnesota teacher.
It hasn't gone well for Berry. First the Community Notes on Twitter called him out:
In 1999, history teacher Tim Walz recruited young boys into a gay club at school. America's dad, indeed. pic.twitter.com/idaG3vp957
— Joel Berry (@JoelWBerry) August 12, 2024
Jacob Reitan, now an LGBTQ activist and lawyer, was a founding member of the GSA at Mankato West High School in Mankato, Minnesota, about 80 miles southwest of Minneapolis. He said Walz and his wife, also a teacher at the school, provided vital support during Reitan’s formative years. “Both Tim and Gwen were incredibly supportive of their gay students, and they modeled values of inclusivity and respect,”Reitan, 42, told MSNBC this week. “I was bullied in high school. [Their values] helped not just me, but it also, I think, helped the bully. It showed the bully a better path forward, and I can think of no one better than Tim Walz to show that better path forward for America.”Fellow GSA member Seth Elliot Meyer attended Mankato West from 2000-2004 and had Walz for 11th grade history. Meyer, 38, said he initially expected to hate Walz, because he was a football coach and a hunter. “I was a leftist punk rock, anti-everything kind of kid,” Meyer said. “In the year that I had him, what I learned is that he really cared about everyone and wanted everyone to be seen.”
This post makes you seem stupid and evil.
— Cody Johnston (@drmistercody) August 12, 2024
Tim Walz ran a Gay-Straight Alliance and was beloved by its members.
— SDL (@SocDoneLeft) August 13, 2024
You are a weird freak who can't think of young gay people without sexualizing them.
they literally recruited HIM, you numpty pic.twitter.com/wMh5lucIVx
— shauna (@goldengateblond) August 13, 2024
Yes, we know Tim worked very hard to ensure gay kids were accepted and had a safe space at school free from bullying and discrimination. Why’s that an issue?
— The Political HQ (@ThePoliticalHQ) August 13, 2024
Walz thought it’d be important for the GSA club to be lead by a football coach to show acceptance knows no bounds.
As a…
What really bothers you is that @GovTimWalz was the ranking member of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee from 2017 to 2019: it bothers you that he wanted to make an alliance that included all students because in your weird world there are no LGBTQ+ students … Wow 😮 🇺🇸🏳️🌈
— 💙Honey Badger Democrat 💙 (@BadgerLiberal) August 12, 2024
And because I love a good Twitter dragging (especially when it's a conservative getting called out for spewing anti-LGBTQ lies,) I added my two cents:Gay/straight alliances piss bigoted bullies like Joel Berry off. It's not the reason for them, but it's a nice side effect.
— A.R. Moxon (@JuliusGoat) August 12, 2024
In MY GSA, we recited lines from the 1939 movie 'The Women' and took sides. The Joan Crawford faction and the Norma Shearer faction HATED each other. https://t.co/Nk1fPqjv2W
— Holy Bullies (@holybullies) August 13, 2024
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| J.D. Vance in drag during his law school days. |
Today on my blog is rarity - a two for one.
First, Republican vice president nominee JD Vance has recently become the latest subject in the GOP Hypocrisy Boogie.
From The Huffington Post:
Republican vice presidential candidate and Ohio Sen. JD Vance is getting dragged for hypocrisy after a photo from his law school days surfaced on social media, appearing to show him in a blonde wig and dress. The photo first came to light via X user Matt Bernstein, who said the pic dates back to Vance’s days at Yale Law School in 2012.
A short time later, Yale assistant professor Travis Whitfill said he was the source of the photo that Bernstein had posted, but credited another classmate for taking it. “It’s from a group chat of Vance’s fellow classmates and is from a friend of a friend. I believe it was grabbed from Facebook and was taken at a Halloween party,” Whitfill told The Daily Beast. The photo quickly went viral, with some social media users giving Vance the drag name “Sofa Loren,” a not-exactly-subtle reference to the “couch sex” meme that is based on a fake story about the senator.
Bear in mind that it's not the fact that Vance wore drag in his law school days that's the issue. Conservatives have made drag queens their scapegoats in order to feed into fears of LGBTQ people supposedly "recruiting" or "grooming" kids. They smear our culture as "deviant" because they are simply too chickenshit own their bigotry. But with this latest incident, we see that they have no problem with our culture. Their problem lies with our existence in general.
The outcry has been as you would expect. You know how we are when we find a Republican being hypocritical when it comes to attacking LGBTQ people.
From Queerty:
Many were quick to comment on Vance’s stance regarding LGBTQ+ rights. He has previously called opponents of “Don’t Say Gay” legislation “groomers”. Vance has opposed the US Census adding questions about gender identity and introduced a (failed) bill to ban ‘X’ gender markers on US passports. He also introduced a bill aimed at preventing minors from accessing gender-affirming care. GLAAD maintains a fuller list of Vance’s comments regarding LGBTQ+ rights.
Folks have also been pulling out "receipts" regarding past anti-LGBTQ comments Vance made, including the following:
Meanwhile, Queerty also points out that we've been having fun in the community critiquing Vance's attire and deciding which name he should use:
. . . the suggestions for potential drag names rolled in. This one, liked over 110k times, appears to be the winner: Sofa Loren. . . Let’s also not forget Linda Loveseat, Ashley Furniture, Rhea Polstered and Anita Cushion.
If I were a petty person, I would point out that I see where Vance got his love of eyeshadow from.
But I'm not petty.
Item 2 for today was one which had me a bit angry for a while. Courtesy of the Log Cabin Republicans:
Kamala Harris is fear-mongering for LGBT votes.
— Log Cabin Republicans (@LogCabinGOP) August 12, 2024
❌ Trump did NOT take away protections for LGBT workers or patients.
❌ Trump did NOT ban trans people from the military.
✅ Trump DID create a booming economy and secure the border. But Kamala doesn't want to talk about that. https://t.co/XmNWxw95Si
It's bad when people lie in your face, but it's worse when you KNOW that they are lying and they know that you know they are lying, but they will lie anyway hoping to gaslight you into confusion. Personally, I think that is the personification of Donald Trump and his campaign, not to mention his time in office.
Folks were quick to drag the Log Cabin Republicans for this nonsense. And they brought "the receipts"
— JoeMyGod (@JoeMyGod) August 12, 2024
Didn't You guys get kicked out of the @GOP convention in Texas because they said you guys were an abomination?
— Soul Finder (@SoulFinder500) August 12, 2024
You guys are a joke 😆
Your own party hates you!! pic.twitter.com/SGba8cQ8Tz
Just a little selection of Trump’s activities while president. He is not an ally of trans & gay people. pic.twitter.com/Tju1NqOtv9
— Matt💡 (@matthewungar) August 12, 2024
Whoops pic.twitter.com/fp7AFQvH8S
— Joshua (@GraalfsJoshua) August 12, 2024
@communityNotes Trump’s Department of Labor issued a regulation designed to allow federal contractors to claim a religious exemption to fire LGBTQ workers because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
— Mike in Houston #HARRISWALZ2024 (@Mike_in_Houston) August 12, 2024
Here’s Trumps views on LGBT: https://t.co/IXMBifNr2B
— Kyle Mong (@KyleMong) August 12, 2024
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| Valentina Gomez |
Valentina Gomez, a 25-year-old woman who sought the Republican nomination, made headlines this year with her eye-catching campaign videos that included burning LGBT+-friendly books for children and teens, attacking people in the LGBT+ community with vulgar language, promoting AR-15s, abolishing voting machines and more.Critics of Gomez accused her of spreading “hateful” content because much of her content included vulgar language. She called Vice President Kamala Harris a “hoe” and “little b****”, used the word “f****t” to describe transgender people and described Democrats as “full of gay s***”, among other things.
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| Florida Gov Ron DeSantis lost another court case to trans community. |
Just like his sad presidential campaign did, Florida Gov Ron DeSantis's "war on woke" continues to crumble. And he deserves every bit of the public humiliation.
From The Advocate (on Friday of last week):
A federal judge ruled Florida’s transgender health care ban violates state employees’ rights. U.S. District Judge Mark Walker in a court order wrote Florida has wronged public workers for decades by only carrying insurance plans that exclude gender affirmation care. He said the refusal to provide appropriate health care violated transgender plaintiff’s rights as defined under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. “The undisputed facts demonstrate that the challenged exclusions apply only to transgender members, as only transgender individuals would seek the gender-affirming treatment that is excluded from coverage,” Walker ruled.
The Advocate also pointed out that this is the second time the DeSantis Administration lost in court with regards to its attempt ban gender-affirming healthcare:
In recent years, Florida has stepped up efforts to limit access to transgender health care for adults and children, but frequently run into skepticism in the courts. Another federal judge in the state in June blocked the state from enforcing its ban on gender-affirming care for transgender minors and restrictions on the care for trans adults.
But this case dates back to 2020. It was brought by three transgender women, including Jami Claire, a University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine worker, Kathryn Lane, an appellate public defender, and Ahmir Murphy, a Florida Department of Corrections Sergeant. The state denied each plaintiff coverage of gender affirmation surgery.
LGBTQ Nation added:
“We are so grateful that the court is holding the state accountable for its facially discriminatory policy that carves out transgender state employees for unequal treatment,” said Simone Chriss, director of the Transgender Rights Initiative at Southern Legal Counsel, in a statement.“As the court made clear, ‘Title VII prohibits all forms of discrimination because of sex, however they manifest themselves,’ and we are thrilled that this antiquated relic of state-sanctioned discrimination has been left in the past where it belongs.”This court will be holding a separate trial to determine the amount of damages that will be awarded to plaintiffs. The plaintiffs were represented by the Florida chapter of the ACLU, Southern Legal Counsel, and Legal Services of Greater Miami.
Take a brief moment to reflect and acknowledge those whose hard work got the community to this point:
LGBT History Month celebrates the achievements of 31 lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender icons. Each day in October, a new LGBT Icon is featured with a video, bio, bibliography, downloadable images, and other resources.
This is probably the creepiest (and the funniest) ad of the 2024 political season by far and it has intensely triggered MAGA Republicans online, especially on Twitter. Their anger could be seen as a perfect example of how the truth hurts. But they only have themselves to blame. When you are obsessed with passing legislation designed to control people's bodies, what do you expect people to think of you?
But I'll let you, dear readers, decide.
From the group Won't Pac Down:
Inspired by Project 2025 and the bizarre beliefs of JD Vance, the weirdos are organizing. They’re voting. Are you?
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| Chloe Cole |
Via trans activists Erin Reed and Alejandra Caraballo comes interesting (and not altogether shocking) news about alleged detransitioner Chole Cole. Her national and international trarvel while weaving her (unverified) story of being "deceived into being transgender" is a very financially lucrative endeavor.
According to new and explosive reporting by the Los Angeles Times, advocating against transgender people has become a lucrative business for prominent political detransitioner Chloe Cole. A newly released audio recording reveals that Cole earns upwards of $200,000 for opposing transgender care, primarily through speaking engagements, donations via Donorbox, and her employment with the far-right organization Do No Harm, which facilitates her access to opportunities to testify.
The recording, which comes from Chloe Cole’s testimony during a court hearing in Ohio regarding the state's gender-affirming care ban, features Cole discussing her income and funding (with cleaner, trimmed audio also provided by Civil Rights Attorney Alejandra Caraballo:
Attorney: “You don’t have any first-hand knowledge of how gender affirming care is provided in Ohio, is that right?”
Cole: “No, not from personal experience.”
Attorney: “I understand you’re employed as a senior fellow at Do No Harm?”
Cole: “Yes”
Attorney: “And Do No Harm’s mission is to fight against the current model of care in place for gender dysphoria, is that right?”
Cole: “Yes…”
Attorney: “And you submitted testimony in support of HB68 as part of your job in Do No Harm, is that right?”
Cole: “Yes”
Attorney: “And Do No Harm has helped you find other opportunities to testify in state legislatures, is that right?”
Cole: “Yes”
Attorney: “Do No Harm paid you $2,000 a month for that work, is that right?”
Cole: “Yes”
Attorney: “And you make between $50-$100,000 in speaking fees in [unclear] is that right?”
Cole: “Yes”
Cole later added that she additionally makes up to $100,000 in donations through her Donorbox, separate from the income she earns from speaking engagements.
It looks like Cole refutes the adage of "when money talks, bullsh!t" walks. Apparently "bullsh!t stays specifically where the money is.
Editor's note - while our eyes are on the national scene (and for now, it is looking good) let's not forget the local fronts.
Paul Broussard, a 27-year-old Houston-area banker and Texas A&M alumnus, died after a gay bashing incident outside a Houston nightclub in the early hours of July 4, 1991. Nine teenaged youths, ages 15–17, and one 22-year-old were intoxicated on drugs and alcohol when they left a high school party in the suburb of The Woodlands and headed for Houston's heavily gay Montrose area in an attempt to gain admittance to dance clubs located in the vicinity. After being refused entry to several establishments, they pulled into a parking lot where they encountered Broussard and two friends, who were also intoxicated.They then attacked Broussard and his friends. Broussard was beaten and stabbed twice with a pocket knife belonging to 17-year-old Jon Buice. He died several hours later as a result of both internal injuries as well as what an expert medical examiner termed "a delay in treatment" (in the early days of the AIDS crisis, police and medical personnel were slow to respond to calls from the Montrose area for fear of AIDS contamination).When Houston gay rights leader Ray Hill confronted police about solving the murder, he was told that they had no intention of doing so. Gay rights advocates, frustrated about being ignored and persecuted by city officials, marched through the streets and in front of the Mayor Kathy Whitmire's home for several days in what became Houston's largest and long-lasting gay rights demonstration in history. Ultimately, the juveniles – labeled "The Woodlands Ten" – were apprehended and plea bargained into prison without a trial for the murder of Broussard.
With everything going on lately (Biden dropping out of the presidential election and Harris taking up the mantle to run), I've got bogged down and behind on my blogging. I almost missed this incredible moment of basic truth.
Recently Mark Wingfield, executive director and publisher of Baptist News Global, verbally ripped into Franklin Graham, calling him a " the poster child for Christian nationalism" and " "liar" for his speech during the recent Republican National Convention in support of Donald Trump.
The basic point of Wingfield's piece, underscored by the passage below, is that when it comes to Graham, it's all about earthly power and he's willing to exploit his faith to shield any liar who will give it to him.
To understand the insidious nature of Christian nationalism, look no further than Franklin Graham’s appearance at the Republican National Convention last night. Graham already has demonstrated he knows no shame in endorsing, blessing and lionizing the most corrupt president in American history, yet people continue to send his nonprofits millions of dollars, enriching him as one of our most highly paid partisan preachers.
. . . Graham started telling flat-out lies.
“For as long as I’ve known President Trump, I’ve found him to be a man of his word,” he declared.
Apparently, Graham hasn’t listened to any of the small-business owners who have been jilted by Trump through the years, hasn’t listened to any of the women who say Trump assaulted them, hasn’t paid attention to the hundreds of documented lies Trump spews between breakfast and dinner each day.
No, it turns out Graham has some other measure in mind: “When he told me and our country in 2016 that he was going to appoint conservative justices, guess what, he did. In 2016, he said he would defend religious liberty and, guess what, he did.”
By “religious liberty,” of course, Graham means the liberty of evangelicals like him, not the liberty of all people.
And then Graham threw out this whopper: “In 2019, I was with him at the United Nations when the first president in the history of this country stood there to advocate for religious liberty worldwide.”
So no other U.S. president in history has advocated for global religious liberty? That is patently false and insulting. It makes Trump out to be a hero he is not. Not only have other presidents advocated for worldwide religious liberty, Trump has not. He doesn’t want religious liberty for Palestinians. He doesn’t want religious liberty for Muslims. He doesn’t want religious liberty for Democrats.
Like Graham, Trump has only shown interest in advocating for religious liberty for his political base. All others be damned.
