Fox News caught pushing another false story about the transgender community, bathrooms

Fox News can't stop lying about the transgender community.

One thing the following item from Equality Matters proves - you don't need to follow any tenet of responsible journalism to work for Fox News:

Fox News reported a bogus story about a California mom who claims to have been kicked out of an REI sporting goods store for complaining about a man frightening her daughter in the store's women's restroom. Fox's reporting was based on statements made by an anti-LGBT hate group with a history of fabricating similar incidents in order to fearmonger about transgender people using public restrooms.

Fox Parroted Mom's Allegation Of Being "Booted" From Store. In an October 2 article on FoxNews.com, Fox News reporter Perry Chiaramonte reported a California woman's allegation that she was kicked out of a Santa Rosa REI sporting goods store after complaining that a man had frightened her daughter in the women's restroom:

A California mom who says she was recently kicked out of a sporting goods store after alerting a manager that man had frightened her young daughter in the women's restroom is demanding  answers - and a policy change - from the Washington-based chain.

The woman, who spoke to FoxNews.com but asked not to be identified, said she was shopping with her 12-year-old daughter and the girl's younger friend when her daughter told her what had happened moments earlier at an REI sporting goods store during a shopping trip in late August.

"We started to drive to another store and she said to me, 'Mom, I need to tell you something,'" said the woman. "I asked her what was wrong and she told me 'A man used the bathroom while we were in there and it scared me.'"

When the mother turned the car around and went back to the store to confront the manager of the Santa Rosa store, she said she was stunned to learn that the man, who she said was not dressed in women's clothes and did not appear outwardly to be transgender, had done nothing wrong in the eyes of the employees and other customers. [FoxNews.com, 10/2/15]

There ARE a couple of things wrong with this story. We don't know the identity of the woman who alleged this incident.  REI investigated and - surprise, surprise - couldn't find anything to verify the accuracy of the woman's tale:

After Investigation, REI Finds "No Evidence" Of Incident, Confirms Woman Was Not Asked To Leave. In a statement posted on their website, REI said store personnel had found no evidence to support the claim that a man was in the women's restroom. Additionally, the sporting goods retailer denied the woman's allegation that she was asked to leave the store (emphasis added):

And last but not least, according to Equality Matters, Fox News based its report on claims made by an anti-gay hate group called the Pacific Justice Institute.  PJI is not known to many folks, but the organization has a history of pushing false stories. Equality Matters gave two for an example:

PJI Previously Fabricated A Story About Transgender Bathroom Access. In 2013, the PJI was criticized after being caught fabricating a story about a transgender Colorado student who it said was harassing girls in a school bathroom. Fox Nation reported that bogus story without issuing a retraction. [Media Matters, 12/29/13]

Fox Was Recently Duped By Another Bogus PJI Story About LGBT People. In February 2015, Fox News contributor Todd Starnes fell for another another bogus PJI horror story about anti-gay students being bullied at a California high school. [Media Matters, 2/19/15]

It's  junk like this which should anger not only lgbts about Fox News, but also conservatives. Many at Fox News have said that the network exists to push the conservative point of view in the media. So I guess articles like this means that the conservative point of view is unverified slanders via "anonymous" sources.

'What LGBTQ person should know about their history' & other Thur midday news briefs

Editor's note - As some of you may have noticed, my postings have been a bit meager. The reason is I live in Columbia, SC and as you know, we have been hit with disastrous flooding. By the grace of God, my area has been mostly untouched (apparently my area is so ghetto, pizza deliveries AND natural disasters skip it). Still things have been chaotic around here as we monitor the damage done to the city and state. Keep South Carolina in your mind and prayers.

Southern Baptist Conference: ‘Struggling’ LGBT People Can Change Through Christ - Actually they are right in a way. It was my faith in God which led me to stop worrying about ignorant people who don't know me, but will condemn me and embrace my gayness as a wonderful gift from Him. And it is, too.  

Every LGBTQ+ Person Should Read This - Yes and double yes. Every lgbt person should read this to know the stock of their worth, especially our youth. I love this reminder of where we came from and how people like us changed history and transformed the world for the better. 

 A Kentucky Clerk Changes His Policy, Will Now Issue Marriage Licenses To Different-Sex Couples - Somebody is jealous that Kim Davis is getting all of the attention.

 Bryant assistant coach Chris Burns comes out - Becoming the first Division One men’s college basketball coach to ever publicly come out.

 10 Ways to Make It Easier for Your Child to Come Out - Pay attention and write it down.

Senator wants 1950s anti-gay blackmail, suicide case investigated

Senator Tammy Baldwin

It is actions like this which make Tammy Baldwin a wonderful Senator and and a genuine leader in the lgbt community.

From Yahoo:

In the wake of disclosures in a Yahoo News documentary , the Justice Department is facing new calls to investigate a Cold War-era antigay blackmail plot that led to the 1954 suicide of Wyoming Sen. Lester Hunt.

Wisconsin Sen. Tammy Baldwin — the first openly lesbian member of Congress — asks Attorney General Loretta Lynch in a letter to “help shine a light on a dark chapter in the history of the Senate” by investigating the roles that three U.S. senators played in hounding Hunt to his death by exploiting his son’s arrest for soliciting gay sex in Lafayette Park, across the street from the White House.

The death of Hunt has been shrouded in mystery and controversy ever since the Wyoming Democrat went to his office on June 19, 1954, with a rifle and killed himself. Although the details were covered up for years, the event became the inspiration for the 1959 bestselling novel “ Advise and Consent,” later a popular Hollywood movie that had a huge cultural impact due to its frank depiction of the ways in which homosexuality was used as a political weapon at the time.

 “While decades have passed since this tragic incident, it remains a troubling example of the misdeeds of the McCarthy era and the role homophobia and bigotry has played in the history of our nation, including at the highest levels of federal government,” Baldwin wrote in a letter to Lynch last week. (A Justice Department spokeswoman said officials had not yet had a chance to review the letter and therefore couldn’t comment.)

I support this entirely. Looking into our past is something that the lgbt community has not done with as much fervor as we celebrate our present victories. Remember, someone paid dearly for what we have. We owe it to them to always remember their stories so that we never take anything for granted.

'Danny Pintauro raising eyebrows with HIV claim, message' & other Wed midday news briefs

Danny Pintauro

The Problematic Case of Danny Pintauro - Since announcing that he is HIV positive, the former "Who's The Boss" cast member has been raising eyebrows in a negative way regarding some things he said as well as how he presented himself in the media. Just goes to show that our community need not anoint every lgbt or lgbt-ally celebrity as a role model, leader, or spokesperson. Perhaps choosing people with no spotlight works better than attempting to bogart spotlight already created.

Brian Sims announces bid for Congress - The first gay man elected to the Pennsylvania legislature. I've heard nothing but good things about him. I hope he wins because he would be a great addition to other lgbts in Congress. Also, it could inspire more of us to run. We cherish the fact that we work outside of the system. Being inside the system also doesn't hurt.

 On Savage Lovecast, Equality Matters' Rachel Percelay Describes How Fox News Turns Transgender People Into Villains - Wonderful interview!  

Huckabee: Pope Should Fire 'Elitist' Staffers Who Distanced Him From Kim Davis - Put a sock in it, Huckabee!  

Judge Tells Hobby Lobby To Stop Discriminating Against Trans Employee - They aren't going to like that. (Good!)

Family Research Council can't stop lying about The Vatican, Kim Davis, and SPLC

Tony Perkins can't stop lying.

The push back by the Vatican on the claim that the Pope met with anti-gay Kentucky clerk Kim Davis has really struck a nerve with some anti-gay groups.

Tony Perkins of the Family Research added some spin to the situation:

Pouncing on the private nature of the meeting, everyone from Reuters to the Associated Press is casting doubt on the nature of the get-together, and whether -- in fact -- the Vatican actually invited the Davises to meet the Pontiff. Some reporters are now insisting it was a random encounter, which is laughable considering the amount of security involved in the Pope's visit. In a place like the Vatican Embassy, there's absolutely no way the two parties could have accidentally crossed paths. As Liberty Counsel explained, the Davises were actually transported to the meeting by van by the Vatican's own men. Kim was even asked to wear her hair up so that she'd be less recognizable.

Ultimately, the Davises ended up in a private room, where "no one else [was] present." When the Pope arrived, he stretched out his hands and encouraged Kim to "stay strong," something that wouldn't have made sense unless he was familiar with her case. Now, several days later, the Vatican's communications shop seems intent on giving the media a story where there is none. Pressed by reporters, Spokesman Federico Lombardi appeared to backtrack on the significance of the meeting, suggesting that no one should construe the invitation as an endorsement of Kim.

So Perkins is basically relying on the words of the Liberty Counsel, the organization whose credibility took a tremendous beating  over this incident and a certain other false claim it made recently regarding a Peruvian rally in Davis's honor.

Okay.

Attorney defending Kim Davis is an awful liar

Staver

Yesterday, the Associated Press published a wonderful article on the anti-gay Liberty Counsel, its lying defense of Kim Davis, and the fact that it is labeled a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Instead of yelling "what took you so long," I read the article thoroughly while enjoying the fact that millions will finally see the Liberty Counsel  as a homophobic group masquerading as a Christian organization.

I did catch one vital part, however:

The Southern Poverty Law Center lists the Liberty Counsel as an anti-gay hate groups for spreading false information.

"A group that regularly portrays gay people as perverse, diseased pedophiles putting Western civilization at risk are way, way over the line," said Mark Potok, a senior fellow at the center. The Liberty Counsel has connected homosexuality to higher rates of promiscuity and incest, Potok said, despite scientific evidence to the contrary. The firm opposes laws banning hate crimes and supports discredited conversion therapies that purport to turn homosexuals into heterosexuals. Staver once declared that the Boy Scouts would become a "playground for pedophiles" once it allowed gay troop leaders.

Staver, his hair bright white and his ties usually red, contends his quotes were taken out of context and he has legal arguments for the rest: hate crime laws infringe on free speech, he believes, and gay conversion therapies should be available to those who want them because he believes in "personal autonomy." "It is irresponsible and reckless to call someone a hate group because you disagree with them," he said.

Staver continues to play the victim but as recent events demonstrated, he is a terrible liar. These are comments made by Staver which correspond to the above accusations.


Comments he made about Boy Scouts and gays:



His claim that marriage equality is leading America to the pit of hell:



 And there are recordings of other statements, including when he called gays demonic and defended oppressive anti-gay laws in other countries such as Russia and Nigeria.

Out of context, my foot!

Pope Francis/Kim Davis meeting is now officially a full-blown juicy scandal made worse by new Liberty Counsel lies

Vatican: Pope's Meeting With Kim Davis 'Not A Form Of Support' - When it comes to news stories, I don't like to follow the huge crowd in repeating one, but this is the BIG story of the time right now. The Vatican is scrambling to downplay the Pope's meeting with Kim Davis. Is you ask me, they should have been scrambling a bit quicker instead of coming out with this explanation days later.

Charles Pierce nailed it: The Vatican confirms Pope Francis was “ratf*cked” into meeting Kim Davis - Well I think that puts it about right . . .

Liberty Counsel’s Mat Staver Calls Out Lying Media: We Never Said Pope Francis Supports Kim Davis - And Mat Staver is backtracking. Of course he would be marginally successful except for the following press release issued by the Liberty Counsel on Sept. 29. This is only a partial jpeg of the release. Click on the link to read it entirely. One wonders if the Liberty Counsel will either edit or do away with it:

The Vatican Contradicts Liberty Counsel's Claims About Kim Davis' Meeting With Pope Francis - And let's wrap this up with a concise breakdown by Right Wing Watch.


I think it's safe to assume that we are now at the level of a full-blown scandal here. That being the case, let's take a look at the BIG LOSERS of the debacle

Pope Francis - One short meeting has totally wrecked any good will he hoped to garner by visiting the United States.

The Vatican - A scandal is only made worse when there is no quick and complete push back. If Pope Francis is looking like a horse's ass here, it is only because the Vatican failed him tremendously.

Kim Davis - She doesn't garner any "cool points" here. She gets no boost from the visit. Instead, I think the little credibility she had has been diminished.

The Liberty Counsel - Speaking of an entity with very little credibility. Everyone is probably completely pissed at this group. I mean we are talking "pissed to the highest levels of pissivity" - The Vatican, Pope Francis, the folks supporting Pope Francis's visit, the lgbt community (who have already been justifiably angry at the antics of this group.) Fresh off of being caught passing along a phony story of a Peruvian prayer rally for Davis, this group and its leader, Mat Staver, has just demonstrated that there is no level too low for them to stoop and no spin too outrageous enough for them to push. They have helped to wreck Pope Francis' credibility and their own argument of  'religious liberty.' And the lgbt community barely lifted a finger for this to happen.

As an lgbt activist, I should be angry. But as a child of the South weaned on afternoon soap operas with dishy plots,  I am so loving this. God help me, I am soooo loving this.