'Duggar family member 'comes for' Jazz Jennings, gets popped back' & other Fri midday news briefs

Duggar family member Derick Dillard (right) learns not to come for Jazz Jennings (left)

‘Gender is ordained by God’: Duggar husband Derick Dillard attacks Jazz Jennings in transphobic tweet

Jazz Jennings, TLC respond to Derick Dillard calling transgender 'a myth' 

While it's not my nature to be "petty," I would suggest that Mr. Dillard check the family he has chosen to become a part of before coming for Jazz Jennings.

Anti-gay photog declares ‘victory’ after court points out law doesn’t apply to her - It really wasn't even a situation, but the religious right have to make their coins somehow.

Drag Queen’s Dream Of Reading Stories To Kids Sparks Outrage In North Carolina - Other than the initial shock reaction, can anyone think of any reason WHY they should be scared of drag queens reading to children? Seriously. Based upon the fairy tales and stories out there read to children, I think a drag queen would be the least scary thing. 

Evangelical Leaders Backing Trump Are More Hypocritical, And More Dangerous, Than Ever - As much as I hate to be "that bitch," I have been saying stuff like this for a while. Hopefully folks will listen to Michelangelo Signorile. 

In Texas, One Republican Lawmaker Is Trying To Halt The Bathroom Bill - Go for it, Mr. Straus!


Photo taken from Raw Story.

The very lucrative world of religious conservative 'law firms'

The budgets for religious conservative law firms are staggering.

An online friend of mine showed me this article from the Religious News Service about the lucrative world of religious right law firms and how they make their vast amounts of money to fund their "religious liberty" lawsuits.

They are quite numerous and their budgets are staggering. So is the effect they are having on the concept of religious liberty, according to the article.  And it's not all that good. Many folks in their circles wonder - with good cause - how their eagerness to define "religious liberty" as a Christian idea and for cases which lead to good fundraising (some would call it greed) will eventually hurt the concept of "religious liberty" in general:

The growth and success of Christian conservative legal organizations has earned them some enemies, especially at a time when religious freedom protections increasingly clash with LGBT rights. Three Christian conservative law firms — Alliance Defending Freedom, Pacific Justice Institute and Liberty Counsel — appear on the Southern Poverty Law Center’s list of hate groups because of their “anti-LGBT” positions. 

“There used to be broad, bipartisan support for religious liberty. That has sort of melted away now,” said Hiram Sasser, deputy chief counsel for First Liberty Institute. Alliance Defending Freedom did not respond to multiple interview requests. By pairing religious freedom law with their moral agenda, Christian conservative legal organizations have hurt religious liberty’s reputation, Laycock said. “A claim that abortion or same-sex marriage should be illegal for everybody is not a religious liberty claim. It is a claim that conservative Christian morality should be imposed by law on everyone else,” he said. 

However, linking cases with moral concerns is a powerful political and fundraising strategy. When selecting cases, the firms consider whether an issue will play well in the press and catch the attention of potential donors, Bennett said. “They’re looking for cases that set a precedent and earn them a little money in terms of fundraising,” he said. The groups profiled in “Defending Faith” bring in anywhere from $300,000 to $48.3 million in annual revenue, according to Bennett’s research.

'White House, Pentagon discussing transgender ban' & other Thur midday news briefs

Pentagon, White House Discussing Transgender Ban - Trump may make his base happy should he follow through with this mess, but his base won't save his monstrosity of his political career. I promise you that.
 

One Million Moms Vs Disney Junior Channel - The fact that One Million Moms generally fail when it raises the alarm about shows and such would be more hilarious if we don't take into account that the group is always trying to shut down any visibility of same-sex families.

TeeTee Dangerfield Is 16th Known Trans Woman Killed In U.S. This Year - Why joking about murdering transgender women is NO joke.

Gay journalist who helped uncover Chechnya purge faces deportation - Come to America and gives us more details about what you know.
 

Family Research Council thinks lying about transgender troops is a Christian value - My post from yesterday. The Family Research Council lies about the LGBTQ community because very few raise a big fuss about it.

Family Research Council thinks lying about transgender troops is a Christian value

Tony Perkins and his group lie about trans soldiers defending their freedoms.

I feel secure in saying that repeatedly, I've proven on this blog that the Family Research Council, in spite of all its claims of being a "Christian" organization, has no problem with spreading outright lies and distortions in its quest to stamp down on LGBTQ equality.

However, in FRC's quest to keep it's sacred cow Donald Trump safe in the White House, the organization is obviously picking up his main bad habit; telling lies so pathetic that it takes no effort in refuting them.

Today's Washington Update FRC put out defending Trump's sad attempt to ban transgender men and women from the military is  a perfect example. The amount of lies and misdirection the Family Research used in just two paragraphs of the post left me shocked. In over 10 years of tracking and calling out the group, I thought I had seen the full length of its audacity. Apparently I hadn't:

Liberals have spent the last week insisting that Donald Trump's military policy is wrong -- but they certainly haven't come up with any compelling reasons why. While conservatives point to a laundry list of problems from the potential $3.7 billion price tag to "sensitivity" training, the Left's only defense seems to be trotting out photos of a former Navy SEAL Christopher (now Kristin) Beck. No one argues that Beck served his country with distinction -- but he never did so as a woman. He identified as a new gender after he was discharged, and even then, didn't publicly "come out" until two years later. As Donna Carol Voss points out in a great column for the Federalist, "6 Ridiculous Arguments in Favor of Transgender Soldiers," it's "disingenuous to say Beck is the first female Navy SEAL when that career ended two years before Christopher -- who was known for his beard -- transitioned to Kristin. There has never been a female Navy SEAL, only a male Navy SEAL who retired and took feminizing hormones."
  

Ask a liberal how Obama's policy actually improves readiness, and they'll respond one of two ways: with a personal story or a personal attack. Why? Because there hasn't been a single scientifically-based, rational military argument for it. Without psychology, top brass, or even popular opinion on their side, the Left resorts to a tired playbook -- distractions and name-calling. Fox News's Tucker Carlson found that out in his debate with New York Congressman Sean Maloney (D). Like most liberals, Maloney's go-to justifications for Obama's were Beck and transgender empowerment. Apparently, he thinks the military's job isn't winning wars but putting people on the path to self-actualization.

There are so many lies and misdirections here, I need to number them.

'Evangelical right continues to eagerly debase themselves for Trump' & other Wed midday news briefs

POTUS Shield: Trump’s Dominionist Prayer Warriors and the ‘Prophetic Order of the United States’ - Okay, make as many jokes as you like about Trump's "POTUS Shield," (POTUS Shield? That man needs several exorcisms) as long as you read this People for the American Way's report on the conservative evangelicals who see Trump as a way to "bring about the reign of God in America and the world." Don't laugh it off. They could bring immense problems to a lot of folks, especially the LGBTQ community.

The 7 Most Mind-Boggling Moments From Donald Trump’s Wall Street Journal Interview - Yes. THIS guy. That's who those so-called Christian people in the above news brief  are depending on. Is this real life or a vulgar graphic comic book? 

American Muslims Are Now More Accepting Of Homosexuality Than White Evangelicals - All I will say is that in America, the Muslim community has never given me problems. It was always the members of so-called Christian communities. 

Evil in Russia: Gays are being systematically eradicated from the republic of Chechnya - Siiigh!

Matt Barber: Republicans Will Have Blood On Their Hands For Defeating Transgender Surgery Ban - Gosh, he is such a "drama bitch."

Oblivious homophobia starring the Benham Brothers

Remember the so-called victims of the "radical gay agenda," David and Jason Benham. They were going to get a show on on HGTV in 2014  until the network found out that they had a history of attacking the LGBTQ community. Their show idea never got off the ground. Since that time, they have been going around the country continuing to whine about the alleged gay agenda (which turned off HGTV in the first place), but with the added claim that they were shut down and persecuted because they are Christians.

That's the story they like to tell. But thanks this video by GLAAD, which presents their claims and a few additions, there is a more balanced view  of the controversy. In watching it, I'm sadly struck by the fact that these boys are so wrapped up in their egotistical view of their "faith" that they can't comprehend the reality of why they got into so much trouble. You were talking about people, guys. Men, women, children, families. You were not talking about intangible concepts.

'Trump and Texas transphobia face huge backlash' & other Tue midday news briefs

56 retired generals, admirals warn against Trump's transgender ban - Wonderful!

Dozens Of Texas Businesses Tell Governor To Ditch ‘Bathroom Bill’ - Both this and the last news brief are like glorious pinpoints of light in a cloudy darkness. Our job is to expand the light.

Abstinence-Only, "No Promo Homo" Sex Ed Keeps Queer Teens In The Dark - A thing which harms out LGBTQ kids - getting no decent sex education knowledge. 

Linda Harvey: Sleepovers, Summer Camps Endanger Children With ‘Moral Corruption’ And Homosexuality - Linda Harvey "done lost her damn mind."

Watch Incredible LGBT Poets Spit Fire at Brave New Voices - This is awesome.