Let's laugh with Matteo Lane - 'Every Disney character is gay'

Some awful things happened this weekend and in the coming days, there will be a lot of things said. Some of these things will be no-brainers in terms of our choices in leaders and their actions.We will have much needed conversations about their cruelty and incompetence . And we will probably at the crest of making much needed decisions about the future of this country.

 But right now, there is nothing wrong with a good laugh. It's not something we need to feel guilty about.A good laugh puts us in a better mood for clarity. With that in mind, enjoy this clip of gay comedian Matteo Lane as he goes on a tangent about  C-3PEO from Star Wars being the first gay person he saw on television, why some Disney characters were gay, and why Barbie dolls deserve more respect than Batman.

Anti-LGBTQ groups don't want children in same-sex families to see shows about themselves

The anti-LGBTQ industry fears same-sex families.

According to the Associated Press, there is a move to put more LGBTQ diversity in children's programming. The proponents of this say it is all about showing  that families exists in all forms, including those led by same-sex partners

Zeke Stokes, chief programs officer for the LGBTQ advocacy group GLAAD, said the struggle for inclusion has become easier as a number of LGBTQ writers and producers have made their way into positions of influence, though they’re still a fraction overall. “What we’ve said to them all along is that we will lock arms with you and we will make sure that you hear from the families who are being impacted by this in a positive way,”
Stokes said of GLAAD’s work behind the scenes to support greater representation. “Not only have they heard from LGBTQ families but they’ve heard from other families who are like, yeah, my kid has a friend who’s LGBTQ or my friend goes over to his friend’s house and their parents are LGBTQ. This is not just something that impacts LGBTQ families. It’s really something that gets experienced by everyone in society.”

 It's not a bad idea because there are a lot of same-sex families in American society.  There is nothing wrong with children growing up in these families seeing their realities reflected in the shows they watch. But you know what happens when folks want to show fairness to same-sex families.

'Mario Lopez apologizes after backlash for uninformed comments on parenting trans children' & other Thur midday news briefs

Mario Lopez Apologizes After Backlash for Comments on Parenting Transgender Children - There needs to be a huge conversation about who sets the narrative about trans issues in the news media and who gets interviewed. We need more trans people and medical professionals to educate the public.

The GOP tried to censure a Congressman for marrying a gay couple. It didn’t go as expected. - Love is love, fools.

See Rammstein Members Kiss Onstage in Russia to Protest Anti-LGBTQ Laws - BOLD!

 U.S. Embassy in Germany hosts meeting with LGBTI activists - I am extremely cynical about this because of the parties involved. We will see how it goes.

Family Research Council tries to clean up Trump's racist attack on Baltimore by distorting the controversy

Tony Perkins (bottom) and his group, the Family Research Council, are trying to clean up Donald Trump's (top) racist comments about Baltimore by distorting the entire controversy.

Donald Trump recently said some awful things about the city of Baltimore as part of an attack on Congressman Elijah Cummings. Cummings, a long-time critic of Trump, is the chair of the House Oversight and Reform Committee which has apparently opened 23 investigations into the Trump Administration. Last week, the committee authorized subpoenas for records of senior White House officials' use of personal email and text services for business purposes.

This is what led Trump to say the following via tweets last week:

"Rep, Elijah Cummings has been a brutal bully, shouting and screaming at the great men & women of Border Patrol about conditions at the Southern Border, when actually his Baltimore district is FAR WORSE and more dangerous. His district is considered the Worst in the USA," Mr. Trump said in the first of several tweets. 

 "As proven last week during a Congressional tour, the Border is clean, efficient & well run, just very crowded. Cumming District is a disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess. If he spent more time in Baltimore, maybe he could help clean up this very dangerous & filthy place," Mr. Trump continued. He threatened to investigate the federal funds sent to Cummings' district, and said that "no human being would want to live there."

The firestorm was enormous as Trump faced a huge blow back of criticism, with many pointing out how the tone of these attacks fit a racist narrative he applies to the black community.

'Lil Nas X - black, gay, and making history' & other Wed midday news briefs

Lil Nas X

Lil Nas X Is Gay And No. 1 And You Heaux Will Deal - Gay, black, and just made history. Yes this is a big deal.

6 LGBTQ Icons Forged in Baltimore - Trump's nasty attack on Baltimore did NOT go unchallenged.

Gospel singer Kim Burrell says only the devil & ‘fake church people’ dislike her antigay comments - Sit down, Kim. You're boring.

Mario Lopez: It's 'dangerous' for parents to support transgender kids - And he is catching hell for it as he should. Why is it when it comes to trans issues, the media rarely talks to trans people or medical professionals who have experience dealing with the issue? They either talk to idiots or self-anointed "experts" from anti-LGBTQ groups who do nothing but repeat false talking points. 

In rare TV appearance outside of Fox, Alliance Defending Freedom attorney repeatedly misgenders trans athletes - To be fair, NBC did talk to a trans girl. But still there are problems with this segment.

Anti-LGBTQ 'black leaders' take a step back from homophobia to defend Trump's racism

 Bill Owens (top) and Alveda King (bottom) are both two anti-LGBTQ so-called black leaders trying to grab the spotlight by defending Trump's racist attacks on Baltimore and Congressman Elijah Cummings.

So now Trump has started a new controversy with his racist comments against the city of Baltimore in an attempt to smear Congressman Elijah Cummings.  He has been just about universally condemned, except for by a few - Republicans who either support or need him to fulfill their goals. And other folks who see it as an opportunity for spotlight. This latter category includes so-called black leaders who can always be counted on to publicly defend defend the racist excesses or the extreme agenda of the GOP. Recently, Trump met with a few of them in an attempt to blunt the firestorm he caused. What's interesting is that the LGBTQ community should recognize a few of these folks, and not in a good way.

From Mediate:

CNN’s Don Lemon confronted Reverend Bill Owens on meeting with President Donald Trump following his widely condemned attack on Baltimore and its Congressman, Elijah Cummings. Owens, the president of the coalition of African-American pastors, on Monday attended a meeting between Trump and a group of inner-city pastors 

Lemon kicked off the interview by asking if any of the faith leaders raised concerns about the president’s attacks on “leaders of color.” 

“I think something was said in passing,” Owens replied, though he tried to avoid addressing Trump’s remarks. 

Lemon pressed, asking his question again. When Owens again dodged. 

“So the president tweeted today he was looking forward to his meeting with wonderful inner-city pastors. Any concern for you that the president used this meeting with black leaders to insulate himself from the criticism?” Lemon asked. 

“I don’t think so. I don’t think that at all because I have been to the White House four times in five months,” Owens said. “There was nothing about insulating from anything. He wanted to hear from us, what our concerns were and what he could do to help us.”

Lemon noted that Owens has “said some controversial things before” including in 2012 when he compared President Barack Obama’s support for same sex marriage to condoning child molestation (comments Owens walked back).

Unfortunately, the Mediaite article omitted a few things. Owens is the head of a group called the Coalition of African-American Pastors. It sounds legitimate, but it actually serves as a way for Owens to provide a black voice to conservatives for a price, particularly when it comes to anti-LGBTQ issues:

 The National Organization for Marriage used CAAP in a failed attempt to sabotage President Obama's African-American support during the 2012 election.

Owens has admitted to being paid by organizations like NOM ($20,000), the Family Research Council, and the American Family Association to be a shill.

And to make matters worse, there have been serious questions - which Owens has never answered - as to whether or not he actually marched or participated at all in the Civil Rights Movement.

'Hate group leader falsely claims Equality Act will legalize pedophilia' & other Tue midday news briefs.

Mat Staver

Liberty Counsel’s Mat Staver continues smear of LGBTQ people by lying that the Equality Act will legalize pedophilia - The lie never dies when there is someone there to push it. 

Russia rips children from their dads under ‘gay propaganda’ law - This is awful and you know some folks want mess like this to happen here in America. 

Secretary DeVos Is Failing to Protect the Civil Rights of LGBTQ Students - Unfortunately, no one should be surprised. 

Author of bestselling Christian book apologizes to LGBTQ community - Good for him.