Monday, October 21, 2019

Religious right group One Million Moms angry over addition of gay couple in 'Star Wars' animated series


Anti-LGBTQ group One Millions Moms (whose name is an obscenely comical exaggeration) is attacking us again. As usual, the group, which claims to protect "traditional values" and the "innocence of children," are angry because no one wants to play its game of  "dirty homosexuals need to stop acting unashamed:" Like always, it's easy to chalk this nonsense up to homophobia, but when we do without calling attention to the nuance, we miss a chance to call out the dishonesty of 1MM and groups like it.

From One News Now:

A parents' watchdog group finds it "completely unnecessary" that Disney has chosen to proudly inject the issue of homosexuality into an animated series for children. 
As reported by Yahoo.com, a Disney spokesperson has confirmed that two characters in the animated series Star Wars Resistance – shop operators Orka and Flix  – are "gay." That report quotes executive producer Justin Ridge saying: "I think it's safe to say they're an item. They're absolutely a gay couple and we're proud of that." 
Monica Cole, director of OneMillionMoms, says she isn't surprised by the disclosure. "And even though OneMillionMoms is not shocked by this news, we're all extremely disappointed that now they are openly including a gay couple – which we find completely unnecessary," she shares. 
Cole contends that Disney is more concerned about pushing a liberal agenda rather than just focusing on providing family-friendly content. 
"We already know, with the inclusion of the gay couple, [that] makes this show far from family-friendly," she tells OneNewsNow. "Disney should just stick to entertaining children – since this is one if the few children's networks on television – and completely avoid these mature and controversial topics such as homosexuality." 
The director for 1MM says it's crucial that parents are warned about the content in this popular franchise spinoff. "We wanted everyone to be aware that the Disney media empire is sacrificing children's innocence by doing this," she adds. 

This ridiculous article is fascinating, not about what it talks about, but what it omits. Cole doesn't say what's wrong with Disney including a gay couple in the Star Wars animated series. Nor does she explain how this sort of thing harms the innocence of children or pushes a "liberal agenda."  That's a deliberate tactic, just like her omission of the existence of same-sex families and their children.

It all adds up to reducing the  LGBTQ community to a stereotype about illicit sex and dangers to children.

One Million Moms doesn't have a good track record with their attacks on television programs and motion pictures but the group definitely has its uses. The constant omission of our families and repetition of the false claim about how we are a danger to the innocence of children sets a narrative which constantly serves to put us on the defensive.

That's also a deliberate tactic.


Editor's note - One News Now and One Million Moms are connected with hate group the American Family Association. It must be nice to have a false news outlet to push one's false pro-family group.


'Queer and conservative students clashing at religious Texas university' & other Mon midday news briefs


Queer and conservative students are clashing at a religious Texas university - And guess which "speakers" are at the center of this mess.

After Being Beaten and Raped, Lesbian Asylum Seeker Faces Deportation - This is awful. The word needs to go out about this.

'Gay DNA' App Is Unreliable and Dangerous, Scientists Say - It also sounds rather stupid to me, if you don't mind my saying so.

Sunday, October 20, 2019

Trump supporters mix 'Dawn of the Dead' with 'Mr. Smith Goes To Washington' on Capitol Hill



Last week, a large number of Trump supporters went to DC in order to screech, I mean protest, about the impeachment inquiry. Apparently they bought Trump's lie that the entire thing is a unlawful coup (which it isn't) instead of  lawful attempt to investigate Trump's unethical and possibly illegal acts involving getting the Ukraine to dig up dirt on Joe Biden and his son.

Some of them didn't make it because of a comical mishap involving bills not being paid to the charter bus company which was to bring them to DC. Of course, they blamed the financial faux pas on the "deep state."

Those who did make it to DC and subsequently Capitol Hill took it upon themselves to stalk the offices and halls of Congress in a cross between "Dawn of the Dead," and "Mr Smith Goes to Washington" while chanting"God Bless President Trump" or "stop the coup." They also shouted unintelligible nonsense at pages and Congressional workers; pages and workers who obviously deserve raises AND prayers after the experience.

The video above speaks for itself and it's a doozy.

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Randy Rainbow rubs salt into Rudy Giuliani's self-inflicted wounds with the help of ABBA



 Hands down, the only good thing to come out of the Trump era is the very talented Randy Rainbow. He's kept many of us laughing, instead of being discouraged or depressed, while pointing out the many fallacies of the Trump Administration. This time, he is going after Rudy Giuliani, Trump's lawyer. Giuliani has been the subject of much attention with regards to his actions in Trump's Ukraine scandal. With the help of an ABBA song, Randy Rainbow skewers him. Randy, please do Mick Mulvaney next.

'Matthew Shepard's parents slam AG Barr for supporting anti-trans discrimination' & other Thur midday news briefs

2 Trump officials said the US should be run as a Christian theocracy - And of course that would mean awful news for the LGBTQ community. 

The Heritage Foundation co-hosted a half day anti-LGBTQ event. Here are the worst comments from panelists. - Kudos to Media Matters for doing this. I don't think I could have gone to that conference without turning it out.

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Family Research Council paints trans children as dangerous by ignoring their existence

Trans children need to be protected from school bullying and especially groups which will falsely call them predators.
Like so many other schools in America, a controversy involving transgender students and bathroom access has taken place in Jasper, GA. And like with so many of these controversies, the Family Research Council lurks about to falsely imply that trans children are a danger to other children.

Jasper, Georgia isn't a big town. At last count, it had about 3,800 residents. So it was a big deal when 900 of those people squeezed into the Pickens County High auditorium determined to stop Jasper from becoming the next stop in the march for transgender bathrooms. 
For the small community, the time for polite conversation was over. The residents packed into the special school board meeting were angry. They'd already made accommodations for the two students who identified as another gender, setting up single-person restrooms for anyone who wanted them. The trouble is, these kids weren't satisfied with that compromise. 
In a fiery meeting that pit Superintendent Carlton Wilson against most of the town, moms and dads like Nathan Barfield were furious that his two children are being made uncomfortable because a handful of students want access to any bathroom. "Most people won't say anything because they fear retaliation," he fumed. "[But] accommodations have already been made for transgender students. This is nothing but a political stunt to gain attention!" A raucous applause broke out, punctuated by a series of "Amens!" "Once you give into this, you'll open the floodgates," warned another mom.

FRC's rendition of the board meeting comes from an Atlantic Journal Constitution article. And the group had no problem lying about the facts:

In Jasper, the parents were fortunate. They won. Superintendent Wilson saw the outpouring of opposition and reconsidered. But despite all the Trump administration has done to put these decisions back in communities' hands, there will always be a small army of activists who try to slip this indoctrination into your district.

That's not what happened. According to the AJC article:

 The school board set the special meeting to hear residents’ concerns about a recent decision to let a transgender student use the restroom for the gender that student identifies with. Prior to the meeting, Superintendent Carlton Wilson said he had gotten death threats since announcing that decision. Wilson had cited as part of his reason an 11th Circuit Court ruling that hasn't gone into effect yet. He admitted he was misinformed and announced that he has put the decision on hold until he and the board can discuss the issue further.

But lying about the board's decision is not the worse thing FRC did when distorting this incident. FRC attempts to paint the incident as parents joining forces to protect their children against a danger.  To push that narrative, FRC omitted other voices included in the AJC article - those of LGBTQ youth:

Kino Ciel Stanfield came to the microphone and nervously admitted he was part of the very small population of transgender Americans. A 2017 Pickens High graduate, he said he began his transition shortly after graduation.

“To transition isn’t something taken lightly,” he said. “I spoke to doctors and specialists and we came to the conclusion that this was best for me.”Stanfield said even though there wasn’t a policy in place while he was in school, he used the single-stall bathroom in the nurse’s office and similar facilities because it was easier. He said he was more concerned about everyone else’s comfort than his own.

. . . Jordan Stewart, a 2017 Pickens High graduate, said he came out as gay his junior year and faced bullying of a different kind.“What you don’t understand is that a trans man is a man and a trans woman is a woman,” he said. “They just want to be able to go to the bathroom and do their business like everyone else. Too many LGBTQ youth avoid using the bathroom at all at school, to the detriment of their health. “

Several times in the past, the Family Research Council openly pushed the false narrative that transgender children are predators and a danger to other children. This time, that goal is accomplished by simply ignoring their existence, i.e. refusing to acknowledge their humanity and  their side of the issue. It's something to remember the next time FRC goes through its tired whine about being "bullied" by the LGBTQ community.