Monday, January 27, 2020

'Drag queens will appear in a Super Bowl ad for the first time ever' & other Tue midday news briefs



Drag queens will appear in a Super Bowl ad for the first time ever - And I am HERE for it.

Bowen Yang Opens Up About His Experience In ‘Gay Conversion’ Therapy - Wow! An SNL cast member gets real about that awful "therapy." 

Darrell Issa slammed by fellow Republicans for running “gay-baiting” political attack ad - You know it's serious when other members of the GOP are bothered by it. 

This Is How U.K. LGBTQ Rights Change After Brexit This Week - The struggle is real and worldwide.

Dear conservative evangelicals leaders, when Trump goes down, you need to go with him (and here are just a few of the receipts to pay your ticket)


Conservative evangelical leaders embraced Trump because he was giving them power, access, laws and the judges they wanted. Let's not allow America to forget how they went knee deep with full knowledge in his corrupt administration.  And let's not allow America to forget how they either ignored or made excuses for his behavior. 

As we watch Trump's impeachment trial with all of its twists and turns, one thing is clear. Even if he does get away with what he has done, there is enough proof to show that Trump has tarnished himself the presidency, the GOP and especially folks who claim to have a mindset which should have elevated them to know better.

I'm talking about Franklin Graham, Robert Jeffress, Jerry Falwell, Jr. and the rest of the evangelical right/anti-LGBTQ industry who freely and wantonly sacrificed all of the values they claimed to uphold for a little political power. They got a president who gave them access to policy, gave them some judges and laws which attacked the LGBTQ community and women's health while giving their religious beliefs an unfair advantage and an elevated status.

 In return, conservative evangelical leaders sacrificed the integrity they claimed to have, the values they claimed to uphold, and the mask they wore when they claimed to uphold that integrity and those values.

And no one should forget their real faces - that of hypocritical, self-righteous, power-hungry bloodsuckers who would find a Biblical verse to defend the devil if it meant more power and more access to White House policy.

To hopefully make sure that people don't, I've been saving a few receipts to serve as reminders of how low conservative evangelical leaders stooped. To their supporters, these receipts don't mean anything. But to the rest of America, especially those who aren't aware of them, don't exactly care for them, and will be here after we are all gone, they are a perfect representation of  the true face of America's evangelical right.

Here are just demonstrating how they drolled and fawned over Trump while in full knowledge of his incompetence and corruption.

Sunday, January 26, 2020

'Statewide anti-LGBTQ measures part of religious right playbook' & other Mon midday news briefs


State legislatures are filled with anti-LGBTQ measures, thanks to a religious right playbook - FINALLY, some recognizes it and calls it out.

Project Blitz Is Producing Model Legislation For Christian Nationalists - The name of the group in the article above is Project Blitz and they have something especially nasty in store for us. It's an old anti-LGBTQ lie that we buried in our pursuits of marriage equality. But homophobic lies never die. That's why they are headless monsters. They are dead beliefs propped up by living hatred. 

Sanders campaign defends accepting Joe Rogan support amid LGBTQ backlash - Joe Rogan is a homophobic jerk and we shouldn't . . . well end of story. 

Who's the 'Q' in LGBTQ? Study shines light on 'queer' identities. - Definitely a needed discussion.


Graphic courtesy of Americans United for the Separation of Church and State. The organization has extensive information on Project Blitz

How some gay conservatives attempt to exploit the LGBTQ community for personal gain.

Rob Smith
The guy on the right is Rob Smith. He was one of the activists who chained themselves to the White House fence almost 10 years ago in protest of the 'Don't Ask Don't Tell' policy. These days, he considers himself an openly gay conservative Trump supporter.  He is even affiliated with the group Turning Point USA  in spite of its racist history.

If you ask me, he's in it partly (probably mostly) for how the novelty of being a contrarian gay man (i.e. one who is openly gay and claims to have been once a liberal, but now sets up straw man arguments to attack the community) can reap lots of press and acclaim.  Just ask Brandon Straka or Chadwick Moore.

For the purpose of this post, I want to show how some gay conservatives attempt to work our community for their own benefit. See the tweet below by Smith:



It's both rude and seemingly innocuous, but let me add my perspective:


In other words, the purpose of  the tweet was to inflame emotions and push up a vicious war with the LGBTQ community. And if it's big enough, guess who gets articles in right-wing publications (such as The Federalist or The Daily Caller) and invites on Fox News (because the only LGBTQ people invited on that network are the ones who attack their own community)?

Rob Smith.

And the end is basically this - Smith's profile is raised in the conservative world and he is lauded as being "brave" and a "hero" for supposedly speaking against the "radical gay community" (that's us). He is anointed as a "free thinker" while we are portrayed as "intolerant of others in our community with different points of view."

Worst of all, some members of our community, who are either too egotistical or gullible to realize  how they are being manipulated, will take his side and attempt to generate a wrong-minded debate which will do nothing but divide and inflame us further while making Smith's profile grow and grow.

And that, brothers and sisters, is how the game is played on us. Our community may have differences, but we should all come together to recognize when someone is exploiting us to gain fame. Even if that person is "family."

Thursday, January 23, 2020

'Virginia could become 20th state to ban 'ex-gay therapy' for minors' & other Fri midday news briefs

Latest attack on Target's trans inclusive policy means the American Family Association is getting mighty desperate


For the past few years, hate group the American Family Association has been trying to initiate a boycott of  Target because of its policy of allowing customers to use dressing rooms and restrooms which match their gender identities. AFA claims (without proof) that this policy allows predators to harm women while they are in dressing rooms and restrooms. The boycott began with a petition and it got lots of traction. It even encouraged some people to march into Target and make complete asses of themselves.

As the years passed, attention and support for AFA's fight have petered down because basically people saw that the group was doing nothing more than lying and causing hysteria. Of course that doesn't stop AFA from attempting to "stir up the troops," so the speak.

Even if it has to be creative when attacking Target and the transgender community, such as this recent article in its affiliate "news site" One News Now demonstrates.

The American Family Association continues to sound the alarm about Target's policy that allows men in women's restrooms and changing areas. 
Target says the policy is meant to be inclusive and benefit transgender customers and employees, but the American Family Association (AFA) has long warned it will result in sexual predators taking advantage of the policy, thereby putting women and children at risk. 
In an Action Alert this week, AFA points to an incident at a Target store in Harris County, Texas, where a woman told law enforcement that a man was taking pictures of her in a fitting room while she was changing clothes. 
"It's an invasion of privacy," she told news station KTRK. "No one should go through that. It was horrifying." "Because nobody will stop a man from entering these areas, what these sexual predators do is they watch for a woman or girl to go into a fitting room, for example, and they go into the one next to it and then put their phone camera either up above the partition or below it," Ed Vitagliano, AFA executive vice president, told on American Family Radio's "Today's Issues" program. "That is what happened in this case in Harris County, Texas."

Wednesday, January 22, 2020

'New bills in over 12 states are targeting our transgender children' & other Thur midday news briefs

Anti-LGBTQ activist doesn't realize that she made a spectacle of herself

Anti-LGBTQ activist 'Lorena' of the group MassResistance thinks it was unfair that a councilman tried to kick her out of his office even though she outright accused him of working to legalize pedophilia.

I'm often asked why do I give attention to anti-LGBTQ groups and individuals. One reason is that when some of them are given the spotlight, they make colossal fools of themselves and thereby prove our point about them and their tactics.

A recent incident underscores this fact. MassResistance, a Massachusetts anti-LGBTQ hate group have been on a tear for months about Drag Queen Story Hour. An affiliate of the California chapter recently told the story about meeting with Chula Vista city openly gay councilman, Stephen Padilla. She wanted the city council to pass an ordinance against Drag Queen Story Hour.

The woman, Lorena, and MassResistance would have you to believe that she bravely stood up against a rude bully to the point that he got angry and called the police on her:

One MassResistance mother in Chula Vista, Lorena, a calm but strong-willed woman, has been really taking action. She has testified at just about every City Council meeting, often bringing up the fact that the library has cut reading and literacy programs, yet had the money for Drag Queen Story Hour. She has passed out flyers across town.

. . . this past week Stephen Padilla, who had refused to meet with anyone, agreed to meet with Lorena in his City Hall office. She came, and calmly told him the truth about the Drag Queen Story event. His behavior toward her was disgraceful. He ultimately threw her out of his office and tried to have her removed from City Hall.

Tuesday, January 21, 2020

'Trump's impeachment lawyer has long history of homophobic, religious-based shysterism' & other Wed midday new briefs

Family Research Council president Tony Perkins continues the game plan of lies about Tenn anti-LGBTQ adoption bill

FRC president Tony Perkins follows the evangelical game plan of lying about Tenn's anti-LGBTQ adoption bill.

Last week, Tennessee passed a bill which allowed tax dollars to go to religious and faith-based adoption agencies even if they refuse to work with members of the LGBTQ community. On the heels of this, conservative evangelical group the American Family Association proceeded to lie about the bill. AFA portrayed it as a way of keeping religious and faith-based groups from being "punished." The group also omitted the part about taxpayer funds (which includes LGBTQ tax dollars) going to groups which would discriminate against the LGBTQ community.

Monday, January 20, 2020

'VP Pence attended a vile homophobic sermon ahead of MLK day' & other Tue midday news briefs


Mike Pence attended a vile homophobic sermon and the White House streamed the whole thing - Who else put Mike Pence AND on MLK Day. If this were any other group which was viciously attacked, it would be front page news.

Meet the lesbian attorney & environmentalist running for Congress in Indiana - More LGBTQs in Congress is never a bad thing. 

10 LGBTQ books to watch out for in 2020 - Write them down, folks. 

Katie Sowers Is The First Female And Openly Gay Person To Coach In A Super Bowl- 49ers assistant coach makes history.

'THAT DON' - Randy Rainbow again brutally rips the Trump Administration via song parody




 On the eve of Trump's impeachment trial in the Senate, who better to listen to than Randy Rainbow. Randy, who has consistently been doing the job of media via his clever use of song and satire, again spotlights the corruption and incompetence of the Trump Administration. This time he does it via a parody of the song 'Gaston' from Beauty and the Beast.

Trump is known for striking back at public figures who call him out. It's probably not an accident that he hasn't done the same to Randy Rainbow. I doubt he could win if he started a verbal war with Randy. 

Thursday, January 16, 2020

'Pastor loses court case over his 'right' to share anti-gay propaganda online' & other Fri midday news briefs


Pastor loses court case over his “right” to share anti-gay propaganda online - Awww poor baby. He tried and failed. Too bad, so sad (not.)

House Democrats call for ICE to release all transgender detainees - I wish.

Trump Thrills Base With Moves To Protect School Prayer, Funding For Religious Groups -If you discriminate against the LGBTQ community, then you hae no right to tax dollars. Keep it up, folks. You are working hard to create a backlash. 

LGBTQ+ history could be taught in public schools under proposed bill - Come on, Missouri!

Conservative evangelicals already lying about Tenn anti-LGBTQ adoption bill


The state of Tennessee recently passed a bill which undermines the ability of LGBTQs and same-sex couples to adopt children. And its governor, Bill Lee, said he will sign the bill into law.

From MSNBC:

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee announced Tuesday that he’ll sign into law a measure that would assure continued taxpayer funding of faith-based foster care and adoption agencies even if they exclude LGBT families and others based on religious beliefs. The GOP-controlled Senate gave the bill final passage on the first day of the 2020 legislative session after it was initially approved by the House last April. The bill was sent to the Republican governor amid warnings by critics of possible negative consequences for Tennessee’s reputation.

According to MSNBC, some have said the bill wasn't necessary due to Trump's proposal to rescind a rule made by Obama which kept foster care agencies from receiving federal funds (tax dollars) if they discriminated on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. But the sponsor of the bill, Sen Paul Rose, said the bill was still necessary just in case Trump wasn't re-elected.

Wednesday, January 15, 2020

'Kentucky bills seek to ban 'ex-gay therapy' for minors' & other Thur midday news briefs

22 openly LGBTQ Oscar winners, those who came out after winning, and actors winning/nominated portraying LGBTQ characters

Let's  bring it down this week with some history. Oscar season is in full swing and in tribute of that, I found some historical videos about LGBTQ Oscar winners and actors who either won or were nominated for the coveted award portraying LGBTQ characters.

No doubt, some folks will most likely point out the people missing - if any - from these videos. I expect (and hope) that they will generate lots of discussion.





This last video is inaccurately titled because only some of the characters were lesbian. Others were bisexual and transgender. But other than that, the video is still a delight to watch. Some of the nominees (Cher, Whoopi Goldberg) received their first Oscar nominations portraying these characters.

Tuesday, January 14, 2020

'Tennessee passes bill undermining same-sex adoption rights' & other Wed midday news briefs

Student's blunt, but accurate answer to anti-trans question goes viral


(Editor's note - Unfortunately the tweet seems to have been deleted. I apologize for that. Please click on the 'Courier Journal'  link below to read the conversation between Haase and Bennett.)

We all know that conservatives and the anti-LGBTQ industry have targeted the transgender community as their new moral panic. From spinning false claims about trans athletes to pushing "bathroom bills" designed to exploit fears about safety in restrooms and locker rooms, they have been working overtime.

And so enters Michael Hawse, a student at the University of Kentucky.
A University of Kentucky student gained some notoriety after a video went viral of him discussing the transgender bathroom issue with conservative personality Kaitlin Bennett, aka the Kent State "gun girl." 
. . . In the video, Bennett, the media director for libertarian outlet Liberty Hangout, who is best known for posing with an AR-10 on Kent State University's campus for graduation photos, asks (Michael) Hawse what he thinks of putting urinals in women's restrooms "for women who have penises and they just want to stand and pee?" "I think people (are) just making too big of a f—king deal about it," Hawse responded, with the curse word bleeped out by a sound effect. "I don't really care." 
 And as Bennett asked him for more details, Hawse continued to be succinct:


Hawse's bluntness in the face of such a pathetic attempt to stoke controversy should be applauded. It's not an issue and wouldn't be if conservatives and the anti-LGBTQ industry had not have spooked people with horror stories appealing to the lowest common denominator of fear . . . just like they did in the case of marriage equality, anti-discrimination ordinances, LGBTQs serving openly in the military, etc. etc.

Hawse's encounter with Bennett went viral, so he decided to use it to spotlight a good cause:

The video of Hawse’s comments had been viewed more than 19.6 million times on Twitter as of Monday afternoon. Hawse responded to his new fame via Twitter on Monday. “I don’t make a habit of paying attention to what others are doing in the bathroom.” He later tweeted a Venmo account to raise money for DanceBlue Golden Matrix Fund, which raises money for pediatric cancer research.

Monday, January 13, 2020

'Transgender employees sue Florida over state's trans health ban' & other Tue midday news briefs

Trump supporting evangelical Tony Perkins was less cavalier about morality and values when Obama was president

FRC's Tony Perkins
Last week, an organization known as The Lincoln Project came out with a brutal ad spotlighting the hypocrisy that white conservative evangelicals have immersed themselves in with their support of Trump.

On Friday, Family Research Council president Tony Perkins (a prominent Trump supporter) addressed the ad. In doing so, he opened the door for folks to continue to point out the hypocrisy he tried to make excuses for:

. . . what the media and the president's opposition doesn't seem to understand is that evangelicals have never looked at Donald Trump as a role model. They're looking at his record as president. And no one in the modern history of this country has a better one. Whether it's the sanctity of human life or the promotion of religious freedom -- here and around the world -- or the appointment of judges bound to the Constitution, there's absolutely no comparison. What this president has done in the last three years matters. So shouldn't it be relevant to Christians as they vote?

What makes Perkins a hypocrite? Simply the fact that in 2012, his tone was less cavalier about President Obama.