Family Research Council ignores Rob Porter spousal abuse scandal to praise Trump's 'religious devotion'

Today was the National Prayer Breakfast, which is always attended by the President. That being the case,  Donald Trump attended. And Family Research Council president Tony Perkins practically oozed praise at Trump for doing so:

Every president since Eisenhower has spoken at the National Prayer Breakfast. But not everyone has practiced the policies they preach. Barack Obama was famous for using the event to talk about the "inherent dignity of every person" only to ride back to an office that did more to promote abortion than any White House in history. Or to insist "we can't leave our values at the door," while he ordered Americans to do exactly that on marriage, health care, and faith. With Obama, what you heard wasn't necessarily what you got.
In the year since Donald Trump has been in office, he hasn't just talked a good game -- he's walked it. When he stepped up to the microphone this morning to promote religious liberty, 12 months of accomplishments already spoke volumes. Executive orders, HHS rules, Justice Department briefs, and confirmations like Sam Brownback's point to just how sincere the president is about what he says. 

This morning, he didn't disappoint, using the opportunity to draw the country's attention back to the importance of our First Freedom. "Our rights," Trump said, "are not given to us by man. Our rights come from our Creator. No matter what, no Earthly force can take those rights away." Then, in a nod to one of the biggest struggles in our society, he took time to highlight real tolerance and what it means to a nation like ours. "When Americans are able to live by their convictions, to speak openly of their faith, and to teach their children what is right, our families thrive, our communities flourish, and our nation can achieve anything at all." 

Then, broadening his scope, he hinted at the work cut out for Brownback, America's new Ambassador at Large for Religious Freedom. "Together, as Americans, we are a tireless force for justice and for peace... We know that millions of people in Iran, Cuba, Venezuela and North Korea and other countries suffer under repressive and brutal regimes. America stands with all people suffering oppression and religious persecution."
It was another solid speech that reminded us all: words matter. But we can all be grateful that to this president, actions matter just as much.

So why is today is an odd time for Perkins to praise Trump's religious devotion? Because the Trump Administration is presently facing yet another scandal; this one involving a top aide, Rob Porter, who resigned this week because of allegations of spousal abuse involving his two ex-wives. Not only that but supposedly top Trump aides were aware of these allegations because the ex-wives informed the FBI last year during his background check, with one supplying pictures. Supposedly Trump was unaware of the situation until this week.

'Mike Pence's anti-LGBTQ history comes back to haunt him just in time for the Olympics' & other Thur midday news briefs

Come on, Mike Pence. You know how we in the LGBTQ community are. We don't forget major slights from legislators and politicians. And if said legislators and politicians come at us nicely while pretending that the slights weren't made, we will remind you about them. It's one of our major powers. To put it plainly:

We don't forget sh!t.

‘Hypocrite’ Mike Pence Slammed For Tweet Supporting Gay Olympic Athlete

Mike Pence lies about his support for anti-gay conversion therapy during riff with Olympic skater Adam Rippon

Here’s a Recap of Mike Pence’s Attacks on LGBT Rights – READ

In other news:

School kicks trans athlete off boys basketball team for using the bathroom - Oh what the hell . . .

This elderly lesbian who was ‘slapped and told that homosexuals burn in hell’ is suing her care home - Someone needs their behinds whipped for this. I hope she wins.

LGBT historic site projects continue under Trump - Don't let the religious right know. They'll try to mess it up for us. 

Mercer University students grill Trump’s lawyer on anti-LGBTQ, anti-Muslim stances - Take note college students - THIS is how you handle an anti-LGBTQ speaker or any speaker you oppose coming to your campus. Wildcat screaming and yelling don't mean crap. You organize, plan, educate yourself on his/her history and ask pointed questions at the event. With dignity and purpose.

Do you agree with these Top 10 lists of LGBTQ culture?

Sometimes I feel like muckraking and sometimes I feel like I want to spotlight fun cultural references designed to get folks interested in educated about aspects of the LGBTQ community in entertainment. Today it's the latter so allow me to present four fun videos from youtube:

Top 10 Memorable Gay Characters, Top 10 Best Lesbian Themed Movies,Top 10 Inspirational Transgender Celebrities, and Top 10 Celebs You Didn't Know Both Ways (yeah, I'm not exactly happy about the title of that last one either).

Also, let me say that these video lists aren't representative of the entire LGBTQ community. They are to amuse and inspire searches for other bits of knowledge:

'Jeff Sessions is installing ‘religious freedom’ czars in every U.S. Attorney’s office' & other Wed midday news briefs

Jeff Sessions is installing ‘religious freedom’ czars in every U.S. Attorney’s office - Not if folks raise sufficient hell about this. It's no accident that anti-LGBTQ evangelical groups have refrained from crowing about these steps Sessions has been taking to codify this religious license to discriminate. I'm guessing they don't want anyone to know these behind-the-scenes moves.

‘I was enraged to see my story distorted and used’: Detransitioners object to anti-transgender book - Ryan T. Anderson is a little fraud who is attempting to repackage the same old anti-gay, anti-trans trash into a new, glittery package. 

AIDS In America Is A Black Disease - Today is National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day and work needs to be done in the African-American community in order to educate folks. 

LGBT Publix Employee Says He Was Fired for Reporting Anti-Gay Harassment - Really? Looks like Publix has a lot more work to do to get on our good side.

Why have Texas Republicans cooled on bathroom bill? - We can only hope Texas has.

Family Research Council's Tony Perkins tries to make homophobic lies into truth by repetition

FRC's Tony Perkins thinks he can make lies into truth via repetition.

On Tuesday afternoon, anti-LGBTQ hate group the Family Research Council just proved that no matter how much power it gains because of the Trump Administration, it will continue to be a deceptive, small-minded organization which works to undermine the LGBTQ community through lies and distortions.

Yesterday, the Georgia state Senate passed a bill which will streamline its adoption process. According to media reports, the bill was held up because it included a provision which would allow adoption agencies to discriminate against same-sex couples on "religious grounds" while still receiving tax dollars.  That provision was taken out and GA governor Nathan Deal is expected to sign the bill.

And that is what Family Research Council president Tony Perkins was raging about Tuesday afternoon:

Governor Nathan Deal (R-Ga.) never met a religious freedom bill he liked -- and the state's newest adoption proposal isn't likely to change that. The Georgia Republican, who valiantly displayed all the traits of a coward on the issue a year and a half ago, is back at it, threatening the state's conscience protections for faith-based groups. 

After demanding a "clean" adoption bill from lawmakers, the state's conservatives obliged -- but only until they could introduce a standalone proposal that would give adoption agencies the freedom to turn down prospective parents based on their lifestyle. "Some will believe in same-sex marriage, others don't, whether it's by faith or other reasons," the bill's sponsor, Republican State Senator William Ligon said. "As a pluralistic society, we need to figure out ways to accommodate that and not pressure one group to accept another group's version of marriage." 

Even before the Obergefell ruling, adoption was an explosive issue in places like Chicago, Washington, D.C., and Massachusetts, who cut off government grants for organizations like Catholic Charities because they sought what the social science research made abundantly clear were the safest and most nurturing environment for kids. If Deal gets his way, it would be open season on groups who take the well-being of children into account in adoption placement. 

This is how backwards we've become as a society. America's focus is no longer the well-being of children but on the "well-being" of a small but well organized political minority that uses Saul Alinsky tactics to force politicians into doing their illogical bidding. There's an abundance of social science data supporting the common-sense belief that children do best when raised by a married mother and father. In the largest peer-review study ever done on same-sex parenting, Dr. Mark Regnerus found that the emotional, financial, academic, and physical outcomes of kids raised in same-sex homes rated "suboptimal" or "negative" in almost every category. Because of that, there's every rational basis for agencies to prefer natural families over same-sex couples in adoption.
Why would anyone -- including Deal -- put the agencies that care about the social science out of business? Faith-based adoption agencies should never have to choose between their beliefs and helping people. That would be devastating – and not just for Georgia. Believe it or not, one of the biggest engines for adoption in America are private, social service agencies like Catholic Charities, who would sooner close its doors than compromise their biblical beliefs. 

If Georgia accepts Deal's terms, faith-based groups would be driven out of the adoption business -- leaving children and prospective parents with even fewer options for building families. Adoption is not -- and should never be -- about adults. This is about giving children the best chance to succeed in life. It's a shame Nathan Deal refuses to.

In the above tantrum, Perkins spins two distortions. And I think he knows this because both have been cited before by Perkins and those who on his side of this issue.  And both have been refuted time and time again, including by me. Someone needs to inform Perkins and FRC that the repetition of a lie doesn't change said lie into truth.

First of all, let's be clear about what Perkins favors. He thinks that citing "religious beliefs" should be a useful way for adoption agencies to discriminate against same-sex couples while helping themselves to the tax money paid in part by those couples they are discriminating against.

Now let's tackle the distortions.

'Public outcry gets Publix to change its bad policy on HIV prevention medication' & other Tue midday news briefs

Following outcry, Publix announces it will begin covering HIV prevention medication - In spite of today's climate, we still win when we band together and raise necessary hell the right way.

Why Are Murders Of Gay And Bi Men Up A Staggering 400 Percent? - One guess why:

 The great majority of these homicides, which include killers who lured their queer male victims using social media apps, weren’t committed by men involved with neo-Nazis or white supremacist groups. But those hate groups and their allies may feel emboldened by a president who talked about the neo-Nazi rally that took place in Charlottesville, Virginia, last year as having “very fine people” on “both sides.” And according to another ADL report, white supremacists hate groups are organizing on campuses, targeting college students. Those factors, in turn, have added to the culture of fear in which rising violence against LGBTQ individuals has taken place.

 Be careful. People are being really stupid out there. Don't be lured. De-escalate the situation if you can, fight like hell with anything you can if you have to. No need to be polite.

Anti-Gay Pastor Leads Ex-Minister in Run-Off to be Costa Rica President - Lawd hammercy!

Mat Staver: Labeling Liberty Counsel An Anti-Gay Hate Group Is Akin To What The Nazis Did To The Jews - I think it's safe to say "that's not how any of that works."

Transgender bathroom policy debate returns to S.D. Legislature - And we are here again.

American Family Association wants credit for release of disastrous Nunes memo

Anti-LGBTQ hate group wants partial credit for the release of the Nunes FISA memo. I say it's all yours.

And the winner of the "You Really Should Keep Your Mouth Shut Because You Sound A Damn Fool" award this evening goes to anti-LGBTQ and Trump supporting evangelical hate group the American Family Association.

When I read the email from AFA president Tim Wildmon, I nearly choked from laughter. It definitely made my day:

Recently, we sent you an AFA Action Alert, asking you to contact President Donald Trump, your representative, and senators and urge them to take the necessary steps to declassify and publicly release a four-page FISA (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act) memo to the American public. 

High ranking government officials reported that a classified, four-page memo, dubbed the "FISA memo," had been made available to every member of the U.S. House of Representatives. 

The memo highlights extensive and abusive and likely illegal surveillance of private American citizens by federal government agencies. The classified memo contains details of a coordinated effort between government agencies, including the DOJ and FBI, and the Hillary Clinton political campaign against President Donald Trump, both prior to and following the presidential election. 

Your actions helped get the controversial four-page FISA memo written by the majority staff of the House Intelligence Committee has been released by President Trump.

For those who don't know, the FISA memo has been all of the talk since last week. It was a memo written at the direction of House Intelligence chairman Devin Nunes of CA and it claims that there is a conspiracy to unseat Donald Trump as president via the FBI. Before it's release, conservatives and the right-wing media had been hyping it up as "worse than Watergate" (i.e. the scandal which led to the resignation of President Richard Nixon in the mid-1970s.). Self-avowed Trumpaholic Sean Hannity of Fox News was especially hyping it it to death.

'Illinois gubernatorial candidate demeans trans community, teachers, and others with ugly commercial' & other Mon midday news briefs

Illinois gubernatorial candidate unleashes hateful ad attacking trans people - Nothing says "election year"  better than a commercial demeaning transgender men and women, teachers, and feminists (see above video).

Illinois GOP Rep. Under Fire For Ad Mocking Transgender Community, Feminists - More details about the situation. And thank goodness Republicans are also calling her out.

Faces of Change: 30 amazing people looking to create change in the #LGBTQ community - WONDERFUL look at the diversity in our LGBTQ community. 

Sen. Gillibrand: Defeat Trump in 2020 to pass Equality Act - THIS I like. A long range goal which needs lots of action and preparation. I'm not being sarcastic here. Our community does need to stop wildcatting and in-fighting to gain a sense of discipline. With discipline comes the accomplishing of our goals. 

Man found guilty of plotting terrorist attack on LGBT pride event - Ew! Thank God he was stopped before he could carry it out.

Coca-Cola's Super Bowl commercial is unapologetically pro-LGBTQ

You can either chalk it to age or weariness at seeing the New England Patriots featured, but I don't intend to watch the Super Bowl this year. BUT this upcoming commercial during the Super Bowl by Coca-Cola is awesome.

According to The Advocate:

Coca-Cola's upcoming Super Bowl commercial, "The Wonder of Us," is breaking new ground with its LGBT inclusivity. With Pride symbols and a diverse cast, the 60-second spot explicitly targets and supports LGBT consumers. The voice-over states, “We all have different looks … and loves" while displaying a female couple onscreen. It also proclaims "There’s a Coke for he — and she — and her — and me — and them." while showing a presumed genderqueer-identifying individual wearing a rainbow collar.

I know someone will probably cry foul about "how Coca-Cola is exploiting the community for profit." And will probably ask questions about "what is Coca-Cola giving back to the LGBTQ community. Both are valid statements and questions.

 But for now, just let us have this. Seeing a commerical like this does wonders for the self-esteem of our LGBTQ kids.

'Same-sex promposal creates ridiculous drama at AL high school' & other Friday midday news briefs

Same-sex promposal leads to suspensions and walkout at Alabama high school - A young girl asked her girlfriend to the prom and the school freaked out, thereby causing a bunch of unnecessary mess. Seems to me the attempts to supposedly "protect" the children is worse than the thing folks claim they need protection from. 

Black History is LGBTQ History - You damn right!

Honoring Black LGBTQ Icons - And on that same note . . . 

FRC's Tony Perkins furious at article spotlighting religious right takeover of HHS - My post from last night because of article below:

The religious activists on the rise inside Trump's health department - THIS is the article Tony Perkins doesn't want you to read. Especially the part about how his folks are attempting to gak the courts.

'Bathroom bill' author gets a Republican primary challenger in North Carolina -Yes! "Primary" that fool!

FRC's Tony Perkins furious at article spotlighting religious right takeover of HHS

FRC's Tony Perkins is furious at article spotlighting religious right takeover of HHS.

Tony Perkins and the Family Research Council sounded off a hysterical alarm on Thursday regarding an article published last month in Politico. Perkins goes on as such:

The president laid out a compelling plan for the year in his State of the Union address, but it's important to remember that the key to good policy is good personnel. So, it's no surprise that anti-faith liberals are attacking some of the appointees in this administration, especially in one of the largest and most powerful departments, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which has been the nemesis of conservatives, especially under Barack Obama. 

HHS under the previous administration promoted blatant anti-faith policies, including forcing faith-based employers like the Little Sisters of the Poor to violate their faith in the healthcare plans they provide. HHS also in 2009 had rescinded President Bush's 2008 conscience regulation which merely enforced federal laws prohibiting government discrimination against pro-life healthcare entities. They did nothing to enforce conscience protections for the likes of Cathy DeCarlo, a nurse who was forced to participate in an abortion at a federally funded hospital, or churches in California that have lost their healthcare coverage because the state mandated abortion coverage in violation of federal law preventing such discrimination. The attack on life and faith under the prior administration may have been at its most egregious at HHS in the Obama era. 

So when competent pro-life conservatives were appointed to oversee HHS, of course anti-life liberals pitched a fit. As we wrote before, Valerie Huber is an excellent choice for the team over at HHS, due to her experience in social sciences and practical public health programs encouraging risk avoidance in the context of sexual behavior. Last week, the liberal media went after two other solid conservatives working to implement the president's agenda. The left's effort to demonize qualified people over policy differences sinks lower and lower. Roger Severino, for instance heads up the Office of Civil Rights, the office at HHS that oversees helping defend civil rights laws. After HHS announced a new division to protect the conscience rights of healthcare providers who object to being forced to participate in abortion or assisted suicide -- the protections of which are in existing law -- and after HHS issued a new proposed rule to enforce 25 conscience laws on the books, Roger was slammed as a conservative evangelical along with Shannon Royce, who heads up the office of faith-based initiatives.

FRC's piece goes on like this, making sure to appropriate the word "faith" to mean only the very narrow definition the organization has.

In reality, the Politico article has nothing to do with any "purge." Instead, it spells out legitimate concerns regarding some members of HHS who seem to be sacrificing the mission of the agency in pursuit of their personal religious agendas:

Franklin Graham's fawning praise of Trump is simply embarrassing

The speed from which Franklin Graham pivoted from "Stop picking on Donald Trump. We never said he was perfect." to "Oh my God! Isn't Donald Trump so dreamy! We need to pray for him!" is embarrassing. Especially when one considers that had not the media pressed him and other evangelicals on the matter, they probably wouldn't have mentioned Trump's many moral lapses. As the investigations into how Russia helped the Trump campaign continues, I have a feeling that Graham will be regretting his kiss-ass behavior in support of Trump.

And I bet that Graham never asked that Obama be prayed while HE was president. Yet more proof that Trump's relationship with Graham and company is merely about acquisition.

(Editor's note - I offer a pre-apology just in case it is proven that Graham did in fact ask for Obama to be prayed for.)

'Anti-LGBTQ group already talking about repealing marriage equality' & other Wed midday news briefs

NOM: Supreme Court Is ‘One Retirement Away’ From Ending Marriage Equality - NOM's pipe dream isn't that much of a pipe dream and it reminds us of the simple fact that besides NOM, there are anti-LGBTQ organizations and hate groups just planning to take away marriage equality, even as you read this. But giving up is not an option. We can fight and defeat this notion. And the first step is in the mid-terms. Y'all need to vote and get as many folks to also vote as you can.

Trump’s State of the Union speech omits mention of LGBTQ rights - Surprise! NOT!

Efforts to help LGBT Puerto Ricans after Maria ‘being forgotten’ - We can't let this happen, y'all.

New York School System Holds Its First Summit For LGBTQ Students - New York is a start but we need this in other places too.

The memes from Trump’s first State of the Union address are in and they’re brutal - Damn right. And you KNOW we don't care, either. We are going THERE.

Randy Rainbow has a couple of things to sing about Trump and his 'base'

I personally think that Trump's base, i.e. many of his supporters, are entitled fools who can't deal with the fact that the country is becoming more diverse and no one thinks that they are special anymore. For too long, they have been coddled by being referred to as "the American heartland" or "real America." They don't want to let go, so they whine about lazy people, political correctness, and some bull about erased heritage or tradition.

I could go on, but the incredibly talented Randy Rainbow is better at describing them through song. I could only offer up profanity and words so "non-progressive," they would make Truman Capote blush.

Take it, Randy:

'45 times Trump has attacked the LGBTQ community in his first year' & other Tue midday news briefs

Trump

45 times Trump attacked the LGBT community in his first year in the White House - Just 45 times? Yes, we know that Trump isn't the LGBTQ community's best friend. But it's a point we need to hammer home, so ONE MORE TIME FOR THE FOLKS IN THE BACK!!!

These ‘No Promo Homo’ Laws Are Hurting LGBTQ Students Across America - There are laws in seven states which prevent teacher from even talking about homosexuality in any type of "positive" light. This is harming our LGBTQ kids. 

Conservative evangelicals want to give Trump a 'mulligan,' but they gave Obama hell - And following that "one more time for the folks in the back" philosophy, a repost of my piece from last night. Repetition of truth is a very good tactic for the LGBTQ community to learn.

Gay Couple in Hiding Amid Police Threats After Russia Accidentally Registered Their Marriage - This is downright scary. 

Lesbian firefighter's legal win further divides courts on anti-gay discrimination - Keep fighting, y'all.

Conservative evangelicals want to give Trump a 'mulligan,' but they gave Obama hell

One very important component missing from the debate of conservative evangelical hypocrisy in supporting Donald Trump in spite of his morally questionable behavior is how they acted towards Obama.

With Trump, they are all "well he isn't God" or "I trust his word when he says he has changed," or "we are all entitled to make mistakes."

Not so with Obama. With him, they weren't so open-hearted as the videos below show. They weren't so eager to trust his word because they were too busy implying that he wasn't a Christian ergo he danger to America, particularly its moral image.

First, let's look at Family Research Council president Tony Perkins. Perkins, whose talk of giving Trump a "do-over,' or a "mulligan" for his questionable behavior, wasn't so conciliatory to Obama's morality, values, or words in 2012:

People for the American Way's Right Wing Watch also pointed out that in the same year:

Before the 2012 election, Perkins said that voters in 2008 “chose the economy over the moral foundation of the country when we selected Barack Obama as president, and it did not work out,” claiming that Obama had set himself up “in defiance to everything that is biblically oriented in terms of the history of our country and the word of God.” He called for Christians who had voted for Obama in 2008 to “repent” by voting against his reelection and declared that Obama had a “disdain for Christianity.”

And then there is this lovely, yet insane, claim about how the re-election of Obama could mean "the end."

'TX Republicans censure state House speaker for blocking anti-transgender bill' & other Mon midday news briefs

TX House speaker Joe Straus

Texas Republicans take extraordinary step and censure GOP House speaker for blocking transgender bathroom bill - Simply trashy. Just mean-spirited mess. 

Trans soldier will be Joe Kennedy’s guest at State of the Union address - Well alright! Remind this administration of who helps in the fight for freedom, i.e. the folks they tried to kick out of the military. 

The Trump Administration Is Dropping The Ball On HIV/AIDS - That terrible administration has dropped the ball on so many other things, so why not this too?

‘No, She’s Not My Sister’: The Hidden Stresses of Gay Relationships - A harm of the so-called religious liberty argument. We don't get to talk about this like we should because the religious right bogarts the debate.

Ex-evangelist says conservative evangelical support of Trump is motivated by racism & revenge

Although I don't think I will ever get tired of hearing, seeing, and especially spotlighting the backlash against conservative evangelicals for their hypocritical support of Trump, I also think it has to be put in a proper perspective.

Former evangelist Frank Schaeffer brought that perspective Sunday on AMJoy as he tore into conservative evangelicals.

Schaeffer pointed out it is white evangelicals who support Trump as he made the argument that this support is less about values and more about racism towards former president Barack Obama and revenge.

He punctuated the interview with the following statement about evangelical leader and Family Research Council president Tony Perkins. Perkins, whose controversial statement last week about evangelicals letting Trump's behavior slide because they felt bullied by the Obama Administration, has been in the center of the backlash:

 “Tony Perkins forgot his own theology and replaced it with a theology of revenge on people he disagrees with politically, and that’s what’s going on here . . .Revenge of white American, evangelical right-wingers and who they want to punch in the mouth is not just black Americans but, to put it in the words of the President of the United States, those who live in shithole countries. So they’re willing to put up with anything when it comes to moral degradation to see those ends achieved. I’m glad he put it in terms of revenge, at least he misspoke from his point of view but told the truth.” 

'Another physician rebukes Trump Administration for HHS 'religious freedom' division' & other Fri midday news briefs

A Doctor's Take on the Health Department's New 'Religious Freedom Division'- Another physician, Dr. Magda Houlberg, is calling out the Trump Administration's desire to protect healthcare workers who use their religion as an excuse to not treat certain patients. We need a few more before there can be an official backlash. And I hope they are forthcoming. 

Related post - Pediatrician isn't here for the anti-LGBTQ religious liberty con game

Fresh call to ban 'gay conversion therapy' - The Church of England is calling for a nation-wide ban on "ex-gay" therapy. Wow! Would be awesome if someone did the same thing in this country. Stop laughing . . .

Anti-LGBTQ hate group orchestrates client business practices to win cases - The anti-LGBTQ industry can't win against us fairly in the courts, so they are attempting to game the system. This doesn't come from genuine concern about "religious freedom." Such Machiavellian plots comes from the desire to discriminate.

Anti-LGBTQ Violence Claimed One Life For Every Week In 2017 - Simply awful. Just can't say anything else.

Steve Strang: Christians Who Oppose Trump Need To ‘Get Over It’ - Whatever. Write your own epitaphs.

Pence breaks tie to confirm anti-LGBT Brownback nomination - Say hello to Sam Brownback, America's ambassador at-large for religious freedom. Whatever that is. We will be watching you, Sammy.

Exclusive: Majority of Americans support transgender military service - poll - Damn right.

Conservative evangelicals need Trump like an addict needs his 'fix'

Conservative evangelicals willing to hold Trump up as Messiah as long as he gives them their psychological 'fix.'

I said it yesterday and lo and behold here it is.

Evangelical conservatives are doubling and tripling-down in supporting Donald Trump. In spite of all of his bad behaviors, including basic incompetence, racism, and allegations of adultery, religious conservative leaders are continuing to hold up Trump as the new Messiah. They claim that Trump, in spite of all of his problems, is ushering in "pro-family" and "pro-life" policies.

Family Research Council president Tony Perkins, who knows he stepped into it earlier this week with his "religious conservatives will give Trump a do-over for his bad behavior"  comments, continued in attempts to soften the blow of hypocrisy.

According to Right Wing Watch:

Perkins said that evangelical faith leaders’ support for Trump is “not unconditional” but that “as long as he continues to be the most pro-life, pro-family president” and “continues to walk the straight and narrow with the right influence,” Perkins and his allies will continue to support his administration.

Perkins's group, FRC, also issued a public prayer for Trump:

“Thanks be to God for giving President Trump a burden to champion religious liberty. May Christians pray for and support the president for the good thing he is doing, even if they cannot approve of his past or present behavior in other respects.”

Not to be outdone, Franklin Graham, fresh from humiliating himself with awful defenses of Trump's behavior, is telling people to pray because Trump is supposedly facing a coup de etat. Franklin is echoing nonsense which shot up then fizzled down in right-wing circles about a secret government group working to overthrow Trump.

'Evangelical says religious right deserting Donald Trump would punish America' & other Thur midday news briefs

Bryan Fischer Says There Is No Reason For The Religious Right To ‘Punish America’ By Turning On Trump For His ‘Reprehensible’ Behavior -  Bryan Fischer becomes the latest religious right figure to show hypocrisy when it comes to Donald Trump. I am so enjoying taking down these receipts. I'm going to need another book to put them all in.

In three years, LGBT Americans have gone from triumph to backlash - This neither surprises nor scares me. Students of history will tell you that after every successful movement for civil rights comes a huge backlash. The key is to strap yourself down and solider on fighting no matter what.

Tolerance takes a hit: Americans less accepting of LGBT people in 2017, survey shows - Another view of the issue just in case the above link is behind a pay wall. Awful headline, though. LGBTQs are not dogs urinating on the good carpet. We don't need "tolerance" or "acceptance." We need fairness and all that we need, including fairness, will be what we will take because they all belong to us in the first place.

Conservative book ‘When Harry Became Sally’ attacks trans people while conveniently leaving them out - Another book attacking the LGBTQ community and like all of the others, it's filled with distortions. 

Nearly 700,000 adults in the US have received gay conversion therapy - And guess how much have worked . . . go ahead. 

Lastly: 

NOW would be a perfect time to remind people that support of Donald Trump is not the only area in which evangelical conservatives have displayed questionable morals. Let's talk about their DECADES-LONG war on the #LGBTQ community via propaganda and junk science.

Just click on here to read and send (even if you have already) my free 2103 online book How They See Us: Unmasking the Religious Right War on Gay America.

Pediatrician isn't here for the anti-LGBTQ religious liberty con game

Daniel Summers, a gay pediatrician, has something to say about the new division of HHS designed to protect healthcare workers who refuse to give certain treatments under the grounds of "religious liberty." He pulls no punches and makes no apologies for his rejection of this idea.

In a piece published by  The Slate , Summers says the following:

If you are a healthcare provider who doesn’t want to treat LGBTQ people or their families, please don’t waste your time and mine applying for a job in my practice.  

  .  .  . Because many people justify their bigotry against gender and sexual minorities in religious terms, this new division is quite alarming news for LGBTQ people. The creation of this division appears to open the door for medical providers to, for example, refuse to provide gender confirmation treatment for trans people, or refuse to treat children with same-sex parents. 

 One attendee at the ceremony announcing this new division was Sara Hellwege, a nurse-midwife who sued in 2014 after being denied a job at a Florida health center. The reason she didn’t get the job? She admitted that she would refuse to prescribe birth control pills because of her religious beliefs—and prescribing birth control pills was part of the job she applied for. 

 She had no business seeking the position in the first place. 

 David Gorski, a surgeon and editor of the website Science-Based Medicine, expressed the views of many medical providers, myself included, when he tweeted that “physicians who refuse to treat certain patients based on their religious beliefs are in the wrong profession and should never have become doctors in the first place.”

  . .   .If you don’t think same-sex couples should be raising children, you won’t be interacting with families in my practice at all. If you’re not willing to discuss PrEP with your gay male patients, and think HIV prevention funding would be better spent on conversion therapy, you won’t be seeing any patients here. If you’re going to ignore the needs of our trans patients or insist on mis-gendering them, we have no opening here for you. And I don’t care at all if you justify any of that with your religion. 

Check out the entire column here.

News brief special - Evangelical conservatives hit with huge backlash over hypocritical support of Donald Trump

Editor's note - What was first a small occasional drip . . . drip and moved to a slow but steady trickle is now a raging flood. Conservative evangelicals, particularly their leadership, are now facing a tremendous backlash for their dogged support of Trump and minimizing of his bad behavior (which includes racism and cheating on his wife with a porn star). It would do the LGBTQ community some good to pay attention to this firestorm and "collect receipts" for the future.  This much deserved backlash probably won't make a dent in the "true believers" crowd who support conservative evangelicals, but you would be surprised how a little sunlight makes the truth more powerful. The truth, in this case being how these folks love to demonize the LGBTQ community, but those attacks like their support of Trump, is rooted in hypocrisy, fear tactics, and un-Christian desires for power. And barring a public "come to Jesus" moment in which they admit their hypocrisy (which probably won't happen), expect them to double-down and even triple-down on their support of Trump. These conservative evangelical leaders are incapable of admitting that they are wrong.



Don Lemon perfectly nails Franklin Graham’s ‘ends justify the means’ moral hypocrisy on Trump - See above video. It means a lot to me to see an openly gay man drag Franklin Graham for his hypocrisy.

Evangelical leader defends ‘mulligan’ remark about Trump, Stormy Daniels - The Family Research Council's Tony Perkins makes a fool of himself.

After Years Of Questioning Obama’s Christianity, Tony Perkins Gives Trump A ‘Mulligan’ On Porn Star Affair - Oh if there were only a way to compare how religious evangelicals leaders dogged Obama (who ran a scandal free, successful administration ) in relation to how they lovingly embrace Trump (who has arguably the worse administration in the history of this country). Oh wait. There is this lovely piece which looks at Tony Perkins's  (the one in the last news brief) attacks on Obama when he was in office.

Former RNC Chair Michael Steele: Trump’s Evangelical Backers Need To ‘Shut The Hell Up’ - Never thought I would agree with Michael Steele, but here we are.

The religious activists on the rise inside Trump's health department - The fruits of their rotten labor Part 1. 

‘Religious freedom’ for adoption discrimination on Georgia Republican’s to-do list - The fruits of some of their rotten labor Part 2.

And the editorial pages have been brutal:

Trump's a true-believing Christian? Tell me, how does that work?

Michael Gerson: The Trump evangelicals have lost their gag reflex

Hypocritical conservative evangelicals shelter themselves from Stormygate

Franklin Graham rails against 'sin of homosexuality' days after justifying Donald Trump's sins

One would think that in light of all the scrutiny paid to the hypocritical support religious evangelicals give Donald Trump, they would be in a position of hiding or at least self-examination.

Not hardly. In spite of admissions that they only support Trump and defend his many bouts of behavior because of the power he gives them, religious evangelical leaders seem to want us to pretend that there nothing wrong with what they are doing.

Case in point is Franklin Graham. Today, he posted the following on his facebook page:

Please bear in mind that only days ago, Graham was giving poor denials to allegations that Trump racially slurred foreign countries or paid off a porn star he had an affair with at the time of present wife's pregnancy.

Finally, when pressed by about past comments he made claiming that America has a "sin problem," Graham said Trump wasn't perfect.

Keep it up, Mr. Franklin. Don't think people neither see nor know what you are doing. Dig that hole and when it gets deep enough, enjoy not being able to get out of it.

'Religious right leader Tony Perkins admits it - evangelicals don't care about Trump's behavior as long as he gives them power' & other Tue midday news briefs

Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council (first picture) admits that as long as Donald Trump gives the evangelical right power in terms of policy, they will overlook his consistent bad and incompetent behavior and  instead will treat him like the new Messiah (second picture.)

The Family Research Council head says that evangelical conservatives are willing to overlook Trump’s past behavior so long as he delivers for them on policy - So many things to unpack from this article:

1. Without a degree of shame, Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council admits that the religious right are willing to overlook Trump's un-Christian behavior if he continues to give them what they want in terms of policy - i.e. the power to control people's lives and divert the direction of this country, less healthcare for women, and an undermining/reversal of the LGBTQ equality and safety. I always knew this. So many others already knew this. However. it's amazing to hear Perkins simply admit that all of the religious right's talk about a "moral crisis" in America over the years was a big fat lie. 

 2. If Perkins is accurate, evangelicals do not like John McCain and, just like Trump, don't view him as a war hero because he got captured. 

3. It's not just that evangelicals will overlook Trump's bad behavior. As shown in the article, they sometimes give justifications & lies about his bad behavior 

 4. The religious right should never get to demonize the LGBTQ community ever again without being strongly and repeatedly reminded of this moment.

Evangelical conservatives surrendered moral authority to Trump. They don't deserve to get it back.- A perfect time to remind folks about last night's post.

Here Are the 2018 GLAAD Media Awards Nominees - Congratulations to all of the nominees, including several of my friends for their nominations in the category of 'Outstanding Blog.' Having been nominated three times and winning one last year, I know how much of a thrill this is. Enjoy it because y'all deserve it. 

Laverne Cox Makes History As Cosmopolitan’s First Transgender Cover Girl - Not bad. Not bad at all.

Evangelical conservatives surrendered moral authority to Trump. They don't deserve to get it back.

Religious conservatives surrendered their moral authority to Trump. They don't deserve to get it back.

Recently, someone in my Sunday school put forth an interesting theory which got a lot of support. She claimed that God may have put Trump in the White House, not as a vouch of support, but to send a message to people about certain interests and concepts.

That may have a ring of truth when one considers how the evangelical right have acted with him in office, i.e. like greedy hogs at a trough constantly eating and not caring about being seen as gluttons. Today is yet another example.

According to this tweet, conservative evangelicals consider Trump's first year as a success.

The Trump administration is "genuinely interested and responsive to the concerns of the evangelical community." @tperkins @TheBrodyFile @CBNNews #POTUS https://t.co/N6ZGqgku2y

— FRC (@FRCdc) January 22, 2018

And why shouldn't they consider him a success for their cause. After all, he has given them unprecedented access and power. He has bowed to their desire for symbolic support, vouched for their ideas that their religion makes them superior, and has partly surrendered secular government agencies and judiciaries to their control.

But they don't seem to understand what they have lost.

The video below shows the many of the gaffes and horrors Trump has committed in his first year. From his awful Muslim ban to the mind-boggling irresponsible comments he made after the Charlottesville tragedy, the gaffes and horrors are many. America needed a loud and visible moral voice to remind us about the goodness of this country because of these gaffes and horrors. We received that moral voice, but it didn't come from the conservative evangelical community. They were too busy either counting the coins Trump threw at them or justifying his unjustifiable acts to receive more.

Bottom line - whenever Trump leaves office, Franklin Graham, Robert Jeffress, and the rest of that ilk shouldn't have moral authority to criticize folks for scratching their junk in the public, much less criticizing this country's moral climate. And as far as I am concerned, that specifically speaks about the LGBTQ community. Evangelical conservatives no longer have what little moral authority they did hold to call us out. Ever again.

Video shows intricate dangers of anti-LGBTQ discrimination

A new video released by the Colorado-based independent think tank Movement Advancement Project highlights things which people should be aware of regarding anti-LGBTQ discrimination. It goes beyond scenarios like baking cakes and arranging flowers. As the video shows, even the simplest things, such as going to the movies, can be problematic when ignorance is thrown into the mix. And many times, people aren't aware because they aren't specifically affected. 

'More cash than Christ' - Franklin Graham called out for hypocritical defense of Donald Trump

In the midst of the madness that is the Trump Administration (the latest being Trump's lack of good leadership has led to a government shutdown and it was discovered that before the election, his lawyer paid off a porn star, Stormy Daniels, to keep quiet about an affair she had with him), Franklin Graham stepped up today to defend him.

Graham, who seems to never been speechless when it comes to denigrating the LGBTQ community, offered an absolutely ridiculous defense of Trump

  

Graham, the president and CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, was questioned by MSNBC “Live” anchor Alex Witt on Saturday. 

Witt asked Graham how he could support President Trump after his sh*thole comments.
“He said he didn’t say it,” Graham said. “I don’t think any of those senators, if he did use that language, have heard that word for the first time. I’m sure that’s a word they’ve used before, I think there’s a little hypocrisy here.” 

“He said he didn’t say it, so I have to go along with the president in that he didn’t say it,” Graham claimed. 

“We have a businessman who is a president, not a politician, but a businessman,” Graham said. “We should all be grateful that he’s brought his knowledge to Washington and he’s helping to turn this economy around.” 

“Reverend, you just told me that this country has a sin problem and I know you’ve no doubt heard that the president is accused of having his lawyer pay $130,000 to a former porn star allegedly for her silence about his sexual encounter while he’s married,” Witt said. “The previous allegations as well, that access “Access Hollywood” tape, does that challenge your faith in the president?” 

“Does the president have a sin problem?” Witt asked. 

“I can promise you he is not President Perfect,” Graham replied.

In response to that, another pastor, William Barber, let loose with both barrels at Franklin during an appearance on "AM Joy" with MSNBC's Joy Reid:

“What we see here is a mass coverup by so-called white evangelicalism that’s more about, as I’ve said before, cash than Christ,” Barber explained. 

 “It’s heavily funded, you see Franklin Graham saying we have a sin problem. We do. But it’s not what they’re talking about.” “We see 365 days of attacks on voting rights, that’s sin, attacks on Muslims, that’s sin, attacks on the LGBT community, that’s sin, attacks on health care, attacks on living wages, giving the greedy and the wealthy tax breaks on the backs of the poor and the working poor,” Barber said. 

 “Wherever you look in the scripture, that’s sin. Anyone who attempts to justify that is engaging in a modern day form of heresy.” “It’s just wrong what he’s saying. Actually, I would say to my brother Franklin Graham, he needs to stop lying, tell the truth and not being bought off or paid or whatever is causing him to misrepresent the faith like that.”

'New 'religious freedom' division of HHS in Trump Administration led by anti-LGBTQ advocate' & other Fri midday news briefs

Former Heritage Foundation employee Roger Severino leads controversial new HHS division.

New HHS division slammed as tool for anti-LGBT discrimination - Speaking of that awful monstrosity of an office . . . we are just waiting for one screw-up. JUST ONE.

Roger Severino - Director of Office of Civil Rights (at Dept. of HHS) - And while we are at it, let's take a look the history of the man leading this office from when he worked for the right-wing Heritage Foundation. He isn't exactly an advocate for our community. 

Who Is Roger Severino? Donald Trump's New Appointment Sparks Concern Among LGBTQ Activists - And his history. Like I said. JUST ONE SCREW-UP.

Nearly half of trans people have been a victim of hate crime in the last year - We simply have to do better to protect our own.

Court Orders Return of Gay Mexican Asylum Seeker ‘Dumped at the Border’ Over Christmas Holidays - That's right and there should be some shame with doing him ugly. 

 This Man With HIV Just Won His Battle To Change The Rules So He Can Become An Airline Pilot - Awesome!

Anti-LGBTQ group call books about gay families & transgender kids 'morally toxic'

A bigoted group, One Million Moms, called books about transgender kids and gay families 'morally toxic.'

At pretty much the same time the Trump Administration is instituting some "religious liberty" garbage at Health and Human Services, an anti-LGBTQ right-wing group is raising hell at Scholastic Books for focusing on same-sex families and transgender children. A representative of this group, One Million Moms, called books about same-sex families and transgender children "morally toxic."

According to OneMillionMoms.com, Scholastic, Inc. is no longer safe for children. Monica Cole, director of the online activist group, explains that Scholastic books is "publishing and marketing books that are not safe for your children" and "promoting pro-homosexual and pro-transgender picture books for children." 

 In an Action Alert to its supporters, 1MM says the Scholastic website features "morally toxic" reading lists for children, such as: 

 "Mother's Day Books for Two-Mommy Families" 

"Great Books for Two-Dad Families" 

"6 Picture Books About Transgender Children" 

"... We're concerned [that] Scholastic is pushing topics on children and introducing them to children as young as preschool age [that] should be left up to the parents to discuss," Cole states, "and [selling] books ... at book fairs at your child's school that you may or may not be aware of.

"It is shocking because we know the dangers and how harmful the lifestyle choices are and can be," she adds.  

 The pro-family group cites the American College of Pediatricians on the issue: "Conditioning children into believing that a lifetime of chemical and surgical impersonation of the opposite sex is normal and healthful is child abuse." OneMillionMoms is calling on Scholastic, Inc. to stop pushing this agenda.

So according to this group, it's morally toxic to even acknowledge same-sex families and transgender children, even though according to a 2013 study by the Williams Institute as the UCLA School of Law found that:

As many as six million American children and adults have an LGBT parent. Same-sex couple parents and their children are more likely to be racial and ethnic minorities. An estimated 39 percent of individuals in same-sex couples with children under age 18 at home are non-white, as are half of their children.

'Religious freedom' is a quiet way of normalizing homophobia

Editor's note - With the news today that the Trump Administration is trying to shield healthcare workers who deny care on the grounds of "religious liberty," it is imperative that we don't continue to allow people to lie about what "religious liberty" is. In the hands of the anti-LGBTQ industry (groups and personalities of the religious right), religious liberty is less about protecting personal beliefs and more about being a weapon to undermine LGBTQ equality and safety. With that in mind, I am reposting a piece from 2014 (and slightly altered) which best explains what I am talking about.

In the 50s and 60s, they said we were perverts who ought to be jailed.  

In the 70s, they said we recruit children.

 In the 80s, they said we were diseased freaks who run around catching AIDS. 

 In the 90s, they said we wanted "special rights." 

 In the 2000s, they said we wanted to redefine marriage. 

 Now they claim we are trying to put Christians out of business and jail them.

The more I think of this bogus argument of "religious liberty" or "religious freedom," the more angry I become about how the entire debate is being conducted with no perspective. "Religious liberty" is merely a new anti-gay buzzword. It is the latest in a long line of concepts and claims used to justify anti-gay animus and discrimination. It's nothing new and it shouldn't be debated as if it is a new concept. Allow me to elucidate with the use of words and visuals from various anti-gay spokespeople and groups in debates throughout the years:

 1970s: Gays are pedophiles - "As a mother I know that homosexuals cannot biologically reproduce children. Therefore, they must recruit our children." - Anita Bryant

1980s: Gays are diseased -   ''The poor homosexuals -- they have declared war upon nature, and now nature is extracting an awful retribution.'' - columnist and Presidential candidate Pat Buchanan during the early days of the AIDS crisis

'Trump Administration wants to shield healthcare workers who deny care on grounds of 'religious liberty'' & other Wed midday news briefs

The Trump Administration wants to shield healthcare workers who deny care on grounds of 'religious liberty.'

Trump to shield health care workers who claim moral objections - We warned this could happen when the anti-LGBTQ industry began its "religious liberty" lie:

The Trump administration is planning new protections for health workers who don't want to perform abortions, refuse to treat transgender patients based on their gender identity or provide other services for which they have moral objections. Under a proposed rule — which has been closely guarded at HHS and is now under review by the White House — the HHS office in charge of civil rights would be empowered to further shield these workers and punish organizations that don’t allow them to express their moral objections, according to sources on and off the Hill.

Trump will give healthcare workers the right to refuse to treat LGBT people - The ENTIRE LGBTQ community could be negatively affected by this. It's bad enough for our transgender brothers and sisters. That automatically puts the LGB community into this fight from the get-go.

The solution to this? Don't put all of your eggs in an "impeachment basket."Raise hell, get LGBTQs to run for public office, support positive candidates,  vote, register people to vote, break down Trump's power by helping to elect blue candidates later this year, then unite behind a 2020 candidate. ABOVE all, show unity, trust, and discipline.

Senior DHS adviser Frank Wuco claimed "societies and nations for millennia have suffered greatly" for LGBTQ acceptance - Meanwhile the hint of homophobia and transphobia taints other parts of the Trump Administration.

Gay Couple Sues Printing Company Over Homophobic Wedding Pamphlets - Mess like this only happens because we are winning. The other side is pushing back HARD. Keep the momentum going.

Alabama Senate Passes Bill To End Marriage Licenses - THIS is interesting.