Analyzing and refuting the inaccuracies lodged against the lgbt community by religious conservative organizations. Lies in the name of God are still lies.
Because there are times when even yours truly gets tired of the struggle. And with the election this year, we ALL need a break.
So, instead of a serious post, I present some of the best videos from one of my favorite shows growing up, The Electric Company. And for those asking about certain people - yes, that is Rita Moreno, Morgan Freeman, Denise Nickerson (Violet Buearegarde from the original Willie Wonka movie), and Todd Graff:
When The Alt-Right Attacks- Ah yes. Cowards target what they think is your vulnerabilities. It doesn't matter who you are (in this case though, we are talking about a same-sex family)
What's worse than religious right groups lying about the lgbt community? It's when they get patronizing:
Minnesotans are the face of a new campaign by a national network of
anti-LGBTQ organizations. The campaign, #askmefirst, features Christians
imploring schools, businesses, and “transgender activists” to ask them
for permission before allowing transgender people to use the bathroom.
A video released with the campaign’s launch last week features Emily
and Jamie. The video doesn’t say where the duo are from. Their story is
about a school that didn’t “ask them first” before making steps to be
inclusive of transgender and gender nonconforming youth. The two parents
formerly had children at Nova Classical Academy in St. Paul and were
outspoken critics of what they call “gender confusion.” Both appeared at a press conference earlier this year with Republican Rep. Glenn Gruenhagen and spoke in support of barring transgender people from using the bathroom.
In the video released last week, they spoke of a “gender confused
student.” Emily said, “This is a battle for our children’s innocence…
It’s a battle that I think is worth fighting and I will continue it for
other people’s children.”
The Ask Me First campaign was developed by the Family Policy Alliance
— formerly called Citizenlink — which provides a network of financial
and political assistance for Family Policy Councils throughout the
United States including the Minnesota Family Council.
No, their children's "innocence" is not threatened by transgender boys and girls using bathrooms. That is a lie which has been refuted continuously. And unfortunately refutations mean nothing to these groups and their supporters because they repeat the lie, as if they believe that constant repetition is the same as truth.
And what's worse is how these ladies claim to be fighting for children. That is the crux when it comes to the absolute moral obscenity of this campaign.
What about transgender children? Don't they have rights? Who is fighting for them? Or do these women, in spite of their perky smiles, June Cleaver personas, and precise talking points, even care about transgender children?
Or could it be that they and the organization behind this monstrosity of a video simply don't care about our transgender kids?
To celebrate the fifth year anniversary of the official ending of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell,' Right Wing Watch took a look at the top five failed predictions the anti-lgbt right made about what would happen should DADT be repealed.
Just two years ago, Gordon Klingenschmitt, a former Navy chaplain who is
now a Colorado Republican state lawmaker, approvingly read a quote from
Chaplain John R. Kauffman, who said that gay service members will be “taking breaks on the combat field to change diapers all because their treacherous sin causes them to lose control of their bowels.”
Yeah, I don't think that is happening anywhere . . .
On September 9, three of the country’s most notorious white nationalists held a press conference in Washington, D.C., titled “What Is The Alt-Right?”
The event, organized by the white nationalist “think tank” the National
Policy Institute (NPI), came in response to growing media interest in
the “alt-right” movement. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump
has helped mainstream
the racist movement, including by hiring Breitbart News executive
chairman Stephen Bannon as his campaign CEO. As the Southern Poverty Law
Center has noted, under Bannon’s leadership, Breitbart has “has been
openly promoting the core issues of the Alt-Right, introducing these
racist ideas to its readership.”
NC Gov. Pat McCrory is in the middle of a firestorm over HB2. Businesses are boycotting the state and they are now joined by the NBA, NCAA, and the ACC. Of course this is getting many folks in the state, including legislators who voted for HB2 talking about a repeal.
McCrory seems to be remaining firm in support of that ridiculous law. And backing him up is the Rev. Franklin Graham via twitter and Facebook, where he continues to push inaccuracies about HB2 and the transgender community:
The momentum of public opinion seems to no longer embrace these lies. McCrory would do himself a favor if he stopped listening to this lessening minority of fear. But apparently he wants to do things the hard way.
While everyone ruminates over the election, let's not forget that the fight for full lgbt equality goes on. And on that front, same-sex couples and their children just won a major victory in Wisconsin:
A federal judge ruled on Wednesday that Wisconsin officials discriminated against a married lesbian couple by refusing to list the name of the non-biological mother on their child’s birth certificate.
The couple, Chelsea Torres and Jessamy Torres, had married in New
York in 2013 and conceived through artificial insemination in 2014 ― the
same year same-sex marriage became legal in Wisconsin.
But when their son was born in 2015, the Wisconsin Department of
Health Services denied them a birth certificate listing both of their
names ― as the birth mother, only Chelsea was listed in the document.
U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb said on Wednesday that this practice ― which Wisconsin enforced by law
against same-sex couples but not different-sex couples ― is
unconstitutional, and ordered the state to read its artificial
insemination rules in “gender-neutral terms.”
Editor's note - If I said it once, I will say it again. I'm going to have to buy a tablet. Today the computers in the public library were offline so that meant no midday news brief. In all honest, this hasn't been a good week in general. Yesterday, I was sick as a dog so I couldn't post but one item. And tomorrow may continue the light posting as I prepare for my blog's 10th anniversary party to be held Saturday. Just bear with me, folks. You have stood with me for 10 years (and I haven't thanked you all enough for that) so I hope that you can stand with me through this week. Anyway, enjoy the following news items:
With both the NCAA and ACC boycotting the state because of that awful HB2 law, North Carolina legislators have the eyes of many on them. The question is what will they do? It seems that Gov. McCrory is starting to lose his bravado:
For the definition of scraping the bottom of the barrel to launch a silly attack on Hillary Clinton, I give you religious right spokesperson, the first president of the anti-lgbt hate group the Family Research Council, and the man who helped undermine efforts to combat the AIDS crisis in the 80, Gary Bauer.
The American Family Association's fake new source, One News Nowcited Bauer as an authority on the idea that Clinton would not get that many minority voters in the upcoming election.:
A
veteran conservative activist doubts that Hillary Clinton will benefit
from similar voter turnout among minorities that Barack Obama enjoyed.
Some observers consider if
very unlikely, says Gary Bauer, that a "70-year-old white person with
ethics problems" will inspire minority turnout like Obama did.
"So on that basis," he concludes, "the turnout on election day in November is likely to include fewer Democrats."
And (surprise, surprise), One News Now conveniently didn't include a picture of Bauer. But I will:
Gary Bauer thinks he knows minority voters
Don't he look like a "down brotha?" Of course Bauer didn't cite any statistics because polls say that Clinton has maintained a strong lead amongst minority voters. And of course Bauer didn't talk about Trumps's association with the racist alt-right and white supremacists such as David Duke, or his really embarrassing effort to reach black voters.
I guess Bauer's ability to predict the minds of minority voters is just as good as as his Christian integrity.
Trying to build some anti-Hillary Clinton momentum on a comment she made last weekend has probably backfired (at least I hope it does) on the Trump/Pence campaign.
Last weekend during a fundraiser, Clinton said half of Trump's supporters could be put in a "basket of deplorables". She was commenting on various racist, sexist, xenophobic, and all-around nasty comments these folks have made during Trump's campaign rallies. Even though she had a point, the Trump campaign and various conservatives have been attempting to manufacture a "pivotal campaign" moment from it.
Because of the "magic" of the internet, they have been unsuccessful. Folks have been posting and referring to old videos and articles which proved Clinton's point. However, Trump and company have continued to milk her statement.
They really should have stopped. Today, Mike Pence, Trump's running mate, was interviewed by Wolf Blitzer on CNN and that led to this exchange in which Pence refused to denounce white supremacist and former Klan leader David Duke as "deplorable":
BLITZER: But [Clinton] said, there are supporters, and you know this,
there are some supporters of Donald Trump and Mike Pence, who, David
Duke, for example, some other white nationalist, who would fit into that
category of deplorables. Right?"
PENCE: "As I’ve told you the last time I was on, I'm not sure why the
media keeps dropping David Duke's name. Donald Trump has denounced
David Duke repeatedly. We don't want his support and we don't want the
support of people who think like him."
BLITZER: "You called him a deplorable. You would call him a deplorable?"
PENCE: "No, I'm not in the name-calling business, Wolf, you know me better than that."
The media keeps bringing up Duke because Duke has aligned himself with Trump, including saying that he and Trump share the same voters. Duke also endorsed Trump, who at first, would not disavow the endorsement.
Pence's reluctance to denounce Duke as "deplorable" reminds me of the time last year when he was asked eight times about the anti-lgbt "religious liberty" law he signed as governor of Indiana. Eight times he refused to say whether or not the law could be used to discriminate against lgbts:
And they like to claim that Clinton won't answer a simple question?
Religious right talking head Gary Bauer is the classic case of what happens when the lgbt community doesn't raise sufficient hell about those who have harmed us.
In the 80s, Bauer worked in the Reagan Administration. He also undermined efforts to educate Reagan on the AIDS crisis and efforts to get the president to address it publicly. He was instrumental in undermining Surgeon General C. Everett Koop as the crisis swept through the nation. According to Koop, Bauer felt that AIDS was God's punishment.
So was Bauer ever made to address these issues. No. Not when he was the first president of anti-lgbt hate group the Family Research Council. Not when he ran for president in 2000. And of course not when he gave the following speech last weekend at FRC's nonsensical Values Voter Summit:
I hate to say it but Bauer will probably never have to answer for his efforts in furthering the AIDS crisis.
Today is the beginning of the 2016 "Values Voter Summit" put on by the anti-lgbt hate group the Family Research Council. Keeping my description of FRC in mind, it doesn't take a palm reader to guess who attendees and speakers at this weekend monstrosity will be attacking.
This year will be extra nauseating because GOP presidential candidate and self-described "friend to the gay community" Donald Trump will be one of the speakers. With various members of the media seemingly more concerned with Hillary Clinton's "emails" and "optics," it's up to folks like yours truly to highlight the coming visual disaster of Trump's visit.
I've already written a post about the vile homophobia of folks and groups who will be present at this summit. Now let's focus a little more on the group sponsoring it, the Family Research Council. There are very good reasons why FRC has been called a hate group.
"We’re not political people, never wanted this attention, and only filed a claim with Oregon's Bureau of Labor and Industries after six months of relentless media attention and harassment.
Meanwhile, the Kleins quickly became media darlings of the right wing. Conservative groups flew them out to appear at events, Ted Cruz featured them in a campaign video, and their fundraising page raised over $600,000.
In contrast, we became the target of hateful, violent threats and a daily onslaught of negative calls and emails from around the world. Over the past three years, we have received several thousand Facebook messages calling us fat, evil, and dumb — some with threats so violent that we have sincerely feared for our lives, moved houses, and lived in hiding in hopes of protecting our family. "
Billboards cause controversy in Waco's LGBT community - 'Ex-gay' billboards. And check out the semantic game of evasion played by the organization behind it. They claim to have no problem with gay folks except for the fact that they think we shouldn't exist.
